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 gluten-free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gluten-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.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Signs of Gluten Intolerance
After yesterday's post about my daughter's possible wheat overload, I tried to find out more information on wheat sensitivity. Gluten sensitivity kept coming up, but given her blood test did not show an issue with gluten, I thought that meant she wasn't gluten sensitive.
Turns out I might have been wrong.
According to NaturalNews, the blood tests they typically do don't test for all gluten sensitivity.
So, now I have myself questioning again if my daughter is, indeed, gluten sensitive. And how much damage it has done to her potentially over the years. Looking at Hypothyroid Mom's site and her list of 12 shocking symptoms, let me consider them here, I can say she has suffered from 7 out of the 12. That's a lot. One that's not in there that deals with youth is delayed growth, another symptom of hers, even though teeth all came in at the "normal" time.
Here's another list, almost identical, but I thought I would share it. What caught my eye was the "chicken skin" on the back of the arms: my daughter has this, but so does my son and so do I!
1. Digestive issues such as gas, bloating, diarrhea and even constipation. I see the constipation particularly in children after eating gluten.
2. Keratosis Pilaris, (also known as 'chicken skin' on the back of your arms). This tends be as a result of a fatty acid deficiency and vitamin A deficiency secondary to fat-malabsorption caused by gluten damaging the gut.
3. Fatigue, brain fog or feeling tired after eating a meal that contains gluten.
4. Diagnosis of an autoimmune disease such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Ulcerative colitis, Lupus, Psoriasis, Scleroderma or Multiple sclerosis.
5. Neurologic symptoms such as dizziness or feeling of being off balance.
6. Hormone imbalances such as PMS, PCOS or unexplained infertility.
7. Migraine headaches.
8. Diagnosis of chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia. These diagnoses simply indicate your conventional doctor cannot pin point the cause of your fatigue or pain.
9. Inflammation, swelling or pain in your joints such as fingers, knees or hips.
10. Mood issues such as anxiety, depression, mood swings and ADD.
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-7482/10-signs-youre-gluten-intolerant.html
I think it's time to seriously consider making my home as gluten-free as possible and if others won't willingly switch over, make certain changes slowly (like mixing in gluten-free pasta with regular pasta) so they won't even know.
Turns out I might have been wrong.
According to NaturalNews, the blood tests they typically do don't test for all gluten sensitivity.
So, now I have myself questioning again if my daughter is, indeed, gluten sensitive. And how much damage it has done to her potentially over the years. Looking at Hypothyroid Mom's site and her list of 12 shocking symptoms, let me consider them here, I can say she has suffered from 7 out of the 12. That's a lot. One that's not in there that deals with youth is delayed growth, another symptom of hers, even though teeth all came in at the "normal" time.
Here's another list, almost identical, but I thought I would share it. What caught my eye was the "chicken skin" on the back of the arms: my daughter has this, but so does my son and so do I!
1. Digestive issues such as gas, bloating, diarrhea and even constipation. I see the constipation particularly in children after eating gluten.
2. Keratosis Pilaris, (also known as 'chicken skin' on the back of your arms). This tends be as a result of a fatty acid deficiency and vitamin A deficiency secondary to fat-malabsorption caused by gluten damaging the gut.
3. Fatigue, brain fog or feeling tired after eating a meal that contains gluten.
4. Diagnosis of an autoimmune disease such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Ulcerative colitis, Lupus, Psoriasis, Scleroderma or Multiple sclerosis.
5. Neurologic symptoms such as dizziness or feeling of being off balance.
6. Hormone imbalances such as PMS, PCOS or unexplained infertility.
7. Migraine headaches.
8. Diagnosis of chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia. These diagnoses simply indicate your conventional doctor cannot pin point the cause of your fatigue or pain.
9. Inflammation, swelling or pain in your joints such as fingers, knees or hips.
10. Mood issues such as anxiety, depression, mood swings and ADD.
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-7482/10-signs-youre-gluten-intolerant.html
I think it's time to seriously consider making my home as gluten-free as possible and if others won't willingly switch over, make certain changes slowly (like mixing in gluten-free pasta with regular pasta) so they won't even know.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Gurgle, gurgle
My daughter has been having a VERY gurgly stomach now for at least a couple of months. I'm not sure I've ever heard it be as bad as it has been lately.
I suspect her body may be overloaded on wheat again. But she's 17, has always brought it up in the past when she's wanted to try wheat-free, and has never gone for my suggesting it, so I'm going to let it go and let her decide if she wants to try wheat-free again. And I say wheat-free because she has been tested twice for a reaction to gluten and both times it was fine. That said, about the only gluten she eats is wheat, so perhaps I should just say, "Gluten-free."
Of course, it's hard for us to go wheat-free. Once we're in it, it's not so bad, or wasn't. Now she's working at a pizzeria, often eating there before her shift starts or once it's done. There is a gluten-free crust available, but she hasn't tried it, and sometimes there is just free pizza to be eaten, too, due to messed up orders or people not even showing up to pick up their order. And without knowing for sure that going wheat-free will help, can you blame her for not being open to cutting it out just yet?
It might be time for Mamma to aim for a wheat-free week in terms of what she is serving others. Even if it doesn't eliminate her wheat consumption entirely, at least it'll ease up a bit on the burden to her body.
I suspect her body may be overloaded on wheat again. But she's 17, has always brought it up in the past when she's wanted to try wheat-free, and has never gone for my suggesting it, so I'm going to let it go and let her decide if she wants to try wheat-free again. And I say wheat-free because she has been tested twice for a reaction to gluten and both times it was fine. That said, about the only gluten she eats is wheat, so perhaps I should just say, "Gluten-free."
Of course, it's hard for us to go wheat-free. Once we're in it, it's not so bad, or wasn't. Now she's working at a pizzeria, often eating there before her shift starts or once it's done. There is a gluten-free crust available, but she hasn't tried it, and sometimes there is just free pizza to be eaten, too, due to messed up orders or people not even showing up to pick up their order. And without knowing for sure that going wheat-free will help, can you blame her for not being open to cutting it out just yet?
It might be time for Mamma to aim for a wheat-free week in terms of what she is serving others. Even if it doesn't eliminate her wheat consumption entirely, at least it'll ease up a bit on the burden to her body.
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, 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
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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:
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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
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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:
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Don't have an ice cream maker? Check these out. I have the second one and am very pleased with it.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Product Review: Glutino Gluten-Free Bagel Chips
I bought these Glutino Gluten-Free Bagel Chips for my daughter sometime ago, and she had them once and then not again. I don't know if it's because she doesn't like them or she forgot about them, but I found them and decided to try them myself. They are dairy-free, although do have the "May contain milk" warning on them, which means I can actually try them.
Plain, they are quite tasty. They are not like bagels, not like chips. They are like another sort of dry bread thing out there that I can't remember the name of because I've had them maybe once in my life. In any case, I quite like the taste, although how hard they are was a bit of a shock at first. They can get dull after a while just on their own, so I put some peanut butter on them one day and really liked them that way. I'm sure you could put any kind of spread that you like on them and they would be quite tasty.
They come in different flavours, but so far, I've only tried the original flavour. I definitely would like to try other flavours.
Two thumbs up from me!
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!
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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!
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. ;)
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
98 Days Left!
There are 98 days left now--what are you doing with your time?
I watched a couple of motivational little blurb vidoes which has helped keep my motivation high, even though crazy busy days. One comment I saw by someone had something about achieving his five major goals. I created my own list of five major goals and then a list of "other goals" (the name "minor goals" made them feel insignificant, which they're not, so I changed the name). The one thing that makes this challenge different for me is that I might not work on every goal each day, but I'm refreshing my memory about the goal each day and am making progress on things. If I can keep this up, I will reach January 1st and be amazed, I know it!
One of my goals is to have a complete set of gluten-free supper menus in place so my daughter can maintain even better her desire to stay wheat/gluten-free. I managed to make a gluten-free meatless supper Monday night (a vegan stir fry) and last night, as well, substituting a gluten-free flour mix for the flour called for in the vegan scalloped potatoes recipe I have previously shared. I am determined to have a good variety of gluten-free supper menus that my family will at least somewhat enjoy!
Another goal of mine is to write an e-book. It's kind of funny because I was thinking about it before I saw Jenae over at Bring Joy is also working on an e-book--gluten-free vegan family-friendly eating. ("Yesss!" shouts my gluten-free menu-searching mind!) Knowing she's doing one is somehow a push for me to move forward on my idea. (On switching to dairy-free living, for those curious. Things like the different whys of going dairy-free, the things to be careful of and look out for, my favourite products and some recipes.)
I have a bunch of other goals, which I should probably start attending to now--although, writing regularly in my blogs is one of them. :)
What goals have you set yourself to work on/achieve by the end of this year?
I watched a couple of motivational little blurb vidoes which has helped keep my motivation high, even though crazy busy days. One comment I saw by someone had something about achieving his five major goals. I created my own list of five major goals and then a list of "other goals" (the name "minor goals" made them feel insignificant, which they're not, so I changed the name). The one thing that makes this challenge different for me is that I might not work on every goal each day, but I'm refreshing my memory about the goal each day and am making progress on things. If I can keep this up, I will reach January 1st and be amazed, I know it!
One of my goals is to have a complete set of gluten-free supper menus in place so my daughter can maintain even better her desire to stay wheat/gluten-free. I managed to make a gluten-free meatless supper Monday night (a vegan stir fry) and last night, as well, substituting a gluten-free flour mix for the flour called for in the vegan scalloped potatoes recipe I have previously shared. I am determined to have a good variety of gluten-free supper menus that my family will at least somewhat enjoy!
Another goal of mine is to write an e-book. It's kind of funny because I was thinking about it before I saw Jenae over at Bring Joy is also working on an e-book--gluten-free vegan family-friendly eating. ("Yesss!" shouts my gluten-free menu-searching mind!) Knowing she's doing one is somehow a push for me to move forward on my idea. (On switching to dairy-free living, for those curious. Things like the different whys of going dairy-free, the things to be careful of and look out for, my favourite products and some recipes.)
I have a bunch of other goals, which I should probably start attending to now--although, writing regularly in my blogs is one of them. :)
What goals have you set yourself to work on/achieve by the end of this year?
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
What to Eat, What to Eat...
A couple of weeks ago, my daughter decided she didn't feel any different when she was eating wheat, so while she still would turn to some gluten-free things now and then during the week, she didn't restrict herself from eating wheat the way she had been.
Then she had a weekend that had a lot of wheat.
And her stomach ended up with two days of stabbing pains.
So, now we're back to no-wheat/gluten-free (except one or two meals per week).
And on top of trying to adjust back to wheat-free, we're both sick.
And she's super stressed with school and therefore, combined with not feeling well, gets very super stressed with something as simple figuring out what to eat for lunch.
I've made her lunch two days in a row. A kind of chicken fried rice yesterday and then I created a teriyaki bowl (with quinoa--first time using quinoa!) today. (I have a picture of the broccoli and yellow pepper cooking with a garlic clove in the pan, but forgot to take a picture of the rest!)
I've tried two new things in two days. I'm beat. lol.
Now I have to figure out a supper. And I'm so tired, I just can't even think and nothing sounds appealing.
I'm not in the mood for beef; we had chili with beef (and noodles) yesterday. I had chicken two lunches in a row. The supper needs to have at least some wheat-free food for me and my daughter (I've gone back to wheat-free although am not going to freak out about tasting to see if wheat noodles are ready or not). And it has to have a dairy-free element for me.
It would be much simpler if we were all accustomed to eating a raw vegan diet, wouldn't it?
But that kind of change for tonight requires energy and thought capacity, both of which I'm lacking.
I have a bunch of leftover cooked quinoa from lunch. Might be able to find something to do with it.
I saw that we have frozen hash browns. (Can hash browns be turned into a supper?)
We have ground beef and frozen chicken in the freezer. I don't want either one.
We had kidney beans yesterday and I'm not in the mood for more beans today.
I don't have any potatoes left--other than the frozen hash browns.
I don't have any tomatoes (neither canned nor fresh) left.
Maybe my real problem is not what to eat for supper but that I need some groceries.
I could have a each-to-their-own supper evening, but I know what that will lead to with my 15yo: "I don't know what to eat..."
I think I'll go rummage through the fridge, freezers and cupboards, see what I might come up with.
What do you do on days where you're just not up to snuff and don't feel like anything (and have food sensitivities to deal with!)?
(Did I really just write a post where most of it is made up of one-sentence paragraphs?)
Then she had a weekend that had a lot of wheat.
And her stomach ended up with two days of stabbing pains.
So, now we're back to no-wheat/gluten-free (except one or two meals per week).
And on top of trying to adjust back to wheat-free, we're both sick.
And she's super stressed with school and therefore, combined with not feeling well, gets very super stressed with something as simple figuring out what to eat for lunch.
I've made her lunch two days in a row. A kind of chicken fried rice yesterday and then I created a teriyaki bowl (with quinoa--first time using quinoa!) today. (I have a picture of the broccoli and yellow pepper cooking with a garlic clove in the pan, but forgot to take a picture of the rest!)
I've tried two new things in two days. I'm beat. lol.
Now I have to figure out a supper. And I'm so tired, I just can't even think and nothing sounds appealing.
I'm not in the mood for beef; we had chili with beef (and noodles) yesterday. I had chicken two lunches in a row. The supper needs to have at least some wheat-free food for me and my daughter (I've gone back to wheat-free although am not going to freak out about tasting to see if wheat noodles are ready or not). And it has to have a dairy-free element for me.
It would be much simpler if we were all accustomed to eating a raw vegan diet, wouldn't it?
But that kind of change for tonight requires energy and thought capacity, both of which I'm lacking.
I have a bunch of leftover cooked quinoa from lunch. Might be able to find something to do with it.
I saw that we have frozen hash browns. (Can hash browns be turned into a supper?)
We have ground beef and frozen chicken in the freezer. I don't want either one.
We had kidney beans yesterday and I'm not in the mood for more beans today.
I don't have any potatoes left--other than the frozen hash browns.
I don't have any tomatoes (neither canned nor fresh) left.
Maybe my real problem is not what to eat for supper but that I need some groceries.
I could have a each-to-their-own supper evening, but I know what that will lead to with my 15yo: "I don't know what to eat..."
I think I'll go rummage through the fridge, freezers and cupboards, see what I might come up with.
What do you do on days where you're just not up to snuff and don't feel like anything (and have food sensitivities to deal with!)?
(Did I really just write a post where most of it is made up of one-sentence paragraphs?)
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)...!
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Wheat-Free... and Starving
My daughter and I went wheat-free a couple of weeks back. Part of me kept saying that some of the emotional stress she was experiencing was due to wheat/gluten: the happiest I'd seen her in a long time had been our gluten-free stint a little bit before Christmas. I told her I wanted her to at least try wheat-free, that I would do it with her because I do better wheat-free, too, and she went along with it.
We have not completely eliminated gluten, but it is sounding like we might have to. She said she has days where her stomach area is flat--which doesn't happen ever when she eats wheat--but some days, it's not flat, even if she hasn't eaten wheat, like last night. She did, however, have some wheat-free, but not gluten-free, items yesterday, which is why we may have to look at going entirely gluten-free. Admittedly, we haven't been 100% gluten-free: we had take-out last Friday (do you know how hard it is to have gf take-out that isn't just salad or fries??) and a family get-together on Sunday where we decided we weren't going to push things just yet. (It's already an issue that there have to be dairy-free options available for me.) She had a sleepover within the first week and we scrapped the wheat-free focus for that evening, too.
In any case, this time around, she is STARVING. We could say, "Oh, she's a growing teenager," but it coincided so much with going wheat-free that I'm thinking it could be related. Have any readers experienced this?
I looked it up online and found both sides: one where the kids were ravenous while eating gluten but fine when not and others where people had an insatiable hunger when they went gluten-free. One thing has suggested that it has to do with the glycemic index of foods, that going gluten-free usually means adopting a high-glycemic diet. I don't know if that's true, but I'm looking into it!
Here's one book I've found in my research but our local library doesn't have it, so it could be a bit before I can share anything about it (click on it to see Amazon's info):
I've
put a request for other low GI books to see what kind of information I can get and see if it seems to be applying to her situation.
Another issue: eczema. She has developed two patches of eczema since going wheat-free. Part of my mind is going, "Um, shouldn't it be the other way around? Eczema disappears when you go wheat-free?" But then my mind's turning to other possibilities: her body is detoxing; her body is reacting to the wheat she's cheating with; um, well, just those two possibilities have come to mind. :P
In any case, while wheat may be affecting her emotions, so is feeling starved! Gotta figure this out. I don't think she's been taking a multivitamin consistently lately, which may be necessary as we keep working on getting her switched to a more balanced, but wheat/gluten-free diet. Perhaps enzymes, too?
We have not completely eliminated gluten, but it is sounding like we might have to. She said she has days where her stomach area is flat--which doesn't happen ever when she eats wheat--but some days, it's not flat, even if she hasn't eaten wheat, like last night. She did, however, have some wheat-free, but not gluten-free, items yesterday, which is why we may have to look at going entirely gluten-free. Admittedly, we haven't been 100% gluten-free: we had take-out last Friday (do you know how hard it is to have gf take-out that isn't just salad or fries??) and a family get-together on Sunday where we decided we weren't going to push things just yet. (It's already an issue that there have to be dairy-free options available for me.) She had a sleepover within the first week and we scrapped the wheat-free focus for that evening, too.
In any case, this time around, she is STARVING. We could say, "Oh, she's a growing teenager," but it coincided so much with going wheat-free that I'm thinking it could be related. Have any readers experienced this?
I looked it up online and found both sides: one where the kids were ravenous while eating gluten but fine when not and others where people had an insatiable hunger when they went gluten-free. One thing has suggested that it has to do with the glycemic index of foods, that going gluten-free usually means adopting a high-glycemic diet. I don't know if that's true, but I'm looking into it!
Here's one book I've found in my research but our local library doesn't have it, so it could be a bit before I can share anything about it (click on it to see Amazon's info):
I've
put a request for other low GI books to see what kind of information I can get and see if it seems to be applying to her situation.Another issue: eczema. She has developed two patches of eczema since going wheat-free. Part of my mind is going, "Um, shouldn't it be the other way around? Eczema disappears when you go wheat-free?" But then my mind's turning to other possibilities: her body is detoxing; her body is reacting to the wheat she's cheating with; um, well, just those two possibilities have come to mind. :P
In any case, while wheat may be affecting her emotions, so is feeling starved! Gotta figure this out. I don't think she's been taking a multivitamin consistently lately, which may be necessary as we keep working on getting her switched to a more balanced, but wheat/gluten-free diet. Perhaps enzymes, too?
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Food Network is Dangerous
I love watching Food Network.
I blame my 15-year old daughter for getting me hooked on programs like "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" and the Canadian version, "You Gotta Eat Here" and other programs that catch my attention. I say "blame", but I'm quite glad she started watching it and said it was really good and got the rest of us watching it.
But, it is dangerous.
Dangerous because it gives ideas. Ideas to my daughter of her one day opening a diner of her own (she's already decided it will be a gluten-free diner). Ideas of what we could be eating instead of what we are eating and feeling rather blah about eating the same ol' same ol'.
This danger does come with a good side: My daughter and I will be spending more time trying gluten-free recipes and other things she thinks she might potentially try to serve in her own place one day, and feeling very tired when it came to supper and not knowing what the heck to make today, I put together something I've never made and didn't even really have a recipe to go off of. (I'm finally learning at the tender age of 38 to be a little more experimental in the kitchen!) I forgot to take a picture, naturally, but it turned out very good, with even my husband commenting after supper, "That was really good!" Yay! Even my picky son, who was clearly worried at first because he didn't take much, ended up going back for seconds.
What was it? Well, I wanted to make chicken, peppers and onion kabobs and bake them. (We still have snow on the ground. Barbecuing can be done, but...) I looked in the cupboard and the skewers we have had for years are apparently completely depleted. So, I took my new-found Food Network knowledge and put it to good use. I heated up the pan before putting in the oil (I have no idea why you're supposed to, it was just said on one of the episodes today :P), cut the chicken somewhat like if I were making kabobs, put that in, let it cook a while. When it was nearly cooked (another thing I learned from Food Network today), I put in the pieces from a red pepper and and orange pepper, also cut as though I were making kabobs. I then quickly found the red onion that I bought weeks ago for a recipe I was going to try (and haven't a clue which recipe it was now...), cut some large pieces, threw them in and turned the heat up even more. This helped all the pieces get some browning on them, like they were being grilled. I added some Braggs soy seasoning and honey (from a kabob recipe I found online), cooked it a little longer, and served it over rice. There wasn't much seasoning because I didn't put enough Braggs and honey, but it was very good. And I could easily make a veggie version with mushrooms instead of the chicken. The best part was it was sooo simple to make!
The next step in this whole process: Get my 15-year old in the kitchen with me more regularly so she can be doing the cutting and cooking and all that. (I left her off the hook today since she wasn't feeling well!)
I blame my 15-year old daughter for getting me hooked on programs like "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" and the Canadian version, "You Gotta Eat Here" and other programs that catch my attention. I say "blame", but I'm quite glad she started watching it and said it was really good and got the rest of us watching it.
But, it is dangerous.
Dangerous because it gives ideas. Ideas to my daughter of her one day opening a diner of her own (she's already decided it will be a gluten-free diner). Ideas of what we could be eating instead of what we are eating and feeling rather blah about eating the same ol' same ol'.
This danger does come with a good side: My daughter and I will be spending more time trying gluten-free recipes and other things she thinks she might potentially try to serve in her own place one day, and feeling very tired when it came to supper and not knowing what the heck to make today, I put together something I've never made and didn't even really have a recipe to go off of. (I'm finally learning at the tender age of 38 to be a little more experimental in the kitchen!) I forgot to take a picture, naturally, but it turned out very good, with even my husband commenting after supper, "That was really good!" Yay! Even my picky son, who was clearly worried at first because he didn't take much, ended up going back for seconds.
What was it? Well, I wanted to make chicken, peppers and onion kabobs and bake them. (We still have snow on the ground. Barbecuing can be done, but...) I looked in the cupboard and the skewers we have had for years are apparently completely depleted. So, I took my new-found Food Network knowledge and put it to good use. I heated up the pan before putting in the oil (I have no idea why you're supposed to, it was just said on one of the episodes today :P), cut the chicken somewhat like if I were making kabobs, put that in, let it cook a while. When it was nearly cooked (another thing I learned from Food Network today), I put in the pieces from a red pepper and and orange pepper, also cut as though I were making kabobs. I then quickly found the red onion that I bought weeks ago for a recipe I was going to try (and haven't a clue which recipe it was now...), cut some large pieces, threw them in and turned the heat up even more. This helped all the pieces get some browning on them, like they were being grilled. I added some Braggs soy seasoning and honey (from a kabob recipe I found online), cooked it a little longer, and served it over rice. There wasn't much seasoning because I didn't put enough Braggs and honey, but it was very good. And I could easily make a veggie version with mushrooms instead of the chicken. The best part was it was sooo simple to make!
The next step in this whole process: Get my 15-year old in the kitchen with me more regularly so she can be doing the cutting and cooking and all that. (I left her off the hook today since she wasn't feeling well!)
Friday, March 29, 2013
Cookie-Making Troubles
Imagine, if you will, a large, very large, window in a kitchenette area with fraction work written on it in blue. (Dry-erase markers.)
4/3 to 3/2 = ? to 2/3
Things like that. Resulting in fractions of 8/9 and 16/27.
"What are all those for?" I asked my 15yo.
"I don't know, they've been there for a while."
I didn't remember working with either one of them on fractions like that. What in the world...?
Oh, yes, my gluten-free cookie-making adventure. (Did you read my previous post about compound adjectives? Yes, you need them here, too. lol.)
The cookie-making adventure I'd forgotten to tell you all about when it happened. So, let me get started.
I found a chocolate chip raisin oatmeal cookie recipe I wanted to try from Cybele Pascal's The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook. (See, she uses they hyphen, too! Otherwise it would be a FREE baker's handbook! :D) One that is vegan and gluten-free. It called for a gluten-free flour blend; I used recipe the recipe from the book for making my own blend. That's when things started to get interesting.
It shouldn't have been hard. The recipe calls for 3 ingredients. That's it. Brown rice flour, tapioca starch and potato starch. I measured the first two, and went to see how much of the third I needed and saw it was the tapioca starch I had just put in. "Huh?" Shoot. I'd measured the wrong amount. Potato starch was the second ingredient, not tapioca. I only needed 2/3 of a cup of tapioca starch and I had the potato starch amount with the rice flour. Then the conversion factor came in to make up for the fact that I didn't measure the right thing. The flour was easy to adjust, but this one ingredient... It was complicated. I had all kinds of calculations written on the window. And after about 5 minutes of doing that, I looked again and saw it was actually 1 1/3 cups of potato starch that were needed (I had processed it as 1 1/2 cups), which then turned into I could just double the recipe and everything would be fine. And easy. Except I had already measured the extra flour I needed, so I needed to adjust and add even more. I therefore ended up with twice as much gluten-free flour blend as I had intended and I haven't really taken the time to do other gluten-free baking, so there's a large amount still sitting in the fridge.
In the process of measuring, I was trying to be quick about it since I was teaching a class that afternoon and needed everything to be cleaned up before students arrived. So I didn't pay attention to instructions such as scoop with a spoon into the measuring cups; I just poured, or rather, tried to pour, directly into measuring cups. And I was rushing. Bad combination, because here was the result:
Of course, after they were all done, I realized that I had actually measured 1 1/2 cups of tapioca starch, not 1 1/3, which means doubling wasn't quite the right thing to do. The blend is incorrect, but the cookies are fantastic from frozen. :D
4/3 to 3/2 = ? to 2/3
Things like that. Resulting in fractions of 8/9 and 16/27.
"What are all those for?" I asked my 15yo.
"I don't know, they've been there for a while."
I didn't remember working with either one of them on fractions like that. What in the world...?
Oh, yes, my gluten-free cookie-making adventure. (Did you read my previous post about compound adjectives? Yes, you need them here, too. lol.)
The cookie-making adventure I'd forgotten to tell you all about when it happened. So, let me get started.
I found a chocolate chip raisin oatmeal cookie recipe I wanted to try from Cybele Pascal's The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook. (See, she uses they hyphen, too! Otherwise it would be a FREE baker's handbook! :D) One that is vegan and gluten-free. It called for a gluten-free flour blend; I used recipe the recipe from the book for making my own blend. That's when things started to get interesting.
It shouldn't have been hard. The recipe calls for 3 ingredients. That's it. Brown rice flour, tapioca starch and potato starch. I measured the first two, and went to see how much of the third I needed and saw it was the tapioca starch I had just put in. "Huh?" Shoot. I'd measured the wrong amount. Potato starch was the second ingredient, not tapioca. I only needed 2/3 of a cup of tapioca starch and I had the potato starch amount with the rice flour. Then the conversion factor came in to make up for the fact that I didn't measure the right thing. The flour was easy to adjust, but this one ingredient... It was complicated. I had all kinds of calculations written on the window. And after about 5 minutes of doing that, I looked again and saw it was actually 1 1/3 cups of potato starch that were needed (I had processed it as 1 1/2 cups), which then turned into I could just double the recipe and everything would be fine. And easy. Except I had already measured the extra flour I needed, so I needed to adjust and add even more. I therefore ended up with twice as much gluten-free flour blend as I had intended and I haven't really taken the time to do other gluten-free baking, so there's a large amount still sitting in the fridge.
In the process of measuring, I was trying to be quick about it since I was teaching a class that afternoon and needed everything to be cleaned up before students arrived. So I didn't pay attention to instructions such as scoop with a spoon into the measuring cups; I just poured, or rather, tried to pour, directly into measuring cups. And I was rushing. Bad combination, because here was the result:
The cookies themselves, I forgot to take a picture of. They were okay, but seemed to be lacking something in taste. Funny thing is I decided to freeze them and WOW, are they ever delicious right out of the freezer! I made a second batch last week to give away to my gluten-sensitive, dairy-allergic "niece."
Of course, after they were all done, I realized that I had actually measured 1 1/2 cups of tapioca starch, not 1 1/3, which means doubling wasn't quite the right thing to do. The blend is incorrect, but the cookies are fantastic from frozen. :D
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