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Meal Plans Week of 8-18-13

August really needs to slow down! I’m not quite ready for school and activities to start. Only 2 more weeks!!

I haven’t been quite as busy in the kitchen lately…which is why I didn’t post all last week. I just wasn’t up for it. We had busy days, and my body is so worn out during this healing process. I’m not sure what this week will bring since we will be plenty busy again. My plan is to do enough to keep a few snacks on hand, but not stress myself. And when school starts I can do my baking when Rebecca is at school and Abram is napping.

This week we have church, grocery shopping, a doctor’s appointment for me to finally get my thyroid results, farmer’s market, dance/gymnastics camp, milk pick up, a meeting at church about food/snacks, an outing with other couples from our church (big thanks to my parents for coming to take care of the kids!) and some friends from church visiting (they used to live in our house).

I would like to make another batch of zucchini muffins this week (watch for the recipe!), gf graham crackers, and some safe snacks for myself. I also need to make a dish to pass for our outing. And some kind of dessert for our guests on Saturday. I’m starting to freeze corn (did about a dozen ears last week). Soon I need to can peaches and spaghetti sauce (we’re just starting to get tomatoes from our garden).

Meal planning was tough this week since I need a prep ahead meal almost every day. I think I came up with something acceptable for most days. The hard part is that Abram won’t eat things like casseroles and soups where the food is mixed together. I hope I can figure out how to feed him  healthy foods along side the other stuff we’re having.

I definitely think I’m making progress on healing. But that doesn’t mean I feel good 😛  I’m in the middle of the really hard part. And I never do anything simply. I go for it all…trying to heal from disordered eating, obsessive compulsive disorder and a miscarriage all at once. May as well. It’s a painful process with fluid retention/swelling, weight gain, aching joints and muscles, headaches, acne, hair falling out, digestive upset. It’s very tough mentally as well. But I’m trying to keep my focus on how good I’ll feel when this is all over and keep pushing myself to eat well and take care of my body.

Friday night I managed to get almost 9 hours of sleep and push myself a little more on sleeping in. At the beginning of the year I was getting up at 4 am ever day. Yesterday I slept until 6:30. That’s a big step for me. OCD is a nasty thing, but I’m trying hard to overcome it. And that extra rest was great for my body. It meant that I felt rotten on Saturday since the rest spurred on more healing. But that’s a good thing.

I hope at some point I can do an update post with good news about healing and being past this phase. For now this is where I’m at. It could be another month or two before my body starts to balance out again. I’m trusting that God will guide me through it and that He has great plans for me.

I hope you have a healthy and happy week. Eet Smakelijk!

***MENU***

S (prep lunch, church, prep smoothies, make gf graham crackers, prep scones)
  B – oatmeal w/ peach topping
  L – cp round steak, baked sweet potatoes, beans
  D – scrambled eggs, bacon, roasted veggies, fruit, toast

M (bake scones, Meijer, Dr. A., soak flour)
  B – smoothie, scones
  D – (prep ahead) – cp honey mustard chicken and rice

T (FM, prep dinner, bake muffins, D/G, soak flour)
  B – yogurt, granola, fruit
  D – (prep ahead) – pea soup, chocolate zucchini muffins

W (make gf bars, milk)
  B – smoothie, scones
  D – pan seared salmon, baked potatoes, broccoli w/ cheese sauce bacon, toast, broccoli

Th (church mtg, D/G)
  B – hard boiled egg, toast yogurt, scone
  D – (prep ahead) – cp stuffed peppers and zucchini, fruit cp tator tot casserole, applesauce

F (clean, make fruit salad, tweeners)
  B – yogurt, granola, fruit
  D – at event, bring fruit salad / meal for parents and kids…salad, bread, cheese, grapes, peas, pb honey sandwiches

S (sleep, bake treats, friends)
  B – TBD
  D – grill TBD

Meal Plans Week of 8-11-13

Mid August already?? I can’t believe school starts in just a few weeks. I love the lazy days of summer. But I also think the whole family could use a little more routine. But until then we’re trying to have some fun.

Last week was very busy. I had to scrap quite a few baking projects. But it was also a good week. I’ll explain more below.

This week will be busy as well. We have church today. Tomorrow we are going to Michigan’s Adventure! We try to go every summer. Rebecca is very excited. Hopefully Abram will want to ride something…he’s not really a big fan of swings, rides, etc.

This week Rebecca still has her dance/gymnastics class. We have to go to the farmer’s market. We have to stop by a local dance studio to sign Rebecca up for fall classes. Rebecca has a speech therapy appointment. I have a MomBreak retreat one evening. And we’re going to a family fun event at my husband’s work.

I have a list about a mile long of things I need to do in the kitchen. But not much time. So we’ll see what I get to. Some potentials are gf graham crackers, pesto, gf butter crackers, gf “oreos”, an appetizer for my retreat (no idea what that will be yet), granola and toothpaste. I have a ton of zucchini to deal with. So I’m hoping to freeze some of it, use some in a casserole and make muffins. I also have to make kefir and smoothies.

On to the good stuff. I think I’m finally (FINALLY!!) making some true progress on healing. I still have a lot of swelling/puffiness that I hope will gradually start to go down now (it would be nice if my wedding ring wasn’t so tight! :P). My acne is horrible. I know my body is trying to get a lot of junk out. But I’m thankful to at least be at this point. To help with the process I’m going to (again finally!) do a liver cleanse this week. I’ll probably start that on Tuesday.

I got my blood work results last week. And for once it was some good news!! No autoimmune issues. I’m gradually learning that my body is quite healthy and capable of full healing. I don’t have any major underlying diseases or conditions. I just need to give my body proper rest, nutrition and exercise. I need to find a good balance of everything and let go of my stress/worries/anxiety. And I’m already working on ways to make this happen.

One more good thing last week…my husband and I finally got to celebrate our 10th anniversary with a rare night out. We went to an awesome restaurant (I’ll post a little review and pics soon) and to the movies. It was nice to have a chance to sit together and talk through some of the stuff going on in our lives. We discussed some more steps towards healing both for myself and for our whole family. I’ll be doing some research on water filters and chiropractors now 🙂

And worth a mention is that Rebecca lost her 3rd tooth. The process was quite difficult since it really spiked her anxiety. But we are so glad it finally came out. She has three more that are loose. We’ll see how long those take to come out.

On to the menu. Nothing fancy this week. And a few uncertain meals since I’m not quite sure when we’ll be home from some events. I’ll fill it in as the week goes on. Enjoy your week. Eet smakelijk!

***MENU***

S (freeze zucchini, prep lunch, church, prep smoothies, soak flour)
  B – pancakes, fruit salad, bacon
  L – cp chicken meatballs, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas
  D – BLTs, beans, peaches w/ yogurt

M (make zucchini muffins, MA)
  B – smoothie, zucchini muffins
  L – picnic – balogna (locally made) sandwiches, yogurt, fruit, olives, carrot sticks, chips, lemonade
  D – ? eggs?

T (make chocolate cookies, make granola, FM, dance sign up, prep dinner, D/G)
  B – yogurt, granola, fruit
  D – (prep ahead) – cp 7 layer dinner

W (make pesto, freeze corn, make hot fudge make oreos, SP)
  B – smoothie, granola bar
  D – zucchini pesto casserole, corn on the cob, fruit salad

Th (make crackers, boil eggs, make brownies, prep dinner, D/G, MB)
  B – hard boiled egg, toast
  D – (prep ahead) – cp beef vegetable soup, crackers w/ cheese

F (make toothpaste, work party)
  B – toast w/ almond butter, fruit
  D – at party – bring supplemental food

S (sleep, make “oreos”)
  B – oatmeal w/ fruit
  D – grill TBD

Soaked Gluten Free Blueberry Pie

Over the course of the last week I have made two blueberry pies. And the second one is almost gone already! I won’t say who ate most of it…

I will say that the whole family loves blueberry pie! It’s been a wonderful treat for all of us.

I’ve made three gluten free pies so far this summer and have been experimenting with crust. My latest version was quite good. Plus it is soaked for easier digestion.

Gluten free crust can be tricky because it doesn’t hold together as well as a wheat crust when you roll it. But I worked around that by rolling the dough onto wax paper and then just laying the whole thing on top of the pie. It worked really well! This crust recipe will work for any kind of pie, quiche, etc.


I prepared the dough earlier in the day to let it start soaking. Then I rolled the dough/put the bottom crust in the pan in the evening and assembled the rest of the ingredients. The next morning I had a blueberry pie in the oven in less than 10 minutes!

Blueberry pie is great plain or topped with ice cream or whipped cream. I’ve even been enjoying cutting it up into little pieces and mixing it into yogurt for a delicious breakfast or lunch.

I have to give credit to my mom – the original blueberry pie recipe is hers. I’ve just modified it a bit to make it gluten free.

Blueberry is my absolute favorite flavor of pie. And I’m so thankful I can still enjoy this amazing summer treat with fresh Michigan blueberries.

Soaked Gluten Free Blueberry Pie
makes 1 pie

CRUST:

1 cup amaranth flour* (or sorghum or teff)
1 cup tapioca flour*
1/3 cup white rice flour*
1 Tbsp. organic cane sugar
1/2 tsp. sea salt*
1 tsp. cream of tartar (or flaxseed)
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. butter, palm shortening or lard (or any combination – I used butter and shortening)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice or yogurt
4 Tbsp. water

In a food processor (or bowl – you can do it by hand, it’s just harder) combine the flour, sugar, salt, cream of tartar and 1/4 cup of fat. Pulse until crumbly. Add the remaining fat and pulse until combined. Add the soaking agent and water. Blend until a dough forms. If the dough is still crumbly gradually add more water.

Gather all of the dough into a ball. At this point you can cover it and refrigerate it until ready to use. Or you can split it in half and roll it out. Place one half in the bottom of a 9″ pie plate (I just pressed the bottom half into the pan). Cover and refrigerate. Roll the 2nd half of the dough onto wax paper until it is large enough to cover the pie. Cover it with a second piece of wax paper and refrigerate.

Let the dough soak (either as a ball or rolled out) for 7-24 hours. If soaking the dough as a ball, after soaking split it in half and roll out as instructed above. You might have to knead the dough a few times when it’s cold to prevent crumbling.

Preparation of all components the night before and simple baking in the morning.

PIE:

4 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (or frozen, thawed)
1 cup organic cane sugar, sucanat or coconut sugar*
2 tsp. gelatin (optional – helps the filling to gel)
6 Tbsp. tapioca flour OR 4 Tbsp. arrowroot OR 3 Tbsp. tapioca flour + 2 Tbsp. arrowroot
1/8 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Prepare the pie crust (bottom crust in pan/top crust rolled out). Heat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Combine the filling ingredients. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust. Top with the remaining crust. Flute/seal the edges. Cut slits into the top of the crust.

Bake the pie at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 (leave the pie in the oven) and bake for another 35 – 40 minutes, until the the crust is golden and crisp.

Allow the pie to cool and set completely before serving.

Store covered in the refrigerator.

*These are affiliate links. It will not change the cost for you if you buy through the link, but I will get a small commission. It helps me earn a small amount to keep putting in the time and effort to do what I do 🙂
 

Soaked Gluten Free Blueberry Pie Bars

I LOVE blueberry pie. And we’ve been eating quite a bit of it lately. But I don’t always have time to make a full pie when the craving hits.

So I came up with blueberry pie bars! They are easy to make. And easier to eat than a piece of pie. A great snack or breakfast. They have all the flavors of a pie without the effort of making a pie.

These bars are soaked, gluten free, egg free, nut free, corn free and can be dairy free. Very allergen friendly and easy on the tummy.
There is no way to replace a real blueberry pie. But these blueberry pie bars come pretty close.
Soaked Gluten Free Blueberry Pie Bars
makes 16 bars
1 1/2 cups amaranth flour*
1/2 cup tapioca flour*
1/4 cup coconut flour*
1/3 cup coconut oil* (melted)
1/3 cup water + lemon juice (1 Tbsp.)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
4 Tbsp. organic cane sugar, sucanat or coconut sugar*
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt*
1 tsp. cream of tartar (optional – it helps bind things together)
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. organic cane sugar, sucanat or coconut sugar
1 Tbsp. butter or coconut oil
1 Tbsp. tapioca flour
Combine the flours, coconut oil and lemon water. Cover and let sit 7-24 hours.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8″ or 9″ square baking dish.
Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, soda, salt, cream of tartar and honey to the soaked flour. Mix well with a hand or stand mixer until combined (this can take a little work – make sure it is well mixed and will stick together when pinched with your fingers).
Press the dough into the prepared pan. Pour the blueberries on top and gently press them part way into the dough.
Combine the cinnamon, sugar, butter and tapioca flour. Sprinkle over the blueberries.
Bake 25 – 30 minutes, until golden and baked through. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.
These will hold up better in the refrigerator. Store in a sealed container.

*These are affiliate links. It will not change the cost for you if you buy through the link, but I will get a small commission. It helps me earn a small amount to keep putting in the time and effort to do what I do 🙂

Meal Plans Week of 8-4-13

August is in full swing. And this week will feel more like our fall routine than summer. It was nice to have some down time last week (especially since both kids had colds). And the kids had fun just being silly. But it’s time to get going now.

I have an appointment with my psychologist. Definitely NEED that 😛  Rebecca has Spanish camp every morning this week. She also has gymnastics/dance camp a couple afternoons. We have our usual trip to the farmer’s market and a trip to the grocery store. And Justin and I FINALLY get to go on a date and celebrate our 10th anniversary. We have no idea what we’re doing yet, but at least we were able to find a baby-sitter. If time allows I need to stop over to see my grandparents. I might also finally do my blood work for hormones and thyroid.

I think I have about 50 things I want to do in the kitchen this week. It seems that all of our homemade gluten free snacks have been used up at the same time. The fresh produce keeps coming as well. I have another (yes another…we ate the last one in 2 days :P) blueberry pie in the oven right now. And we picked about 11 lbs. of blueberries yesterday that I have to deal with. I’d like to make ice cream, gluten free graham crackers, gluten free crackers/wheat thins, pesto (we’ve got lots of basil to use), zucchini bread, mayo, muesli and some gluten free bars for myself. I might be freezing beans, peppers and zucchini as well. Maybe the golden grahams and goldfish will have to wait until next week.

I think I’m FINALLY starting to recover physically. Now I need my body to get back in balance. I still have a lot of aches and pains and odd things going on as hormones fluctuate and my body heals. I might do a liver cleanse this week (was going to do it last week, but my body wasn’t ready) after my blood work.

I’m so excited to be able to exercise a bit more again. It’s nothing major since I’m pretty out of shape now. 10 years ago I could run 5 miles no problem. Right now it’s a hard workout if I make it one mile at a fairly slow pace 😛  But that’s ok. It feels good just to be using my muscles again. I’m taking the slow and steady approach to fitness and health now. I don’t need to go from nothing to running a marathon over night. I’m trying to do some stretching/yoga and some weights. Keep things balanced. And make sure I’m eating enough to compensate.

I’m also starting a little exposure therapy for my OCD. I HATE it. But I know it’s what I need to keep healing mentally…and it will also impact my physical health. So yesterday I slept in an extra  hour. My goal is to sleep a little later each Saturday and work my way out of my comfort zone. For the last couple years I got up at 4 am every day. For the last 6 months I’ve changed that to 5 am. Yesterday I pushed it to 6 am. It was nice to get a full 8 hours of sleep. Although it was actually tough to sleep until 6 since my body is not used to it. We’ll see how far I go this Saturday. I’ll probably start with just 10 or 15 minute increments.

So, that’s where I’m at. Slow and steady wins the race, right? I’m trying not to be too impatient. I just want to feel “normal” again. But I know I can’t go to extremes anymore. So I’m trying to be gracious with myself and accept where I’m at each day and love myself. I’m taking little steps each day that will hopefully bring long term success and healing.

On to the menu. We need a lot of prep ahead meals this week with our busy schedule. I hope it’s a fun week. Eet smakelijk!

***MENU***

S (prep lunch, bake pie, church, prep smoothies, make mayo, make gummies, soak flour)
  B – peach yogurt, granola
  L – cp salsa chicken, rice
  D – fried eggs, toast w/ jam, peas, fresh fruit

M (make zucchini bread, prep casserole, SC, BW?, Dr. V, soak flour)
  B – smoothie, zucchini bread
  D – (prep ahead) – TBD casserole

T (prep breakfast, make graham crackers, SC, FM, prep dinner, D/G)
  B – baked apples, yogurt, nuts
  D – (prep ahead) – cp meatloaf, baked potatoes, carrots

W (make gf crackers, SC, Meijer, freeze blueberries)
  B – smoothie, zucchini bread
  D – salmon cakes, buttered gf noodles, squash

Th (skim cream, freeze beans, make ice cream, SC, prep dinner, D/G, make muesli, soak flour)
  B – zucchini bread, peach, almonds
  D – (prep ahead) – cp roasted chicken legs, rice, broccoli

F (make bars, SC, DN)
  B – muesli w/ milk
  D – out to eat / TBD simple foods for kids

S (sleep)
  B – TBD
  D – pancakes, bacon, peas, fruit

Soaked Gluten Free Blueberry Buckle

It’s blueberry season! Time for another blueberry recipe. Growing up my mom made blueberry buckle often when we had fresh blueberries.

This year I decided to recreate  her recipe in a gluten free form. This was absolutely delicious. I just finished the last little bit this morning. It didn’t last long.

I prepared all of the ingredients in the evening. Then in the morning it only took minutes to get it in the oven for a warm breakfast.

Soaked gluten free grains and cooked fruit are quite easy on the gut. So it’s a great way to start the day. Or you could serve it for dessert. Top it with a little ice cream. A wonderful treat.


Soaked Gluten Free Blueberry Buckle

1/2 cup white rice flour*
1/2 cup tapioca flour*
1/2 cup amaranth flour*
1/2 cup soaking liquid (yogurt, kefir, buttermilk, milk + vineger or water + lemon juice)

3/4 cups organic cane sugar, sucanat or coconut sugar*
1/4 cup palm shortening* or butter, softened
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt*
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar (optional)
2 cups blueberries

1/2 cup organic cane sugar, sucanat or coconut sugar
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened (coconut oil or palm shortening would also work)

Combine the flours and soaking liquid. Cover and let soak 7-24 hours.

If desired combine the sugar, shortening, soda, salt and cream of tartar and combine the sugar, tapioca flour, cinnamon and butter. Cover and set aside until ready to bake.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Add the sugar, shortening, egg, soda, salt and cream of tartar to the soaking mixture. Mix well until any lumps are removed, 1-2 minutes (a hand mixer or stand mixer works well for this). Fold in the blueberries.

Pour the batter into a greased 8×10 or 7×11 pan (a 9×13 pan will work, the cake will just be a little thinner).

Mix the sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter. Sprinkle over the batter.

Bake for 30 – 35 minutes.

*These are affiliate links. It will not change the cost for you if you buy through the link, but I will get a small commission. It helps me earn a small amount to keep putting in the time and effort to do what I do 🙂

Goals of the Month – August 2013

Summer needs to slow down! We have one more month until the hustle and bustle of fall begins. My main goals for this month are to keep healing and to have fun. It will be a pretty busy month, though. Here is the breakdown of a few specific goals.

1. Writing – Brainstorm ideas for the Real Food and Health Nov/Dec issue (Christmas already? :P) and write for Grand Rapids Natural Living.

2. Healing – I need to finally start taking an HCI supplement to help with digestion so I’m getting the most out of my food.

I am going to take a bold leap for me and try to start sleeping later some days. This will challenge my OCD big time! And could cause some pretty severe anxiety. But I won’t know unless I try. Until now I’ve been too scared to try. But I want to take that step. As much as I hate it it’s time for exposure therapy. It’s the only way I’m going to make the progress I need.

I want to start exercising regularly again. Which means I have to be sure I’m eating enough. So I will be checking calories once in a while to be sure I’m on track. Nothing obsessive. Just a check here and there. And listen to my body.


3. Food preservation – I need to keep working on beans and zucchini. I would also like to can peaches. And of course I’ll be baking up a storm as usual.

4. Mommy-Daughter date – Rebecca and I will be getting our yearly before school hair cuts.

5. Husband-Wife date – Justin and I will be going out to celebrate our anniversary (finally) and go to an event with other couples from church.

6. Acceptance – This is a big one for me right now. I guess it has been the whole year…which is why God laid it on my heart to focus on this. I’m learning to accept loss. I’m learning to accept change. I’m learning to accept a time of waiting. I’m learning to accept where I’m at each day. I’m learning to accept my physical body. I’m learning to accept who God made me to be. I’m learning to accept that I’m not in control.

Meal Plans Week of 7-28-13

I totally dropped the ball on meal plans this week. I was so preoccupied with preserving and packing and parties…I completely forgot to plan any meals until right now. So we’ll see what I can quickly come up with on this chilly July morning in Wisconsin. I guess it’s a good thing I ended up getting up earlier than usual.

We did have a lovely weekend visiting my in-law’s. It’s always relaxing to spend time on the farm, be outside, see the animals, play in the hay, etc. Hopefully our drive home today will go smoothly.

Last week was busy and stressful. Packing is definitely not my favorite thing to do. And impending travel makes me anxious too. Once we’re on the road I do ok. But leading up to it is not good. So I was pretty stressed last week. Hopefully this week will be a little more normal.

We do have a lot to do this week. I would like to go blueberry picking since we couldn’t go last week. I also need to do some bloodwork for hormones and thyroid. I might visit my grandparents. We also have our usual trip to the library and farmer’s market (they are at the same place). This is also my week for milk pick up. We’ll see if we have time for some fun outings like the park or the zoo.

I hope to be busy in the kitchen with blueberries. Lots of freezing. Maybe blueberry topping. DEFINITELY a pie! Maybe blueberry buckle. Maybe a blueberry cake. I’ll be making another batch of ice cream this week. We’re out of plain vanilla, so I’ll probably do that. Nothing fancy. I’m still preserving beans and zucchini. I would also like to assess my pantry and make sure I’m ready to start canning. Peaches will be ready before I know it. And I want to can a bunch again this year. If time allows I need to rearrange my freezer. I just keep jamming things in. I’m running out of room, and I have a bunch of stuff in there that needs to be tossed or used up. After our trip I’m almost totally out of safe snacks for myself. So at some point I need to restock those as well.

Not a whole lot to say about myself. My recovery process is taking a lot longer than I expected. So I’m still trying to not do too much (if that’s possible). I might do a liver cleanse this week to try to flush out old hormones. I hope by this time next week I’m doing better and can start feeling back to normal. I’m still working on acceptance…of my body the way it is now. I think in the long run I’ll be much healthier. But it’s hard to have a drastic change over night.

On to the menu. I’m going for simple, summer foods. Maybe some grilling to keep me out of the kitchen too much 😛  Sorry about the lack of photos. I’ll come back and add some when we get home.
________________________
S (church, travel)
  B – yogurt, fruit (M/R/A), eggs, coffee cake (J)
  L – in car
  D – take out or something easy at home (depends when we get home)

M (make ice cream, bloodwork, blueberry picking?, prep smoothies, soak flour)
  B – yogurt, fruit, granola (J/R/A), pumpkin, fried duck egg (M)
  D – grilled brats/hot dogs, sweet potato fries, broccoli

T (make soaked gf blueberry buckle, prep dinner, library, FM, bake bread?)
  B – smoothie, blueberry buckle
  D – cp pea soup, soaked bread

W (freeze blueberries, milk, soak flour)
  B – yogurt, toast w/ pb (J/R/A), gm yogurt, fruit, soaked bar (M)
  D – (Justin out to eat?) – grilled cheese, peas, fruit

Th (make blueberry pie)
  B – smoothie, blueberry buckle
  D – honey herb chicken, baked potatoes, beans

F (visit Grandma?)
  B – egg puff, toast (J/R/A), yogurt, TBD (M)
  D – sloppy joes, chips, squash

S (bake cake?)
  B – TBD
  D – grilled pork chops, grilled peaches w/ cream, seasoned rice, peas

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream (gluten free, egg free, nut free, corn free)

What’s that? More ice cream? Yep. My all time favorite food. Especially in the summer. And this flavor certainly does not disappoint!

Fresh Michigan blueberries, real sour cream, soaked gluten free graham crackers. The perfect combination for a mid-summer treat.

This ice cream is very easy to make. And it tastes like cheesecake in ice cream form. And what’s not to love about fresh, juicy blueberries? They are at their peak right now in Michigan, and they are my favorite fruit. So be prepared for some blueberry recipes on the blog.

Blueberries. Cheesecake. Ice cream. Enough said. You’re going to love it. No artificial flavor or color. Just pure blueberry joy.

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

2 cups cream (preferably raw, NOT ultra-pasteurized)
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 – 2/3 cup blueberries
1 Tbsp. tapioca flour* or arrowroot (optional)
2 tsp. organic vanilla
1/2 cup organic cane sugar, honey or maple syrup (or any combination)
1-4 egg yolks (optional)

1/4 cup fresh blueberries (optional)
1/2 cup crumbled graham crackers (gluten free, soaked, whole wheat, sourdough)

In a blender combine the cream, sour cream, blueberries, tapioca flour, vanilla, sugar and eggs. Blend until smooth. Taste for sweetness/blueberry flavor and adjust to liking. Process in an ice cream maker according to directions (I use a Kitchen Aid attachment and it takes about 15 minutes).

During the last minute of processing add the blueberries and graham crackers. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer safe container and freeze until firm.

*These are affiliate links. It will not change the cost for you if you buy through the link, but I will get a small commission. It helps me earn a small amount to keep putting in the time and effort to do what I do 🙂