Friday Foodie Fix

Today’s Secret Ingredient for Friday Foodie Fix is Chickpeas.  They are also called garbanzo beans and in Italy ceci.  Chickpeas are legumes.  They are round but with sensual curves and a pale creamish yellow color which is nothing like a lemon.  Firm texture and a nut like flavor fill your mouth.  You can even undress them by taking off the skins.  Chickpeas can be purchased canned and dried and are often found in many dishes from India, the Middle East, Mediterranean cuisine and even Mexican meals.

Chickpeas are a good source of zinc, folate, dietary fiber, protein and calcium.  So what’s not to love about chickpeas?

This week I shared two of my favorite recipes using chickpeas, La Cecina and Roasted Chickpeas.  I’ve also used them in my Pasta Fagioli, Amazing Toasted Nuts, Falafel, and  Tuna Chickpea Salad.

Now it’s your turn to share your recipes and ideas for chickpeas.  Please link to the recipe page with this ingredient and then link back to this post so people can find more chickpea recipes.

Please see the master page for Friday Foodie Fix with a complete listing of all the past Secret Ingredients and rules.  Coming soon a month schedule of Secret Ingredients for those who like to plan ahead!

Next week’s Secret Ingredient is …..Plums!

I first saw this wonderful bread on Dolce Vita, David Rocco’s cooking show.  It is naturally gluten and dairy free and so easy to make.  I really like this bread with a salad, a meal, or as a meal on it’s own when I’m traveling.

If you are looking for something that is also budget friendly, well this is the deal.  A bag of chickpea flour is a little over a pound and costs around $3-4.  It’s a great deal and can be the centerpiece of your meal.  My oldest who is a vegetarian, likes to toast this bread and top it with Buffalo Wing sauce.  He’s very creative that way.

David says that La Cecina is very common in Italy.  I hope to go there sometime just to see if that is really true.  I followed David’s recipe the first few times I made this bread, but you know me.  I like to experiment and change up seasonings so this recipe is a little different, but not much.  I asked David on Facebook if he ever made this with rosemary or garlic.  He said no but it sounded good.  So I gave it a try.  I hope you will too.

La Cecina

Servings: 16

Prep Time: 5 minute active, 60 minutes inactive

Cooking Time:  35 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound chickpea flour

6 cups of cold filtered water

5 TB Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 TB Celtic Sea Salt

2 tsp minced toasted onion

1 tsp minced toasted garlic

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Mix together everything in a large bowl except only mix in 2 TB of the oil.  Make sure you get rid of all lumps in the mixture.

Let this rest for 1 hour.

Put the remaining olive oil into your 14 inch pizza pan.  Pour the batter into the pan slowly so it floats in the oil.

Bake until golden brown.  I slice it up like a pizza but you can cut it any way you like.

I usually will eat this warm right out of the oven but it does taste good cold.

How I love chickpeas or as some call them, garbanzo beans. I was not always a fan but over the past 5 years we have become very close. I make La Cecina which uses garbanzo bean flour (recipe coming later this week), hummus and these little gems.    All three of them traveled with me to the IFBC (International Food Bloggers Conference).    They were practically all I lived on during the conference.   More on that later.

Now many people have shared recipes for roasting chickpeas.   The most recent was Jaden Hair on Steamy Kitchen.   So I’m going to refer you to her post where she shows you with great photos step by step how to make this recipe.   I have only changed a few things but this is a basic recipe most people use. (I am not sure if the spices she used are gluten free so check your spices before jumping in).

First, I didn’t use a convection oven like she did and it takes my chickpeas more like 45 minutes to cook and get crispy.  I would suggest you start checking after 30 minutes to see how they cook in your oven.  I will say I have pulled them out and let them cool a little only to find out they were not as crunchy as I had wanted.  I just put the pan back into the oven for 5-10 minutes and that did the trick.

Next I like to vary my seasonings.  Most recently my favorite is a Turkish Blend from Penzeys.  It contains salt, cumin, garlic, half-sharp paprika, black pepper, Turkish oregano, sumac and cilantro.  I also love to sprinkle it onto my hummus with a little olive oil.

Also, I like to use Eden Organic cans of chickpeas because the cans are BPA free.  I’ve never had a problem with their products as far as cross contamination but you should be ever vigilant with anything you eat.

Now I’ve also made a variation on this with nuts called my Amazing Toasted Nuts.  So if you are looking to expand this beyond beans, give that one a try.

Roasted Chickpeas

Servings: 1 if it’s me, 2 if I share, 3 if I’m having an off day

Prep time: approximately 3-5 minutes

Cooking time: approximately 30-50 minutes

Ingredients:

1 can of chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried (while you’re at it use two cans)

Organic Olive oil to coat

Celtic Sea Salt

Turkish Seasonings or your favorite

Directions:

After you rinse the beans you need to dry them or the oil will just roll right off.  Toss them in oil and put them on your cookie sheet.  I like to line the sheet with foil so there is less clean up for me in the end.

Bake 30-50 minutes in a 400 degree oven or until crispy but not burnt.

As soon as you take them out sprinkle with salt and seasonings.  Now I’m not good at letting them cool before I start popping them into my mouth so I sometimes get burnt.  I like to see if they are as crunchy as i like but use caution and your own better judgement than mine.  Also, let them cool completely before putting them into a container.  If they are still hot and you seal them in, you will steam them and they will no longer be crunchy.

It’s rare but sometimes they do make it into a container.  It’s usually a little baggie that goes into my purse for trips or my “emergency stash”.  The ones pictured above are ready for the NFL season opener game on Thursday night.  Last year’s Super Bowl teams are playing again.  I wonder who will win this one?

Give these tasty treats a try and let me know what seasonings you like on yours.  Don’t forget to check out Jaden’s post for the pictures and she also has a list of where you can find more recipes using different spice combos.

So I hope this recipe has you thinking about chickpeas.  They are the Secret Ingredient for Friday Foodie Fix this week.  Feel free to make a variation on this recipe and share it then.

Friday Foodie Fix

Today’s Secret Ingredient for Friday Foodie Fix is coffee.  People either love it or hate it.  I’ve never been a fan but my college age son says I should really give it a try and can be used in so many recipes.

So this summer on vacation we went to Blue Bottle Coffee in San Francisco.  I had him with me and thought I would try my first cup of coffee.  It was mixed with chocolate and I’m sure that has a name.  I thought the combo might be something I liked.  They did a great job of making sure it was gluten and dairy free but I still didn’t like it.  His next suggestion is to start with a latte and gradually add in the coffee.  Maybe I’ll give this a try on my next visit to Blue Bottle.

Writing about coffee today I went to my tried and true Deluxe Food Lover’s Companion and they have a lot of information on the subject.  They tell you where it is thought to have originated, Ethiopia, all about the different types of beans and how they go from bean to your cup.  They also suggest storing whole roasted beans in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 2 weeks and for long storage the freezer up to 3 months.  I guess that bag I’ve had in the freezer since last Christmas should go to the garden.

Coffee

They (Food Lover’s Companion) also share how to make the perfect-tasting cup of coffee.  I didn’t know that you have to start with an absolutely clean coffee pot and filter.  The residual coffee oils from previous brews can make the current batch a bitter or rancid flavor.  I guess if I’m making pot after pot in a row it needs more than a good rinsing.   Check out their book for more of those great tips.

So I don’t drink or cook with coffee but I know a lot of you do.  So I am hoping you will share some great ideas of both food and drink that uses coffee so I’ll have more options to try as I continue my search for coffee I like.

Next week’s Secret Ingredient is ……….. Chickpea!

Our guest blogger today is Jessica Meyer.

Jessica currently lives in Austin, TX where she is a full-time graduate student (MS Nutrition), gluten-free personal chef and nutritionist. Since she was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, she has made it her mission to help others in their journey of living the abundant gluten-free lifestyle. Follow her on Twitter , Facebook or her blog (http://atxglutenfree.wordpress.com) to keep up to date with original recipes, gluten-free news and general life musings.

Jessica’s Recipe: Green tomato towers with spicy yogurt sauce and fresh feta

Jessica’s Tip: Simplify your ingredients

With the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it makes it difficult for us to simplify things sometimes. Since we cannot always control what is going on, at least you and your family know that you can control the food that goes into your body. That gives me a peace of mind; knowing that I am benefitting my health by eating good quality ingredients that are full of vitamins and minerals. Not only is simplifying your meals easier on you, it is easier on your wallet and makes it easier for the family to appreciate good quality ingredients. Less is more.

Here are some tips to simplifying your ingredients:

1) Savor the flavor.

Using simple and quality ingredients, you really learn to savor the flavor of the true dish you have created. The recipe below for instance has bright, green tomatoes. The simple, yogurt sauce really brings out the sweetness of the green tomato.

2) Buy local ingredients when possible.

Buying local supports your local economy and the environment. The ingredients will taste better also and you will feel good about purchasing local.

3) Enjoy good quality oils, salts and vinegars.

Quality not quantity. Good quality oils, salts and vinegars go a long way. You use less, but at the same time, it feels like more because the flavor profiles reach further.

4) Plan ahead.

This is easier said than done sometimes, but is possible. Planning ahead can save you time, money and sanity. I try to plan ahead by creating weekly menu plans with what I purchase at my local farmers market.

5) Know what is in season.

This goes hand in hand with buying local. Local farmers markets sell what is in season. It tastes better and is cheaper. Check out this handy guide to see what is in season in your area.

6) Cook with cast iron.

Cast iron is wonderful to cook with. It can be passed down for generations if taken care of properly, and it enriches your food with iron.

Green tomatoes with spicy yogurt sauce and fresh feta

Serves 1-2

Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

2 green tomatoes, sliced

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon champagne vinegar

½ tablespoon plain Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon feta

6 mint leaves, cut at chiffonade

Instructions:

Slice tomatoes into thick slices. Place tomatoes on top of each other on plate, like a tower.

In a separate bowl, combine oil, yogurt, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, pepper and spices. Whisk together.

Pour spicy yogurt sauce over green tomatoes. Top with fresh feta and mint.

For more recipes visit Jessica’s blog at:  http://atxglutenfree.wordpress.com

Or subscribe to her RSS feed here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ATXGluten-Free

For more visit now.

Friday Foodie Fix

Today’s Secret Ingredient for Friday Foodie Fix is School Breakfast and Lunches.

It’s that time of year again when we all start thinking about what on earth are we going to make for breakfast when there is no time in the morning and what can we send them off to school with that they’ll eat!

Well I know that you all are very smart and have loads of ideas.  I hope you will share them here.

If you have a current or older recipe post that would be great for those school day breakfasts or packed lunches, please share the link.  Don’t forget to go back to that recipe and link back to this post.  Thank you for doing that and sharing the love.

If you don’t have a blog to link to please leave a comment with your recipe and/or tip.

Tiffin Lunch Box Set

With the start of school right around the corner, I think we could all use some new tips, some old reminders and just knowing we are all in this boat together.  Thank you for sharing your ideas.  Also if you have ideas on which lunch box you use, share that too.  I found this eco-friendly one, Tiffin and this really interesting one.  Wonder where I can get a lunch box that turns into a table?

Next week’s Secret Ingredient is ………..coffee!

Yes, this week’s edition of 30 Days to a Food Revolution is written by me.  I’ve wanted to join in but wanted to make sure I gave lots of great bloggers a chance to share.  With this being  August with lots of people on vacation there was an open week.

Diane’s Recipe:  Italian Torta

Diane’s Tip:  Use what you have on hand, especially if it came from your garden or local farmers market.

This may sound silly but this is one of those meals I make when I don’t want to cook.  Now I realize I’m cooking but for me this is a no-brainer recipe because it’s a method and I’ve done it so many times I just don’t think about it.  This meal is also Budget Friendly and can be made in no time flat.  I like to serve it on a pizza paddle but it’s grain free!

Ingredients:

Eggs

Fresh Vegetables

Potato- white or sweet

Onion and Garlic

Tomatoes if going with Italian

Salty meat on hand like bacon

Herb from garden- I used basil, thyme, rosemary

Directions:

I’ve gone back to a little trick with bacon that is a great way to always have some ready to use without eating a whole package. (yep) First let me say I only use organic uncured bacon.  I don’t think I’ll ever go back.  When you open a package of bacon, take out what you don’t need at the moment and roll each slice individually.  Then I use that plastic wrap that is sticky but you can use any type.  I space out the bacon and cover it so each piece has plastic all around it.  It makes little packets of individual rolls of bacon.  Then when I need it I can just grab one or two pieces and save time and money.

I start this recipe by putting two of those frozen pieces of bacon in my skillet so they cook up nice and crisp and flavor my oil.  Once they are cooked remove the bacon to use as a topping.

Of course to keep this vegetarian either omit the bacon or use a vegetarian version.

Dice up the onions and potatoes.  Cook them in a little oil in the non-stick skillet.  I like to use Organic Virgin Olive Oil but Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil works great too.  Remove them from the pan.

Next saute whatever other vegetables you have.  I always have mushrooms around and this week I had zucchini from the farmers market.  Once browned remove from pan and combine with onions and potatoes.

Now you want to toss in your tomatoes and herbs.  These cute little round cherry tomatoes came from my garden.  This tomato plant is growing like crazy.  It’s taken over my front garden and I don’t do anything to take care of it.  Love that.

Once the tomatoes have started to burst open and start to char remove the herbs, add in your eggs that you have beaten for a few minutes.  The longer you beat the fluffier it will be.

When a little crust starts to form on the bottom add back the vegetables spread throughout the pan.  I also sprinkled it with fresh spinach leaves.  Add in some Sea Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper and sprinkle with some Daiya cheese.  You can also top with basil.  I used both the green and the purple opal basil.  Oh and don’t forget to toss in the bacon.  Turn down the pan from medium high to medium.  If your pan is small you will need to put a piece of foil over the top to it will cook.  You can always finish it in the oven but I was in a hurry so I just used the foil even on a large pan.  Before serving top with basil.  I used both the green and the purple opal basil.  When the eggs look cooked you’re ready to eat.

I slid it onto the pizza paddle and cut it up like a pizza.  It was a great fast meal that went great with a glass of wine.

Shared this on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

First thing I want to do is congratulate Jamie Oliver and crew for winning an Emmy for Outstanding Reality Show with Jamie’s Food Revolution.  How exciting is that!   You the reader, have been and still are part of the Food Revolution.  Keep it up!  We were fortunate enough to have Jamie’s Food Stylist, Anna Helm-Baxter, join in on the 30 Days to a Food Revolution and share her recipe for Granola Bars on Day 30.  Congratulations to everyone.  I hope this continues to move the Food Revolution along.

I am soooooo excited about this week I can’t hardly stand it.  I’m not even sure what I’m going to eat.  It will most likely be leftovers since my entire family will be going in different directions.  What I’m excited about is on Thursday morning I’m getting on a plane and heading to Seattle.  My first trip there.

But that’s not the best part. I’m going to attend the IFBC (International Food Bloggers Conference).

But that’s not the best part. There will be lots of food bloggers from all over the world and gluten free bloggers.  There will also be  amazing chefs, celebrties in the food world like James Oseland, Editor-in-Chief of Saveur, Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me creator), tons of amazing presenters teaching me about recipe writing, food photography and other blog technology.

But that’s not the best part. Almost the entire event is being held in a chocolate factory, Theo Chocolate.  Yes, I said I’ll be in a chocolate factory for 2 full days.  Move over Charlie, my childhood dream has finally come true.   If I don’t come home, you’ll know where to look.

But that’s not the best part. On Sunday when most folks are eating from the Lunch Truck (cool meals) I will be joining my fellow gluten free bloggers who are being treated to a meal prepared by Shauna and Danny Ahern (Gluten-Free Girl and The Chef).  Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about the whole event, but to hang out with other folks in the gluten free blogging world and have one of the best cooking for you, well that’s pure heaven.  They sent out the menu and it sounds amazing.  They’re even making sure that there is no dairy or rice in the meal.  You know even most gluten free folks don’t want to cook for me when I toss in the line, I can’t eat rice either.  I believe the recipes they are cooking can be found in their new cookbook coming out in September.  Have you pre-orderd yours? I have!  If you missed their video I shared a couple of weeks ago, make sure to check it out.

I’m going to work really hard before I go to share some recipes from last week’s menu.  Thank you for all of the notes asking for them.  But while I’m there I can’t promise I’ll get very many posts up.  I will however be tweeting (using #IFBC) and sharing info on my personal Facebook page as it happens. (also check out IFBC’s website for more info during the events)  Right now I’m really wishing I had one of those new iPhones 4 instead of my 3G.  The 4 takes amazing photos that I could tweet and share right away.  I’ll give it a try with my little 3G.

Well that’s it for now.  I don’t know how I’m ever going to be ready to go by Thursday but ready or not, I’m going!

Oh, one more thing.  Don’t forget to join in for Friday Foodie Fix. The Secret Ingredient is School Breakfasts and Lunches.  I hope you will share your tips and recipes and find some new ones too!  Have a great week everyone.

This week’s Secret Ingredient for Friday Foodie Fix is Sunflower Seeds!

I found this great photo of a sunflower with this cool recipe for Sunflower Soup on the Care2 website.  It’s a variation on the West African Peanut Soup.  What a great idea.  I can’t wait to give it a try.

Friday Foodie Fix

If you are stumped on what to do with sunflower seeds you should visit the National Sunflower Association.  They have tons of ideas.  If you eat gluten and dairy free you’ll need to make the necessary adjustments.

Have you ever had sunflower seeds on a pizza?  They taste really good.  A nice little salty crunch.

This pizza was really good.  It had tomato sauce, spinach, shitake mushrooms, caramelized onions, Daiya cheeses and sunflower seeds with a sprinkle of granulated garlic.  I of course sprinkled Red Pepper Flakes on my slices.

Now it’s your turn to share.  Add in your recipes with Sunflower Seeds. Don’t forget to link back to this post.  For all past Secret Ingredients visit the Friday Foodie Fix page.

Next week’s Secret Ingredient will be Your School Breakfast or Lunch Recipes and/or Tips.

OK, so that’s not just an ingredient but I’ll be at the IFBC (International Food Blogging Conference) with a bunch of really cool bloggers and I know we’ll all be learning and eating.  I plan on sharing the events through my facebook page and twitter.  So if you are not following me, get to it now!

Thank you all who took the time with last week’s poll on what types of recipes you would like to see on this blog.  It really helps me to focus on what you’re most interested in reading about.   If you didn’t take the Poll, you can still share your opinion.

So now I want a little more information.  I want to know where you shop for your food.  The first poll wants to know where you shop for a majority of your food.  The second poll wants to know where else you shop for your food.

Thank you for sharing.

Sarah Graham loves all things gluten free. She also loves local & organically grown food. She also loves dessert. That can be difficult for someone with a gluten intolerance, yet she perseveres. Sarah runs her own gluten free blog Gluten Girl in Austin, is the Austin Gluten Free Food Examiner and interns at a local organic food company helping plan events. She works a “boring” job in real estate to support her love of food and gluten free dessert. Contact her at glutengirlinaustin@gmail.com.

Sarah’s Recipe: Grandma Dorothy’s Spaghetti & Meatballs

Sarah’s Tip: Cook with love

Why does all of America pretty much detest Mr. Ex Sandra Bullock (Jesse James)? Well because we love Sandra. Her engaging and down to earth personality has won her many fans over the years, but she’s never had as many as she does now. When we found out Jesse James cheated on her, the nation embraced Sandra with magazine covers, standing ovations and more positive press than most get in an entire career. It’s kind of silly isn’t it? That we think we know a person without ever having met or spoken to her? Yet we feel a connection with her through films & interviews. We relate. It feels like we know her.

Unfortunately, my life began close to the end of grandmother Dorothy’s. I don’t remember her. I wish I did. The things I know of her are the lovely memories others have, her delicious meatball recipe, and my personal favorite, that I sometimes remind people of her. It’s my laugh or my smile or my nose. It’s hard to miss a person you never met, but sometimes I do. She was a good cook. I am not…not yet anyway. She had a delicious spaghetti & meatball recipe that my mother reprises from time to time. When Diane called for recipes, I knew I wanted to try it myself.

I almost felt nervous about attempting the dish. I wanted to be sure I got it right, that I made my grandmother proud. As the sauce simmered, I watchfully tended to it for over an hour. I pictured Dorothy doing the same in her kitchen, albeit with less nerves than I.

I gently rolled the meatballs in gluten free breadcrumbs and thought about what she and I might have chatted about over lunch. Did our laughs really sound alike? Was her nose pointy like mine? Throughout the two hour cooking process, as I followed each step, it felt a little bit like meeting my grandma. No, I don’t have a memory I can reckon back to when I think of her, but cooking her spaghetti helped me feel her spirit, her presence. I felt like I knew her, just like we feel like we know Sandra, and I don’t care if it’s silly.

Now I share her love with you and ask that you pass it on. Maybe not through this recipe but one that is special to you. So many days we need a quick & easy meal, me more than anyone. But some lazy days, it’s nice to set aside a few hours to relive a family tradition like grandma’s meatballs or mom’s apple pie or dad’s bbq chicken and to really put love into what you are cooking. Then pass the recipes on to your children, and your children’s children. Let your love live on. It may not seem like it means much now, but maybe one day it may help someone you don’t even know feel close to you, even if just for a meal.

Grandma Dorothy’s Spaghetti  & Meatballs

Note: I encourage the use of local produce when possible. I purchased the onion, pork, bison, parsley, garlic, eggs and mozzarella from the local farmer’s market.

Sauce:

1 chopped onion

3 tbsp oil (any kind, I used olive)

1 lg can tomatoes (sauce or crushed will work)

2 six oz cans tomato paste

1 ½  c water

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 bay leaf

Brown onion in oil. Add other ingredients & simmer for one hour. While simmering, make the meatballs.

Meatballs:

¾ lb ground bison (or sub ground beef, turkey, etc)

¼ lb ground pork

¾ c gluten free breadcrumbs

½ c grated parmesan cheese (finely grated)

1 sprig parsley, chopped finely

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ c milk

1 well beaten egg

salt & pepper to your preference

Combine ingredients into balls and brown in large skillet.

A note about the breadcrumbs/wet ingredients: I recommend adding the wet ingredients last so that you can judge if you need more or less based on how your breadcrumbs absorb them. I tried Glutino’s brand in my recipe, and they did not absorb. Therefore I had to use less wet ingredients than you will if you use a better kind of breadcrumbs. You might need to up the milk to ½ c or eggs to 2 if you use something more absorbent.

Cook until done inside. Add meatballs to sauce & cook an additional 15 minutes on low heat. While cooking, boil gluten free pasta. I used Tinkyada organic spaghetti. If you use the whole bag, you’ll still have extra sauce, so just make what pasta you’ll eat and save the sauce for leftovers.

Remove bay leaf from sauce. Top cooked noodles with sauce & sprinkle with Parmesan or mozzarella cheese if desired & serve.

First, thank you to all who took the time to answer the 1 question poll on what you want to see on this blog.  Also, thank you to those who found out what was The Big Deal.

This summer is winding down but not before we celebrate my youngest son’s birthday.  He’ll be 17 on the 17th.  He’s asked me to make him a two tier birthday cake with frosting.  He’s a brave kid.  I’m totally doing what I call cheating and using a box mix from Cherry Brook Farms and the frosting was made by Whole Foods.  All are gluten and dairy free.  Someday I’ll learn the fine art of cake making in the world of gluten and dairy free, but for now I’m focusing on other foods.

This week I’ll continue to play with my green smoothies to see what different combos taste like.  Over the last week I picked up some new hot peppers I’d like to cook with and some different types of plums to snack on.

As part of taking care of myself and trying to get my body to settle back down and release some of the weight, I’m walking everyday for an hour, stretching (helps get rid of the Fuzz) and journaling everything I eat.

I write down what and how much of everything I eat and if I feel not as good as I should after eating anything in particular.  So far I’ve noticed that all grains seem to be bothering me and corn kernels.  I’ll need to stay away from them as the swelling is not something fun.   I’ve also noticed that my body is not that happy with Frank’s Buffalo Wing sauce.

I’m not sure just yet what all of that means, but by keeping track I’m becoming a detective as far as what my body is irritated by and that is a huge help.  I find that sticking with mostly vegetables, fruits and small portions of lean fish and chicken, some pork and very little beef, my body does seem happier.  Funny I think I’ve heard this was good for a person before.  Why do I have such a hard time learning this?

If you are experiencing swelling or irritation, keeping track of everything you eat might be a great way to start to detect what else is bothering you.  If you live gluten free and cheat, well you already know what’s bothering you.  But if you are sure you are not having cross contamination and you are still having issues, time to become that detective and start eliminating other foods.

Sometimes it’s hard for me to be patient with this but I know in the end I will feel so much better.

So for my menu this week it will be vegetable heavy but I’ll be including some seafood and chicken and letting the rest of my family eat the quinoa and rice.

Monday- Italian Torta- Budget Friendly and Minute Meal

Tuesday-Birthday Dinner out at Brad’s favorite place- Chima

Wednesday- Guajillo Chile Shrimp and Chorizo over quinoa – Minute Meal, Budget Friendly if you buy shrimp on sale.

Thursday- Greek Meatloaf (recipe can be found in The Gluten-Free Diner cookbook), boiled potatoes and green beans- Budget Friendly

Friday-POM Chicken with vegetables and quinoa- Budget Friendly

Saturday- Chicken and Vegetable Kebobs- Budget Friendly

Sunday- Ham and peas with pototes au gratin- Budget Friendly and Minute Meal

More menus from lots of bloggers found on OrgJunkie.

Friday Foodie Fix

This week’s Secret Ingredient is Basil!  Right now the basil is growing like crazy in my herb garden.  Well mostly because I don’t really tend to the garden, I just go out and cut from it.  I have to say there is something very satisfying about walking outside to cut basil, thyme, sage, chives, rosemary, and kale from my tiny garden.  I love it.  Especially the fresh basil.  I love to make pesto, add it to my Roasted Tomato Soup, use it in Spaghetti and Meatballs and my latest pasta dish, Individual Lasagnas- Gluten, Dairy and Soy Free.   If you happen to have a lot of basil on hand, check out my Kitchen Tip.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

As I was gathering information on basil, I went to my trusted source book, The Deluxe Food Lovers Companion. Really if you have not bought this book yet I don’t know what you are waiting for.  Amazon has a great deal on it and you can get it in my store. (thanks for the tiny % they share with me).

Basil is a key herb in Mediterranean cooking and essential to the traditional Pesto.  Basil has beautiful and delicate green leaves except for the Opal Basil which is a beautiful purple.  You can purchase lemon basil, anise basil, clove basil and cinnamon basil all having their per fumy fragrance and flavor matching their names.   It grows abundantly in the summer but you can keep it alive on your windowsill in the winter.  I’ve even bought the ones from the grocery with the roots on them and kept them going in a glass of water for months.

Basil should be refrigerated, wrapped in barely damp paper towels and then in a plastic bag for up to 4 days.  Or I cut off the bottoms and put them in a glass of water and they last me a long time in my cold house.  You can put them into the glass of water in your refrigerator with a plastic bag over the leaves and they say it will last a week, changing the water every 2 days.  I guess I’ve been lucky.

Basil leaves are very delicate and can bruise easily.  They can also lose much of it’s flavor in long-cooking dishes.  To keep it fresh and to have that flavor pop more, add the fresh basil just before servicing or as a garnish.  Chiffonade is a great way to be gentle when cutting the leaves.  You stack your leaves, roll them up length wise gently and then make thin slices.  You will end up with ribbons or translated in french “made of rags” or chiffonades.

Looking into the books I have on Healing Foods they list the properties of basil to helpful with the treatment of headaches, a digestive aid for vomiting, indigestion and flatulence, a mild sedative, and for depression.  Keep in mind just because it’s printed in a book doesn’t make it right so you should further research this information and not use it as any type of medical advice.  I am not qualified to give that.

But I am qualified to cook with basil and I love how it tastes in food and on top as a garnish.  I’m also curious to use it in refreshing drinks.  Hopefully someone will share some of those recipes and many more.  Check out the Friday Foodie Fix page for all of the “how to” directions to participate.  Just remember to link back to this page and share the love.

Next week’s Secret Ingredient is ….. Sunflower Seeds!

As I’m working on rearranging things on my blog and planning menus, I began to really think about the people that read food blogs, and this blog.  I was wondering, what would you like to see here?  What types of recipes  would really help you in your day to day life?  Would you like to see more budget conscious recipes?  Ones that are quick?  How about cooking with a certain ingredient?

I want to know.  So you tell me what you are interested in that would make this a really good resource for you and I’ll do my best to deliver.

Please feel free to use this poll by selecting all that apply and even leaving your own suggestion.  You can also leave suggestions in the comments.  Thank you for your feedback.

I, like so many of you gluten free cooks, are anxiously awaiting the release of Shauna James Ahern and Danny Ahern’s new cookbook.  Gluten-Free Girl and The Chef:  A Love Story with 100 Tempting Recipes.   It arrives next month and my mouth is already drooling.

Make sure you watch this great video about them, their family and their love of food.  When your done, you can pre-order the cookbook now!

Gluten-Free Girl and The Chef from Daniel Ahern on Vimeo.

Carrie is the author of the successful gluten free food & recipe blog: Gingerlemongirl.com (http://www.gingerlemongirl.com). In late 2007 after years of debilitating migraine headaches & GI distress, Carrie decided to follow a gluten free diet to see if it would alleviate her symptoms. 6 months later nearly all of her symptoms were relieved. By 2009 Carrie also removed casein and soy from her diet. She realized the proteins from these 3 foods (gluten, soy, & casein) made her sick and kept her from living life to it’s fullest. Carrie is now a dedicated advocate of eating whole, natural & organic foods, living sustainably, and living a life that’s full of healthy balance. She blogs regularly sharing original gluten free recipes with an emphasis on eating natural, whole, mostly vegetarian foods. Carrie is also a freelance gluten free food writer with articles and gluten free recipes that have recently appeared in Taste of Home’s Healthy Cooking, Delight Gluten Free ,TheExaminer.com, and $5DollarDinners.com .

Easy Cooking Techniques for Weeknight Meals:

Quick Omelettes

I wish I had the time to make fancy dinners at our house… but I can honestly tell you unless it’s a weekend night, we eat very simple meals.

One of my favorite, quick last minute meals is omelettes.  Several great things about omelettes:

• · Easy to prep & prepare.
• · Can use lots of leftovers to make a brand new meal.
• · A great way to serve a frugal protein.

Here’s how I generally make omelettes in our house.

The first step is to prepare your omelette fillings. The night we made these omelettes I had spinach from our local CSA, a green pepper, a roma tomato, turkey bacon, and some a piece of sandwich ham.

1. 1. Simply chop your omelette fillings into small pieces so that they can be sprinkled in the middle of your omelette when it’s ready.
2. 2. Get your skillet or pan hot & ready to cook the omelette. I use a non-stick pan like this, but any type of non-stick or heavy bottomed skillet will do. Add about a tablespoon of oil (or butter) or spritz your pan with non-stick cooking spray at now.
3. 3. While your pan is heating, prepare your eggs. For each omelette I simply use 2 eggs. Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl.
4. 4. When your pan is hot enough to sizzle a drop of water. Add your eggs. I like to gently roll the whisked egg around the pan to form a quick circle. Allow the mixture to cook for about 30 seconds.
5. 5. When the eggs have set and have a slight custardy appearance in the middle add 3-4 tablespoons of your prepared fillings on one side of your omelette. If you add too many fillings you’ll have a messy (but still delicious omelette!)
6. 6. Using a spatula, flip the side of the omelette without fillings onto the other side to “enclose” your omelette. If you’re feeling your inner Julia Child you can certainly flip your omelette using the pan instead of your spatula… but I promise it will taste delicious no matter how you do it!
7. 7. Serve the omelette immediately.

If you’re nervous about omelettes and unsure as to how to “flip” them, this is a great tutorial.

Don’t worry if you omelette isn’t perfect, as you can see from my picture… I used too many fillings in this one. And it’s okay!  It wasn’t picture perfect, but it was still a delicious, filling, and healthy meal.

Eggs are such quick, frugal protein option for week night meals. Next time you need a super fast meal on the dinner table try omelettes for dinner!

For more fun read on at Ginger Lemon Girl today!

Today, August 9th, is my two year anniversary for writing this blog.  I can’t believe it’s only been two years.  Sometimes it feels like I’ve been doing this for many more years.  I have shared so many stories and recipes over these two years.

From one of my first posts-bad birthday cake

I started writing this blog so I could keep track of the resources I found on living gluten free and then dairy free too.  I also got tired of my family and friends saying that my meal was great, could I make it again.  Well I never wrote down my recipes, I just cooked.  I’m very lucky to have grown up with a mom who was a great cook who let me help in the kitchen.  I learned at an early age that you could make a lot of people really happy with food.  It was a common language, a reason to stop all of the hard work and sit to rest and enjoy the food and the company.  So now I write down my recipes and share them here, good ones and bad ones like Brad’s first gluten free birthday cake I made.

This past year I have accomplished many of the goals I set out for myself including starting a newsletter (one coming soon I promise), an event that would involve the food community at large- 30 Days to a Food Revolution, connecting with Jamie Oliver in some way- the 30 day event and he’s following me on Twitter, getting to know more food bloggers- too many to list and hope to see you at the IFBC conference, having more conversations with readers on my blog- thank you for the comments, getting people thinking about where their food comes from- a box or single ingredients,  and my first e-cookbook.  Also on my list was to meet Karina- Gluten Free Goddess .  I thought that might happen this summer while I was in Santa Monica but it didn’t.  However the year is not over and who knows.  Two other goals are to return to the BlogHer Food in San Francisco in October and attend the IFBC this month in Seattle.  Well I have my tickets for each so I think those two will happen.

As I start my third year of blogging my goals are now shifting again.  Now I want to move more towards my health and the health of others through the food we eat, the activities we do and don’t do, and the gaining of knowledge on how all of that works.  I’ve been so impressed with Wendy of Celiacs in the House and her quest to lose weight while sharing it on her blog.  She’s really working to make changes to her life and sharing what she learns.

I am starting on a similar path.  Over the past year my life has had way too many sources of stress including lots of family medical problems, the issues one runs into while running their own business like suddenly taking on 3 other jobs than the one I already had, and the day to day logistics most of us face trying to do too much in a 24 hour period.  It has really taken a toll on me.  The photo you see of me on my blog is not what I currently look like, but hope to again.  I’m over worked, over stressed, over weight, and way low on the doing the right things for my body scale.   I do eat real food, but way too much and not just the food that is good for me.  There is a lot of real food available that is full of sugar, fat and calories and I’ve been using that as my relaxation from the stress.

So now that I’ve outed myself I begin a new journey of reclaiming me and my life.  This would be a whole lot easier if all of the problems just went away and I could focus on just me.  But that is not my life and I’m sure not many of you can do that unless you are one of those famous people that has a staff to handle the details of every day living.

Diane & Scott on Pier 39- San Francisco

The first thing I did was take a 2 week vacation.  Something I was lucky enough to pull off.  Part of it was work the first week but in California which made finishing up a meeting and heading to the beach or pool worth it.  The second part was with my family.  We explored as much of the San Francisco area, on foot, as possible.  We literally walked from breakfast to bed.  We had a great time, relaxed, had someone else cook for me and tried some new foods.  It was a great way to break away from the treadmill life set on 10 that I had found myself on.  The continuous cycle of work, eat too much, sit at a desk for way too many hours and get up and do it again was killing me in more ways than one.

Now that I’ve been home for a week I’ve started to implement some new ways of doing things and gathering support.  I call it Team Diane- gathering support, knowledge, peace and love.   Someone I’m excited to have on my team is Melissa McLean Jory who writes the blog Gluten Free For Good.  I’m retaining her services as a holistic nutritionist who walks her talk.  In fact she just won the Outdoor Diva photo contest with a photo of her wearing skis standing on her head in the snow.  She’s amazing.  I first met Melissa via email and blogs when I first started mine.  I wanted to share low cost gluten free gifts to give and she shared her recipe for Mile High Gluten Free Granola.  I’m looking forward to learning so much.  I’m very excited.

I’ve also started tracking everything I eat, my workouts and daily weight on Spark People.  It’s always good to know exactly what you ate in a given day.   This is especially true if you are working to figure out what foods might be giving you trouble.  The workouts have to happen in order for me to log them in and my weight is just a number I use as feedback if I’m on the right track.

Also on my team is a good friend JoAnne.  She’s my accountability and walking partner.  She may even come back to Jazzercise with me when I get back to that point.  Each day we check in with each other to make sure we’re on track.

Scott, my husband, is also on my team.  He’s key.  His support in what I do and what I cook for meals is so important.  Without him this would be so much harder.  I could do it, but there would certainly be more obstacles.

Liz, my really cool Physiotherapist, is working to get my Frozen Shoulder healed so I can be more active.  After having done physical therapy on my other shoulder last year and physiotherapy this year, I’ll never go back.  Physiotherapy works so much better with a persons body.

I hope to be adding a yoga teacher to my team soon.  Yoga is so good for our bodies on so many levels.  There are even poses that can be done to help different areas and systems of the body function better.  How cool is that!  Can’t wait to learn more.

I’m not sure who else will end up on my team but I’m looking forward to this journey.

Before I started last week, I did sit and contemplate what I wanted to be different and the steps it would take.  They will need to be gradual and fit into the life I have while taking steps to change the parts of my life that create more barriers than assistance.  If I try to do things that are too much or too fast right away I’m setting myself up for failure.  So it will be little steps but they will be steps in the right direction.

So enough about me, what about you.  Where are you on your journey?  Are you moving along where you want to be?  If so I would love to hear some of the cool things you do.  What if this was your anniversary and you were looking back over the past year and looking ahead to the next one?  What would you see?

Are you stalled, off track or headed in the wrong direction?  Would you like to join me and we can support each other on our journeys?  Feel free to share your stories with me and with this community.  As part of my new journey, I will say that I am not spending as much time online as I used to, so if you email me I will be sure to read your notes (thank you for those) but I will not be emailing back.  I wish I could but for right now I will be utilizing my Facebook page for The W.H.O.L.E. Gang for ongoing conversations.

I do hope you will share your ideas for healthy living and even your challenges.  This is a great community and there may be someone with the same challenge or someone who needs to hear how you’ve found a way to meet that challenge.  We can be a part of each others Team!

Thank you all so much for taking the time to check out my blog, try the recipes, and share with us your recipes, ideas and stories.  I do love the food community and especially the gluten free one.

Friday Foodie Fix

Today’s Secret Ingredient for Friday Foodie Fix is Whipped Cream.  Don’t email me, I realize it’s not a single ingredient but it is fun to make and eat.  Living dairy free has forced me to get creative making whipped cream.  I think I finally found a whipped cream to rival any made with dairy.  The whipped cream I make from coconut milk is so luxurious and delicious.

This week was my oldest son’s 21st birthday, so I thought I would take this whipped cream and use it for an icing for his birthday cake.  First I baked the Carrot Cake found in Elana Amsterdam’s Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.  For more great recipes with almond flour visit her website, Elana’s Pantry.  For the icing I used my recipe for whipped cream and added 1 TBS of coconut milk.  I don’t even melt it, I just added it to the mixer.  It worked great and 3 days later it’s held up great on the cake and in the middle layer.

So what are you creating with whipped cream?  I can’t wait to see what you share this week.  Please make sure you share the link love and add the link to this page onto your recipe page.  For all of the rule and past ingredients, please visit the Friday Foodie Fix Page (now alphabetical).

Next week’s Secret Ingredient is ………….. Basil!

Welcome back guest blogger Kim Maes.  You might recognize the name from the 30 Days to a Food Revolution- Cook IT Allergy Free when she shared her Drunken Chicken and Vegetable recipe.  If you want to see something totally cook, watch this video.

The other day, Diane (of The W.H.O.L.E. Gang) asked me if I would be interested in writing a guest post on her blog about my new iPhone/iPad App.  I have been hesitant to talk much about my App on my own blog.  I wanted to keep my blog as a place to come together with the gluten-free and allergy-free community and share recipes, tips, ideas, and support to help each other improve our skills as chefs in our kitchens of dietary restrictions!  I did not want it to become an advertisement for the App.

However, that all being said, there is nothing that I am more proud of (oh, other than my own children, of course) than this project.  When I took on this endeavor, I did not quite grasp what exactly would be required of me to bring this from my little idea to this point of being able to help others in the food allergy community.  It honestly has been the hardest and most time consuming adventure that I have ever worked on.  And although there were many hours of frustration and challenges along the path of bringing it to fruition…I have actually loved every minute of it.

The most humbling of this whole experience is that I have had so many gluten-free and allergy-free bloggers approach me to offer their own amazing recipes to include into the App.  These are the very people that I have admired and followed over the years, so to have their special recipes included means so much.  Lexie (of Lexie’s Kitchen), Shirley (of gfe-gluten free easily), Zoe (of Z’s Cup of Tea), Amy (of Simply Sugar and Gluten Free), Jenny (of Creative Cooking: Gluten Free), Rhonda (of Allergy Sense), Michelle (of Allergy Sense),  and Sarah (of Sarah B Designs)…. these girls have helped to create an invaluable resource and have given such a gift to this project. (Note: some of the recipes from the bloggers listed above are still currently in the process of being added to the App – the addition of each recipe is a long process to ensure the substitution process is correct).

So even though my little video trailer above does a pretty good job of describing this labor-of-love, I will quickly tell you a bit more about it here.

The Cook It Allergy Free iPhone/iPad App is perfect for people with Celiac Disease and/or food allergies.  It offers hundreds of gluten free recipes (with more constantly being added), that can all be customized to meet many food allergy needs.   This really is a perfect tool for those with Celiac Disease or those who are allergic to gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts, or soy.

There is no need to spend time searching for recipes to suit specific allergy needs. You can pick any recipe in the App and, with a simple tap, trade out your allergens (such as eggs, butter, milk, yogurt, buttermilk, cream, sour cream, cream cheese, cheeses, nuts, nut butters, corn syrup, and soy) for safe and correctly calculated allergen-free substitutions. You can now easily adapt recipes to create delicious meals that hopefully will get your families raving!

The App also offers a number of other features.  You can:

• Find tons of great tips and tricks for gluten-free and allergy-free cooking that will help to give you delicious results in the recipes.  I recently did a post on my blog that contains many (although not quite all) of these tips in case you want to print them out.
• Share your recipes and cooking tips with your friends through Email, Facebook, and Twitter directly from the app.
• Save your recipes to your Grocery List to have all of the ingredients you need, including your substitutions for your allergens, at your fingertips for easy shopping.
• Organize your Grocery List By Aisle or By Recipe. And you are also able to add items from your daily home list as well.
• Check off items as you shop →clear single ingredients, entire recipes, or your entire list with simple taps.
• Email your Grocery list to yourself (or whoever is doing the shopping) or use the list directly from the phone or iPad
• Save your customized recipes to your category-organized Recipe Box
• Have offline access to your Recipe Box anytime.
• Keep your own notes within each recipe to remind yourself of what you liked or did not like about a recipe.
• Find endless tips and FAQ’s on how to use the App.

Because of my family’s own struggles with Celiac Disease and other food sensitivities, this App and my blog have truly evolved into a passionate endeavor for me.  There is nothing that I want more than to help other families that are struggling with the challenges of cooking for food allergies and sensitivities.  And I think that this App will go a long way towards taking the confusion out of this crazy world of ingredient substitutions!

The iPhone Version is available for $4.99 at the Apple Store.

The iPad Version is available for $8.99 at the Apple Store.

Back from vacation and still trying to unpack my bags and my stories.  They will be coming soon.  Coming back from the west coast to the east coast can really make me tired but I woke up bright and early on Saturday morning to head to the farmers market.  I picked up these tomatoes and peppers.  You can guess what I’ll be cooking with this week.

I love these orange tomatoes because they are so sweet.  So the first thing I made was a BLT.  Oh and to brag on luck, the cherry tomatoes are from my own garden.

These peppers will go into my pasta for dinner along with the Roma tomatoes, some capers, red wine, yellow squash and mushrooms.  Add in a little garlic, fresh basil, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.

I also picked up some corn on the cob, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatillos and beets.  I’ll be using the beets in my smoothie tomorrow morning.  I need to go back and search on the ideas for the beet greens.  I don’t want to waste anything.

I also received a wonderful gift of POM juice from POM.  I can’t wait to start playing with it.  I love it in my smoothies but I want to bake with it, make sauces, and I will have to give Shirley’s gluten free easily’s Pomerdoodle Ice Cream a try.

I picked up some arugula this weekend too so I’m going to try some of the recipes shared last week on Friday Foodie Fix.

I’m also going to sort through my menus and pictures of food from my trip and try to recreate some of those great meals.

Now if you want a list of ideas for each day of the week, check out this week’s menu from last year- July 27th.

Have a great week!  I hope you will join in on for this week’s Secret Ingredient for Friday Foodie Fix- Whipped Cream!

More menus available on Orgjunkie.

Friday Foodie Fix

Today’s Secret Ingredient for Friday Foodie Fix is Arugula!  I love that peppery little green leaf.  If you happen to plant one in your garden be ready to be showered with lots of great harvests.  I planted on little plant last year and it spread like crazy and we were overflowing with arugula.

You will often hear Arugula called Rocket, especially if you watch Jamie Oliver’s show Jamie at Home.  He has more creative ways to use this little gem that are so tasty.  I like to add it to salads, sandwiches, pastas, and make pesto with it.  It was part of my Pesto Shrimp on Polenta Portobellos and Salad with Champagne Dijon Vinaigrette.

ArugulaWhat do you like to make with Arugula?  Share your recipes here and don’t forget to link back to this page on your blog.  You can always check on any past Secret Ingredient and add keep adding in recipes.  If you add in an old recipe of yours, please go back and mention where you shared it and link back to that page here.

Next week’s Secret Ingredient is ……..Whipped Cream!

We welcome back our guest blogger today, Alisa from One Frugal Foodie, Dairy Free & Fit, and Go Dairy Free. Like so many people, Alisa grew up thinking that those processed foods with “lean” and “healthy” stamped on the package were somehow providing real food and nutrition. It wasn’t until she strictly transitioned to a dairy-free lifestyle that she discovered what she was really eating. Forced to read every food label in great detail, Alisa was shocked at what she saw. Dyes, additives, “modified” ingredients, highly processed sugars and grains, and completely unrecognizable chemicals, with ingredients like tomatoes, bananas, and whole grains sadly pushed to the bottom of the list (if present at all). She bought her last loaf of store bought bread, her last frozen meal, her last box of cookies, and her last can of conventional soup in 2005, and has never looked back.

Though she tries to support the dairy-free community as a whole and accommodate the variety of requests via her website, Go Dairy Free, her focus has truly shifted to helping people transition to a whole food lifestyle. She created One Frugal Foodie to share her own whole food recipes with the concept that eating real food will actually save you money. She just recently launched Dairy-Free & Fit, also a foodie focus, but to discuss everyday food, health, and fitness topics too.

Alisa’s Recipe: Fresh Maple-Fig Spread

Alisa’s Tip: Treat yourself to a ‘new to you’ food at least once a month, and a healthy ‘splurge’ food at least once a week

I confess, even though I love whole foods and eating seasonally, I can easily get caught in an ordinary repetitive rut … banana smoothies for breakfast; homemade bread and nut butter for a snack; big salad with greens, carrots, and protein for lunch; an orange or apple for a snack; and a protein, grain, veggie dinner that usually contains broccoli, cauliflower, or a similar common veggie.

It wasn’t until I signed up for a CSA that I discovered the fun and excitement of trialing new-to-me foods. Sure, I still love my banana smoothies and an almost-daily heap of my still favorite veggie, broccoli, but throwing a new food in the mix on occasion really perks up my interest in from-scratch meals, and helps me to expand the variety in my diet.

I tried shooting for one new-to-me food per week, but the pressure was a little too much for me when I didn’t have a CSA for guidance. So I have changed up the program to something more manageable. Now I aim to trial one new-to-me food per month, BUT, each week I pick up at least one “splurge” food that is perhaps something that I have trialed before, but don’t indulge in very often. I guess you would call it re-introducing a food to increase the variety and pleasure in my diet. I often combine this concept with seasonality – a box of organic strawberries at their peak, some fresh ears of local corn mid-summer, or a kabocha squash when it makes its rare appearance at my small town grocer.

Keep in mind, the “new” or “reintroduced” food could be fruit, vegetables, whole grains, organic meats, wild seafood, a drink (think herbal or antioxidant tea, kefir, or kombucha), a wholesome baking ingredient, or even or even a fun “superfood” like maca, acai, or mulberries. The sky is the limit!

For some examples, here are a few creations I made with new-to-me and healthy splurge foods:

• Asian-Spiced Kabocha – enjoy the skin and all!
• Honey “Butter” – made with extra-virgin coconut oil
• Chipotle Chicken and Chard Chili – Giada-style
• Maple Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookies – made with new-to-me palm sugar and reintroduced gluten-free flours

As it happened, this month the fruit CSA delivered an item that I couldn’t believe I had never tried before, fresh figs. The dried, wrinkly ones have entered my kitchen on several occasions, but this was my first taste of a fresh fig, and it was delicious! I had several, so I opted to make a spread that would replace my morning nut butter for a for a few days, and even used it to jazz up that banana smoothie.

Fresh Maple-Fig Spread

Feel free to add more fresh figs if you want to highlight the fruit even more.

1/4 Cup Cashews or Almonds

1/4 Cup Walnuts

6 Medium-Sized Fresh Figs

1/2 to 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup (can sub honey or agave)

1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1/8 Teaspoon Salt

Grind the cashews or almonds somewhat into a powder (I use an electric spice/coffee grinder). Add all ingredients to your food processor, and pulse, chop, or blend to your desired consistency. I made mine fairly smooth, but with some walnut chunks. Feel free to adjust the sweetness, salt, and spices as desired.

Yields about 1 cup

Smoothie Option – The figs help to sweeten up smoothies, while the nuts add some creaminess, healthy fat, and protein. Here I simply blended about 1/3 cup of the spread with 1 frozen banana (and an extra dash of cinnamon) for a lightly sweet and tasty breakfast treat. Feel free to sweeten to taste if your fruit isn’t quite ripe and/or add some protein powder for a little more muscle in your beverage.

Friday Foodie Fix

This week’s Secret Ingredient for Friday Foodie Fix are peaches!  There is nothing like biting into a really fresh ripe and juicy peach.  But there are so many more ways to use peaches.  They taste great as a dessert but you can also use them in savory dishes with chicken and a nice white fish.

As I was writing this I realized I have not cooked with peaches in a long time.  Well that is going to have to change.  But I need some ideas.  Peach So please share your recipes using peaches here with Mr. Linky.  If your recipe is not ready, you can come back anytime and add in the link.  I will be highlighting all of the summer Friday Foodie Fix recipes at the end of the season.  To find all of the past Secret Ingredients, visit the Friday Foodie Fix homepage.

Next week’s Secret Ingredient is …………. Arugula!

Alta Mantsch started Tasty Eats At Home simply as a way to share recipes with family and friends. But after dealing with worsening health issues, and understanding the ill effects gluten caused on her other family members (her father, sister, and brother were all gluten-intolerant), in June 2009 she decided to remove gluten from her diet in an effort to find wellness once again. Soon after, she was on the road to healing, and now focuses her efforts at Tasty Eats At Home on sharing nourishing, delicious gluten-free food that will bring your heart joy  and that the family will actually EAT!

Alta’s Recipe: Spicy Kale Salad with Tomatoes and Chiles

Alta’s Tip: Eat Fresh!

Summer is my favorite time of year, but it’s certainly not because of the heat. (Texas isn’t known for lovely summers – around here, 100 degree days in July and August are quite common.) I love summers because of the bounty to be found at the farmers’ markets. Right now is the optimum time to take advantage of the great variety of super-fresh, flavorful, delicious produce. Many times, I visit with no plans for recipes in mind – I merely let the market tell me what to buy. This way, I am always sure to be eating the freshest of the fresh – whatever is in season, at its peak, is what I grab. It doesn’t matter that I many times have no idea what to make with it. That’s part of the fun and adventure. It’s also the best way for our family to ensure a great variety of nutritious fruits and vegetables. When produce is this fresh, you don’t have to do much to make it taste delicious.

This week I visited to find a basket full of red and green chiles. They were about the size of jalapenos or fresno peppers, but with more wrinkles.  The farmer informed me that they were called “Carmen” peppers, and that they were spicy and Italian in origin. (I can’t confirm this, but they were delicious and mild enough I could eat them raw – of course, I have a bit of tolerance for heat!) I bought a basket, and also a huge bunch of kale. From another farmer, I bought fresh sweet Texas yellow onions and some tiny orange tomatoes. (I also bought plums, blackberries, cucumbers, carrots, spinach, sunburst squash, and some large red tomatoes…I always manage to come home with BAGS of produce!) Once at home, I started to brainstorm ways to turn my wares into a meal. Of course, the less I had to turn the oven on to cook with these things, the better.

That’s how this salad was born! It’s a fresh, mostly raw (if you eat entirely raw, you can substitute honey for the agave nectar) salad, and it’s cool and refreshingly delicious. Even better, it doesn’t wilt within minutes, like so many lettuce-based salads. It’s just sweet enough, with a big burst of tang from the lemon juice. I’m now a fan of kale salads – this certainly won’t be the last to grace our kitchen!

Spicy Kale Salad with Tomatoes and Chiles, inspired by An Opera Singer in the Kitchen

¼ c sliced onion

1 medium heat red chile, sliced thinly (I used these thin-walled chiles the farmer called “Carmen”) – you can use a Serrano chile or a fresno

1 T rice vinegar

½ t salt

1 T agave nectar

Juice of 1 large lemon

½ t white pepper

½ t garlic powder

¼ t fine sea salt

2 T olive oil

1 bunch kale, leaves torn, washed and dried well

1 T sesame seeds

10 cherry or grape tomatoes (I used these small orange ones that are even smaller than grape)

Place the sliced onion and sliced chile in a small bowl. Add rice vinegar, salt, and enough cold water just to cover. Swish around to blend, and set aside for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together the agave nectar, lemon juice, white pepper, garlic powder, salt, and olive oil. Toss the kale in the dressing and massage it into the leaves well. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Drain onions and chiles from the rice vinegar mixture and add to salad. Add sesame seeds and tomatoes and toss to coat with dressing.

Serves 4.

I am one lucky girl.  I’m working and vacationing in California this week and next.  I hope I can keep the work to a minimum but somehow I’m guessing that will be difficult.  Either way I have a break from cooking to re-energize myself and eat what some great chefs are creating.

Right now I’m in Southern California staying in Santa Monica.  I’ve been drooling over Karina’s photos (The Gluten-Free Goddess) of the local farmers market.  Well this weekend I got to go myself.  It was amazing.  So much fun and so much fresh food and flowers.  Not having a kitchen to cook in I mostly just looked and sampled.  I did purchase some lavender to refill my pillow case and some great pistachios to munch on.  Scott sampled the Pomegranate Apple juice and some fresh shucked oysters.  Being this is on the California coast, there are so many options at this farmers market.  I wish I was here every week!

I’ve also been eating some amazing meals.  Before I came I tried to read up on as much as I could on dining gluten free in the area.  I also made reservations via OpenTable and made sure they could accommodate my gluten, dairy and rice free needs.  Since I arrived late in the evening and got up to drive at 5am to a meeting 2 hours south, my first meal was at one of my favorite restaurants in La Jolla, George’s on the Cove.  We ate on their open terrace that overlooks The Cove and the Pacific Ocean.  It’s a spectacular view.  If you get there at just the right time for dinner, you will witness the most amazing sunset.  The food was fantastic as I had remembered.  After a little shopping at one of my favorite clothing shops there, Fresh Produce, we headed back to Santa Monica.

Being we were still on east coast time we took advantage of the hotel’s restaurant Fig offering 50% off the entire menu at 5pm.  This gave us lunch for the next day too as I ordered an entire chicken cooked under a brick.  I just love those!  Fig is great at accommodating and even going above and beyond by going to Whole Foods just to get the bread and buttery substitute I can eat.  I actually had a sandwich for lunch yesterday.  I’m feeling very pampered and enjoying every minute.  So far everything Erin Wiley has served and Ray Garcia has created in that kitchen has been great and worth your visit for sure!

OK are you ready to just kill me?  Sorry.  But this is such a treat and a learning experience for me.  You never know what you might get if you engage in conversations with the food personnel.  I like to use every opportunity to share and teach.  It often gets you just what you need although this is the first time someone has made a special trip to the store just for me.

If you want to hear and see more read on.

We went to Border Grill for an amazing Mexican Dinner.  (found that recommendation from Karina too) It is owned by the Too Hot Tamales (Food Network) stars Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger.  Susan was recently on Top Chef Masters this year, has written many cookbooks on the Mexican Cuisine.  They were great at getting me a version of what they make that was right for me.  I ordered their Cochinita Pibil-
achiote pork roasted in banana leaves • caramelized onion • orange • cinnamon • roasted plantains • guacamole.  It was out of this world.  They happen to roast their plantains in butter so they made, just for me, tostones with a chimichuri sauce.  Well you know how I love tostones.  I was delighted.  The only problem was it was one of those meals that tastes so good and has great mouth feel that you can’t stop eating even if you are full.  So I waddled back to the hotel and even brought leftovers which I’ll be eating tomorrow for lunch.

Well I have a lot more great restaurant meals to share with you that you will most likely see me trying to recreate at home.   I’ll be sure to share those with you too.  But for now I’m signing off to go catch some rays!  If I have not totally made you mad, come back and see what I find next in Santa Barbara.

Lately I’ve started watching the Cooking Channel to keep me company while I cook.  There are a few shows on there that keep my attention and sometimes I have to be careful not to burn my dinner when I get too engrossed.  I like David Rocco’s Dolce Vita and Roger Mooking Everyday Exotic. Today I’m sharing my version of Roger’s Curried Macaroni and Cheese, but mine is completely gluten, dairy and soy free.

My vegetarian son Andy who loves Indian food and I, were watching this episode together and he looked and me and said I had to make that for him.  Well what’s a mom to do.  So every trip to the grocery store I would look for the long green hot chile peppers.  When I found it I knew we were in business.  I also had to make sure I was stocked up on Daiya Cheese, Earth Balance Butter Substitute, gluten free pasta elbows and the gluten free flour.

This recipe is like most traditional macaroni and cheese dishes.  It starts with a bechamel sauce, add in the cheese and then the pasta.  When making a bechamel one typically uses equal measures of butter to flour.  This will make a rich thick sauce.  I love what Roger did with this sauce.  When melting the butter, he added in red onion and a green hot chile split lengthwise.  The flavors from those ingredients have a chance to combine before adding the flour.  It’s a great idea that I’m going to use as I continue on with my list of variations on Mac & Cheese.

I made this over the weekend and Andy had some leftover tonight.  He said it still tasted great and had held up well.  The only thing he would change would be to add in one more green chile for a little more heat.  I’m freezing the rest so we’ll see how that turns out on reheating.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Butter- I use Earth Balance natural buttery spread that is dairy and soy free

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1/2 red onion diced

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 green chile split lengthwise- I took out the seeds too

1 TB curry powder- I used Penzeys Sweet Curry

3 cups warm milk- I use Almond Milk unsweetened

2 cups Cheese- Daiya Cheddar plus a little more for the top (you can order it online)

1/2 cup Cheese- Daiya Mozeralla plus a little more for the top

gluten free bread crumbs- I used Southern Homestyle Corn Flake Crumbs (look under Food Favorites)

1  8 oz box of Elbow macaroni- I use Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta (look under Food Favorites)

1 bunch of fresh asparagus

Sea Salt or kosher salt to taste

Directions:

Melt your butter and add in the onion and green chili and cook until soften in a pan,  Make sure you have a pan with sides so there is room to mix at the end.  Don’t put your heat up too high or your butter will burn.  If you are impatient like me, add a little canola oil to the butter so it can take the higher heat without burning.  When you see the onion getting soft, add in the garlic too.  When that’s ready sprinkle in the curry and combine.  Now take a nice deep breath.  Wow that smells amazing.

OK, now sprinkle in the flour and combine well.  You want to let the flour cook a little.  If you find you still have lumps use the back of your spoon to break up or a whisk.

Add in your milk slowly and keep everything moving in that pan.  You want to whisk it so there are no lumps.  Keep stirring over medium heat until it thickens.  Turn off the heat and if you want remove the chile pepper, or wait until it’s covered with all of that cheese and then take it out to eat as a little hot treat while your mac & cheese bakes. (Andy’s idea)  Mix in all of your cheese and stir until smooth.

Now while you were doing all of this you had that pasta cooking.  The elbow pasta I used says it takes 6-9 minutes to cook.  I only gave it around 5 minutes.  I wanted it just before al dente.  Once mixed with the cheese sauce and baking, it will cook a little more and I didn’t want it to fall apart.  Mix the pasta in with the cheese sauce and a little salt.  Taste it to make sure it’s the right blend and then pour into your baking dish.

Side note, Sur La Table is having a great sale and I bought these new dishes for only $8 each.  I don’t know where I’m going to keep them but so far I’ve been using them every night to either bake in or serve in.  Very handy.

OK, now for the finishing touches.  Once the mac & cheese is in the baking dish, sprinkle it with some of the bread crumbs and a little cheese.  Next I used the same topping that Roger did, asparagus spears.  Wash and dry your spears and then break off the bottom woodsy parts by simply bending the spears.  They will break at just the right point for each one.  Now sprinkle those with bread crumbs and cheese and it’s time to bake.

Bake in a 350 degree pre-heated oven for 30-40 minutes.  Sometimes with dairy free cheese it will brown if baked too long.  If you have that problem don’t put that last topping of cheese on until right before you take it out of the oven.  I didn’t have that problem so mine went on before I put it into the oven.

Here you can see the cooked dish along with another flavor I’ve been playing with, Truffle Mac & Cheese.  That recipe still to come.

Today’s guest blogger is Nisrine.  Nisrine is a cookbook author and food blogger. Her blog Dinners and Dreams features easy, healthful Mediterranean recipes. She was born in Morocco and now lives in Florida with her husband and daughter.

Nisrine’s Tip: Say NO to sugar

Nisrine’s Recipe: Blackberry Almond Torte

I was shocked at how much sugar flavored milk contains when I watched Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution video. A wheelbarrow full of sugar is what each school child consumes yearly just from flavored milk. That should be a wake-up call to every person concerned about his/her health. We consume exorbitant amounts of sugar in ways we don’t realize especially from processed foods. It is important to eliminate or at least reduce our sugar consumption.

Tip: Say NO to sugar

It is easy to think that life without sugar is impossible or at best painful. It is further from the truth. I used to be one of those people who couldn’t imagine a good cup of coffee or a delicious warm tea without sugar. After drinking my coffee and tea unsweetened for the past three years, I have realized that not only I’m enjoying my drinks much better that way but am also unable to go back to sweetened drinks, which are now too sweet and unappealing to me. It truly is a question of habit and forming good habits is only a question of consistency and determination. Recently, I have started experimenting with sugar-free baking and love it. Sweeteners such as honey, stevia, date syrup and maple syrup taste great and are easy to blend into batter and dough. Even if you have to use sugar for baking, use moderate amounts, bake at home and avoid packaged desserts which tend to contain much more sugar than necessary.

Blackberry Almond Torte

8 servings

1 cup blackberries

1 ½ cups almond flour

2 tablespoons millet flour

¼ teaspoon salt

½  stick unsalted butter, softened

½ cup honey

3 eggs

1 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9-inch nonstick cake or tart pan.

In a large bowl, mix the almond flour with the millet flour and salt. Stir in the butter, honey then mix in the eggs and almond extract. Pour the batter in the prepared pan and disperse the blackberries in the batter, pushing them lightly in. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes.

First let me give a shout out to Amy Green from Simply Sugar and Gluten Free.  Thank you to Amy who has written a review of my cookbook, The Gluten-Free Diner and the recipe she tried from the book, Chorizo and Potato Frittata.  Be sure to visit because she is also giving away 2 copies of the book.

What a week this is going to be.  So much going on, vacation to get ready for and learning to trust things will be great at home even when I’m not there to supervise in my kitchen.  I’m one of those people that are really freakish about anyone bringing gluten into my house and kitchen.  Just ask my family.  It seems that almost every time someone does,  I get sick.  I know it’s hard to understand how careful someone like me has to be about gluten, which is why I just ban it from the house.  Well I hope all is taken care of in my absence.  I did contemplate getting one of those security cameras that I could check on from the internet, but decided I would rather spend my time at the Santa Monica farmers market or shaking the sand out of my shoes.

So my menu this week is a mix of fun for me to cook and fun for me to explore in different cities.  I hope to share next week some of the great photos of my food travels.  I am hoping it is not as hot there as it has been here.

For those of you that missed my stay cool and happy treat, here it is.  Take a lime Popsicle, dip it into Tequila, then roll it around in your favorite Margarita Salt.  We ran out of the popsicles so I’m going to make my own with my limes and my vitamix.  Not sure exactly but I’ll let you know how they turn out!

Monday- Steamed Mussels

Tuesday- Crab Cakes (this week’s Secret Ingredient for Friday Foodie Fix)

Wednesday- Roger Mooking inspired two versions of Macaroni and Cheese

Thursday- Pork Cutlets inspired by Roger Mooking

Friday- Dinner in San Diego

Saturday- Dinner in Santa Monica

Sunday- Dinner in Santa Barbara

Find lots of menus at OrgJunkie today.

Friday Foodie Fix

Today’s Secret Ingredient for Friday Foodie Fix is cherries.  I’ve had a love affair with cherries since I was a kid.  I have memories of walking through the farmers market eating an entire bag of cherries.  I like to use them in ice cream, smoothies, breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Yesterday I decided to melt some Enjoy Life Chocolate and dip the cherries into it.  The cherries I got from the farmers market didn’t have stems so I had to add toothpick so I could dip them and then pick up.  These were so addicting, I had to leave the house to stop eating them.

Cherries are said to date back as far as 300 B.C and were named after the Turkish town of Cerasus.  Cherry trees are known for their beauty and if you come to visit me in early April, you can attend the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C.  There are so many things to share about cherries that you have to grab your Food Lover’s Companion for the rest. I’ll leave you with this last tip from the book: “… almond extract makes cherries taste more like cherries in baked desserts like pies, cobblers and cheesecakes…”

What are your tips for cherries?  What recipes can you share that use cherries?  I’m hoping someone will share some savory recipes besides all of the sweet ones I’m sure we’ll get.  I can’t wait to try them all.  Please use Mr. Linky to share and the comments section.  For all of the rules please visit our Friday Foodie Fix page.  Thank you for mentioning and linking to this page on your recipe page on your blog.

Next week’s Secret Ingredient is ……………….. Crab!

I totally forgot to share this recipe so finally,  here’s my Crabby Veg pizza recipe.  It takes 6.5 min. to prepare, 25 min. to cook and somewhere in between to eat it.

Again, start with the Chebe All Purpose Mix and build your pizza from there.

I was really excited to get to use my new Breville Smart Toaster Oven.

Ingredients:

Chebe All Purpose Mix (2 eggs, 2TB Oil, 5TB milk or water)

2 organic tomatoes sliced

1 large handful of fresh organic spinach, cleaned and chopped

2-5 TBS Tofutti cream cheese

1 large roasted sweet red pepper diced

2 TBS crab meat or more if you have it

1-2 tsp Pasta Sprinkle Penzeys (California basil, Turkish oregano, minced garlic and thyme)

1/4 tsp granulated garlic

1/4 tsp toasted granulated onion

cornmeal

Directions:

Make the dough according to the package directions.  Roll out the dough using the cornmeal to keep it from sticking to the rolling pin or surface.

Place the dough onto the pizza pan.  Spread with cream cheese.  Sprinkle with garlic and onion all the way out to the very edge of the pizza.  Place sliced tomatoes around and sprinkle with Pasta seasoning.  Toss on the spinach, sweet red pepper and crab.

Bake according to package directions.  20-25 minutes at 375 degrees.

If you want to keep it soy free, use the Daiya Mozzarella Cheese.

Today we welcome Kim as our guest blogger.  After her son, and subsequently her husband, were diagnosed with Celiac Disease five years ago, Kim, of Cook IT Allergy Free, decided to embrace the challenge and teach herself everything there was to know about eating gluten free.  Thus, she began work on a Master’s Degree in Nutrition (with an emphasis in Holistic Nutrition).   She started having so much fun on her new educational path that she knew she had to help others learn how to enjoy feeding their families when dealing with Celiac Disease and other food allergies and sensitivities.   She understands, all too well, the struggles that are faced in the kitchen when dealing with food substitutions.  She wanted to teach how to embrace these challenges with gusto!

Kim’s Recipe:  Drunken Chicken and Vegetables with our Farmer’s Market Bounty

Kim’s Tip: If you eat what is grown in the ground, you do not have to waste time reading labels.

When I was asked by Diane, of The W.H.O.L.E. Gang, to be a part of the 30 Days to a Food Revolution (the extended version, now that we are beyond the original 30 days), first I was so incredibly honored to be included in such an important event, and second, I knew exactly what I wanted to talk about.

I wrote in a blog post a while back, that when I was growing up, family gatherings began with cooking together all day in the kitchen and then culminated with dinners that lasted long into the night.  These meals were filled with slow, easy conversations that melted easily from one topic into the next.  The children were included in all of it – no banishment to the “kids table” happened here.  There was this comfortable sense that all was right in the world when we were around that table together.

I have said often that food was the “gluten” of our large extended family, binding us together over meals prepared with so much love (and yes, plenty of wheat).  So, as I started my own family, and the words Celiac Disease and Gluten Free became a regular inclusion in our everyday language, I had to still the fears that our family gatherings would start “crumbling” without the “gluten”.    I took this as the challenge to prove that there really was a “bon appétit without the wheat”!  What I learned in the process of this has changed the way I will look at food forever.   What a wonder it is to feed our bodies in the ways that our ancestors ate.

We have now learned to “bind” our family together in a new way.  And our “glue” comes in the form of fresh produce and foods made with brown rice, quinoa, millet, teff, sorghum, buckwheat, nut flours, bean flours, and coconut flour with a little xanthan gum thrown in sometimes to keep it all together.  The result… we all feel better, have more energy, and still feel the joy of coming together around the table over a meal made with pure, unprocessed, whole food ingredients.

However, our society has become one of convenience – whole foods are not the commonplace.  Family dinners are often few and far between with our hectic schedules. We even have a name for the way our nation eats:  The Standard American Diet.  It isn’t the name that is bad, but the tongue-and-cheek acronym that is used to refer to it: The S.A.D. Diet.

Somewhere along the line, Americans have lost sight of the fact that healthy food is fresh food.  Now our nation’s diet usually consists of a myriad of processed carbs (cereals, breads, pasta, cookies, cakes etc.), processed meat products, and a few fruits and veggies. This diet is high in many things, most of which our bodies don’t really need.  It is full of hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup, phytic acid, acrylamide, sodium nitrate, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and lacking in basic essentials such as vitamins, minerals.

And with the prevalence and increase of food allergies and different conditions requiring special diets, imagine how exhausting it is to read the labels of all of these foods that have umpteen ingredients, most of whom you do not dare even say out loud for fear of mispronunciation!  Even worse is that there can be allergens hidden in some of these complicated ingredient names that we do not even know about.  Hence, my tip:  If you eat what is grown in the ground, you do not need to waste time reading these labels. Fresh produce does not require a science degree to understand– it is nature’s most bountiful and simple gift to us.  Let us all work together to support Mother Earth’s natural ecosystem.  Let us teach our children where their food comes from.  In the process, we will find this also leads to a healthier version of our own inner ecosystems!

Our family has now learned to spend a lot of time perusing our local farmer’s markets and we have just started receiving our weekly organic produce basket from Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op and our monthly delivery of grass-fed meats, foraged chickens, and free-range eggs from A Bar H Farms.  The fun begins when we try and create meals that include ingredients from all of these treasure troves.  And thus, this is how the recipe for Drunken Chicken and Vegetables evolved for 30 Days to A Food Revolution.

Drunken Chicken and Vegetables

INGREDIENTS:

¼ lb Applegate Farms Organic Sunday Bacon (nitrite free), cut into ½ inch pieces

3 lb bone-in, skin-on organic chicken pieces

1 tsp salt, or more to taste

½ tsp pepper, or more to taste

1 tablespoon: olive oil

1: large organic yellow onion, thinly sliced

8-10: cloves organic garlic, thinly sliced

1 pound: organic carrots, sliced however you like

8 ounces: artichoke hearts, in water, drained

½ cup: fresh  organic mushrooms, left whole (I used Baby Bella’s)

1 ½ cup: dry white wine 
(I used an organic white from Napa, however, you can use a 12 oz bottle of gluten free beer instead of the wine – have done this MANY times and it lends an awesome flavor if you are not sensitive to yeast)

½ lb organic fingerling potatoes, halved

1 ¼ cups: gluten-free organic chicken stock

2 teaspoons: fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons: fresh basil, coarsely chopped

1: bay leaf

1/3 cup: green onions, sliced white and green parts

3 cups: brown rice or quinoa, cooked

DIRECTIONS:

1.   Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.   Season chicken all over with salt and pepper.

3.   Heat oil in a heavy 5-quart Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook until browned, about 5 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.

4.   Add the olive oil to the drippings and brown chicken in the Dutch oven turning once, about 5 minutes total.  Will most likely have to do it in batches so you do not over-crowd the pan (add a little more olive oil, if necessary).  Transfer chicken as it is done to a plate and set aside.

5.   Add onions and cook until soft and golden, 5 to 6 minutes. Add garlic, carrots, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and potatoes and cook for a few minutes more, until they start to caramelize and brown a bit.

6.   Add wine (or beer) and deglaze the pan with it by scraping off all of the delicious browned bits. Then add chicken stock, rosemary, basil and bay leaf and stir well.

7.   Return chicken, along with any accumulated juices, to the Dutch oven and spoon vegetable mixture over the tops of the chicken. Cover and transfer to the oven.

8.   Cook until chicken is tender, about 1 hour.  Remove bay leaf from pot.

9.   Spoon chicken, with its vegetables and sauce, over the brown rice or quinoa and serve garnished with green onions.

This is a forgiving recipe – you can add more or less of what you like or don’t like.  And as my neighbor says all of the time, “I only measure medication – I leave the food to taste…“

Read more on Cook IT Allergy Free today.

I just love The Celiac Chicks.  If you have not peeped their video, it’s a must see Gluten-Free TV, especially if you live or visit NYC!  Make sure you watch until the end to get the recipe.  Can’t wait to give it a try.

There is nothing our family likes more than pizza.  Living gluten and dairy free has not slowed us down.  It has however made me a lot more creative and we are eating amazing pizzas now, not just cheese and pepperoni.

So far I have made:

Za’atar Pizza

Spinach and Artichoke Dip Pizza

Crab Veggie

Old Bay Farmers Market Vegetarian

Of course there has been the typical pepperoni, ham and pineapple and BBQ chicken.  But anytime I can clean out the refrigerator with great leftovers and put them on a pizza, I’m saving time and money.

Today I’m sharing my Mexican Pizza on Carrie’s Ginger Lemon Girl blog.  She has started 30 Days Gluten Free Quick & Easy Meals.

Yep, that means the recipe is on her blog today.  Diane’s Mexican Pizza.

I used a combination of great farmers market finds and what was in my refrigerator.  I used both tomatoes and tomatillos, cheddar and mozzarella Daiya cheeses, jalapenos and mushrooms plus some key Mexican spices.  I hope you will give it a try and let me know what you included and what you changed.

Another way to build a great pizza is to use leftovers from the grill like kebobs.  They have that great flavor that are wonderful on a pizza.  A pizza is also a great meal to make when you don’t have enough of a particular ingredient, especially a protein.  You can really stretch out your budget.

Welcome today’s guest blogger Rosalie.  Rosalie’s new role as a mother sparked her interest in children’s nutrition.  She could not find a cookbook or a parenting guide which spoke to her daily frustrations as a working mother of a hungry toddler.  Rosalie discovered that many parents, like herself, felt confused about what to feed their children and overburdened by the task of cooking complicated recipes on a daily basis.   Rosalie started  Veggie Toddler in order to share her ideas about snacking, cooking and simply surviving as a parent in our fast-paced lives.   Besides being a mother of two, Rosalie runs a small architecture firm in Atlanta, Georgia and is working on a book about getting toddlers and preschoolers to eat and enjoy vegetables.

Rosalie Recipe:  Steamed Sweet Potato Snack

Rosalie Tip:  Why wait for dinner?  Get kids snacking on steamed vegetables.

I don’t have too much trouble figuring out what to serve my kids for meals.  Okay, so I could use some tips, inspiration and new recipes now and then.  Who doesn’t?   But chances are you won’t find me serving a main course of cookies, chips or granola bars for breakfast, lunch or dinner.   One of the biggest problem areas with children’s nutrition occurs between meals:  otherwise known as snack time.

Kids need snacks.  Their tummies are tiny and young children burn a lot of calories because they are so active.  Kids need snacks to provide enough energy to bridge the gap between scheduled meals.  So what’s for snack?  Crackers? Cookies? Chips? Raisins? Granola bar?  When my toddler started running around and demanding snacks, I found myself throwing whatever was most convenient to me in the diaper bag.  Then one day I tallied up the portion of crackers to vegetables my toddler consumed throughout the day and was astonished.   She was gobbling up endless amounts of crackers all day and then nibbling on her vegetables at meals in her high chair.

I got to thinking.  What if I served the vegetables as snacks when my toddler was actually hungry?  And so my story of Veggie Toddler began.  I brought steamed vegetables out of the kitchen and on to the playground.  Vegetables were no longer reserved for scheduled highchair eating but were offered as on the go snack bag options.  Sure enough my hungry toddler started demanding steamed carrots and broccoli just as much as she did crackers after a hard morning’s work in the sandbox.

When I wanted to change the way my toddler ate, I started with her snacks.   Once she became familiar with steamed veggies as perfectly normal snack bag options, she stopped picking at them during meals and gobbled them up.

That toddler is now 5 ½ years old and she still gets excited when I bring steamed sweet potato to the playground as a snack.  Steamed Sweet Potatoes are sweet, not too mushy, satisfying and packed with plenty of vitamins and nutrients.  Enjoy!

Steamed Sweet  Potato Snack

1 large sweet potato  or two small sweet potatoes

Peel skin from potato and rinse with cold water.   Slice into round “wheels” about  ½” thick.   Place in steaming basket with  about  1” of water in a pot with a tight-fitting lid.  (If you do not have a steaming basket, immerse potatoes in water in a pot with a tight-fitting lid.)  Boil on medium flame for 8-15 minutes, depending on desired consistency and thickness of the slices.  Check consistency with fork – fork should slide in potato easily but not so much that it breaks the potato apart.   Remove from water and let cool.  Once cooled, pack wheels in a container for easy snacking on the go.  Sweet Potatoes may be eaten with a fork at the table for meals or with the child’s fingers as a snack on the go.

Find out more today from Rosalie on Veggie Toddler.

Quick and easy with great summer farmer market ingredients is on tap for this week, plus freezer finds.   This weekend I picked up some great berries, cherries, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow summer squash, cucumbers, onions, rainbow Swiss chard, green beans and potatoes.  That will make some great meals.

I love going to the farmers market.  You get to talk with the people that are growing the food you eat.  You are surrounded by the most beautiful and vibrant colors of nature.  The possibilities of recipes start racing through my mind as I wander along.  I hope you are visiting your local farmers market.  If you’re not sure where the closest one is located, on the far right side of this blog scroll down and you can use the Farmers Market Finder.

Monday- Jamie Oliver’s BBQ chicken (Jamie at Home), grilled zucchini and squash

Tuesday-Swiss Chard, Mushroom and Onion Frittata with Sausage (more frittatas in The Gluten-Free Diner)

Wednesday-Mexican Pizza

Thursday-Shrimp with a Hawaiian inspiration from Bev Gannon ( The Hali’imaile General Store Cookbook-Maui )

Friday-  Burgers topped with a cucumber relish

Saturday- Fresh salad with Cherry Zucchini Bread from Gluten Free For Good

Sunday- Variations of Individual Macaroni and Cheese- gluten, dairy and soy free

Friday Foodie Fix

Today’s Secret Ingredient for Friday Foodie Fix is raspberries.   Raspberries come in three main varieties- black, golden and red.  I’m only used red raspberries in dishes but have seen the golden ones at the market.  These little berries contain a fair amount of iron, potassium and vitamins A and C and are packed with antioxidants.  They are fragile and should be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days in a moisture proof container and in a single layer.   Some folks like to add raspberries to their lemonade.  I think that sounds great.  Raspberries are said to be great simply served with a little whipped cream.

But don’t let that stop you from cooking with them.  You might want to try Stephanie O’Dea’s  Turkey with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce Crockpot Recipe. She is the author of the blog A Year of Slow Cooking and the cookbook Make it Fast, Cook it Slow.

I’ve used frozen rasperries in my Berrylicious Shake and the dessert I made last night, Raspberry and Blackberry Pavlova but I forgot the  Whipped Cream (dairy free too).

What about you?  What are you making with raspberries?  Use Mr. Linky to share.  Please add a link to this post to the recipe post you share so we complete the circle of link love.  Make sure to share the link right to your recipe, not just your blog.  If you don’t have a blog leave a message and share what you are making.

Also, this is the last call for Homemade Hamburger Helper recipes and photos.  Can’t wait to share with you what has been submitted already.  Look for that next week sometime.

Next week’s Secret Ingredient is ….summer squash!

Lasagna is something I have really missed since I now live gluten, dairy, soy, and rice free.  Most of the dairy substitutes are either soy or rice, and so far the gluten free lasagna noodles I’ve found are made with rice.  So what’s a girl to do!  Make it myself with the ingredients that I know I can eat.

I made these one day on the fly, that’s where I just cook and don’t pay any attention to what and how much I cook with, after watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  I don’t remember the show or the restaurant that served their regular version, but I knew I wanted to figure out a version I could eat.

They were so amazing that when I asked Scott what he wanted for his Father’s Day dinner, he requested lasagna.  This was great.  Now I could keep track of what I did and the ingredients I used.  Now I just have to read my chicken scratch on this over crowded piece of paper with oil and tomato sauce on it.   So if it doesn’t come out perfect, just let me know what you did and I’ll make the adjustments.  That’s the fun of cooking.

I will say that this recipe is not for the faint of heart.  I did make the meat ragu sauce, fire roasted tomato bechamel sauce, and the pasta that went into the building of this lasagna.  The good thing is that you can make some of this ahead of time and freeze it.  You can also do what I did which was make lots and freeze the leftovers.  Now before you quickly click away from here let me just share a little something.  There is nothing that I have found that equals the feeling of making something to eat with your hands from real food and then serving it where everyone is raving and moaning how amazing it is.  It does the heart and body good.

So if you are ready I’m going to give you all of the recipes and the steps.  I don’t have as many photos as I would like but sometimes I get so caught up in the cooking I forget to take the photos.

I hope you will take the time to make this meal and share with me your results.

Lasagna is a wonderful layered dish that you can make vegetarian very easily.  Instead of a meat ragu just use your favorite tomato sauce.  Either way I use grilled vegetables as part of the layers.  You can choose your favorite vegetables to grill.  I grilled vidalia onions, eggplant, zucchini, yellow summer squash, cremini and oyster mushrooms, spinach and garlic.  I used a grill pan but you can always grill these outside, well not the spinach.  I will say that grilled spinach with garlic tastes wonderful.  Just be careful not to use too much oil or it will cook out into the lasagna.

You will also need to gather some Daiya Mozzarella Cheese, gluten free bread crumbs and butter (dairy and soy free- Earth Balance).

You will either want to make your Meat Ragu early in the day and let it simmer, or make it ahead of time.  I make a large batch and freeze it for this lasagna, pastas, pizzas, calzones and recipes like that.

Mix up your pasta and roll it out as thin as you can get it between the parchment paper.  Take the ramekin that you will use for the lasagna and press it into the pasta.  If it does not cut out the shape you may need to use a knife to cut around the outer edges.  Place the cut out pasta onto parchment paper on a cookie sheet until you are ready to use it.  You could of course freeze these circles now and thaw them out when you are ready to use them.

The bechamel sauce is something you will want to make right before you need it.  So with a warm Roasted Tomato Bechamel sauce, warm Meat Ragu, the fresh pasta, bread crumbs, butter and Daiya Cheese, we are now ready to assemble your Individual Lasagnas.

Assembling the lasagna is building layers of amazing flavors until there is no more room in your dish.  This method is the same no matter if you’re making an individual lasagna or a large pan.

1. lightly grease the sides and bottom of your dish.  I have a wonderful oil mister where I can pump air into the bottle of olive oil and it will lightly spray.  If you don’t have one I highly recommend you get one.

2. spoon a little bechamel sauce on the bottom

3. place a circle of fresh pasta and spoon a little more bechamel sauce on top

4. add in grilled vegetables

5. sprinkle some cheese on top

6. add another layer of pasta and bechamel sauce

7. if you are keeping this vegetarian add in more vegetables, plain red sauce

8. spoon in the Meat Ragu

9. spoon a little bechamel sauce

10. add some cheese on top

11. sprinkle some bread crumbs on top and dot with butter

Place your individual lasagnas on a cookie sheet and bake  in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 8-20 minutes depending on how warm the ingredients were when you assembled them.  You will know it’s done when the cheese bubbles.

Meat Ragu

Ingredients:

1-2 pounds of meatloaf mix- ground pork, veal and beef

1/2 red onion diced

1-2 celery stalks diced

2 carrots diced

1 bay leaf

handful of fresh thyme

handful of Italian flat leaf parsley chopped

3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary chopped

8 leaves of fresh basil chopped

chopped tomatoes or 1 large can of crushed or diced tomatoes

Saute your onions, celery and carrots until they start to soften.  Next brown the meats.  Combine everything else and let the ragu simmer for 1-3 hours.  The longer it cooks the more the flavors combine.  It can be ready in as fast as 30 minutes.

Pasta- I used double the recipe found in Gluten-Free Italian cookbook written by Jacqueline Mallorca which can also be found on my blog, Great Gluten Free Pasta Challenge.  I also use sorghum flour instead of rice flour.   I find that if I roll the pasta between two sheets of parchment paper with sorghum flour on both, that I don’t have a problem with the pasta sticking like I did with plastic wrap like Jacqueline uses.

Fire Roasted Tomato Bechamel Sauce

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sorghum flour

pinch tapioca flour

3 cups very warm milk (I use almond milk, unsweetened)

1/4 cup fire roasted tomatoes

pinch nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

In a very sturdy sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat.  Make sure the butter is warm before adding in the flours. Add the flour in slowly while whisking.  You will want this mixture to cook so you don’t have any raw flour taste.  This is your roux.  Now add in your warm milk with a whisk and keep stirring until the mixture thickens.  This will happens the closer it gets to the boiling point.  When it adheres to the sides, add in the tomatoes.  You can take it off of the burner to use as you build your lasagna.

This recipe shared on Nourishing Gourmet- Pennywise Platter Thursday.   You can make these lasagnas for very little cost because it doesn’t require much of any one ingredient and if you use leftover grilled kabobs, well you’re just getting that for free!

Thank you all for the many comments, tweets, and signing up for the newsletter that entered you into the drawing for the cookbooks from our event, 30 Days to a Food Revolution.  Thank you to the cookbook authors for donating their cookbooks.

It has taken me some time to get all of the entries cut up so we can draw from this huge pile.  It was so great to read through the thoughtful comments so many of you left.  Thank you for taking the time to join in the 30 Days to a Food Revolution.  I hope you will continue to join us on Tuesdays as long as we have guest bloggers who want to share.

I hope that you have taken some time to re-do one of the meals you eat and make as much of the recipes from whole single ingredients.  If you have been working on your Homemade Hamburger Helper for the giveaway, now is the time to send in your recipes and photos.  I believe we have a couple of recipes but no photos yet.  Your odds of winning the $25 gift card are high!  You still have time to send in yours to my email.

Thank you to everyone who signed up for the newsletter and to those who are new to this blog and have hung around after the event.  Thank you for staying and joining this great community.

Congratulations to our winners.

Breanna of Allergic adventures wins Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef: A Love Story with 100 Tempting Recipes by Shauna  James Ahern and Daniel Ahern (gluten free girl and the chef) NOTE: this book will be released in September and can be pre-ordered now on Amazon.  Link can be found in my Shop.

veggygurl wins The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook by Ali Segersten (The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen)

Roxy from beachgirlroxy wins Make it Fast, Cook it Slow by Stephanie O’Dea (A Year of Slowcooking)

Juliette wins The Spunky Coconut by Kelly Brozyna (The Spunky Coconut)

Shirley Marcroft wins Go Dairy Free by Alisa Flemming (Go Dairy Free, One Frugal Foodie,Dairy-Free Fitness)

MacKidEATS from twitter wins Marrakesh Express by Nisrine Merzouki (dinners and dreams)

Kelly Cooper wins Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam (Elana’s Pantry)

Debi Shaw wins The Gluten-Free Diner by Diane Eblin (The W.H.O.L.E. Gang)

Nina  wins Jamie’s Food Revolution by Jamie Oliver

and

Dawn Fox wins Carrie (Ginger Lemon Girl) will donate a free 30 minute gluten free baking question/answer coaching session and a fresh loaf of gluten free bread (mailed 2 day priority).

When drawing the names I actually drew Jaime Oliver from his RT of the event.  I’ll see if we can get him a cookbook other than his own sent on to him.

Thank you again for all of your support.

I just wanted to remind you that the $2 discount expires at Midnight Saturday June 19th for The Gluten-Free Diner.  What are you waiting for, get it now!

In case you missed it, here is some information about the book.

The Gluten-Free Diner contains 48 of  your favorite diner-inspired recipes.  I love to eat out and go to diners.  Unfortunately most of them can’t accommodate a gluten and dairy free diet.  So I’ve created these recipes to answer the question, “If I had a diner, what would I be serving?”

This cookbook not only has recipes, but a menu on how to put them all together for tons of great meals.  Click Here to check out what’s on The Gluten-Free Diner Menu!

Also included on almost every page is a little blue box where you can take notes on something you might change to your own taste, what you would serve that recipe with, mark it as your favorite to make again or anything else you want to remember.  Almost every recipe  has a photo of the dish.  I don’t know about you, but I’m a very visual person.  Show me the photo!  As always, I love to get your pictures when you make these recipes.  Please send them along, especially if you make the two recipes that don’t have photos so I can add them in the next edition.

I would love for each person who reads this to purchase The Gluten-Free Diner and then pass this message along to others.  This cookbook makes a great gift for those people in your life that always want to cook for you, but are not really sure what a gluten free meal would be.  Maybe you are looking for a gift to give a teacher, co-worker, friend or neighbor.   How about that Dad that likes to cook or other family members that insist on giving you that dry plain piece of chicken or fish when you visit.

Of course these meals are great for those who do not even follow a special diet, but just love diner meals.  I’ve tested these meals on company, and not one of them ate gluten and dairy free and not one of them even noticed it was missing.

I’m also excited to announce our Affiliate Program.  If you have your own blog and want to get paid every time someone follows the link you provide and purchases a cookbook, please check out the Affiliate Program.  I’m offering a great commission, even on your own purchases.

So if you are ready to get your own copy of The Gluten-Free Diner and get that $2 discount, go now to purchase and use the code save2gf.  Remember this discount expires midnight June 19th!

Friday Foodie Fix

Today’s Secret Ingredient for Friday Foodie Fix is your Father’s Day Favorites.  Not exactly a single ingredient but and important one this weekend for those of us cooking for a dad in our lives.  I will be cooking for my husband, the father of our two boys.  He’s a great dad.  He has requested my new Individual Lasagna.  I promise when I make it this time I will take photos and write down the ingredients.  Boy, it does taste good.

Who's the bigger kid, me or my dad?

I wish my dad lived in the same town as me so I could cook him dinner too.  I was really lucky I got to grow up with him as my dad.  Not many kids get chosen, but I was.  You would never know that I was not biologically his daughter.  For one we had the same brown hair and our eyes changed color according to our mood.  He taught me a lot about life and sports.  I’m a huge sports fan thanks to him.  He’s worked really hard for everything he’s ever owned and made my start in life a little easier.  But he taught me about hard work and any job worth doing is worth doing well.  He’s a really tall guy over 6 feet tall to my 5 feet, but he’s a softy at heart even though he’d never admit to that.  I could always count on dad.  When I was young he would play games with me for endless hours.  He taught me how to play softball and how to cut the grass.  I think the later was so he could get out of that job for a while.  I hope this weekend he’s sitting on the beach and enjoying a nice sea breeze.  He’s a great dad and I’m really lucky he choose me to be his daughter.

So what about you?  I’d love to hear something about your dad too.  Are you going to make a favorite for him?   What about something for your husband?  Please use Mr. Linky to share your link for your Father’s Day Favorite foods.  Don’t forget to link back to this page on the page of your recipe.  Lets share the link love.  For all of the rules please check out the Friday Foodie Fix page.

Next week’s Secret Ingredient is ……raspberries!

One more thing before you start adding recipes.  Shauna, the Gluten-Free Girl, has submitted a video to have her own show on the new Oprah Channel.  Please go vote for her show! Voting ends July 3rd.  You can read how this came about on gluten-free girl and the chef.

Now, please, leave your link here for your Father’s Day Favorite.

I’m very excited to share a project I’ve been working on for some time now.  My first e-cookbook has been published.  The Gluten-Free Diner is ready for you to get instantly.

Now those of you who were signed up for my newsletter already knew it was out and had received a discount code.  I appreciate all of you that have already purchased the book.  Thank you. If you’re not signed up for the newsletter and want to be among the first to get the latest news, tips and recipes, sign up for it here.

Now that I’m sharing The Gluten-Free Diner with the wider world, I am offering a special introductory discount that will expire in 3 days so don’t wait to get your copy.  Be sure to read to the end of this note for the discount code.

The Gluten-Free Diner contains 48 of  your favorite diner-inspired recipes.  I love to eat out and go to diners.  Unfortunately most of them can’t accommodate a gluten and dairy free diet.  So I’ve created these recipes to answer the question, “If I had a diner, what would I be serving?”

This cookbook not only has recipes, but a menu on how to put them all together for tons of great meals.  Click Here to check out what’s on The Gluten-Free Diner Menu!

Also included on almost every page is a little blue box where you can take notes on something you might change to your own taste, what you would serve that recipe with, mark it as your favorite to make again or anything else you want to remember.  Almost every recipe  has a photo of the dish.  I don’t know about you, but I’m a very visual person.  Show me the photo!  As always, I love to get your pictures when you make these recipes.  Please send them along, especially if you make the two recipes that don’t have photos so I can add them in the next edition.

I would love for each person who reads this to purchase The Gluten-Free Diner and then pass this message along to others.  This cookbook makes a great gift for those people in your life that always want to cook for you, but are not really sure what a gluten free meal would be.  Maybe you are looking for a gift to give a teacher, co-worker, friend or neighbor.   How about that Dad that likes to cook or other family members that insist on giving you that dry plain piece of chicken or fish when you visit.

Of course these meals are great for those who do not even follow a special diet, but just love diner meals.  I’ve tested these meals on company, and not one of them ate gluten and dairy free and not one of them even noticed it was missing.

I’m also excited to announce our Affiliate Program.  If you have your own blog and want to get paid every time someone follows the link you provide and purchases a cookbook, please check out the Affiliate Program.  I’m offering a great commission, even on your own purchases.

So if you are ready to get your own copy of The Gluten-Free Diner and get that $2 discount, go now to purchase and use the code save2gf.  Remember this discount expires in 3 days!

If you write about this cookbook or share it in a video book club, I would love to add your name and link to the list.

Press and Praise:

Creative Musings by Michelle Vocke -  The Gluten-Free Diner Cookbook

Simply Sugar and Gluten Free - Slightly Indulgent Tuesday

gluten free easily- Here, There, and Everywhere

Next Level Blog- Video Book Club The Gluten-Free Diner

Kim Christensen’s journey with multiple allergies and intolerances, chemical sensitivities, digestive disorders, and Chronic Lyme Disease encouraged her to take a unique approach to a healing diet and holistic self-care. Inspired to share her experiences with others, she started the blog Affairs of Living two years ago. During this time, she has seen a drastic improvement in her symptoms and has become passionate about empowering others to make educated choices about their diet, health care, and lifestyle.  Kim is also a contributing writer for the Lyme Disease blog Lymenaide and is committed to raising awareness of Lyme Disease in the general public and the medical community.  She is currently working on a cookbook of gluten-free, allergy-friendly, whole foods recipes, and will be starting cooking demonstrations and healthy living classes this summer.  Kim plans to attend graduate school for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in 2011, and later hopes to study holistic nutrition, Western herbalism, Ayurveda, and other traditional healing therapies.  She would like to work with clients to treat Lyme Disease, autoimmune diseases, and digestive disorders with personalized, holistic care plans.

Kim’s tip: Embrace change and shake it up.

Kim’s recipe: Raw Strawberry “Milk”Shake

Everyday, I try to shake it up a bit.   Maybe I sit in a different bus seat.  Maybe I jazz up an old dress with a new belt.  Maybe I try out a new recipe. Sometimes it is a larger decision, like choosing to take part in a new volunteer event, starting a new writing project, or making changes to my educational or work timeline.  Anyone who knows me will tell you: I thrive on change.

When I was diagnosed with multiple food allergies and intolerances, a Candida albicans overgrowth, and chronic Lyme Disease, I was forced to confront a lot of changes.  Not the least of these changes was reinventing my diet – I needed to eliminate gluten, sugar, yeast, and my many allergens, and make a full transition to whole foods cooking.  I knew I had two choices:  fight change and be miserable, or embrace change and discover joy in the unexpected.

In short? I could either get crabby or get creative.

Thankfully, I chose the latter, and dove headlong into my new diet plan.  I already had so many dietary restrictions to work around, the last thing I needed was to further limit myself because I was picky or ignorant of my options!  I started impulsively buying the “weird looking” vegetables I generally passed by in the grocery store. I started asking farmers at the farmers market what they like to do with stuff I didn’t recognize. I bought a copy of Rebecca Wood’s brilliant book The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia and read it cover-to-cover (she just published an updated version, lucky you!).  I researched ethnic cuisines and new flavor combinations. I frequented ethnic grocery stores. I tried out different gluten-free flours and whole grains. And I started reading food blogs and buying more cookbooks, constantly searching for new inspiration.

I embraced change. I embraced newness. I threw out preconceived notions and redefined my own dietary patterns. Most importantly, the changes in my diet corresponded to changes in my health.  Symptoms that troubled me for years faded away completely, or at least became manageable rather than debilitating.  Each day I felt better was motivation to continue on my path. Whole food is powerful medicine, and it can feed the body, mind and spirit in amazing ways.

This journey, however, has not been with struggles and flops.  It is hard to go to parties and restaurants, and I’ve made my fair share of recipes that don’t make the cut. But has anything been so horrible that I just never recovered from the trauma? No! Did anyone get hurt because of my culinary endeavors? Nope (thankfully)! Did I learn something every time? Absolutely!  Have I become a better cook? You bet!  Has changing my diet saved my life? YES!

I know, I know, newness and change can be scary. But let’s be honest – sometimes life is scary too! Every day brings changes, and we never know what is going to happen.   Change is around every bend; get comfortable with it.  Gather your courage, walk over to that garlic scape, that rutabaga, or that fresh organic chicken liver, and pick it up with confidence.  You can change your diet and in turn, you can change your life. It starts with the moment you allow yourself to open your mind, think outside the box, and get more comfortable with uncertainty.

Ten ways to shake it up in the kitchen and embrace change:

1. 1. Make one small change in your diet a week, or if you’re ambitious, every 3-4 days.  Maybe it is eliminating sugar, or dairy, or gluten.  Maybe it is cutting back on processed snack foods.  Whatever it is, make it manageable – as Lauren of Celiac Teen said in her great post, focus on small, healthy changes instead of drastic decisions or quick fixes.  Before you know it, you will have given your food life a makeover!
2. 2. Next time you are at the grocery store or farmer’s market, pick up one vegetable you don’t recognize.  Put it in your cart or basket.  When you get home, look it up online and find a recipe that uses it.  Do this every time you shop.  Be brave, just do it!  
3. 3. Switch up your starches. Substitute rice or potatoes with whole grain quinoa, millet, buckwheat, or sorghum, or starchy vegetables like parsnips, rutabaga, turnips, sweet potato, beets, celeriac, winter squash, taro, or yucca. 
4. 4. Research different ethnic cuisines.  Once a week, make an authentic recipe from the cuisine of your choice.  Try Indian, Thai, Japanese, French, Ethiopian, or Cuban, or one of the other many, many ethnic cuisine options. It is like taking a vacation in your very own kitchen! I love doing this, and sometimes even find music from the culture to play while I’m cooking. It makes cooking and eating an adventure.
5. 5. Incorporate new foods at the breakfast table. There is such a wonderful world beyond eggs, cereal, sugary pastries, and toast! There is no rule that says you must eat that stuff for breakfast.  What about beans, sauteed or raw vegetables, or whole grains?  Or my favorite thing in the next point….
6. 6. Drink green smoothies! The combinations are endless, and provide so much wonderful nutrition in an instant.  You can easily shove multiple servings of fruits and vegetables into one great big smoothie – it is a great way to sneak healthy foods into your diet.
7. 7. Eat seasonally as much as possible.   By eating seasonal foods, change is inevitable as you take advantage of the wide variety of foods available through the year. Your body will be more in touch with the cycles of nature, and you will learn to appreciate small changes in the world around you.  Alisa from One Frugal Foodie, Dairy Free & Fit, and Go Dairy Free wrote a great post about eating seasonal foods.
8. 8. Keep a well-stocked pantry.  This will keep you from falling in to old habits of “Meatloaf Monday” (and Tuesday, and Wednesday…meatloaf lasts forever!) or making that boxed macaroni and cheese because you don’t have any other ingredients in the house.  A pantry of basics will allow you to try new recipes more easily and will provide a good, solid base for experimentation of all sorts.
9. 9. Share with a friend! If you’re nervous or hesitant about trying a new food, invite a friend to try it with you and split the cost. It becomes more affordable, and it gives you a support system while trying new things!  

10. Rotate your foods.  If you can, don’t eat the same food more than two days in a row, or only eat it every other day.  Not only is this better for your digestion and provides more thorough nutrition, it reduces the risk of allergic reactions.  It will force you to try incorporating new ingredients in your diet and make falling into the dreaded “food rut” much harder.

In the spirit of shakin’ it up, I’m sharing a recipe with you today that was born of total experimentation.  I really wanted a shake one night, but didn’t have any non-dairy milk, coconut milk, or any kind of non-dairy ice cream.  I looked through my fridge and pantry for white and creamy things, found a jicama, and decided to give it a shot. Much to my delight, it turned out great.  It is creamy and sweet, but is totally free of dairy, sugar, and grains.  It’s even raw!  Ah yes, this shake has become one of my favorite nourishing treats, and I’m excited to drink it all summer long.

I hope you find courage in the kitchen and trust yourself to shake it up, starting with this tasty shake.  Let’s raise a glass and have a toast to Real Food!

Sugar-Free Dairy-Free Raw Strawberry “Milk”Shake

Yield: about 2 cups

This raw “milk”shake is sweet, creamy, and thick, and full of awesome food energy.  It provides a balanced mix of protein, healthy fat, and carbohydrates, and is a nourishing light breakfast or guilt-free treat. Feel free to elaborate on this basic idea and make it your own.  For example, my mom uses banana instead of soaked nuts, ginger tea in place of water, and omits the chia and maca entirely, and absolutely loves it. If you have it, maca powder adds a malty flavor that makes it more like a traditional strawberry malt; it also adds energy boosting nutrients vitamins, and minerals. If you don’t have it, no worries, it will still be delicious!

1 cup strawberries

1 cup peeled, chopped jicama

2 tsp chia seeds

optional: 1/2 tsp maca powder

15-20 drops liquid stevia, to taste (plain or vanilla flavor)

1/4 tsp gluten-free vanilla extract or vanilla flavoring or 1/2 vanilla bean

1/4 cup raw cashews or almonds (preferably soaked 2-4 hours)

1/4 cup water

6 ice cubes

Place all ingredients except ice cubes in a blender, and blend on high until smooth.  Let sit a couple of minutes to allow chia seeds to absorb moisture and thicken the mixture.  Then add ice cubes and blend on high until smooth.  Serve immediately.  Original recipe by Kim Christensen of Affairs of Living.

What a great weekend of soccer we were treated to.  First, my son’s team played in a round robin tournament and just tore up the field.  They are so fun to watch.  Oh, and that FIFA 2010 Cup thing going on.  Anyone watching that?  Did anyone see the 1-1 tie between US and England?  Not a bad start.  But there will be a lot more soccer to watch.  I just wish they had banned those horns.  I feel like have bees in my ears.

School is out here at my house and that means my oldest is home from college and working in DC (Yeah!!!) and my 16 year old is going to spend the summer learning how to drive.  Does anyone want to teach him?

So I think this week’s menu will need to be flexible to accommodate a new palate in the house (vegetarian), soccer games to watch, upset stomachs from driving and whatever we can harvest from our tiny garden or the farmer’s market.  I love when Andy (oldest) goes to his local farmers market and brings me home some treats.  Today it’s peas and zucchini.  Lots of zucchini.

But also this week contains my favorite day of the year, my wedding anniversary.  23 years and going strong.  So to celebrate we’re headed out to a local crab restaurant in DC that I hope lives up to it’s billing.  I do love to crack and pick crabs.  I could spend all day on that!

Don’t forget to join in this week’s Friday Foodie Fix with our Secret Ingredient being Father’s Day Favorites!

Our gluten, dairy and soy free menu for the week:

Monday- Fresh peas, ham, and potatoes au gratin.

Tuesday- Zucchini spaghetti with mushrooms and chilies

Wednesday- Grilled Kebobs with a mix of vegetables and some with shrimp

Thursday- Easy Pork Stuffed Zucchini and a vegetarian version

Friday- Dancing Crabs!

Saturday- BBQ Bacon Jalapeno Poppers plus a vegetarian version, garden salad

Sunday- Father’s Day Favorites

Check out Laura’s website OrgJunkie where hundreds of people share menus.

Friday Foodie Fix

Yeah, Friday Foodie Fix is back!  I’ve really missed having this roundup each week.  Because there was no warning as to a Secret Ingredient for this week, we’re sharing What’s Hot.  That means whatever you are cooking these days- share it!  It could be something great you found at the farmer’s market, something in your CSA basket, a special dish, an old stand by, a celebration meal, whatever you want.

So here’s how the game is played.

1. Use Mr. Linky below to link your recipe to this post.  Make sure you don’t use your general URL but the specific one for the recipe you are sharing.
2. Then grab the link for this specific post and add it to your post for the recipe you just shared.  Make note that you are sharing your recipe at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang.  We call that link love.
3. If you’re sharing an recipe from an older post, please go back to that post and note the update.
4. Next, check out what others have shared.  Who knows you just might find out what you’re having for dinner tonight!

Next week’s Secret Ingredient is ……. Dad’s Favorite!

I know not a specific ingredient either but how could I pass up father’s day!  Share what you’re making for the man in your life or their favorite foods.

In my world of too much and not enough, that is too much to do and not enough time to do it, I need some fast, go to meals that have real ingredients.

I started looking at what the commercials were pushing at us that was unhealthy, but promised fast, easy and inexpensive.  My thought is always, I can make that taste better, without chemicals and preservatives and I know it will be gluten and dairy free.  I know, I have a lot of moxie.

The first to be conquered was Hamburger Helper.  There is a lot of talk of a new gluten free version coming out.  Don’t be fooled.   Just because it’s gluten free doesn’t mean it has good ingredients.  But it gives us that promise of a fast meal for the family, so I took on this “type” of meal.

The results, mine was a hands down winner. (no commercial pun intended)  Well, we didn’t actually taste theirs, but mine is a new family favorite.  And what happens to those favorites, they get tweaked, modified, and adapted to what is on hand.  It’s the process that becomes the important part of these fast meals.

Homemade Hamburger Helper with Daiya cheese-glulten, dairy, soy free

When I first made this dish I thought it would be fun to find out what others put into their homemade version of this fast meal.  So, we’re having a contest. I want you to make your own version, take a picture and send it to me over the next two weeks.  You can give a list of ingredients and even the recipe if you want.  I’ll post them by the end of June for everyone to see and you can vote via a comment for your favorite.  The more they vote for you the better your chances are to win!  I will set a time limit and after that is up I’ll print out the comments and we’ll draw a winner.   I have bought a $25 gift card, that someone who shares their version of Homemade Hamburger Helper, will win to purchase their favorite ingredients.  Are you that someone?

So just to recap so we’re clear.  You create  your own Homemade Hamburger Helper, take a photo and email it to me.  I post the photos, people vote, and someone wins a $25 gift card.  Why? Well if you have not figured it out after the 30 Days to a Food Revolution event, I want you in the kitchen cooking real food and I’m willing to pay you to do it.

If you have a food blog of your own, please give this a shout out.  Maybe one of your lucky readers will win.  And, if you have a blog feel free to submit your entry too.  Email the photos to diane at glutenfreefoodcoach dot com.  If you forget it’s listed on the right side of this blog.

Ingredients:

1 pound grass fed organic ground beef

1 1/2 cup quinoa pasta shells or elbows-gluten free

2 cups hot beef stock- homemade is the best

1 15 oz can of tomato sauce or diced tomatoes or 1-2 dozen fresh chopped roma tomatoes (food processor)

1 TB tomato paste

2 tsp minced toasted onion

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp dried oregano or 1 TBS fresh chopped oregano

1 tsp dried basil or 4-5 fresh leaves chopped

1 tsp dried parsley or handful of fresh chopped

Directions:

Brown the beef and drain the fat.  Add in the tomato paste and combine.

Add in everything else except the parsley.  Combine and bring to a boil.  Cover and turn down to simmer for 14 minutes.  When the time is up mix in the parsley and serve.

Our Options:

Fresh chopped onion and garlic work great.  Cook them with the ground beef.

A package of mushrooms is wonderful.  I like cremini and sliced cost the same as whole.

If you don’t have broth, water will work.

You can substitute ground chicken or turkey for the beef but still use the beef stock.

To make it vegetarian you can use the soy crumbles or 4 large portobello mushrooms diced works great with vegetarian or mushroom stock.

Toss in whatever vegetables you grab from the garden or farmer’s market.

To see more gluten free meals, check out Gluten-Free Wednesdays.

Welcome to the continuation of our wildly successful 30 Days to a Food Revolution.  There were so many blogs with such great information to share that we couldn’t fit them all, in just 30 days.  So the plan is every Tuesday, as long as I have people who want to guest blog, will be our Food Revolution day.

Today’s guest blogger is Rella. Rella has been dairy free for almost 4 years and gluten free for 1. She started a her blog as a way to share recipes and tips on how to make delicious, gourmet food but still stay on a food budget–something that isn’t so easy, especially with food allergies.

Rella’s Recipe:  Indian-Spiced Chicken Smothered in Onions

Rella’s Tip: Experiment with new flavors

I keep a pretty tight food budget, so I limit the kinds of foods that I buy, and I get things in bulk when I can because it’s frequently cheaper.

What does this mean? I eat a lot of the same base ingredients (starches, protein, fruits and vegetables) all the time. I also have a number of food allergies, so that further limits my options. To make sure I don’t get sick of what I’m eating, I have to get creative.

The secret is in the flavor profile–I can use the same basic ingredients, but vary the flavors in such a way that I don’t feel like I’m eating the same thing two nights in a row! Not only do I switch up the salt, sweet, spicy and savory flavors, but I’ve recently started experimenting with new spices from a variety of cultures and regions (lately, I’m on an Indian kick)–smoked paprika, whole coriander, mustard seed, fennel seed…it’s amazing what you can do. Spices also help me add lots of deep flavor and richness without adding sugar or fat.

Note: I like to buy spices that are preservative free, like those here.

Here is a simple chicken recipe that is guaranteed to knock your socks off (and anyone you care to share your dinner with ). I use garam masala, an Indian spice blend that includes pepper, coriander, cumin, cloves, anise; different blends will vary in flavor depending on their ingredients. I also deglaze the pan to make sure I get up all the flavorful bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.

For more budget friendly recipes, check out my blog at Penny Pinching Epicure. For all of my chicken recipes, follow this link.

Indian-Spiced Chicken Smothered in Onions

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 large onions, quartered and sliced

4 garlic cloves, cracked and peeled

2 Tbsp garam masala

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp ketchup
4 boneless chicken breasts

1/4 cup white wine or vegetable stock

Directions:

1. Heat oil over high flame in a large skillet or dutch oven. Reduce heat to medium, add onions and saute until browned, 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook 4-6 minutes more.
2. Combine spices in a small bowl. Sprinkle over both sides of chicken, rubbing to adhere.
3. Add chicken to pan and brown 1-2 minutes on each side. Combine wine or stock with ketchup and use to deglaze the pan, stirring all ingredients to combine, then cover and cook an additional 3-4 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
4. Serve over steam basmati rice or quinoa with a side of steamed broccoli.

The cost:

onion: .45

garlic: .15

garam masala: 2.39

chicken: 10.99

rice/quinoa: 1.99

broccoli: 1.99

Grand total: $17.96; serves 4 ($4.49/person)

Wow, it seems so strange to be back to a “normal” blogging routine.  In case you totally missed it, from April 26th through June 4th there was a really special event going on.  30 Days to a Food Revolution.  There was so much amazing information shared.  I’m still sifting through it all and making sure you have all of the links on our dedicated page up at the top here, 30 Days.

It’s taking me days to sift through all of the tweets, comments and newsletter sign ups to draw winners for the cookbooks being given away.  I’ll be announcing those winners later so keep watch on Twitter, Facebook and here!

Tomorrow I have a treat for you.  Just in case you are already missing the 30 Days to a Food Revolution, not to worry.  Every Tuesday, for as long as I can, will be a guest blogger sharing their recipe and tip as we continue our 30 Days to a Food Revolution!

Make sure you check in on Friday to learn what the Secret Ingredient will be for Jun 18th when we start back with that weekly event.  If you have never participated in that event, well now is the time.  Check out our dedicated page to Friday Foodie Fix at the top of this blog for all of the details and past Secret Ingredients.

mushroom, spring onion, spinach, yellow squash, red onion, tomato, Old Bay seasoning, Daiya Cheese-mozzarella & cheddar (gf,df,sf)

Monday- Garlic Scapes Stir-fry with Salmon and Quinoa

Tuesday- Pork Tacos with stewed pickled  jalapenos, tomatillos, onions, and mushrooms, side of beans

Wednesday- Homemade Hamburger Helper

Thursday- Chicken Chow Mein

Friday- Farmer’s Market Veggie Pizza

Saturday- Leftovers

Sunday- Individual Lasagnas with homemade pasta

For more menus visit OrgJunkie.

Welcome to day 30 of 30 Days to a Food Revolution. We made it!  This has been so exciting.  Thank you to everyone who has written, commented and who is living this food revolution.

We worked on getting Jamie Oliver as our last guest blogger, and we might have if I had not started talking with Anna.  Anna was part of Jamie’s food team on the show and is very talented.   Today’s guest blogger is Anna.

Anna is a British Food Stylist and Writer living in Brooklyn. She writes the blogs Sweet by half and London Foodie in New York as well as contributing to the BBC Good Food blog . Her work has been published in Olive magazine, Woman and Home Magazine and BBC Good Food Magazine. Anna has worked freelance for Jamie Oliver over the past six years, which most recently included 4 months working on the TV show Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. The project touched her heart and she has continued to work with the people of Huntington since the cameras’ stopped rolling.

Anna’s Recipe: Crispy crunchy, full of nuts granola bars

Anna’s Tip: Cut back on sugar where you can

Since returning to live America 3 ½ years ago I’ve witnessed a plethora of health trends take off in New York- lowering salt, a movement towards whole grains, heart healthy fats, eating less meat, eating grass-fed meat, eating local, organic, avoiding high fructose corn syrup….and that’s just to name a few. The one always seems to be avoided is the sugar issue.

Working in Huntington was about more than making a TV show to me and the rest of the crew. It had to be. Jamie has an infectious passion and drive to help people and you can’t work with him without absorbing it. His energy though….well, that’s something I could only dream of having! We stepped into peoples’ lives in Huntington taught them how to cook from scratch. I had a girl in one of my classes at Huntington’s Kitchen tell me that she had never eaten fresh spaghetti before, only ever from a can. Hearing that sort of thing was a reality check for me- I realized how lucky I am that I was bought up knowing how to cook and what to put in my body. Going to the sweetie shop was a Saturday treat if we had earned our pocket money and we were occasionally allowed ½ glass of soda with mom’s made-from-scratch Sunday lunch. In Huntington we encouraged people to stop filling their bodies with E-numbers and preservatives and instead fill their tummies with real wholesome food, that cooking could be fun, quick and affordable.

I should make a point to say that I’m not a Nutritionist. What I am is someone who has worked in food for six years and for the same number of years I’ve suffered from hypothyroidism. So, I’ve been forced to take an interest in what I’m willing to put into my body and I’ve had to make changes. My minor addiction to sugar has had to be tempered because a sluggish metabolism doesn’t do well living on empty calories. I knew sugar was a problem for a lot of people, I just didn’t realize how big the problem was and how little control we seem to have over it.

Walking around the supermarkets in Huntington, I actually took notice for the first time as to what people were filling their carts with. It was pretty clear to me that there was a problem as big as people ignoring the produce aisle or filling their carts with processed meals. Sugar. Even when we pass on dessert or say that we don’t eat sweets, if we’re eating packaged foods, we’re still probably getting more than our recommended serving per day. Did you know that whilst the government has stringent guidelines for calories, fats, and sodium in school meals they don’t seem to give a toss about how much sugar is going into our children’s bodies? If they did, they surely wouldn’t allow 30% of a school meal to be made up with it. I could go into detail about how this goes back to our Government subsidizing corn whose surplus is turned into such things as high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and how it goes into just about everything on the supermarket shelves because it’s cheap, but I won’t. You only have to watch movies like King Corn and Food Inc if you want to get into all the gritty political details. And I suspect many of you have.

It seems that there a mass of on-going studies about the negative effects of high fructose corn syrup- weight gain, diabetes, lack of concentration, mood swings etc. but these can be linked to all varieties of sugar and sweeteners from the honey that we stir in our tea to the maple syrup on our pancakes. It doesn’t stop there and now that there has been public backlash against HFCS and even a Facebook movement.

Companies’ are finding alternative ways and names to put sugar into what we eat. Because sugary things are tasty, because sugar is cheap and because tasty cheap things encourage us to consume more.

Ever heard of Evaporated cane juice?  If you read labels you will have seen it on the back of so-called health foods, in my opinion, the prime culprit of this labeling could well be Whole Foods. So what is Evaporated cane juice exactly? Sugar. Less refined and ironically more expensive than table sugar but sugar none the less. Will it make us fat if we eat too much? Yes. Could it rot our teeth? Most likely. Will it give our kids behavioral problems? I would wager yes.

So, HFCS isn’t the only enemy at the table.  We ought to cut back on sugar & sweeteners full stop. Which is hard to do if you buy food from the grocery store. It’s not just sodas, candy bars and flavored milk. If you buy salad dressing, chances are there’s sugar in it. And if you buy low-sugar products, diet sodas, or sugar-free yogurts to get your sweet fix then there are no doubt artificial sweeteners in most of them. What we need to do, is get over our sweet-tooth-addiction.

Just like the commercials produced by the Corn Board claim: “everything’s fine in moderation” in reference to HFSC. Except that moderation is irrelevant when it’s the food companies deciding whether or not they ought to put sugar in our cereal and milk before we’ve even had a chance to dip a spoon in the sugar bowl ourselves.

Of course it all leads back to clearing out the processed food from our kitchens. Consumer demand is our best bet in carrying forward the Food Revolution. A study led by the UK’s Guardian Newspaper recently showed that since Jamie’s overhaul of the school lunch program, grades have improved, truancy is down as are asthma attacks and illness. So it just goes to show, we really are what we eat.

Cutting back on sugar is easier to do than at first glance. Here are a few suggestions on how to go about it:

1. Start reading the labels and stop buying products that don’t need to contain sugar or sweeteners in them, jars of sauces, salad dressings, yogurts, milk frozen meals, bread, granola….
2. Don’t assume that because you bought it from a health food store that it’s good for you. Recent studies have shown that Agave nectar is just as bad for us as Corn Syrup and some claim even worse.
3. If you have a sweet craving, make your sweet treats from home and start slowly cutting back on the sugar in your recipes You will be amazed at how quickly things begin to taste too sweet to you.
4. Be wary of anything that says “low-sugar”. If it tastes sweet it has artificial sweeteners, which may be calorie-free but are best avoided.
5. Start by giving up sugary drinks, which are the source of a huge number of unnecessary calories.
6. Research alternative names for sugars and sweeteners- there are guides all over the internet including on my webpage
7. Remember that although sugar is fat free, if you’re not exercising to burn it off then your body will convert and store it as fat.

I feel honoured to have taken part in Huntington’s Food Revolution, The W.H.O.L.E Gangs 30 Days to a Food Revolution and beyond. Keep the energy alive! We still need signatures on Jamie’s Petition so please continue to spread the word! Don’t stop now; the Revolution is just getting started!

Crispy, crunchy full of nuts granola bars

My started with my love for baking but knowing that I needed to keep my sugar intake in check. My recipe for healthier granola bars have only 4.8g of sugar per serving. I’ll dare you to guess what most contain….and it’s more than double.  There are also links below to other recipes on the site, one’s that contain less sugar, ones that contain no sugar- and of course no sweeteners too

Makes 16-20

50g/heaped 1 cup cornflakes or branflakes

50g/heaped 1 cup unsweetened dessicated coconut

2 Tbsp non-fat milk powder OR 1 Tbsp flour

175g/6oz mixed nuts (I used hazelnuts, almonds and brazil nuts)

65g/1/2 cup pumpkin and/or sunflower seeds

75/1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup coconut oil or butter

1 Tbsp molasses

1/2 cup honey or agave nectar

• Heat the oven 350F/180C/Gas 4.  Line the base of a Swiss roll tin with parchment paper and grease it. In a large bowl mix together all of the dry ingredients.

• In a small saucepan gently heat together the coconut oil, molasses and agave until just warm. Mix together with the dry ingredients until fully coated. Press into your prepared tin. Place in the oven and turn the oven down to 325F/170C/Gas 3. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top looks lightly toasted and crispy. Cut into pieces right in the tin whilst still warm and then allow to fully cool before removing.

Other recipes:

Single batch low-sugar strawberry jam

Grilled papaya with lime and crumble topping

Multi-grain baps

Peanut butter & cream cheese muffins

For even more check out Sweet By Half today!

Don’t forget:

In order to be entered to win one of 7 cookbooks, here’s what you need to do to gather entries into the drawing.  The more you do, the more chances you have to win!

1. Leave a comment on this blog on as many of the 30 guest food bloggers as you like.  Each comment is an entry.
2. Sign up for The W.H.O.L.E. Gang newsletter.
3. Visit that guest blogger’s site and leave a comment there too.
4. Tweet about this project using both of these in your tweet so I’ll find you  #30days2 #foodrevolution

When the initial 30 days of guest posts are over on June 4th, we’ll pick the winners.

Welcome to day 29 of 30 Days to a Food Revolution.  Today’s guest blogger is Andrea. Andrea Meyers writes about cooking and edible gardening at her blog Andrea Meyers: cooking, gardening, & four hungry guys, and she enjoys teaching about both. She has many years of experience in education and has had organic gardens for 13 years. Andrea is the founder of the blogging event Grow Your Own, which showcases dishes made with foods people have grown, raised, hunted, or foraged themselves, and is a contributor to GoodBite.com. Recently she was named one of the Top 50 Mom Food Bloggers by Babble.com.

Andrea’s Recipe: French Green Beans with Prosciutto and Pine Nuts

Andrea’s Tip: Grow Your Own

Gardening is one of the things that brought my husband and me together. When we first met he had huge heirloom tomato plants in his yard and I had several pots of tomatoes and herbs on my apartment balcony, so it was natural for us to talk about what we liked to grow and eat. We’ve always had an edible garden of some sort no matter where we lived, and now we are turning our backyard into an organic edible landscape with vegetables, herbs, and fruit and nut bushes and trees. We like to grow our own food because we know it is carefully grown without pesticides and fed only with nutritious homemade compost, and because our children are learning where food truly comes from, not just the grocery store shelf.

That’s why my tip is to grow your own food whenever possible. Even if you don’t have room for an outdoor garden, you can grow a few herbs in a pot to add flavor to your cooking. If you aren’t sure what to grow, start with your favorite dishes and find out what herbs are used in those. Then get a window box or two—you don’t need huge pots to grow herbs—fill them with a light organic potting mix, and then add the plants or sow some seeds. My favorite herbs for containers are cilantro, basil, mint, and sage. If you happen to have some outdoor space where you can plant, try some perennial herbs such as chives, oregano, sage, and possibly rosemary (depending on your location) that will give you lots of flavor year after year. Based on our experience, we think the best herbs for growing from seed are mint, basil, cilantro, chives, sage, and oregano. Parsley and rosemary are challenging to grow from seed, and I think it’s just easier to buy the plants.

Sage is one of my favorite herbs because it has such an interesting flavor and texture. Our sage keeps going every year and even survived the recent record setting winter blizzards, and it adds a wonderful fragrant flavor to French green beans. This green bean dish is very easy to prepare with widely available ingredients, so even if you aren’t yet growing your own, you’ll be able to find them at a grocery store or market near you.

You can find the recipe and more gardening tips at Andrea’s site.

Andrea Meyers: French Green Beans with Prosciutto and Pine Nuts

Don’t forget:

In order to be entered to win one of 7 cookbooks, here’s what you need to do to gather entries into the drawing.  The more you do, the more chances you have to win!

1. Leave a comment on this blog on as many of the 30 guest food bloggers as you like.  Each comment is an entry.
2. Sign up for The W.H.O.L.E. Gang newsletter.
3. Visit that guest blogger’s site and leave a comment there too.
4. Tweet about this project using both of these in your tweet so I’ll find you  #30days2 #foodrevolution

When the initial 30 days of guest posts are over on June 4th, we’ll pick the winners.

Welcome to day 28 of 30 Days to a Food Revolution.  Our guest blogger today is Heather.  Heather, author and editor of CeliacFamily.com, is a military wife and mother of two young kids. She was introduced to the gluten-free diet after her son was diagnosed with Celiac Disease over five years ago. Although the tests for herself and her husband were inconclusive for Celiac Disease, they embarked on the gluten-free diet along with their son and daughter, too.  After discovering that they all felt much better without gluten in their lives, they never turned back. Instead, they enjoy trying new and healthier foods.

Heather’s Recipe: Time-Saving Chicken Kabobs

Heather’s Tip: Finding time for making a healthy meal.

When Diane first sent me an email asking me if I would participate in the 30-Day Food Revolution, I immediately said yes. Then, I had to figure out what to write about.

I thought about my own challenges in continuing to make healthy food choices. I don’t have any problems choosing gluten-free foods. I don’t waver on that decision. However, like most families, we have a busy life. Even as a stay-at-home mom, finding time for the shopping and cooking is one of my biggest challenges. We all have days when we’re tired, stressed, and pressed for time. If I don’t have a good plan for preparing and eating healthy meals, I’ll turn to those comforting sweet and fatty, yet convenient, foods that I know should only be eaten in moderation, if at all.

Menu planning has been one of the best time-savers for me. A little time spent during the weekend saves me hours of time and energy at the grocery store and during the week when I’m cooking.

That being said, you don’t have to spend hours every week planning your meals. And if menu planning isn’t for you, try something else. Our lives change, and so do our needs, but don’t give up. Find what works for you.

Keep a list of quick recipes handy in the kitchen, and make sure you keep the basic ingredients stocked in your pantry or refrigerator, so you always have a quick meal to prepare.

Cook your meals on the weekend when you have a little more time. Weekends don’t work for you? Choose any night during the week when you can spend a couple hours cooking. Maybe you do this on the night you eat leftovers for dinner.

Cook double portions and freeze the second portion for the following week.

Get your kids in the kitchen. It may take some extra time when you start doing this, until you have a system that works for you and the kids. But, eventually, they should be able to save you time by helping with some of the prep work. Depending on their ages, they might be able to help with chopping, stirring, setting the table, or just getting foods out of the refrigerator and pantry for you. Make them your assistants.

Do your meal preparation in advance. My kids both have activities that take place right around the dinner hour. I’ve been able to get around this problem by doing most of the prep work before we walk out the door to go to soccer, dance, etc. Sometimes that means marinating the meat the night before. Sometimes it means using breakfast or lunchtime to chop up vegetables, put together a casserole, or fill up the slow-cooker. Sometimes, I simply set out the recipe, pans, appliances, and whatever utensils I need to get the meal started, so that it’s ready to go as soon as we get home. It seems like a simple thing to do, but I find that saving even 15 minutes can make dinner seem to run more smoothly.

Making shish kabobs is a great time-saving meal. You can cut up the meat and marinate it overnight, or even an hour before cooking if you forget. Many vegetables are very tolerant of being chopped and cooked later, so chop them up in advance, too. Use your time wisely. Find that needed 15 minutes of prep time whenever it works for you to get these ready. Then when you come home, pull them out of the refrigerator and cook them on the grill. Don’t have the option to grill outside? No problem. Cook them on a grill pan on the stove, a Panini grill, or large George Foreman grill.  Any of these will work. And the best part is that these will cook up in 10-15 minutes!

Recipe:

Time-Saving Chicken Kabobs

Ingredients:

2.5 lbs. Chicken Breasts  – skinless, boneless, and cut into small cubes or strips

2 Sweet Peppers – core and seeds removed, cut into large chunks

Fresh Pineapple – core and skin removed, cut into large chunks

Marinade for chicken:

2 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp prepared mustard

2 Tbsp cider vinegar

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp pineapple juice or orange juice

1 Tbsp of soy sauce

You’ll also need skewers. If you’re using wooden skewers over a flame, be sure to soak the skewers for at least 30 minutes before placing on the grill. That will reduce the possibility of burning the sticks.

Directions:

1. Cut the chicken into small cubes or long strips and place into a large bowl or zip-style plastic bag.
2. Mix the ingredients for the marinade and pour over the chicken. Stir or massage it in to make sure the marinade has covered all the chicken pieces. Cover or seal tight and place in the refrigerator for a couple hours or even overnight.
3. Prepare the peppers and pineapple and cut into large chunks.
4. Once the chicken has marinated, carefully slide the chicken onto the skewers, alternating with pineapple and pepper chunks. Continue until all the food is skewered.
5. Place the skewers on a moderately hot grill. Watch it carefully and turn every 3-4 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. It should finish cooking in 10-15 minutes.

Additional Notes:

• Using 10” bamboo skewers, I was able to get 8 skewers filled with this recipe.
• Serve two skewers to each person over a bed of rice.
• Another option is to skewer the chicken separate from the pineapple and peppers so that you have skewers with only chicken. Then you can place the chicken (skewer and all) in the marinade. But I wouldn’t recommend this method for wooden skewers over an open flame!
• If you make the marinade with fresh pineapple juice, you don’t need to marinate it for very long. The acid in fresh pineapple works quickly at tenderizing the chicken.
• For another idea on kabobs, check out my Beef Kabobs at Celiac Family.

Notable Links:

These posts had some time-saving meals and ideas, too:

Make your own instant food. – gluten free easily

Get organized and plan. – The Gluten-Free Homemaker

Breakfast can be quick and nutritious. – Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen

Eat a healthy lunch even when pressed for time. – Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried

Don’t forget:

In order to be entered to win one of 7 cookbooks, here’s what you need to do to gather entries into the drawing.  The more you do, the more chances you have to win!

1. Leave a comment on this blog on as many of the 30 guest food bloggers as you like.  Each comment is an entry.
2. Sign up for The W.H.O.L.E. Gang newsletter.
3. Visit that guest blogger’s site and leave a comment there too.
4. Tweet about this project using both of these in your tweet so I’ll find you  #30days2 #foodrevolution

When the initial 30 days of guest posts are over on June 4th, we’ll pick the winners.