Do you love to carry on traditions that have been passed down from generations?  Well I do too!  I have spent my whole life baking, cooking, and preparing my favorite family recipes.  I have even created my own traditional and seasonal recipes that my family of friends have come to request and enjoy over the years.  I love to create in the kitchen according to the season.  Once March arrives, I make sure that I have all of the necessary ingredients in the house to make my favorite recipe of all time – Irish Soda Bread.  Now keep this a secret, I do not actually use baking soda in this recipe….shhhhhh, your friends and family will never know!

Six years ago, I went on an elimination diet and avoided wheat, dairy, and sugar for a 3 month period.  I felt amazing and the extra pounds I was carrying around just fell off of me with zero exercise involved.  Now if I introduce any of the above into my day, most especially wheat and sugar, I get very tired.  On a quest to feel evenly energetic throughout the day, I have remained wheat and sugar free for the past 6 years, and I feel great!  So, I bring to you today, a delicious Refined Sugar, Dairy, & Wheat Free Irish Soda Bread that has evolved from my personal journey and current lifestyle.  This essential lifestyle has brought me to a level of vitality that has me feeling younger in my 40’s than I ever have in my entire life.

Please enjoy this uniquely designed gluten free bread on Saint Patrick’s Day or anytime throughout the year.  Take note on the ingredients.  It is rare that I shop in a mainstream grocery store, because most of the items for sale are not real food and most of the packaged products are loaded with genetically modified ingredients, refined sugar, preservatives, dyes, and chemicals.  I have educated myself over the years on quality ingredients that are actually beneficial to our health.  I also make most everything from scratch.  Although it is incredibly time consuming, I look at my kitchen creations as an extension of my creativity.  This part of my creativity brings me the most happiness, because I am ingesting health giving ingredients in beautiful and creative combinations, that simply taste great!

Sugar, Dairy, & Wheat Free Irish Soda Bread

• 2 Cups Gluten Free Oat Flour (oats are lower in carbohydrates than most other whole grains)
• 1 Cup Brown Rice Flour (brown rice is high in protein, iron, fiber, vitamin B, & manganese)
• 1 Cup Tiger Nut Flour (a root vegetable that is gluten free, nut free, & paleo)
• 3/4 Cup Coconut Palm Sugar (a low glycemic index food & contains potassium)
• 6 tsp. Baking Powder (Aluminum Free, Cornstarch Free, & Phosphate Free)
• 1 tbsp. Caraway Seeds (a dietary fiber that protects colon from cancers & contains beneficial essential oils)
• 1 Cup Organic Raisins (Sulfite Free, No Added Sugar)
• 1 Cup Coconut Juice (to mold the dough, coconut milk can work also)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350.
• Mix all of the dry ingredients together with a spoon. (I use a Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the dough hook)
• Gradually blend the coconut juice or milk into the dry mixture.
• Bake for 45 minutes.
• Cool before slicing with a bread knife.

Essential Activity:

Take the 23 day elimination diet challenge and remove sugar, dairy, and wheat from your diet.  Be an ingredient detective and refrain from buying processed and packaged foods.  Be aware of the ingredients contained in gluten free products. Many gluten free products contain soy, corn, and other GMO ingredients.  Keep track in a journal, on a daily to weekly basis, how you feel and how your clothes fit.  Are you able to focus better?  Are you more productive?  Do you feel happier?  Do you have more energy?  Have the sugar cravings disappeared?  Once you have reached the 90 day mark, please share in the comments below, what your results are.  Enjoy this Irish Soda Bread during the month of March and all year long.