A part of my childhood memories stem from freshly grown vegetables, picked from my Papa’s garden and made into delicacies with ease.
One of my favorite snacks, even as an adult, are cucumbers. This recipe combines history, nostalgia and good taste for a fresh healthy snack.
4-6 cucumbers sliced
3 cups water
1 cup Apple cider vinegar
1T sugar (optional)
Marinate overnight and strain as you dish.
Kale is one of the more polarizing things in life. Like cold weather, lipstick and exercise, you either love it or hate it.
Being in the healthier phase of my life, sans kool aid and little Debbie cakes, I have turned to all things green. Matcha, green juice, celery, zucchini, avocados and kale seem to be among the foods that I actually prefer to munch on.
I haven’t found a prepackaged kale chip that suits me. They seem to be coated or soggy. In search of something enjoyable, I started experimenting.
The recipe below can vary based upon what you sprinkle on top but I found to be enjoyable.
2 bunches fresh organic kale, washed, destemmed and torn into bite size pieces.
Dry with a paper towel
Place kale on top of wax paper (or parchment) coated with spray oil, then spray kale, with preferred oil. I like avocado or coconut spray.
Sprinkle seasoning of choice on top. My favorites are either Wild Tree rancher steak rub, garlic blend or onion blend.
Sprinkle what makes you enjoy it most. Dry seasonings work best so the cook time remains consistent.
Bake at 350 for ten minutes. The kale will shrink and harden but not burn. You can cool on the cookie sheet when done.
Best when consumed immediately. Otherwise, poke a whole in a ziplock so it can breath. If housed in a sealed storage bag it starts to lose crispness.
Kale on.
I’m not a doctor, nutritionist or pharmacist. I’m a recovering celiac sharing my experiences and the benefits I’ve had from supplements.
Vitamin deficiency is common in Celiacs. After having damaged villi, the body often has difficulty absorbing nutrients from food. As a result, supplements have become part of my daily routine.
Usually, people who don’t get enough sunshine, lack vitamin D and tend to experience lower immune responses. For those of us with Celiac, unless I have tons of raw milk and fish each day, it’s easier to use a supplement (especially in the winter).
Vitamin B12 helps with attitude, irritability and energy. Anyone with celiac could attest to the sleepy stupor that sets with the slightest intake of gluten… and nothing makes you more irritable than watching others eat your favorite foods in front of you. (ok, maybe a B vitamin can’t cure that one).
Vitamin C helps the body heal faster, and with Celiac, we can use all the help we can get!
I tend to find most of my vitamins at the local apothecary. However, I had the opportunity to try EZ Melts and out of curiosity I wanted to test (and taste). I have been pleasantly surprised at the ingredients (attested to by a family member that is in the medical field), the taste (fresh and natural flavors) and how quickly they dissolve.
I have read that most vitamins take so long to break down that they pass through your system completely undissolved! That’s a lot of money to spend for no efficacy. EZ melts can be put on the tongue or under the tongue and within a few seconds they are completely dissolved. They are completely gluten free. Spoiler alert… many vitamins have a coating on the outside that contains gluten! Talk about a hidden way to consume it without even knowing.
They are also GMO and sugar free. Last, but not least, they offer a discount to give them a try. Just go to EZmelts.net and enter EZ20 as a promo code, for your first order (ahem, no matter what size).
About two years ago I tried my first matcha. Followed by a latte. Followed by a smoothie. Followed by a frozen version. I’ve always loved the taste of green tea but matcha was an experience that wowed.
Then I found these. Matcha Now is the easiest way I have ever found to get my daily matcha without the fuss, impurities or calories. If you are a purist, you will want to try MATCHA NOW… now!
Top reasons why?
I’m going to have to put in a word with some of my local markets to start carrying these. As usual, with a new product, they are just getting into the hands of distributors. Check out their instagram page @matcha.now or their website matchanow.com for updates on where to find them near you.
They come 100% pure (just the way I like it) or Lightly sweet (with a hint of stevia). Right now they are available via Amazon Prime for $39.99 for 12 (with free one-day ship for members). Which, if you are used to getting your matcha at the local coffee place, that’s a really competitive price, especially for ceremonial grade (not to mention organic) matcha.
Oooh. Ice, fresh, anytime, anywhere. Matcha. Check it out!
I’m detoxing from sweets after a long winter break but I still needed a little treat with a healthy edge. Besides I had four over ripe bananas that were going to be round filed, so why not bake them up?.
I ordered one of Brooke’s Naturals Banana Bread mixes in my recent Green Bean Indiana bin and altered the directions to accommodate for my sons dairy and egg yolk allergy.
What you need:
4 ripe bananas (black but no mold)
3T Earth Balance Vegan Butter (melted)
3T Coconut oil (melted)
2 egg whites
1t Vanilla
1C walnuts (I used fishers whole)
This is the easy part… peel the bananas, add to melted butter and coconut oil. Add in the egg whites and vanilla and beat with a pampered chef mix n chop. I like chunky bananas so this works perfect and you don’t have to dirty a mixer.
Spray a pampered chef stone wear loaf pan with coconut oil and pour in mix. Bake for 1 hour at 350 for a perfect texture banana nut bread that is gluten, dairy, rice and egg yolk free.
This has been a tricky one for me. My kids are really picky when it comes to donuts. Honestly, I don’t know if I can ever win them over with a yeast free donut. I can’t blame them. I’m a light and fluffy kinda donut girl myself.
After three batches, I added and removed a couple things and ended up with something that reminds me more of a pancake but tastes really good. The key to donut holes is 1) have deep enough grease that you can drop balls and they won’t splat before they cook 2) don’t get the oil too hot or they will burn before you can get them all in the grease and 3) have your coating ready to go as soon as you pull them from the grease.
You will need a deep pan, pot or fry baby.
Coconut oil for frying (enough to have 2-3″ of oil in the bottom)
Combine:
1 1/4C Bobs Red Mill GF baking mix
1/4C Brown Sugar
1/4t Nutmeg
1/4t Cinnamon
2T melted Earth Balance
1/3C Coconut milk
1/4C egg whites, whipped
1t Almond extract
1/4t baking powder
Use a small scoop with release for dropping into the oil for approximately one minute. Don’t drop too many at once or you won’t be able to retrieve them before they burn.
Pre-mix coating, option 1:
1/4C sugar
1/2t cinnamon
Pre-mix coating, option 2:
1C powdered sugar
3T Coconut milk
Retrieve from oil and drop in coating. Let cool and enjoy!
Some of my favorite ingredients…
As a serial room mom and having kids with allergies, I am constantly trying to figure out the parameters of the approved snack list at school. After chatting with the school nurse I found that each school does their own thing. So, in an effort to assist all parents with ideas for providing snacks for school parties, I put together this list (which I will update as I find new options).
Some are more affordable than others and some can even be found at Costco or on amazon in bulk. I will note these options where I can to make it easier and more affordable when buying snacks for 20-30 kids.
The options I am listing are gluten, dairy, egg yolk and peanut free. They also happen to be dye free and missing high fructose corn syrup (since those are personal no-no’s for us). Please always double check packaging as manufacturers change ingredients, factories and processes on a regular basis.
Aldi’s has a liveGfree line that includes:
Snickerdoodle soft baked cookies
Double chocolate brownie soft baked cookies
Gluten free pretzel sticks
Chewy bars in: berry, cocoa and caramel apple
Vanilla and chocolate stuffed cookies (look like oreos)
Boxed Raisins
Boxed Craisins
Mini marshmallows
Enjoy life chocolate chips
(Dr.) Lucy’s cookies (all flavors except peanut butter)
Fruit by the Foot (Costco)
Ruby Rockets (non) yogurt blend
Boom chika pop (Costco)
Deep river chips
Cave Man bars (Costco)
Home free cookies (all varieties except peanut butter)
Kirkland organic applesauce (Costco)
Jack Links beef sticks (Costco)
Veggie Sticks
Lovey Candy Co Licorice (Costco)
Trader Joe’s Fruit Bars
Joe Joe’s gluten free chocolate/vanilla cremes (Trader Joe’s)
Joe Joe’s gluten free peppermint cremes (Trader Joe’s) ~ Seasonal
Yum earth organics flavored lollipops
Trader Joe’s Organic Pops Suckers
Fresh fruit
Fresh Vegetables
Tostitos tortilla chips & salsa
Corn chex
Cheerios (original, cinnamon, apple)
This is a list that is sure to grow. These are great lunch box items also.
Enjoy! And allergy on.
Some nights I start with one ingredient and then build a recipe from there. I honestly don’t spend time in the grocery each week building each recipe by ingredient. I simply don’t have time or patience.
This week I started with a bag of hash brown potatoes… fortunately, the rest just seemed to fall into place.
1 bag gf hash brown potatoes
1 large onion diced
2LB ground chuck (we buy local and split a cow)
1 bag frozen corn
Start with aluminum foil squares and spray with non-stick cooking oil. Add potatoes, onion, raw ground beef crumbled, and frozen corn. Then cover with a tablespoon of oil (your choice), a tablespoon of water and sprinkle with rancher steak rub. Place in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes.
When they are taken from the oven, sprinkle with cheese (or daiya, non dairy cheese).
Recently, I watched a video that has been stirring about on social media.
No, not the cats. The other one. The one that Cheerios created to share how to use their product in new and exciting ways.
While their recipe won’t work (as is) in my house, I decided to use it as a base and try something new.
2C Cheerios blended (in my magic bullet)
3T Brown Sugar (added to magic bullet)
5T Earth Balance (vegan butter) melted
Spray pie plate with non-stick spray.
Pour dry mix of cheerios and brown sugar evenly on plate.
Pour melted non-butter on top and press together until mixed and firm
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes
This works with flavored cheerios as well for more flair.
Now for the pie…
I made a pumpkin version with:
1 container Daiya Vegan Cream Cheese
2T Earth Balance (vegan butter) melted
1 can organic pumpkin puree
1T cinnamon
1/2T pumpkin pie spice
1/2C brown sugar
1T Vanilla
1 can Coconut Cream
Blend all and fold in Coconut cream.
Another option (I’m going to try next time) is using SO Delicious, Coconut whipped cream instead of coconut cream.
Top with So Delicious, coconut whipped cream and serve!
Crock pot meals are my go-to this time of year. They are ready when you need them and dump-n-run prep. Earlier this week I quickly perused the shelf in my pantry for something that I could add to chicken and settled on the items below. Yes, it was easy. Yes, it was yummy. My kids even asked for seconds!
8 frozen chicken breasts
4T oil (i used sunflower, but that is up to you)
Cover with 2 cans sweet potatoes
Cover with 1 can apple pie filling
Set on low for 5-6 hours in the crock pot.
Protein, veggie and dessert all in one.
Tifs Celiac Travels 