Saturday, December 22, 2012

Peppermint Bark

This recipe is actually really easy. We just got some white chocolate baking chips, and some peppermint candies, or candy canes. The we crushed the candy canes with a hammer in a Baggie. We sifted the smaller peppermints pieces out and kept the bigger pieces out for later. We mixed the small pieces of peppermint in with the melted white chocolate and then spread it in wax paper. Sprinkle with big peppermint chunks and cool in fridge.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Crock Pot Split Pea Soup

I know split pea soup is one of those foods that you either love or hate. But for some reason I'd been craving it lately, but I've never made it before. I had some left over ham from dinner the night before so I improvised on a recipe and threw it all in the crock pot :) It turned out pretty well.

8 oz dried split peas
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 cups chopped ham (also any left over ham juice you might have from cooking it previously)
1 onion diced
2 carrots peeled and diced

Cook the onions with a little oil, garlic and salt, I also added the carrots too. Then throw everything in the crock pot and cook for 4-6 hours on high. Season with Salt and pepper to taste! 

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Mom's Granola

This recipe is from my dear mother... as you can see we share a lot of recipes:) I love this granola because it's so simple, but you can also add as much or as little extra that you want! It's also delicious with yogurt and chocolate chips as a dessert :)

13 Cups Organic, or GF Oats
Put this in a LARGE bowl
Also add any chopped nuts, coconut, seeds, raisins etc that you may like. 1-2 cups of each

In a small saucepan heat through (not boil):
1 C water
1 C oil (I use mostly olive oil with a little coconut oil)
1 C Honey or Sugar
3 tsp vanilla
2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 225
Pour heated mixture over the dry ingredients and stir to coat. (you can let it stand for about 2 hours or so if you want to engage the sprouting process of the oats). Spread on 2 cookie sheets. Bake for 1 hour or more, till slightly toasted. Stir every 20 mins.

Christmas Treat Tips

Every Christmas I want to give away Christmas treats or baked goods to people but I don't want to cook with gluten and I don't want to give away my expensive gluten free stuff. So here are a few ideas for some treats you can make that require little or no gluten contamination of your kitchen.

  • toffee
  • meringue cookies
  • fudge
  • chocolate dipped pretzels (just don't eat any yourself, unless you make GF ones!)
  • peppermint bark
  • candied nuts
  • layered bars (you can use GF or regular graham crackers, just smash them up in a baggie and your won't have too big of a mess if they contain gluten)
  • No bake cookies
  • Homemade granola
  • Rice Krispie treats
  • and of course CHEX MIX!! yay!



Saturday, December 8, 2012

Glutard girl can't resist a chex sale!!

The picture says it all. 24 boxes total at $2.00 a box, .... You really can't beat that. Hopefully I'm set for the whole year!

 
When we got home from the store we realized they had overcharged us by over $20! So my awesome husband went back and got us our dough back! :)

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Ham and Pineapple Cheese Dip

Today I'm grateful for my husband. Honestly there is not enough I can say on here about him. But basically I'm grateful for who he is. He's an honest, righteous, loving, gentle, thoughtful, hardworking, funny man. He can make me laugh, even when I'm mad. He's never yelled at me (in anger) in the 7 years we've been married. He is definitely a tease, and he knows how to keep life interesting. He is a wonderful father who loves to play with his kids, but is also consistent with them. He supports me in my parenting. He loves my cooking (usually). He deals with a glutard everyday. He is one amazing man and I love him. Thanks hun!

Ham and Pineapple Cheese


This recipe was given to my by my awesome brother Alex. So thanks!

1 package of softened Cream Cheese
1/4 shredded cheese
1/4 cup crushed pineapple drained
1/4 cup chopped ham (lunch meat or bacon bits work too)
1/2 tsp Garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder

Mix all the ingredients together and serve with nut thins or glutino crakers.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Favorite Cherry Apple Jello!

Favorite Cherry Apple Jello
1 8 oz. pkg Cherry Jello
2 cups boiling water
2 cups chilled orange juice
4-5 apples shredded
 
Boil water, mix in with Cherry Jello until dissolved.

Add orange juice. Place shredded apples in a 9x13 pan.



Pour jello mix over apples and make sure they are all covered so they don't brown.

Chill for several hours. Enjoy!


This recipe is brought to you by my wonderful mother. Given to her once again by my grandmother. I think my Thanksgiving and Christmas are very shaped by my mother and her mother.
 
Today I am grateful for my mother. She raised six of us kids with my dad and did an amazing job. Sometimes I feel like I can never accomplish all that she did with our family growing up. Most of my memories are all positive. I'm so grateful that I have her in my life as an example and as a source of wisdom and knowledge. I can ask her for advice or support and she is always willing to give it. But she also lets me learn on my own much of the time. I had the wonderful privlege of living with and right next door to her for three years. It was three of the best years of my life. She helped me with my kids. She provided companionship and love. We cooked together. She helped me when I had newborns. Most of all she was my best friend. I have since moved away, only 45 minutes, but I'm so glad for the relationship I've cemented with her and for the constant example she is to me of love, service, kindness, and motherhood. Thanks mom!

Monday, November 19, 2012

Gluten Free Stuffing

Sorry yesterday I sort of took a day of rest/ it was a full day of church and another family birthday dinner. But I think I need to get this stuffing recipe up before Thanksgiving!!
Once again I'm fairly simple when it comes to cooking some of these Thanksgiving dishes. Especially because there is so much to prepare. So I don't go as far as to make th bread, the use it for sutffing. I just use the whole foods brand gluten free sandwich bread. You can even buy whole foods brand gluten free frozen stuffing bread. But I think it's cheaper to buy the bread and cut it up yourself. Just make sure you do NOT buy the light white sandwich bread because then you'll have mush, not stuffing. For those of you not near a whole foods, you might be able to try it using Udi's bread, I just haven't tried it before.

Today I am grateful for all the many options of buying gluten free food. Especially gluten free food that tastes somewhat normal!

So for the stuffing I usually just cut up a bunch of onions and celery and cook that and some garlic in some oil. Then I add that and some chopped nuts to a few cups of bread chunks. Then I pour the chicken broth over the mixture and stir. I also add seasonings generously. - Seasoning salt, garlic powder, parsley, onion powder, salt and pepper. Keep adding more broth until it's adaquately moist. Then I bake it in the oven at about 350 for about 45 mins or so until it looks brown. I know this isn't a very adaquate recipe, but I've never really written it down. I will write down exactly what I do when I make it and update it after Thanksgiving. Sorry!!

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Gluten Free Pumpkin Chiffon Pie!

Here is another of my dear grandmother's delicious recipes, plus a pie crust recipe adapted from "Gluten Free Baking Classics". I like this pie because it's light and fluffy. It's also tasty with whipped cream. I've seen recipes for whipped cream made with coconut milk so it would be dairy free.

Today I'm thankful for babies. Despite keeping me up for nearly two hours last night. He's learning to crawl and he sits himself up and then can't lay back down. Or he backs himself through the crib bars and can't roll over etc. But I just LOVE babies! I love their sweet innocent smiles. I love when only mommy can make it better. I love when I can figure out what's wrong and fix it. I love snuggling them and kissing them. I love making them laugh. I love swaddling a newborn and watching them drift off to sleep in my arms. I love it when they are asleep. I love watching them learning new skills like crawling, clapping, smiling, walking, etc. I'm just grateful for babies and the perspective of sweet innocence they bring into life.

Also if you live near a Whole Foods they sell a premade pie crust that is pretty good that I do a lot of times just because it's easier.


Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

1 envelope unflavored gelatin (1 Tbsp)
2/3 C brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1 1/4 Cup canned pumpkin
3 egg yolks (save whites off to the side)
1/2 C milk (I used almond milk)

Blend all of this in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it boils. Remove from heat and place pan in cold water. Cook until mixture mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon.

Beat the egg whites until foamy, gradually adding 1/2 cup sugar. Carefully fold into the pumpkin mixture.

Pour into a cooled pie crust. Chill in fridge until set. (2 hours). Top with whipped cream.


Pie Crust

1 cup and 2 Tbl brown rice flour mix
2 Tbl sweet rice flour
1 Tbl sugar
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbl shortening or coconut oil (or unsalted butter for dairy eaters)
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 375 and grease pie pan and dust with rice flour. Mix all the dry ingredients in  your mixer. Then add the shortening or oil, mix until crumbly. Add egg and mix on low until the dough holds together. (It should not be sticky). Roll the dough inbetween two sheets of wax paper until its 1 inch thick. If dough is sticky refridgerate for 15 mins. Take off wax paper and put into pie pan. Prick crust and bake for about 25 minutes. (or 10 min for baked pies) Keep an eye on it so it doesn't get too brown.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Rolls!

I wish I could claim these as my own but I was once again lazy and used my good friend Pamela! Basically I used the Pamela's Bread mix recipe on the back of the bag and they turned out quite delicious! My husband even told me to quote him, "They taste just like regular rolls!" I wish I was clever enough to have come up with this recipe on my own but alas I have yet to master that skill. But for those of you still new to the whole GF baking thing, this might just be the ticket for your Thanksgiving rolls. Simple, tastey and not too expensive.

Today I am thankful for friends. I feel kind of bad that I keep pawning my kids off to different people for sanity's sake, among other things. But I'm so grateful for wonderful friends who are willing to help watch my kids. I'm also grateful for all the wonderful people in my life who have been so helpful in my own journey with being a glutard. Many of my friends have bent over backwards to make food for us and make sure it's gluten free. Which isn't always easy. So thank you to all you wonderful friends who have helped me with my children and ever  made me something gluten free. I greatly appreciate it :)





Thursday, November 15, 2012

Mashed Sweet Potatoes (and gravy tips)

So I really like my sweet potatoes salty. I'm not a huge fan of the sweet, sweet potatoes. Ironically enough... Anyway so last year we made mashed sweet potatoes, along with regular and everyone really liked them. Also if you are trying to make your Thanksgiving feast gluten free, make sure you use corn starch, or arrowroot starch as a thickener to your gravy.


  Today I am grateful for my love of cooking. Kind of weird, but I love, that I love to cook. The way I see it is we all have to eat, so why not take the time and effort to make it taste really good. I know not everyone feels that way, but I do. I love to cook and bake and create something that is just delicious!



 

4-5 med sized baked sweet potatoes
1/4 cup sour cream
3 Tb butter
Salt to taste

Mash it all together and voila!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Happy Birthday to Me!

Since today is my birthday I decided to make myself a delicious fall treat:) Pumpkin Roll! It's one of my favorite desserts and reminds me of my dear sweet grandmother who has since passed. She was an excellent baker and cook of all things fresh and especially of all the tasty holiday goodies. So this recipe was passed to my mother and on to  me. So on that note today I'm grateful for two things, first for my grandmother. She was an example of a wonderful mother. She was organized, and dedicated to many things. She had amazing gardens, made beautiful quilts - which she quilted all my hand - and she was a great cook. She exercised and volunteered at her library. I'm so grateful for her patient loving example and hope to be somewhat like her someday.

I'm also extremely grateful for GLUTENZYME! Today of all days of course I mess up and get gluten... TWICE! (I think, or the second time was just a second wave of pain from the first... 5 hours later...?? i don't attempt to understand my body... well sometimes I do, but I usually fail.) Anyway, when I start to feel the cramping up my back and through my abdomen, the nausea without the vomiting, and the extreme fatigue I run to my cupboard and take a glutenzyme pill. Then I lay down for a while a rest, and usually after an hour or two the pain subsides and I can move on with my day! So for any of you who have severe reactions this little bottle of pills is well worth the investment. And usually I only use one every few months. But they save me when I do use them! Well enjoy this lovely, delicious pumpkin roll recipe. I will do Pumpkin pie tomorrow or the next day.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Roll

3 Eggs
1 Cup Sugar
2/3 Cup Pumpkin
1 Tb Lemon Juice
3/4 C Brown Rice Flour mix
1/2 tsp Ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 375. Beat 3 eggs for 3 minutes, until frothy. Gradually add the sugar, pumpkin, and lemon juice. In another bowl mix the dry ingredients. Fold the dry mixture into the pumpkin mixture. Lay some parchment paper over a jelly roll pan, or cookie pan. Dust with a little brown rice flour. Pour mixture onto the parchment paper. Sprinkle 1 Cup chopped pecan on top (optional). Bake for 15-20 mins. Turn upside down onto a dish towel sprinkled with a little powdered sugar. Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top and carefully roll it up in the dish towel. Cool in fridge for about 15 mins. Unroll and frost. Then roll back up (without the dishtowel), and cover with saran wrap. Store in fridge.
And ENJOY!
 
 
 
Filling
1 cup Powdered Sugar
6 oz Cream Cheese
4 Tb butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
Beat until spreadable. Spread in roll and roll back up.

Cinnamon Rolls

So there's a brand of gluten free mixes that I usually love. Actually so far they have really never let me down. At least not taste wise. But this recipe didn't quite rise as much as I'd have liked. They were a little dense. But the taste was good. I just followed the recipe on the back of the Pamela's bread mix for cinnamon rolls. These would make a great holiday fun breakfast that's fairly quick and easy. Because let's face it, around the holidays sometimes you just want easy.

There is a picture of the mix, and then my creation below.

Today I'm grateful for our budget system - mvelopes. Our car battery died yesterday and I was totally not stressed about it because we've been saving money in our car maintenance envelope for months. So we could afford to fix it. It's so nice to have envelopes with money in them for different things.
Dough before rising
Baked rolls

Finished product

Monday, November 12, 2012

A Week of Thanksgiving

I've decided to do a Thanksgiving special. The holiday's can be one of the hardest times of the year to stay strong as a glutard. I'm here to help! There are tons of resources out there with some really great gluten free recipes and menu ideas and I hope I can be a source of some of those. I'm going to try to post one recipe every day until Thanksgiving. Life gets a little crazy with a house full of kids and trying to keep up with all the holiday excitement myself, but I will do my best. I also want to continue in my endeavor to be more positive, so as I post the recipes I'll also do a small segment on what I'm grateful for.

Today I am grateful for my religion. As I was sitting in church the other day I realized that being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is who I am. It's who I've always been and who I always will be. My grandparents, great-grandparents and even my great, great, great grandparents (Brigham Young) were mormons, and I hope to pass along the sweet and simple testimony that this gospel has to offer to my children, and my grandchildren and so on. I know that God lives, and I know that He loves me and has a plan for us and for each of our lives. I know that especially when life is hard I can turn to my Savior for strenth and guidance. I'm grateful for the Book of Mormon, and the great lessons I've learned from it. I'm so very grateful for our wonderful prophet President Monson, who is the ideal example of charity. I'm also grateful for the testimonies of my friends and family, and the strength they have been to me throughout my life.

The first recipe I'm going to provide is actually one I made up on Saturday. I was trying to put some snacks together for the long drive up to the temple, and I quickly threw this together. Hopefully I've got the measurements right, if not leave a comment on the recipe if for some reason yours doesn't turn out, but I was quite pleased. So this could be an appetizer or just a sweet holiday snack to have around, OR it would also be an ideal gift for those of you who AREN'T glutards, to give to your glutarded friends. :)

Honey Cinnamon Chex Mix

Enjoy!

Honey Cinnamon Chex Mix

I made this up Saturday morning, and who knows there might be a better recipe on the Chex website. But if for some reason this recipes fails you let me know. Also if you are making this for a glutard make sure you use the CHEX brand, some of the off brands are NOT gluten free!

2 T Butter Melted
2 -3 tsp Cinnamon Sugar
1 1/2 Tsp Honey
Dash of Salt
4 Cups Chex
1 cup almonds, or mix of nuts
You could even add pretzels if you want.

Mix the butter, cinnamon sugar, honey and salt together. Then pour over the chex and nuts and toss to coat. Either cook in the microwave for 3-4 minutes on high, or bake in the oven at 250 for about 45 mins stiring every 15. Let cool and then serve.

Also I added some Honey Kix that I got at a discount store here. They aren't labeled Gluten Free but I've been ok with them... ?? Up to you.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Play-Doh or Poison?

Who here looks at or smells play-doh and starts to hyperventilate!?!
Well I certainly do. It was a sad day when I realized I was letting my kids play with pure poison on my kitchen table. But is that really any different than them eating crackers or toast? The only thing for me is that play-doh seems a lot more sticky and imbedding than just toast crumbs. It gets in the cracks and crevices and when I clean it up it feels like it's in my skin. (Kind of like using a lotion that has wheat in it. But that's a story for another time. ) anyway, for me play-doh provides hours of play time for my kids, and uninterrupted cleaning time for me. But is it worth the mess and possible poisoning? I don't know. Some days, like today, I think it is.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Garden of Eden

So I've taken a little hiatus from my blog the past couple of weeks. I think I had the flu, all three of my kids had ear infections at one point or another, as well as some other sickness, teething, or other. And we had my in-laws come to visit. So it's been a bit of a crazy time for us.

I was laying in my bed the other night feeling angry. See when I get sick I get angry. I get mad at myself for touching whatever germ it was that got into my body. I get mad at my body for not being strong enough to fight it off. My husband RARELY  if ever gets sick, so I get mad at him for being so healthy all the time. I get mad that my house is a complete disaster and I'm just too sick and tired to do anything about it.  I feel awful when I pass the illness on to my kids, or visa versa. And I get mad when all the vitamins and suppliments I'm taking still aren't strong enough to kick it. Mad that the food today is so complicated and altered, sometimes I feel like everything that passes my lips could somehow or another be labelled as "bad for me." Basically I just get mad about life. So, point is I was mad, and for some strange reason I thought to myself, why can't we just live in the garden of eden. Perfect weather, all the food and plants there were perfect, Adam and Eve had perfect bodies, and life was just so simple and wonderful and easy! (I know totally random weird thought...)

Then I got to thinking that even though life was so great for them, they didn't even know how good they had it. And I remembered that the whole purpose of this life is to get a body, and experience it. Good and bad. Adam and Eve couldn't have kids either, and that's my whole life and existence right there. Kids. They had things so easy, and yet they didn't know what they were missing. So after that I tried to be more grateful and positive about how the past two weeks of sickness is just going to make me that much happier when I feel better! (if and when that ever happens.) And then the stomach aches and nausea and bloating have continued through all of this and I definitely lose my determination to stay positive.... anyway, through it all I  have made some very delicious recipes. So I will get back on the Glutard Girl wagon and start getting some tasty food up here for ya! So that through our trials we might enjoy a few little things in life:)


First I did make mini banana muffins, but before I even had time to think about taking a picture they were devoured. Yeah that's how good they are, and I only got like 4-5:( (mini... remember) So I might wait to post those when I have a picture, since pictures make all the difference. But I did make my favorite fall staple for my freezer!

PUMPKIN OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!!!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies





Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies - Gluten Free
(I also made mine corn free, and dairy free. There are no eggs in the recipe. I'll put both options on there)
Recipe from my mother, adapted by me

3 C Evaporated Cane Juice Sugar (or your sugar of choice)
3 C Pumpkin (one large can)
3/4 C butter softened
3/4 C oil (I did 1 1/2 Cups Olive oil for dairy and corn free)
4 C Gluten free flour (brown rice flour mix below)
or for those of you not "glutarded" my mom does 4 1/2 C whole wheat flour
4 C Rolled Gluten free Oats
1 T Baking Powder (see below for corn free baking powder)
1 T Baking Soda
1 tsp Cinnamon
3/4 tsp Salt
2 cups Chocolate Chips (I used
"Enjoy Life" Chocolate chips)
(nuts optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Mix sugar, pumpkin, butter and oil well. Add rest of ingredients, chocolate chips last. Cook for 8-10 minutes. (I cooked mine for closer to 12 but it depends on your oven etc.)


Corn Free Baking Powder recipe
1 part Baking Soda
2 parts Cream of Tartar
2 Parts Arrowroot Starch

(I've seen so many different versions of this.... this is the one I did and it worked fine)

Brown Rice Flour Mix
6 or 2 cups brown-rice flour (extra finely ground)
2 or 2/3 cup potato starch
1 or 1/3 cup tapioca flour/starch
4 tsp or 1 1/2 tsp Xantham Gum

Depending on how big you want your mix to be. For the cookie recipe you need a big one.



Monday, October 22, 2012

Not My Day

Today is not my day. I had my washer start leaking into my basement, my three year old cut into a quilt I've been working on for over a year, and I just discovered that I left a dirty diaper in my 9 months old crib.... Lets just say the dirty wasn't in the diaper any more

Now I just need to figure out what to make for dinner. Preferably some sort of comfort food...

Sunday, October 21, 2012

The Diet is OVER!

Well folks, our diet has come to an end. I decided to celebrate by taking my husband out for our anniversary (two weeks late). It was nice to not have to stress or worry about anything other than gluten. Especially since the two places we went to were very educated about gluten free and very helpful and hospitable. So I got italian and some frozen yogurt without making a mess in my kitchen and without kids demanding things of me the whole time. And even better, the baby slept the WHOLE time for the babysitter, so leaving my kids was essentially guilt free as well! I really just tried to focus on enjoying my food, my comany (a cute husband), and the peace and quiet. We also had some of my family over for dinner tonight who had been doing the clean out as well, so that was a lot of fun to celebrate with them.

 I probably over did it this weekend though, because I'm feeling a little yucky. My sinuses are a little clogged and my stomach isn't awesome, but then again... I had those problems during the diet as well. So who knows! Such is my life, a constant guessing, questioning game, but I'm here to WIN! Even if it's just by trying to have a good attitude.

Anyway, to those of you who did the diet, congrats on a job well done. I know it wasn't easy, but I hope it helped some of you in some way. I know one of my friends was able to help her daughter go for more than 2 weeks with out a stomach ache, which has basically never happened! So that's great. I will begin to post some of my other, not-so-diet-but-hopefully-still-kind-of-healthy-and-definitely-gluten-free recipes. :) And hopefully I can remember to take pictures of them all!! I'm also going to work on a few goals I've made for myself in trying to eliminate some of the stress associated with food and eating. I'll let you know how it goes. Feel free to share your stories and thoughts about the diet and ways you work to mentally accept the challenges you face in this glutarded world.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Tasty Protein Bars

So after the past 4 weeks I decided I could try this little recipe found on Mutritious Nuffins.
I made them and probably ate too many. But they were quite good. I didn't have the right sweetener for the chocolate so I added just a tiny bit of sugar. It was still pretty bitter. But it wasn't bad because of the stuff on the bottom. I also was out of coconut oil so I just used olive oil. They aren't as pretty as the ones on the blog, but they did taste pretty good. I also don't have a food processor, so I used my blender to mix the bigger things, then I used my kitchen aid to add the wet ingredients. They were a little crumbly, but real tasty. ENJOY!

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Fall Comfort Foods and Comfort Words

The past couple of days have been dinners of comfort food. Another beef stew with left overs from Sunday's roast dinner and biscuts, and one of my FAVORITE fall meals - Pumpkin Dumplings! I feel a little guilty for adding somethings back in, but yesterday I was so physically tired, I just need some more carbs. So I've added in rice, potatoes, and my brown rice flour mix. But basically there's only a few days left anyway, for those of you doing the diet, so if you don't try this recipe this week, be sure to try it next week.

Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed by food, and so many emotions attached to it, that I wonder if maybe I'm causing my own stomach aches just with all the guilt, worry, stress etc that goes along with eating it. I'm sure many of you have experienced the anger, the sorrow, the pain, and the confusion that accompanies the life of a glutard, or any other allergy stricken individual.

This month has brought on a lot of confusion, and frustration. Thinking that my body should be feeling better, and not have any somach issues etc. And yet there have still been many. I've been tired and sluggish (although that could be due to the insane amount of times I get up with children at night). But today as I was listening to President Monson's Conference talk (thanks to my three year old who saw his picture on the computer and asked to listen to general conference), something he said really touched me. He asks us to look for the blessings in our lives, not dwell on the negitive. Which is no easy task for me, as I tend to be somewhat negative. Then he reminds us that if we pray for answers we will get them. He also reminded me that NO need is too small or insignificant. As I thought about what I consider to be my "insignificant" issues - fatigue, stomach aches, food complexes etc. I felt the confirmation from the spirit that, like President Monson said, "Our Heavenly Father is aware of our needs and will help us as we call upon Him for assistance." No matter how small we think our needs are. It may not be in the way, or time that we would like but he will. I have been praying a lot lately, but sort of without faith and without recognizing the small answers that have been sent to me. So here are a few of the blessings I've found in my life the past couple of days.
  • Yesterday when I was to tired that I didn't know if I could make it home from the library that was only 10 minutes away, I prayed that my kids would take naps so that I could get some rest. Well 30 minutes after falling asleep the baby woke up and my 3 year old was still playing in her room. I was upset that my prayer wasn't answered, but then I stopped and realized that I HAD gotten a nap, and I DID feel quite a bit better. I also told myself that I would do what I could with what energy I had, and then not worry about the rest.
  • Despite getting up 2-3 times last night, I wasn't too tired this morning.
  • My husband was home last night to help me jump the car (one of the kids left a light on), bathe the kids, and get them in bed, then proceeded to help me fold laundry.
Well sadly that is all I can think of right now, but I'm sure there have been countless others. I'm grateful for the learning experiences I have each day, and I hope that you all know that even for someone who has been dealing with being a glutard for years, I still have hard days. That's not to say it doesn't get easier, but I hope some of these ramblings are things you can relate to and help bouy your spirits.

Pumpkin Dumplings

This recipe has been adapted from "Cooking for Isaiah" By Silvana Nardone. It might sound a little weird at first. When I first made these for my family everyone was a little wary. But even my dad and teenage brother liked them. Although they wanted more of the bacon. :)

1 can Pumpkin Puree (15 oz)
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cup Brown Rice Flour Mix
Salt
1/2 Onion chopped
1/2 cup Spinach chopped
3-4 Tablespoons REAL bacon bits (or you can cook up real bacon and crumble it)




  • Bring a large pot of water with a little salt to boil.
  • Mix the pumpkin, eggs, flour and some salt all together. (I like my dumplings a little more firm, but if you like them a little more mushy use less flour)
  • Then using two spoons scoop up some of the dough, then use the other spoon to slide it off into the boiling water. Do that to about half the dough.
  • Let them boil for 2 minutes. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon onto a plate
  • Repeat for the rest of the dough
  • In a large pan cook your onions in some olive oil until they are translucent.
  • Add the bacon and spinach and dumplings. Cook until the spinach is wilted and the dumplings are a little brown around the edges.
  • Stir them carefully otherwise it can turn into a big goopy mess.
* if you like spice, add a little red pepper flakes to it.


This picture does not do this meal justice, but you get the idea.

Brown Rice Flour Mix

This flour is essential to my pantry! I use it all the time for thickener, cookies, brownies,, muffins, sweet or flat breads etc. I usually mix up a large batch and just keep it in the pantry. This is what I will be using for most of the recipes I post on here. 

 Here is my large batch recipe:

6 cups. Brown rice flour
2 cups potato starch
1 cup tapioca starch/flour
4 tsp xantham gum

Mix it all up in a container. I store it in my pantry because I use it fairly quickly. But supposedly it stays better longer if you store it in the fridge or freezer.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Learning

This cleanout diet has been a real challenge and eye opener for me, as I know it has for many of you. Over the weekend I've been doing a lot of deep thinking and pondering over food. Sometimes I think I obsess and stress a little too much over food. But after going to church and talking about it there, and talking with friends and family I've just come to realize a few things:
  1. There is SO much information out there. Diets, quick fixes, different healing foods, foods that are bad for you etc. Some days I feel like every single thing I put in my mouth could be linked to some "government conspiracy", or is "genetically modified" or could ruin this or that part of my body... the list goes on.
  2. It's important to be educated. Read, study, find out what's out there.
  3. Pray. Pray to be guided to the answers you need. I've been trying to pray more about being guided to foods that will not hurt my stomach. Then focus on enjoying the ones I CAN eat. (I could DEFINITELY still improve in this particular area.
  4. Everyones bodies are different. What works for my body, may not necessarily be the exact answer for someone else. I feel like the person I am and the place I am at nutritionally is a compliation of many different sources of people, doctors, nutritionist, literature and internet advice.
  5. Real food is intended to nourish our bodies, our gifts from God. I think that as long as I do my best to take care of that gift, even though it won't be perfect, He will bless me for it.
  6. Take time to get to know your body and may you be blessed in finding what works for you.
So good luck to everyone, and I hope you are all doing better and feeling good on this diet. I'm excited for it to be over!! :)

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Day 21, 22, 23 menu ideas

So for the past few days I've been clearing out my fridge of left overs and repeating some older recipes. Here are some things I've made as well as some ideas for new things.

Curry chicken
Tin Foil Dinners
Beef Pot Roast
Split pea soup

A couple of those I had on my "to make" list but it was kind of a crazy weekend and I didn't get around to all of that this week. I hope to make a few new things this week, but we'll see. Good luck to you all and i'm sorry I'm slacking. Only one more week!! :)

Friday, October 12, 2012

Day 20 Menu and Recipes

So I've been eating rice, and I think if you choose you could add rice and/or beans back in. I also added Potatoes back in but I think they might be making me a little bloated.... who knows. It's hard to tell sometimes. Either that or the insane amount of raisins I ate yesterday.... Oh dear. There's always gonna be something isn't there?

Breakfast- Banana Pancakes (my little one devours these!)

Lunch - Rice and roasted vegetables stir-fried up

Dinner - Borscht, Salad and Pineapple

Borscht

I made this in the crock pot this time and it was SO much easier than other ways I've made it. I personally LOVE this soup. The cabbage and beets together really just make it so delicious. It's good with either chicken or stew beef. I usually do chicken though. I've also been saving my chicken and beef broths throughout the weeks, storing them in the freezer to use at a later time for soups etc.

3-4 Chicken Breasts
3-4 Potatoes diced (Omit if on diet and you don't want to add them back yet. Just do extra of the other veggies)
1/4-1/2 of a Cabbage Shredded, about 2 Cups
1 Can Beets - I usually slice them up a little smaller, and I added the juice as well for that awesome purple color
1 Onion diced
2-3 Carrots diced
4 Tbl tomato Paste
4 Cups Chicken Broth
Season with :
Seasoning Salt
Mrs Dash
Garlic
Onion
Parsley

I threw everything except the broth, beets and paste into my bigger crockpot with a 1/4 cup water and seasoned it generously. I let it cook for about 4-5 hours. Then I added the paste, beets and broth. I let it simmer in the crock pot for another hour while I got my salad and pineapple ready.

Serve with sour cream, cheese and rolls or corn chips if you want.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Day 19

Leftovers and more steak.... that was what we had for dinner. And some roasted vegetables. Sorry I'm being very uncreative this week. Tomorrow I'm going to try for a crockpot Borscht. So check back tomorrow for the recipe.

Oh I also made this tasty treat tonight: Choconananutty Shake :) The only problem is nut butters always seem to make me nauseous. :( Oh well.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Day 18 Menu and Recipes

So for dinner tonight I just did a Ham in the crock pot with baked sweet potatoes (and regular for the kids). I have to admit it was a slight failure... I over cooked the ham a little. It was still pretty tasty, and it was sort of falling apart, which I like but it did have a slightly burned flavor... just slightly. And i'm just not a fan of baked potatoes, sweet or not, without my butter and sour cream... what can I say, I like my dairy. I also did green beans with it. Once again I was husbandless tonight and amid the chaos of two very demanding children, and a hungry baby who wanted milk, but for some reason my body was refusing to produce it.... I forgot to take pictures... So I'm sorry if I'm letting anyone down... if anyone even reads this one.... GOOD LUCK!

Also I think Satan is out to get me, because I had decided earlier to try to be more positive with this diet, and find the good things about it, and then this evening happened and I'm feeling upset and frustrated with it all over again. SO I'm going to say one positive that has come of this diet. I think I've lost some weight! I don't have a scale, but my pants are a little looser, so I think those few extra baby pounds have been shed. (let's just hope they aren't the milk pounds...) YAY!

Happy Anniversary

Saturday was our 7th anniversary. Usually we go out to eat on conference weekend, especially when it falls over our anniversary. But I really didnt want to go to a restaurant and pay for unseasoned, unflavored food (trying to be good on the diet) and watch the rest of my family eat something delicious in front of me. So we decided not to go out. Then because it was General Conference my husband was at the priesthood meeting that night. My baby was having a rough time going to sleep, when i realized no one had fed him dinner. The kids were already fed and in bed, so I fed the baby and by the time he was down it was nearly 8:30. So I finally got around to making my own dinner, made some cabbage, chicken and a nice big smoothie! Look how delicious that looks!!
As I was carrying my food into the living room to rest on the couch and watch a show something happened... I'm not even sure what exactly. Maybe the condensation on the glass, or I bumped the wall. Either way my smoothie started to slip out of my hands. I tried to catch it with the hand holding my plate of food, but all that did was dump my food on the floor along with the smoothie that had escaped my grasp and shattered. As you can see it went all the way up the book case. Not to mention it was all over the backpack you can just see a little of and a few other things not in the picture. I stood there in shock, tired, hungry and just not sure whether to cry or laugh. Luckily I had my phone in my pocket, so I quickly took a sad picture to send to my husband, then I decided to sit down and have a good cry out before cleaning it up. (and no I'm not pregnant, even though I usually only drop and break things when I am...)
Then I could laugh about it. After I got it clean up I turned around and made more dinner, more smoothie and finally got to watch my show. By then it was near 9:30... oh well. Happy anniversary to me. I told myself when this thing is over I'm taking my husband somewhere awesome to eat!

Monday, October 8, 2012

Day 17 Menu and Recipes

Breakfast - eggs... again... anyone else feel like the eggs and chicken are starting to taste awfully similar... maybe it's just me.

Lunch - Homemade applesauce and some sauteed vegetables

Dinner - White Bean Chicken Chili or Rachel's Chocolate Turkey Chili

*I'm adding beans and lentils in this week. I need a little more variety and then you can test and see if beans bother you. I've also been doing rice, so I might start adding a few rice recipes! Both of these chili recipes are two of my favorite soups. Enjoy!! 

Rachel's Chocolate Turkey Chili

1 lb Ground Turkey (you can also use beef)
1 T Olive Oil
1 Onion
3 Garlic Cloves
2 T Chili Powder (more if you like it really spicy)
1/2 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Cumin
1 can Tomatoes (28 oz) blended in the blender, unless you like it chuncky
1 can Tomato Sauce
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Cocoa
1 can Red Beans (2 if you want more beans)

I usually cook the meat, onions and garlic on the stove together first. Then throw everything all together in the crock pot for a few (4-5 hours)

I know this is a little vain, but I give this recipe 4 1/2 stars. I LOVE it. It's more of a sweet chili and the cocoa gives it a rich flavor. It is also excellent with some sour cream and my gluten free corn muffins.

White Bean Chicken Chili

2-3 chicken breasts
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 medium onion chopped
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
2 Tb olive oil
4 garlic cloves minced
1 can white beans
3 1/2 cups water

Top with cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips and cilantro as desired. (unless your on the diet, then just cilantro)

Cook onion and garlic in oil until translucent. Add the chicken, seasonings and water and boil on low for about 30 mins. Pull out the chicken and chop into pieces. Add the beans and put the chicken back in. Simmer for another 20 mins and serve.

*adapted from here

I LOVE this recipe. It's really quick and easy! I usually just use a few frozen chicken breasts, which means I don't have to remember to thaw them! 

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Day 15 and 16 Menu and Recipes

Day 15 -
So I think the weekends make me lazy... I'm just doing some more crock pot chicken tonight.

Day 16 -
Dinner - Curry Shrimp you can serve it over rice, or you can just eat it plain and have some fruit and or salad on the side.

Day 13 and 14 Menu and Recipes

We'll skip lunch and dinner for these days and let you figure out what things you've liked so far and fix that.

Day 13:
Dinner - Beef Stew, Fruit Salad

Day 14:
Dinner - Citrus Chicken with Baked Acorn Squash and Salad with Balsamic dressing

Citrus Chicken and Baked Acorn Squash

This recipe is thanks to my friend Stephanie! It was delicious and the kids liked it too. I actually put the chicken on top of my salad with some balsamic vinegrette dressing and it was great!

Citrus Chicken

Marinade 4-5 chicken breasts in the juice of:
1 lemon
1 lime
1/2 orange (or I just used a little orange juice concentrate)
Pineapple rind (I hade some leftover...optional)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Salt and Pepper
Marinade over night or all day.

Cook over med-low heat in a covered pan on the stove, or you could throw it on the grill as well. Serve over salad or just plain!

Acorn Squash

Preheat oven to 375
Chop acorn squash in half
Rub olive oil on top
Season with Sea Salt and Pepper
Bake for 40 minutes or until soft.

Beef Stew

So this is one of my favorite meals, but I made my own beef broth this time. I made enough to store 3 or 4 containers of it in the freezer. When we went to the fresh beef place I bought the stew meat along with some beef bones (about 4). Recipe below:

Beef Broth

4 beef bones
8 cups of water
1-2 tsp of the following seasonings:
Season Salt
Garlic
Onion
I also had a vegetable seasoning blend I put in that had peppers, onions, sweet potatoes and some other spices.
You can season the water fairly heavily for a better flavor broth.
Bring to a boil then simmer on low for a 2-3 hours or longer if you want.

Beef Stew

1 pound beef stew meat
1/4 cup water
10 or so baby carrots
1-2 stalks diced celery
1 diced onion
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste
Choose a couple or all of the following green vegetables:
Broccoli
Peas
Zuccini
Beans
Meanwhile in a crock pot put the beef, water, carrots, celery, onion and seasonings in the crock pot. Cook for 3 hours or until veggies are almost tender and meat is cooked through. Add the green vegetables you want and cook for another hour. The add about 2 cups of the beef broth and if the broth is still hot you can serve immediately, or let it heat through.

*if you like your soup to be a little bit thicker you can toss a spoonful or two of cornstarch or brown rice flour mix in the crock pot with the meat and veggies BEFORE putting the broth in. I stir it around till it's somewhat dissolved, then add the broth and let it heat till it's slightly thicker.

And of course as I finished the last bite of soup I realized I hadn't taken a picture of the finished product :( sorry! It was just so tastey!

Day 12 Menu and Recipes

Breakfast - your choice... I'm sort of running out of new creative ideas for breakfast foods. I bought a pineapple the other day and that was delicious.

Lunch - Stir Fried Chicken and Cabbage with fruit

Dinner  - Pork Tenderloin - (try seasoning with some curry powder or cumin for a different flavor), side of salad or broccoli and cooked carrots

Friday, October 5, 2012

Curried Shrimp (or chicken)

This is one of my all time favorite recipes! And it has NO dairy, Gluten, eggs, corn or really any other allergen! So enjoy!

1-2 cups shrimp and/or chopped chicken
1 onion cut the way you want, bigger for actual pieces in the sauce is how I do it
3-4 Carrots cut into sticks
1 cup broccoli
1 cup Zuccini
1/2 cup red pepper (optional)
1/2 cup peas
2 T oil
2-3 tsp curry paste - red or green
1 can coconut milk
2 T fish sauce, or 1/2 tsp salt

  • Cook meat, onion, peppers and carrots until they start to get tender, add the broccoli, zuccini and peas.
  • Once everything is cooked through, take out whatever meat and veggies you will need for litte one who may be really upset with you for even thinking of making something as awful as curry. ;) Set aside.
  •  Add the curry paste, coconut milk and fish sauce. (you can also add a tablespoon of sugar if you want, but it really doesn't need it.)
  • Heat through and serve over sticky or jasmine rice. (or just eat plain if you are on the lovely clean out...)

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Stir fried chicken and cabbage

1 piece of Chicken
some shredded cabbage
1/4 onion sliced
Stir fry these all in some olive oil.
season to taste with:
curry powder
cumin
garlic
onion powder
salt and pepper
 
Serve over rice if you want. Or I served with a side of sauteed beats, and pineapple slices
 
 
 



Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Sauteed Cabbage

Shred the cabbage. Heat up some oil in a pan. Throw the Cabbage on with some salt and pepper, stir and cook for about 5 minutes or until the cabbage is soft and slightly translucent. I really liked it. I do it a little brown around the edges too. Your kids might even eat it this way!

Day 11

Here we are, I'm getting so close to half way through and I'm struggling! I know I'm not the only one craving a huge piece of chocolate cake, or french toast, or other tasty treats! But... I will be strong for all of you faithful followers. :) And for those of you not torturing yourselves yet, feel free to join the club! It's awesome and hopefully it will help you feel better in the long run. I think I need to add some acidopholus into my diet to try to help build my stomach lining back up.


Breakfast - Smoothie and eggs

Lunch - I grilled up some chicken and onions and threw them on a salad with beets, olives, pecans, cucumbers and zuccini.

Dinner - Once again doing the Pork Tenderloin in the crock pot, because it is delicious and my husband didn't get any last time... (yes I did eat the whole thing... over two days...), Sauteed Cabbage Green Beans

I also have to confess, I've been eating a little rice once in a while. I'm a nursing mom and sometimes I just need the extra calories, especially after a day like today, I think I nursed every 2-3 hours... and he's not a newborn anymore!  Keep up the good work everyone!