Easy Dairy and Sugar Free Pudding

What kid doesn't love the creamy texture and sweet taste of pudding?  Here's a healthy alternative with an added superfood kick to make both mom and kids happy.  This pudding uses coconut milk (or you can substitute any milk alternative) instead of dairy, banana as a natural sweetener, and chia seeds as a thickener and nutritional boost.  Chia seeds are a great way to sneak in more omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, and protein into your kids diets.  Check out these 10 Reasons to add Chia Seeds to your diet.

I started with this recipe for 3-Ingrediant Banana Pudding and simply added 1T of cocoa powder to please chocolate lovers.  The cocoa powder also does a good job of concealing the chia seeds from any little food detectives just looking for a reason to refuse to try it.  Garnish it with some fresh fruit, and you have a great kid pleasing snack.

Drop Sugar Cookies (Gluten and Dairy Free)

I wanted something sweet today that was easy to make and didn't require a trip to the store. I also wanted to try out a new gluten free flour blend that I found at Costco recently. I simply modified an old drop sugar cookie recipe to make it gluten and dairy free.

1 1/3 cups gluten free flour (Namaste Perfect Flour Blend)
3/4 tsp gluten free baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp gluten free vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350. 2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. 3. In large bowl, beat coconut oil, sugar, egg, and vanilla until light and fluffy. 4. Add flour mixture and beat on low just until combined. 5. Drop by rounded teaspoon on ungreased baking sheet. 6. Bake 10-12 minutes until edges are lightly brown. Makes approximately 24 cookies.

Dairy Free Icecream

What's summertime without ice cream? Now that my family is both gluten and dairy free this suddenly became a bit more difficult.  My kids love the SoDelicious brand Coconut frozen dessert varieties, but at $6+ a pint that can be a bit too pricey for a family of five. I decided to pull out the ice cream maker attachment from the bottom of the deep freezer in the garage and try to make my own.  All of the recipes that I found online called for the full fat, canned coconut milk, and I didn't have any on hand so I thought that I'd give it a try with the lighter coconut milk that I already had in the refrigerator.  The result was more of an ice milk type treat, but still delicious and satisfying without the extra fat.  I simply
mixed together 6 cups of Coconut Milk (such as Silk brand - not the full fat kind), 1/2 cup of sugar (This is a slightly sweet treat, but you can add more sugar if desired), and 2 tsp vanilla to make the ice cream mixture.  Then froze the mixture in an ice cream machine and served immediately as a soft-serve treat.  I have the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker attachment that I use to make it, but a traditional ice cream maker should work fine as well.