Grain Free Food

A couple recent grain-free/dairy free/refined sugar free munchies I've enjoyed...

No Grain Honey Bread

I haven't baked much with coconut flour since it requires a large amount of eggs, but it was nice to be able to eat pieces of "bread" again for breakfast a few days in a row. It's a heavier pound cake consistency, and I browned it a little much, but it still tasted good! I'll decrease the honey next time I make it (I didn't use Stevia) since it was pretty sweet.

Chocolate Coconut Protein Bars

My pic makes these look kinda like logs of poo, but they're really quite tasty! :-) I followed the original recipe and they were a little dry, so next time I'll add more oil as is suggested in the comments.

Pizza

I've seen a lot of recipes for grain-free pizza using almond meal, but I used most of my almonds in yesterday's apple cookies, so I tried a nut-free version tonight.

Lil' Bug loved it!

My plate with cultured dairy...

...and Micah's with yummy mozzarella.

Food Processor and Rhubarb

Courtesy of UPS, my food processor box arrived bashed and ripped open. I've never seen a delivery guy run so fast to get away after quietly slipping it on our front porch...

KitchenAid always packs their appliances very well, so even though the huge block of styrofoam was cracked through, the processor wasn't touched...so I put it right to work!

Apple breakfast cookies were the first thing I used it for - and wow. What would have taken me an hour (to shred, grind, etc) took me 10 mins tops...and that time includes dealing with the wining child clinging to my legs.

Next up was rhubarb dream bars (half white flour/half whole wheat) and rhubarb pie (with a palm shortening crust and sweetened with some honey) - after chopping the rhubarb and realizing I'd done all of it, I felt like running outside to find more things to chop! And you know that "cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs" line? I always dread that part...inevitably I would have 5 interruptions before me and my fork even started to get the mixture resembling peas, much less crumbs. I was super-pleased (and completely floored) when it literally took about 8 seconds and it was done. Done! I should have made a food processor a priority a long time ago! Live and learn...

Settling in...

We moved! Two weeks ago, actually.

And since then I've unpacked several boxes between laundry, cooking, cleaning, fighting the ant invasion, and flying out to Utah for a week to see my new nephew and my once-again tiny sister. :-)

Micah has built me a clothesline and our garden has been planted...

And soon, Lord willing, my counter tops will be overflowing with produce from our garden instead of the farmer's market and health food store...

(all lined up to dry like good little vegetables and fruits after soaking in water and GFSE)

Lil' Bug enjoys the yard...she loves being outside...

Craigslist and eBay have been entertaining me recently...I sold enough to turn around and get a KitchenAid food processor so I no longer have to take all day to make my grain-free foods in a blender that can't handle the load of seeds and nuts.

This baby's gonna hit the shelf whirring when it arrives. :-)

Meal Plan 4.25.11

We had company this weekend, two family Easter gatherings over food, and in anticipation of a busy week of packing, last Friday I sat down to make a meal plan so I could get the shopping done and just focus on getting stuff in boxes this week.

MON - Ground Beef Hash (with carrots and collard greens instead of swt. pot. and kale)
TUES - Chicken and Avocado Salad in Lettuce Wraps
WED - Taco Soup
THURS - Shredded Veggie Bison Meatballs (based on this recipe)
FRI - Bean and Bacon Soup

SAT - Curried Lentil Soup

John 19

⁴⁰So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. ⁴¹Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.

⁴²So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

Stew, and More Stew

To incorporate a lot of bone broth into my diet, I've been making stew. LOTS of stew. I can't quite stomach drinking the broth straight, so in order to get it in me and keep it there, it must have a few veggies, meat, and spices.

This Italian Wedding stew was a hit with Micah - I made mini meatballs w/ only onions and italian seasoning mixed in, and added those to a soup base of 1/2 broth, 1/2 tomato paste and water. The last of our summer squash from last year's garden was a yummy addition.

Today I made some brussels sprout chicken stew...all of my soups and stews develop as I'm making them - I decide what meat I want, then go from there, matching veggies and seasonings (*sniffff* this smells like it would taste good *sprinkle, sprinkle*). I wasn't crazy about this one, but more because I used the leftover onions and carrots from the pot of beef broth I made...and they were devoid of flavor.