Impromptu breakfast cookies.

I woke up this morning inspired to feed my kids something different for breakfast.... I had half a pureed pumpkin, some raw local honey I was itching to use, some farm fresh eggs and some homemade peanut butter. I decided I was going to make "cookies" to guarantee they'd eat them. To be honest, with my kids, it's all in the presentation. I won this time :)

I used about half the pumpkin, some hemp protein, a couple pieces vegan almond dark chocolate (80% cacao) chopped in the food processor and shaved coconut. I also didn't want to use traditional flour so I opted for a tablespoon or so of coconut flour to hold it all together and about a handful of gluten free oats. I added a bit of baking powder, only because I had no baking soda. I wasn't making this gluten free on purpose, it just turned out that way :)

I am actually in disbelief. They came out amazingly, and I just made it up as I went along. And, Anth and Delina each ate 4 of them with a pile of fresh local raspberries!! 

(Best part: There was a ton of pumpkin in them and my kids didn't even know. Hidden veggie score!)



Here's the recipe

1. 1/2 cup raw peanut butter (or sunbutter)
2. 3/4 cup pureed roasted pumpkin
3. 1/3 cup raw honey
4. 1 tsp baking powder
5. 2 fresh eggs
6. 2 tbs coconut flour
7. 1/2 cup hemp protein powder (I used this one)
8. 1 tbs ground cinnamon
9. 2 oz your favorite dark chocolate (chopped finely--in the food processor works best for me)
10. 1 cup gluten free oats
11. 1 cup unsweetened shaved coconut

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease 2 cookie sheets (I use coconut oil). Combine all but last 3 ingredients and mix with electric mixer. Once combined, fold in last 3. Place on cookie sheets by the tablespoon. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Will still be soft when they are finished. For a crunchier cookie, Bake for another 2 minutes. 
Makes 2 dozen.

Enjoy.

8 ways we choose to be more green. You can too.

I've been trying to be more green (Aren't we all????), so I have made a few simple changes lately, that I'm hoping will at least take the edges off my carbon footprint.

1. We're using reusable sandwich bags and containers. I mean, this doesn't seem like a big deal, but to us, it's saving money, time and (hopefully) the planet. We have this one by Bumpkins and a bunch like it. They just go in the washer, and to the counter to dry. They make me so happy ;)

2. We're drying clothes on a rack. Either inside or outside. It works. Obviously, they smell better when dried outside in the sunshine on a hot, breezy day, but either way, amazeballs. And, even though it takes longer, who doesn't LOVE LOVE LOVE climbing into a clean bed with sunkissed sheets??

3. We're using castile soap. A lot of it. Also, not a big deal. But this stuff does everything. It cleans our bodies, toilets, floors, tables, sinks, clothing, dog, countertops and toys. I'm partial to this unscented one, so I can add my own essential oils, but they're all great. Natural ingredients, mostly organic, and they don't hurt the planet when going down the drain.

4. We changed our energy source. Use this link and put in your electric company and home information. It will make the switch for you. It's also cost effective if you choose the 20% fixed for 6 months option. Nothing about your life has to change, but you're going more green than you know. DO IT!

5. We're growing our own vegetables and herbs. Tomatoes, cilantro, basil, oregano and parsley are growing on my deck now, and I'm working on starting more. Also, supporting local farms, and family owned businesses. I get deliveries from South Shore Organics every 2 weeks, which are located locally and only use family owned and run farms. It adds to our local economy, which sustains our community. And the less the produce travels from the ground to your table, the better it is for you. Fact.

6. We're using natural skin care/sunblock. These 2 things are very simple to do, and decrease chemicals we put back into the earth. Shea moisture and Badger sunscreens are the simplest way I've found to do this. And NO ALLERGIC REACTIONS!!!!

7. We're using essential oils, coconut and almond oils to heal our family's ailments instead of medicine. Also, things like olive leaf, colloidal silver, vitamin d, c, e and zinc make life a lot easier, and are healthier for the environment than chemicals. We're not experts yet, and, tips are welcome :)

8. We're baking bread. Not all the time, and we're still learning. But I am doing it, and it's what counts.

I'm sure that there are more things I'm doing, and I'm not thinking of them now, but as you can see, these things aren't very hard. They're actually easy and enjoyable for the most part. And they're making me feel a bit better about how we live :)

Thanks for listening.

Cape Cod Allergy Friendly Restaurant Review.

I’ve been MIA. For awhile. A long while.

I took an LPN course to begin my journey to becoming a Midwife, and was really really caught up in the insanity of it.

But I’m totally back.

A few days after graduation, we left for a trip to Cape Cod. As many of you know, my son has food allergies (used to be soy, egg, dairy and wheat, but was cleared of a wheat allergy in February of this year), and travelling, eating out, and being far from home are all VERY difficult things for me to agree to do.  Considering it’s been about a year since we last ventured away (Sesame Place, which is surrounded by restaurants that are amazingly understanding of people with food allergies), we decided we’d do it.

My mom told me to look at Allergy Eats and find restaurants that can accommodate our situation, and I found a few. Considering I need to eat dairy free too, because Anth nurses, it can be a bigger challenge than if it were just his food that needs to be dairy free.

To say that I was impressed by the way these restaurants handled our situation would be a complete understatement. Each and every restaurant we visited went above and beyond to make sure that Anthony didn’t have a potentially life-threatening reaction. And I would recommend any of them to anyone looking to find a safe place to take their kids.

Our first day on the Cape, we went to Box Office Cafe in Chatham. They have a Vegan Menu and serve Daiya "cheese."  The kids had The Unforgiven pizza, without ranch dressing and I had the Reign of Fire, no bleu cheese, of course. Both with Daiya cheese. 

They even made us special chicken nuggets to be sure they were dairy free. We even tried some of their homemade granola, which lasted about 5 minutes, and was AHHHHMAZING.

The next day, we were on a quest for dairy free breakfast, and thought it would be more challenging. Keltic Kitchen in West Yarmouth had a line out the door, so we thought we were gonna have a rough time. We were sooo wrong. I looked on Allergy Eats, and found Idgy's, a small, storefront, 100% gluten free bakery and restaurant. We called to make sure that they could make dairy free things, and they told us they usually add milk to their pancake mix, but since it's dairy free, they could make it another way, and make it work. We got there, and were somewhat surprised to find that they had purchased Trader Joe's coconut milk in order to make our pancakes. Let me tell you..... DEFREAKINGLICIOUS. I seriously have never had such good pancakes, even at home. We even bought Vegan Coconut Lime Cupcakes and some almond crescent cookies to take to a cousin's house later that night, and were SOO impressed. We were so impressed that we ate there again the following day!!

That evening, we went to Outback Steakhouse in Hyannis and they cooked Anthony's burger, my steak, and both our sweet potato fries in saute pans separately from all the other food. They were happy to check on ingredients for us, assist us with the menu and make sure we were happy, throughout the meal. Katie was our waitress, and she was just amazing. The food was awesome, Anthony had no reaction, we were all happily stuffed.

Tuesday, we planned to go to the Box Office Cafe again, but sadly, they are closed Tuesdays, which I assume is because it's the slowest day of the week (I'm only complaining because we were leaving Wednesday morning, and I wished I could eat there again. Everyone needs a day off!!). I remembered visiting a Not Your Average Joe's in Norwell for an Allergy Eats event, and they were awesome. So we figured we'd give the one in Hyannis a try. Rich, the manager, was the best.ever. Tiffany was our server, and she was awesome. She originally came to our table with the cheese and garlic oil for the bread, but I stopped her in her tracks, and she immediately came up with an alternative for us, which was fantastic, by the way!! She deferred to Rich every time she wasn't 100% sure, and that made me so confident in the fact that they were actually taking care of us. Also, the chef, when I asked if we could give Anth some pizza, suggested we try something else, since he couldn't guarantee that cheese hadn't cross-contaminated all the food on the pizza station. Good looks, dude. For serious. I love that they weren't just trying to make a sale, but they were actually looking out for my 2 year old. Also, Anthony told Rich he had been asking for sausage the whole time we were on Cape, and being told he couldn't have it, so he really wanted one. He researched for a few, then got him what he wanted. The kid was on cloud 9. Also, when the lettuce wrap appetizer came out, it had red peppers on it, which Anth promptly ate. When I told Rich, he brought us a plate of them. I just can't say enough nice things about these people. So happy with this place!!!

Yesterday morning, our last morning on Cape, we finally found Keltic Kitchen to not be so busy we'd have to wait an hour. They were great. Anthony and I ate completely dairy free breakfasts, and were very pleased. Also, it was authentic Irish breakfast, complete with rashers, bangers, white and black pudding and brown bread (brown bread is not dairy free, so we had Udi's gluten free bread, but regardless, AHMAZING).

So, needless to say, this trip was a LOT less stressful than it could have been. And, I commend these places for doing what they do. We'll be back, don't worry. 

Back to school Monday to start classes toward my BSN, but I promise, I'll be around more often now that the hard part is over :)

Thanks for listening.

Paella!!

I wanted paella in the worst way.  I decided to do a crock pot version, since I don't have a paellera, or the pan used to make paella properly in Spain :)
This came out DELICIOUS!

Paella

1.5 lbs chicken breast
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 large red pepper
1 small onion
1 medium tomato
16 oz chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tsp fresh black pepper
1.5 cups brown rice
6 italian sausages, cooked and cut into .5 inch slices
1/2 bag frozen peas
1 lb cooked shrimp

Brown chicken with oil in frying pan
Add to slowcooker along with diced red pepper, diced onion and diced tomato.
Sprinkle with thyme, turmeric and pepper.
Turn to high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.
1 hour before serving, add rice, sausage, peas and shrimp
Once most liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, enjoy!

The BEST GF Brownies ever!! Dark chocolate, also soy, egg, dairy and nut free

2 Cups Gluten Free Flour
1 1/2 Cups Organic Cane Sugar
1/2 Cup Organic Light Brown Sugar
1 tsp GF Baking Powder
1 tsp Sea Salt (1/2 tsp Sea Salt for the top--- optional)
3/4 Cup Unsweetened Special Dark Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
1/2 Cup Enjoy Life Minichips
1 Cup water
1 Cup Expeller Pressed Canola Oil
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1 tsp Organic Vanilla

Mix all dry ingredients (except chocolate chips) in one bowl.  Mix wet ingredients in separate bowl.  Combine. Spread in 13 X 9 pan. Top with Chips.  Bake on 375 for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Fruit and Veggie Muffins

I have 2 children in my house.  One picky one, one who LOVES to shove food in his face.  These are loved by both. 

4 T dairy free spread (I like Earth Balance soy free)
1/2 cup brown sugar (or agave nectar or honey, depending on the age of the child...)
3/4 cup veggie puree (I used sweet potato, asparagus and broccoli that I had left over from before Anthony decided purees are for chumps.)
2 single serve unsweetened applesauce cups (I use 365 brand from Whole Foods Market)
1/2 cup banana puree
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
1 egg (or 1 egg worth of egg replacer)
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
3/4 t xanthan gum (can be eliminated if using flour that contains gluten)
2 cup gluten free flour blend (or flour, up to you)
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease muffin tin with canola oil.
Combine spread and brown sugar til completely mixed. Add veggie puree, applesauce and banana puree. Add vanilla and egg. 

In separate bowl combine all dry ingredients and slowly add to mix.  Combine but do not over mix.  Mixture should be a bit lumpy. 

Fold in blueberries. Divide into muffin tins.  Divide between muffin tins.  Makes 12 muffins.
Cook 18 minute.  Done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Breakfast Cake. My way!

I found this AMAZING recipe on Pinterest the other day for Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake I was sooo sad that I couldn't eat it.  You know, cause of Anthony's allergies and all... And I realized that I could if I tried hard enough, edit the recipe so I could eat it.  I went into it knowing that I may have to make a few attempts to make it perfect and edible, but I thought it was worth a shot.

But...

I GOT IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!!!!!


Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature unrefined coconut oil
2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon lemon juice
7/8 cup + 1 T. sugar
1 egg, room temperature egg worth of egg replacer (follow instructions on the box)
1 tsp. vanilla2 cups flour Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
2 cups fresh blueberries 1 cup fresh strawberries chopped and 1 cup fresh blueberries
½ cup buttermilk Silk Vanilla Almond Milk

I followed the directions from the original recipe, substituting my ingredients for the ones in the directions.  And also made the following changes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter coconut oil with lemon zest juice and 7/8 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg egg substitute mixture vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries blueberries and strawberries with ¼ cup of flour gluten free flour, then whisk together the remaining flour gluten free flour, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt.
3. Add the flour gluten free flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk almond milk. Fold in the blueberries blueberries and strawberries.
4. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (or something similar) with butter canola oil or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 45 minutes.
Check with a toothpick for doneness. If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.




I was able to put about 8 servings that were Anthony's size in the freezer in individual bags.  I will let you know how they are out of the freezer.












******Just a disclaimer.  I REALLY wish I could eat the recipe I found on Pinterest.  Like, more than you can imagine.  Blueberries and buttermilk are 2 of the most amazing things the world has to offer.  I love 'em.  I also LOVE lemon zest, but considering I wanted to feed this to Anthony, I wasn't entirely sure how he'd do with that... So I changed it to lemon juice.  I took the vanilla out because there is vanilla in the almond milk.  I added xanthan gum only because I had to make it gluten free, therefore had to add it to hold it together.  I only added strawberries because Anthony loves them, and I had a BUNCH of them that wouldn't be good much longer in my fridge, so I decided to try them in it.  I used this recipe as a guide for the blueberry cake I've been wanting to try to make, and it came out sooooo good!!!!  Thanks to  Alexandra for giving me the tools I needed to make it happen!!