2012 New Years Resolutions

what are yours?

Menu Monday, New Years Vegetarian Kick Start

It's officially the beginning of the year and the un-official kick off to "diets" around the world. But I don't diet. My food intolerance list is quite long enough that I refuse to eliminate even more! What I do believe in is healthy eating and that sometimes the body can use a little recharge, a cleanse if you will. To rid the system of too many rich holiday food and drinks. And I have to get into a bathing suit in a week.

These recipes are all vegetarian, because I find I feel much better when I cut out meat. They're also seasonal recipes so you're sure to get the most flavor. Certain ingredients overlap too so you get the most bang for your buck. Join me this week and kick start your 2012 with taste!


{m: herb, chard, and feta soup, t: persimmon and hazelnut salad, w: quinoa, fennel, and pomegranate salad, th: kale-walnut pesto pasta, f: fennel, orange, and avocado salad, sa: citrus and endive salad, su: cauliflower steaks with olive relish and tomato sauce}
And no good cleanse would be any fun without a few treats and snacks. The Food Lover's Cleanse (see number 1) has a lot of fun suggestions in their 2 week menu like celery sticks with meyer lemon relish and chevre. Hello yum! I gathered up a few others that I'll be making for this week.


{1: the food lovers cleanse, 2: gluten-free, egg-free, rosemary crackers, 3: almond-cranberry quinoa cookies, 4: fruit and nut bars,
5: rosemary infused olive oil, dark chocolate, and salt popcorn, 6: garlic parmesan edamame, 7: no bake energy bites}

Chocolate Rosemary Olive Oil Cake

I had the privilege this month of partnering with Bob's Red Mill and California Olive Ranch in their quest for better holiday baking using whole grain and olive oil.

Be sure to visit their websites to find more delicious recipes! Click here and here to check out this recipe on their websites.

Here's the recipe I came up with, using Bob's nutrient-packed millet flour and COR's chocolatey Arbosana EVOO.

Chocolate Rosemary Olive Oil Cake

1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill unbleached white flour
3/4 cups Bob's Red Mill millet flour
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons salt

3 eggs
1 cup California Olive Ranch's Arbosana Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3/4 cups milk

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
4 ounces grated dark chocolate bar (70% cacao)
2 tablespoons sugar (for top crunch)

Preheat oven to 350º. Rub a bundt (or loaf) pan with olive oil.

Whisk the flours, sugar, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs together, then add the olive oil and milk to the eggs. Whisk until blended. Then mix in the rosemary.

Fold wet ingredients into the dry, mixing until just combined. Next fold in the shaved chocolate until uniformly mixed.

Spoon the 2 tablespoons of sugar into the bottom of your bundt pan. Then pour the batter into your prepared pan.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and skewer inserted comes clean.

Wait until the cake is cooled before inverting the bundt pan to release your beautiful cake!

Menu Monday

It's a colorful menu this week with lots of ways to take advantage of the last of summers bounty. As always, click on the links below to take you to each recipe's website.


{m: blackened salmon tacos, t: creamy avocado pasta, w: french tartines, th: goat cheese nachos, f: caprese pizza,
sa: tuna antipasto salad, su: chicken souvlaki with lemon mint tzatziki}

Favorites Friday, Bento

I'm fascinated, and alright, a bit obsessed, with the bento craze. To make a simple sandwich a work of art. Or create playfulness with fruits and veggies. To take a few extra minutes a night and put special thought and love into your kiddos lunch. I just imagine the kids' faces when they open their lunch boxes or sit down at the table and see what story they get to eat today. Shoot, I want someone to come make me one of these! Do any of you bento? I have this little goal in my head to try and make a fun lunch once a week. That seems doable. I figure once you're in that frame of mind, seeing that leftover pasta as stringy hair, it'll be easier to do it more. But for now, I have accumulated plenty of inspiration to last me on my once a week goal.


{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}

Menu Monday

I love my iPhone. My husband thinks I'm insane for the amount of apps I have. He gets stressed out just looking at my home screen. But it makes total sense to me, and I use everything on there. Especially those in my food folder. It's my lifeline on the go. When I don't have the time to sit down at the computer to look a recipe up. Or in the kitchen while preparing a meal.



Most of the recipes for this week come from these apps. So I wanted to share with you what I use. For you to also have at all times. Most of them are free too. Bonus! If you're reading this on your iPhone or iPad, click on the links to take you straight to the download.

• Epicurious: FREE. A great app with shopping list option.
• Tastebook: FREE. Millions of recipes from top sites like AllRecipes, Better Homes & Garden, Bon Appetit, Food Network, etc.
• SparkRecipes: FREE. Healthy recipes for all dietary needs. Home cook recipes.
• FoodFaves: FREE. Rachael Ray's Everyday Food Faves.
• Essentials: $4.99. From Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Cookbook, it gives you all the essentials for how to make, well, everything! 
• AllRecipes: FREE. If you're familiar with their website, you can find almost any recipe you could ever dream of.
• Crock-Pot: FREE. Great recipes for the ol' crock-pot.
• Whole Foods: FREE. All that you love about the store, wrapped into recipes at your fingertips.
• Cook's: FREE. Just like the Cook's Illustrated magazine. Find dinner for tonight easily.
• Simply Organic: FREE. The Simply Organic brand supplying you with great recipes to eat a more organic diet.
• Jamie Oliver: $7.99. Twenty minute meals with gorgeous pictures, videos and stories. There is a free starter pack to get a sense of what it includes.

Click here for the recipes: m, w, th, f, sa, su

Menu Monday

Oh it's been a long time since I last posted a weekly menu, I know. But I lost inspiration. So I stopped.  Here it is again! I'm still not full of recipe inspiration but Rich and I are inspired to eat better. Have I mentioned that we found out he can't eat corn/corn products? And me with gluten. That pretty much leaves...well, close to nothing fun. Have you ever noticed how many things contain corn? I think it's used as a filler more than wheat!

So why not take advantage of that plus more produce coming into season and just eat good food? But I'd love your help. Post some links to your favorite recipes in the comment section and we can all be inspired!!

A few notes about the recipes I chose. We try to stay away from meat most days because we've found how much better we feel when not overloaded on meat, plus it makes it taste that much more amazing when you do.

We're at family's house on Tuesday and are having pizza so I planned a quick throw-together salad that I can take along for me. Some spinach. Crumbled blue cheese (my newest obsession, watch out). Halved red seedless grapes. Toasted pecans. And balsamic. Make it big enough and you'll feel stuffed.

Wednesday is our anniversary (eeps!!). Since we already had our trip away to Portland (will post that soon) we wanted to do dinner in after the kids went to bed. We're going to make veggie rolls and chocolate mochi. Both gluten free delights!

Thursday is Tayden's dinner pick day and of course, he wanted mac and cheese, so I found one with a bit of nutrients. We always use rice pasta (Trader Joe's brand is by far the cheapest I've found) and substitute non-dairy products (nut milks) where able to. But no fake cheese please!

Friday we're having friends over for some fun-do and drinks. I have a recipe I typed out for you below. If you've always wanted to throw a fondue feast, check out this fantastically fun party from Lil Hoot via Amy Atlas. Someday I'd love to do a party like this. But in the meantime, I have some fondue pots that have never been used so it's high time to break them in. I grabbed some crunchy vegan bread, asparagus, sweet potato chips, radishes, broccoli, an array of apples, and bell peppers for dipping.

For the fish tacos on Sunday, I like the mahi-mahi fillets that are already seasoned, again, from Trader Joe's. Fill a tortilla with some bar-be-qued meat, tons of spinach, julienned carrots and make a quick dressing of Vegenaise (if you've never tried, you must) and lime juice.

I hope you find a new favorite and I'll try to keep up these each week. Make sure you leave yours below!




m,w,th,su

Cheese Fondue
adapted from Gourmet Game Night by Cynthia Nims

3/4 cups dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
8 ounces Swiss-type cheese, grated
4 ounces fontina cheese, grated
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated
2 teaspoons arrowroot flour
array of fruits and veggies for dipping

Combine wine and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a slow boil.
Meanwhile, combine the cheeses and flour in a bowl and toss well to evenly mix. Add the cheese mix to the wine and cook gently, stirring often, until the cheese is fully melted and smooth in texture, 3-5 minutes. Do not allow to boil.
Pour cheese mixture into a fondue pot over burning flame to stay warm. Dip. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Coconut Ginger Banana Bread

Whoa. That title is a mouthful, eh? Speaking of full mouths, let me finish my fresh, warm slice...
Ok. Now we can carry on.
I love quick breads. Those recipes you know by heart, can throw together, and is out of the oven in less than an hour. Then if there's any left come morning, you've got a quick grab and go breakfast you can feel good about feeding your family. Banana bread is one of those. But how sick are you of the plain old recipe? So you sit there staring at those nasty over ripe bananas on your counter, you know the ones, and think "Really? More banana bread?"
So came this recipe. Still easy, which is important, but with a bit of attitude. Oh yeah. Breakfast bread that bites you back! And what's more? It's Gluten Free. Egg free. Dairy free. SUGAR free. And still chock full of flavor. Don't believe me? Give it a try, then tell me.
But wait, there's more! This recipe not only makes one loaf, it makes two! Eat it. Freeze it. Gift it away. I know I'm going to be sharing it with some moms tomorrow.


Gluten Free Coconut Ginger Banana Bread
2 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose mix (if you're not ready, use your regular AP)
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (depending on how much you want to be bitten)
1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats (or old fashioned rolled oats)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons warm water (or 1 egg)
2-3 ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup coconut milk (not light)
1/2 cup local honey
3 tablespoons coconut oil (or vegetable oil)

Preheat oven to 350 and spray two loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix the first 7 ingredients together.
In a medium bowl mix the flax mixture, mashed bananas, coconut milk, honey and oil.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry until combined.
Divide mixture among the two loaf pans. Bake for 40 minutes or until nicely browned and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Slice. Serve. Savor.

I'm extremely excited to be featured tomorrow on the blog for Bob's Red Mill. Partly because I'm obsessed with their products. I have yet to be disappointed with one of their mixes, especially in the gluten-free line. They're posting gluten and casein free recipes every day this month from different bloggers to bring options to parents of kids with Autism during Autism Awareness Month. This is something very dear to my heart. I used to work in early intervention classes helping children just diagnosed during those first formative years. So to give a little bit to that again is really great.
Be sure to visit tomorrow to get the recipe for some killer Blackberry Cornmeal Muffins.

Thought I'd also throw in another recipe we enjoyed last week. It's artichoke season which always makes me giddy. I adore artichokes but have never tried them stuffed. It's a super easy way to prepare them but with tons of flavor payoff.



Sun Dried Tomato Stuffed Artichokes
2 artichokes, stem and top trimmed and inside leaves & "hair" torn out to expose heart

2 cups gluten-free breadcrumbs
4 tablespoons chopped marjoram (or other fresh herb on hand)
1/3 cup chopped oil packed sundried tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Olive oil

3 cups water
1 vegetable bullion cube
4 lemon slices
1 bay leaf
black pepper

Rub lemon slice on cut edges of artichoke to prevent discoloration.
Toss breadcrumbs, herbs, tomatoes, salt, pepper and enough oil to moisten in a bowl.
Fill the center cavity of each artichoke with the stuffing mix.


Place water, bullion, lemon slices, bay and some cracked pepper into large pot. Place artichokes in and make sure they're covered in water up to the bottom leaves. Let simmer, covered, for 30-45 minutes. If you tug on a leaf and it comes off easily, they're done.
Preheat oven to 350 and bake the steamed artichokes for 10-15 minutes until stuffing is browned. Serve immediately.

Dinner Tonight

The eternal question: What's for dinner? That time of day when you open your fridge only to come up with nothing. If you're lucky you're able to pull something together, just enough to fill your belly. Then there's those rare occasions when you come up with something that is extraordinary. Tonight was one of those rare nights.
The fantastic part was how simple it was. Sinful really. Two dishes. Both containing only three ingredients. Here's what I came up with but hopefully it will inspire you too!



Stuffed Mushrooms, Roasted Veggies & Pureed Cauliflower
1 pint baby portabellas
4 oz. herb & garlic Boursin cheese
Bread crumbs (used gluten-free)

Handful of heirloom cherry tomatoes and garlic cloves

1 head cauliflower
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Wash and remove caps from mushrooms. Stuff with cheese and top with breadcrumbs. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and scatter stuffed mushrooms, tomatoes and garlic. Bake for about 20 minutes or until veggies are soft.

Meanwhile, de-stem cauliflower and cut into chunks. Steam in 1 cup water for about 15 minutes. Transfer to food processor or blender with some of the cooking liquid, butter and salt and pepper to taste. Process until smooth, adding more liquid as needed.

Serve both warm. Enjoy!

Coining A New Term

The new road to health is now missing the scenic part of the drive: eggs and dairy. Yup, bye, bye my dear friend cheese.

For those of you keeping tabs, here's where I stand: no gluten, dairy, eggs, sugar, preservatives & food dyes. What do I eat? Great question. Even better question I've been asked, what does Rich eat? No sweet "Meals and Memories Are Made Here" signs hanging in our kitchen. It's "If I'm miserable, damnit, so are you".

I could lie and tell you it's been a fulfilling road to discovering new recipes and ways of cooking. But like I said, it'd be a lie. I'm filled with a lot of head-banging and a pissed off stomach begging for a morsel of chocolate. You've learned to cook one way your entire life then suddenly you're faced with the need to change. I feel like I've grabbed a wasps nest and started shaking it vigorously. Typical gluten-free recipes contain sugar & eggs. Vegan recipes tend to have gluten. And lets be honest, the American diet basically consists of dairy and fat.

Hence my need to coin a new term. And develop new recipes. We've had a few failures, I mean, bad. But have had just as many hits that keeps the addict coming back for more, searching for that first high. We've discovered egg replacer, coconut milk and agave nectar and are trying to stay away from the globular cheese substitutes all together.

Now that Tayden is completely weened (barring the occasional public attempt to slip his hand down my shirt) I am able to get more aggressive with treatment. To be frank, I'm looking forward to getting this baby weight off. Apparently I have my adrenals to thank for that one. My moodiness has drastically mellowed out (just ask Rich) and every session Jim & I can see my body strengthening. Exercise has also been a big push to help with the PCOS so I've been diligent with that and do feel great when I can get out daily on 6+ mile walks with the kiddo.

I have been surprised by the amount of friends that have taken up the gluten-free lifestyle or shown interest in learning more. I know the largest obstacle lies in not knowing where to start. And lets be honest, giving up bread so that those around you are a little less miserable is not a huge motivating factor. So here's two pointers that worked well for us.

First, become an avid label reader. I keep a handy sheet on the fridge that lists all the crazy things they put gluten into (like soy sauce) and what good wheat substitutes are, like potato flour. Of course, if the product says "Gluten-free", you're good to go, but still read the ingredients!! At home, start by not buying or consuming any bread-like products for 2 weeks. Then you can start introducing the gluten-free products. By getting back to the basics, you realize your cravings and how to work with them, not mask them with other substitutes. Your tastebuds do change and start to favor the healthier tastes.

In knowing there are others out there like me, I will try to be more diligent in posting recipes I develop to help inspire others. Be sure to post comments on anything you find or learn as it motivates me too, and I need all I can get!

Here's an easy summer dessert we did tonight:
1 pint organic strawberries
2 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. lime zest
2 tsp. diced, fresh mint
Edible flowers (like borage or nasturtium) to garnish

Hull and thinly slice strawberries. Mix first four ingredients into bowl. Garnish with flowers, enjoy!

Dandyland

Spring is still a whisper here in Central Oregon but just on the other side of the mountain, the grass really is greener. I'm on a quest to learn how to forage from the land, and first on this list: dandelions, since these seemed like the easiest to identify. Yes, I'm talking about the noxious weeds that grow on your front lawn. But they are actually chock full of vitamins and minerals. They have more beta-carotene than carrots, more potassium than bananas, more iron than spinach, and tons of Vitamins A, C, E, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. That's a-lotta goodies in one little weed! We ended up in Sweet Home, or as I like to call it, Dandyland! The meadows were everywhere with dandy's ripe for the picking. The leaves, when picked young, are supposed to be great salad greens, but I thought I'd stick with the ease of the flower. I got a few cups worth and am anxiously awaiting the first trial. There's tons of recipes I want to try, but I think the first'll be Fried Dandy's. I'll let you know how they turn out!

Week One, Day One

I started back with my lifesaver Jim Wilkens, DC, CCSP with Nutrition Response Testing. NRT is basically developing an individual nutrition program. Instead of typical Western medicine that gives you a diagnosis then treats these symptoms, NRT works with analyzing and then developing your individual program in order to eliminate the stresses your body is feeling.

I was "diagnosed" 2 years ago with Hashimoto's Thyroditis and Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. I started treatment with a variety of doctors. It wasn't until I started seeing Jim though, that I actually started seeing change. He determined the foods and environmental stresses my body was reacting to and we slowly started eliminating these. He also tweaked with supplements weekly to what my body either needed or didn't any more. The effects I was experiencing from my under-active thyroid changed almost immediately. I lost about 40 lbs. in 3 months and my energy was back! I felt like my body was telling me "drop this excess weight". As soon as I started doing the right things, it just melted off. The other problem we were having was with getting pregnant. I'd had a miscarriage the year prior and spent the rest of that year trying to get pregnant. After starting the NRT, I got pregnant in 2 months with Tayden.

Once pregnant, I admittedly stopped going. I wanted to start eating cheese and chocolate again! But to my avail, my gallbladder started acting up and at 20 weeks pregnant, had to have it removed. Dang! Shoulda stayed with it.

Now, Tayden's here and by God's good grace healthy after all that, but I'm not. I could tell my thyroid has been off again and see it in my daily life with the extreme lack of energy and inability to drop this baby weight no matter what I try. Not to mention, we want to get pregnant again but my body's all out of whack.

Enter Jim to the rescue! We found that while my thyroid and adrenals were showing signs of stress, my most dominant was the ovaries. So we're starting with that. Yeah!! I, as of yesterday, can no longer have wheat, sugar (that's a biggie), preservatives or any foods with artificial coloring. Those are the 4 that are negatively affecting me the most right now. I'm also taking supplements that are working for my body.

I will keep you all posted on my progress as we go. Also, as a side note, when I started this 2 years ago my sister-in-law joined me in my dietary restrictions and she also dropped a ton of weight. So, follow along if you'd like (or better, go see Jim)...starting now!

Seed Savers Exchange

We're super excited for our garden this year (yes, I know it's been snowing outside) because we are planting an heirloom garden from the Seed Savers Exchange. It's a great cause as most of the plants of our ancestors are dying out from mass production of "supermarket produce", not to mention the loss of flavor and uniqueness.
We're highly ambitious this year with first starting everything from seed and the amount of produce we're planting. It's about double the variety we've grown in the past. We'll still continue to do companion planting because we've had great success so far with it, never having to use pesticides. I'm most excited about trying potatoes for the first time. We're going to grow them in a barrel, but does anyone have suggestions or tips?
So, we're hoping everyone will make it over this summer to eat the fruits of our labor...HA!
Here's just a few of the items we're planning on:



And PS- I got my mac back and fully functioning so, the blog will no longer be neglected!!

10 Weeks Left...Really??

We had our 30 week check up today and everything is looking great! Baby boy is already head down and measuring a normal size. We're starting to get serious now as it's becoming much more real. We have been taking a birthing class that has been invaluable in helping us plan and know what the heck we're doing. It's all so foreign!

We're planning on a natural birth with midwives at Motherwise Birthing Center. Our experience so far has been fantastic. We feel very comfortable and "armed" with some good techniques to have a successful birth.