Honey Puffed Grain and Seed Squares and a personal challenge

I am embarking on a culinary adventure/challenge that I never thought I would be embarking on. It all started the other day, when I went to see a naturopath for the first time. After her in-depth assessment of my overall health, she suggested it might be a good idea for me to do a two week "cleansing diet". The purpose of this diet is to see if some minor health problems clear up if I cut out refined sugar, gluten and dairy....my three favourite food groups! I have always been very sceptical (even bordering on critical) of people who jump on the fat-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free bandwagons, unless they have actual allergies. It always seems so extreme, and besides, many of these things (minus the refined sugar) are so healthy! The first question I asked was whether I can (permanently) re-introduce these foods afterwards, even if my symptoms clear up. Her answer was yes, which for me was huge. I wouldn't even be willing to try this is if meant I could never go back to gluten and dairy! Plus, it's not like I have severe reactions to these foods. I am interested, however, to see how my body reacts without them. So starting Monday (after a dual birthday party for which I made two cakes), I will give it a try. I'm looking at it as an interesting culinary project and a personal challenge that way I can have fun with it and try some new ingredients and recipes that I might not have thought of otherwise.

I came up with these really yummy puffed millet and quinoa squares last night, and think they will be a good sweet fix for me, because I certainly can't get very far through a day without something sweet (no pun intended for those of you who get that reference). I will be posting some recipes over the next two weeks, so stay tuned for some (hopefully) delicious, gluten, dairy and sugar-free recipes!

Ingredients

1 cup Liquid Honey

¼ cup Pure Almond Butter

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 tsp Salt

2 cups Puffed Millet

1 cup Puffed Quinoa

1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds

1 Tbsp Poppy Seeds

1 Tbsp Flax Seeds

2 Tbsp Sunflower Seeds

2 Tbsp Pumpkin Seeds

¼ cup Chopped Almonds

Procedure

Preheat oven to 325 F. Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper.

Put honey, almond butter, salt and vanilla into a medium saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a boil, stirring with a spatula. Remove from heat, pour in remaining ingredients and stir until everything is coated in the honey mixture. Pour into prepared pan and press down with a spatula or with wet hands.

Place in preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat, let cool fully and then cut into squares. Store in an airtight container.

Mandarin Champagne Jelly

Christmas has come and gone once again. So much preparation, planning, shopping, baking, cooking, wrapping, and in one glorious, food-filled day, it's over. This year I had bronchitis to tend with while I celebrated, luckily my antibiotics kicked in just in time to allow me to enjoy the day. My Christmas was filled with delicious food from morning until late at night, family and friends and some lovely gifts, given and received. But this post, of course, is all about the food.

Usually, I plan more elaborate and rich Christmas desserts like cheesecakes, tortes and ice creams, but this year I wanted something a little more refreshing, and seeing as my brother and A were coming to our place for not only their second dinner of the night but their fifth meal of the day (!), I didn't want to make their last bite of the night painful. I had been watching Jamie's Christmas shows over the past few weeks, and one of his desserts appealed to me more than the others, Clementine Jelly. The only thing is, I'm not a huge fan of gelatine. I'm not going to go vegan on you, don't worry, and I'm not sworn off gelatine entirely, it has it's place, I just have a hard time getting past that very wet-dog/barnyard-y smell it releases when it's soaking. I've been wanting to try cooking with agar agar for a while anyways, so I thought I'd take Jamie's idea and make it my own. I also liked the thought of incorporating some champagne, to make it feel a little more grown up and festive and hopefully a bit bubbly. The result? A light, refreshing, delicious, and mildly bubbly, post-feast treat.

Mandarin Champagne Jelly

3 cups mandarin orange juice, freshly squeezed (I didn't count, but it was about half a box of Chinese mandarins)

1 cup champagne (Ok, I used sparkling wine)

2 tsp agar agar powder

pomegranate seeds for serving

Put the juice (and pulp) into a saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle the agar agar over top and whisk in. Bring to a gentle simmer, whisking, for about 5 minutes, until the agar agar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes while you decide what glasses you want to serve the jelly in. Pour the champagne over the warm mandarin juice and give a gentle whisk. Pour into glasses, (you can strain it into the glasses if you like. I only did this for one person, not naming names) cover and pop into the fridge to set for about an hour, they don't take long to set. I made mine the day before and they were perfect and made my life much easier on Christmas day! Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds before serving. Serves 6-8 depending on the size of your glasses.