Inside The Polished Apple

Looking for a kid tested, raw food snack?  Here's one easy snack that fits in the gluten free, dairy free category.  (Just watch your quality of chocolate!)  I promise your kid will like one of these bars-they are gobbled up around our house!   Chocolate Fruit Bar Chocolate Fruit Bar 1 cup unsweetened dates 1/3 cup warm water (use to soak fruit for 5-15 min) 1 cup almonds 2 TBSP cocoa 1/4 cup chocolate chips  (dark) 1/4 tsp vanilla pinch of salt Instructions: Soak Fruit in water.  Throw almonds in processor and spin until broken down.  Add rest of dry ingredients & process.  When mixed, add fruit (and water, or drain off the water- it turns out either way).  Process for about 60 seconds.  Press into a loaf pan-easiest if its lined with wax paper.  Chill until hardened then cut into 6 bars or 12 smaller squares.  Oatmeal Raison Bar 1 cup raisons 1/4 cup water 3/4 cup oatmeal (use gluten free if yo...

Our office, Elan Family Wellness Centre, is hosting an event for my CRAVE Business group tomorrow night.  You can come!  And when you see what we're serving, it may persuade you.   All of the registration information is here: CRAVE chat .  The topic is  "Bring on the Goal Setting" with speaker Nadine Nicholson.    " Connect with some of the best and brightest intelligentsia and enhance your network with fabulous new resources!" In keeping with our food challenge this month, I thought the food that we offer should be consistent.  So I came up with what I thought were a good couple of suggestions. Pecan Shortbread Cookies 1/2 c. butter 1/8 tsp stevia 1 TBSP vanilla (I used less) 2 1/2 c. almond flour 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp baking soda 1 c. chopped pecans In stand mixer, beat together butter and stevia.  Add vanilla and mix again. Combine all dry ingredients Combine butter mixture with dry ingredients Use parc...

I have friends dedicating entire days or weekends to baking for the holidays.  I have baked a little and my baking feels schizophrenic. First I baked full on holiday sugar cookies with an icing sugar glaze to donate to our community Christmas dinner. Then came the loaded with sugar, chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.  Also for the above dinner. Then gluten-free, sugar-free pecan chocolate cookies. Back to regular almond biscotti, raison scones, and banana muffins-for our office birthday week.  (Eight years old earlier this month-yay!) Today, we're back to healthy, or at least healthier, with this lovely gluten-free chocolate gingerbread loaf.  It does still have sugar, but lots of other good stuff. I was proud of myself, as I re-found this recipe that I had pinned to Pinterest.  And also proud of myself as ingredients like xanthan gum, almond meal, rice flour, and coconut oil are now regular pantry items.  (ok, no, the almond meal was not in the pa...