Frugal Foodie Friday: This week I have been testing out some recipes from The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook, and the Gingerbread Muffins really caught my eye. The ingredients in this recipe are nice and wholesome, and I just happened to have a jar of unsweetened applesauce begging to be opened. Unfortunately, my husband doesn’t like all things ginger. So, I switched the recipe to cinnamon, and a delicious on-the-go breakfast was born.

Texture seems to be the biggest downfall of so many gluten-free baked goodies, but these muffins really hit the mark. They have a light crunch from the brown rice flour – I didn’t use Authentic Foods Superfine Brown Rice Flour, which Cybele recommends (this may produce a superior result) - and they are quite hearty like a bran muffin, but still soft and muffin-y – no doorstops here!

The original recipe calls for agave nectar, but I was craving some maple love. And indeed, these muffins have a very rich maple flavor. On that note, these muffins are quite sweet (even though I reduced the sweetener a touch), but a genuinely pleasant indulgence. See the Gluten-Free Maple Cinnamon Muffin Recipe on my personal recipe blog One Frugal Foodie.

A couple of weeks ago when I posted about the new frappaccino base at Starbucks that allows dairy-free and vegan consumers to partake in the frozen caffeine goodness, some confusion ensued. It seems the new formula may contain gluten, and some were wondering why the light frappaccino base isn’t classified as dairy-free while the regular version is.

Thanks to Kim at Gluten-Free is Life and her inquiry to Starbucks, we now have some answers. According to Starbucks’ customer relations:

“None of our Frappuccino bases contain dairy as an ingredient. However, the Light Frappuccino Syrup base contains a milk allergen warning on the label because dairy is used as a processing aid during manufacturing. There are no dairy proteins in the Light Frappuccino Syrup base. There is gluten in the Coffee Light Frappuccino Syrup base. There is no gluten in the Coffee Frappuccino Syrup base and the Crème Frappuccino Syrup base.”

In January, 2010, Whole Foods took a bigger stance on plant-based diets with the launch of their "Health Starts Here" initiative. While they avoid the vegan label specifically, the new initiative specifically encourages consumers to “eat mostly plants” and one of their corresponding programs is The Engine 2 Diet™ 28-Day Health Opportunity, which does essentially avoid all animal products.

But this initiative isn’t simply a handout and some information on their website, Whole Foods is putting the concept to work right in their stores, all 289 of them throughout the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. And according to a story out of the San Francisco Bay Area, the program is really starting to take root. They reported new nutritional rations in the stores, dishes cooked without oils at the hot bar, Healthy Eating Supper Clubs, and in two stores a new eatery called Café Gratitude that is serving up raw, vegan tamales, spring rolls, nut-milk shakes and more. I’m not sure how this program will expand in other states, but with luck it will mean more fresh dairy-free offerings and events for all.

The adorable Chef Julie Morris has released a free ebook, A Day of Superfoods: 5 easy natural recipes for feeling fabulous, morning to night. The mini-ebook is available for immediate download, and it includes the following recipes:

• breakfast: strawberry banana hempseed parfait
• lunch: mediterranean collard wraps
• dinner part I: simple spring salad with creamy house dressing
• dinner part II: fiesta pizza
• dessert: dark chocolate orange truffles 

Julie states, "From an in-the-know superfood ingredient list, to mouth-watering photos, to easy to follow instructions, these recipes are designed to make a healthy energy-filled lifestyle delicious, fun, and accessible. I’ve written each recipe so that everyone – not just professional chefs or health gurus – can make flavorful natural food, and appreciate the benefits of healthy food immediately."