Customized Tortilla Soup....

In California for Fall Break, our dear friends the LeSueur's invited us over for dinner. It was cold outside and the dinner could not have been more perfect. She made a delicious Tortilla Soup that warmed the soul and was spot on perfect! Now, I have had lots of tortilla soup before but this was different and soooo delicious! I loved the method of making the base and letting everyone create their own soup. It's really more of a Mexican stew when you are done.

This is great for families with allergies as you can customized the ingredients for each person.

First, you make the base:

1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. oil
1 28 oz can pureed tomatoes
4 C. chicken broth
2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp pepper
juice of one lemon
1 tsp. ground cumin

Combine the onion, garlic and cooking oil in a 6 qt. pot and cook over medium high heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and heat for another 15 min. Adjust seasonings as needed.

Soup ingredients:

Have these all in separate bowls for each person to pick from as desired:

chopped chicken
chopped cilantro
onions
shredded cheese
lime slices
avocados
sour cream 
black beans or pintos
chips
diced tomatoes
Salsa (I loved a little spoonful on top of the soup)
rice

Fill your bowl with whatever ingredients you desire. Then, put a ladle full of soup base over the top. I liked the soup wet but not swimming in the base. More of a stew.

Whatever soup base you have left over, freeze for another time! It was perfectly delicious and a hit with my kids!

Thanks, Ashlee! 

Another gluten free way to start your day.....

     When going gluten free, to me the hardest part is breakfast. I have lots of gluten free recipes but this was my very first one I tried 7 years ago. It is my "in a pinch" recipe as I always have the ingredients on hand. I am sure many of you have this recipe but for those who don't, enjoy!  There is not a easier recipe than this and it is so mild on the tummy! I pile it high with fresh berries and leave it at that. Even if you aren't gluten free, it is always great to use moderation and not have grains all the time. That is how we keep ourselves healthy! Moderation in ALL things. 

Grain free Banana Pancakes

1 banana

1 egg

pinch of salt

Mush banana or puree. Add egg and salt and mix until combined. Cook on griddle. Increase the recipe as much as you like! I would eat this batch alone. 

Blueberry compote: frozen or fresh blueberries and a touch of real maple syrup. Heat in pan until berries burst and get saucy. It is just fine without the syrup as well! It just helps to make it a little thicker. 

Before you complain about your health.....

     Did you ever even hear of gluten/dairy free diets when you were a kid? Did you have classmates that were bringing dry,gluten free breads to class and had to sit out on the pizza parties? There was maybe one kid in the whole lunch room that had to sit at an allergy table, if at all. Times are different and you want to know why? Because we have messed up EVERYTHING. Food is not the same as it was. A Ding Dong is not even the same. It used to be sugar and other real foods. Now it is plastic and preservatives. Since our food has now been genetically altered and laced with pesticides and synthetic ingredients, our bodies don't even recognize food as food. If you buy processed foods, you are eating genetically modified corn and soy that destroys your gut. Pure and simple. These "foods" or really "poisons", actually punch holes in the gut lining creating destruction in numerous ways. When you have these holes, the proteins from the hard to digest gluten and dairy don't break down and "digest", they absorb. They absorb into the blood stream and wreak havoc on your system. Inflamation will begin. Mucous will form. Allergies will abound. These proteins can actually become opiates to the brain actually acting like a drug. I have sure seen the affects of that on many kids on the spectrum! Our gut is the pathway to our health. If you mess that up, stand back and get ready for a breakdown. 

     More and more studies are linking auto-immune diseases to gut disorders . MS, Thyroid issues, Autism, ADD, ADHD and the list goes on. When you mistreat your gut, your body will yell back with things like yeast production, bacterial infections, the inability to produce the proper chemicals and poor immune responses. It won't just sit back and take it. Now my pet peeve is when people will torture their bodies repeatedly and then complain to everyone about their health problems. If you abuse, you will suffer the consequences. Take back your health. Tell your body you will treat it with respect and that in turn, you want it to treat you with respect. It is hard work but so very worth the reward. You have to live in this body. Hopefully that will be a very long time with a very pleasurable experience. Being sick just isn't fun.

     Now I won't go into a lengthy discussion on why you need to change your diet and remove processed foods, that should be obvious. I could go on and on about sugar, artificial food dyes, overuse of antibiotics, and so forth but that is for another day. What I will tell you is if you have health problems or your children are often sick or have stomach and earaches, before you go off to the Dr. to complain, do some work first. Remove all dairy, gluten, soy and sugar if you can. Try it for a month, even a week if that's all you have at first. Don't cheat. See how you feel. Eat real food. Now if you have been in a health crisis for a while, you won't be healed in a month but it is a start. This is the first step, not the last. You will loose weight. Your bowels will be much happier. Allergies usually calm down a bit along with a clearer complexion. Eczema can go away. Energy can return. It isn't the cure all but it is definitely a piece to the puzzle. Try it out. I try to do a gluten/dairy/sugar cleanse every few months to help my body be where it needs to. If I am ever feeling not quite right, it is the first thing I do before I go to a Dr. So far, I haven't needed the Dr. 

     Treat your body well and listen to the little complaints before they become big ones. Take note of  your children's minor complaints as well. A regular stomach ache is a sign of a problem. They are not happy with what they are eating. Please, please, feed them a good breakfast and lunch. Stay away from boxes and get back in the kitchen. Enough of my soap box. Here is a little breakfast item I made this morning. Easy as pie.

GF/DF Banana Waffles

In a blender, add:

1/2 cup organic millet
1/2 cup organic brown rice
1 cup almond/coconut milk

Blend until smooth.

Add to the blender mixture:

1/2 ripe banana 
2 eggs
1/4 cup coconut or avocado oil
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 T. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla

Blend until smooth. Add more milk if needed. Cook and freeze the leftovers! I eat these with applesauce or a little real maple. 

Lemony Spice Coconut Cupcakes. Gluten/Dairy free.

     As I mentioned earlier, Tate has now decided to become a chef. The problem with when Tate decides something is that it is not optional. When he has an agenda, it is my sole purpose to fulfill his dream. That is according to Tate, anyways. He ALWAYS has a project and lately, it has been cooking. The little guy will google whatever he has in mind and I have to create it. Right now, we are into cupcakes, pies and hermit crabs. Fortunately, the hermit crabs are not for eating. He just thinks they are way cool at this moment in time. 

     Today he was adamant that we make cupcakes. Since he is dairy and gluten free, we have to make some changes and I was low on GF flours. We had to improvise a bit and Tate did the work. I added a couple things that I didn't think would go together but they are totally delicious and these absolutely don't need frosting! They are moist and flavorful and perfectly yummy. Tate agreed. No grains, dairy or refined sugars involved! 

     He is very serious about his work. I told him to make sure all the lumps were out. Believe me, they were.

     Once you get a basic Coconut flour muffin/cupcake recipe down, you can really tweak it to any flavor you like. I only had about 1/3 cup coconut flour left and I needed 1/2 cup so I put some  shredded, unsweetened coconut in the blender and blended until fine. It was perfect and gave the cupcakes a little texture, which I like. Here's the skinny:

Lemony Spice Coconut Cupcakes

1/3 cup coconut flour

2 T. finely blended unsweetend coconut

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Blend together.

melt until just mixed:

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup raw honey.

You don't want this hot, just let it get warm so they honey and coconut oil will mix.

Add to the flour mixture:

Oil/honey mixture

4 eggs

2 T. Coconut milk or Almond milk

2 tsp. Vanilla

5 drops lemon essential oil (not extract)

Mix with hand mixer until lump free. Fill mini muffin pans with liners or silicon muffin trays. Bake about 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees or until the middle springs back. Let cool. Freeze any extras. 

Hello again....

Hello my friends. Is anyone still out there? It has been 7 months since we parted ways and I have missed the blog world. When I create a new recipe or find a great article or just have an idea to share, I miss being able to tell my friends about it. Because I feel compelled to share my thoughts and need a place to keep my recipes safe, I will at times post as the Enlightened Homemaker once again. I hope you will stop by now and then. Soon I will catch you up on my inner most thoughts but today I will just share what I made in my kitchen with the help of Tate. (Tate has decided to become a chef) 

My summer garden is almost done but today I came in with some tomatillos, a couple peppers and an onion. I hate to waste so I decided to make some Tomatillo salsa. I wanted the not-so-sweet version that would be great as an enchilada sauce. I perused the internet and tweaked a few things to come up with this tasty and simple recipe that will be great with a variety of mediums. I love to simmer pintos beans with tomatillo salsa or smother chicken with it in the pressure cooker. This would also make mighty fine enchilada sauce. It is cheap and easy. Try it out!

Salsa Verde

1lb husked tomatillos
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 jalapeño, seeded
3 T chopped cilantro
1/2 t cumin
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup water

Bring all to a boil then simmer 10-15 minutes or until tomatillos are soft. Blend till smooth! I added some lime at the end. Use as salsa, in the crockpot with shredded chicken, on pinto beans for burritos or for enchiladas! This made almost one quart. You can freeze for later or keep in the fridge for a good week or so. 

Day 19 and 20.

First off, let me say how much I am loving the Floradix for iron! Wow! What a difference. Even though I have still gotten my usually 5-6 hours of sleep, I feel like I could go all day. I haven't felt this way in quite a while. I knew I was anemic but didn't realize how much it was contributing to how I felt. I feel like a new woman! I highly recommend it to you all!

Day 19 and 20 were easy. I made sure I ate enough and had good food to choose from so I didn't even think any naughty thoughts at all. I don't having any cravings for sugar whatsoever. How nice. I am sure it will come back with the first taste of sugar. I will do my best to keep that in check.

Breakfast: Day 19, homemade granola and unsweetened almond milk. Yummy! I haven't had cereal in a long time. The recipe I used was from the Green Smoothie Girl's 8 week menu planner cookbook. 

It was very mildly sweet but crunchy and delicious. 

Granola

by Robyn Openshaw

8 cups rolled oats

1 c shredded coconut, unsweetened

1/2 cup flax meal

1 1/2 c slivered almonds

2 tsp cinnamon

In a bowl, heat on a stove:

1/2  c raw honey

1/2  c maple syrup

1/2  c water

1/2  c coconut oil

Stir until melted and remove from heat. Add to oat mixture. Stir until all oats are coated. Bake at 250, stirring well every 20 minutes for 40-90 minutes or until dry. Let cool and store in pantry for up to 2 weeks. 

Day 20 was the usual Buckwheat Pancakes.

Lunch: I had some green smoothies, an apple with peanut butter, cucumber, etc. I don't even really remember lunches, honestly.

Dinner: Day 19 I had made a lovely dinner for my kids that I couldn't eat so I just cooked up some spaghetti noodles with marinara sauce and veggies for me. Nothing exciting there.

Day 20 I made a Southwest quionoa salad from The Green Smoothie Girl again, some roasted chickpeas and some of the skillet eggs and potatoes that I posted about in a previous post. I ate lots and was totally full and satisfied. Sort of a mismatched dinner but I enjoyed it. 

Southwest Quinoa

1 C quinoa, rinsed well.

2 C water

2 C cooked black beans

2 medium tomatoes, diced

4 green onions, chopped

1/2 C chopped cilantro

Dressing:

1/2 T. grated lime zest

1/8 C fresh lime juice

3 T. EVOO

1/2 T. maple syrup

1/2 t. sea salt

1/4 t. ground pepper

Whisk together and add to the quionoa mixture. I added avocados as well.

I like the roasted chickpeas and they will keep for a few days so don't make too much at first. You can season them anyway you want.

I cooked some chickpeas previously, but you can used canned ones as well. Rinse and let dry.

Toss them with some olive oil until they are all coated lightly. Sprinkle some salt and pepper and put them in the oven at 450 for about 30 minutes. Stir ever so often. Now add whatever seasoning you desire. I added some smoked chipotle seasoning and garlic salt. Stir and put back into the oven until crispy. I pulled them out a little early at first and they still had a soft interior. You want them totally crispy. When they are done, let them cool on the counter a few hours they seal them up and eat in a few days! Great protein and it is nice to have something salty and crispy that isn't a chip.

Day 17 and 18.

What a perfect weekend! We enjoyed lots of family time together and were blessed to listen to our LDS general conference on TV. The messages are always so inspiring and uplifting. The messages were loud and clear; we are here to help each other. We are to pray for guidance on who to help and to be obedient to the inspiration given. What if everyone in the world actually prayed to help one another? What a nice thought. You can listen to the conference messages here.

Saturday was a tough day on the diet for me. I think for the most part I just needed more food. I didn't eat enough and all I could think about was what I was missing. I just wanted a good bean burrito or taco. Sunday, we had a family gathering with Mexican food, and I had my fill with a good Mexican salad. I ate a good sized serving and was full! I woke up feeling much better and without guilty cravings. Moral of the story, fill up with the good stuff so you don't crave the bad stuff. It's sort of like going to the grocery store hungry; you will want more of the unhealthy stuff if you are hungry. 

I also have had a problem with Anemia this past year. A lot of it hopefully will be solved with my surgery next week but I have tried to just fix it with green smoothies. It has helped a little but it is not sustaining. I finally bought an iron supplement and I feel sooooooo much better! I don't feel like I have lead in my blood. I wish I did this much earlier. My naturopath suggested the liquid Floradix which I purchased at Sprouts. It works quickly. I highly recommend this to anyone who needs more iron. I don't like to rely on a supplement but sometimes we need a little extra help. It feels so much better when we do!

Day 17 and 18.

Breakfast: Apple waffles on day 17  and Almond pancakes on day 18. I was hoping that using almond flour would make the pancakes stick to my ribs a little longer and they did. There were filling and they didn't go right through me like the grain pancakes. 

Almond Pancakes

1 cup Almond Flour (Almond meal can be used but it will be a little crunchy!)

4 eggs

2 T. honey

1 t. vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

Mix together and cook on a hot griddle. 

Lunch: I really don't remember lunches much on these two days. Saturday I ate very little, thus the reason I was craving tacos, and Sunday we had an early dinner so I skipped lunch.

Dinner: Day 17 I had coconut korma. It is vegetarian and delicious. I was lucky enough to have some in the freezer from a previous dinner so there wasn't any prep involved. It is easy, especially if you have a pressure cooker. 

You can find the recipe here from a previous post. Honey in place of the sugar or omit.

Day 18 was our extended family dinner. We each brought part of the Mexican salad. We had black beans, pulled pork, spanish rice, sauteed onions and peppers, tomatoes, guacamole, shredded lettuce and salsa. It was all gluten and dairy free! Thanks, family. 

I am getting lots of emails from those of you who are doing this with me. There are lots of good reports and I am so proud of you! Stay strong.

Day 14 and 15.

Man alive. Life is busy. Having time to actually be in the kitchen seems impossible. We have two baseball teams, football and soccer and that means lots of practices, lots of games and lots of nights away. Somehow we have been fed but I have had to have a few compromises lately on quality. The kids don't mind so much. I do.

There hasn't been anything real exciting to report to you. I am down about 6 pounds total and wouldn't mind three more. I feel good and that is the real payoff. If you eat right, you feel better. It is as simple as that. We really don't have any right complaining about our health ailments if we aren't doing all we can to make it better. We always have to do our part.

I am going to combine both days as far as food goes:

Breakfast: French toast with GF raisin bread using coconut milk, eggs and vanilla. YUMMY!

Oatmeal and green smoothie.

Lunch: I don't have time for lunch so it has been hummus, cucumbers, apples, rolled up ham slice (Applegate farms organic, uncured) avocado, smoothies,or whatever else is available.

Dinner: Day 14 we had the leftover chili and fries. Lots of fresh veggies with it as well.

Day 15 had a lovely dinner planned of grilled apricot Chipotle chicken but that got squashed when my daughters battery died and I had to make an emergency trip to Costco along with two baseball carpools. Ugh. Unless we wanted to eat dinner after 8, I had to take drastic measures. I bought the Costco Rotisserie chicken and made some sides at home. It is gluten, msg and dairy free but I don't ever buy them since they are not organic and have "natural flavors" . I suppose we won't die after one chicken.

iphone photos are horrible.

I made sauteed green beans with scallions and bacon. I also made some mashed potatoes with almond milk, garlic and Earth Balance butter. Skins were left on and the potatoes were just mashed, not whipped. We added some fresh fruit and it was a meal in 10 minutes. It would have been so much better with the Apricot chipotle chicken. That will have to wait. 

This next week is going to be challenging on the cooking. We have family coming in town and parties all week. Lots of goings on. Somehow I need to find time to create some good meals and keep it healthy and homemade. I can do it.

Day 13.

First off, my husband read over a few of my last posts and told me I have several typos and sentences that didn't make sense. Ya, I know. I type fast. I don't proof read and I probably won't go back and fix them. I am intelligent. It might not sound like it but I am just short on time. You understand. I will try to spell check a little better.

In the beginning of this little personal challenge, I was really thinking about the days. I would think about how many more days it was until I didn't have to think about everything I was eating. I would think about missing out on certain foods or going out for my favorite meal. There has been a switch flipped. I don't really want to go back to the way I ate before. I will eat some corn chips and corn tortillas now and then and some homemade sprouted spelt bread or soaked pizza dough, but really, I don't desire to go back to how it was before for the most part. Our food supply has been altered and we just can't tolerate what corruption has been done to our food, especially dairy and wheat. I am a little scared that once I eat a little, I will just slip back in to old habits but I hope I remember how it feels to eat the way we should. I have been a good eater for a long time. I keep it healthy for the most part but we can always do better. Better is better. 

The most important thing to do when you want to make a change is to study everything you can about why it is bad to eat/do certain things. To break the habit, you need to have a reason. I knew gluten was hard on the body and that wheat is a huge GMO crop. However, I have now read so much that it is a testimony to me. I understand it. I believe it and I know that if I want to remain in good health, I need to stick to the lessons I have learned. If you don't have a good reason to change, change usually doesn't happen. For many of us, change comes when we are forced to change like a health problem in the family. This is a blessing. Being compelled to change sometimes is the only way it will happen. I thank my lucky stars for Tate and all his gut issues. I am sorry he had to suffer but our family are all truly blessed because we were compelled to change.

Day 13 was yummy. 

Breakfast: Buckwheat and Brown Rice Blueberry pancakes and a very "healthy" green smoothie (code word for "didn't taste good").

Lunch: The last go round of the sweet potato salad, a cucumber and an apple.

Dinner: Vegetarian Chili Fries

My boys were tired of "lady food" (salads, veggies, etc.) My boys want man food. So , I decided to give them a hearty dish of Chili and Fries with a side of carrots and cucumbers. Unfortunately, when dinner time came, only the little man Tate and the princess child were home. Papa Bear made it just in time but the three who wanted the man food had to miss out. I enjoyed it. Maybe they will get the left overs today. 

You don't miss the meat in chili and I did the Yukon Gold potatoes and fried them in some coconut oil. Yukon golds are more nutritious and less starchy than Russets. 

I used pinto beans with black beans. Pinto's have been bothering my little tummy lately so I was a bit leery of eating them. I was pleasantly surprised when my stomach was perfectly content after a bowl. Something must be working.

Vegetarian Chili

**I really throw in whatever I have but here is today's ingredients:

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced sweet peppers

2 garlic cloves, minced

Saute in some olive oil (I used jalapeno olive oil)

Puree a pint of whole tomatoes. Add it to the peppers and onions.

Add in a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes. I use Eden brand. No BPA.

Add in beans as desired. I used pinto and black but you can use whatever you like. I probably had around 4 cups of beans. Use more tomatoes or beans as desired.

I added in about 3-4 tsp of chili powder.

Sea salt.

Smoked chipotle seasoning, to taste

Simmer for a good 1/2 hour or more.

You don't need the chipotle seasoning but it makes the chili in my opinion. You can also add veggies like carrots and zucchini's or even cooked quinoa. 

Make extra to freeze!

A little treat: I made a little treat for Tate today that I was looking forward to sharing with him. I ate half of the cookie and I realized that the sweetness didn't even taste good to me and that I didn't want/need one. He loved them though and they are easy as pie. I think I have posted them before. They are from my friend , Kami's blog:

Gluten/dairy free Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup natural peanut butter

1 cup coconut sugar

1 egg

1 tsp baking soda

Mix and bake at 350 for about 9 minutes. 

Can't get much easier.I used up the last of my peanut butter that wasn't recalled. 

Day 12 and some gardening.

Day 12 was lovely. I played in the dirt a little. Not as much as I wanted because it is too hot to plant everything that I wanted. However, I do have some wonderful things growing:

Spinach. I am so happy you are back.

Little carrot seedlings popping up. This field is my multi-colors. Purple, red, orange and yellow. 

 Spicy little radishes. They popped up in only 3 days. 

I planted some romaine under my cucumber trellis and they came up great. Problem is, it became hotter again and these baby romaines are bolting. Chicken food. 

Still more cantaloupe. Several of them. I need to pull them up but how can I? They are so sweet and delicious. 

I have lots more growing and this month marks my goal of picking something every day for a year. It has worked. Never a day without something ready to be picked. Here's to another year. 

This year the bugs have been out of control at my house. Lots of ants, lots of crickets, lots of roaches and lots of garden bugs. A few years back, if you remember, I had my home sprayed by a pest control company and one day, they sprayed my garden and baby stroller. It was a tragedy. I cried all day. I cut off all ties with pest control at that point and have not had one since. Now, I am paying the price. My sister in law told me about a company our naturopath recommended called Lady Bug Pest Control. They use natural products like Eucalyptus oils and DE. I called them up and they went to work. I still won't let them near the chickens or garden but there are dead roach bodies as evidence of it's power. Thank you. I still don't like pest control, though.

Anyhow, on to me and what I eat.

It really is getting easy. Many of you email me that you can't do it. That you are totally addicted to sugar and baked goods. Believe me. You can do it. You can change your taste buds. Take it one day at a time. Start small. Just limit at first then cut it off. If I can, anyone can. I promise.

Breakfast: Fried egg, berries and GF toast

Lunch: Leftover sweet potato salad and hummus with some Mary's gone Crackers sticks. They are totally GF and organic and made with various types of seeds. I used the curry kind. It made a great dipping stick and was a welcomed crunchy snack. 

Dinner: I was still craving my pasta that I didn't get the other night at the restaurant. I have lots of basil in the garden so I made a quick, fresh dish.

I found the Brown Rice pasta in an organic version. I just love this pasta. It tastes just like the wheat noodles. 

Saute some garlic, zucchini and diced tomatoes in olive oil until barely tender. Add chopped basil and saute just until wilted. The tomatoes should get a bit saucy. I used about 5 tomatoes and one zucchini with about 3 cloves minced garlic and 1/2 cup basil. I added a little more olive oil to make it all stick. Season in up with some sea salt and pepper.

Toss in hot noodles and serve with some ribbon sliced fresh spinach. 

I made some GF Focaccia with tomatoes and basil on top and it went in the trash. It tasted like pizza gum. I hate tapioca starch. Why did I try it? 

My arm was itching the night before. I ate a little too much fruit at the party Sunday. I am pretty sure that activated the yeast which caused the itching. My theory. I am laying off a bit. A little a day is fine. 

Day 11.

Today was my hubby's bday so lots of desserts were flowing through the house for the guests. Lemon cake, berry pie, ice cream, etc. They looked amazing but it wasn't terrible passing them up. I certainly don't crave the sugar but the idea of eating it is was what I wanted. I ate a little extra fruit and called it good. 

As I have said before, food is psychological. We eat emotionally. We eat socially. Changing the way you eat is a study of the mind. You truly have to change the way you view food. You have to view food as lifesaving, nourishing, healing, powerful. Food is also beautiful and gracious. If you respect it, you are less apt to abuse it. Don't get me wrong, I love a good dessert and will be happy when I can have one again now and then but I enjoyed being at the party with my family and the fact that I didn't get the cake didn't ruin it. It has been interesting to me to see how this past 11 days has affected my thought process. I have done the  no sugar challenge before for 30 days. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. Now, I have added several other "no's" to the list and it has been easier. Why? Because I have changed the way I think. I reward myself with other sources of joy and love the way my body feels by feeding it nourishing foods. It is so worth it. I know this will be something I will always have to remind myself of. Food is just so addicting!

I have tried really hard to listen to what my body wants. When you are addicted to sugar, your body will be craving sugar but when you clean that out and reset the signals, you are better in tune with what it wants. At first, I craved more proteins; eggs and meats. Now, I am craving lighter foods and greens. Some mornings I need eggs. Some mornings I want light grains and smoothies. When I listen, I feel good. 


Breakfast: French toast oats, again. I love these! So easy and so filling. See the recipe on day 8. 

Lunch: Knowing we were having an early dinner, I went light with some hummus and cucumbers. I really was still full from the heavy meat the night before.

Dinner: Burgers would have been fine, sans the bun but I opted out of the meat. Instead, I enjoyed several tasty side dishes: 

My favorite thing at Liberty Market is the roasted sweet potato salad. Kara Bagley recreated this a few years ago and hit it dead on. I haven't made it since last Thanksgiving so I made a big bowl for my little treat. I ate it up! You can see the recipe here. I didn't have the chives but it was still great. 

My family loves coleslaw. I have always made it with raw milk and buttermilk but they didn't even say anything after it had been changed out with coconut milk and honey. There was a slight difference but still good. 

Dairy free Coleslaw

1/2 C. healthy mayo

1/4- 1/3 cup raw honey
1/2 C. coconut milk
2 1/2 T. lemon juice
1 1/2 T. white vinegar
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
8 cups finely chopped cabbage
1/4 C. shredded carrot
2 T. minced onion

Chop cabbage finely or shred. Combine mayo, honey, coconut milk, lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper in a large bowl and beat until smooth.

Add cabbage, carrots and onion. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or two before serving.

I enjoyed a big salad with some fresh strawberries and some herb roasted potatoes as well. Side dishes are great for a meal. 

Thanks for the recipes you are sending me. I look forward to trying them out. Here's to a good week! It is gardening day for me. I will post about that tomorrow along with some pest control info. I'm getting a little bored with these diet posts! 

Day 8.

Not a whole lot to report here. It went well. I am finally starting to really feel good. My stomach felt good after the first little bout of stomach whatever but the rest of me wasn't feeling great yet. Yesterday, I started to really feel good. I know if I ever slept more than 6 hours, I would be top notch but I am at least sleeping straight through those 6 hours. 

Today was mostly a repeat of yesterday's food with the exception of breakfast. I had left overs which was nice so I didn't have to cook all day.

Breakfast: Thanks to my friend, Marie, who is also doing this diet, I have a new breakfast recipe. I would have never thought of the combination but it was delicious! 

French toast oats. 1/4 cup gluten free oats (I use Bob's red mill) 1 cup water, dash of salt. Cook as usual. When it is done, add in 1 egg, beaten and cook until the egg is done. Add in whatever you want. Blueberries, pumpkin, spices, chia seeds, etc. I just added a little cinnamon, coconut sugar and coconut milk. Just a little. It was perfect. 

Thanks, Marie!

Lunch: Tuna salad, again.

Dinner: Costa Vida Salad, again!

In between: Apple with peanut butter. Coconut water.

Today begins the weekend. I have a hot date with my two little guys. They want Macaroni Grill. Gluten free pasta, marinara sauce, salad and NO BREAD. Ugh. No Macaroni rosemary bread? Rough one. I can do it. It was their pick. Saturday might be another day out with my girlfriend so who knows where that will be. Tough pickins. Sunday is a party at my house for my Husbands Bday. 

Stay Strong. I haven't weighed myself in a few days. I am trying to make it a surprise for myself but my clothes are getting loose. My stomach is as flat as it was pre kids. Maybe I will go buy a new pair of skinny jeans today! A pedicure is on taps for sure! I can't celebrate with desert so my toes will have to reap the benefits instead of my taste buds. 

Have a good friday! Here's a little gluten free, encouraging video for you. Click on this.

Day 7.

There was a little bit of a seven day itch this day. I sort of had the thought process of "why did I say a month" type thing. However, I pulled through and today has been fine. The problem was my hunger from the day before and a weak breakfast on day 7. But, my dinner made up for it and I feel just swell today. I even came home this afternoon to the smell of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, thanks to my daughter, and did just fine without them. The smell almost did me in. It was like fall and the holidays in one cute little muffin wrapper. 

The struggle with this diet isn't so much not being able to eat certain foods, it is the time it takes to plan it and cook it. I cook all the time but since I am also cooking for my other kids, I am making a few different options. I am a super busy lady right now so it can be hard if I am not on my game plan. Everything is homemade. I do that most the time anyways but this seems like it kicked it up a notch even more so. I am sure that if I did this long term, it would get easier but without corn, it cuts down so much more. I could have a taco for Pete's sake. I am glad this isn't a lifestyle for me. I will continue to eat less gluten and very rarely dairy or refined sugar but corn would be missed. Chips and salsa are important. 
As I was out and about shopping with my daughter this day and thinking how nice it would be to get a treat with her, I realized that it is the idea of the treat that I wanted and not the actual treat. There really wasn't one thing that my mouth wanted. Food is just such a social event. You have to change your thought process. I just focused on how nice it was to be out with my daughter and enjoyed a nice cup of ice water.

Day 7 food:

Breakfast: Way too busy. I had toast. 

Lunch: I had tuna salad on romaine. It was filling and flavorful. I used albacore tuna, Vegenaise, shredded carrots, onions, dill, salt and pepper, cucumbers and chopped apples in the tuna salad. I had a big bowl full.

Snack: Green smoothie

Dinner: Mock Costa Vida Salad. There is a little bit of a sad story here. I had been thinking all week about this salad and how I was going to get the gluten/dairy free sweet pork from Costa Vida and make the rest at home and when I got up to the counter, I realized, duh! It has sugar in it! Ugh. My craving was shot down. I ordered me the grilled chicken. I could have done that at home easily. But, it did save a minute. Not the same flavor but still wonderful.

Here's how it went down in minutes:

Costa Vida grilled chicken (by the way, all their meats and salsa's and sauces are gluten free and most dairy free)
Black Beans
Romaine
Lime Cilantro rice. Recipe here. (substitute butter)
Creamy tomatillo dressing. (half vegenaise, half roasted tomatillo salsa. I used Fresh and Easy brand. It is sugar free.
Avocado
Tomato

I ate it again for dinner tonight. It was sooooo yummy! Dairy, corn, gluten, sugar and soy free. You are not missing a thing. Well, chips and salsa would have been nice. 

Another little thing I like right now is:

Since I have only been drinking water, a little something different is welcome. I am now craving this all the time. It is such a good drink and is only pure coconut water. No sugar. No additives. It replenishes electrolytes and gives you a little lift especially after you have spent hours outside at ball games. 

I am writing this so late that day 8 has already happened. I will catch you up tomorrow. My belly is full. I feel good.