Black Bean Soup

I've been trying different black bean soup recipes lately and none have been all that great. I decided to try another one a few days ago and well, the final product was not a whole lot like the original. I did use some of the spices in different measure but added a lot of my own flavors to it and you know what, my family loved it. My kids ate it up, I thought it was great and my meat adoring husband thought it was wonderful. It's a definite keeper of a soup for a cheap meal on a cold day.

1 pound dried black beans
1/2 large onion
5 cloves garlic
4-5 carrots, peeled
3 potatoes, diced (I do not peel mine but if you want to it would be fine)
1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce (if you like the texture of tomatoes you can use chopped tomatoes instead)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp liquid smoke (I used hickory flavor but any will do)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 bay leaf
salt to taste
7-8 cups water
2 tbsp chicken flavored bouillon (I used better than bouillon brand)

Soak the beans overnight. Drain. Add beans to a stock pot and add the water. I put my onion, garlic and carrots in a food processor to chop but you can do it by hand. Either way, add the veggies and potato as well as all the spices (except for the salt and bouillon) and liquid smoke. Bring the soup to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer until beans are tender and soup begins to thicken (about 2-3 hours). Remove bay leaf and discard. Add salt to taste and the bouillon, serve and enjoy!

Just a side note...the reason you add the salt and bouillon at the very end is very simple but something a friend of mine just enlightened me about. Salt causes the beans to NOT become tender so you must add it at the very end. The bouillon is very salty which is why it also must be added at the very end. Anything salty will inhibit your beans from becoming a nice tender texture.

"Creamy" Potato Soup

I LOVE LOVE LOVE potato soup and have tried numerous recipes to hit the spot but once going gfcf I thought my potato soup days were over and it made me quite sad. Daddy Fox is quite the soup lover and it's starting to get chilly here (yes even in Florida we get a chill) so I began to hunt once more for a delicious potato soup recipe that was somehow creamy yet totally dairy free. I ended up taking one recipe and building off of it to make my own perfectly delicious potato soup and it's oh so good! I never thought I'd eat such warming, comforting, most importantly creamy potato soup again.

8 cups water
1 heaping tablespoon better than bouillon chicken base (I use organic, it's way better)
3 pounds potatoes diced (you can peel them but I don't)
7-8 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion
3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped

In a stock pot, place about 3/4's of your diced potatoes and cover with the 8 cups of water. Turn the burner on med-high heat to begin warming while you prepare the remaining veggies. I like to place the whole garlic cloves, the entire onion (quartered) and the carrots (peeling and cut into 3-4 pieces each) into a food processor and chop them all together at once then add to the pot but you can chop them individually and add them that way too. When the water gets warm (but before it's boiling), stir in the bouillon. Once the soup is boiling, reduce the heat and simmer until potatoes are soft. Using an immersion blender, blend until the soup is mostly pureed. Add the remaining potatoes and simmer until potatoes are soft. Serve and enjoy on a crisp, cold evening! (Well any evening will do but the colder the better).

***Tip for peeling garlic: A friend of mine told me this tip about peeling garlic and I will probably never go back to garlic powder again. Take a knife and lay it flat on the clove of garlic (not so that it will cut the clove, lay it on the flat side of the blade). Smash the blade onto the clove with your hand. The clove will crack and the peel will slide right off!***

Veggie Stir Fry

I've been playing around with vegetarian dishes lately. We've cut back on meat since it's quite expensive and well, not exactly the healthiest thing you can eat. It has it's place in my family's diet I'm just not convinced it's place is a daily spot on the dinner table. My husband, however, is a carnivore of carnivore's and could eat meat at every meal of every day! Finding veggie meals that he genuinely enjoys is no easy task but after this stir fry, he was licking his plate clean! Score 1 for momma Fox!

olive oil (or sesame oil for a more Asian flavor, I just didn't have any)
4-5 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 leeks, chopped (greenish white parts only)
2-3 broccoli crowns cut into florets (yeah, my family LOVES us some broccoli)
2 cups uncooked brown rice
5 1/4 cups water
1/2 Tablespoon better than bouillon (veggie for a truly veggie dish, I used beef flavor and spend a little extra and get organic, the ingredients are way better)

Sauce
1/4 cup honey (raw, local is the best)
1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce (you could also use Bragg's amino's instead which I will try next time...never had it but I've been told it tastes exactly like soy sauce)
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (you could use 1-2 cloves garlic added into the veggies while stir frying too but I was lazy when I made it)
1-2 teaspoons cornstarch (depending on how thick you want your sauce)

Cook the brown rice in the water with the bouillon added (you may need to adjust the water amount based on how your brand of rice cooks). While the rice is cooking, use just enough olive oil to stir fry all the veggies (broccoli, carrots and leeks) until just crisp tender and perfect. In a small bowl combine honey, soy sauce, ginger,garlic powder and cornstarch. You can adjust spices to your liking at this point. Add sauce to stir fried veggies and heat until thickened. Serve veggies over brown rice. My kids and husband ate this stir fry up really fast and asked for more! It is amazing. You've got to try it!

Progress!

A few weeks ago my little engineer had his 3 year well check. I seriously cannot believe it's been 3 wonderful years since the Lord graciously gave him to my husband and me. It's been 3 years with plenty of ups and downs and the challenges are changing constantly but I love it and wouldn't change a thing! We've been gfcf for one year now and I refuse to challenge the diet until his bloodwork comes back normal so we sent for labs again. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about here I'll do a little explaining. IGE antibodies indicate a true allergy such as one that would lead to anaphylactic shock and a positive test at an allergist office. My little engineer doesn't have that kind of reaction to gluten or casein (praise the Lord!). My guy has an IGG response. His body attacks the gluten and casein proteins when he eats them much like your body attacks a cold virus. His body attacks gluten and casein and creates IGG antibodies as his body makes antibodies for viruses he comes in contact with. This kind of reaction can lead to all kinds of symptoms which for him include chronic yeast infections, eczema, diarrhea, and some behavioral issues. For a normal person, IGG antibody levels for casein are less than 2. My precious boy had antibody levels of 28 last year when they tested him which was in the severely high range. This year his levels came back at 5.6!!! Even better is his gluten antibodies. Normal people register antibody levels of less than 11. Last year his antibody levels were so high we didn't get an actual number. The labs came back saying more than 100 so really it could have been 101 or the highest number you can imagine. This year they came back at 14!!! How awesome to hear! We've taken the offending proteins out of his diet which has allowed his body to handle the antibody load it accumulated the first 2 years of his little life. Both levels are still slightly high so we are continuing to remain gfcf without a challenge. We will run labs again next year then go from there. We are hopeful that his little body is busy healing itself with this break from gluten and casein and that one day he'll be able to enjoy gluten and casein foods in moderation but for now, gfcf we remain :).

Crock pot Vegetarian Baked Beans

I've been making a lot of things from scratch lately. Well I should say I've been doing that more and more than I already was recently :) I found a recipe for crock pot baked beans and made it. It was decent however it needed work. After some tinkering with ingredients and adding some of my own I am pleased with the creation. I served these baked beans at my sons third birthday party where everyone was very pleased with them...I even had requests for the recipe :)

1 pound dried beans (I used great northern but any white bean should work)
3/4 c. molasses
1/3 c. honey
water to cover beans
onion powder to taste (or you can chop up one medium onion)
1/4 c. mustard
1/4 c. ketchup (I make sure it's high fructose corn syrup free)
Tabasco hot sauce to taste
salt to taste
2 tablespoons potato starch dissolved in water

Soak beans overnight. In a pot, boil beans in water for 1 hour then drain. Put beans in crock pot. Add in molasses and honey. Add just enough water to just cover the beans. Add onion powder (or chopped onions) to taste, mustard, ketchup and Tabasco and salt to taste. Stir it all together, cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours. When beans are done mix potato starch in small amount of cool water and add to beans stirring until thickened.

These beans are so delicious! You will keep coming back for more and so will all your family! My boys could eat this all day if I'd let them and I don't feel bad serving it...no refined sugar and loaded with healthy protein!

Honey Kissed Blueberry Muffins

Recently I purchased a gallon of raw, local honey to start cutting back my family's intake of refined white sugar. My first successful recipe was an adaptation of the blueberry muffin recipe found here. The changes were small but by using only honey instead of white sugar and also using the Whole Foods brand of rice milk (which is NOT sweetened with sugar but with rice syrup instead) I created a recipe that is 100% naturally sweetened and a muffin I feel GREAT about feeding my kids and for eating myself! The whole dozen was gone before my family even left for church on Sunday :)


1 cup brown rice flour
½ cup millet flour
½ cup tapioca starch flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon xanthan gum
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ cups unsweetened fresh blueberries
½ cup milk
¼ cup oil
¼ cup applesauce
1/3 cup honey (preferably raw, local honey)
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl with wisk. Add blueberries and toss until coated with flour. In medium bowl, combine milk, oil and applesauce with wisk. Add in honey, eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add wet ingredients to the dry. Stir gently with spatula until just combined. Spoon into greased muffin tin. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

You will not be able to eat just one and you don't have to feel bad about it!

Bean Quesadilla's

So I had many requests for this recipe after posting about it on facebook. Sorry it's taken so long to get around to posting about it but here it is. It is not finished and I will probably come back and edit this recipe a few more times since I've only made this once and it really was just something I pulled out of my head, but here's what I have right now.

I HIGHLY recommend getting a tortilla press if you ever want gfcf flour tortilla's. I've not tried the store bought ones but I have tried corn tortilla's (which can be bought at any store gfcf) and my family hates them. That started my search for a good homemade tortilla. I take no credit for the recipe found here. I made the rice flour version with brown rice flour. The only change is I used sorghum flour instead of chickpea because I do not like the taste of bean flours in my food. I prefer to get my beans in other ways :). Follow her recipe for the tortilla's you will need for the quesadilla's.

For the filling:
1 can fat free refried beans (check labels as not all are gfcf but I don't remember which brand I used...maybe Old El Paso?)
1 cup of prepared dried beans
1 cup of prepared brown rice
1/2 to 1 cup frozen corn kernels, heated
1/2 large onion, chopped

Taco Seasoning:
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

I like to cook the onion with the rice while it's cooking as I don't care for raw onion but you don't have to make it that way. When preparing the rice, add in the taco seasoning mix for flavor. (Side note: the taco seasoning mix can be added to browned meat with 1/2 cup water and simmered down to make excellent taco meat filling that tastes just like taco seasoning packets at the store but without all the chemicals and preservatives) Combine in a large bowl the rice, corn, black beans and refried beans. Mix well enough so the refried beans can act like the glue that cheese would be if making traditional quesadilla's. Fill tortilla's with some bean mixture and heat on skillet at medium heat until heated through and the tortilla is slightly crispy on both sides. Serve with whatever condiments your family likes such as salsa and guacamole. My little monkey ate these up so fast and loved having the extra filling for lunch the next day. My carnivorous husband could have sworn there was meat in these too which there isn't and I love that I can make him a hearty veggie meal he LOVES!

Dried Beans

Beans are super healthy for you...low in fat and high in fiber and protein. They are also relatively cheap, but canned beans are loaded with sodium and is really a pretty small amount of beans overall. I've started only buying dried beans. They take more work, yes but they save money and are much healthier! For $1.08 I purchased 1 pound of dried black beans. That 1 bag made bean quesadilla's and black beans and rice for my family. The black beans and rice recipe I use normally requires 3 cans of beans so just for one recipe I saved money buying dried. 3 cans of store brand costs $2.25 total with each can costing $0.75 so for one of the 2 recipes I made using dried beans I saved over $1.
To make them simply soak in water overnight (8-12 hours) then drain them. Once drained they are ready to be boiled for 1 1/2 hours or so until they reach the desired tenderness then add to your favorite bean recipe. If you forget to soak overnight as I frequently do you can boil the beans uncovered for 2 minutes then remove from the heat, cover and let soak for 1 hour. After that drain and boil as above. Enjoy your beans!

Fabulous Blueberry Muffins

With my find of blueberries at the farmer's market this week I set out on a mission to find the perfect blueberry muffin recipe. I used a recipe I found online, added a few things, reduced the sugar and oil and changed the spices a little. On the second try I came out with this recipe which is absolutely bursting with blueberry deliciousness! I made mine with freshly ground flour too :) The reduced sugar content really allows the blueberries to shine in this wonderful muffin that is not too sweet yet oh so satisfying. You won't be able to eat just one!


1 cup brown rice flour
½ cup millet flour
½ cup tapioca starch flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon xanthan gum
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ cups unsweetened fresh blueberries
½ cup milk
¼ cup oil
¼ cup applesauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl with wisk. Add blueberries and toss until coated with flour. In medium bowl, combine milk, oil and applesauce with wisk. Add in honey, eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add wet ingredients to the dry. Stir gently with spatula until just combined. Spoon into greased muffin tin. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Freezing Fresh Produce

After purchasing 4 pints of blueberries, I knew my family would not eat them all before they went bad. So I called a friend of mine to ask about freezing. I don't know if every fruit or veggie is freezable but blueberries are and many other produce items are as well. In speaking with her, she told me about this wonderful method of freezing things that prevents them from freezing into one big clump that must be thawed to get the amount you're looking for. She said to freeze the blueberries on a baking sheet in a single layer. After about 1-2 hours they are frozen enough you can place them in a freezer bag with out them sticking together. If a recipe says you need 1 cup of berries you can measure them without taking a hammer to the frozen pile of berries first. What an amazing concept! Well, I froze 2 pints of my blueberries last night and WOW! I now have a tupperware in my freezer of frozen blueberries that don't stick together :) I love that! If I want a smoothie during a ridiculously hot summer afternoon here, I can add some frozen blueberries for some flavor and chill. You can use this method with all kinds of fruits and veggies so they're always ready when you need them. Enjoy :)

Weekly Trip to the Farmer's Market

So I went to the farmer's market yesterday and left with quite the catch. My best purchase was 4 pints of blueberries for just $5! Now I'm working on perfecting a blueberry muffin recipe to be posted later. I spent a total of $18 and here's what I came home with:

4 pints of blueberries
4 ears of corn
3 large pears
1 large basket of red potatoes
6 sweet potatoes
1 basket of yellow squash (and boy were they beautiful!)
1 bunch of banana's
4 medium zucchini squash

I leave that place so excited every week. I'm already looking forward to what I can buy next time I go.

Veggie Pasta

Well, that's what we call it for lack of a better term but it is DELISH! In fact, my 2 1/2 year old and my 15 month old are eating it now :)

1 pound gf pasta (we use tinkyada brand whatever style floats our boat)
olive oil
1 medium lemon
carrots, peeled and sliced
squash, sliced
broccoli florets (we only do fresh, can't stand frozen)
spices

Cook pasta according to package directions. In another pan, coat bottom with oil and add in carrots, squash and broccoli (how much is up to you). Cook until veggies are crisp tender. Drain pasta when it's finished cooking. In a big mixing bowl, combine pasta and veggies. Coat with oil as desired. Season as desired (I normally use one of McCormick's seasoning blends, my current favorite is the Perfect Pinch Garlic and Herb salt free variety). Cut the lemon in half and add the freshly squeezed juice. Mix it all up and enjoy!

I know it's kind of vague but that's the beauty of it. You can make it taste however you want! It's fast, easy and best of all healthy! My son just asked for seconds :)

Cheap Produce

Yes that's right, CHEAP produce! A new friend of mine recently introduced me to the local farmer's market. I am a changed woman! I go there each week with about $15-20 and leave with so much more produce that is local and high quality! I spent just $15 today for this list of food:

1 basket of green beans (probably about 1-1 1/2 pounds)
4 medium sized lemons
1 basket of red potatoes (at least 2-3 pounds)
4 large zucchini
1 bunch of banana's
1 large basket of peaches (I'd guess about 5-6 pounds)
6 ears of corn
1 bag of carrots (contains 4 large carrots that I will peal and slice)

I leave there every week just thrilled at the deals I got! When I grocery shop during the second half of the week I get more banana's (we fly through those things) and usually some greens and broccoli but other than that I only buy at the farmer's market. If you have one where you live, go check it out! It could save you loads of money!

Teff Brownies

One grain I have discovered since going gfcf is teff. I LOVE it! There are two varieties, brown and ivory. I've only used the brown so far but now that I know how much I love teff I plan on keeping both around so I can use teff in more things without turning all my baked goods some form of brown or gray. Anyways, I was making brownies again using my other recipe but wanted to make some changes (especially after finding out my dear son CN is reacting to coconut which is in my other recipe, though easily replacable). I can never leave a recipe the same. I decided to try using teff as I love the combination of teff and chocolate. So I made them and they turned out better than the others! I took them to my home Bible study and all the kids (gluten lovers I might add) scarfed them down so fast, none made it home :).

2 T. oil
¾ c. sugar
1 egg
1/3 c. applesauce
¼ c. plus 2 tablespoons teff flour
¼ c. rice flour
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ teaspoon guar gum

Mix oil, sugar and applesauce. Add egg and mix well. Add in remaining ingredients and mix until well combined. Pour into a greased 9 in round or square pan. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Easy Basic Pancakes

So it's been a while since posting but I've had lots of request for this recipe. I don't remember what website the original recipe was on but I've made some changes. My favorite thing about this recipe is NO SUGAR!!! It's sweetened completely with applesauce. It's a very flexible recipe also. Use whatever flours you have on hand as long as they equal the total amount and same with the starches. Try different types of fruit puree's to vary the flavor. I've even added cinnamon before.

¾ c. rice flour
½ c. millet flour
¼ c. sorghum flour
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. potato starch flour
1 ½ tsp. GF baking powder
½ tsp. salt
2 eggs
3/4 - 1 c. milk substitute (less makes fluffier pancakes and more makes thinner pancakes)
1 c. applesauce

Mix together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Add wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Cook on heated griddle.

Zucchini Bread

Surprisingly, this is an absolute favorite in my house. My oldest asks for this bread all the time and my husband raves about it. I made a few changes from the original recipe found here It makes 2 loaves also which means it lasts more than one day.

3 eggs
1/3 c. oil
½ c. applesauce
1 ½ c. sugar
1 ¼ c. millet flour
½ c. rice flour
½ c. sorghum flour
½ c. tapioca flour
¼ c. potato starch
2 ½ tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1 ½ tsp. guar gum
2 tbsp. flaxseed meal
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. baking powder
½ c. almond meal
2 c. grated zucchini

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 2 loaf pans with cooking spray. Set aside. Combine millet flour through almond meal with whisk. Set aside. Whisk together eggs, oil and applesauce. Add sugar and mix well. Add dry ingredients to the wet. Beat to mix well. Fold in zucchini. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans. Bake 50-60 minutes until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

This stuff is so good. I took a loaf to a ladies Bible study I attend and even all the gluten loving women there thought it was quite tasty (the ultimate compliment to any gluten free baker). Enjoy your veggies!

The best ever brownies

I LOVE chocolate! Before going gfcf, I had the perfect brownie recipe that my family LOVED. Even my husband who doesn't care for brownies really at all couldn't get enough of them. After finding out my dear CN couldn't have gluten or casein and deciding on our own to avoid most soy I had to find a new brownie recipe. My amazing mother in law bought me a basic gf cookbook (I just make them cf as well which isn't hard at all) that had a decent brownie recipe in it made with rice flour. I have tweaked and changed quite a few thing to make the PERFECT gfcf and soy free too brownies.

1/2 cup coconut oil, liquified
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons rice flour
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

Mix coconut oil and sugar. Add in eggs, applesauce and milk. Mix well. Add in remaining ingredients and mix until well combined. Pour into a greased 9 in round or square pan. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Enjoy!

Homemade cleaners

I am big on reducing the amount of toxins and chemicals my family come in contact with. Because of that I have started to make my own cleaners. Everyone knows the wonders of vinegar for cleaning but I wanted something to disinfect too. Well, hand sanitizer works in killing germs because of the alcohol content so why wouldn't that work for household cleaners? I have been using my own cleaner for a few months now and I think it works better than Clorox. Here's my recipe.
Equal parts water, vinegar and rubbing alcohol.
Simple as that! For dried on messes you may need to let it sit for a few minutes but to keep our family healthier I don't mind at all.

Amazing Banana muffins

I altered a recipe found here (just scroll down til you see it). I don't use gf mixes so I play around with flours until I find a combination that works. I also ground my own almond meal for this one and boy was it good! These never last long in our house. They are so moist and fluffy! I bet even your gluten loving friends will love these muffins.

Banana Nut Muffins

1/3 c. oil (I use canola but have used coconut in the past)
3/4 c. sugar
2 beaten eggs
2 large ripe mashed bananas
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. rice flour
½ c. millet flour
¼ c. tapioca flour
¼ c. potato starch
½ c. almond flour
2 tbsp. ground flax seed (optional)
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar and milk sub to equal 1 cup liquid (I used vanilla almond milk this time but have had success using rice milk and coconut milk also)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease muffin tin. Set aside. Beat oil and sugar together. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in bananas and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture alternately with the milk mixture beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix well after each addition. Spoon batter into muffin tin. Bake 20-25 minutes, until muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

A love affair with coconuts!

Coconut is amazing for your health! It has antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and antiparasitic properties to it. Well, on a cold day I love to drink hot cocoa and here is my favorite way to make it.

Coconut Cocoa

2 Tbsp. cocoa powder (I like the Nestle brand)
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/4 c. coconut milk, heated

Mix it all up and enjoy!

Lunch...my biggest challenge

Since going gfcf low soy I've had a really hard time with lunch. Planning for dinner hasn't been too bad. We mostly have a meat, veggie and usually rice or potatoes but lunch has been so hard! We used to eat sandwiches a lot. My oldest, CN, would eat peanut butter sandwiches almost every day (but not with jelly) and I'd usually eat a sandwich with lunch meat. Well, we've yet to find a gfcf bread we like so we've done without and lunch meat, well don't get me started on how bad that stuff is for you! It's loaded with things I can't pronounce which means it shouldn't be going in my body or the bodies of my husband and children. One idea that has really been useful for us is having breakfast for lunch. Scrambled eggs are one of my favorites and pancakes are definitely a favorite of CN. I just made a new pancake recipe for the first time the other day with teff flour (my new favorite). The recipe can be found here. For the milk I used one cup vanilla almond milk and one cup coconut milk and boy were they good! I made them for a home bible study and even gluten loving kids from other families devoured them! It makes a huge batch which is great because there is leftovers for the next day.

Getting kids to eat raw veggies

Well, getting kids to eat veggies period can be challenging but getting them to eat them raw! Yes it's possible and really I think it starts with the first foods you give them but even the best eater of pureed baby veggies can decide later they just don't want them. My oldest son LOVES peanut butter. Well, I have found a great snack for him is peanut butter with raw baby carrots. He loves it. He eats the carrots without even thinking and he's getting great fats and protein from the peanut butter. I do buy the natural peanut butter (currently we have the Jif brand but really whatever you want works well) because it's really not priced much different than other name brands and it has much less ingredients and no hydrogenated oils (which are trans fats and really bad for you). I wonder what else I can get him to eat with peanut butter?

My thoughts on organic

I know a lot of people who are gfcf are very into health foods and alternatives (you kind of have to be honestly) and part of that is organic food. I have become much more health conscious after going gfcf with my family and even have switched brands of non food items in order to use more natural products but when it comes to organic, I just can't bring myself to do it. I know all the pesticides are bad for us. I don't know anyone who would disagree; however, it's very expensive. I wash my fruits and veggies before cooking or eating raw of course so I figure I've at least reduced our consumption of the pesticides by reducing the reside left on all our produce. Quite frankly we just can't afford it and even if we could, I just feel that extra money could be put to better use feeding the homeless or giving to missions and organizations like Voice of the Martyrs. I think I'm doing good just to be eating fresh fruits and veggies and to find ways to get my kids to eat them too. I have nothing against anyone who decides that is the best way to spend their money. God has given to each of us differently in monetary aspects as well as convictions about keeping our families as healthy as possible. My convictions are regular produces washed off is better than no produce at all.

Welcome

Hi and welcome to my blog. I've thought about blogging for a few months now and finally decided to stop thinking and start doing. I wanted to start this blog to document my family's journey on a gluten free/casein free (gfcf) and low soy diet. It's an expensive diet and we live on a single income but God has granted us wisdom in how to make this diet cheap and fun! I want to share all my ideas, recipes and even some tidbits about the changes my whole family is experiencing for the positive on this diet. Just some brief background, no I do not have a child on the autism spectrum which is why most people are on this diet. My oldest is 2 1/2 and my youngest is about to be 1. My oldest son was tested for gluten and casein sensitivity at 2 years old after constant battles with yeast, extremely sensitive skin that was always broken out, many digestive problems and a few characteristics that are commonly seen in autistic children though he never did display enough characteristics to even come close to receiving a diagnosis. Well, lab work came back and he was very sensitive to casein (no surprise though given I had to remove this from my diet for a time while nursing him) and off the charts sensitive to gluten (totally did NOT see that coming). We went gfcf and decided low soy would be best given the tendency for people with difficult digesting casein to react to the protein in soy if used too much. It was quite overwhelming to say the least at first but with the strength of God and much research and time, things have settled down and I'm having a great time experimenting with fun, delicious, and cheap gfcf cooking and baked goods. I hope you enjoy!