Everything Free Pancakes

I think these are FABULOUS, and I don't even like pancakes....

1/2 c millet flour
1 c buckwheat flour (I use a light colored buckwheat, the dark speckled one seems not to taste so good to me)
3 T tapioca starch
1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t baking powder (make sure its corn-free)
3/4 t xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup hemp milk
1 cup almond milk
2 T olive oil
4 T agave nectar
1 T rice vinegar
2 t vanilla

mix the wet and dry ingredients seperately, then together. Add a little water if needed to thin it out. Cook on a 350 degree skillet. Serve w/ beelers sausage and syrup. Yummy! Makes approximately 8 six-inch pancakes.

A fun night and fun food!

Tonight we went to a friend's house for a dinner party w/ the kiddos. 6 kiddos to be exact. :-)

We brought:
http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2006/10/sweet-potato-black-bean-enchiladas.html which were fabulous, of course, and she made a ramen noodle salad and strawberries to go with. So yummy!

Last night I made GF, DF, etc Chex muddy buddys using the GF Chex, everything-free chocolate chips, almond butter, and olive oil. Of course, being healthy and all, I added a cup of coconut flakes to the mix. :-) Turned out really well.

And, I made some chocolate covered frozen bananas - my all time favorite healthy indulgence. I used Green & Blacks 85% dark, coconut milk, and stevia to make the chocolate coating. It got really funny, separated horribly, was thrown into the magic blender, and still looked horrible. But after it froze, couldn't tell at all. Oh, and I threw in about 2 heaping Tbs of hemp seeds for an added bonus. Here is how I made them

Heat the chocolate in a double boiler and add any add-ins to make your coating.
meanwhile, cut the bananas in half, peel, and insert the popsicle stix.
put the bananas on a cookie sheet in the freezer to freeze solid.
dip or spoon chocolate over the frozen bananas to completely coat. Roll in nuts or coconut if you'd like.
Put on a cookie sheet w/ parchment and freeze solid again.
Transfer to a Ziplock in the freezer. Snack on to stave off your sweet cravings. :-)


Lets see, any other fun foods lately? Not really, just sticking to some basics to get us thru re-adjusting to my work schedule. Lots of casseroles, pastas, taco potatoes, etc. Daddy has been fabulous about getting the girls up and fed in the morning so I can work early (go figure, they make bread early!). He even does the dishes before he drops the girls off and heads to work! What a man!

Working

It should be obvious by now, but I got my job. In foodservice. So, yes, now I am being paid to work 10 hours/day in a kitchen ;-). Hence, food is relegated to a secondary role. We are eating lots of pasta, potatoes, legumes, and protien, mixed w/ lots of fresh summer veggies. Posting will be erratic at best until I get a bit more used to the job.

Tomato Salad

Here is a salad I've been enjoying:

Tomato Salad Supreme :-)

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 red onion, diced
1/2 seedless cucumber, quartered and sliced
1 cup mung bean sprouts, steamed for 1 minute, rinsed, patted dry

mix the veggies & sprouts together, top w/ dressing:

1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
1 T white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp italien seasoning (or fresh)
pinch stevia


Enjoy, knowing you are getting a nutrient-packed light lunch or dinner side dish.

Also, if you aren't dairy-free, you could add some quartered fresh mozzerella....

Busy Summer

So, I've been busy. too busy to blog. but, don't worry, there are some recipes that are coming. Like Vegan Pesto, Buckwheat Pancakes, and Vegan Pizza Crust.

Stay tuned...

My Foods as of Late

So, on my low-carb, dairy free, sugar free diet this is what I have been eating:

Egg scrambles for breakfast (diced veggies or spinach, 2 eggs, salsa on top)
Fruit & Salads for lunch (seared tuna & cucumber over mixed greens, rainbow salad, chicken & craisens & almonds, etc)
Dinners: a modified version of what the rest of the fam is eating. Yesterday was stir-fry w/ no rice. Today is Stuffed Peppers w/ no Rice. Tomorrow is Lentil Curry w/ no Quinoa. You get the picture. :-)
I also enjoy Kombucha a lot while on this diet. And big glasses of water. And I have been finishing up the pitcher of peach sangria in the fridge, but mixing it 1/2 and 1/2 w/ sparkling water.

The only sugar I am eating now is that naturally occuring in food & stevia. No honey, no agave, no xylitol, no erythritol (or however you spell that). Not that it matters much, cause w/ no baking (no grains, remember) there isn't really anything to sweeten.

I don't MIND this diet that much. After my body re-adjusts. But right now, I feel HUNGRY all the time. Not hungry-ravenous, just hungry like I haven't eaten in a while. Which isn't true. I have to conciously tell myself to stop eating, because I never feel full.

I did this diet before we went dairy-free and the dairy was the hardest part for me. I miss sour cream on my eggs. And taco salads. And pretty much everything. I love sour cream :-). I can't stand black coffee, so I'm off of that at this point. I might try it w/ coconut milk later on. But, now that we are dairy-free this transition hasn't been as bad. Wow, a positive in the midst of Allergy-land.

Yes, this post is haphazard. Mostly me thinking out loud. Enjoy the random wanderings of my brain...

Garbage Bin

Our garbage stinks. Probably has something to do w/ the fact that Elie is still in diapers (yes, in a fit of "potty training hopefulness" I sold our cloth diapers a year ago).

I went thru 6 bags of trash. No recipe.

Ahhh!

You know that recipe for pancakes I mentioned? Well, I lost it. Yep, its gone. I dont' know where, so don't ask. I am considering going thru the garbage. Like, the big blue bin. I'm guessing its probably 3 or 4 bags in. Because coming back from a weekend at the cabin includes a lot of trash. And we still have one in diapers. But, I'm guessing I'll do it. Because the pancakes were GOOD. Really good. Actually, FANTASTIC. And because I threw together Batch #2 in just a couple minutes on my way out the door, I remember not a thing that was in it. Well, I'm pretty sure it was 1/2 tsp bs, 1 1/2 tsp bp, 3/4 tsp xanthan gum. But I can't remember even how much flour, much less which type.

Garbage bin, here I come!

Menu Plan

Here's the menu plan for this week:

Mon:
B: Toast (Millet bread, it was good according to hubs), sausage, and Eggs. Juice.
L: Rice Wraps w/ turkey, guac, and lettuce; leftover Chicken & Rice soup
D: Salmon, Asparagus, and Potatoes in some form.

Tues:
B: Pumpkin waffles, fruit. (Egg, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, and salsa for me)
L: Tuna Tataki Salad for me/ frozen enchiladas for the girls w/ guac.
D: Chicken Stir-fry (I'll post the recipe, its my fav)

Wed:
B: eggs, sausage, hashbrowns (Egg scramble again for me)
L: Rainbow Salad for me, almond butter balls & fruit for girls.
D: leftover lentil curry & rice

Thur:
B: Pancakes (w/ the new recipe, I should be able to post it), fruit, eggs.
L: Spinach Salad for me, Sandwich wraps & fruit for the girls.
D: Stuffed Peppers (w/o rice for me)

Fri:
B: Leftover Pancakes, etc.
L: Girls @ Sitters (Mac & Cheese), Salad for me (again)
D: Pizza (yes, I am going to try a vegan, GF pizza. will be interested to see how it turns out)

Sat:
B: Smoothies & banana muffins.
L: whatever is in the fridge :-)
D: Enchiladas (probably a taco salad for me)

Sun:
B: Banana Muffins, Eggs, Sausage
L: again, whatever is in the fridge :-)
D: Baked Potatoes w/ Black Beans, Guac, & Salsa (Salad w/ the same toppings for me)

A Weekend Away and Some Changes

We spent a very relaxing weekend up North with family. Nice! And they were GREAT about helping w/ food for BellyButton, so I ended up doing next-to-no cooking. :-)

I have decided to delay re-introducing foods into BellyButton's diet until I can try weaning her off some of her 7 supplements. I figure, better get rid of the supplements first, foods later.

Also, I have decided its time to finish taking off my baby-weight. Which, for me, means dairy-free, sugar-free, grain-free. So, I'm on that diet until I lose this last 15 pounds. If I can handle it.

So, lets see, hubby is GF, Emma can eat anything, Elie can eat next-t0-nothing, and now throw in sugar&grain-free for me. Should make the next couple of months VERY interesting.

Buckwheat & Coconut Waffles

So we tried the waffles yesterday for breakfast and were very impressed! They were a bit on the heavy side (I might try adding a bit more baking powder next time) but for a soaked grain, GF, dairy free, egg free recipe it was amazing how 'normal' they tasted. The texture was very similar to my mom&dad's favorite "SturdyWheat" pancakes. They only made about 4 full-sized waffles in our waffle iron, so next time we will probably double it, or make eggs & sausage on the side.

here is the link again :
http://affairsofliving.blogspot.com/2009/03/sprouted-buckwheat-coconut-waffles-with.html

Give them a try!

BTW- I started experimenting w/ a millet/buckwheat/sorghum pancake recipe today. It'll take a couple more rounds to perfect it, but it is promising....

Pasta Pomodoro and GF Croutons

Today we went on a day trip, so dinner was limited to 30 minutes of prep. So, pasta & salad it was.

Pasta Pomodoro
10 oz GF pasta
2 T olive oil
1/4 onion, diced
1 T garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1 T balsamic vinegar
1/4 c white wine
1/4 c chicken broth
Black & crushed red pepper to taste
parmesan cheese to taste (for those who can have dairy)

Cook the pasta, set aside. In a skillet sautee the onion and garlic in the oil until softened. Add the tomatoes thru broth, simmer 10 minutes. Add peppers to taste. Serve over pasta, topped w/ parmesan.

We also had a large tossed salad (baby greens, shredded carrot, yellow pepper) with croutons. Yum! For the croutons I diced up 2 pieces of "millet" bread, and pan fried them in a little olive oil w/ italian seasonings. They were good! I'm looking forward to trying the bread tomorrow for sandwiches. Well, I'm dreading it, cause I haven't found a good commercially prepared bread yet, but looking forward to it HOPEFULLY working out.