Take a challenge: make a green shake every day for a week!

In your blender, put:

1-2 cups almond milk 

1 entire carrot

1-2 Tbsp milled flax seeds

1/2 -3/4 cups frozen kale or collard greens

1/2 - 1 cup frozen fruit (mixed berries are good, but I do all of frozen fruits)

(start with less of the greens and more of the fruits then wean yourself onto more veg)

Your insides will love you.  I have posted this before, but wanted to again as the new year is here.

I am very frustrated with my blog. I want a blog where I can catalog my recipes.  Hang in there with me as I try and change things up.  In the meantime, make this!!!!!

My sweet friend, Melanie, sent me this book a while back along with another Vegan must have: The Veganomicon.  I have loved having these books!

Here is the best pasta sauce!  (I may even like it as much as my homemade marinara!)

Italian Style Pasta (Adapted from The Gluten Free Vegan)

1 tsp olive oil

1 large onion

¼ cup chopped roasted red peppers

¼ cup sundried tomatoes

5-6 cloves garlic

½ cup drained and chopped artichoke hearts

1 diced fresh tomatoes

1 cup washed spinach and chopped spinach (sub kale if you are eating high cruciferous)

¼ cup white wine

3 T chopped fresh basil

½ cup pine nuts

20 kalamata olives, coarsely chopped

Brown rice pasta, cooked (if gluten free)

Heat olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the onion and saute’ until soft.  (when cooking with less oil, like this recipe, if the veggies start to stick, keep a cup of water nearby and splash a bit in every so often).  Add the red peppers, sundried tomatoes and garlic.  Cook for a few minutes.  Then add the spinach or kale and cook a bit longer.  Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until heated through.  Season to taste with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. 

The beauty of this recipe is that I keep most of these ingredients in my fridge/freezer/pantry.  I buy kalamatas, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, and pine nuts in bulk from Costco.  And there is no real cooking involved.  Except for the onions, the rest is just heating.  So cook your pasta while you throw this together and you have a healthy, vegan meal!

I served this to a friend who kept some sauce to top her vegan pizza and said it was fabulous.  So heck, use it as a pizza sauce or whatever you want!

Each week, Melanie Flinn from Nutritious Eats has a Meal Planning Monday.  She posts her meals for the week and invites you to do the same.  Here is her blog:

Nutritious Eats

What is has done for me:

1) I ALWAYS meal plan on the weekends and am much more organized throughout the week.

2) I have drastically cut down on my trips to HEB.  If I get all of my evenings planned, I am ready for them and am not doing last minute shopping.

3) I am MUCH less likely to make unhealthy choices for the family when I have planned ahead and stick with it.

As Melanie says, you don’t need to impress on the site. Just simply lay out what you will be eating. It keeps you accountable and at the same time helps you to get new and great ideas!  So come join us!  You won’t regret it!

Here is mine for the week:

Sunday: we made eggrolls found here: http://glutenfreeday.com/?p=82 SO good! Vegan and yummy. I didn’t use any oil.
Monday: Gretchen cooks…yippee!!
Tuesday: Have a meeting where dinner is provided
Wednesday: Crock pot black beans, brown rice, guacamole
Thursday: Good ‘ole tostadas from leftover beans (on Romaine, no cheese for me)
Friday: Lucky still traveling…so may go out?

Have a healthy week!

Today, dinner was a huge success!  I was really skeptical that I could pull this one off.  My kids know that every dish I put in front of them these days is somehow a vegetable….either in disguise or straight up.  One cares, the other doesn’t.  My picky one takes a microscope out, it seems!  And she is the one who first said the meat was great!  Yes, she thought it was taco MEAT!  And the best part, this was an inexpensive, easy meal that I made in under 30 minutes.

I took 2 recipes and put them together for these fabulous tacos.  Thank you Gretchen and Kate!  You are both fabulous cooks and I love using your great ideas!  You can even make these for carnivores!  They are full of good protein between the quinoa and black beans and there is nothing from a packet in sight.  SO good! 

Black Bean and Quinoa Tacos

 ½ cup finely chopped onion

2 cloves of garlic, minced through press

2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup of quinoa

1 T chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

8 oz can tomato sauce

Taco shells or Romaine lettuce to make wraps

Taco garnishes of your choice

 

 

Bring quinoa and water to a boil in 2 cups of water.  Simmer for 10 – 15 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed.  Meanwhile….

Sautee onion and garlic in a pan.  You can add a little water for moisture of use a little oil.  I did mine dry and they were fine.  Cook over medium heat.  Once the onions are translucent, add in the drained and rinsed beans.  Add all of the spices and the tomato sauce.  Stir and cook while the quinoa cooks.  Lower the heat when the mixtures has lost most of it’s moisture.  (I used a non stick pan. I usually steer clear of non stick b/c…I just do…, but thought it would be helpful tonight while avoiding oil)

Once your quinoa is cooked, add a cup or two to your beans.  Continue cooking until the entire pan is heated through. 

 

Stir and taste…. taco meat!!!

Here is my harder to please eater eating her LAST bite of the taco!

And here is the eats-almost-anything one.  After he finished his taco, he asked for a bowl of just meat.  For realz.  (he likes being cozy… can you tell by the fact that he is ALWAYS in his undershirt.  I promise we make him wear clothes in public!)

Now, we all know I can’t have corn and must have cruciferous veggies at every meal.  So here is my version.  I made a slaw with no oil or sugar and it was a perfect accompaniment.  If you have not been here: http://www.nutritiouseats.com/ you should.  I got my slaw recipe that I adapted, along with many other recipes.  My favorite blog out there for recipes!

Someday I will have a fancy camera!  Until then, enjoy the dark pictures :) 

Try a vegan meal today!  You will be amazed at how good food can taste!

And like I say…if I am attempting to reverse a disease this this diet, could you be preventing one???  Food for thought!

(note, the family had cheese on theirs….just mine was totally vegan)

I had the great pleasure of getting two new fabulous appliances for my bday.  Both set of parents and Luck all combined to make this the best birthday gift receiving ever!

First, I got a new Cuisinart coffee make.  I am a coffee LOVER.  You put beans in whole and this baby grinds and brews all in a few minutes.  The freshest, best coffee ever!  It does sound like an airplane is taking off in my kitchen, but that is just a reminder of the goodness I am about to enjoy.

Secondly, I got a Blendtec.  It is a cousin to the more famous VitaMix.  But it fits nicely under my counter, comes in red, grinds rice so that I can make my own rice flour (Vitamix requires a second container for dry grinding), AND is available at Bed Bath, & Beyond with a 20% coupon.   You do not NEED one of these to make the shake I am about to share.  I used my Cuisinart for a long, long time.  This appliance makes it much easier.  But don’t let that stop you from making this for breakfast, lunch, snack, or a light dinner:

Here is what I used today, but you can use anything your heart desires.  I used a whole carrot (not peeled b/c I buy organic), a whole apple, English cucumber, squash, broccoli, frozen loose spinach, frozen blueberries, milled flax seeds, almond butter, almond milk, and pomegranate juice.

Add about this much almond milk:

Throw in a nice amount of the pom juice.

Then take all those veggies (leave them whole if your blender has the horsepower)and put them on top of the liquid.

Sprinkle in a good amount of this:

Keep your ground flax seeds it in the fridge or freezer, or grind your own in a coffee grinder.  To get all of the nutritional value out of flax seeds, you gotta grind them.  Otherwise, they serve as a great fiber source :)  Meaning, most of them will pass through you whole and your body won’t get the Omega 3 goodness from them.

Next, spoon in some almond butter.  I like this one b/c it doesn’t have to be refrigerated and because almonds are so good for you.  If you prefer another nut butter, go for it.  I think that adding the nut butter makes this shake substantial and will allow me to 1) not throw up my vitamins :) and 2) stay full until the next meal:

Now you are ready to pour in whatever frozen fruit you feel like.  The kids usually pick when they are drinking them.  And they almost always pick blueberries or strawberries.  Here is your warning:  if you pick blueberries, your teeth will be blue and you should NOT take it on the go!  Give yourself a little time to brush your teeth after :)

Blend it all into oblivion.  Pour and enjoy.  Reid cheers when I make him one.  Dani cringes as she sees what goes in it, but always admits she likes it.  It is taking that first sip that is the hard part.  Once she does, she likes it! Lucky loves these, too.  But he dislikes cucumbers and so he only likes them if I leave those babies out. 

Can you imagine how good your body will feel if you start having these every day?  It is hard to get all of the recommended veggies in.  This makes it a cinch.  AND they are all fresh veggies.  Honestly, you can throw in literally ANY veggie.  Kale, cabbage, Romaine, cauliflower, WHATEVER!  The beauty is that you taste the pom juice and the frozen berries.  You can always start by adding some honey or something sweet if you need it.  Sometimes I make it with chocolate almond milk for the kids.  But eventually, you will learn you don’t need that. 

Being vegetarian has taken my taste buds to a whole new level.  I truly taste more flavors now.  I get the depth of flavors more than I even did before.  And I have always had an acute sense of taste.  Which is a blessing when good food is around and a curse when it isn’t! 

Happy eating, and happy blending!  Please tell me if you ever take the plunge and start making these!  I will be happy to help you get started :) 

And SERIOUSLY, if this doesn’t make my Lupus better…what on earth will?????

It has been nearly SIX months since my sweet girl and I have been gluten free.  That is a looooong time for this food lover to go without flour.  I have experimented with baking here and there, but avoided one thing this entire time.  I was scared of what I would turn out.  I could not handle losing my dear treat forever.

The chocolate chip cookie.

To me, the choc chip cookie is home.  It is family time in the kitchen, it is working together, it is a sweet smell, it is patience while they cool, and it is sharing the love.  I have many memories of childhood and the chocolate chip cookie.  My mom’s were always WAY better than anyone’s!  I usually don’t even think they are worth eating unless they look like hers.  And don’t even go there with premade ones.  As much as I love homemade cookies is as much as I detest store bought ones.  I am just a cookie snob!

Several times I have literally taken the ingredients out to make them and chickened out and put them all back.  I seriously didn’t think I could handle never having another GOOD one as long as I live.

So I pulled out our secret family recipe.  (Also known as the recipe on the back of Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips.)  And I used my gluten free magic!  (Also known as following the directions exactly…EXCEPT substituting equal parts gf oat flour for regular flour)  :) 

And just like that, SUCCESS!!!  They taste just like the traditional ones!  Both kids loved them.  I love them.  Lucky ate them for dinner while lying in bed with a migraine :(.  He loved them!  They are not “gluten free good”, they are the real deal good!

Share the good news with those gluten free peeps of yours.  It is a day to celebrate!

From the pic below, I think you can see what they thought :)  And yes, Reid is still in pj’s.  So am I.  We got up today, did homeschool, played all day, I took a shower, and then put my pj’s back on.

Today, we had an uncle in town from California.  We were going to get together for dinner and I was to bring dessert.  My first big challenge!   Could I make something gluten free, corn free, soy free, peanut free, egg free, dairy free AND yummy???

Why, yes!  It is possible!  I present to you:

This, my friends, is a chocolate pie!  And it is delicious.  And check out the ingredient list…absolutely everything in it nourishes you! 

Coconut Pie Crust

3/4 cups blanched almond flour

1/4 tsp sea salt

3/4 cups UNSWEETENED, shredded coconut, toasted (just put in toaster until slightly browned)

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted over very low heat

1 Tbl. agave nectar

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. 

In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, and coconut.  In a med bowl, whisk coconut oil, agave, and vanilla.  Add wet ingredients to the almond flour mixture and mix thoroughly.  Press into a deep dish pie pan.  Bake for 7-9 minutes and then let it cool completely before filling.

Chocolate Cream Filling
2 cans coconut milk

pinch sea salt

¼ cup arrowroot powder

½ cup agave nectar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 cups dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

Bring coconut milk and salt to a boil in a medium pot.  Sift arrowroot powder into the pot, whisk vigorously by hand or with a hand blender for 2 minutes.  Whisk in agave and vanilla.  Remove from heat and let stand for 1 minute.  Add chocolate, stirring vigorously until completely melted.  Chill in refrigerator for ½ hour until cool.

Fill the crust with the chocolate filling and cover and chill for at least an hour.

This recipe came from a cookbook my dear friend, Jillian, gave me.  Jillian also has an autoimmune disease (actually, a few) and the same food allergies as me.  She is a fighter!!  I am proud to call her my friend and I love her dearly.

I did not make it with the crust the author calls for.  I thought the coconut would be a good offset to the creamy chocolate.  It was FABULOUS!  We all loved it!  In fact, if I did not tell you it was not a regular pie, you would never know…it was THAT good!

Please make it and enjoy it, or pass it along to someone who has food allergies.  They will thank you!

(the cookbook is the same as the blog: http://www.elanaspantry.com/ )

And when you do, eat one of these. 

“Mounds” Candy Bars

My sweet friend, Lisa, posted this recipe on Facebook.  Today, I made them. 

Oh.  My.  Goodness.

(***Shhhhh.  These are good for you.  But don’t tell and they won’t know.***)

1 1/3 cups unsweetened coconut flakes (look in bulk bins for this)

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp almond extract

36 almonds

1 cup-ish dark chocolate chips

1 Tbl coconut oil

1) Melt the coconut oil and honey over low heat.  Whisk.  Add the coconut and almond extract and stir.

2) Place 3 almonds in the bottom of each muffin tin (you need a 12 muffin tin).  Divide the coconutty goodness evenly between each tin on top of the almonds.

3) Place in the freezer for 20 - 30 minutes.

4) Meanwhile, place a cup or more choc chips in a microwave safe bowl and add the remaining coconut oil.  Heat until just barely melted.  Stir until the mixture is smooth.

5) Pour the chocolate evenly over the frozen coconut mixture. 

6) Put back in the freezer for another 30 minutes.  (cover them and keep them in the freezer b/c they will melt if not frozen)

Seriously, they are easy and ridiculously yummy and so good for you!  Or at least so NOT bad for you!  Thank you, Lisa.  The original recipe can be found here:  http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2008/09/nourishing-and-scrumptious-mounds-candy-bars.html

However, I do not make my own chocolate :)  Feel free to do that.  I just wanted something quick and easy.

Enjoy!!

I woke up feeling sad that I have not cooked for my family in a long time the way I used to.  And lately, I don’t ever have my kids with me in the kitchen.  So while Luck mowed the lawn, we made brunch.  I am on a hunt for new, good, gluten free recipes.

I like to use oat flour.  I have found that it does not taste gritty at all, like lots of gf flours do…it tastes like you are eating white flour!  And is much healthier.

I am no photographer!  My post is not an attempt to be like PW…that, my friends, is simply a dream.  But I actually love evaluating recipes based on seeing all the ingredients together.  I can decide quickly if I will like it.

Sorry…Reid is still in his boxers here.  It is what it is.  :)

This was Dani’s first time to actually cook on the stove.  After helping with the muffins, she took on the apple sausage.  I would post it, too…but it was not all that good. (SHE did a great job of flipping and heating, the actual brand of organic apple chicken sausage was less than wonderful)

Dry ingredients -
-2 cups gluten free oat flour
-2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1 tsp nutmeg
-1 cup raspberries

Wet ingredients-
-3 tbls oil (optional)
-4 tbls maple syrup (optional)
-2 mashed ripe bananas
-1 cup milk
-1 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350

Add the lemon juice to the milk and let it sit while you do the next step.
Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and mix the berries with the dry ingredients.
Mix the rest of the wet ingredients together and then mix them together with the flour and berries. Be careful so that you don’t overmix which will result in not so good muffins.

Bake for 40 minutes or more….ours took quite a while.

They are MUCH flatter looking.  Certainly not the picture of muffin perfection.  But who cares when they taste good?!?!

The verdict:  We really liked them!  I love that the only sweetener in them is maple syrup.  They have the goodness of oat flour, bananas, raspberries, & coconut oil.  I did not tell my kids they were healthy so that they would evaluate them fairly and both they and Luck gave them great reviews! 

If your family is used to boxed muffins, this will let them down.  They do not have the high pitched sweet factor (not a real term, but you get my drift!) of pre-made or boxed muffins.  But they are hearty and delish!  The whole raspberries are sooooo good in there.  Gives them just the right tartness.  Next time, I will sprinkle a little natural sugar on top before baking to add that extra little touch.  Also, the original author of this used soy milk, cardamom, and quinoa flour.  Feel free to experiment for yourself!

Adapted from Rick Bayless’ cookbook, Mexican Everyday

This is not a go to on a week night sort of a salad.  This is a company salad or a weekend salad when you have more time.  It is good for your body and tastes AMAZING!

Grilled Chicken Salad with Rustic Guacamole, Romaine, and Queso Fresco (he uses queso anejo, but I can’t find it!)

For the dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil, plus a bit more

4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved

2 Anaheim or Poblano peppers

1/2 c fresh lime juice

3/4 cup roughly packed cilantro

1/4 tsp pepper

salt

For the salad:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 sliced medium white onion

2 ripe avocados (I often use more)

8 cups Romaine

1/3 cup grated Mexican queso (I use queso fresco)

Heat oil in pan over medium.  Add garlic cloves and chiles and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft and lightly browned.  Pour the oil, garlic, & chiles into a blender.  Add the lime juice, cilantro, pepper, and a scant tsp of salt. Process until smooth.

Place chicken in a bowl and pour one third of the dressing over them, spreading it evenly to coat.

Grill the chicken and the onions indoors (over medium heat) or outdoors.  For onions, cook until they are well browned.  For chicken, cook until done.  :)  Chop the cooked onion into small pieces and place in a bowl.

Pit avocados and scoop flesh in to the bowl with the onion.  Add another 1/3 of the dressing and coarsely mash everything together with an old fashioned potato masher or the back of a large fork.  Taste and season with salt.

Scoop sliced Romaine into a large bowl.  Drizzle remaining dressing over it and toss.  Divide among 4 dinner plates.  Scoop a portion of the guac into the center of each plate.  Cut chicken breasts into cubes and arrange over guac.  Sprinkle each plate with queso fresco.  Enjoy!