As parents, we start teaching our kids to try new things as soon as they can begin having solid foods. We start usually with rice Pablum, and slowly add in new foods so that we can monitor for allergies. As our children get older, we try new recipes, and we tell our kids “Try it, you don’t know if you like it if you’ve never tried it”. One of the foods that I was forced to try as a kid was liver ( usually served with fried onions). I never minded the taste, so much as the texture. To this day it’s still not something that I like. I would eat it if I had to, but it is most definitely not my favourite-not liver, nor any other organ meat. I do think that part of it is the thought of it. Most of the time, when we don’t like something, it’s because someone or something has influenced our thought process. With liver, I know it high in iron, but it’s the idea that that is where all the urine is filtered. YUK!. Or it could be that it takes time to grow used the taste. Things like sour cream, mushrooms, seafood and many other foods may take some getting used to. Or wine! Sometimes it’s a flavour thing, others it’s a texture thing, but like my mom says, ” you can’t say you don’t like it until you’ve tried it. You have to try at least 3 bites before you can say it’s gross.” I think that’s so true for everything. We often say we don’t like something, but have never tried it. Or that we don’t like someone but have we really spent time talking to them, getting to know them, or are we judging by looks or rumors? I think it might be a good idea to go back to our early parenting days and “try” things again before we say we don’t like them.

We just celebrated Easter recently at my parents place. We were missing a few people from our very large family, but most of us were able to be there to celebrate. My mom is very good about getting us all together as often as she can, however, life happens and people have to work, or they have their other sides of the families they need to split their time with. We are lucky in that both Greg’s and my family are from pretty much the same community ( 2 miles difference), so we can visit with both without it being too big of a problem.

As usual, every celebration in our family is about food. My mom does so much, it’s not even funny. She usually does both a turkey and a ham, along with all the fixings. Plus she usually does pies and homemade buns too. So delicious! I usually bring the appetizers and some kind of dessert, and Marcie brings her famous cookies and other treats. There is always way too much food! It is a definite first world problem that we are very lucky to have!

It is becoming more and more challenging to try to find foods that everyone can eat. There are so many allergies and health concerns that it is harder and harder to cook for everyone. There are also many people who are choosing alternative styles of eating, such as vegan or vegetarian. In our family we have people with gluten and dairy allergies, we have fish and seafood allergies, soy allergies, celery, tomatoes, eggs, nuts and the list goes on and on. We also have diabetics — so no sugar, and people who shouldn’t have salt in their diets, never mind those picky eaters who like meat and potatoes and nothing else! I have been researching and experimenting and trying so many different recipes to try to accommodate as many people as I possibly can, but I tell you, it is darn tough! Even getting a turkey that is grain-free takes special planning. I find that when I am cooking for people other than Greg and my girls ( whom I know what they can and can’t eat), that I spend a lot of time reading labels and browsing Google and Pinterest.

For Easter dinner, I tried modifying a couple of recipes to be soy-free, Gluten-free, and vegan, and though there were a couple of people who didn’t care for them, the majority of people were pretty happy to have some options for things that they could eat without getting sick from them. And not just plain mashed potatoes and a glass of water either!

I made a vegan 7 layer dip, a vegan spinach artichoke dip, a layered lemon dessert, a layered caramel and a black forest cake that were all vegan, so no dairy, no eggs, no soy, and no sugar. I can say, I did not enjoy the spinach dip as much as my regular version, but the rest were friggin delicious if I do say so myself, and so much healthier. The recipes are below. If you try them, please let me know how they turn out for you, or if you make any adjustments, I’m always looking for better alternatives.

7 Layer Dip

1st layer– 1 can vegan re-fried pinto beans with chilies – spread evenly over bottom of glass cake pan

2nd layer– guacamole – I use 3 mashed avocados, 2 tbsp lime juice and sea salt to taste. ( I like cilantro in it, but my daughter Melanie hates it, so I don’t use it unless I know she won’t be eating it!) Spread over re-fried beans.

3rd layer– salsa – I use my homemade hot salsa, but any kind works

4th layer– chopped lettuce – small pieces, enough to cover the salsa layer

5th layer– finely chopped tomatoes, again enough to cover the lettuce layer

6th layer– the “sour cream” layer – I used 1 cup of coconut yogurt with 1 tbsp of lemon juice and 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar mixed together. Mix well, then dollop over the tomatoes in small drops and gently spread

7th layer- the cheese layer- the recipe calls for cashew cheese, but I am allergic, so I just used the Daiya dairy free, soy free shredded cheese, which was great. Sprinkle a thin layer over top of the sour cream layer.

Optional layers – corn with mexican spices, black olives, green onions

Serve with Blue corn tortillas, or with organic gluten-free crackers

The coconut sour cream does give it a bit of sweeter flavour than regular sour cream, but it is a pretty close alternative.

Vegan Spinach Dip

1 cup coconut yogurt – add 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar and 2 tbsp lemon and mix well. This is your “sour cream”.

1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, drained

1 cup finely chopped marinated artichoke hearts, drained

1/2 cup Vegan Mayonnaise

1 finely chopped green onion

1/2 cup Daiya shredded cheese

1 dash anchovy-free, soy free Worcestershire sauce

Mix well, then bake for 30 minutes at 350 degree oven. Serve with Gluten free tortilla chips or crackers. Like I said,this is not my favourite version of this, but it was still pretty tasty. The one I like has real sour cream, cream cheese, Parmesan, and shredded cheddar, so is most definitely a full fat, not dairy free version!

Layered Lemon Dessert

This is an alternative recipe to the Luscious Layered Lemon dessert from Jean Pare. Full credit to her for the original version. This is my take on her recipe.

bottom layer – Shortbread layer

2 cups gluten-free flour

1/2 cup of coconut oil, or lactose free butter, or vegan margarine ( I used coconut oil because I had people who can’t have even lactose free butter, and every margarine I looked at, including the vegan one, had soy in it, and my sister-in-law can’t have soy.)

pulse 1/2 cup of Xylitol in a food processor just until it is a fine “icing” sugar consistency.

Use two knives to cut this together until a fine consistency. Spread over bottom of glass cake pan, or into a parchment lined cheesecake pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool.

2nd layer – Cream Cheese Layer

This was the most shocking layer to me. This is the cream cheese layer, that had absolutely no cream cheese it in, but was amazingly delicious, and had I not tried it myself, I NEVER would have believed it possible.

Peel, chop and boil 1 large WHITE sweet potato. White is best because it looks like cream cheese, though you could use any color, I’m sure. Once cooked, drain and mash until extremely smooth.

Take 1/2 cup of Xylitol and grind it fine in a food processor (again until an icing sugar consistency).

1 tbsp lemon juice, or to taste

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, or to taste

Mix well. I actually made this layer the day before because it thickens better and develops the taste better the longer it sits. I just kept it in the fridge overnight.

3rd layer – Lemon Curd layer

1 14 oz can coconut cream (full fat)

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp freshly grated lemon rind

1/4 cup Xylitol

1/3 cup gluten-free, organic corn starch

3/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp salt ( I used Himalayan salt)

1 tsp lactose free or vegan margarine ( again, I used a 1/2 tsp of coconut oil due to allergies)

In the top of a double boiler, whisk together the coconut cream, lemon juice and lemon zest. While this is starting to heat up, in a small bowl, mix the Xylitol, corn starch, turmeric and salt. Once the lemon mixture starts to heat up, whisk the dry ingredients into the wet, and whisk continually until it comes to a full rolling boil. It will thicken as is heats up, and can stick if you stop whisking it.

Once fully boiling, remove from heat, and strain through a fine sieve into a glass heat proof container. Add the vegan margarine and blend until smooth. Let cool and then layer over the cream cheese layer.

4th layer – Whipping Cream

1 can full fat coconut cream

1/2 cup Xylitol ( pulsed until an icing sugar consistency)

1 – 2 tsp of vanilla flavouring

Blend until thick, then spread over the lemon layer. I made this a couple of hours early too and let it thicken a bit in the fridge, then gave it a good stir and spread it over the lemon layer. I then put it all in the fridge to thicken up, and sprinkled another little bit of lemon zest over the top of the entire dish.

Layered Caramel Dessert

I used the exact same recipe as above for the shortbread, cream cheese and whipping cream layers, but for the caramel, I used the recipe below. I layered it exactly the same as above too.

Date Caramel Sauce

2 cups dates, pitted – I used Medjool dates

1/2 cup to 1 cup boiling water

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp caramel flavouring

1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it becomes a very thick, but smooth consistency. Once it is smooth, it is now usable in the Layered Caramel Dessert recipe.

Options – add 1 can of full fat coconut milk or cream ( just the thick part)- whip until thickens, then mix into the dates.

Option 2 – add 2 tbsp tahini or sunflower butter into the dates when pulsing.

I found that this recipe gave me a little bit more than I wanted for the layered caramel dessert, so we warmed it up, and served it over top of ice cream… oh my goodness was that good too!

Brownie Black Forest Cake

Brownie Layer

1 1/2 cup black beans or 1 15 oz can ( in food processor blend until smooth)

1 ripe avocado

2 tbsp organic dairy free cacao powder

1/2 cup gluten-free oats

1/4 tsp finely ground pink Himalayan salt

1/3 cup organic maple syrup

2 tbsp coconut sugar – I omitted this and just increased the maple syrup to 1/2 cup

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/2 tsp organic, gluten-free baking powder

1/2 cup dairy free Chocolate chips or raw cacao nibs

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all ingredients except the chocolate chips into the food processor and blend until smooth. A blender works well too, but a hand mixer will not get the black beans smooth enough. They need to be completely broken down into a paste. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour into a greased 8 x 8 cake pan. Do not over bake or it will be dry.

Cherry Layer

1 cup Xylitol

1/4 cup organic corn starch

1/2 cup water

2 tbsp lemon juice

4 cups sour cherries ( my brother-in-law gave me a whole bunch that were pitted. Thank you David!) Pitting cherries without a cherry pitter is a HUGE pain in the butt!!

options – 1/8 cup cherry brandy or 1/4 tsp almond extract

In a large sauce pan, combine the Xylitol and cornstarch. Stir to blend. Add the water, lemon juice. Stir well, then add the cherries. Cook, stirring constantly until mixture boils. Turn to medium heat, continue cooking for 5 minutes to thicken. Remove from heat and add the brandy or almond extract.

Let cool at least 1 hour before layering onto the brownie. (Save 1/4 cup for on top of whipping cream)

Sweet cherries work very well for this too, but I like the tartness of the sour cherries.

Whipping Cream Layer

2 cans full fat coconut milk (thick part only) or 1 can coconut cream

1/2 cup Xylitol ( ground to icing sugar consistency)

1 tsp organic vanilla or 1 tsp cherry brandy

Whip with hand mixer until thick. Cool 30 minutes in refrigerator, give a quick stir, then spread over top of cherry layer, saving 1 tbsp for on top)

Topping

Place last 1/4 cup of cherries on the top of the cake, in the centre of the pan, then add last tbsp of whipping cream on top of that.

Optional – sprinkle with shaved organic dairy free chocolate or with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon, or use mint leaves to place in a decorative style around the cherry and whipped topping centre.

So these are the dishes that I made for Easter. I should have pictures of while I was making them, the finished product, and then on a plate for serving, but of course, I never think of those while I am doing it, so no pictures are available. I will get better at taking pictures as I go, I’m not used to that yet!

And if you do try these, let me know if you like them… and if you don’t like them… well, at least you tried them, so you know!