Vegan Cookie Dough Bites {Elimination Diet Friendly}

Elimination Diets are no fun.  You have to eat a sugar free, wheat/gluten free, egg free, dairy free, peanut free, soy free, and corn free diet.  Basically, you're eating nothing fun. :)

I like my sweets; if you follow my blog you know that already.  I think a little sweet every day is good for the soul.

I was really struggling on my doctor prescribed elimination diet b/c I couldn't have a sweet, but then I realized I just needed to get a little creative.  

We normally have these chocolate chip cookie dough balls in our freezer in a bag marked, "To My Love."  My husband is a big fan of cookie dough, I love my husband, and I like the convenience of cookies when you want/need.  

Since I couldn't eat the already made freezer treats (or any treats for that matter), I decided some Elimination Diet Friendly Cookie Dough Bites that I could put in the freezer were necessary for my sanity.  These cookie dough bites are kid approved.  If you are on a clean eating diet you need these. 

However, to be 100% honest these bites are good, and if you are on a diet with restrictions you will love them.  However, if you aren't on a diet these Vegan Cookie Dough Bites are probably not for you; you should make the cookie dough balls linked above.  

Vegan Cookie Dough Bites {Elimination Diet Friendly}
Recipe: Alohamora adapted from VK Rees
Active Time: 25 minutes
Inactive Time: Freeze time or about 2 hours
Servings: 2 dozen bites 

Ingredients: 
1 can (15 oz) chick-peas/garbanzo beans rinsed and drained
1/4 c. honey or maple syrup
1/8 tsp baking soda
3 Tbsp sunflower butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 c. chocolate chips (soy, nut, and dairy free)
Extra chocolate chips for toppings

Directions: 

1. Use liners in a 24 count mini-muffin pan. 
2. Rinse and drain your garbanzo beans well.  The better you drain the better your dough will be. 
3. Add all the ingredients but the chocolate chips to a food processor and process it all until the dough is smooth and mixed well.
4. Transfer the dough to a medium bowl. 
5. Add the quarter cup of chocolate chips to the dough and stir to combine everything. 
6. Using a small cookie scoop evenly distribute the cookie dough among the cupcake liners in the prepared mini-muffin pan. 
7. Top the cookie dough bites with the extra chocolate chips. 
8. Place the pan in the freezer to let the cookie dough bites freeze for at least an hour or until frozen. 
9. Enjoy! 
10. Store leftover bites in the freezer in a Ziploc, Tupperware, or any other freezer container. 

Happy Vegan and Elimination Diet Friendly Cookie Dough Bites eating! 

Bison Stuffed Mini Bell Pepper {Elimination Diet Friendly}

If you follow me on Facebook and/or Instagram you probably saw that I have been on an Elimination Diet.  My doctor prescribed this diet so I can see what food sensitivities I have that have been causing my nausea for the past 1.5+ years.

The elimination diet I was involved with had a lot of restrictions including no sugar, dairy, corn, soy, wheat or gluten, peanuts, peanut butter, eggs, beef, pork, and more.  Later beans and legumes were added to my "restrictions."  Basically, it's a super strict clean eating diet where I have to read every single label and end up eating hardly any of it.   

I did this diet for a week, and actually just stopped it b/c I was still nauseous every single day.  I honestly think my nausea is connected to my jacked thyroid and hormones which is why even on this super clean eating diet I was still sick.  

I've run/trained for 2 marathons.  I have told myself that I won't do another marathon b/c the training is too hard on my body aka knees.  However, I would happily train and run another marathon rather than do this Elimination Diet again.  It was extremely tough, and absolutely no fun.  I couldn't really bake;  I love baking.  I couldn't eat much of anything at all.  Basically, I was a bit grumpy.  My poor husband and co-workers that had to deal with me. 

On this diet I could handle breakfast and lunch pretty easily, but dinner was the difficult one.  I didn't want to eat boring food of just baked chicken and veggies every night.  Therefore, I had to get creative.  These Bison Stuffed Mini Sweet Bell Peppers are easy to make and Elimination Diet Friendly.   

This appetizer is great for game day, but also make an easy weeknight meal.  If you are not on a ridiculously strict diet you could easily use ground beef in place of bison.  However, the bison has a pretty great flavor.  

Bison Stuffed Mini Sweet Bell Peppers
Recipe: Alohamora
Active Time: 40 minutes
Inactive Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 2 dozen peppers

Ingredients: 
1 to 1.25 lb ground bison or beef
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. onion, diced
1 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning*
Optional Topping: shredded cheese

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and pull out a small cookie sheet or pan with edges. . 
2. Wash at least 2 dozen mini sweet bell peppers. 
3. Cut 1/3 of the bell pepper off from top to bottom.  You don't want to cut it exactly in half b/c you want to make a little cup/bowl to fill the pepper.  You can then save the 1/3 that you cut up to dip in hummus or guacamole later, or if you are a huge bell pepper fan you can dice it up and add it to the bison filling. 
4. Spray a large pan with olive oil cooking spray or add a dash of olive oil to your pan and heat it over medium heat. 
5. Add the bison or beef to the pan and cook it over medium heat until it is thoroughly cooked.
6. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook it for 3-5 minutes until the onions are translucent and soft.  If you like peppers, and you diced your peppers to add to the dish, add them with the onions and garlic and cook them until soft.  
7. Add the Cajun seasoning and stir to combine everything in the pan.  Cook it all for 1-2 minutes longer to deepen the flavors. 
8. Remove the meat from the stove and use a spoon to fill the cut peppers with your meat filling.  
9. If you are not on a dairy restricted diet feel free to top your stuffed mini bell peppers with a little cheese.  The stuffed bell peppers taste great with or without cheese. 
10. Bake the stuffed peppers at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until the pepper shells are soft.  If you added cheese turn the oven to broil and broil the peppers for 3-5 minutes.
11. Serve these appetizers at a party, pot luck, or for a healthy dinner.  
12. These stuffed peppers reheat well and make for delicious leftovers. 
13. Enjoy! 
14. Store leftovers in the refrigerator. 

Happy Elimination Diet Friendly Bison Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers eating!