Friday Five: Allergy Safe Holiday Cookies

To be honest I used to be a bit uncomfortable with the idea of a cookie exchange. Swapping baked goods without a lot of detail on them (or the people made them) doesn't create the best picture in my head. Then I went to one. As a busy adult with work, shopping, holiday parties and general life errands  finding a weekend to bake dozens of cookies all of different varieties with quite difficult. Being able to combine cooking and socializing in one event is fantastic AND you can walk away with as many bake good varieties as you like!

With my own {and lots of others} food allergies I've been searching for a crowd pleaser for my upcoming Junior League cookie exchange. Here are 5 of the most delicious looking gluten and dairy free options!

Caramel Glazed Donuts from Against All Grain

Gingerbread Men from Deliciously Ella

Coconut Meringue Nests by Simply Gluten Free 

Gluten-Free Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies from Gluten Free on a Shoe String

The frosting has butter in it, but I found this Dairy-Free Recipe

Peppermint Chocolate Macaroons from Against All Grain

Dairy & Grain Free Berry Tart {speed version}!

This year I was FINALLY able to make it to Life As Griki's 4th of July BBQ. With my new dairy intolerance and Kingsley's food allergies I knew this was the perfect opportunity to try Against All Grain's Dairy-Free - Grain Free Berry Tart!

I woke up Saturday morning excited to head out to the farmers market to pick up some fresh berries and swing by Whole Foods for the extra supplies. I pulled open the recipe page and freaked out that not only did the custard need to 'set' for 5 hours, but the room-temperature, canned coconut milk needed to be refrigerated for the cream to separate. I had already made plans to go to the gym and there was only 4 hours until I had to leave for the party. 

I figured/hoped that if I went shopping now, mixed up the custard and let it sit in the freezer with the coconut milk while I went to the gym and showered. I should have SOMETHING to work with. If the custard was a little liquid-y...well, thats whats plates are for. I do have to say it turned out beautiful and absolutely delicious. I won't lie, I may have eaten some left over coconut cream with some cinnamon sprinkled on it as a snack. 

Only tweak I made to the recipe was instead of adding water to the gelatin I just stirred it into the boiling custard mixture. 

                                         

                   

Friday Five {July 4th Edition}

The 4th of July is my second favorite holiday! The weather is usually nice, there is lots of delicious summer produce for healthy treats, you can dress up festively and not look completely rediculous annd, on top of it, there are lots of beautiful, glittery, explosions!! I cannot wait to spend the weekend poolside and catching up with friends. Here are some things I'm incorporating into my celebration this year....okay maybe not the DIY sparklers, but I plan on at least purchasing some.

1. This Paleo Friendly, Berry Tart!

2. These Classic Jack's in Red and White {And also on sale!}

3. Make your own Sparklers!!

4. Beaded Fringe Earrings! I wish my neck was long enough to pull them off!

5. With the beautiful weather I can't wait to spend today by this pool!

Paleo-ish Strong!

I've been doing "paleo" for about 2 whole months now. I say "paleo" because I sometimes eat gluten/aka delicious carbs, but have been trying to stick to veggies, protein and some fruit 98% of the time. Also, if I do eat junk I make sure I know every word on the ingredients list....and yes, I technically know what high fructose corn syrup is, but I stay away :).

I've been feeling great! I went a little hard core the 2 weeks before my Junior League event and did zero carbs or sugar. It was hard, but I was feeling great. After 2 weeks of being amazing at eating healthy and working out, I decided I could indulge on a scone or cookie....or bag of milanos here and there :)

That was last week and I crashed. Hard. Core. I was either exhausted or so amped up on sugar that I couldn't focus. I never knew what I wanted to eat. My tummy was constantly full, yet my head was constantly hungry (carb addiction). This used to be a normal feeling for me and seeing the differences really made me see how much better I feel focusing on Paleo and I'm looking forward to continuing it.


I need to figure out how though. I no longer live DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET from a grocery store. What's this 'meal planning' business people do?