Looking for delicious and easy gluten and dairy-free snack ideas that are also GAPS diet friendly? I’ve tested some different recipes to share with you! In this post, you’ll find links to each recipe along with my honest thoughts on how they turned out. Want to see them in action? Watch my YouTube video where I make these snacks step by step!
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Why Make the Snacks GAPS Friendly?
Since my children have been on the GAPS diet, one of the most difficult things was finding alternatives for snacks. I was so used to giving them a muffin or a cookie (gluten and dairy free, of course!), it was hard to think outside the box and find something they could eat and would enjoy.
Fruit has become a staple, which is no bad thing, but sometimes my children crave some variety. That’s when I started looking into some different recipes that I could offer them.
Below you will find links to each recipe (or the recipe written out if it is my own) as well as my opinion on how it turned out and if I would make it again. I am hoping this will inspire you to try out new ideas for snacks for your family that are both healthy and delicious!
Check out the full YouTube video here!
Gluten and Dairy Free Snack Idea N°1: Almond Milk
This is probably no big revelation to those of you who have been on a Dairy-Free diet for a while! But did you know how easy it is to make it yourself?
I have tried to make almond milk from scratch in the past, but it has never been a success. I always ended up with an unpleasant texture and my boys refused to drink it. However, I have recently discovered a fool-proof method for deliciously thick and smooth almond milk and we just can’t get enough of it!
For a snack, drink it as it is, warm it up and mix it with cocoa powder to make hot chocolate or use it to make a smoothie (our favourite!).
Makes around 1L-1.5L of almond milk
- 1 cup whole almonds
- 3-4 cups filtered water
- 1 tbsp flax seeds (optional)
Soak the almonds and seeds (if using) in water over night. The next morning, drain the water and measure the almonds with a measuring cup into a blender. 1 cup almonds usually yields 2 cups once the almonds have been soaked. For every cup of soaked almonds, add 2 cups filtered water. Blend for about 1 min.
Prepare a cheese cloth or other fine material in a sieve or colander over a large saucepan. Pour the blended almonds into the cheese cloth. Bring the corners of the cheese cloth together to make a bag and squeeze the almond pulp in the bag until all of the liquid has been removed. Pour the almond milk into a bottle and keep in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Our Favourite Smoothie Recipe
Serves 2
- 300 ml almond milk
- 2 bananas
- 1 tbsp honey (optional)
Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
If you have very ripe bananas you may not need to add any honey.
Gluten and Dairy Free Snack Idea N°2: Almond Pulp Ricotta
Once you have made almond milk, the immediate question you ask is “What should I do with the pulp?” Having spent all of that money on the almonds, the last thing anyone wants to do is throw that precious pulp away! So, when I came across this recipe, I immediately wanted to try it. It turned out well and the adults in our family enjoyed it. However, the children did not appreciate it (probably because of the raw garlic).
The texture was not like ricotta at all, it was more like a hummus. I think it would be very good served as a hummus type dip with raw veggie sticks for example, or spread on crackers.
Get the recipe here!
Gluten and Dairy Free Snack Idea N°3: Almond Pulp Chocolate Muffins
Ok, I have to put these in here because they are in the video. However… they did not turn out well. I tried exchanging almond flour for almond pulp in like for like quantities. The result was somewhat tasteless and the texture was not great. I’m not going to share the recipe – it will need a lot of work before I’m happy to share it here!
But I did learn something: almond pulp does not act the same as almond flour. I need to find another solution to my almond pulp surplus problem…
Gluten and Dairy Free Snack Idea N°4: Veggie Fritters
While these fritters were the most time consuming snacks to make, they were also the tastiest! We absolutely loved them, and we will definitely be making them again!
The difficult thing about these fritters is that they are quite difficult to flip in the pan. Since there is no gluten, there is nothing holding them together. The solutions I found to this are
- Make sure the oil is hot before adding the batter.
- Make sure the bottom of the fritter is well browned before attempting to flip it.
- Don’t add too many vegetables or the fritter will be too wet and won’t flip well.
- Make sure to remove as much liquid from the vegetables as possible.
I thoroughly recommend this recipe – it is a perfect lunch or snack option. While they are best eaten straight out of the pan, you can keep them in the fridge and simply refresh them in the pan for a quick snack during the day.
Get the recipe here!
Gluten and Dairy Free Snack Idea N°5: Strawberry Gummies
Since being on the GAPS diet, my boys have been very disappointed about not eating sweets. Its not that they used to eat them a lot, but they struggle when their friends have birthday parties and so on and they can’t enjoy a few sweets with everyone else.
I heard that gummies were not difficult to make, so I decided to give it a go. We don’t have a juicer, so I decided to make mine from strawberry pulp. They are perfectly sweet and go down a treat with my boys!
- 2 cups frozen or fresh strawberries
- 1 tbsp honey (optional, depending on the sweetness of the strawberries)
- 25g powdered gelatine
In a small saucepan, cook the strawberries down until they are soft. Blend the strawberries and add them back to the saucepan. Taste to check sweetness. Add honey if desired. Add the gelatine and stir well. Bring to a gentle simmer and simmer for 3 mins. Pour into small moulds and freeze for 15 minutes. Remove from the moulds and place in an airtight container in the fridge. Keeps for up to 2 weeks.
Will you give any of these gluten and dairy free snack ideas a go? If you do, don’t forget to take a picture and tag me on social media @candleinthekitchen.
What are your favourite gluten and dairy free, or GAPS friendly snacks? Let me know in the comments!
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If you’re looking for more gluten and dairy free snack ideas, check out these recipes!
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