Author: cygnetorg

My favorite Doughnuts

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IMG_9245Sweets for breakfast are so indulgent.  It is nice to have something that feels like a treat some mornings.  We had tried some gluten free doughnuts but had not found a readily available one.  We of course love the Erin McKenna doughnuts while at Disney World, and the Silly Yak Bakery when in Madison.  Finally we have doughnuts to eat for breakfast Katz Gluten Free are the best doughnuts we have had since going gluten free.  We have loved every variety we have tried and one day I will order the creme filled ones.  I am afraid they will become my kryptonite.

Katz doughnuts are dairy free and gluten free.  They are also nut free and potato free.  We find them at a few local grocery stores (except those amazing looking filled ones) and our favorite health food store carries them.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do – Susan B.

Genetic Testing – The long awaited answer. 

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My daughter and I finally had genetic testing for Celiac Disease.  I knew what the results would say.  They would say, “you did what was right, you are not depriving you and your child from a normal life, this is your normal.”

We had taken gluten out of our diets years ago.  I wasn’t sure at the time if it was Celiac, or sensitivity, or intolerance, or allergy.  It was the next food to eliminate. Giving up gluten was easier than the shock of giving up dairy 6 months before.  

Anytime I talked to someone about our diet they would ask about a diagnosis.  I would explain, we are not going back to eating gluten to get testing done, it is not worth it.  We would go to gluten-free meet-ups and people who were newly diagnosed would treat me like I was playing at having an issue, although as we talked I was stricter at being gluten-free than they were.  

Gluten-free is our lifestyle, along with dairy-free, soy protein-free, tree nut and peanut-free, along with the myriad of random foods I avoid.  Our life revolves around food.  It’s preparation, where we can safely eat, how many stores I will need to go to this week to find everything on my grocery list.  

Oh, the tests.  Positive.  My daughter has both genes, I have one.  Now to get the boys tested.  

Lots of gluten-free love, SB

Why are you an Organizer?

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I am often asked “Why are you an Organizer?”  The answer is “I love it!”  I love to help people par down to just the things they love.  Helping make room in their lives for fresh new energy makes me smile every time.

People often think an organizer is there to “take over” and “make the decisions”.   This is not true.  The client lays out the view, the purpose, and makes the decisions.  An Organizer is there to keep the person on track, know when to take a break, and ask hard questions that most of us would leave for another day.

People also think “Since you are an Organizer, your house must be spotless.”  This, for me, could not be further from the truth.  I live with three others who do not have my love of organizing.  And since they all have rebel tendencies (thank you Gretchen Rubin), my suggestions and plans are often thwarted.  This has been a hard lesson for me. We are a busy  family, and I know one day my house will be very clean and organized.  Not today, we have lots of homework to do, dinner to make, and multiple instruments to practice.  And I can not forget a few loads of laundry.

 

My favorite Dairy alternatives.

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We have been dairy free about 9 years.  Yes, it was overwhelming at first.  Sometimes it is still overwhelming.  The good thing is there are so many new and wonderful dairy free products being introduced all the time.  We are soy protein and nut free also. That still leaves many alternatives for cooking, baking and eating.  

Instead of butter we use Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Spread.  The red tub, and red sticks.  We use this in every way you would use butter, baking, sauteing, and spread on a myriad of goodies.

My go to Milk alternative is Rice Milk.  I do not have a brand favorite and use Rice Dream and Trader Joe’s depending on where I am shopping for the week.  I use this is cooking, baking, on cereal, and countless other ways.  I also like SoDelicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk for making thicker soups and roux. 

We use Daiya Cheese both the mozzarella and cheddar, in shreds and slices.  We melt this on pizza and use it in tacos.  It also makes a wonderful grilled cheese sandwich.

Daiya Cream Chees is al so our choice of cream cheese.  We use it on bagels, dips and anything else that calls for cream cheese.

When switching to dairy free foods there is an awkward transition faze where things do not taste right.  For some it might be best to just not use any alternatives and eat other things for a while be for introducing the alternatives.  They are not exactly the same and if you have a picky eater they are going to know that it is not their beloved mac and cheese.

Shrimp and Corn Chowder, aka the Pretty Soup

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What is it about these cold dreary days that make me want to cook bright looking food?  I try to cook a soup at least once a week.  I have some tried and true, and then some “only if we are snowed in and have all day” recipes. This recipe falls into the “tried and true” category.

This recipe originally called for potatoes, but I do not eat night shades so I needed a substitute.  When I am looking to replace potatoes, if there is not celery in the recipe then I always choose to use rutabaga.  (If there was celery I would have used celery root.) I really like rutabagas and wish more people would try them.  They have a nice soft texture and a somewhat sweet taste.

The other substitution from the original chowder recipe was the milk.  I started out with canned light coconut milk as the liquid for this chowder.  Using the canned light coconut milk makes a very smooth thick soup.  Recently I have been using the SoDelicious Coconut Milk Unsweetened (green box) to cut out a few calories.  The soup ends up not as velvety, but is still very tasty.

There is a tablespoon of flour used to thicken the soup.  I used sweet rice flour when I made it, but you could use any gluten free flour or starch.

This soup is gluten-free, dairy-free and nightshade-free.

 

Shrimp and Corn Chowder

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

IngredientsShrimp and Corn Chowder

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 leeks, chopped
  • fennel bulb, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons rice flour
  • 8 ounce bottle clam juice
  • 3 cups coconut milk
  • 1 pound rutabaga, peeled and chopped
  • 10 ounces corn
  • 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 3/4 pound cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp

Directions

  1. Add olive oil to sauce pan over medium heat
  2. When warm add leeks and fennel, stirring occasionally.  Once these are soft add rice flour and stir.
  3. Pour in clam juice, coconut milk and rutabaga and bring to a boil.
  4. Stir occasionally.  Simmer until rutabagas are soft.
  5. Stir in corn, parsley and lemon juice.  Once these are up to temperature add the shrimp. Season with Salt and Pepper to taste.

Serve while warm.  This soup can be kept in the refrigerator for a few days and reheated in the microwave.

I hope this soup brings some bright summer color to your cold winter day.

Enjoy! Susan B.

Cygnet Organizing LLC

Oatmeal in the Crock-Pot – What’s for Breakfast?

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January is National Oatmeal Month.  I love oatmeal,  I eat it ll year round.  I just recently started making it in the crock-pot so I only need to make it once a week.  I store the cooked oatmeal in the refrigerator and heat it up a serving at a time in the microwave.  I’ve been having my oatmeal in the morning with SoDelicious Coconut Milk Eggnog on top.  I also like to top oatmeal with brown sugar.  I am pretty much a purist when it comes to oatmeal.  Maybe one of this years goals will be to try new oatmeal toppings.  What is your favorite topping for oatmeal?

 

 

Oatmeal in the Crock-Pot

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Oatmeal

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups Gluten-Free Steel Cut Oats
  • 6 cups Water

Directions

  1. Place oatmeal and water in crock-pot, set on low for the night.
  2. If you would prefer to add some sweetener feel free to add a half cup of brown sugar or other sweetener.
  3. In the morning give the oatmeal a stir and transfer to a container to keep in the refrigerator for the week.

Cygnet Organizing LLC

 

PEI WEI

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Eating out with food allergies is tough.  One of our favorites is PEI WEI.  Their gluten-free sweet and sour is amazing.  We even order the sweet and sour chicken without the sauce and the chicken is then similar to chicken nuggets.  Also PEI WEI has those awesome choose from hundreds futuristic soda machines.  We have eaten at PEI WEI in multiple cities and have always had no problem ordering.  Check to see if there is one near you.

Hopping John

New Year Traditions

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Happy 2016!  It’s the beginning of a new year, and that means many things…the school year is partway over, I am counting the hours until my children return to school, it is NAPO GO month, and there are 365 days ahead of me to reach the goals I am setting for the year.

I am always trying to find foods to go along with each holiday and occasion we celebrate.  I had read a few years ago that it was good luck to eat black-eyed peas for New Years. I found this Hoppin” John recipe from Simply Recipes that was mostly free of the things we can not eat.  I left out the green peppers and Cajun seasoning, no Nightshades.  I also used a can of black-eyed peas and just warmed them through instead of cooking it for an hour.  I served it along with a beef roast and roasted root vegetables.  It was a great meal to start off the new year.

Chewy Chocolate Meringue Cookies

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I love these cookies!  They are so easy to make and who doesn’t like a chocolate cookie?  These are great anytime of year but are an easy recipe to take to a cookie swap.  They are dairy free, gluten free, soy free and nut free.

Ingredients

3 cups powdered sugar

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

3 egg whites at room temperature (you can also use egg whites in the box!)

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips (we use Trader Joe’s semi-sweet)

 

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  2. Line a cookie sheet with a silpat mat or parchment paper
  3. In a bowl mix together powdered sugar and cocoa
  4. Add the egg whites slowly.  If the dough is too runny the cookies will spread out too much as they cook.  They will still be yummy, just not in circular form.
  5. Once the dough is wet but not runny add the vanilla and chocolate chips.  Stir until the chips are incorporated throughout.
  6. Scoop batter into mounds about two tablespoons in size onto the prepared baking sheet.
  7. Bake in oven for 13-15 minutes until the tops are shiny and cracked.
  8. Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a plate to finish cooling.