GFCF/Chemical Free Holiday Breakfast or Brunch

GFCF/Chemical Free Holiday Breakfast or Brunch

The weather has cooled down, some areas have snow, the fireplaces are burning wood and stoves and ovens beckon wonderful aromas! It’s time to enjoy some wonderful GFCF holiday foods for your family and/or friends.

Nothing like waking up to some wonderful holiday treats and smells to delight your family. Rise and shine and enjoy these special recipes.

Pumpkin French Toast Bake (adapted to be GFCF)

Recipe Courtesy of the Minimalist Baker

• 7 Eggs
• 1/4 cup Pumpkin butter
• 3 tbsp Brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp Pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 5 1/2 cups 1-inch GFCF bread
• 2 cups alternative milk (coconut, almond, cashew)

1. Cut bread into 1-inch cubes – I recommend a crusty, whole grain variety, but sandwich bread will work, too. Just use enough slice to fill a lightly greased 9×13-inch baking dish quite full.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, alternative milk, vanilla, pumpkin butter and pie spice until well combined. Pour over bread and push down with a spoon or your hands until it’s all soaked and mostly covered. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3. In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C), uncover and top with brown sugar, additional pumpkin pie spice and nuts (optional). Bake for 35-45 minutes or golden brown and no longer wet.

4. Serve immediately with maple syrup, honey or agave nectar. Store leftovers in the refrigerator covered for up to a couple days.

Cinnamon Rolls

Recipe Courtesy of Monique! Ambitious Kitchen

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, warmed to 11 degrees F
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar*
• 2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast (use the fast rising kind)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil*
• 4 cups Gluten Free Bread Mix (about 1 small package)
• 1 2/3 cups Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, softened but not melted*
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon *or “Earth Balance” or “Melt”

For the glaze:

• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk, depending on how thick you like your glaze
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract seeds from one
  vanilla bean

1. Add milk, sugar and yeast to the large bowl of an electric mixer. It’s important to make sure the milk isn’t too hot or it will kill the yeast. On the other hand, if the milk is too cool, the yeast will not activate. Let the yeast with the milk for 5 minutes, do not touch or stir. You will know if the yeast activated properly if by the end of 5 minutes, it has started to bubble or foam a bit.

2. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together both flours and salt; set aside.

3. Once the milk is a bit foamy, add in the eggs, coconut oil and half of the flour mixture; stir until just combined. Then add in the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and stir again until just combined. Place dough hook on your mixer and run on medium-low speed for about 8 minutes. Alternatively you can knead the dough by hand for about 10 minutes. The dough should be elastic like but not sticky. Grease a large bowl with oil or cooking spray. Add dough and turn over, making sure to coat it all with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel, then place in a warm place to rise for a little over 1 hour or until doubled in size. If you want bigger rolls, let it rise for up to 2 hours!

4. Tip: I usually turn my oven to 200 degrees then immediately turn it off to create a little heat. After that I place my bowl of dough in the oven to help it rise. Works every single time!

5. Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray or coconut oil. Once the dough is doubled in size, punch it down! Sprinkle a little gluten free flour on your rolling surface, then roll out the dough into a 15×9 inch rectangle. Spread 1/3 cup of coconut oil all over dough (you’ll want it to be easily spreadable so it’s okay if it’s a little melty). Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar together then sprinkle all over dough. Use your hands to rub sugar/cinnamon mixture into the dough a little bit. Beginning at the larger end, tightly roll up the dough and pinch the edges together to seal. Use a serrated knife or unflavored dental floss to cut the dough into roughly 2 inch sections so that you have 12 rolls total; place rolls in pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place on top of oven to rise again for 30 minutes.

6. Once you are ready to bake the rolls, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake rolls in oven for 20-25 minutes or until a tiny bit golden brown on the edges. Mine were perfect around 23 minutes. Remember you don’t want to over bake them or they’ll turn rock solid. Once rolls are finished baking, set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes while you make the glaze.

7. In a small bowl whisk together powdered sugar, almond milk, vanilla and vanilla bean. Add more almond milk if you want a thinner glaze. Drizzle over warm cinnamon rolls and serve immediately! Makes 12 rolls.

Mini Quiche

Recipe Courtesy of Fresh Planet Flavor

• 2 large handfuls chopped spinach
• ½ lb sausage meat*
• 1 large bell pepper
• 8 eggs ½ tsp salt
• Coconut oil, for greasing silicone muffin pan

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Lightly grease the silicone muffin pan with coconut oil, transfer onto a baking sheet and set aside.

2. Heat the spinach in a skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally until dark and soft (approximately 5-10 minutes).

3. While the spinach wilts, heat the sausage meat over medium high heat in a second skillet. Cook, breaking up large chunks with a spoon or spatula, until browned and mostly cooked (approximately 10 minutes). Remove from heat, set aside to cool enough to handle.

4. While the spinach and sausage is cooking, core the bell pepper and roughly chop. Either pulse in a food processor until shredded or dice by hand.

5. Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer or whisk, whip until the whites and yolks are thoroughly combined. Add the wilted spinach, and shredded bell pepper (I squeeze handfuls of the bell pepper shreds as I transfer them from the food processor to wring out excess moisture before adding to the eggs).

6. Crumble the cooled sausage over the mixture, and add the salt. Mix briefly to combine.

7. Divide the mixture evenly between the cups of the silicone muffin pan (my batch filled 10, 80% full). Grasp the baking sheet and transfer the silicone muffin pan into the preheated oven.

8. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until the mini quiches are firm (they will pull away from the sides of the cups slightly as they cook).

9. Cool in the pan for approximately 15 minutes, then easily slip the mini quiches out onto a plate and serve warm.

*Ground beef, pork, chicken or other meat could be used in place of the sausage. Suggest upping the salt to ¾ tsp if using unsalted meat.

Natural Candy Resources

Everyone loves decorating sugar cookies. Stay away from artificial ingredients. No one needs chemicals in their bodies! Here are some companies that offer artificial free sprinkles and dyes for frosting and other toppings. (Always double check ingredients to be sure there are zero artificial dyes).

Natural Candy Store

http://www.naturalcandystore.com/category/naturalbaking-decorations

Edwards and Sons

https://store.edwardandsons.com/

Sprinkles

http://www.qualitysprinkles.com/pages/product

Enjoy your holiday meals, but remember, the best part of holidays is not the food, but the people!

Barrie Silberberg is the author of The Autism & ADHD Diet : A Step-by- Step Guide To Hope and Healing by Living Gluten Free and Casein Free (GFCF) And Others Interventions.

Eating Breakfast When You Are on a Special Diet

More Breakfast Ideas

• Wellness: Breakfast for Champions
• Eating Breakfast When You Are on a Special Diet
• Create, Cook, Talk: Breakfast Cookies
• Cooking With Kids: Spooktacular BOO BARK Breakfast Yogurt

Helpful Articles

• GFCF Holiday Recipes and Hints on Eating Outside of the Home
• Fall Means Pumpkin GFCF Recipes to Enjoy this Cozy Autumn Season
• Where to Purchase Gluten Free Casein Free (GFCF) Foods and Some Favorite Brands
• Cooking with Kids: Peanut & Apple Butter French Toast Bake
• Do You Struggle With Planning Healthy Meals for Your Family?
• Benefits of Special Diets for Special Needs Children
• Traveling with Special Dietary Need
• GFCF Holiday Cookie Recipes

This post originally appeared on our November/December 2016 Magazine