Greek Salad

I have been loving Greek food lately! Here is a great lunch idea that is packed with nutrition. 

The oil in the dressing has Omega 3's, the artichoke hearts are great for blood sugar regulation and this meal is packed with fiber, good fat, and vitamins and minerals. One of the best parts is that this salad is very satisfying and I feel content until dinner.

Here is a little greek salad recipe I just add as much as I want of the ingredients so these are not exact:

-Cucumber

-Kalamata Olives

-Artichoke hearts (I get them in a jar in water, not marinated)

-Feta Cheese
-Tomatoes or bell peppers optional 

Home made Greek salad dressing:

1/3 c red wine vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
2 t dijon mustard
2 c garlic minced
1/2 t Italian seasonings
1/4 t fresh ground pepper
1/4 c flax seed oil
1/4 c olive oil

I double this recipe and put it in a salad dressing bottle to keep in the fridge so I can use it with my daily salad.

Onion Rings - Gluten Free

Every once and a while we really miss one of those treats you just can't get gluten free. Onion rings is one of those in our house. They are really quite taste gluten free or not. I just don't like the mess they make.

 This recipe is so simple, you will need:

1 large onion pealed and thinly sliced.
GF flour (I used Pamelas All Purpose)
water
Grapeseed oil
little salt and pepper to taste

Be forewarned on this recipe, measurements are to texture and taste.

1. First peal and cut the onion.
2. Dust the sliced onion with flour.
3. In a shallow bowl mix about 1 c flour with 1 c water. Wisk until smooth, add water until think like pancake batter.
4. Heat oil in pan, only about 1/4 high. A little less if you prefer.
5. Drag onions through the flour and water then set in the pan to pan fry till golden.

Here is a picture of what the onions look like in the batter. I like my batter slightly thinner.

Remove the onions and set them on a paper towel. You can put them on a cookie sheet in the oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit to keep warm while you cook the rest of your dinner. 

These were so tasty!! But I remembered why I almost never cook them. The kitchen was a disaster from the oil!

I hope you enjoy your GF onion rings once in a blue moon like us.

Kristen

Chia Seed Pudding

This is absolutely the best breakfast or lunch. I get asked all the time what is a good breakfast for my child who can't eat, wheat, eggs, sugar, etc. Well, here is one of my favorites!

Chia seeds are so good for you, they help to stabilize blood sugar levels. They are also a good source of fiber, anti-oxidants, protein, calcium and iron (the kind your body knows how to absorb). Unsweetened almond milk is another great ingredient without sugar and has some protein. The local raw honey helps with allergies and has many other benefits as well. Last, the cinnamon helps to control blood sugar also, is an anti-inflammatory and has many anti-oxidants. Throw in some fresh in season berries and you have a breakfast packed with nutrients and antioxidants. You can even sprinkle a few crumbs of fresh local bee pollen on it to add to the allergy benefits.

This takes less then 5 mins to throw together in a mason jar. Give it a few shakes every couple of mins to move the seeds around and then put it in the fridge for the morning.

2 c vanilla unsweetened almond milk (I use Trader Joe's because I like the flavor, not too nutty and it does not have carrageenan)
1/2 c chia seeds
1/4 c raw local honey
1/4 t cinnamon

1. Pour all ingredients into a mason jar and shake well. Let sit for a couple mins and shake again. Repeat a couple times before putting it in the fridge.

2. Serve with fresh berries, bananas or other in season fruit of your choice.

If you are as old as me, now you no longer have to think of chia seeds as, "chi-chi-cha-chia" Those little chia pets growing in your kitchen window. Now you can enjoy them in a different and healthy way.
 
To learn more about taking back your health, visit premierifm.com

Kristen

Dijon Veggies

These veggies are yummy just sautéd, but add the dijon sauce and they are wonderful! Once again, I couldn't get enough.

It has been fun getting back into cooking something new each week and trying to make sure it's something different to keep up with having as many different veggies as I can. I hope this motivates you to do the same.

This is a quick and easy one. 

Recipe:

Asparagus

Artichoke hearts

Green Beans

1-2 T olive oil

1/4 c sugar free dijon

1/4 c olive oil

4 cloves garlic (minced)

1 T balsamic vinegar

Sauté the veggies in a pan with olive oil till done. While the veggies are cooking, make the sauce. Mix the last ingredients together and pour over the veggies and use sea salt and pepper to taste.

I also poured the sauce over my fresh whole chicken cooked in my Instapot.

Kristen and PremierIFM

Mixed Greens

These greens are so flavorful that I ate them up like candy. Too bad the kids complain about everything and think that the texture of greens is so bad they are going to dye when they eat them.

I'll give you the recipe first: 

3 baby bok choy

1 bag of mixed greens from Trader Joe's (kale, spinach and swis chard) - if you don't have a Traders in your area, just pick up some of these greens and you will have to do more chopping.

5 cloves garlic (minced)

2 T olive oil

1-2 T balsamic vinegar

1/4 c water

1. Sauté the garlic in the olive oil on medium heat till it starts to simmer a little, don't let it burn.

2. Add the greens and cook till almost wilted about 1-2 mins.
3. Add the water and vinegar and cook till the liquid is completely reduced and serve. They are so taste, you don't need salt and pepper. Serve with a yummy, healthy, and organic protein.

Then watch your kids be all dramatic when they are eating like this:

And this:

I know, I am a horrible mom that I feed my kids this awful stuff. But that's what happens when your dad practices Functional Medicine! I hope yours enjoy it more then mine.

Kristen and Premier IFM

Oven Roasted Veggies

Here is a super simple, super easy recipe for you. One of our favorites, oven roasted veggies.

This one is a favorite for the kids because they can get a lot of what they like and for the adults because it has all the healthy food we need. Even in this household we don't get enough of a variety. 

Here is the recipe:

1 head of cauliflower

1 bunch of broccoli

1 bag of mushrooms sliced or whole

1 zuccini or yellow squash

1 red bell pepper

2 carrots

5 cloves garlic (minced)

2 T olive oil

1 T macadamia nut oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Chop veggies, garlic and onions and toss with oils. Bake at 450 for 20 mins or until roasted. 

I hope you enjoy these as much as us! And remember, Food IS Medicine.

Kristen

Gluten & Corn Free Holiday: Green Bean Casserole

After a few years of being gluten and corn free, we have finally been able to make an entire gluten free Thanksgiving meal. Today I am going to share with you our green bean casserole recipe.

One of the things we struggle with is that when you have store bought gluten free items, often times, they add a corn product in place of the gluten. This makes it very difficult for us to have anything that isn't prepared at home. The bright side of this is that we have found and come up with some wonderful recipes where nobody would even know it was gluten free.

Casserole Ingredients:

2 T Olive Oil
1 sm onion
8 oz white button mushrooms (chopped small)
2 cloves garlic
2 T gluten free flour (I used Pamela's all purpose gluten free flour)
2 T butter
2 c milk
1/4 t salt
1 bag frozen french cut green beans
1/2 cup fresh grated Romano cheese (divided)

Fried Onion Ingredients:

1/4 c gluten free flour mix
1/4 c milk
1 large onion cut into thin strips
1/8 t salt
about 1/2 c grapeseed oil

First make the casserole:

1. In a large sauce pan sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil.

2. Add the mushrooms when the onions are almost translucent, sauté until mushrooms are tender.

3. Remove onions and mushrooms from the pan. Turn the burner to low and make a roux with 2 T butter and gluten free flour. Melt the butter and add the flour. stir till mixed completely, but don't let it burn. Next add the milk SLOWLY. Simmer until thick and bubbly.

4. Add back the onions and mushrooms. Also add the salt.

5. Add the green beans and 1/2 the parmesan and stir.

6. Transfer all of this to a square casserole dish and bake at 350 for 30 mins.

Now make the fried onions.

1. Cut the onions into very thin strips. I used a small onion and it wasn't enough, so use 2 small or 1 large onion. Meanwhile heat the grapeseed oil.

2. Soak the onions in the milk then shake them in a bag with your gluten free flour and salt.

3. Test the oil first to see if it is hot enough with one onion. If it is hot enough the onion will sizzle when dropped in. Use tongs to drop them in the oil covering the bottom of the pan. Take them out when they are crisp and golden brown.

4. When the casserole is done, top with the remaining Romano and the french fried onions and bake for another 10 mins.

I hope you enjoy your Gluten Free Thanksgiving as much as us! Please let us know what you think.

Kristen and Premier IFM

Blueberry Pie: dairy and gluten free!

My husband has always loved berry pies and I never have, mostly because of the crust. One day I decided to make him a treat, but I had to change of the crust, partly because I couldn't stand the taste and partly because shortening is terrible for your body and I refused to buy it. That pie turned out pretty good and it was the first berry pie I actually liked.

Fast forward to a couple years ago when we found our our son cannot eat any wheat or gluten, I had come up with a new pie crust which is just as amazing as the first. 

This pie only has one picture, because it never is around long enough for me to snap a shot of it!

For the pie crust:

1 1/2 c gluten free flour (I use Pamela's)

1 T sugar

1/2 t salt

1/2 c coconut oil (if liquid, refrigerate a bit to firm it up)

4 T water

Directions:

1. Mix the flour, sugar and salt together. Cut in the coconut oil until mixed well. Then add the water and continue cutting the dough until it is completely mixed.

2. Take a little more then 1/2 the dough and evenly press it into an 9 inch pie pan and up the sides.

3. Bake the crust at 475 for 10 minutes until browned

4. Remove from the oven and add pie filling***

5. Press the rest of the dough on a parchment paper into a circle the size of the top of the pie pan. Quickly and carefully flip the dough onto the pie and peel off the parchment paper. Pinch the edges to the pan and cut some slits in the center of the crust to vent.

For the blueberry pie:

5 c frozen organic wild blueberries (Trader Joes)

3/4 cups sugar

3 1/2 T gluten free flour blend (I use Pamela's Bread Mix)

juice of 1 lemon

Directions: 

1. Make the pie crust above, ***add the filling then the top.

2. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes

3. Reduce temp to 325 and bake for 40 more minutes

4. Broil 1-3 minutes until the top is browned

5. Remove from oven and cool a bit and eat warm and enjoy!

Kristen and Premier IFM

Gluten Free Banana Muffins

We are getting right into our gluten free grove and finding/creating/modifying recipes that are approved by the whole family and that don't make us miss gluten at all. (I wish I could say the same for dairy).

We are making these treats on a weekly basis right now and they don't last long. Sometimes the batch is gone in about 15 mins!

Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit
2 C Gluten Free Flour (I use Pamela's Bread Mix)
1 t baking soda
1/4 c butter (melted) **
1/4 c coconut oil (melted)
3/4 c pure maple syrup
2 eggs
2 over ripe bananas
1/4 t cinnamon

Mash the bananas then mix with all the wet ingredients. Add the dry and beat on high till smooth. These muffins are gluten free, so don't worry about over mixing, it won't make them tough. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

If your kids don't like banana chunks, put all the ingredients in the blender, blend it up real quick and pour them in the muffin tins.

**Dairy free option: Substitute butter for coconut oil.

I hope you enjoy them as much as our family does!

Kristen

Wheat and Cow's Milk Free Chicken Parmesan

Since little C and I were tested for food sensitivities, we have had to say good bye to some of our favorite foods. It has taken some time, but I have found ways to recreate a few of them. I had a craving for some good Italian food and I have really been missing the cheese. So, I set out to make some good ol' Chicken Parmesan.

I started with this Hunt's tomato sauce that I bought quite a while ago and added some Wild Tree seasonings to make a spaghetti sauce. I love that this sauce is in a box and not a can.

I pounded the chicken flat.

Dipped it in egg...

Then I dipped it in the Ian's Panko Gluten Free Bread Crumbs mixed with some sheep cheese and seasonings. By clicking on here you can see them on Amazon.

After that I pan browned both sides.

Then I put the chicken in a pan with the sauce and Sheep Romano another cheese I can't find the name of. It is a lighter flavor like mozzarella.

These are my absolute favorite noodles. If I get any other quinoa noodles, they have corn flour and we can not have corn in my house. These Brown Rice, Quinoa noodles also have the best texture to them, just like drum wheat noodles.

Sadly, I don't have a finished product picture. The dinner was so good we all ate it all up. I was very happy to have a yummy pasta and cheesy dinner without all the stomach ache.

Gluten Free Pancakes

I'm still working on those morning meals. Pancakes is a favorite around here, but unless you have some eggs to go with them or some nut butter on top, they are just not a good start to a day. It's basically a bread (turns into sugar in the body) topped with sugar. But, we do have them as a treat on occasion. 

I hate when I start making something only to notice I am out of an ingredient I need! I went to make the pancakes, told the kids that's what we were having and I was completely out of my Pamela's Pancake Mix which is so simple to use. Luckily, I had a ton of Pamela's Bread Mix to replace the all purpose flour in my regular pancake recipe and of course, I used Coconut Oil, my favorite oil for baking.

When ever I use the bread mix, I have noticed my dough is a sticky. Just an observation. It doesn't bother me unless I am making tortillas because you use your hands for those. Even though the dough is a little sticky, they cook great on my cast-iron skillet with a little coconut oil. This is my absolute favorite cooking pan! I use it for EVERYTHING! Plus all I need to do is wipe it clean with a wet cloth when I'm done. I have one in my trailer and one in my kitchen.

First try replacing all purpose flour with my Pamela's Gluten Free Bread Mix and they were a hit with the kids!

If I figure out a tasty high fiber recipe, I will share that as well. In the mean time, these are great for a little treat or to accompany a good protein.

Gluten Free Banana Muffins

After chronic stomach aches and sore throats without being sick, we had our son tested for food sensitivities and we found out he can't have wheat, corn and peanuts. Those are high on his list of sensitivities but, there are other things he can have only occasionally like, soy, gluten, and asparagus among others. 

Now, we have entered the world of gluten free (if you can't have wheat, just go for gluten free). The hard part is, many gluten free products have corn in them. Corn is almost an immediate reaction for my son and I. I also find soy in many products, even though soy is lower on his list, it is still there and he can not have it every day so I have to avoid products without soy. We have found gluten free breads to not be very good and I like to make my own stuff at home anyway. I am so excited to have found Pamela's Gluten free Bread Mix! I can use it as an all purpose flour and make home made bread. 

As we are preparing for school, I'm trying to come up with some different things for breakfast for my kids that is not just sugar like cereals. We can do eggs and oatmeal, but none of us want those every day. So, I'm making some healthy muffins.

I used my Pamela's Bread Mix as an all purpose flour for banana bread and added a little almond meal (not to be confused with finer almond flour) for some extra protein. Instead of white refined sugar, I used honey. This is not the honey I use for my energy balls, when we will be eating the honey raw, I always use raw local honey from our local farmers market. The cheaper honey is for baking and cooking only. 

L decided to help when it was time to fill the muffin tins.

I needed my little helper to taste test them for me because I can't have almonds. They were a success! The kids loved them and they will make a great breakfast or snack in their lunches.

Recipe:

1 1/2 c Pamela's Bread Mix
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t cinnamon
1 egg
1 c mashed bananas (3 large bananas)
1/3 c honey
1/4 c coconut oil
1/2 c almond meal (or oatmeal if you can't have nuts)

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Test with a tooth pick for doneness.

Let me know what you think if you try them.

Kristen

Homemade Laundry Detergent

After wanting to do it for over a year, I FINALLY got around to it! My homemade laundry detergent. I love it! It makes the clothes all soft and it cleans them up well too. I always use the recipe and instructions from The Family Homestead. She does a great job with the instructions, so I'm not going to recreate it. But I will share my pictures and tips with you.

Here are my ingredients...

I bought the Fels-Naptha in the detergent section of Stater Bros. Every time I went to the store, I would look in the soap section! Or you can buy it by clicking on the link through Amazon.

The Borax can be bought at the store or through amazon again.

The Soda Ash I buy at the pool supply store because I am there often enough anyway. I did find some on Amazon if you don't have a pool supply store near you, but I have not had a chance to price compare.

When you grade the soap, be very careful! I graded my knuckle off the first time. That didn't feel good, but at least it was clean, right.

Stir the soap and water mixture until it dissolves completely.

After I pour my cooked soap into the 2 gallon bucket, I stir it a bit, then let it sit undisturbed for 24 hours. It jells up nicely if you have all the ingredients measured correctly. My first batch didn't gel, it always separated so I had to stir it before each use. I'm excited to use the nicely gelled batch.