I havent been posting much lately because I havent been eating much of interest.
See the ridiculous thing is Im a foodie with serious food sensitivities. Figuring out that gluten was causing me problems helped out my digestive issues a lot. Getting rid of dairy made me feel a lot better too. However there were still things that seemed to be causing me problems and even after keeping a food diary, seeing a nutritionist, an allergist and a gastroentrologist I still couldnt figure out what was making me ill. Unwilling to "just live with it" as all but one of my doctors advised I decided to take the next step and go on an elimintation diet.
The people over at Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen had one that seemed reasonable so Im giving it a try. Eating nothing but green smoothies for a couple days, giving up chocolate, coffee and alcohol and eating only the simplest of unseasoned foods has not been easy. But after my body got over the initial shock I felt better than I ever had before. If eating green salads and brown rice with lentils and nothing else was going to get rid of my unending digestive woes I was willing to do it.
At this point Ive added in a few foods without any issues so I do have some variety in my diet. So far I have sadly discovered citrus, cinnamon and parsnips are all problem foods for me. So as this goes on Ill be healthier and feel great but my diet is getting more and more restricted. In order to not let thoughts like that get me down I spent the afternoon plotting out a dessert that I could eat on this diet. Something other than me peeling a mango and eating it like the crazy sweet-food starved person I am.
Out of that I came up with this recipe for these vegan hypoallergenic rice crepes that fit with the strict parameters of the first phase of the elimination diet. They are so amazing you would never guess they are missing things like eggs, dairy, wheat or sugar. I went crazy and made some dairy free whipped cream as well since I was craving it but the crepes though simple are great without anything but your choice of fruit. The fella and I enjoyed ours with blue berries while sitting out on the porch and enjoying the warm sunny evening.
Vegan Rice Flour Crepes
1 tablespoon ground flax seed
2 tablespoons hot water
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon agave nectar
1 1/4 cup homemade rice milk
In a very small bowl mix the ground flax seeds with the hot water and mix well. Allow mixture to sit undisturbed until it becomes very sticky.
In a medium bowl mix together the remaining ingredients until well incorporated then add in the flax seed mixture.. Your mixture will be very a little runny and gritty.
Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium heat and gently grease it with cooking spray. When the pan is at temperature add 1/4 a cup of the crepe mixture to the pan and agitate the pan to roll the mixture around the bottom making it as thin as possible. Cook the crepe for one minute then flip and cook for a 1 1/2 on the other side.
Repeat with the remaining mixture, being sure to stir the crepe batter before putting it in the pan as the heavy rice flour will quickly sink to the bottom of the bowl in the time it has taken you to make the preceding crepe.
Blueberry Filling
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 teaspoon agave nectar
Place both ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium heat and allow to simmer until the melting berries turn into a thin syrupy mixture.
Coconut Whipped Cream
1 14-can full fat coconut cream (the kind that separates out)
1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon agave nectar
Place a metal bowl and the beaters for your electric mixer in the freezer. Open the can of coconut milk and place in the refrigerator until the solid part of the coconut milk solidifies a bit more and is easier to skim out of the can.
After about 10 minutes remove the coconut milk from the fridge and place the solid mass floating on the top of the can in the frosty bowl that was in the freezer, leaving behind the liquid part of the coconut milk to use for other purposes. Add the coconut oil and agave nectar to the coconut milk and return the bowl to the freezer until the mixture becomes mostly solid but not frozen through. This will take awhile, probably between 30 to 90 minutes. Check it often.
When the coconut mixture is stiff, begin beating the mixture with the cold electric beaters. You will get both some soft peaks and some cold ice creamy textured bits during this process. It wont exactly be "real" whipped cream but its so delicious it wont really matter.
