Looking for a delicious Halloween snack? Spicy pumpkin seeds tossed in chili powder, olive oil and a touch of salt are a healthy treat during this junk food filled time of year.

These heavily spiced seeds are also great for the change in seasons when everyone seems to be coming down with a cold or sore throat, as chili powder is full of both anti-inflammatory and anti-infectious agents, as well as antioxidants.

If your little ones like chili powder as much as mine (he puts it on everything), they’ll enjoy this quick and easy gluten free snack.

With a bounty of squash and pumpkin this time of year, it is wonderful to harvest the seeds and roast them, which we often do here in my kitchen. This recipe however, uses shelled pumpkin seeds, which I purchased at the health food store. I’m sharing this with you as it is my favorite recipe for spicy roasted pumpkin seeds.

While many people toast pumpkin seeds in the oven, this recipe calls for a cast iron skillet on the stove top. If you don’t have (or want to use a skillet) feel free to experiment and let us know how it goes. As I often say, if you are making changes to a recipe, the only way for me (or you) to find out if your changes work is to actually test them (I don’t have a magic substitution ball at home, I just test a recipe dozens of times until it is exactly the way I want it to be). So don’t be shy, get in the kitchen and experiment!

How do you like to roast your pumpkin seeds? With the shell on? Shell off? What spices do you add when you cook up a roasted pumpkin seed recipe?

More healthy recipes with pumpkin seeds:
-Cranberry Almond Loaf
-Granola
-Multi “Grain” Crackers

The post Chili Roasted Pumpkin Seeds appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

This is my favorite applesauce recipe, I give it out whenever people ask me how to make homemade applesauce. It’s a simple recipe, easy, delicious and healthy too. On top of that? Kids love it –at least mine (and their friends) gobble it down every time we make it.

Another benefit of making applesauce from scratch? It’s an easy and nourishing recipe for children. Mine really get involved in peeling and chopping the apples; we’ve been making apple sauce together to mark the change of seasons (summer moving to fall) since they were toddlers.

Today, September 23, 2011 is the Autumnal Equinox, the first day of fall.

For me, the first day of autumn is about giving thanks for the bounty of the harvest (which is overflowing in my backyard garden at this very moment). It is also about acknowledging the change of seasons and the need to gather together our harvests (think of the squirrel stashing away nuts) and put them away for the colder, less abundant season to come –winter.

I posted this recipe when I first started my website 5 years ago, and I’m re-posting it today for those looking for a family friendly activity to partake in this weekend, honoring the start of autumn.

We will have this simple applesauce recipe when we break our fast at Yom Kippur.

The post How to Make Applesauce appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

I’m kinda obsessed with these deviled eggs, and given that Easter is near, what could be more appropriate? They’re easy to make, full of protein and naturally gluten free to boot. My boys love to chow down on them after school and I like to snack on them all day long. Deviled Eggs are perfectly simple and elegant for a party, and make a great casual everyday type gluten free snack as well.

When I make these, I like to double the recipe below, boiling 10 eggs at night, and then make them the next morning.

Just a quick note, your Deviled Eggs will not look exactly like the ones in the photo above. I shot those when I thought I was done with working on this recipe; however, I kept tweaking it. Basically, if you follow the recipe above, your Deviled eggs will be a lighter yellow and more creamy looking. Hope you enjoy these Deviled Eggs –they’re one of my all time favorite snacks!

More gluten free deviled egg recipes from other food bloggers:
-Mom’s Deviled Eggs from Shirley of Gluten Free Easily
-Mayo-less Deviled Eggs with Capers from Angie of Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free
-Deviled Eggs from Heidi of Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom

The post Deviled Eggs appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

I made my own raw goat cheese from scratch!  The amazing Patrick brought over some raw goat’s milk from one of his farm friends and that’s where it all began…

And now I can say I’m totally digging this homemade goat cheese, it’s deliciously addicting –at least for me.  We’re back from California, hence the previous sentence using words such as “totally digging.”

I had a wonderful time in Los Angeles working with The Almond Board to promote healthy eating.  I also had so much fun meeting so many of you at the book signing at Erewhon!  Finally, hanging with my parents was great and very relaxing.  Many delicious salads were made together and much fresh California fruit was consumed.  Great trip all around!

Here’s my recipe for homemade goat cheese.  Enjoy!

Homemade Goat CheeseNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
Ingredients:
½ gallon goat’s milk (I used raw from a friend of a friend’s farm)
10 grams (2 packs) yogourmet yogurt starter

Special Equipment:
cooking thermometer
yogurt maker
cheese cloth

1. In a large saucepan, heat milk to 110°, stirring constantly
2. Pour milk into a blender, then add yogurt starter and blend on high for 10 seconds
3. Blending the milk removes any clumps that the yogurt starter may form
4. Pour milk into yogourmet yogurt maker and turn machine on
5. Leave yogurt in machine for 12 hours, longer is ok too
6. Line a colander with cheese cloth and place the colander on a bowl
7. Pour yogurt into cheesecloth lined colander and allow to drain for 8 hours in refrigerator
8. Lift cheese cloth off of colander and scrape creamy cheese off onto a plate
9. Transfer creamy cheese into a 2 cup mason jar
10. Serve with Rosemary Crackers

My goat cheese was just a tad less firm than the kind you can buy at the store, though I think if I had strained it longer I could have gotten it more firm.

I’m sure you can make yogurt without all the gadgets I mention above, though you’ll probably need to do an Internet search for some alternative directions –this is my method and the one that I am familiar with.  If anyone else has other methods, feel free to chime in with a comment.

The post Homemade Goat Cheese appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

I love apple sauce in any weather. The thought of turning on the oven to make some right now? Or lighting up the stove? In this heat? Not a good one. What to do? Make raw apple sauce. It’s tart, tangy, refreshing and delicious. On top of that, “uncooking” cuts back on energy consumption. It also keeps the house nice and cool –as cool as it can be on these 90 plus degree days.

It seems as though the heat got to my older son this afternoon. He was out for a good part of the day at rock climbing camp and arrived home slightly fatigued and tired looking.

I pondered the possibility of mild dehydration and gave him a tall glass of water and more after that, however by dinner time he said he had a pretty bad headache. I put him in a tepid bath with Epsom salts and that didn’t quite do the trick. Next I added sea salt to his water to get him to retain some extra fluid and catch up on hydration. Then came the magnesium which sometimes works for me in a pinch; all of this to no avail.

Finally he came up with a solution — green tea. I gave him a small cup of it and in less than 15 minutes he was back to his usual self –bouncing off the walls. Well, not quite, by 7:30 pm he was begging for me to tuck him into bed. And of course I obliged. The good news? His headache was long gone and he quickly drifted off to sleep. He even managed to eat some of this apple sauce before bedtime and commented on how much he liked its tangy flavor.

As you can imagine, this smooth, soothing sauce is a comforting summer dish; I especially like that the cinnamon and lemon provide warming elements to balance out the coolness of the raw apples.

This gluten free raw apple sauce is delicious plain or as a condiment –we ate it straight up this evening, though I think I might try it over pancakes. If you made this raw apple sauce, would you eat it plain or serve it with something?

The post Raw Apple Sauce appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

For me, cold weather is merely a great excuse to stay home and bake, and this time of year, I especially like to serve warm homemade applesauce. I peel apples and bake them in the oven. The house smells amazing and when it’s Hanukkah, the latkes taste even better with a dollop of homemade applesauce. Here’s how to make a batch of your own.

While this warm, gluten free applesauce is a delicious condiment, it’s also scrumptious on its own as a mouthwatering snack or dessert.

The post Homemade Applesauce appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

Yum. My boys love this dish and somehow, a few simple ingredients thrown together look so elegant and appetizing. This easy snack for two takes mere minutes to make.

The post Yogurt with Orange and Coconut appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

Mango, a wonderfully rich, sweet treat, full of nutritious prebiotic dietary fiber and antioxidants, is the perfect Paleo dessert.

Here’s how to cut a mango, because as the weather warms, I follow suit and warm weather fruits make their way into my shopping cart. Today I found gorgeous yellow mangos. I bought one and when I arrived home did the mango tango –a dance of slicing this slippery fruit.

I let the boys chew on the pit –a sweet and messy diversion for hungry little ones.

The post How to Cut a Mango appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

This kid friendly snack is as healthy as it gets. Just don’t tell your children it’s also Paleo/primal fare.

It’s a vegetable revolution! They’re back. Vegetables, that is. They never really left, actually. Sometimes we just forget about them. This quick and easy veggie snack recipe takes about 10 minutes to make. The boys will eat them the moment they walk in the door from school. That bowl is usually empty by dinner.

As suggested by Angel in the comments below, here are some great gluten free dips and sauces to go along with this healthy snack:

The post Easy Veggie Snack appeared first on Elana's Pantry.