Happy Saturday

Connor on his birthday cooking


My baby turned 11 on Wednesday, I still can't believe he is 11. I am very proud of him and he has shown me even though things can be difficult to not give up. He inspired me to go back to school to become a Nutritionist and is always encouraging me. He has the biggest heart and loves to work hard. He has his life all planned out down to what cars he wants to buy, where he wants to live, how many dogs he is going to have, kids, what he wants in his dream kitchen, etc. His first big dream involves becoming a chef and going to Italy to chef school. He has been getting cooking lessons at an Italian restaurant and loving every minute of it. I surprised him by cooking lessons on his birthday and dinner there. He had a great time peeling, chopping, measuring and learning other things. Happy Birthday Connor xoxo

Our new toaster

We got rid of our microwave many months ago when Connor was experiencing a lot of health problems and we have been using our toaster oven A LOT! We just got this new toaster oven on sale and we are loving it. It does so many things and is so fun to use. I love anything for the kitchen, my dream kitchen would have everything in it. The kids can use the toaster oven to heat things up, make toast, and it is big enough to bake anything in it as well.

A new protein powder I bought at Food Smith's

We use a lot of different powders and I am always buying new ones to add to our smoothies. We have bought progressive protein powders before and really like the taste and quality of them. I found this new one at Food Smith's in Perth and it has a great taste. Kelsey added some water and ice to the powder this morning and enjoyed it with her breakfast. We usually add the powders to a smoothie though in our blender with frozen fruit, water or juice and ice. I also picked up a new almond protein powder to add to our smoothies.

A few easy gluten free snacks I picked up at Food Smith's

Rice snacks have become our new best friends. We always have different kinds of rice crackers and rice cakes for a quick snack. We discovered the thin square rice cakes make a good alternative to bread. We have used them to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, hamburger buns, and are good with hummus. Rice crackers can make a easy snack with nut butters, vegetables, fruit, dips, nuts and seeds,etc. There are many different kinds out there and they are easy to find at grocery stores and health food stores. I picked up a few fruit snacks as well for a quick gluten free snack. It is nice having quick snacks that can be packed for car trips, going to the park or outings or just a snack at home. Other gluten free snacks can be cut up fruits, vegetables and dip, nuts and seeds, all fruit freezies or popsicles, rice icecream, gluten free cereal and almond milk.

Have a great weekend.

Homemade Dill Pickles

Dill Pickles;

Make brine in a clean container; 3 cups of water, 6 tbsp of white vinegar, 3 tbsp of kosher salt. Mix well.

Put cucumber slices, fresh dill and garlic in a clean mason jar. Pour brine to almost the top of jar and put lid on. Put in your fridge for 2 days before eating and enjoy!

I don't know how long these stay fresh for but in my house pickles don't last long at all. These were eaten very quickly and I have made more a few times! Connor says they are the best pickles he has ever eaten.

Breakfast with the bears

Kelsey was given some stuffed animals yesterday when we were visiting family. She loved all the bears so much she slept with all of them and they had to eat breakfast with her. She enjoyed a bowl of a new gluten free cereal with almond milk. She also had fresh peach slices, juice and her vitamins with it. Breakfast is Kelsey's favourite meal of the day. She enjoys pretty much any breakfast food and would happily eat it for lunch and dinner if I let her. She loves fresh fruit, smoothies, toast, cereal, pancakes, waffles, any kind of egg, bacon as a treat, muffins or bread, yogurt, organic peanut or nut butters, organic jams and agave nectar, granola, breakfast potatoes, etc. She loves all of it and she eats a great breakfast. I have adapted many of her favourites to gluten and dairy free. She eats a bit of dairy still but at home eats all gluten free. She also has her vitamins and a drink with her breakfast. Having a great breakfast provides children with a great start to the day. It helps them to have enough energy, helps with learning and focus, keeps a more stable mood, and prevents over eating or too much snacking in the day.

What is your children's favourite breakfast?

Summer Heat

yummy vegetable fried rice

mmm, green smoothies

It is Wednesday vegetable delivery day so we had a smoothie for breakfast with some of the greens.
Our smoothie today had greens, almond milk, frozen cherries, frozen bananas and ice. It was really good and refreshing on a hot day.

Some tips for a good green smoothie;

• Start with smaller amounts of greens and increase the amounts, about 1/2-1 cup of greens is a good amount if you are making them for your family. You can use whatever green you would like, fresh or frozen spinach, lettuce, or mixed greens.


• Use lots of ice


• Frozen bananas add a good taste and thickness
  
• Frozen fruit adds a nice sweetness and taste, frozen cherries, blueberries, raspberries or strawberries work well
  
• Add a liquid, we use almond milk usually but you can use whatever milk or juice

Introducing green smoothies to your children is a great way to include lots of nutrients and vitamins to their diet.

We had a yummy fried rice for dinner with our fresh vegetables. We made rice with epicure chicken soup mix and fresh rosemary. In a pan we had cut up fresh carrots, garlic scape, mushrooms, and zucchini. We put the cooked rice, vegetables, pepper and an organic egg together and cooked it for a few minutes. It was a great dinner and wasn't too heavy on a hot day.

Some tips for staying healthy on a hot day;

• Stay hydrated, lots and lots of water, stay away from high sugar drinks


• Fresh fruit makes a great snack; watermelon, berries, cherries, etc.


• Smoothies and homemade Popsicles


• Cut up vegetables and dip
  
• Smaller mini meals every few hours rather then big heavy meals


• Meal salads or cold pasta salads can be options rather then a hot meal


• banana soft serve makes a great ice cream


• the library is a great place to stay cool and get some books for summer reading


• stay out of the heat


• a quality children's multivitamin

Vegetable Kids and Amy Pancakes

We are back from a great camping trip and weekend trip to visit family. We got our organic vegetable delivery just before we left to go camping. The kids were having a great time unpacking the vegetables for me. It saves me so much time having vegetables delivered to my house every Wednesday morning. The vegetables are so fresh and so much variety in the bags. We got some new items this week and some of the same. Our favourites were snow peas, tomatoes, carrots, brocolli and cucumbers. We got mint and it was so fresh and the flavour was great, the kids were pretending it was gum when we were camping. It got left out on the table the one night and unfortunately the raccoon enjoyed it as much as we did. We are hoping for some more mint in the delivery this week!

We have discovered the best tasting gluten free pancakes, they are so good. They are better then any pancake I have tried and you would never know they were gf! Connor's good friend has Celiac disease and she can not eat anything with gluten so she has shared some of her favourite foods. The pancake/waffle mix is made by kinnikinnick foods. I added blueberries and they were really good. The kids have named them Amy pancakes they like them so much.

Going gluten free has not been as hard as I imagined. Of course there are challenges and times when it is not easy but we are all adjusting to it. Connor and I are gf all of the time and Noel and Kelsey are gf at home. I am reading the G Free Diet by Elisabeth Hasselbeck right now and it has been helpful. Talking to others who eat gluten free is a great way to find out what brands they like. Not all gluten free food is good, some can be very dry or crumble and it can be frustrating when you have spent the money on it. I usually ask in a health food store what the best gluten free products are and they will tell you what they can't keep in stock because it sells out as soon as they get it. I am still on the search for a good gf tortilla wrap, I can't find one with the right taste and that will not fall apart. Another helpful thing I have found is to take any meal we enjoy and make it gluten free. The kids love pasta and we eat it once a week so I buy gluten free noodles. You can use gluten free bread crumbs in recipes and change any wheat flour to a gf flour blend. I find focusing the meal around a protein source, a vegetable and or salad, and a grain such as rice, quinoa or gf noodles makes meal planning easier.

Have a great week.

Healthy Camping Food

I am really looking forward to our first camping trip of the season. Our family loves to camp and nothing is better then eating a meal by the campfire after a day at the beach and canoeing.
I have been trying to think of what meals to make when we are camping. Here are some of my ideas for snacks and meals for the camping season. I will adding to the lists and if you have any suggestions please let me know so I can your ideas to the lists.
**my list is a bit more limited this year with not being able to eat gluten, corn, dairy, grapes, oranges, chocolate, artificial flavours/colours, pork, and eggs. Some of these we have eliminated as a family to support Connor and some he does not mind if we eat(organic eggs and dairy in small amounts)**

Breakfasts;

• drinks-water, herbal teas, organic juice and organic coffee
• fresh fruit cut up
• homemade muffins(gluten free)
• granola
• toast with nut butters(gluten free bread)
• gluten free cereal with almond milk
• oatmeal
• gluten free pancakes with berries
• eggs

Lunches;

• cut up vegetables
• dips; hummus, salsa, avocados
• rice chips, crackers, cakes
• fruit
• cold pasta salads(gluten free noodles)
• chicken or tuna salad on wraps or bread(gluten free) or rice cakes
• organic peanut butter and jam on rice cakes or gf bread
• pickles
• salad
• bean salads

Snacks;

• vegetables and dip
• fruit-watermelon, apples, peaches,berries,bananas, pears, cherries,etc
• organic chips, rice chips
• nuts/seeds
• homemade granola bars
• homemade trail mix
• still searching for organic marshmallows
• gluten free cookies

Dinners;

• pasta with sauce(gluten free noodles)
• organic chicken
• steak
• hamburgers or veggy burgers-homemade or store bought
• organic hot dogs and gluten free buns(I picked up all beef organic hot dogs at Food smiths in Perth)
• rice
• Vegetables-sweet potatoes, salad, coleslaw, potatoes, broccoli, coleslaw, cauliflower,carrots, cucumbers, grilled vegetables(zucchini, mushrooms, peppers,etc)

What are your favourite camping meals? Please let me know if you can think of anything for my lists. I will be adding to them and using the lists for camping and picnics over the summer. Happy Summer :)

Organic Vegetable Delivery

It felt like Christmas opening up the bags to see what we got today. Everything is organic and grown at a farm not too far from here so it is picked and delivered fresh. The produce will be filled with lots of nutrients and I can't wait to use it. I cut up some carrots to go with the kids dinner tonight, they had leftovers. The carrots were so fresh, and full of flavour. I can't wait to try the rest of the produce and try some new recipes. Each week the delivery will be different produce and amounts.

This weeks delivery had;

• sweet potatoes-yum! We all love sweet potatoes and we will probably roast them
• a very big mushroom-not sure what we will do with it, stir fry possibly, put in pasta
• carrots-will be great for juicing and carrot sticks
• tomatoes-I am craving a toasted tomato sandwich, need to get some more gluten free bread
• potatoes-baked potatoes probably
• radishes-just eat them with some other cut up vegs
• cauliflower-either raw or we will steam it
• greens-lots of greens to enjoy, need to make some green smoothies and salads with them
• cucumber-cut up with the carrot sticks
• sprouts-I am thinking they would be good in a salad and in a sandwich with humus and other vegs
• onions-salad, with the baked potatoes
• zucchini-my favourite! I am thinking a gluten free zucchini cake, bread or muffins

Any other ideas to use the produce?

If anyone who lives near me would like some flour let me know, it is all yours. I have some bags not even opened and a few opened bags of whole wheat and regular flour. We are going gluten free as a family and my pantry is almost cleaned out of items with gluten except for some bags of flour. Let me know if you would like it and I would be happy to get it to you.