Pumpkin Seed Butter Cookies

1/2 c pumpkin seed butter
1/4 c ground flax
1/4 c 100% pure maple syrup (or less)
2tsp vanilla
1/2 c brown rice flour
1/4 tsp sea salt

Mix wet then dry ingerdients. Tsp sized drops pressed with palm on cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 mins at 350.

These cookies are safe for just about anyone. Ideally all sugar should be avoided if you have food sensitivities, but maple syrup is used here - it's at least better than cane sugar. These yummy cookies are also nut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, corn-free, egg-free and kid-friendly.

Darth Vader Dip

With trepidation I tried to plan ahead this week for lunches for the 2010 school year. Inspired by Gillian McKeith's lunch ideas, and my kids' love for hummus and dips in general, I've created some dips that are safe for nut-free schools, and should work for most food sensitive kids.

Thinly slice 2 types of raw vegtables your kids like (french fry shape is good).

Some options are:
-carrots
-red peppers
-yellow peppers
-orange peppers
-cucumber
-cherry tomatoes
-celery

Darth Vader (or Witch, or Bat Man) Dip
3/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/8-1/4 cup water
1 can black beans
freshly squeezed juice from 1/2 lime
dash of salt

Raw Seed Dip - General
3/4 cup of seeds (examples: sunflower, pumpkin, sesame).
1/8-1/4 cup of water
1 can beans (examples: white beans, black beans, chickpeas)
juice of 1/2 lemon or lime
dash of salt

In food processor make paste of seeds and water, then add beans and citrus. Then salt to taste. You can add garlic if they like or can tolerate it. Skip the lemon or lime juice if it's not tolerable. Herbs are a nice thing to add too - but I have to be careful not to put too many adult-like flavors in there - my kids like it bland.

USE RAW SEEDS because they are far more nutritious than roasted.

In addition to creating fun names for your dips, get an interesting container. I found some great ceramic containers with plastic lids at my Asian market, but you can make something cool out of small Pyrex containers with special paint pens from an art store. Let the kids decorate their own or make that Darth Vader Pyrex yourself and surprise them!

The Cupcake Conundrum

Today someone brought in cupcakes for their daughter's birthday at my kids' summer camp. Usually, if I'm aware of a birthday, I send along super-fab cupcakes that make my kids feel good and everyone wins. In this case I didn't have notice so instead they ate from my stash when we got home. I make these up ahead of time and freeze them for situations just like this one. It's suitable for just about anyone with food intolerances.

1 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/3 cup unsweetened chocolate powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup oil

Preheat oven to 350 F. Add a small amount of oil to each muffin tin and place in the oven while it's preheating for a few minutes. Mix dry ingredients first, then add the wet and mix until just mixed. Bake for 10 minutes (baking times may vary depending on your oven). The batter will puff up then collapse near the end or after removed. Do not over bake. The toothpick test will come out wet, but don't worry. These are moist and chewy.

For icing, just mix together palm shortening with unsweetened chocolate powder and some agave nectar. Wait for the cupcakes to completely cool before icing.

You can substitute just about any ingredient. Amaranth also works well in place of buckwheat. Corn or arrowroot will work in place of tapioca flour. If anyone is allergic to chocolate, try carob powder. Also the nectar can be substituted with thawed apple juice concentrate, maple syrup or brown rice syrup.

I created this recipe after being inspired by a carob brownie recipe I found in "allergy and celiac diets with ease" by Nicolette M. Dumke