Dinner

Well, as of Day 21 we are doing fine. There have been a few bumps, but nothing major. We did take Friday night off and Drew, Ben & I all had a chocolate from the chocolate fetish. Oh so yummy. :) More than avoiding sugar and processed foods, my problem has been more finding things to cook that don't involve wheat, spelt, rice, dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, sour cream) and strawberries and blueberries. :) Tonight we had a good night though. :)

Afternoon Snack: Guacamole

2 avocados
2 cloves of garlic
1 inch of jalapeno (I took the seeds out)
1 tomatilla (optional, I just love the flavor)
2 T purple onion
juice from one lime
1 roma tomato (I look the seeds out to make it less watery)
salt

Chop it all up, mix it together and break out the corn chips. Naomi couldn't get enough. I don't know if there is anything better than fresh guacamole.

For dinner we had pan fried Pork Chops with olive oil, salt, pepper and sage.

And then THIS spaghetti squash recipe. We obviously omitted the feta, and I didn't have basil, we used tomatoes, spinach and olives. But you could really use anything. Ben like it, and Naomi loved it. (I think this is pretty standard when it comes to food for these two).

And for dessert we whipped some peanut-butter-banana smoothies. Yummy!

2 Bananas
8 ice cubes
1 big scoop of peanut (or almond) butter
unsweetened almond milk
a tsp ish of agave nectar.

What Are We Eating???

After some of you read a recent post about our 100 Day Food Challenge/food allergies and wondered WHAT ARE WE EATING?

Well, with a husband that is out of town my motivation to cook is slim to none, but we do eat a lot of eggs, oatmeal (raisins, cinnamon, apples etc.) And I love my vitamix! Kiwi, banana, orange, carrot, tomato spinach smoothies that the kids suck down! And peanut butter/banana/almond milk smoothies for a treat or 1/3 cup nuts (or peanut butter) 1/3 c. honey and 1 c oats blended and then rolled in sesame seeds... yummy. One of my favorite foods is tacos... minus the cheese and sour cream of course... but corn tortillas or chips, lettuce/spinach, avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, ground beef and black beans... and liberal amounts of salsa... so yummy! And here are a few recipes I have found!

Chickpea Salad (sort of like Tuna salad but chickpeas instead)

2 c garbonzo beans (mashed, but chucks are fine)
1 stalk celery (or more if you like the crunch like I do)
1/4 onion, finely chopped (or less if you don't like raw onion like I do :)
1 T mayo
1 T lemon juice
1 t dill
salt and pepper

I added a little more mayo, and added some of my mother-in-law's amazing cucumber sweet relish... great for a bite when you are hungry or Friday night dinner and a movie night with crackers or for me... corn cakes (like rice cakes).

Granola - this one has brown sugar but next time I make it I am going to add a little more honey instead

6 c rolled oats
1/2 brown sugar (I will leave this out next time)
3/4 c. wheat germ (I have substituted oat bran since we aren't doing wheat)
1/2 c coconut (unsweetened)
1/3 c seeds (sesame, sunflower, pumpkin... And I usually add a lot more than called for)
1. c nuts (I just chop up whatever I have at the time)
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/3 c honey
1/2 t vanilla
raisins or crasins to taste


Heat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients except oats then add to oats. Whisk together oil, honey and vanilla. Pour over dry ingredients and stir til coated. Spread in pan and bake stirring occasionally until golden (not brown :). Add raisins or crasins. Let cool and store!

I have just received two of my three cookbooks and have been pouring over them. The first is called Nourishing Traditions, all about being soaking grains, good and bad fats and all kinds of stuff like that, I will tell you more once I have read more! The second is The Cancer Fighting Kitchen. My mother-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer last fall and she got this book shortly after that. Although I am not doing it so much for the cancer fighting part, I have loved everything she has made of it. Using nothing but real ingredients with tons of flavor... everything from making broth and garbonzo bean patties to Baby Bok Choy with Yams & Ginger and Edamama Avocado Dip with Wasabi. I can't wait to plan my menu for next week with it! The same author has another book called One Bite At A Time that I may get soon as well. Lots of veges, beans, lentils, and spices... how can you go wrong? And the book that is coming is called The Natural Nine, it has been out of print for 25 years, but I found it on Amazon... (30 cents!) my mom had it growing up but had lost it, but I still remember her barley pancakes that were to die for! It is all about using whole grains... all kinds of fun!

Out with the old.....

And in with the new!

On Tuesday, Day #1, my assistant and I packed up everything that didn't meet the 100 Day criteria (and also didn't meet our food allergy standards) and passed it on to some friends.

Here is my assistant, assisting by emptying everything almost as fast as I could fill it. :)


Bye, bye salad dressings, soy sauce (who knew it had wheat in it?), ketchup and more!

And here is a picture of the fridge after I cleaned it out. Fruits, veges, meat, beans and eggs... and that is about it! I did keep a little cheese for Ben. :)


And here is our splurge... it only has 4 ingredients, no sugar, dairy, wheat or rice... how can you say no?

So after 4 days the Real Food Challenge is going well I think. The key for me is thinking about what I CAN eat, and not thinking about what I can't have. :) I have cheated and kept my almond milk... it has more than 5 ingredients, but I just don't see how I can live without it. :) We have switched to the unsweetened kind, the original has evaporated can juice in it. I plan to start making my own but haven't had a chance to sit down and find good almonds etc.

I have ordered 3 new cookbooks, so as soon as they arrive I will let you know about my new finds! I know you are all on the edges of your seats... :)

Alright, off to make some quinoa pasta... :)

100 Days

And here we go!

This family (and also two other families) are doing a 100 Days of Real Food Challenge!

In an attempt to be healthier... and just for kicks... we are going to spend the next 100 days without sugar, or anything from a box, bottle or can that has more than 5 ingredients. (There are a few more rules too.)

And thanks to Naomi's newly discovered food allergies, Naomi and I (and pretty much everyone else in the family, since I do the cooking) will be doing without all wheat (spelt and kamut are wheat cousins, so none of that either), rice (yes, you are thinking to yourself... what is left?) and dairy (both cow and goat milk/yogurt/cheese etc).

It is going to be an adventure, but one that I am looking forward to! After discovering Naomi's food allergies she has been sleeping through the night pretty regularly, which is VERY new and I am EXTREMELY grateful for!

So wish us luck! And we will let you know how it goes!