We're trying to get back on schedule after the holidays and each week something seems to come up that throws us all off again...Lana's testing in Little Rock, this week is Shelby's gym meet in Dallas. For the next 9 weeks we will be traveling to gym meets almost every weekend! As I was meal planning for the week I thought I'd try something different and ask each of the kids what they wanted for dinner this week "theme wise mainly". This week we're making Irish, Oriental, Mexican and Italian meals plus a few other things. Tonight was Lana's choice to pick and we are having an oritenal night. For after school snack/appetizer I made Skinny Bang Bang Cauliflower. You can google or search Pinterest and end up with about 200 recipes for buffalo cauliflower or some varition. All of the recipes are pretty much the same but this one I followed several recipes closely but decided on this one in the end.
Skinny Bang Bang Cauliflower
1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
1/2 Gfree flour blend
1/2 water
1 TBSP + 1/4 C Frank's buffalo sauce, divided
1/4C olive oil
Preheat oven to 450 degrees and grease a cookie sheet. Mix the flour, water and 1 TBSP of Buffalo sauce until combined. Dip each floret into the batter and place on the cookie sheet. Cook 10-15 minutes or until the batter has become firm. Meanwhile mix together the remaining buffalo sauce and olive oil and brush onto the cauliflower after the batter firms up. Place the cookie sheet back into the oven for another 5 minutes or until crisped. Cool and enjoy! I used Skinnytaste's low-fat blur cheese for dipping with the cauliflower and celery - here's the link to that: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/04/low-fat-creamy-blue-cheese-dressing.html
The rest of our menu entails Chicken Stir Fry and Asian Lettuce Wraps:
Chicken Stir Fry
1 lb chicken tenderloins, sliced on the biase
1 16 oz package Deluxe Stir Fry Frozen vegetables, thawed
1 Tsp sesame oil or olive oil if your allergic to sesame
1/4 C San-J Gfree Orange Sauce
Warm oil of choice in Wok or large fry pan. Salt and Pepper the tenderloins and brown in oil until chicken is cooked. Add Veggies and stir til warmed through completely then add Orange sauce. Reduce heat and simmer until most of the Sauce has absorbed and thickened.
Asian Lettuce Wraps
1 head butter lettuce (also known as Boston lettuce)
1 lb ground turkey
1 16 oz package Stiry Fry Vegetables of choice, thawed
1 tsp sesame or olive oil
1/4 C San-J Stir Fry Sauce
1 TBSP San-J Tamari gfree soy sauce
Brown the turkey in a fry pan with a little olive oil, add veggies and warm through. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Place mixture, in batches in the food processor and pulse until desired consistancy, returning to the same pan when finished. Heat over medium heat and add stiry fry sauce and soy sauce until the sauce has warmed and thickened. Meanwhile peel each butter lettuce leaf off the head and serve like a cup with about 1/4 of turkey mixture in each leaf.
Hope you enjoy these recipes!!!
mom of 4 beautiful children. From teens to toddlers and every food allergy and culinary experience along the way...
My sweet celiac and youngest, Izzy
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
Update on Lana
Lana had her 2 year biopsy this passed Friday. Although we were nervous about some new testing they were doing, it ended up being more than fine. She achieved her lowest rejection level ever! Her beautiful gift and miracle continues to shine bright and work hard. We were at Arkansas Children's for about 12 hours but she did amazing and we were released and spent another night with amazing friends. As I walked out of the outpatient surgery room and into the waiting room I noticed right away a family with three fantastic looking boys about Noah's age. I had to plug my phone in and as I sat down near them to use the wall plug one of the twins came to sit with me and started talking. They were adopted and this sweet boy in particular was absolutely involved and interested in architecture and was thumbing through a log cabin magazine. For several hours that family took my mind off of my nerves and put a big smile on my face. I have spent a large majority of my adult life in hospital waiting rooms: worrying, listening to other's stories, reading magazines, texting, checking my phone, worrying some more. I've never had a distraction quite like this and it was a welcomed one. I learned all about this family and their journey that was somewhat similar to ours. They left Chicago for Arkansas for a job with two teenage children. Their journey though was not about a job, it was about finding three more members of their family. The twin boys joined them when they were 3 and then a couple of years later they adopted their two year older, autistic brother. These boys had a light in their eyes you can't explain. I was happy to sit with them and hear their story and listen to Trent, who was in love with Marvel comics and Trey, who told me all there was to know about architecture and ceiling fans and asked me more times than I can count how many bedrooms and bathrooms our house had and how many ceiling fans we have and which rooms were they in:). They were just amazing.
Kale! Oh yeh...and some updates:)
Well, wow, I can't believe I haven't written since August. Life has been flying by and busier than ever and of course the writing takes a back seat. After all, I have the rest of my life to share with you all I've learned but only so many years to cater to my kids every whim:). Lana is a junior, Shelby a sophmore...so in two more years I will be no less of a mother but will have two kids away in college and two in elementary. That seems surreal! But I did want to catch up on a few things and hopefully share a little more than I have been lately. Since I last wrote we traveled to St. Louis again to apple pick for the second year in a row. This year my sister and her kids came along and we met her amazing friends that have been retationed there. We had such a fabulous time and great food. I learned that a restaurant we have locally, Red Robin, has a gluten free burger ON and gfree bun and gfree french fries! It's always fantastic to find new places to eat that will accomodate everyones tastes but especially Isabelle's allergies. There is a ton more I could catch you up on from birthday parties to Halloween and the holidays but it would take FOREVER to write all that. I'll try to add little bits in each new posting to catch everyone up but I will tell you that out of the blue, Isabelle has become anaphylactic to eggs. It seems it's mainly in the raw form and things like cupcakes or pancakes are ok (possibly due to the temp they reach in the cooking process???) but I am pretty much on edge about allowing her to have anything with them whatsoever. It's like starting from scratch all over again but I will tell you this...I have already learned a few tricks and I will be sharing them with some upcoming recipes! If any of you are also Egg free and have tricks of replacements I would love to hear from you!
SO with the New Year here and upon us we are going to start out with one healthy recipe that my kids love so much they've been asking for it every single day in the New Year....KALE CHIPS! I've had several friends ask for my recipe as they've tried to make them several times to no avail. So before you cringe your nose or tell me yours don't come out or it's too much work....try my recipe first.
I try to use all organic products but up here in Walmartland it is extremely hard to find organic Kale once the farmer's market closes for winter. I could drive to Fayetteville but sometimes it's just not convenient to drive the 30 minutes south to get one batch of organic Kale. When all else fails there is the big huge bags of already washed and cut up Kale in the produce section near the collard greens and spinach and that saves you half the work and time! Another very important part of making the Kale Chips successful is NOT adding salt before you cook it!
Garlic Kale Chips
1 16 oz bag already triple washed, cut up Kale
4-5 TBSP olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
seasonings of choice (I prefer minced fresh garlic or garlic powder...for a little more kick try adding a little ceyenne)
Lemon Yogurt dip
2 Tbsp non-egg Mayo (I prefer Earth Balance egg and dairy free spread but you can use Veganaise or another brand you like)
3/4 non fat plain greek yogurt
zest of one lemon
juice from one lemon
dash of salt
Preheat oven to 350. Add the kale to a bowl making sure all the big stalks/stems are removed before adding to bowl. Drizzle just enough olive oil to coat lightly. Too much will make a soggy chip and again, DO NOT salt at this point. Spread a single layer of Kale onto a cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes...at about the 8-10 minute mark you will start to smell it so check it a few times to ensure you don't burn it. It should be a dark green, if it's still lighter or bright green, it's not cooked enough. When it reaches that dark green, fragrant status, take out to let cool, but while it's still hot you want to season with your salt and pepper and any other seasonings you like on regular chips. The kids love just some salt and garlic powder. But if you like spicy you can do ceyenne or a taco seasoning or chili powder blend, you can also use infused olive oil, something like a olive oil with seasonings that you would use for Italian dipping bread and then add a little salt and parmesan. The craziest thing we've ever tried was truffle infused olive oil sprinkled with a little truffle salt and a dash of garlic powder...Might be Izzy's favorite way (she is definately my child;)). While the chips are baking away you can make the yogurt dip, all you do is combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well, refrigerate and the longer it sits the more the flavor develops. The mayo substitute adds a richness to the creamy yogurt and can be left out completely or you can use regular mayo as well. You can also sub the yogurt for fat free sour cream if you like that better.
SO with the New Year here and upon us we are going to start out with one healthy recipe that my kids love so much they've been asking for it every single day in the New Year....KALE CHIPS! I've had several friends ask for my recipe as they've tried to make them several times to no avail. So before you cringe your nose or tell me yours don't come out or it's too much work....try my recipe first.
I try to use all organic products but up here in Walmartland it is extremely hard to find organic Kale once the farmer's market closes for winter. I could drive to Fayetteville but sometimes it's just not convenient to drive the 30 minutes south to get one batch of organic Kale. When all else fails there is the big huge bags of already washed and cut up Kale in the produce section near the collard greens and spinach and that saves you half the work and time! Another very important part of making the Kale Chips successful is NOT adding salt before you cook it!
Garlic Kale Chips
1 16 oz bag already triple washed, cut up Kale
4-5 TBSP olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
seasonings of choice (I prefer minced fresh garlic or garlic powder...for a little more kick try adding a little ceyenne)
Lemon Yogurt dip
2 Tbsp non-egg Mayo (I prefer Earth Balance egg and dairy free spread but you can use Veganaise or another brand you like)
3/4 non fat plain greek yogurt
zest of one lemon
juice from one lemon
dash of salt
Preheat oven to 350. Add the kale to a bowl making sure all the big stalks/stems are removed before adding to bowl. Drizzle just enough olive oil to coat lightly. Too much will make a soggy chip and again, DO NOT salt at this point. Spread a single layer of Kale onto a cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes...at about the 8-10 minute mark you will start to smell it so check it a few times to ensure you don't burn it. It should be a dark green, if it's still lighter or bright green, it's not cooked enough. When it reaches that dark green, fragrant status, take out to let cool, but while it's still hot you want to season with your salt and pepper and any other seasonings you like on regular chips. The kids love just some salt and garlic powder. But if you like spicy you can do ceyenne or a taco seasoning or chili powder blend, you can also use infused olive oil, something like a olive oil with seasonings that you would use for Italian dipping bread and then add a little salt and parmesan. The craziest thing we've ever tried was truffle infused olive oil sprinkled with a little truffle salt and a dash of garlic powder...Might be Izzy's favorite way (she is definately my child;)). While the chips are baking away you can make the yogurt dip, all you do is combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well, refrigerate and the longer it sits the more the flavor develops. The mayo substitute adds a richness to the creamy yogurt and can be left out completely or you can use regular mayo as well. You can also sub the yogurt for fat free sour cream if you like that better.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Back to school
Going back to school is often exactly what mothers are looking forward to at the end of a busy summer and kids are dreading. For some parents though, it is a scary and hectic time of year. New teacher, new issues, new explaining and hoping that your child's teacher can take care of them the way you would if they have a physical disability, health concern or food allergy. Yesterday I sent my two high schoolers off to the beginning of their junior and sophmore first days and was able to attend and meet most of their teachers. I flashed back to their first days of preschool and all of the subsequent years after when I had to go in and speak to Lana's teacher about her heart defect and go into detail about every little thing she could, or could not do. I actually had a letter on my computer that I updated and printed off each year for them and the PE coach to keep in the classroom. Well, this was the first year I did not have to explain anything about her or her heart condition. Last year I was still going around and explaining that she had just had a heart transplant and would be absent quite a bit and so forth. This year, she has a parking spot and a car and a full class load preparing her for college. WOW!
This year it also starts all over for me, Isabelle starts big girl preschool. No more, Mother's Day Out where her teacher was a celiac and understood everything. This year we go three days a week in a new school, with new teachers. Preparing mentally is half the battle. What I have learned through dealing with teachers the last 15 years is that, they err on the side of caution. It is rare to not get a teacher that will stop and call you before they give your child something. Gluten is a tricky one because although it is gaining in awareness, it's still misunderstood. People do not understand all the things that contain gluten nor do they understand the impact of celiac's disease. Most people are not anaphylactic but it doesn't mean it isn't serious. SO, #1 prepare yourself mentally (meet the teacher, talk with the school and know you've done all you can and feel confident that you've taught them and YOUR CHILD well) , #2 talk to the teacher about the allergy in detail/educate her on the disease or allergy, what it means, write a letter if necessary with a list of things that have hidden gluten in it and #3 be prepared. I've ordered Gfree animal cookies and graham crackers, cereals, crackers, anything that they might be serving for snacktime and I will bring that into the classroom the first day for the teacher to keep on hand. I also will ask for a list of the birthdays in the classroom and stock the freezer with cupcakes so when there is a birthday celebration in the classroom, I will defrost the cupcake and decorate and bring it to class so that Isabelle can celebrate along with her classmates. At this stage I still pack her lunch so that is all in my control. I've also bought moon dough and gfree glue so that she can participate safely with crafts without becoming sick. I've researched and bought gfree hand sanitzer for the classroom. Yes there is an expense that goes along with being prepared but to keep her safe and help with the learning process it is well worth it for our family.
These are just some ideas to help you through the start of the school year. I hope this helps with the little ones.
This year it also starts all over for me, Isabelle starts big girl preschool. No more, Mother's Day Out where her teacher was a celiac and understood everything. This year we go three days a week in a new school, with new teachers. Preparing mentally is half the battle. What I have learned through dealing with teachers the last 15 years is that, they err on the side of caution. It is rare to not get a teacher that will stop and call you before they give your child something. Gluten is a tricky one because although it is gaining in awareness, it's still misunderstood. People do not understand all the things that contain gluten nor do they understand the impact of celiac's disease. Most people are not anaphylactic but it doesn't mean it isn't serious. SO, #1 prepare yourself mentally (meet the teacher, talk with the school and know you've done all you can and feel confident that you've taught them and YOUR CHILD well) , #2 talk to the teacher about the allergy in detail/educate her on the disease or allergy, what it means, write a letter if necessary with a list of things that have hidden gluten in it and #3 be prepared. I've ordered Gfree animal cookies and graham crackers, cereals, crackers, anything that they might be serving for snacktime and I will bring that into the classroom the first day for the teacher to keep on hand. I also will ask for a list of the birthdays in the classroom and stock the freezer with cupcakes so when there is a birthday celebration in the classroom, I will defrost the cupcake and decorate and bring it to class so that Isabelle can celebrate along with her classmates. At this stage I still pack her lunch so that is all in my control. I've also bought moon dough and gfree glue so that she can participate safely with crafts without becoming sick. I've researched and bought gfree hand sanitzer for the classroom. Yes there is an expense that goes along with being prepared but to keep her safe and help with the learning process it is well worth it for our family.
These are just some ideas to help you through the start of the school year. I hope this helps with the little ones.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Read The Fine Print...
One thing many mom's of children with food allergies and people WITH food allergies learn to do very well and very quickly is read food labels. But do you really know what you are reading? For instance, did you know that things that read Autolyzed Yeast Extract and Modified Food Starch can both contain traces of wheat? Yep they sure can....and there is nothing other than research or knowledge, or flat out a bad experience that would let you know that just by reading the label
Also, with the Gluten Free diet becoming a "trend setter" in the news and on more labels, it's getting more attention. This is usually a good thing to raise awareness of things people don't even think about normally. I mean, eveyone knows what having a peanut allergy if like these days and it can be a very good thing to raise awareness for all these life threatening allergies our children and other adults have but Gluten seems to be a puzzling thing. People look at you as if they have no idea what you are talking about. Oh, you mean seasoning can have Gluten in it? Pudding, Candy, Chocolate, and so on.....No it's not just your everyday bread, crackers and pasta so the new awareness is a positive for the most part. BUT there are also dangers to this new awareness. For instance, many of the new pizza places like Dominos and Maggio's are advertising a Gluten Free Pizza Crust. Great, that's awesome. Glad to have another product in the community like this that naturally raises awareness but have you ever read the fine print on their commericals or adds? They make their Gfree crust in the same kitchen as the other regular glutenous crust and put it in the same oven and on the same pans. So their fine print states that if you have an allergy, verses living a gfree lifestyle/diet, you should NOT eat their gfree pizza. To me, it means it truly isn't Gfree and doesn't help our lifestyle at all because Isabelle can get sick from standing in a facility that has flour in the air, much less something that has touched a pan that has had regular pizza crust on it. So please, for those with celiac's or the more severe form of Gluten intolerance, stay away.
And whatever you do, READ THE FINE PRINT.
Also, with the Gluten Free diet becoming a "trend setter" in the news and on more labels, it's getting more attention. This is usually a good thing to raise awareness of things people don't even think about normally. I mean, eveyone knows what having a peanut allergy if like these days and it can be a very good thing to raise awareness for all these life threatening allergies our children and other adults have but Gluten seems to be a puzzling thing. People look at you as if they have no idea what you are talking about. Oh, you mean seasoning can have Gluten in it? Pudding, Candy, Chocolate, and so on.....No it's not just your everyday bread, crackers and pasta so the new awareness is a positive for the most part. BUT there are also dangers to this new awareness. For instance, many of the new pizza places like Dominos and Maggio's are advertising a Gluten Free Pizza Crust. Great, that's awesome. Glad to have another product in the community like this that naturally raises awareness but have you ever read the fine print on their commericals or adds? They make their Gfree crust in the same kitchen as the other regular glutenous crust and put it in the same oven and on the same pans. So their fine print states that if you have an allergy, verses living a gfree lifestyle/diet, you should NOT eat their gfree pizza. To me, it means it truly isn't Gfree and doesn't help our lifestyle at all because Isabelle can get sick from standing in a facility that has flour in the air, much less something that has touched a pan that has had regular pizza crust on it. So please, for those with celiac's or the more severe form of Gluten intolerance, stay away.
And whatever you do, READ THE FINE PRINT.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Smart Flour Foods and a yummy, healthy chicken salad recipe
Ok, I have one heck of a chicken salad recipe for you guys that is healthy and omits mayo altogether! What's that you say? How can you have chicken salad without mayo? Listen here my friends:)...
I have been quite obsessed with Pinterest and I've seen alot of pins that have been subbing avocado puree for mayo. Even though we LOVE avocado and I can see the similarity in the textures I was still unsure of this. Well no longer my friend! I had 3/4 of a leftover rotisserrie chicken from a recipe I made earlier in the week and I shredded all the meat into a bowl, added 1/2 C of celery and if you like raw onion, 1/2 cup sweet onion both diced or for a little twist you could add 2 minced shallots. In my food processor I put two HAAS avocados, seed and skin removed, 1 TBSP organic sour cream and a pinch of salt, garlic powder and cumin. Combine in the food processor and stir into the chicken, celery and onion if using. It was FANTASTIC! I added some halved grape tomatoes and put it in a lettuce cup and had it like a lettuce wrap but you could also stuff it inside a gfree pita half or a Gfree tortilla with some arugula and cheese.
Happy eating!
Now for some Gfree talk about a new company, ok well it's not new but it's new to me and this is ONE HAPPY MOMMA. I found them by accident when I followed a gfree recipe link that ended me on their website and the opening line reads, " Many gluten free products lack essential vitamins & minerals. Smart Flour™ is a unique gluten free flour blend of ancient grains created by Smart Flour Foods." OK, you definately have my attention. The whole website was filled with great information on their products and ancient grains. They have products from their flour blends for bread, pizza, all purpose baking to actual cookie dough and brownies, premade pizza crusts and so on. The price of the products themselves were very reasonable, the shipping however was almost a deal breaker. BUT, they offer if you have a $100 in products the shipping is free....now THAT'S what I'm talking about. It didn't take me long to rack up a $100 in products to try! I ordered a sampler pack as well as some other things and let me tell you, we love it ALL. Everything we've tried, all I have made with their flour, it is amazingly good. So here's a small plug for a wonderful Gfree company!
http://www.smartflourfoods.com/
I have been quite obsessed with Pinterest and I've seen alot of pins that have been subbing avocado puree for mayo. Even though we LOVE avocado and I can see the similarity in the textures I was still unsure of this. Well no longer my friend! I had 3/4 of a leftover rotisserrie chicken from a recipe I made earlier in the week and I shredded all the meat into a bowl, added 1/2 C of celery and if you like raw onion, 1/2 cup sweet onion both diced or for a little twist you could add 2 minced shallots. In my food processor I put two HAAS avocados, seed and skin removed, 1 TBSP organic sour cream and a pinch of salt, garlic powder and cumin. Combine in the food processor and stir into the chicken, celery and onion if using. It was FANTASTIC! I added some halved grape tomatoes and put it in a lettuce cup and had it like a lettuce wrap but you could also stuff it inside a gfree pita half or a Gfree tortilla with some arugula and cheese.
Happy eating!
Now for some Gfree talk about a new company, ok well it's not new but it's new to me and this is ONE HAPPY MOMMA. I found them by accident when I followed a gfree recipe link that ended me on their website and the opening line reads, " Many gluten free products lack essential vitamins & minerals. Smart Flour™ is a unique gluten free flour blend of ancient grains created by Smart Flour Foods." OK, you definately have my attention. The whole website was filled with great information on their products and ancient grains. They have products from their flour blends for bread, pizza, all purpose baking to actual cookie dough and brownies, premade pizza crusts and so on. The price of the products themselves were very reasonable, the shipping however was almost a deal breaker. BUT, they offer if you have a $100 in products the shipping is free....now THAT'S what I'm talking about. It didn't take me long to rack up a $100 in products to try! I ordered a sampler pack as well as some other things and let me tell you, we love it ALL. Everything we've tried, all I have made with their flour, it is amazingly good. So here's a small plug for a wonderful Gfree company!
http://www.smartflourfoods.com/
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Garden...Sustainable Living
This year we have tried our hand at gardening. We've always had herbs in pots but this year we decided to go all out and teach the kids about what healthy organic food is all about. We live a healthy food lifestyle but growing it ourselves???? I thought no way can I keep anything else alive other than the kids and the dogs;). BUT...to my surprise, we have had an entire garden all summer, including surviving in the worst heat we've ever seen. This year we have grown tomatoes, corn, summer squash, spaghetti squash, mint, sage, rosemary, basil, and now pumpkins and watermelon. When we started it, it was an easy thought to run out and grab something to deal with aphids on the tomatoes.....I insisted that if we were doing this, doing this and teaching our children that we would use NOTHING that was not safe and healthy for the kids. So I researched what the best way to treat Aphids naturally was....lets see: there are lady bugs, there is a couple of drops of dawn dish detergent in some water sprayed onto the aphids a few times and there is the 3 TBSP of minced garlic soaked in olive oil for 3 days and added to the same dawn water you have leftover.
This is just the beginning of our amazing adventure in gardening:). Stay tuned but how cool is it that we have a pumpkin patch in our back yard?????:)
This is just the beginning of our amazing adventure in gardening:). Stay tuned but how cool is it that we have a pumpkin patch in our back yard?????:)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)