It’s the end of the school year and it seems like everyday we need a snack to of with the days theme. Today is movie day so that means popcorn. We air pop our popcorn. Today we melted two tablespoons of coconut oil in the microwave to drizzle over the top and then added LOTS of colored sugar sprinkles. Let’s hope movie day is as festive as the popcorn.
Everyone has been abuzz about the Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino. Of course it’s a little scary to get drinks there when you are dairy allergic so…. here is what we did.
For the Pink portion:
1 cup of ice
1 cup of strawberries
1/4 cup mango nectar
1/4 cup SoDelicious coffee creamer (Plain)
Blend in mixer.
For the Blue/Purple portion:
1/2 cup blue berries
1/2 cup SoDelicious coffee creamer (Plain)
Blend in mixer
Fill glass half full of Pink then drizzle Blue down the sides of the glass. Add some more pink and then top with CocoWhip and sprinkles.
Why oh why do most mayonnaises contain paprika? This seemingly innocent ingredient, that would be an after thought to most people, is one of the hardest nightshades to avoid. This makes having any prepared salads from the deli a no, it also means most creamy salad dressings are a no. Finally I found this Primal Kitchen Mayo…
No Paprika! So exciting.
The next step is trying to make mayonnaise from scratch. Now off o make some chicken salad.
One of my weekly menu planning strategies is to make a soup each week. This is used mostly for my lunches and dinners since I am the only one who enjoys soups other than noodle soup.
Brussels sprouts are one of my favorite veggies. They are available year round and are good in salads, or as a side. I also love them in this hearty soup.
This soup is like french onion with brussels sprouts added. I don’t always caramelize the onions, especially when I’m planing on serving it pureed. Brown soup is not always appetizing. Also adding beef stock to this soup can take it to a whole new level.
One of my 2017 goals is to drink more water. Okay this is actually a goal every year. I have tried many things to remind myself to – DRINK MORE WATER. Currently I am trying to make sure I like the glass I am drinking from. Also I am experimenting with adding fruit and herbs […]
Avoiding nightshades is hard. I’m constantly saying “I can’t eat that.” In the winter it is nice to have something hearty and warm. I currently think one of the easiest ways to make sweet potatoes is in the crockpot. I wrap them in foil. No wholes poked in them. No oil. Just the sweet potatoes wrapped in foil. I put them in the crockpot on low for 8 hours.
When the 8 hours are up I take them out. Leave them in the foil and allow them to cool. I store them in the refrigerator. When I want one, I unwrap, split in half and heat it up in the microwave.
We finally found noodles that don’t turn mushy by lunch when in a thermos. These Thai Rice noodles are great. My kids have been taking soup for lunch with these noodles quite often this winter. We heat up bone broth to a rolling boil and add the noodles. The noodles only need about 3 minutes in the boiling broth. Put the hot soup and noodles in a thermos and they will be fine at lunch.
If you want to add vegetables or chicken while the soup is boiling it makes a hearty lunch, or a Pho-like dinner.
Finding soup I can eat is hard. They all seem to have…tomatoes, or milk, or gluten….the list could go on. I like making my own broth and have done it both on the stove and in the crockpot for years. Since my husband was nice enough to get me a pressure cooker last year I am now using it to make bone broth.
I like to add all sorts of things to the pot. We have chicken at lest once or twice a week and I freeze the bones. I put one to three chickens worth of bones in the pot of the pressure cooker. I love celery, especially the leaves. This is one of those times that just using the stalks is fine. I add lots of carrots and at least half bulb of fennel. A whole onion peeled and cut into quarters, and lots of cloves of garlic. I like to add some ginger and turmeric, both peeled and cut in chunks. I like fresh thyme and sometimes fresh sage and/or lemon grass. I add whole lemon cut in half, and lots of salt and pepper. I like to add kelp powder and dried mushrooms, I prefer shiitake. I then add a splash of apple cider vinegar and coconut amminos before covering it all with filtered water.
I set my pressure cooker for at least 45 minutes and let it set for at lest 15 minutes before letting the pressure out and straining it into a container.
I then cover the chicken bones and veg with more filtered water and re-season (salt, pepper, kelp, and amminos).
The news of the Gatlinburg Wildfires today has me thinking about evacuation. There are many questions I ask myself. Do I know where all the important papers are stored? Could I take our pets? What would I be the most worried about when I was finally safe and reflecting on the things I left behind.
Do you have an evacuation plan?
Watching the news this morning many people are lamenting the loss of pictures of family members who have passed. There are many services that will take old photos and film and digitalize them. When they are digitalized are they in a physical form or are they in the cloud? I have to admit this is one of those tasks that has been on my todo list for months (ok, years) that seems to alway be pushed to the next month.
When thinking of evacuation asa food allergy family, food always comes to mind. Although most places would have potato chips for most of my family (one of the safe foods we find everywhere), there often is nothing without nightshades. I am reminded to renew my search for a good tasting protein bar that is safe for all of us.
I currently do not have my plan written down. I know I do better with a list (I LOVE LISTS) and need to get at least a few of the really important things written down in check-list form. The first step is thinking about it and asking yourself the important questions of, do I know where the things I would need to take with me are, and could I get to them quickly.
My thoughts today are with the people in and around the fires in Tennessee.
Cygnet Organizing 