Flax Meal Muffins and Dairy Free Tips

Chelsie's Cinnamon Cranberry Flax Muffins

The last few baking recipes haven't turned out that well, but this one did. I made a few changes. I used dried cranberries instead of fresh. I was afraid to use 3 tablespoons of cinnamon so I only used 1. 1t was good I could taste the cinnamon. I used stevia instead of the sugar-free syrup along with water as she suggested. I didn't have an orange to grate so I left that out, but it sounds like it would be a nice addition. I'm finding I like things with flax meal, it has a nice flavor. The coconut flour so far has not been a hit with me.

Flax seed meal can also be used as an egg replacer. You just mix 1 tabs. of flax meal with 3 tabs. of water and mix until it become gelatinous to replace 1 egg.

Gluten-free and grain-free are not always the same thing. All things grain-free should be gluten-free, but gluten-free is not necessarily grain-free. Grain-free baking uses almond flour, coconut flour, flax meal or soy flour. There are also other nut flours and you can make your own.

Vegan has become my new best friend since I figured out that it is dairy free. So now when I see something labeled as vegan I know it will be dairy free.

Milk replacers are almond milk, soy milk, rice milk and coconut milk. I haven't tried the cheeses except for the one I mention below. Most of them are made from soy and aren't very good. At least that is what I've heard.

I haven't found a replacement for sour cream yet.

You're suppose to be able to replace buttermilk with soy milk and lemon juice or vinegar 2 tabs. to 1 cup.

Yogurt your can buy coconut or soy versions.

I replace butter with coconut oil or a faux butter called Earth Balance.

Cashew cream is a replacement for cream and canned coconut milk or cream can be whipped. I haven't tried these but my dd has. You make cashew cream by blending cashews and water. I'm lucky both my dd and a friend of hers have experimented with a lot of this already. Here's a link for the whipped coconut cream and the cashew cream.

My dd got me a faux cream cheese at Trader Joe's that is pretty good. It's made out of coconut oil, it does have soy in it which some people are allergic to.

The About.com site has lots of information on different kinds of diets. It's a good source of information, this recipe came from the low carb diets section. If you follow it you can get to other info. There is a blog and
you can also subscribe to newsletters with recipes and info. I also get a dairy-free one and I'm sure they have gluten-free.

Linda

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