A Wonderful Soup

Where is everyone when I can't sleep?  It's too late to make phone calls or do anything productive.  So I'll just do something fun.  I'll post a recipe. :)

We ate this one for supper tonight.  Man, I couldn't believe all three boys had two bowls apiece!  We've had three new stew-type dishes in the past couple of weeks and they have all been met with (mostly) success!  To please them all tonight was a true hurrah, so I will share that one with you first.

Most of our meals are free of common allergens.  This stew is free of wheat, dairy, soy, nuts and eggs.


Tri-Bean & Corn Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef or sausage (see my homemade beef sausage recipe here) or tofurkey, optional
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. chili powder
2 Tbsp. ground cumin
2 Tbsp. garlic powder, optional (we love garlic)
4 c. vegetable stock
2 c. canned or frozen corn
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
Tortilla chips, optional

1.  In large saucepan, brown meat (optional) in olive oil.
2.  Add onion, minced garlic, chili powder and cumin; cook until onion is tender.
3.  Add remaining ingredients.
4.  Bring mixture to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or so to blend flavors.
5.  If desired, serve with tortilla chips. (And add ice cubes for the babies.)


This can easily be modified to be beef or vegetarian or whatever...  It doesn't need the meat, really.   It's a good stew. (Original recipe here if you are interested.)

Don't forget to add a dark green leafy salad on the side, take Vitamin C, and get lots of exercise and rest!  We've been fighting the flu around these parts.

Stay healthy and eat well!
~ Katrina :)

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Zucchini Potato Soup

The label may not sound terrific, but it's a pretty good soup!  In fact, everyone in the family liked it except for my middle angel, who is our picky eater.  With a garden full of zucchini, we have to come up with a few new recipes.

I found the original recipe here, but I tweaked it a little due to what I had on hand and other reviews.  Prep time was only about 15 minutes with an additional 15 minutes cook time.

Zucchini Potato Soup

5 1/2 cups vegetable broth
4 small zucchinis, thinly sliced
2 yellow potatoes, halved and thinly sliced
2 red potatoes, halved and thinly sliced
5 carrots, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. dill
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat olive oil in saucepan.  Add onion and garlic and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.  Bring broth to a boil.  Add remaining vegetables and cover.  Simmer 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Stir in dill; season with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately.  (Serves 8-10)

Happy cooking!
~ Katrina

P.S.  Doing any summer reading?  The boys really liked Robert McCloskey's Homer Price.  Fun reading for boys age 5 and up, I'd say.

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Is Eating Out Good For You?

Well, not usually.  But it's fun!  I love the break from cooking every now and then.

We usually eat at home, but last week I thought it would be a nice break between cashing in our summer reading rewards at Half Price Books and four grocery stops to eat lunch out.  I'd been dying to try this place one of my friends recommended.

Jason's Deli is my new favorite place to eat!  Their website boasts that Parents Magazine named them "The Best Restaurant in America" in March 2011.  I gotta agree.  I had a wonderful salad bar experience.  Possibly the best looking and tasting salad bar I've ever had.  My honey had the best hot sandwich he can remember having in a long time.  The boys were both pleased with their food, too.  The youngest of the clan enjoyed fresh peppers, apples and carrots from my salad bar plate.  The restaurant offers mostly healthy food with no high fructose corn syrup, trans fat or MSG.  There are organic produce options.  And what I consider a large gluten-free menu.

If you are wondering about cost... It was comparable to our family eating out at Chick-Fil-A, Moe's or Panera.  But a little better for you.

Excluding the drinks and ice cream we thoroughly enjoyed, it was almost as healthy as eating at home.

And so, so good! Did I mention that? :)
~ Katrina

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Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins

We tried a new gluten-free blueberry muffin recipe from Food Network today.  As usual, I tweaked the recipe with what I had on hand, but this time it turned out OK.  Olive oil replaced canola, honey replaced agave nectar, frozen instead of fresh blueberries and a little less salt.

These muffins were dense, but good.  Bonus that it's an egg-free and sugar-free recipe.  I felt a little cheated, since I ended up with 10 muffins instead of 12.  But they tasted good and looked exactly like the photo.

Ingredients

2 c gluten-free all-purpose baking flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 c canola oil
2/3 c agave nectar
2/3 c rice milk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 c fresh blueberries

Directions

Preheated oven to 325 degrees F.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum, and cinnamon.  Add the oil, agave nectar, rice milk, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is smooth.  Using a plastic spatula, gently fold in the blueberries just until they are evenly distributed.

Pour 1/3 cup of batter into each prepared cup, almost filling the cup. Bake the muffins on the center rack for 22 minutes, turning 180 degrees after 15 minutes.  The muffin will bounce slightly when pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

Let the muffins stand for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.  Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Yum.
~ Katrina

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Homemade Bread in Five Minutes a Day

If you are anything like me, you might like the idea of making homemade bread but don't want to invest the time.  This artisan bread is yummy and quite simple to make.  Follow the instructions carefully (i.e. only use unbleached flour, let rise appropriate amounts of time, store in refrigerator overnight before baking, etc.).  The only way I deviate from their recipe is to decrease the amount of salt.

Jeff and Zoe have even created a gluten-free artisan bread recipe.  Find the recipe here.  If you don't have a dutch oven, watch the video for how to bake it in a conventional oven.

I've had great success with this recipe.  Besides being scrumptious, it makes an especially pretty addition to the table.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions!

Happy baking!

~ Katrina

P.S.  Books!  We just finished listening to A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle on tape.  You heard me right.  We still have a cassette player in one of our cars.  I am in complete denial that the age of cassette tapes is coming to an end!  A Wrinkle In Time was a super read, er... listen--an exciting fantasy fit for adults and children alike.  Some parts might be a tad too spooky for younger listeners (i.e. a giant disembodied brain, aliens, time travel and some dude with red eyes), but my 7-year-old loved it.  Always on the lookout for excellent reading material.  What books are on your reading list?

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Homemade Crackers

I got a dehydrator for Christmas!  I am super stoked. You might think that's a goofy thing to get excited about. Welcome to my husband's world.

I'm really looking forward to dehydrating produce from my garden in the summer.  But, in the meantime, I just can't let this baby sit around doing nothing...

So I made my first batch of flax seed crackers.  The first batch came out a little more like fruit leather.  I turned up the dial for the second batch.  Not bad, but still less crunchy than I hoped.  This may take a couple of tries to perfect.

I combined 1 cup of milled flax seed to 2 cups of water and let it sit an hour or two.  Then I added some honey for sweetness.  Next time, I think I'll add some sunflower and sesame seeds.  I plan to use these for snacks, sandwiches, and chips.  This is an inexpensive gluten-free "cracker".

If you'd like to give this a try, I found my recipe here.  She's got me super interested in making kale chips.  But that's another post.

Go dehydrate something!
~ Katrina

P.S.  What are you reading?  The boys and I are reading Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo.  We read 7 chapters today.  They just kept begging for more.  I love when they do that.

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Not Just Another Stew

This stew was a major success at our house.  Bonus that it is free of most allergens.  When all the boys love it and even hint that the little onions taste like candy, Mommy adds it to the list of family recipes.

Check out our new favorite stew at Gluten-Free Goddess's website. Sadly, the stew is not for vegetarians, but she has lots of gluten-free vegan recipes, as well.  Great website.

Crank up the crock pot and enjoy!
~ Katrina

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Sweet SunButter Savings

Found a great bargain today!  If you use SunButter in your home, you know it's not cheap.  Depending on where you buy it, you will pay $5-$7 for a 16 oz. jar.

Would you like to stock up?  It's on sale right now at Amazon.com! $20.58 for a pack of 6... PLUS sign up for Subscribe & Save to save an additional 15% (you can unsubscribe later if you'd like).  I will have 6 jars delivered to my house for just over $17.  SWEET!

Since I'm breastfeeding a baby with severe nut allergies, SunButter has been a great nut butter replacement.  I use it on sandwiches and pancakes, as a veggie dip, etc.

~ Katrina

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A Good Gluten-Free Grain

Have you heard of millet?  It's inexpensive, versatile and quite good for you.  If you are gluten intolerant, I recommend picking up some millet from a local health food store and trying out a recipe or two.  

In lieu of oatmeal, I devour (literally) a bowl of cooked millet for breakfast with dried fruit, fresh fruit, milk and honey.  

Are you wondering how to cook millet?  Check it out here.  To use as a breakfast cereal, rinse and soak overnight.  Then use 1 cup millet to 2 cups water ratio and boil until water is absorbed.  More helpful tips here. 

I found a very informative article and a recipe for black bean millet salad and millet muffins here.

Last week I tried millet loaf.  I used GF flour in place of whole wheat flour and left out the thyme (yuck).  I recommend it!  It was a little dry and needed a gravy or ketchup.  If you are vegetarian or like to try new things, try it!  But don't expect it to taste like meat.  :)

~ Katrina

P.S.  Quinoa and amaranth, both very high in protein, are also versatile gluten-free grains.  So far, millet is my favorite because of texture and cost.

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Snowflake Break...(that rhymes!)

I get pretty wrapped up in busyness about this time of year.  I can't seem to keep up with the house and my boys, much less our blog! Besides the shopping and usual housework and food preparation, a lot of it is fun Christmas stuff... like making homemade rock candy, caramel corn, ornaments...

When all the madness stops being fun, I have to take a break. Yesterday we made snowflakes.  It was such fun!  I found a cute idea in a fun little book I received as an early Christmas present.

If you'd like to make some easy snowflakes of your own, here's how:

1. Trace around a mug on white paper and cut out your circle.
2. Fold in half.  Then in half again.
3. Cut triangles of different sizes from each edge of the folded shape, including the pointed tip.  
4. Unfold the circle.  If you'd like, glue sequins and glitter on it.
5. If you want to be really fancy (for those of you with girls), trace around the mug again on colored tissue paper, cut out and use dabs of glue to paste it to the snowflake.

Doing this smaller version of snowflakes turned out to be a LOT easier than what we tried last year. We just made simple snowflakes with some glitter and taped them all over half of our patio door. The boys are pretty proud of their work.  It kept us busy for over an hour. They asked to do it again today. :)

I'd say this activity is fun for ages 5 and up.   My boys wanted me to trace and cut out the circles.  Then my six-year-old made snowflakes and my three-year-old put glue and glitter on them. 

Yeah, we made a real mess in the kitchen.  But it was worth it.

Merry Christmas!

~ Katrina

P.S. Haven't tried it yet, but if you are looking for a great gluten-free gingerbread man recipe, try this one!

P.P.S. Another nice break has been reading together.  We started Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White last week.  Beautifully written and a breath of fresh air.  The boys are fascinated.

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Dairy-Free, Guilt-Free "Ice Cream"

We love ice cream.  Three out of five in our family can't eat real ice cream, so we've been making smoothies from frozen fruit and rice milk or juice. Sometimes I add in ground flax seed for those great omega-3 fatty acids and/or frozen spinach--which goes undetected in the yummy blend.

But NOW we have found our favorite.  A real dairy-free treat.  Banana ice cream.

Bananas are not my favorite fruit, but as a frozen treat they are delicious.  Chop and freeze your ripe bananas in chunks and then whip them up in a blender or food processor.  We often add dates, rice milk, or soy milk.  But you really only need the bananas.

Check out The Kitchen if you'd like more details.

Enjoy a guilt-free snack on me!
~ Katrina

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Another fall recipe

Slowly but surely we are adding to our reserve of gluten-free recipes that are affordable and entirely good to eat.  This chili recipe is perfect for fall and was a great find!

Black Bean 'n' Pumpkin Chili

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium sweet yellow pepper, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp. olive oil

3 cups chicken broth

2 – 15 oz. black beans, rinsed and drained

2 ½ cups cubed cooked turkey

1 – 14 ½ oz. diced tomatoes, undrained

2 tsp. dried parsley flakes

2 tsp. chili powder

1 ½ tsp. dried oregano

1 ½ tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. salt

In large skillet, sauté the onion, yellow pepper and garlic in oil until tender.  Transfer to a 5 quart slow cooker; stir in the remaining ingredients.

Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated though.  Makes 2½ quarts.

Christian was quite pleased with this recipe.  Thanks again to my friend, Ann, who is an excellent cook.

Note: You can easily alter the ingredients to make a vegetarian chili. Also, make it healthier by cooking up dry black beans yourself instead of using canned.  (I left out the tomatoes and oregano and added extra cumin with good results.)

~ Katrina

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Eczema: the rash that keeps on giving

My sweet baby, Theo, is an eczema victim.  I'm so grateful that he's healthy and quite smiley otherwise, but it still stinks.

Theo, at 8-weeks-old, broke out with eczema all over his body the day after having his first immunization. The pediatrician says his body was reacting against the vaccination, not to it (I need to read up on this).  I knew I needed to investigate my diet since both my first- and second-born sons had food allergies or intolerances.  (Here was my go-to book* when I was frantically searching for answers to problems for my second son, Gabe.)  Before using the recommended steroid cream, we tried baths, no baths, various lotions and creams, etc.  Since I was breastfeeding, I was also trying to "weed out" potential foods that are on various food sensitivity lists.  The eczema did clear up for a few days.  But I went out of town and decided to abandon my diet for the weekend.  Since then, only a steroid cream will clear up the inflamed, itchy skin and it will come back as soon as I quit using it.

I took Theo to our allergist where we discovered he was allergic to dairy and eggs.  I had already been pretty careful with dairy because our family historically has problems with dairy.  Plus Theo would spit up all over the place and be pretty fussy if I ate any dairy at all.  The doctor recommended I also remove gluten from my diet since we already have one child whose blood tested positive for Celiacs Disease.

I must admit, I did shed a few tears the day the allergist told me to give my baby two or more baths a day, lotion often, and cut out diary, gluten and eggs.  But it has not been as difficult as I'd imagined.  I do struggle coming up with the necessary breastfeeding snacks without dropping big bucks in the "gluten free" aisle at Whole Foods.

Plus--you may not believe this--I feel better than I’ve felt in years!  I can’t remember a time in my life where my mind  felt this clear and I had so much energy with so little sleep.  Seriously, I used to always be exhausted.  I’ve heard people boast these marvelous rewards with a gluten-free diet before but, for me, it’s true!

The allergist gave me instructions for bathing and moisturizing that beg to be shared with other eczema sufferers.  It seems to make Theo more comfortable, especially helping him fall asleep easier.  We give him a bath twice a day in warm water, cleansing with Dove Sensitive Skin Unscented bar soap and then pat dry.  With skin still damp, we seal in the moisture with Vaseline.  I appreciated this advice in lieu of buying expensive eczema products, but I'm not sure if Vaseline is doing the trick.  However, the bath and mild soap really help!  

I'm still working on tricks to keep Theo from scratching his face raw.  I swaddle him during bedtimes, keep his nails short, and moisturize frequently.  This is a work in progress since he's only 4 months old.

The allergist is certain I should find a food that will eliminate the eczema.  The pediatrician isn't so sure.  For now, I'm avoiding what the allergist said to avoid and keeping a food diary of the rest.  A breastfeeding mom really has to consume mega calories, after all.

I'll keep you posted on our progress.  In the meantime, I'd love to hear from our readers...  Any secret eczema treatments?

~ Katrina

* We are paid a small advertising fee if you purchase off our link, but the point of the link is to provide easy access to literature we found helpful.  My husband says if you're gonna buy it anyway, he'll accept the sixty-seven cents! :)

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