Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Donuts

Ever since I had my gall bladder removed, I have had issues with gluten. I have no idea why, but I have. I also can't eat things that are high in fat without severe stomach issues. My diet is high in fat, but it's the good kinds of fats that you find in things like avocados or olive oil.

Even though I have these digestive issues, I haven't quite been able to quit bacon...because, well let's face it, bacon is DE-LUSH-US!

I miss being able to eat a good piece of bread, or cake, or a cookie, or a DONUT!

I truly miss donuts, friends. 

Being gluten free really has it's sad moments, but because it's become such an issue with so many people, there are tons of options out there for weirdos like me. Or as Jim Gaffigan refers to us: terrorists :-) (that guy is so funny!)

Recently, I started doing a good portion of our grocery shopping at Aldi.

I used to be really afraid of Aldi because their tomatoes used to last for 4 weeks, and their cucumbers can be the size of a small football at times, and that's just not natural.

But times are changing and they have started offering a large selection of organic items AND gluten free items.

 

Gluten free items are so expensive, but at Aldi, they are much cheaper.

Most of their gluten free items are the "live G free" brand.

 Most gluten free baking mixes are really grainy, and when you bake whatever it is you're baking, it always turns out dry and hard.

Friends, not this brand. It's almost like eating the real deal.

So, I decided to pull out my donut maker 

and see if this mix would make some good donuts.
I followed the waffle instructions and I also made substitutions.
For regular milk, I subbed with coconut milk, and for the oil I used coconut oil instead of the vegetable oil.
I made a few donuts for me that were plain because I can't eat chocolate. I developed a nice little allergy to chocolate (I have my father to thank for that one...he suffers from the same issue).
For the kids, I added a few
Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate chips

The mix worked perfectly in the donut maker and the kids thought they were delicious!
So we have a winner!

Now we have a nice go-to treat for special occasions.

*This post contains affiliate links.* 

Tweet

North Pole Breakfast with Our Elf on the Shelf

It's December 1st y'all! Where has this year gone?!?

It's a rainy, dreary day, but we're not letting that dampen our Christmas spirits. We have started this Holiday season off with a bang with our Christmas countdown...starting off with the arrival of our elf, Snarf. 

 I am totally not a fan of the Elf on the Shelf tradition. It's exhausting, and you have to be on your A-Game all of December. However, my children love it, and love their elf. They have been talking about him for several weeks now, so I knew I would have to get over myself, and run with it.

We had a North Pole Breakfast waiting on the kids this morning. They think that Snarf the Elf put this spread together...well at least S.R. does. E is in that in-between stage of analyzing whether this actually makes sense, but I can say that he was up at 5:55 a.m. this morning excited to see Snarf at the kitchen table. ;-)

This year we are really focusing on others, instead of ourselves. I have several service projects and "random acts of kindness" activities planned(does that still make it random if I plan it??) Anyway, I found this cute little printable and loved the idea of it. The kids immediately ran to their playroom and started bringing down toys to fill the box. I just wrapped a box with coordinating wrapping paper to make it look a little more festive. The intent is to fill this box and donate it.

 Decorations were either things we had on hand, or purchased from Walmart.

 Hubs made the reindeer donuts. He was quite proud of his contribution. I love that we were able to make this a team effort.

I completely forgot about getting noses for the reindeer. They looked pretty ridiculous without them. Thankfully we had some leftover Whoppers from Halloween. Crisis averted!

On the menu:

Elf Hats(strawberries sitting on banana slices)

Reindeer Donuts(pretzels, candy eyes, Whoppers, and icing to glue it all in place)

Powdered White Donuts

Fruit Cups

Scrambled Eggs

Bacon

Almond Chocolate Milk(soooo delicious dangerous ;-) )

Snarf also brought little gifts for the kiddos.

This was S.R.'s gift.

 And E's gift. All items were purchased from Walmart.

Even though putting this together was a tiny bit exhausting, it was well worth it to see the big smiles when they woke up.

Christmas Magic is in full swing here at the Waggoner home!

Make sure to check back frequently to see what sort of mischief Snarf will be into!

Tweet

Throw Back Thursday-Pumpkin Bread

I thought I would change things up a bit and take a trip down memory lane. For those of you who have been with me from the beginning, you will remember this post. 

I made these little pumpkin loaves 3 years ago. My how time flies! They have been a huge hit across the web. Even Hershey's saw it and posted it on their Facebook page....I felt pretty awesome after seeing that!

Anyway, you can click

here

to read more.

Happy Thursday!

Tweet