Do you remember childhood mealtime? Everybody ate exactly the same thing and you had to eat it (or eat some of it) whether you liked it or not? Oh, boy, I remember having to eat a small amount of beets (makes me sick to my stomach thinking about it) and sauerkraut (I finally uncontrollably gagged when I was in high school and my mom let me off the hook after that) and who knows what else. I didn't have to eat it all, but I had to have at least a couple of bites of everything being served.
My, how things have changed, haven't they? With food allergies and sensitivities becoming so commonplace, it's no longer the same situation.
I've been dairy-free for sometime, but that doesn't mean our meals are always dairy-free. Casseroles, including lasagna? One with cheese and a smaller dairy-free one gets made. Quesedillas? Ditto. Macaroni and cheese? I'll just have the macaroni. Pizza? Have to make a cheeseless or Daiya one for me, or if we're ordering out, it can only be ordered from certain places and I pretty much need my own individual one because they aren't usually very good at keeping half the pizza cheeseless. There's a stir fry recipe my husband makes with cream of chicken soup; I need to get a portion pulled out for me before he puts the sauce in the veggies. Or the tortellini sauce he makes: a mix of Italian sauce and cream of mushroom. Again, I get served first and what's left is all mixed in with the dairy.
Now my daughter is gluten-free. Not celiac, but definitely sensitive to at least wheat, but looking up things online, it's more consistent with gluten sensitivity than just wheat sensitivity. I'm finding I feel better gluten-free, so I'm almost not eating any at all. So, it adds another wrench to the everybody-eats-the-same-supper. Spaghetti? Well, my husband and son aren't prepared to eat gluten-free (and, to be honest, it's much cheaper for them NOT to), so a batch of wheat pasta is made and a smaller batch of gluten-free for her and me. Taco night? Have to make sure to have more hard corn tortilla shells or have wheat flour tortillas and gluten-free tortillas. Casserole? Haven't gotten there yet. Am I really going to make 3 different ones? My daughter isn't dairy-free and isn't at all interested in trying the Daiya (they all say it smells weird). I suppose I'll make a "regular" one and then a gluten-free cheeseless one that we can each add on cheese as desired. Or maybe put a divider in a baking pan with gluten-free on both sides and each our own desired cheese. Bread? Do I dare use up some of our bread flour in delicious bread that my daughter can't eat? Or that will tempt her to eat and then she'll be ill afterwards?
Allergies have definitely changed mealtime from the way it was when I was a kid! What about you?
Showing posts with label dairy-free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dairy-free. Show all posts
Friday, April 24, 2015
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Awesome Gluten-Free Cookbook
I have talked about this cookbook before, but I'm going to talk about it again:
I bought it sometime ago when my daughter was eating gluten-free, or trying to and made a few recipes and they turned out really well. Then she stopped going gluten-free and things started acting up enough that she decided she would try to go gluten-free again, or at least mostly gluten-free. She ended up being very sick (not from gluten) this past Monday and only at a little and that was when she decided she wanted to try mostly gluten-free, then Tuesday, only ate a small supper of gluten-free pasta and sauce. She ended up unintentionally falling asleep on the couch for the night, but I was next to her for a while and I realized her stomach wasn't gurgling like it had been daily for months. I mentioned it to her the next morning and she nodded and said that her stomach was flat again for the first time in a very long time. That convinced her to not just try to be gluten-free most of the time, but she's been gluten-free since.
But that has meant that she's finding it hard to find things to eat in the house. It's very convenient to grab this or that that has gluten in it or make this or that for lunch that has gluten in it (we make our own individual lunches). So, I've been doing what I can to help. Yesterday, I made the waffles recipe from Cooking for Your Gluten-Free Teen and today, the macaroni and cheese. The waffles recipe was easily made dairy-free, so I was able to taste it, too. They weren't half bad. You add strawberries, powdered sugar and syrup (she added strawberries and whipped cream), you wouldn't even know they were gluten-free. I did not make the dairy-free version for the macaroni and cheese, but I asked her how it was and she said she liked it.
And to add that in here: Many or all of the recipes actually have dairy alternatives listed, so you can make things that are both gluten-free and dairy-free.
While the cookbook says it's cooking for your teen, these are really just basic things a lot of kids and adults like. The recipes are fairly simple and so far, there isn't a single one we've made that we didn't like.
I bought it sometime ago when my daughter was eating gluten-free, or trying to and made a few recipes and they turned out really well. Then she stopped going gluten-free and things started acting up enough that she decided she would try to go gluten-free again, or at least mostly gluten-free. She ended up being very sick (not from gluten) this past Monday and only at a little and that was when she decided she wanted to try mostly gluten-free, then Tuesday, only ate a small supper of gluten-free pasta and sauce. She ended up unintentionally falling asleep on the couch for the night, but I was next to her for a while and I realized her stomach wasn't gurgling like it had been daily for months. I mentioned it to her the next morning and she nodded and said that her stomach was flat again for the first time in a very long time. That convinced her to not just try to be gluten-free most of the time, but she's been gluten-free since.
But that has meant that she's finding it hard to find things to eat in the house. It's very convenient to grab this or that that has gluten in it or make this or that for lunch that has gluten in it (we make our own individual lunches). So, I've been doing what I can to help. Yesterday, I made the waffles recipe from Cooking for Your Gluten-Free Teen and today, the macaroni and cheese. The waffles recipe was easily made dairy-free, so I was able to taste it, too. They weren't half bad. You add strawberries, powdered sugar and syrup (she added strawberries and whipped cream), you wouldn't even know they were gluten-free. I did not make the dairy-free version for the macaroni and cheese, but I asked her how it was and she said she liked it.
And to add that in here: Many or all of the recipes actually have dairy alternatives listed, so you can make things that are both gluten-free and dairy-free.
While the cookbook says it's cooking for your teen, these are really just basic things a lot of kids and adults like. The recipes are fairly simple and so far, there isn't a single one we've made that we didn't like.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Make-a-Menu Monday--March 30, 2015
In light of the 3-Week "David Avocado Wolfe Challenge" to start next week, I thought I would plan a menu for the week that avoids certain potentially common processed foods and includes plenty of veggies. Being frustrated lately with trying to find new ideas for a week-long menu plan and finding only 5-day plans, I made sure to make this week's plan a full 7 days of meals. The plan, as usual, is dairy-free, and with some simple substitutions (gluten-free tortillas, gluten-free pasta), can be completely gluten-free, as well.
Monday: Crock pot whole chicken with baked potatoes, garden salad (think green or red leaf lettuce, cucumber chunks, chopped tomatoes, shredded carrot...), and cooked green beans.
Tuesday: chicken fajitas with homemade seasoning mix, red onions and different coloured peppers and garden salad.
Wednesday: spaghetti with homemade spaghetti sauce (with meat or meatballs or without) served with Caesar or garden salad
Thursday: chicken and vegetable fried rice; I've made that recipe before but substituted broccoli and cauliflower and went heavy on the veggies. It's delicious!
(Good) Friday: Since many will be going meatless today, a simple casserole made with macaroni noodles, jarred pasta sauce (check the label to find one without weird chemicals in it), and mixed frozen vegetables topped with your choice of cheese.
Saturday: lasagna (Daiya cheese for mine) with cooked carrots and homemade vegan Caesar salad dressing
Easter supper/Sunday: ham served with dairy-free mashed potatoes, roasted baby carrots, lemon-parsley green beans
Enjoy! :)
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Healthy, Yummy Desserts?
I've been posting recipes for dairy-free Christmas treats, BUT I have to admit: they aren't healthy. Even the butter-free butter tarts which I've posted before and make during the holidays, while they have flax seed and raisins in them, aren't by any means healthy what with the sugar and margarine in them.
So, this has piqued my curiosity: The Dessert Angel Healthy Desserts Cookbook.
There are 78 different recipes in it. It has vegan recipes, which means those ones will automatically be dairy-free and no substituting potentially less healthy ingredients. Most of the recipes are gluten-free, which is excellent since I'm heading back into the realm of gluten-free eating. And many nut-free recipes, which means I can serve them to my niece, too, and don't have to worry about my own sensitivities to nuts.
I admit to being a bit of a sugar addict. I gave into Christmas treats the other day because I just didn't want to stay in that state of craving/discomfort. If I can make some healthy desserts that satisfy the desire for something sweet while not fuelling a sugar addiction, that sounds good to me!
When I try the first recipe, I will let you know how it turned out. :) If you don't want to wait for my first review, do check out the site today. It's actually $10 off for I don't know how long!
So, this has piqued my curiosity: The Dessert Angel Healthy Desserts Cookbook.
There are 78 different recipes in it. It has vegan recipes, which means those ones will automatically be dairy-free and no substituting potentially less healthy ingredients. Most of the recipes are gluten-free, which is excellent since I'm heading back into the realm of gluten-free eating. And many nut-free recipes, which means I can serve them to my niece, too, and don't have to worry about my own sensitivities to nuts.
I admit to being a bit of a sugar addict. I gave into Christmas treats the other day because I just didn't want to stay in that state of craving/discomfort. If I can make some healthy desserts that satisfy the desire for something sweet while not fuelling a sugar addiction, that sounds good to me!
When I try the first recipe, I will let you know how it turned out. :) If you don't want to wait for my first review, do check out the site today. It's actually $10 off for I don't know how long!
Friday, December 19, 2014
-Free Recipe Friday: Dairy-Free Christmas Shortbread Cookies
Today's recipe is just like the Rice Krispie squares recipe, which makes me feel a little like I'm cheating with these recipes, but really, I want you to know just how easy it is to make at least some things dairy-free.
Why am I saying it's cheating? Because I'm just going to give you a normal shortbread cookie recipe (well, one designed for a cookie shooter) and substitute dairy-free margarine in it.
Yes, it really is that easy. I have family still making two separate batches of desserts and things like pancakes when we get together when it is just so unnecessary most of the time. They'll make a batch of pancakes with soy milk or rice milk for me but regular for everybody else, for example. Their lives would be much simpler if they just made one batch for everybody.
In any case, I have a cookie shooter that is ancient and still works---omg, I just looked it up and found it on Amazon
--and my daughter specifically asked for shortbread Christmas cookies made with the cookie shooter. Growing up, we always bought the packaged mixed and then just added a little milk to the dough to make it soft enough to go through the shooter. This time, I sought out a recipe specifically for it and found this one from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cookie-press-shortbread/ . They're already almost gone, so it's clearly a winner!
*1 cup of butter substitute (I used Becel vegan; try different things to see how they work with the recipe)
*1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
*1/2 icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)
*1/4 tsp vanilla extract
*1/2 cup cornstarch
My additions to the recipe:
*food colouring
*peppermint and/or almond flavouring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium mixing bowl, cream together butter, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla until smooth with electric mixer. Stir in flour and cornstarch. (**) Pop dough into your cookie press, and away you go! Press cookies out onto ungreased cookie sheets. (Add sprinkles, if you wish.)
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the peaks are golden.
**If you are wanting coloured or flavoured cookies, separate the dough into batches to then remix with your choice of colouring and/or flavouring.
Enjoy!
Why am I saying it's cheating? Because I'm just going to give you a normal shortbread cookie recipe (well, one designed for a cookie shooter) and substitute dairy-free margarine in it.
Yes, it really is that easy. I have family still making two separate batches of desserts and things like pancakes when we get together when it is just so unnecessary most of the time. They'll make a batch of pancakes with soy milk or rice milk for me but regular for everybody else, for example. Their lives would be much simpler if they just made one batch for everybody.
In any case, I have a cookie shooter that is ancient and still works---omg, I just looked it up and found it on Amazon
--and my daughter specifically asked for shortbread Christmas cookies made with the cookie shooter. Growing up, we always bought the packaged mixed and then just added a little milk to the dough to make it soft enough to go through the shooter. This time, I sought out a recipe specifically for it and found this one from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cookie-press-shortbread/ . They're already almost gone, so it's clearly a winner!
Dairy-Free Shortbread Cookie Press/Shooter Cookies
(Um, yes, some were eaten before the picture was taken. They had to be taste-tested. :D )
*1 cup of butter substitute (I used Becel vegan; try different things to see how they work with the recipe)
*1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
*1/2 icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)
*1/4 tsp vanilla extract
*1/2 cup cornstarch
My additions to the recipe:
*food colouring
*peppermint and/or almond flavouring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium mixing bowl, cream together butter, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla until smooth with electric mixer. Stir in flour and cornstarch. (**) Pop dough into your cookie press, and away you go! Press cookies out onto ungreased cookie sheets. (Add sprinkles, if you wish.)
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the peaks are golden.
**If you are wanting coloured or flavoured cookies, separate the dough into batches to then remix with your choice of colouring and/or flavouring.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Dairy-Free Christmas Baking: Rice Krispie Squares
Finally, here it is, the first of my Christmas dairy-free recipes! These recipes are ones for the whole family even if it's just one person who is dairy-free (as is the case in my house). No need to make a batch with the dairy and a batch without, just make them dairy-free and they will get gobbled up.
I love Rice Krispie Squares. So do my husband and kids. And the great thing is if you are choosing or have to eat dairy-free, they are sooooo easy to make dairy-free.
You can just use the recipe on the box and use a butter substitute--like vegan margarine or Earth Balance--but I find the recipe on the box isn't chewy enough. And they make vanilla optional. The vanilla shouldn't be optional. Trust me.
This recipe can also easily be made vegan and gluten-free.
DAIRY-FREE CHEWY RICE KRISPIE SQUARES
1/4 cup dairy-free margarine or "butter" spread; I used Becel Vegan
250 g (or about 40 regular marshmallows; don't be afraid to put more than 40 in; equivalent to 5 cups of mini marshmallows)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5 cups Rice Krispies cereal (if you want it even chewier/gooier, go for 4-4.5 cups)
*Melt the margarine in a large pot (saucepan). Use low heat. When the margarine is completely melted, add in the marshmallows and stir with a mixing spoon until smooth. Remove from heat.
*Add the vanilla and stir.
*Add the cereal and stir. Make sure to get down into the "corners" of the pot and really mix things until the cereal is coated. If you are going for 4-4.5 cups, it'll be a little harder to mix things so the cereal is coated evenly, but they'll still taste good if you can't.
*Use your dairy-free margarine to butter a 9x13 pan (consider using and 8x8 if you went for the 4 cups; you'll have thicker squares, but with the 9x13, they are very thin). Pour/scrape the Rice Krispie mix into the pan. Use a buttered (buttered with your dairy-free margarine, of course) spatula to push the mixture into place and smooth it out.
*Cut into your desired size of squares.
**Vegan alternative: Make sure your margarine is vegan and use vegan marshmallows.
**Gluten-free alternative: Use gluten-free Rice Krispies or other brand of gluten-free rice crisp cereal.
That's it! Stay tuned for the shortbread cookies. :)
---
For a little fun: How many of you remember this commercial?
I love Rice Krispie Squares. So do my husband and kids. And the great thing is if you are choosing or have to eat dairy-free, they are sooooo easy to make dairy-free.
You can just use the recipe on the box and use a butter substitute--like vegan margarine or Earth Balance--but I find the recipe on the box isn't chewy enough. And they make vanilla optional. The vanilla shouldn't be optional. Trust me.
This recipe can also easily be made vegan and gluten-free.
DAIRY-FREE CHEWY RICE KRISPIE SQUARES
1/4 cup dairy-free margarine or "butter" spread; I used Becel Vegan
250 g (or about 40 regular marshmallows; don't be afraid to put more than 40 in; equivalent to 5 cups of mini marshmallows)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5 cups Rice Krispies cereal (if you want it even chewier/gooier, go for 4-4.5 cups)
*Melt the margarine in a large pot (saucepan). Use low heat. When the margarine is completely melted, add in the marshmallows and stir with a mixing spoon until smooth. Remove from heat.
*Add the vanilla and stir.
*Add the cereal and stir. Make sure to get down into the "corners" of the pot and really mix things until the cereal is coated. If you are going for 4-4.5 cups, it'll be a little harder to mix things so the cereal is coated evenly, but they'll still taste good if you can't.
*Use your dairy-free margarine to butter a 9x13 pan (consider using and 8x8 if you went for the 4 cups; you'll have thicker squares, but with the 9x13, they are very thin). Pour/scrape the Rice Krispie mix into the pan. Use a buttered (buttered with your dairy-free margarine, of course) spatula to push the mixture into place and smooth it out.
*Cut into your desired size of squares.
**Vegan alternative: Make sure your margarine is vegan and use vegan marshmallows.
**Gluten-free alternative: Use gluten-free Rice Krispies or other brand of gluten-free rice crisp cereal.
That's it! Stay tuned for the shortbread cookies. :)
---
For a little fun: How many of you remember this commercial?
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Almost Time for Christmas Baking!
This time of year is one of all kinds of goodies--that I can't eat.
So, I really have no choice but to make my own goodies, right?
Over the next while, I will post recipes for the dairy-free (and maybe even gluten-free) goodies I'll be making this Christmas season, including:
*Rice Krispie squares
*shortbread cookies
*sugar cookies
*butter tarts (mmm, yes, dairy-free butter tarts!)
I also really want to find a dairy-free Nanaimo bar recipe. If you are not a Canadian reader and don't know Nanaimo bars... Mmm, mmm, mmm! I've only ever made pre-packaged mix versions, but they already have dairy in them, so I can't even just make them with something other than butter. And while I'm at it, I may try some of the treats from DAMY: http://www.damyhealth.com/2013/12/the-ultimate-healthy-holiday-dessert-recipe-guide/
Stay tuned!
So, I really have no choice but to make my own goodies, right?
Over the next while, I will post recipes for the dairy-free (and maybe even gluten-free) goodies I'll be making this Christmas season, including:
*Rice Krispie squares
*shortbread cookies
*sugar cookies
*butter tarts (mmm, yes, dairy-free butter tarts!)
I also really want to find a dairy-free Nanaimo bar recipe. If you are not a Canadian reader and don't know Nanaimo bars... Mmm, mmm, mmm! I've only ever made pre-packaged mix versions, but they already have dairy in them, so I can't even just make them with something other than butter. And while I'm at it, I may try some of the treats from DAMY: http://www.damyhealth.com/2013/12/the-ultimate-healthy-holiday-dessert-recipe-guide/
Stay tuned!
Friday, May 30, 2014
-Free Recipe Friday: Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream
I have a delicious dairy-free/vegan/gluten-free recipe for you today! One of the many things people miss when going dairy-free for whatever reason is ice cream. I'm one of those people. I know people who have said they could never go dairy-free because they wouldn't be able to give up ice cream. Let's face it: ice cream is important to many people. There are some delicious non-dairy ice creams available but the better ones come in tiny containers tend to cost more than a typical 3-scoop ice cream cone! Making it yourself cuts back on costs and lets you make exactly what you want with the ingredients you want.
Today's recipe, Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl comes from The Vegan Scoop
1 cup soymilk, divided
2 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 cup soy creamer (my note: Silk makes original and French vanilla; both taste very good in this recipe)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
1 tbsp vanilla extract (yes, even if you use the French vanilla creamer)
3/4 cup peanut butter (I use regular, store-bought peanut butter with sugar in it)
In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup of the soymilk with arrowroot and set aside.
Mix soy creamer, remaining 3/4 cup soymilk, sugar, cocoa powder and chocolate chips in a saucepan and cook over low heat. (Not too low or it'll take forever!) Once mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and immediately add arrowroot cream. This will cause the liquid to thicken noticeably. Add vanilla extract.
Refrigerate mixture until chilled, approximately 2 to 3 hours. (Elsewhere in the book, he recommends letting it chill overnight.) Freeze according to ytes of freezing, swirl in peanut butter.
Yield: 1 quart
-----
My one piece of advice when making this is to not let the ice cream mix too long after you've added the peanut butter. While you can still taste the peanut butter and the combination of the chocolate and peanut butter is amazing, the peanut butter can end up mixing in very quickly and you lose the swirl. As you can see here:
---
Don't have an ice cream maker? Check these out. I have the second one and am very pleased with it.
Today's recipe, Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl comes from The Vegan Scoop
1 cup soymilk, divided
2 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 cup soy creamer (my note: Silk makes original and French vanilla; both taste very good in this recipe)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
1 tbsp vanilla extract (yes, even if you use the French vanilla creamer)
3/4 cup peanut butter (I use regular, store-bought peanut butter with sugar in it)
In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup of the soymilk with arrowroot and set aside.
Mix soy creamer, remaining 3/4 cup soymilk, sugar, cocoa powder and chocolate chips in a saucepan and cook over low heat. (Not too low or it'll take forever!) Once mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and immediately add arrowroot cream. This will cause the liquid to thicken noticeably. Add vanilla extract.
Refrigerate mixture until chilled, approximately 2 to 3 hours. (Elsewhere in the book, he recommends letting it chill overnight.) Freeze according to ytes of freezing, swirl in peanut butter.
Yield: 1 quart
-----
My one piece of advice when making this is to not let the ice cream mix too long after you've added the peanut butter. While you can still taste the peanut butter and the combination of the chocolate and peanut butter is amazing, the peanut butter can end up mixing in very quickly and you lose the swirl. As you can see here:
---
Don't have an ice cream maker? Check these out. I have the second one and am very pleased with it.
Friday, May 16, 2014
It's Friday! -Free Recipe Friday!
I have been wanting chocolate chip cookies all week long, so I decided that would be the -free recipe I would share: my chocolate chip cookie recipe. This is a slightly modified recipe from a cookbook my mom had when I was a kid/teenager. The recipe called for butter or vegetable shortening and we always used butter. But one time we didn't have butter or enough butter so I used Crisco shortening. They turned out better than they had with the butter! I've been making them with Crisco ever since although did try dairy-free margarine. It works, just not as good. My mom always used to mix the dough in a food processor and I didn't feel like having to clean the food processor afterwards one day, so I just did it by hand. Again, they turned out even better!
The tricky part to make these cookies dairy-free could be to find dairy-free chocolate chips. Most of the ones I've found in stores have milk in the ingredients, and unfortunately, my favourite ones, the President's Choice chocolate chips, now have "May contain milk" on the label. (I still eat them even though I really should avoid all potential traces.) I believe Camino is completely dairy-free, but don't quote me on that, as is Enjoy Life.
One more thing about this recipe: Pretty much everybody LOVES this recipe--when I make it. I have tried my best below to put in the details that I might be following that others don't when making the recipe, but that's still no guarantee. I once supervised my niece making them and they did not turn out the same.
So, here we go, today's Dairy-Free Recipe:
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, very well packed (I normally use golden brown, but did use the darker stuff in the past and they were just as good)
1 cup of Crisco shortening
(just a note here: you want the sugars to be a little more rather than a little less than the full measure, and the shortening a little less rather than a little more; it can make a big difference!)
2 large eggs
2 (overflowing) tsp vanilla
2 cups flour (I use Canadian all-purpose flour; you may need to use something other than all-purpose or adjust your amount if you are not in Canada)
1.5 tsp salt (original recipe called for 2 tsp, if you like them saltier)
1 tsp baking soda
1+ cups chocolate chips (original recipe calls for 2 cups)
---
In a large mixing bowl, mix the sugars and shortening VERY well. I use a fork for this until it is as blended as it can be.
Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix with the fork until creamy. And then mix a little more.
Sprinkle over top the flour, salt and baking soda. Mix with a mixing spoon until well blended.
Add the chocolate chips and mix again.
Drop onto ungreased cookie sheets. I make them large, about 2". The recipe usually makes about 25 cookies for me (well, it would be a couple more if dough didn't get eaten...).
Bake for 7-8 minutes. (You may need to play around with this. With one of my ovens, I baked them at 350 for 10 minutes and they were perfect. With my current oven, 8 minutes at 375 seems to work well, but I still have to play around a bit to get it just right. With the second batch, 8 minutes is actually too long for this oven.) I take them out when the edges are just starting to get golden and some peaks are showing signs of browning. They are, for all intents and purposes, undercooked, but not so undercooked that they will be gross. They will still continue cooking a bit as they sit on the cookie sheet.
Let them cool completely on the cookie sheets. Do not remove to a wire rack. Because they are already a tad undercooked, let them keep cooking a bit without the browning!
If you prefer the harder cookie, by all means, cook longer. :)
Happy Victoria Day long weekend to the Canadians reading!
The tricky part to make these cookies dairy-free could be to find dairy-free chocolate chips. Most of the ones I've found in stores have milk in the ingredients, and unfortunately, my favourite ones, the President's Choice chocolate chips, now have "May contain milk" on the label. (I still eat them even though I really should avoid all potential traces.) I believe Camino is completely dairy-free, but don't quote me on that, as is Enjoy Life.
One more thing about this recipe: Pretty much everybody LOVES this recipe--when I make it. I have tried my best below to put in the details that I might be following that others don't when making the recipe, but that's still no guarantee. I once supervised my niece making them and they did not turn out the same.
So, here we go, today's Dairy-Free Recipe:
Dairy-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350F-375F--the exact temperature will depend on your oven and elevation
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, very well packed (I normally use golden brown, but did use the darker stuff in the past and they were just as good)
1 cup of Crisco shortening
(just a note here: you want the sugars to be a little more rather than a little less than the full measure, and the shortening a little less rather than a little more; it can make a big difference!)
2 large eggs
2 (overflowing) tsp vanilla
2 cups flour (I use Canadian all-purpose flour; you may need to use something other than all-purpose or adjust your amount if you are not in Canada)
1.5 tsp salt (original recipe called for 2 tsp, if you like them saltier)
1 tsp baking soda
1+ cups chocolate chips (original recipe calls for 2 cups)
---
In a large mixing bowl, mix the sugars and shortening VERY well. I use a fork for this until it is as blended as it can be.
Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix with the fork until creamy. And then mix a little more.
Sprinkle over top the flour, salt and baking soda. Mix with a mixing spoon until well blended.
Add the chocolate chips and mix again.
Drop onto ungreased cookie sheets. I make them large, about 2". The recipe usually makes about 25 cookies for me (well, it would be a couple more if dough didn't get eaten...).
Bake for 7-8 minutes. (You may need to play around with this. With one of my ovens, I baked them at 350 for 10 minutes and they were perfect. With my current oven, 8 minutes at 375 seems to work well, but I still have to play around a bit to get it just right. With the second batch, 8 minutes is actually too long for this oven.) I take them out when the edges are just starting to get golden and some peaks are showing signs of browning. They are, for all intents and purposes, undercooked, but not so undercooked that they will be gross. They will still continue cooking a bit as they sit on the cookie sheet.
They look browner in this picture than I think they look in real life.
Let them cool completely on the cookie sheets. Do not remove to a wire rack. Because they are already a tad undercooked, let them keep cooking a bit without the browning!
If you prefer the harder cookie, by all means, cook longer. :)
Happy Victoria Day long weekend to the Canadians reading!
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Day 2 of Wheat-Free Eating
Although my daughter doesn't seem to be prepared to cut out wheat entirely, I have decided to. And if you read my previous post, there was some angst as to what to actually eat.
Well, I'm on Day 2 and I have to say, this has been the easiest yet of going wheat-free. The first time I went wheat-free was almost agonizing on Days 1 and 2--I was so used to having wheat pretty much all the time, it was just incredibly hard. And I was having cravings for it. This time around, while my thoughts will turn to a wheat product, when I remember I'm not eating wheat, I just find something else.
As for my wheat-free (and, naturally, dairy-free) supper plan for the week, it hasn't been followed at all so far. lol. Yesterday, instead of chicken piccata, we were at the grocery store to pick up chicken breasts and my daughter suggested we get one of the roasted chickens. Sure! I then made dairy-free scallopped potatoes (note: when they say "thinly sliced" potatoes, they really mean it! my poor potatoes were not cooked even after quite a bit of additional cooking time) to go with it and we just had some raw veggies on the side.
Today, I decided it would be rice with something. We have a lot of frozen ground beef, so I picked that and ended up making a kind of skillet casserole with Italian tomato sauce, ground beef, Italian sausage, chili powder and rice. My son complained when seeing it that he doesn't like the texture of this particular dish, that rice, tomato sauce and beef don't go together. I said that you can get burritos with that combination. He said, yeah, but we're not eating burritos. I then suggested he grab a tortilla and make himself a burrito. Well, it did the trick for him! Not his favourite dish still, but more manageable like that.
Breakfast-wise, I've just been having Rice Krispies with vanilla-flavoured rice milk. Had a stir fry for lunch yesterday and a couple of scrambled eggs for lunch today. I've had some other food, but I can't think what exactly.
That's the progress report so far. If you are wanting to go wheat-free, even if just for a few days, why not join me and let me know in the comments? We can support each other, share snack and meal ideas...
Well, I'm on Day 2 and I have to say, this has been the easiest yet of going wheat-free. The first time I went wheat-free was almost agonizing on Days 1 and 2--I was so used to having wheat pretty much all the time, it was just incredibly hard. And I was having cravings for it. This time around, while my thoughts will turn to a wheat product, when I remember I'm not eating wheat, I just find something else.
As for my wheat-free (and, naturally, dairy-free) supper plan for the week, it hasn't been followed at all so far. lol. Yesterday, instead of chicken piccata, we were at the grocery store to pick up chicken breasts and my daughter suggested we get one of the roasted chickens. Sure! I then made dairy-free scallopped potatoes (note: when they say "thinly sliced" potatoes, they really mean it! my poor potatoes were not cooked even after quite a bit of additional cooking time) to go with it and we just had some raw veggies on the side.
Today, I decided it would be rice with something. We have a lot of frozen ground beef, so I picked that and ended up making a kind of skillet casserole with Italian tomato sauce, ground beef, Italian sausage, chili powder and rice. My son complained when seeing it that he doesn't like the texture of this particular dish, that rice, tomato sauce and beef don't go together. I said that you can get burritos with that combination. He said, yeah, but we're not eating burritos. I then suggested he grab a tortilla and make himself a burrito. Well, it did the trick for him! Not his favourite dish still, but more manageable like that.
Breakfast-wise, I've just been having Rice Krispies with vanilla-flavoured rice milk. Had a stir fry for lunch yesterday and a couple of scrambled eggs for lunch today. I've had some other food, but I can't think what exactly.
That's the progress report so far. If you are wanting to go wheat-free, even if just for a few days, why not join me and let me know in the comments? We can support each other, share snack and meal ideas...
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Menu Planning Can Be HARD
My 16-year old has been having increasing stomach pains, but has also been eating an increasing amount of wheat lately. Although in the past some activated charcoal did the trick, it doesn't seem to be helping the pain. Whether the pain is from something else or whether it's just so prolonged and she keeps eating wheat so it's not going away, we're not sure, but it's time to do something. Add to that, I've been feeling the need to go wheat-free for a while again, so with the two of us wanting to work on it, it's definitely time.
She wants to just cut back on her wheat; last time she had these pains, it took a few days of being wheat-free for them to disappear completely. So, I want to encourage her to at least go three days wheat-free and see if it helps. But that means having a menu plan. And although we previously did a couple of weeks straight of wheat-free, I'm sitting here trying to plan a wheat-free supper plan for the week and struggling! It's kind of sad that wheat is that much a part of our lives again, that we're that dependent on it.
Ideas I've come up with so far (and given they are for me, too, they are dairy-free, or able to be made dairy-free):
*chicken piccata (from the Wheat Belly 30-Minute or Less Cookbook) with potatoes and veggies
*a veggie or chicken and veggie stir fry with rice
*tacos (without the wheat tortillas; the Wheat Belly 30-Minute or Less Cookbook has a wheat-free recipe I could try or I could see about a traditional Mexican corn soft tortilla)
*pizza, with one of the crusts made with the recipe from Cooking for Your Gluten-Free Teen
*chili or spaghetti with gluten-free noodles
*skillet rice, kidney beans and tomatoes
This felt very hard to come up with. And it only covers 6 days, not the next 7. AND this is just for supper, not the other meals. She has already requested that I make the stuffed peppers recipe from Raw Food: A Complete Guide for Every Meal of the Day for lunch. I'm not sure I have what I need to make it, although I modify it anyhow because I can't eat one of the nuts in the recipe. But she'll need more than stuffed peppers to make it through even a few days of wheat-free eating!
Why does this feel so hard? It's not like we haven't done it before. But it's like a vague memory. I will have to see what I can dig up from this blog about what we've eaten in the past!
---
Cookbooks mentioned above:
Sunday, March 30, 2014
This Week's Supper Plan
I'm taking it fairly easy today as I nurse a cold that has hit me hard. Other than taking a nap and drinking tea, I thought it would still be nice to actually get something done. I had thought about posting on my vacation site, but realized that the info I need to access it is on a disconnected, damaged hard drive at the moment. I have a back up... somewhere... lol. I'm in no mood for searching for it, so I decided I would look through some cookbooks today and come up with some supper ideas for the week.
ALL of my menu ideas on this blog are automatically dairy-free or easily adaptable between dairy and dairy-free. I don't consume any dairy at all--except for movie theatre popcorn butter which is clarified butter that doesn't have any of the protein that bugs me. So, if you are dairy-free or wanting to go dairy-free, EVERYTHING I post on this blog is safe!
The first book I've got beside me is How It All Vegan!: Irresistible Recipes for an Animal-Free Diet by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer.
*I already know that I want to make the Holy Moly Hummus on page 95. This is the most delicious hummus I have ever eaten! It is great as a veggie dip but also with tortilla chips, especially the Tostitos round chips. I was actually going to make some yesterday and discovered that not only was my tahini several months past the best before date, but that I didn't even have half of what the recipe called for, so I need to get to the store before I can make this. I actually change the recipe slightly and don't put in the parsley and have never tried it with the jalapeno. This recipe is actually so good, and I think I'm allowed to share a small number of recipes from books, that I'm going to share it here now for you:
1 small onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced
splash of olive oil
2.5 cooked or canned chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)
3/4 cup of tahini
1.5 tbsp Braggs (or soy sauce; I use Braggs)
1/2 cup lemon juice (or you can use 1/4 cup water + 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar; I use lemon juice, mmmmm mmmm)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (haven't ever tried it with the parsley)
1/4 cup chopped jalapeno pepper (optional)
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
It's very easy to put together: You sauté the chopped onion and garlic in the splash of olive oil on medium heat until the onions are translucent. In a blender or food processor (if you use a blender, it had better be a large one!), put the onion, garlic and all the rest of the ingredients. Blend until it's the consistency you want. It makes about 2 cups of hummus. You can freeze whatever you won't eat in the next few days!
But that's for snacking and dipping. How about the supper ideas?
I asked my kids what they would make for supper this week. My 13-year old son said he wanted to make spaghetti and my 16-year old daughter had been wanting to make spaghetti, largely so she could make a meatball recipe we all love that she got from her foods science (aka home ec.) class. They are going to work together to make supper one night this week with my son making the sauce (family recipe) and his sister making the meatballs. Just got to figure out other nights they can help with. :D
Tonight, we are having pizza. I use a mix of Daiya cheddar and mozzarella on my pizza (well, my half of the pizza). I find that the mozza can easily be overdone but the cheddar doesn't bother me at all, so my pizzas usually have more Daiya cheddar than mozza on them! I'll be using my breadmaker to make the crust. Well, the dough for the crust.
We have some fish I'll serve with rice and veggies and salad one night.
I've got some turkey sausages I can make with potatoes another night. (Yes, and add in veggies, but we usually eat our veggies raw at supper so it doesn't really require any specific planning!) I'm pretty sure the sausages are gluten-free, so that will make a dairy- AND gluten-free meal.
I think I'll try the Chicken, Broccoli, and Carrot Stir-Fry on p. 122 of Cooking for Your Gluten-Free Teen: Everyday Foods the Whole Family Will Love.
We've really liked everything we've tried so far from this book and we love stir fry meals, so it should be good. :)
How many meals does that bring me up to? Five. Including tonight's. That'll bring me to Thursday. Okay, we'll have chili one night. There. Brings us to Friday. Good enough for now. lol
So, quick recap for a dairy-free menu plan for the week (er, part of the week):
*homemade pizza made with Daiya cheese (could use the pizza crust recipe from the above-mentioned Cooking for Your Gluten-Free Teen for a gluten-free option; the crust is really good)
*spaghetti and meatballs (could easily be gluten-free by using gluten-free pasta and gluten-free bread crumbs)
*crispy fish and rice
*turkey sausages with potatoes (gluten-free!)
*chicken, broccoli and carrot stir fry with rice (gluten-free!)
*chili (gluten-free!)
Clearly, I am not focusing on meatless meals this week, but I will be looking at vegan and raw vegan things during the day, like Ani Phyo's Coconut Breakfast Cakes (I finally found golden ground flax seed!) and some other things. I also got a free Actifry recently and have only so far used it to make French fries. It would be nice to explore other recipe options, for any meal.
Do you plan dairy-free meals? Do you have a plan for this week you'd like to share? Or are you looking for more dairy-free supper ideas--or perhaps specific recipes? Let me know!
ALL of my menu ideas on this blog are automatically dairy-free or easily adaptable between dairy and dairy-free. I don't consume any dairy at all--except for movie theatre popcorn butter which is clarified butter that doesn't have any of the protein that bugs me. So, if you are dairy-free or wanting to go dairy-free, EVERYTHING I post on this blog is safe!
The first book I've got beside me is How It All Vegan!: Irresistible Recipes for an Animal-Free Diet by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer.
*I already know that I want to make the Holy Moly Hummus on page 95. This is the most delicious hummus I have ever eaten! It is great as a veggie dip but also with tortilla chips, especially the Tostitos round chips. I was actually going to make some yesterday and discovered that not only was my tahini several months past the best before date, but that I didn't even have half of what the recipe called for, so I need to get to the store before I can make this. I actually change the recipe slightly and don't put in the parsley and have never tried it with the jalapeno. This recipe is actually so good, and I think I'm allowed to share a small number of recipes from books, that I'm going to share it here now for you:
1 small onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced
splash of olive oil
2.5 cooked or canned chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)
3/4 cup of tahini
1.5 tbsp Braggs (or soy sauce; I use Braggs)
1/2 cup lemon juice (or you can use 1/4 cup water + 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar; I use lemon juice, mmmmm mmmm)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (haven't ever tried it with the parsley)
1/4 cup chopped jalapeno pepper (optional)
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
It's very easy to put together: You sauté the chopped onion and garlic in the splash of olive oil on medium heat until the onions are translucent. In a blender or food processor (if you use a blender, it had better be a large one!), put the onion, garlic and all the rest of the ingredients. Blend until it's the consistency you want. It makes about 2 cups of hummus. You can freeze whatever you won't eat in the next few days!
But that's for snacking and dipping. How about the supper ideas?
I asked my kids what they would make for supper this week. My 13-year old son said he wanted to make spaghetti and my 16-year old daughter had been wanting to make spaghetti, largely so she could make a meatball recipe we all love that she got from her foods science (aka home ec.) class. They are going to work together to make supper one night this week with my son making the sauce (family recipe) and his sister making the meatballs. Just got to figure out other nights they can help with. :D
Tonight, we are having pizza. I use a mix of Daiya cheddar and mozzarella on my pizza (well, my half of the pizza). I find that the mozza can easily be overdone but the cheddar doesn't bother me at all, so my pizzas usually have more Daiya cheddar than mozza on them! I'll be using my breadmaker to make the crust. Well, the dough for the crust.
We have some fish I'll serve with rice and veggies and salad one night.
I've got some turkey sausages I can make with potatoes another night. (Yes, and add in veggies, but we usually eat our veggies raw at supper so it doesn't really require any specific planning!) I'm pretty sure the sausages are gluten-free, so that will make a dairy- AND gluten-free meal.
I think I'll try the Chicken, Broccoli, and Carrot Stir-Fry on p. 122 of Cooking for Your Gluten-Free Teen: Everyday Foods the Whole Family Will Love.
We've really liked everything we've tried so far from this book and we love stir fry meals, so it should be good. :)
How many meals does that bring me up to? Five. Including tonight's. That'll bring me to Thursday. Okay, we'll have chili one night. There. Brings us to Friday. Good enough for now. lol
So, quick recap for a dairy-free menu plan for the week (er, part of the week):
*homemade pizza made with Daiya cheese (could use the pizza crust recipe from the above-mentioned Cooking for Your Gluten-Free Teen for a gluten-free option; the crust is really good)
*spaghetti and meatballs (could easily be gluten-free by using gluten-free pasta and gluten-free bread crumbs)
*crispy fish and rice
*turkey sausages with potatoes (gluten-free!)
*chicken, broccoli and carrot stir fry with rice (gluten-free!)
*chili (gluten-free!)
Clearly, I am not focusing on meatless meals this week, but I will be looking at vegan and raw vegan things during the day, like Ani Phyo's Coconut Breakfast Cakes (I finally found golden ground flax seed!) and some other things. I also got a free Actifry recently and have only so far used it to make French fries. It would be nice to explore other recipe options, for any meal.
Do you plan dairy-free meals? Do you have a plan for this week you'd like to share? Or are you looking for more dairy-free supper ideas--or perhaps specific recipes? Let me know!
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Making a Dairy-Free Meal Out of a Dairy-Filled Meal
A couple of weeks ago, my daughter was participating in an activity where she needed to bring an entrée from another country. She chose chicken quesadillas.
She found the recipe, made them and had enough left over that my husband and son could have supper, too. But, with the cheese and butter used, it was not going to be a supper for me. How could I adapt the ingredients that were left over for me?
There was chicken left over and some tortillas. We had lettuce in the fridge.
So, I started building myself a sandwich wrap, added some additional taco seasoning, some salsa... (I put more lettuce on after the picture!) It was quite a tasty supper and a very easy way to modify what was a dairy-filled recipe not with a dairy substitute, but by creating a different, but simple, meal. :)
She found the recipe, made them and had enough left over that my husband and son could have supper, too. But, with the cheese and butter used, it was not going to be a supper for me. How could I adapt the ingredients that were left over for me?
There was chicken left over and some tortillas. We had lettuce in the fridge.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Dairy-Free Menu Plan
More and more people are going dairy-free and searching for ideas of what to eat. So many people tell me they couldn't do it, they couldn't go dairy-free. Sometimes it takes not having a choice--to have horrible reactions--to finally do it. But I think that if I had also seen "normal" menu ideas, I might have had an easier time with the switch. So, I've decided to share a basic weekly menu plan with you!
MONDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal with milk alternative; I prefer almond (naturally high in calcium) or calcium-fortified rice milk (if you use instant oatmeal, check the ingredients; I like to eat Quaker Brown Sugar instant which is dairy-free here) and orange juice
Lunch: peanut butter and jelly sandwich with carrot sticks and hummus or tahini; if you use butter in your sandwich, use a vegan margarine instead (Becel Vegan or Fleischmann's non-hydrogenated margarine--apparently a Canadian product and I don't know if the American Flesichmann's spread is dairy-free or not. BEWARE! Most margarines contain whey, a milk product.)
Supper: chili with pasta and an assortment of raw veggies (carrots, broccoli, cucumbers...)
TUESDAY
Breakfast: cereal with milk alternative (many, many cereals are dairy-free, like Rice Krispies, Cheerios, Special K, many Nature's Path cereals...)
Lunch: salad with leftover chili
Supper: chicken and veggie stir fry (super easy way is to stir fry chicken, broccoli, carrots and cauliflower, maybe some snow peas, and use a bottled teriyaki or other sauce to add some flavour) with rice
WEDNESDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: sandwich with dairy-free deli meats (I tend to buy the prepackaged ones because the deli counter doesn't seem to always have ingredients readily available!), lettuce, cucumber--NO cheese. Mayo (here, anyhow) is dairy-free.
Supper: minestrone soup (find an easy recipe online; some are truly super easy!) with salad
THURSDAY
Breakfast: choice of cereal with milk alternative
Lunch: leftover soup
Supper: Tacos. Just skip the cheese (or try an alternative cheese if you like; I was a cheese lover and have found I'd prefer to just skip the cheese!)
FRIDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: pasta salad with rotini noodles, tuna, cooked peas and mayo; can serve on a bed of lettuce
Supper: grilled cheese with salad or veggies. I prefer Daiya cheddar-style for the cheese; if you choose another cheese, make sure there isn't any milk in it since many of the alternative cheeses have casein, a milk protein
SATURDAY
Breakfast: eggs and toast with orange slices
Lunch: Hot dogs (check the ingredients!! many have milk products!) with raw veggies and hummus
Supper: Spaghetti with tomato-based sauce; some recipes are very simple, but you could always go for a bottled version, but, as usual, check the ingredients! A lot are dairy-free, but a good number also have cheese in them. Serve with a salad. And maybe some garlic toast (just pop bread in the toaster, spread with vegan margarine and sprinkle some garlic powder over top). You can purchase soy-based parmesan cheese or, if you are willing to go a step further, check out Mimi Kirk's Caesar salad recipe, specifically the cashew parmesan part. This stuff's AMAZING.
SUNDAY
Breakfast: something light--a single piece of toast, an orange, a banana, a fruit smoothie...
Lunch/Brunch: pancakes (made with milk alternative; your regular recipe works just fine with almond or rice milk, but if you use a prepackaged mix, check the ingredients first!). If you use real maple syrup, you will be adding to your calcium intake.
Supper: roast chicken (consider purchasing a pre-cooked one at the store; they are sometimes cheaper than purchasing a fresh or frozen chicken and roasting it yourself!) with roasted potatoes, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower and salad
---
This is all just a suggested basic, hopefully simple, menu plan that does not include snacks and desserts, which can also be easily dairy-free. It is not intended to cover all of your calcium or other needs (like fruit and vegetable consumption) and, for the most part, tries to avoid prepackaged foods. If you use microwave meals and such, just check the label first, but be prepared to find that most have milk in them. Fill in the above with fruits and vegetables, and additional foods for calcium intake, such as tofu made with calcium sulfate, soy or other alternative yoghurts with calcium (read the label!), plant foods high in calcium such as almonds, sesame seeds (tahini, made with sesame seeds, is a very good source of calcium), dark green leafy vegetables, Chinese cuisine foods such as bok choy... There are many more possibilities and various things we eat, but I tried to keep things as simple as possible for this first menu plan. The cookbook Calciyum!: Delicious Calcium-Rich Dairy-Free Vegetarian Recipes has more ideas AND includes calcium content.
If you are trying to go dairy-free and use the above menu to give it a whirl, let me know how it goes! It's been a while since I've been dairy-free newbie and it can be hard to make things simple when we've been beyond simple for a while. :) If you have any questions about the above suggestions, let me know, too!
MONDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal with milk alternative; I prefer almond (naturally high in calcium) or calcium-fortified rice milk (if you use instant oatmeal, check the ingredients; I like to eat Quaker Brown Sugar instant which is dairy-free here) and orange juice
Lunch: peanut butter and jelly sandwich with carrot sticks and hummus or tahini; if you use butter in your sandwich, use a vegan margarine instead (Becel Vegan or Fleischmann's non-hydrogenated margarine--apparently a Canadian product and I don't know if the American Flesichmann's spread is dairy-free or not. BEWARE! Most margarines contain whey, a milk product.)
Supper: chili with pasta and an assortment of raw veggies (carrots, broccoli, cucumbers...)
TUESDAY
Breakfast: cereal with milk alternative (many, many cereals are dairy-free, like Rice Krispies, Cheerios, Special K, many Nature's Path cereals...)
Lunch: salad with leftover chili
Supper: chicken and veggie stir fry (super easy way is to stir fry chicken, broccoli, carrots and cauliflower, maybe some snow peas, and use a bottled teriyaki or other sauce to add some flavour) with rice
WEDNESDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: sandwich with dairy-free deli meats (I tend to buy the prepackaged ones because the deli counter doesn't seem to always have ingredients readily available!), lettuce, cucumber--NO cheese. Mayo (here, anyhow) is dairy-free.
Supper: minestrone soup (find an easy recipe online; some are truly super easy!) with salad
THURSDAY
Breakfast: choice of cereal with milk alternative
Lunch: leftover soup
Supper: Tacos. Just skip the cheese (or try an alternative cheese if you like; I was a cheese lover and have found I'd prefer to just skip the cheese!)
FRIDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: pasta salad with rotini noodles, tuna, cooked peas and mayo; can serve on a bed of lettuce
Supper: grilled cheese with salad or veggies. I prefer Daiya cheddar-style for the cheese; if you choose another cheese, make sure there isn't any milk in it since many of the alternative cheeses have casein, a milk protein
SATURDAY
Breakfast: eggs and toast with orange slices
Lunch: Hot dogs (check the ingredients!! many have milk products!) with raw veggies and hummus
Supper: Spaghetti with tomato-based sauce; some recipes are very simple, but you could always go for a bottled version, but, as usual, check the ingredients! A lot are dairy-free, but a good number also have cheese in them. Serve with a salad. And maybe some garlic toast (just pop bread in the toaster, spread with vegan margarine and sprinkle some garlic powder over top). You can purchase soy-based parmesan cheese or, if you are willing to go a step further, check out Mimi Kirk's Caesar salad recipe, specifically the cashew parmesan part. This stuff's AMAZING.
SUNDAY
Breakfast: something light--a single piece of toast, an orange, a banana, a fruit smoothie...
Lunch/Brunch: pancakes (made with milk alternative; your regular recipe works just fine with almond or rice milk, but if you use a prepackaged mix, check the ingredients first!). If you use real maple syrup, you will be adding to your calcium intake.
Supper: roast chicken (consider purchasing a pre-cooked one at the store; they are sometimes cheaper than purchasing a fresh or frozen chicken and roasting it yourself!) with roasted potatoes, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower and salad
---
This is all just a suggested basic, hopefully simple, menu plan that does not include snacks and desserts, which can also be easily dairy-free. It is not intended to cover all of your calcium or other needs (like fruit and vegetable consumption) and, for the most part, tries to avoid prepackaged foods. If you use microwave meals and such, just check the label first, but be prepared to find that most have milk in them. Fill in the above with fruits and vegetables, and additional foods for calcium intake, such as tofu made with calcium sulfate, soy or other alternative yoghurts with calcium (read the label!), plant foods high in calcium such as almonds, sesame seeds (tahini, made with sesame seeds, is a very good source of calcium), dark green leafy vegetables, Chinese cuisine foods such as bok choy... There are many more possibilities and various things we eat, but I tried to keep things as simple as possible for this first menu plan. The cookbook Calciyum!: Delicious Calcium-Rich Dairy-Free Vegetarian Recipes has more ideas AND includes calcium content.
If you are trying to go dairy-free and use the above menu to give it a whirl, let me know how it goes! It's been a while since I've been dairy-free newbie and it can be hard to make things simple when we've been beyond simple for a while. :) If you have any questions about the above suggestions, let me know, too!
Friday, January 17, 2014
Free Recipe Friday! GFCF Banana Bread Bars
I have to highly praise this book and recommend it for gluten-free eaters, whether they have teens (kids!) or not:
I'm not entirely sure how many things we've tried, but so far, we've loved it all! The latest is no exception. I made it dairy-free by using vegan margarine. It is not vegan as it uses eggs and dried egg whites, but I could see playing with it to make it vegan.
What is it? Banana bread squares!
I remembered to take a picture before we ate them all up! (Yay, me! :D) Now, my son has said they aren't as good as my usual banana bread recipe, but these bars are actually healthier, not having as much sugar in them and none of the oil my usual recipe has. I would almost not even guess that they are gluten-free, they are so spongy. And clearly, this picture shows they are good as they are being eaten.
I think I'm allowed to share the recipe, so I will! For the full recipe with their gluten-free all-purpose flour blend, you will have to get the book. This recipe is found on p. 67:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened, or nondairy alternative [I used Becel Vegan]
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups smoothly mashed very ripe bananas (about 3) [my note: I don't know if her bananas are huge, but it took me what I considered 4 large bananas]
2 tsp dried egg whites [I used Wilton Meringue Powder]
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground allspice
Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a 9x9" baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. [Okay, I used Crisco rather than a spray.] Line the bottom with parchment paper cut to fit. Spray the parchment with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar until very smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and bananas and beat well.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk the flour, dried egg whites, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and allspice to mix.
Add the dry ingredients in batches to the banana mixture, beating well after each addition. The batter will get very thick, so beat only enough to mix well.
Scrape the banana batter into the prepared pan with a silicone spatula. Pat smooth and level with oiled palms or a lightly oiled silicone spatula. [I modified this step, simply used the spatula I was already using to try to level it all.] Bake for 30-35 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the over. Let cool on a rack. When cool, cut 3 by 4 for 12 bars.
Enjoy!
I'm not entirely sure how many things we've tried, but so far, we've loved it all! The latest is no exception. I made it dairy-free by using vegan margarine. It is not vegan as it uses eggs and dried egg whites, but I could see playing with it to make it vegan.
What is it? Banana bread squares!
I remembered to take a picture before we ate them all up! (Yay, me! :D) Now, my son has said they aren't as good as my usual banana bread recipe, but these bars are actually healthier, not having as much sugar in them and none of the oil my usual recipe has. I would almost not even guess that they are gluten-free, they are so spongy. And clearly, this picture shows they are good as they are being eaten.
I think I'm allowed to share the recipe, so I will! For the full recipe with their gluten-free all-purpose flour blend, you will have to get the book. This recipe is found on p. 67:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened, or nondairy alternative [I used Becel Vegan]
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups smoothly mashed very ripe bananas (about 3) [my note: I don't know if her bananas are huge, but it took me what I considered 4 large bananas]
2 tsp dried egg whites [I used Wilton Meringue Powder]
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground allspice
Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a 9x9" baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. [Okay, I used Crisco rather than a spray.] Line the bottom with parchment paper cut to fit. Spray the parchment with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar until very smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and bananas and beat well.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk the flour, dried egg whites, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and allspice to mix.
Add the dry ingredients in batches to the banana mixture, beating well after each addition. The batter will get very thick, so beat only enough to mix well.
Scrape the banana batter into the prepared pan with a silicone spatula. Pat smooth and level with oiled palms or a lightly oiled silicone spatula. [I modified this step, simply used the spatula I was already using to try to level it all.] Bake for 30-35 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the over. Let cool on a rack. When cool, cut 3 by 4 for 12 bars.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Are You Up for a 21-Day Vegan Cleanse Challenge?
Amy Layne over at DAMY Health is inviting people to try her 21-Day Vegan Cleanse Challenge. (No, she doesn't use the hyphen, but I can't write it against Canadian standards. ;) ) She is even giving the ebook away for FREE for a very limited time, from now until January 14. I've downloaded it myself and it is full of all kinds of great meal ideas/recipes to get you through the full 21 days.
That said, am I up for a 21-day vegan challenge? Part of me would love to shout, "Yes!" At the same time, the very thought of committing to all meals and snacks for 21 days to the challenge is, to say the least, overwhelming. I will have to look at the recipes more, especially the supper recipes, to see if I think I can make this work, especially since my family is not likely to be participating!
If you are going to join in, let me know! Having a challenge buddy would definitely help me commit and we could help each other along.
P.S. Many of her recipes are gluten-free!
That said, am I up for a 21-day vegan challenge? Part of me would love to shout, "Yes!" At the same time, the very thought of committing to all meals and snacks for 21 days to the challenge is, to say the least, overwhelming. I will have to look at the recipes more, especially the supper recipes, to see if I think I can make this work, especially since my family is not likely to be participating!
If you are going to join in, let me know! Having a challenge buddy would definitely help me commit and we could help each other along.
P.S. Many of her recipes are gluten-free!
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Recipe Time: Hash Browns
About a month or so ago, in my search for wheat-free breakfast ideas for my daughter, plus armed with the knowledge that potatoes have feel-good "stuff" in them, I decided to make hash browns. I had always used the frozen kind before, but we didn't have any, so I found a recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. (This links to a newer version; the recipe might not be entirely the same!)
It does require some preparation, but mmmmmmm, they are so good fresh, we've had them several times over the past couple of months! I used to go through maybe a bag of potatoes in an entire year, throwing many out because they had spoiled; I'm on our 2nd bag of potatoes in the past 3 months now. lol. Add to it they are vegan and gluten-free, which makes the recipe an ideal choice for this blog. :D
Hash Brown Potatoes, my way
3 medium potatoes (1 pound)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black better
3 tbsp butter or margarine (I use Becel's vegan margarine)
Their recipe calls for shredding the potatoes coarsely and making hash brown patties, essentially. What I do is dice the potatoes to have loose hash browns (I have not mastered cutting potatoes quickly, let me tell ya!). Melt the margarine in the pan, mix the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl, and cook on medium-low heat. It takes about 20 minutes or so once in the pan to cook. I actually make more than just 3 potatoes when I make them, so it does take a bit longer. But they come out delicious!!
It does require some preparation, but mmmmmmm, they are so good fresh, we've had them several times over the past couple of months! I used to go through maybe a bag of potatoes in an entire year, throwing many out because they had spoiled; I'm on our 2nd bag of potatoes in the past 3 months now. lol. Add to it they are vegan and gluten-free, which makes the recipe an ideal choice for this blog. :D
Hash Brown Potatoes, my way
3 medium potatoes (1 pound)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black better
3 tbsp butter or margarine (I use Becel's vegan margarine)
Their recipe calls for shredding the potatoes coarsely and making hash brown patties, essentially. What I do is dice the potatoes to have loose hash browns (I have not mastered cutting potatoes quickly, let me tell ya!). Melt the margarine in the pan, mix the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl, and cook on medium-low heat. It takes about 20 minutes or so once in the pan to cook. I actually make more than just 3 potatoes when I make them, so it does take a bit longer. But they come out delicious!!
After some have already been taken!
Now I'm off to see what sort of dairy-free, possibly even gluten-free, goodies I can make for Christmas. Only a week to go!
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Back on the 100-Day Challenge "Wagon"
Oy, where is the time going??? This week ended up being a bit of a write-off due to physical/health issues Tuesday through yesterday. Part of it was messed-up sleep affecting my ability to concentrate and even make decisions. Now that I'm coming out of it, I'm feeling less guilty about not focusing on my goals because I can see just how affected I was!
But at the end of this second week, that leaves me with fewer days to accomplish some big goals I have for the rest of this year, which include:
*walk/run 5 km (I had gotten up to 1.3 miles/just over 2 km on the treadmill, but I haven't done anything on the treadmill in a week, I think)
*get the rough draft of my teen novel done
*get my dairy-free ebook done
*100 blog/website posts!
I had not connected with my goals really at all this week. My energy levels and mental stamina were poor enough that they didn't matter to me a bit. And yet, first thing this morning, my mind is back on the goals and I really want to accomplish them.
One of my smaller goals is to work toward having one to two weeks' worth of gluten-free (and naturally, dairy-free, since I can't have dairy) lunch and supper menus that have been tried and enjoyed. My daughter and I both really like the stuffed peppers recipe from Raw Food: A Complete Guide for Every Meal of the Day but I don't know it's the kind of thing my husband and son will like, so we make it now and then for lunch. I made some yesterday. It's a super quick recipe. (I do have to modify it slightly since the recipe calls for hazelnuts--hazelnuts make my mouth itch!)
I've had a new gluten-free book for a little bit and had not yet tried anything from it. Part of it is that I can not for the life of me find the sorghum flour used in their flour blend. There's probably one store in particular I need to go to (Planet Organic), but I just haven't made my way there yet. In any case, the book is
They are conscious that many people eating gluten-free also have dairy issues, so many of the recipes specifically mention substituting a non-dairy product. I made the pizza for us yesterday, but just used the flour blend I had left over from a different book and used a reduced amount of soy parmesan (wasn't sure what it would do compared to regular parmesan) in the crust. It still worked out very well! And I had a happy teen when I picked her up from dance class and had a piece of pizza all ready in the vehicle for her to eat. She ate nearly the rest of her half (we split one pizza; I forgot to take a picture of the whole thing, but her side had "regular" cheese and mine had the Daiya) and had no feeling of unwellness afterward. She really wants to try the doughnuts; I will have to either find sorghum flour or make a new batch of the blend I use and try the recipe with that.
Before I head off to the treadmill, I may not have a picture of our whole pizza, but I do have a picture of some of my pieces:
But at the end of this second week, that leaves me with fewer days to accomplish some big goals I have for the rest of this year, which include:
*walk/run 5 km (I had gotten up to 1.3 miles/just over 2 km on the treadmill, but I haven't done anything on the treadmill in a week, I think)
*get the rough draft of my teen novel done
*get my dairy-free ebook done
*100 blog/website posts!
I had not connected with my goals really at all this week. My energy levels and mental stamina were poor enough that they didn't matter to me a bit. And yet, first thing this morning, my mind is back on the goals and I really want to accomplish them.
One of my smaller goals is to work toward having one to two weeks' worth of gluten-free (and naturally, dairy-free, since I can't have dairy) lunch and supper menus that have been tried and enjoyed. My daughter and I both really like the stuffed peppers recipe from Raw Food: A Complete Guide for Every Meal of the Day but I don't know it's the kind of thing my husband and son will like, so we make it now and then for lunch. I made some yesterday. It's a super quick recipe. (I do have to modify it slightly since the recipe calls for hazelnuts--hazelnuts make my mouth itch!)
I've had a new gluten-free book for a little bit and had not yet tried anything from it. Part of it is that I can not for the life of me find the sorghum flour used in their flour blend. There's probably one store in particular I need to go to (Planet Organic), but I just haven't made my way there yet. In any case, the book is
They are conscious that many people eating gluten-free also have dairy issues, so many of the recipes specifically mention substituting a non-dairy product. I made the pizza for us yesterday, but just used the flour blend I had left over from a different book and used a reduced amount of soy parmesan (wasn't sure what it would do compared to regular parmesan) in the crust. It still worked out very well! And I had a happy teen when I picked her up from dance class and had a piece of pizza all ready in the vehicle for her to eat. She ate nearly the rest of her half (we split one pizza; I forgot to take a picture of the whole thing, but her side had "regular" cheese and mine had the Daiya) and had no feeling of unwellness afterward. She really wants to try the doughnuts; I will have to either find sorghum flour or make a new batch of the blend I use and try the recipe with that.
Before I head off to the treadmill, I may not have a picture of our whole pizza, but I do have a picture of some of my pieces:
A mix of mozza and cheddar Daiya, gluten- and dairy-free meat slices (no, didn't go veggie this time), gluten- and dairy-free crust. Italian seasoning sprinkled on top. Photo taken on a BlackBerry Torch; forgive me. ;)
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
A Yummy to Share
Yes, I know, I've been a little AWOL. Lots going on around here.
And even now, I'm not going to post much, but saw this in Facebook and decided to share:
And even now, I'm not going to post much, but saw this in Facebook and decided to share:
She calls it a Raw Snickers Tart. Since she uses boiling water, I'm not sure it qualifies as raw (it's nearly raw if not), but it is gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan (if you don't use the honey)...!
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Saturday Mishmash
Okay, a mishmash of sorts:
I neglected eating greens for a while and restarted this past week. When I've had a lack like that and start up again, my body kind of goes, "Omg! Greens! Give me more!"
Being tired this morning (had two pieces of white toast, to boot), I decided to have an energizing--or at least non-energy-depleting--lunch:
I feel great after eating that for lunch. I almost turned to some banana bread as a kind of dessert, but decided against it because I know it'll make me feel more drained--I'm already so tired today!
Random fact: Frogs can not swallow with their eyes open. (Why am I sharing this? My daughter's rattling off random facts she's reading from her iPod. ;) )
I neglected eating greens for a while and restarted this past week. When I've had a lack like that and start up again, my body kind of goes, "Omg! Greens! Give me more!"
Being tired this morning (had two pieces of white toast, to boot), I decided to have an energizing--or at least non-energy-depleting--lunch:
I've probably shared a similar salad before. It's just so easy, combines different tastes so it makes it tasty and it's nutritionally satisfying! Super simple (and raw vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free...):
*bed of lettuce (green leaf above)
*shredded organic carrot (if you don't normally eat organic carrots, have a look and see if the organic carrots available where you live are better than the regular; here, the regular carrots seem to be old and dried up and don't taste great and the organic are just gorgeous, fresh and delicious--absolutely worth the little bit extra $!)
*raw sunflower seeds
*raw pumpkin seeds
*raisins
*some olive oil
*some lemon juice
*sprinkling of Mrs. Dash
I feel great after eating that for lunch. I almost turned to some banana bread as a kind of dessert, but decided against it because I know it'll make me feel more drained--I'm already so tired today!
---
I have a new favourite chocolate milk.
I've been seeing things with cheese and things like ice cream lately and have been really wanting to indulge in them. Which is crazy since I haven't wanted anything like that in ages and I know I won't actually like the taste and it will make me seriously ill.
But it is a sign I've had before: I'm not getting enough calcium.
Other than trying to make sure to eat in a more balanced fashion, I was wishing I actually liked to drink the almond and rice milks and all that. I used to drink the Silk Soy Chocolate Milk when I'd get all cheese-cravy, but it left me mucousy, so I gave that up. I discovered this last week at the grocery store
and I love it! It tastes delicious, doesn't leave me mucousy and has helped me easily satisfy my calcium needs. I hesitated getting it since it is Lent and I had decided to not partake of sweet treats, but I figured that as long as I'm treating it like milk/calcium source rather than going nuts with it, it's okay. It also has more iron than the unsweetened Silk PureAlmond and lists it as a decent source of vitamin E. (Yay for dark chocolate! :) )
---
Random fact: Frogs can not swallow with their eyes open. (Why am I sharing this? My daughter's rattling off random facts she's reading from her iPod. ;) )
---
A friend of mine extolled the virtues of arnica to me a few years back,
and then another friend more recently. The first friend really extolled them after she
gave her 5-year old son doses of arnica after he was hit by a pickup truck (reckless driver! he's okay today!), fractured his skull and had swelling. When they went for the first check up, the doctor was quite surprised by how much the swelling had gone down, something my friend attributed to the arnica. Not having read a lot about homeopathy, I didn't know what to think.
My daughter bruised her ribs not long ago and the second friend reminded me immediately of using arnica. Okay, why not give it a shot? A single dose of arnica and the pain was completely gone. Coincidence?
I ended up with a nasty migraine a couple weeks ago. Looked up online if arnica might help with a migraine at all. I can't remember what the actual result of that search was, but I did end up stumbling on an article talking about arnica and some research done. The research was trying to discount arnica, having used it on patients who had had surgery (I think it was for carpal tunnel). A control group was given a placebo. The results? Both patients reported approximately the same amount of relief.
If I'd stopped reading there, I wouldn't have gotten the full information. Turns out the the people doing the research didn't pay attention to traditional recommended doses of arnica and gave way more than what a homeopath would ever give. The article went on to say that research has been done on cell responses to arnica and it has to be a low enough dose for the cells to respond. (I'm sorry, I find that fascinating!) We live in a society where we tend to think more is better, including for pain killers and inflammation reducers, but our bodies don't necessarily respond how we think they will.
In any case, I decided to use some arnica on my migraine and it did help a little. The real clincher was the following week, not this past Thursday but the Thursday before, I had my parent volunteer day. I woke up with a headache and tried the arnica; it helped a bit and Advil didn't. Got to the church for the volunteer day and noticed right away that the stairs seemed easier. Could my at-home stair training really have made that much difference in just a week? Ended up having another dose around lunch time, which didn't help the headache at all (had that darn thing ALL day) but I noticed, again, distinct ease with climbing the stairs.
I'm absolutely convinced now that the arnica helps with the inflammation in my iliotibial band, which meant that it was easier and there wasn't the usual pulling on my knees, causing pain. I will have to remember the arnica for my next parent duty day! The unfortunate thing: the brand I bought has lactose. *sigh* I will be looking for a dairy-free/vegan version!
My daughter bruised her ribs not long ago and the second friend reminded me immediately of using arnica. Okay, why not give it a shot? A single dose of arnica and the pain was completely gone. Coincidence?
I ended up with a nasty migraine a couple weeks ago. Looked up online if arnica might help with a migraine at all. I can't remember what the actual result of that search was, but I did end up stumbling on an article talking about arnica and some research done. The research was trying to discount arnica, having used it on patients who had had surgery (I think it was for carpal tunnel). A control group was given a placebo. The results? Both patients reported approximately the same amount of relief.
If I'd stopped reading there, I wouldn't have gotten the full information. Turns out the the people doing the research didn't pay attention to traditional recommended doses of arnica and gave way more than what a homeopath would ever give. The article went on to say that research has been done on cell responses to arnica and it has to be a low enough dose for the cells to respond. (I'm sorry, I find that fascinating!) We live in a society where we tend to think more is better, including for pain killers and inflammation reducers, but our bodies don't necessarily respond how we think they will.
In any case, I decided to use some arnica on my migraine and it did help a little. The real clincher was the following week, not this past Thursday but the Thursday before, I had my parent volunteer day. I woke up with a headache and tried the arnica; it helped a bit and Advil didn't. Got to the church for the volunteer day and noticed right away that the stairs seemed easier. Could my at-home stair training really have made that much difference in just a week? Ended up having another dose around lunch time, which didn't help the headache at all (had that darn thing ALL day) but I noticed, again, distinct ease with climbing the stairs.
I'm absolutely convinced now that the arnica helps with the inflammation in my iliotibial band, which meant that it was easier and there wasn't the usual pulling on my knees, causing pain. I will have to remember the arnica for my next parent duty day! The unfortunate thing: the brand I bought has lactose. *sigh* I will be looking for a dairy-free/vegan version!
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