Benefits of beets, beet juice and beet kvass

I'm writing this post to further continue my last post that contained the beet kvass recipe. I didn't have time to explain the benefits of beets and lacto-fermentation. But I wanted to do that because beets are amazing little roots with so many health benefits. Many people think they don't like beets, but I wonder how many of those people haven't even tried them as adults!! And maybe once you find out all the nutrition in them, you may be less reluctant to "develop a taste." And, selfishly, I'm hoping to convince my husband to drink the kvass I've got brewing!! :)

Beets are pure medicine for the blood! They are a blood cleanser and blood alkalizer. They lower blood pressure and decrease the risk of blood clots because they are converted to nitric acid in the body which works as a vasodilator. This means they actually help blood vessels open allowing blood and oxygen to flow more smoothly! Pretty impressive, I'd say!

Beets are also a liver cleanser--a perfect tonic, you might say. Beet Kvass is a good treatment for kidney stones.

Our family has enjoyed beets for years. Well, enjoyed may be too strong of a words for the other members of my family. They have eaten them, but I definitely enjoy them!! I love to add them to my juicing regiment as well.

But when I recently learned about beet kvass and the lacto-fermentation of beets, I was intrigued. I know that fermented food acts as strong probiotics to produce good gut flora--which is essential to a healthy lifestyle.

"Professor Zabel observed that sick people always lack digestive juices, not only during the acute phase of their illness but also for a longtime afterwards. In addition, he never saw a cancer victim that had a healthy intestinal flora....Thus, the different lacto-fermented foods are a valuable aid to the cancer patient. They are rich in vitamins and minerals and contain as well enzymes that cancer patients lack." ~~Annelies Schoneck Des Crudites Toute L'Annee  (Excerpt taken from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.)

Beet juice also contains quercetin, resveratrol, and other powerful antioxidants. Quercetin has been linked to supporting the immune system, clearing excess congestion, supporting bone health, and may aid in fighting mild allergy problems. My oldest son takes quercetin quite often during different times of the year. Quercetin and resveratrol are both polyphenols. Many scientists have realized that polyphenols are among the most effective natural agents for helping to prevent some of the chronic diseases of aging, including cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative diseases—and perhaps for helping to slow the aging process itself.

So, after all of that, tell me you're not willing to even try it??? Come on! What do you have to lose? It's some pretty powerful stuff. You are what you eat, remember? People don't say that so much anymore, but it's still just as true! 

*The difference between lacto-fermentation and regular fermentation is that lacto-fermenation produces lactic acid; whereas regular fermentation produces alcohol.*

Beet Kvass:My first batch

I recently found a recipe for beet kvass--a fermented beet drink. I'm so excited about this as beets have so much nutrition and tons of vitamins. To see the benefits of beets, fermentation and beet kvass, see this post.

Recipe:
2 quart jar with lid
3 medium beets, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 tsp of sea salt
2 tsp of whey (or just double the salt instead of using whey)
1 lemon sliced
Chopped ginger
Filtered water

Put all ingredients into jar and fill with filtered water. Leave on counter for at least 2 days. Longer for more fermentation. I'm planning to leave 2 days and test. But probably will leave 3. After you've got it like you want it, put it in the frige.

The original recipe I saw didn't have ginger or lemons. Someone suggested those. I was going to add tumeric as well. I thought I had some but I didn't.

The beet greens I'm looking forward to juicing when my juicer comes Monday!!! (Hopefully Monday!!)

Homemade tortillas and hummus

Okay, yum! For real. I decided the other day that I needed to make more use of my dehydrator so I came up with a tortilla recipe. Yes, all by myself. (I'm a little proud because it was so good!) Here's the recipe if you're interested.

Yellow pepper quinoa tortillas:

2 cups cooked quinoa
2 yellow peppers cut into strips
1/4 cup chia seeds
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

I halfed the recipe and put half of it in the food processor at a time until the yellow pepper is all mixed in. Spread thinly over paraflex sheets or parchment paper and put in dehydrator at 135 degrees for 3 1/2 hours. I wanted to try with red peppers but I only had one.

One of the tortillas was a little crunchy (probably a little thin) so I broke it up into chips and ate it with salsa!!

Then I made zucchini hummus today. If you've never made it, here's the recipe I use:

Raw Zucchini Hummus Recipe

For this recipe you will need:

Vita-mix (I think it works best for this recipe)
3-4 medium zucchini’s
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c lemon juice
1/2 c + 2 T of raw organic tahini
1.5 t salt
2 t cumin
4 cloves of garlic
Paprika to garnish

Cut up zucchini and blend them first then add everything else.

So for lunch I was so excited to try my creation!! I thickly spread the hummus over a tortilla, added tomatoes, lettuce and turkey. It was so flavorful. Better than I even expected!!!

Broiled Sole with buttery sauce

I should've taken a picture of the fish! I'm so bad about that!! But I didn't. So I'll just have to tell you what I did with it! :) I bought frozen sole (wild caught) from Trader Joe's. It was quite inexpensive, and I'm trusting that it was wild caught like it claimed!! Next time I'll buy two packs. It was just enough for our family with one, but I'm sure my husband and oldest would've eaten plenty more if given the chance! Plus, Cedar didn't eat tonight because he was sick.

So here's what I did. It was simple and fast and turned out really yummy!

1 pkg. frozen wild caught or fresh wild caught sole (or other mild white fish)--a little over a pound.
4 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup white wine
juice of one lemon
thyme to taste
Melt butter and whisk last four ingredients together for sauce.

Line pan with raised sides with aluminum foil. Place fish (fresh or defrosted) over foil. Pour buttery sauce over fish. Place in broiler for 10-12 minutes or until fish is flaky.

Perfectly light, yummy and healthy!

Heavenly Healthy Waffles

I know "heavenly" and "healthy" are not too often used in the same title for waffles!! But you can be sure it's deserved here. I made these babies last night for our small group, and they were a hit. They are grain-free, dairy-free, and sweetened with only a touch of honey. Cedar and I finished off the last two this morning!! We ate them up with a serving of the raspberries from the bushes in our backyard!! Can't beat that! These waffles would be delicious with homemade whipped cream (made from coconut whipping cream, of course.) But we just used butter and pure maple syrup last night. This morning Cedar and I had them with butter and agave. Any way you have them--they are delish!! Here's my adapted version of this recipe (with a few changes for the better--IMO)

3 cups almond flour
4 eggs, whisked
1 1/4 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 Tbs arrowroot flour
3 Tbs honey
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Whisk together eggs and milk. Add almond flour and mix well. Stir in shredded coconut, arrowroot flour and the rest of the ingredients. My mixture was too thick to pour so I spooned it onto the hot waffle iron. But if you want to add more milk, feel free!

Meatballs!!

I have children with different tastes. Some of you who personally know my children know this is an *understatement* about one of my children in particular!! :) Whenever I say "all my kids loved this" just know that that means 5 out of the 6 unless I specifically say HER!! So in this case--all of my kids loved these (except the one!) I have yet to find anything much beyond plain roasted chicken and peanut butter sandwiches for this one!! But anyway, my others devoured these. They made 24 good size meatballs. If you have a smaller family you can 1/2 the recipe or freeze them (I always love that option!!) I actually ended up freezing 7 of them. I figured I could give them to the kids as a quick meal one night when Jon and I are going out. They wouldn't be a whole meal for anyone (unless a couple of them were gone) but they would be some good protein!! So here they are--

The Meatballs
2 lbs. ground beef
1 lb. mild italian sausage
3 celery stalks, diced
1/4 white onion, diced (could use more, but my kids like lesser amounts of onion)
2 carrots, diced
3 eggs
1/2 cup almond meal
1 Tbs. dried oregano
1 Tbs. garlic powder
4 or 5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
pinch of cayenne pepper
sea salt and black pepper to taste

I put the celery, onion, and carrots in the food processor. It gives the taste and nutrition without the kids seeing the chunks of orange and such in the meatball!! :) Plus, it's a lot easier than dicing!! Also, next time I'll leave out the cayenne. I liked it, but it was a bit spicy for a couple of mine. Ones that would have probably eaten another one but just couldn't because it was spicy. :) This wasn't the case with the baby though. He ate two of them--spiciness and all!! Use your hands to mix all ingredients together. Form the mixture into large meatballs.  (I probably did between a golf ball and a baseball size.) Place them on the bottom of a crock pot, stacking if necessary. (I cooked them on the stovetop in a deep pan on low for about 2 hours.)


The Sauce
16 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 fresh tomato, chopped
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
5-6 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
sea salt and pepper to taste

Cover the meatballs with the tomato sauce and cook 6-8 hours on low. (In the crock pot.)

America's drug of choice

So I've started on another 30 day kick. For some reason I feel the need to do things for 30 days!! :) Although since I started Aug. 1, it will probably be 31 days since there's 31 days in the month. My plan this month has been to do all raw for the first part of the day (breakfast, lunch, snacks) and then Paleo for dinner. If you don't know what Paleo is, you can click the link. I'm not going to take too much time to explain it here. Basically, it's eating only meats, veggies, fruit, seeds and nuts. What that means is NO dairy, NO grains, NO sugar. It makes sense to me that this way of eating would be good for our bodies. Well, it is good for my body anyway. I'm still convinced that there is no ONE right way for everyone to eat. But I know that grains do bad things to me!! Especially wheat and gluten-filled grains. But I'm pretty sure any and all of them could do some damage!! :) But no matter what your body type is, no matter what "diet" is best for you, I can promise you that we would all be better off without SUGAR!


Yes, that is America's drug of choice. I have heard that it was a drug, and I've come to definitely believe it. I used to think and I've heard others say *God made sugar cane so surely it's okay for us to eat it in it's natural, unrefined state.* So as long as you use "pure cane sugar" you're fine.... right? Funny thing is--it does the same bad stuff to your body and keeps you in a dependent state on it. Lately I've started thinking about other "natural" things that God put on this earth. Hmmmm, the tobacco plant is natural, but we shouldn't smoke it or we're in danger of lung cancer. We pretty much all agree on that one. What about natural marijuana? That's something that most of us would agree that we shouldn't smoke as well, right? There are poisonous berries, mushrooms, and plants. Those are all in the natural world, but it would do our bodies harm to eat them. So why are we so convinced that *God gave us sugar cane so it couldn't be too bad!*? 


Think about it. We hear people say all the time, "I just have a sweet tooth" or "I just NEED a little something sweet after a meal" or "I just feel better when I have a little sugar." We say these things and think of them as just normal. It's just part of someone's personality. One person likes sweet, another person likes salty. It's just likes and dislikes, right? The problem is that sugar wreaks havoc on our bodies! The first and most noticeable example of this in America is that it makes us FAT! Look at Americans today. Statistics say that 65% of Americans are obese!! That's crazy ridiculous!! Now, I'm not blaming that all on sugar. The fact that people are lazy doesn't help! But look at the rise of diabetes in the last three decades. In 1980, there were just under 500,000 new cases diagnosed. In 2009, there were almost 2 million!! We've got to take a look at this huge jump and figure out what we're doing as a culture to cause this! 


According to this website the average American consumes 2-3 lbs. of sugar a week. In the last 20 years, our consumption has jumped from 26 lbs. per person per year to a whopping 135 lbs. per person per year!! Is it any wonder why diabetes has shot up?? And going back even further, before the turn of the century the average person only consumed 5 lbs. of sugar per year!! That was back before we had the obesity problems, the cardiovascular problems, and the cancer that we have today. 


There is such a long list of things that sugar can do to our bodies, that I'm just going to copy and paste them from this website right here so that you don't have to go look for yourself! :)

• Sugar can suppress the immune system.
• Sugar can upset the body's mineral balance.
• Sugar can contribute to hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, concentration difficulties, and crankiness in children.
• Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
• Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
• Sugar can reduce helpful high density cholesterol (HDLs).
• Sugar can promote an elevation of harmful cholesterol (LDLs).
• Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
• Sugar contributes to a weakened defense against bacterial infection.
• Sugar can cause kidney damage.
• Sugar can increase the risk of coronary heart disease.
• Sugar may lead to chromium deficiency.
• Sugar can cause copper deficiency.
• Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
• Sugar can increase fasting levels of blood glucose.
• Sugar can promote tooth decay.
• Sugar can produce an acidic stomach.
• Sugar can raise adrenaline levels in children.
• Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
• Sugar can speed the aging process, causing wrinkles and grey hair.
• Sugar can increase total cholesterol.
• Sugar can contribute to weight gain and obesity.
• High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
• Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
• Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
• Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.
• Sugar leads to decreased glucose tolerance.
• Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
• Sugar can increase systolic blood pressure.
• Sugar causes food allergies.
• Sugar can cause free radical formation in the bloodstream.
• Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
• Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
• Sugar can overstress the pancreas, causing damage.
• Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.
• Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
• Sugar can cause liver cells to divide, increasing the size of the liver.
• Sugar can increase the amount of fat in the liver.
• Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in thekidney.
• Sugar can cause depression.
• Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention.
• Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance.
• Sugar can cause hypertension.
• Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
• Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha and theta brain waves, which can alter the mind's ability to think clearly.
• Sugar can increase blood platelet adhesiveness which increases risk of blood clots and strokes.
• Sugar can increase insulin responses in those consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets.
• Sugar increases bacterial fermentation in the colon.

Now, believe me, I'm just as guilty as anyone. I known a lot of this stuff for a long time. I've even been off sugar several times over the last few years. It's a lot easier for me to go off then it is for me to make my kids go completely off!! They tend to buck me a little more than I do myself. But it's what I know I should do--for their sake and well being. Now, they are pretty active kids so they burn it pretty quickly. There's not one of them that's overweight or unhealthy. But that's no excuse. It's my responsibility right now to teach them healthy habits for a lifetime. My 14 year old is actually the best about sugar intake. He's just naturally a pretty healthy eater. The food he chooses is usually pretty healthy. Most of my others will eat healthy food when it's put in front of them. But most of them will also choose fast food (pretty much Chick-fil-A or Jason's Deli are the only choices for that these days) over eating at home. Hmmm, hits a little close to home there!! I think that's a learned habit!

So once again I'm off of sugar. It's going on five days now. I had some cloudiness the first couple of days, but I'm doing better. But I promise, go cold turkey off of sugar (if you are one who finds you "have a sweet tooth") and tell me you aren't addicted! Sugar feeds yeast in our bodies which can lead to all sorts of problems--starting in early infancy. Each time I do this I say, "I'm never going back!" And here I am, once again. I know this about myself. I am an *ALL OR NOTHING* kind of girl. I have to have the "rules" to live by. If I tell myself that I'm going to do a certain kind of diet for 30 days, I'll do it. I won't back down. I have the will power. Even if I tell myself I'm going to stop eating something for good, I can do it. I haven't eaten gluten since October, and even though it's a pain sometimes, I don't give in. But if I give in once--if I tell myself I'll just "watch" it--you can forget it!! It's over. So I know that I will have to tell myself *no more sugar forever.* That kind of hurts right now. It makes my heart a little sad--okay, a lot sad! But we'll see how it goes.

I've always been frustrated that I'm not one of those girls who just loses weight easily, that I'm not naturally skinny no matter what I eat. You know those girls you just want to hit?? Well, I guess I'm thankful (sort of) now. If I was naturally skinny and didn't have to think about it, I don't think I would have set out on the journey that I have. I don't think I would have been so determined to figure out this nutrition thing. I know I wouldn't be so determined to cut sugar out of my diet! But since I am, I think I'm the better off for it! 

Cutting out gluten is one thing--cutting out sugar is another! God will have to be the one to give me strength for that one!! He is the ultimate end in my quest for health. He is the giver of life, perfect healthy life. His ways are best. His word is best and has the answers--even for our health. 

Raw "dessert"

I made some raw cookies yesterday in the dehydrator. I got this dehydrator a few months ago and posted once on here about the fruit leathers we made. They weren't such a huge success because they were very tart. I guess I need to work on the sweetness without sugar!! But yesterday I wanted to try some cookies in the dehydrator. They are so yummy and healthy all at the same time. The kids love them!! And I can even give them to Cedar knowing that they are good for him--full of live enzymes.  I forgot to take pictures until I spread the mixture out on the paraflexx sheet so sorry. And, I never measure so sorry about that as well!!

Ingredients:

Sesame seeds

raw coconut

raw dates

I probably used about 1/2 cup of sesame seeds (maybe a little less) and soaked them in water (just enough to cover them) for about 2-3 hours. Sesame seeds don't get "gelatiny" in water the way flax seeds do but the water make them "sprouted" and keep them a little sticky. Spoon the sesame seeds out into a food processor, add coconut (maybe 1/4 cup?) and about 6 big dates. Add some water from the sesame seeds as needed to keep mixture moist and sticking together. Process until everything is mixed well. The only thing I'll do differently next time is probably make the dates into a "paste" in the vitamix first. The food processor left bigger chunks than I wanted, and even though the taste was even, I'd like for there to be a more even look to it--just aesthetically speaking.

Then I spread the mixture out on a "Paraflexx" sheet for the dehydrator.

Then I scored it with a knife into squares.

Then I put it in the dehydrator. Raw foods should not be cooked above 105-116 degrees (depending on who you ask.) But the air in the dehydrator can be higher than that the first couple of hours because it takes a while for it to get warmed up. So I put the temp dial on 145 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours. After that I turn it down to 105. From the charts and examples I've looked at, the temp of the food never gets above 90 degrees doing it this way--which is the important part anyway. This speeds up the process by hours depending on what you are drying. I put this in yesterday around 2:30 at 145 degrees.  After 1 1/2 hours I turned the temp to 105. I took them out last night before bed at around 11. I would have liked to have left it in another couple of hours but not all night so I decided to get it out then. The cookies are a tiny bit chewier than I would like--but I've had them that way out of the bag as well. I do like these pretty crunchy. But Breck, Cama-Jane and Cedar have loved them!! Below is my lunchtime "dessert" with almond butter and coffee!! Yummy!! Breck enjoyed them with almond butter as well, but CJ liked hers plain.

Happy Eating!!

Chicken Strips

So I've got another gluten free recipe. It's nothing earth shattering--just chicken strips!! :) But sometimes that's what I need--something easy and quick with not much thought. I hadn't tried them yet because I didn't know exactly what flours to use, but I just decided to go for it tonight. I mixed one part millet flour and one part sweet sorghum flour. I added celtic sea salt and Old Bay seasoning (yes, I checked, and it's gluten free as well.) I always dip my chicken in egg first to keep the batter on really well. I used sunflower oil in the deep fryer to fry them in. (Yes, I know deep frying is a horrible thing, but sometimes you just gotta fry something up!!) They were really good--especially with homemade honey mustard!!

Gluten free breaded Grouper

I like to share gluten free meals sometimes when I find something that works for us and everyone likes. Tonight was one of those nights so I thought I would share. We were down at the park downtown for much of the afternoon. It was a beautiful, breezy 81 degrees here today--a much needed break from the low to mid 90's we've had lately. So the seven of us took a picnic to the park and had a nice day together. The playground was actually closed for painting over the next couple of weeks, but we ate, climbed trees, played shuffleboard and then played in the game room. So we were packing up to go home and thought about the fact that I had nothing planned for supper! I remembered the nice little fresh fish place that sells wild caught fish that they've caught that morning. My family (especially my oldest son) loves fish, but I don't cook it too often because I only want to cook wild caught. If you are not familiar with the dangers of farmed fish, please see here and here. Or just google it, and you'll get plenty of info! While wild caught is more expensive, I think after you've done a bit of research, you'll agree it's worth it!

So I went over the fish market and bought 1 1/2 lbs. of black grouper. Here's what I did with it. I didn't measure anything so I can't give any measurements, but I usually don't measure stuff so that's not unusual. I got my skillet ready with olive oil and a few squirts of lemon juice. In a bowl, I made a mixture of parmesan cheese, millet flour, thyme and oregano. I cut the fish into nice size fillets (because wild caught usually comes in bigger chunks--you'll need a good fillet knife) and coated them in the parmesan mixture. Then I placed them in the skillet. It took me two rounds to make all the fish. I try to only flip it once during the cooking time. Pan fry until flaky.

Along with the fish we had roasted red skinned potatoes roasted in olive oil, garlic salt, oregano and thyme. We also had chard sauteed with garlic and onions. I usually use fresh tomatoes and mushrooms in this saute, but I didn't have any. I thought I had some canned diced tomatoes, but I didn't so it ended up just the chard. I liked it, though, because the onions caramelized and it was yummy. The kids weren't as impressed, but they ate it. Cama-Jane loved it though because she slurped up every bit on her plate.

Each of the kids (except Liza-Hill, of course) had seconds of the fish and potatoes. Trand was very disappointed that everyone liked it so much because he was looking forward to eating everyone's share!

Yummy meal, healthy and gluten free!! Just my style!

Fruit Leathers

Today I finally tried out my food dehydrator that has been sitting on my kitchen counter for about two months now! I even sat down and read the book that came with it so I'm very excited to try some more things in the upcoming future, but today I tried something really easy--fruit leathers (or "fruit roll-ups" as the brand name goes.) I didn't take pictures along the way, but I did take them of the finished product.

I did one plain strawberry--for my picky girl, and then I did two more with strawberries, banana and vanilla yogurt added to it. I have to say after tasting the strawberry/banana, I think that the plain strawberry will be better! There was too strong of a banana taste. It was fine, but I don't know how my kids will like it. I think they'll love the plain one, though.

My "recipe" for the plain one was 5 strawberries and a tiny bit of water (didn't measure it) and a tiny squeeze of agave in the Vita Mix and pureed. Pour it on a paraflex sheet for a food dehydrator and spread it (thinner in the middle so the outside edges don't get brittle.) Put it in the dehydrator for 6-8 hours on 135 degrees. (Although it's still considered raw because even though the air temp gets hotter than 118 degrees, the food doesn't.) It took 6 hours for the plain one because there was less liquid. My "recipe" for the other was one banana (maybe do only 1/2 if you want the banana flavor--would probably be better), 6-7 strawberries, 3 to 4 spoonfuls of vanilla yogurt, and a tiny squeeze of agave. Puree in the Vita Mix and pour. This made two leathers.

After it was done. These took about 8 hours because they had more liquid in them.

Then I rolled them up in plastic wrap (probably really bad, but we plan on eating them tomorrow) to keep them fresh. I need to figure out a better way of storing--maybe parchment paper??

One thing that I do think is essential, though, is to have a good dehydrator. I got an Excalibur which is top of the line, but I was told it was worth it. I think that's probably true. Now I've never made these with any other dehydrator, but I was told by others that they had trouble getting their's to dry evenly--some parts were chewy while others were hard and brittle--and that they had trouble with them breaking while trying to get off the sheets. I didn't have any of this, and it was our first time (plus, I had absolutely no clue what I was doing!!) So with total ease, we pulled this off, and they are a great snack for the kids and something different than just pulling out the strawberries or bananas again.

Roasted pear and blueberry chicken salad

Tonight's supper (before the goat cheese--completely forgot to put it on!)

Roasted pear and blueberry chicken salad with raspberry walnut vinaigrette.

There is the completed salad!! So yummy!! 

Jon has started P90X again because he's gained back just about all the weight he lost last year!! Poor thing. He's just like me! All or nothing! So he's been up before the crack of dawn exercising like crazy (and puking like crazy) and trying to eat right again. Last time I got up and made omelets every morning for him, but last time I was sleeping a full nights sleep beforehand!! I average getting up at least twice a night these days so I'm not really raring to go cook breakfast for him a 7am. So I've been up at 7:30 to make him a protein smoothie and send him off to work. It works. I'm sure he'd much rather have the omelet, though. I'll have to do that on Saturday! :)

Cheesy drop biscuits

A friend of mine sent me this recipe the other day, and I decided to try it out. These were so yummy and even liked by [most of] my kids! I was even able to give Cedar his first pieces of bread because the recipe is with coconut flour--not a grain! He, of course, thought it was wonderful! We ate them with whole roasted chicken (plain, of course--my kids' favorite!), long grain brown rice (cooked in chicken stock makes it so much yummier) and roasted beets. It was nice to add some bread back into our gluten free meals. The boys especially made several comments about how long it had been since we'd had bread at a meal! :)

3 farm fresh eggs
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/3 C diced onions
1 C cheddar cheese
1/3 C coconut flour
1/4 C liquid ghee (I used melted butter instead)

Preheat oven to 400. Mix all ingredients, drop onto cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Recipe said it made 6 biscuits, but I got 8 really good sized ones. I don't know who's eating those huge 6 biscuits!! :)

The recipe also said to reheat them, you could fry them in coconut oil in a pan. I'm sure that would be good for breakfast, but we don't ever have leftovers at our house!!

Best pretzels ever

Seriously, the best pretzels I've ever eaten--gluten filled or gluten free!! (and I was not paid for the advertisement!) :)

Even better, try dipping them in organic peanut butter....mmmmm, so good!!

Two gluten free recipes

I thought I would share a couple of recipes that I use quite often. Whether you are living gluten free because of Celiac or intolerances, or if you just choose to live that way because it's a healthier lifestyle, these are two great recipes. The first is a yummy "dessert" smoothie. Usually I make my smoothies for the purpose of getting whole nutritious foods into my kids with fresh fruit, greens and vegetables. But sometimes I just really need a sweet snack--but I shouldn't be eating sugar with Cedar. Here's what I've come up with that's totally yummy, packed with protein, potassium and antioxidents, and gluten, dairy, yeast, and sugar free (except for the little amount of natural sugar in the banana.) The second is just a traditional white sauce that can be used in anything--chicken pot pie filling, used "alfredo" style with noodles, used to thicken soups, sauces and gravies, etc. Last night I just made the "filling" of chicken pot pie with chicken, white sauce, broccoli, carrots and mushrooms with no "pie" part! The kids love it!

Peanocolate Smoothie

1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 banana
heaping spoonful of peanut butter (more if you want!) :)
1 Tbsp. raw cocao powder
1 tsp. stevia (or sweetened to your taste)
handful of ice cubes

Put all ingredients in a high powered blender and blend away! So yummy and creamy and SWEET!! Which is what I tend to crave--and that's hard when you're on a no sugar diet!!

"Un"Traditional White Sauce


4 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. tapioca flour
2 Tbsp. sorghum flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups milk (you can use dairy, goat, almond, rice, coconut--whatever--or use a mixture!!)

Melt butter in a saucepan on stove. Add flour one Tbsp. at a time, whisking immediately to keep from clumping. After mixture is creamy add one cup of milk, whisking until creamy. Then add the second cup of milk. Turn burner very low and let simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes, whisking occasionally. Mixture will thicken with time. For thicker sauce add less milk. Also, this is enough sauce for my size family. You could easily half this recipe. You can also use any kind of flour. I have just found that this works really well. I have wanted to use millet but haven't done that yet.

Pan Seared Grouper with Mango Salsa

I made a yummy dish tonight. My oldest loves fish and has been very disappointed lately with his lack of choices of food so I decided to get him some fish. I don't cook fish too often. That's not because I don't like it or don't know how. It's because I know that I should buy "wild caught" fish instead of "farmed" fish--which means waaaaay more money that I want to pay for it!! But I figured he was worth it so I got some today. Anyway, thought I would share the recipe because it was very good--and very easy!!

1 mango diced
1 papaya diced
3/4 - 1 C pineapple diced
1/2 red pepper diced (and sauteed)
2 tsp. diced jalepeno
fresh cilantro (I didn't put too much b/c my husband doesn't like it)
juice of two limes

Grouper filets
olive oil

Mix the first ingredients for the salsa and set aside.

Pour olive oil in cast iron pan. Sear filets about 3 -4 minutes on each side. Top with salsa and serve.

So yummy and good for you too!!

Food allergy update

Well, the baby's food allergies seem to be subsiding. I've added back other grains (besides wheat, spelt, oats or anything that has gluten) and most other things, but I haven't added dairy yet. Partly because of the sugars in dairy--and I'm still not doing sugars because of the yeast issue--and partly because I wonder if he is going to react to the dairy itself since it's such a high allergen. I haven't been eating yeast either because of the yeast issue. So as of now, his bottom is pretty clear.

I do have to confess, though, that I failed the other day!! I hadn't eaten sugar since Christmas. I have put my boys on the no gluten diet (and my oldest on no gluten, dairy, or yeast--and very limited sugar.) But my seven year old is just doing no gluten because he is always having some skin issue or another. Anyway, he has a sweet tooth so I made him some "Muddy Buddies" out of Rice Chex, chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar!! Let me tell you--those are my absolute FAVORITE!! So I decided one isolated time would be okay. I ate some. It wasn't nearly as much as I normally would have, but I ate some. Oh my word--within 45 minutes I completely crashed!! I could not keep from going to sleep. It was the craziest thing I've ever felt because as I was sooooo tired, I was also on a huge sugar buzz. So in my drowsy, sleep state I was flying high!! Crazy! So thankful that the baby decided to take a long nap that day. I felt really guilty when Jon came home and I was sacked out in the bed!! Needless to say, Baby's bottom showed it for a couple of days. That yeast popped right back out there. But it's gone now!!

I have been taking some stuff called Yeast Assassin (Lite) from Beeyoutiful.com. There is a whole regimen that they recommend doing--about 5 or 6 different supplements with it. I'm taking most of them but already had a good probiotic so I'm not taking that from them. I think it's really helping to get the yeast out of my system (and baby's in turn.)

My chiropractor tested him the other day for a couple of things that I eat a lot of to see if he was reacting to that because the spots wouldn't seem to go away. Turns out, he's allergic to APPLES and SPINACH!! So after taking those out of my diet, he is really doing well. After a month or so of the Yeast Assassin I plan to start the dairy slowly and see what happens.

I'll let you know!! (And I'll post later about my older boys diets as well. They aren't too excited about the whole experience!!)

Starting the Journey--Food Allergies

I haven't posted in a while because I was out of town at my parents' house for 10 days. We had a great time and even left one child there for another week! What a blessing to be able to do that with home schooling!! While I was there, I met with a DO (Doctor of Osteopathy) that my mama goes to. He was great to talk to!! He is so knowledgeable, and I felt like I could have sat and talked for hours with him. I did stay almost two hours for the appointment!! Someone cancelled behind me so we just talked! Anyway, #6 has been having some issues, and I am now embarking on the new world of food allergies!

I've known since October that he was allergic to gluten. He developed some eczema on his legs, and I knew that gluten was usually the culprit. I stopped eating gluten (since the only food he was getting was breastmilk) and the eczema went away. Problem solved, right? Not exactly. Initially, it worked. But then more problems developed.

He had a yeast infection in his diaper area that was getting worse and worse. By December it was bad no matter what I put on it. I tried mixing breastmilk and probiotics, oregano and olive oil with probiotics, and even nystatin!! Nothing worked so I knew I needed to cut out sugar as well. The prospect of no sugar or gluten was not a fun one so I waited until after Christmas. I know that I upped my sugar intake when I started gluten free because it was the easiest stuff to grab on the run. Sugar feeds yeast. So I knew I needed to cut it out.

After four or five days of no sugar (including most fruit) the yeast started looking better. By the time I got to see the DO at mama's, the yeast was mostly gone, but it looked like there was more eczema underneath! I couldn't believe it, and didn't want to!! But the doctor confirmed it.

So now I've been on the "Elimination Diet" since Jan. 6. I've taken everything out of my diet that could be allergy producing--gluten (wheat), any other grains, sugar, dairy, nuts, soy, mushrooms, corn, bananas or other high sugar fruit, etc. So basically I'm eating meat, some veggies, and some fruit.

The doctor muscle tested #6 and me and found yeast in both of our GI tracts. I believe this came as a by product of pregnancy and then antibiotics that I had to take during labor because I was GBS+. I always have yeast infections when I'm pregnant (they are very common and easily attainable during pregnancy when your pH balance is off) and this time it was worse than usual. Antibiotics can cause yeast because they throw off the flora in your gut. They get rid of all bacteria--which means the good along with the bad! I tried to take probiotics, but I probably wasn't as diligent as I should have been. All that to say that the baby developed it as well, and now it was showing!!

Some articles that I've read have shown that yeast can cause eczema as well so maybe that's our answer. Maybe the initial reaction of the eczema disappearing after I stopped gluten was because all those products also have yeast. But then when I ate more sugar, it came back. I don't know! I'm still trying to figure it all out. But for now, I'm still on the elimination diet. Another idea is dairy. I know that can cause it as well. These are the main culprits for most food allergies--gluten, dairy and yeast.

The eczema is getting better. It's completely gone from his stomach and only a little on the backs of his legs and buttocks. It should be!! I'm not eating anything!! :)

I've always been thankful for no food allergies in my kids (or so I thought--I think my other boys have them now as well.) My SIL and other good friends have had to deal with them, and I've always admired their tenaciousness when it comes to following through. So I'm following in their footsteps and will be asking a lot of questions along the way. Now, just one more thing my life that I have to spend tons of time researching and educating myself about. *Sigh*

So I'll be posting about my journey periodically--interesting finds, successes, and failures--as well as good recipes. I'm so thankful for my SIL and friend from college that send me recipes from time to time. They have both been on this journey for longer than me, and I am grateful for their help in answering my questions and helping me think things through.

If anyone is interested, here is a great website about food intolerances. Most of us have them (75%) and they show up in all different ways--things that you may have been dealing with for years and didn't think anything about. (Itchy skin, chronic runny nose, dandruff, asthma, headaches, stomach issues, etc.) Check it out and see if you can live an easier life!! :)

Almond Joy Pie

Here's a recipe that I "sort of" invented for a gluten free Thanksgiving pie. I had seen the ingredients but not in a pie, and I had no idea of the amounts! :) So #4 and I played and fiddled and tasted until we got it right. We had a great time!! :) And it was very yummy. So several people have asked me for the recipe, and I thought I'd just post it here. If you're gluten free or just want a healthier alternative this Christmas, here ya go. It's all raw except for the maple syrup--which I guess is debatable. I've heard that it is an ingredient in some raw cookbooks, but when I looked it up online most of what I found said it couldn't be raw because it is heated too much in the process of making it. For me, it wasn't a big deal either way because I'm not doing all raw right now anyway. Oh, and you can choose what kind of coconut you want. I just used already sweetened coconut because I didn't want to have to do one more step. But if you want to use unsweetened shredded coconut and sweeten it yourself, that would be great!! Let me know how you sweeten your coconut really well.

filling:
3/4 C coconut oil
3/4 C maple syrup
1 C raw cacoa powder
3 T raw honey
dash salt
shredded coconut

crust:
2 C almonds
1/2 C dates
1/4 C maple syrup

For filling, put all ingredients (except coconut) in a VitaMix or high powered blender and mix until smooth and creamy--about 30 to 45 seconds.

For crust, put all almonds (reserve 8 whole ones) into food processor and process on high until you get a powder. You may need to fish out a few big pieces and put them back in until they are all powdered. Do the same for the dates. Mix almond powder and date powder with maple syrup in a bowl. Press into a pie crust.

Sprinkle a layer of shredded coconut on top of the crust then pour the filling in. Sprinkle a thick layer of coconut on the top of the filling and then place 8 almonds around--one for each piece.