GO BRONCOS!

We have our 'Bronco' on!

If you are from Colorado, it is a given that you will cheer for the Denver Broncos.  In addition, you are not surprised by the sight of things that are orange and blue like: homes, cars, and sunsets.  I am a product of the Elway days, The Drive, and the Three Amigos.  I am so excited that the Broncos are back in the Super Bowl!  To celebrate, I have a few orange and blue dishes to try.  Most are vegan and gluten free, so these are safe foods to bring to the People’s Republic of Boulder (you know who you are!).

Carrot Ginger Dip

2 cups of shredded or finely chopped carrots

3 TBSP of diced shallots

¼ cup of chopped, fresh ginger

¼ cup of rice vinegar

2 TBSP of honey or agave

2 TBSP sesame oil

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup water

½ tsp. sea salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Place everything in a blender and keep it spinning until everything is smooth.  The dip goes well with vegetables, chips, or can be used as a salad dressing.   It also can be mixed with avocado for a different kind of guacamole.

Butternut Squash and Blue Corn Tacos

*These can be made with chicken, just add shredded, cooked chicken.

1 medium size butternut squash

 2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 sweet onion, coarsely sliced

2 TBSP olive oil

1 can of vegetarian refried beans

12 blue corn tortillas, hard shell

1 jar of tomatillo salsa

1 cup of shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

½ cup chopped cilantro

The green stuff is shredded 'Seahawk'

Slice butternut squash into small sections, peel and cube and remove seeds.  Place in an oven safe dish with garlic and onion and bake at 375 degrees for 45-60 min or until cooked.  Once the butternut squash is cooked, coarsely chop and combine the onions, garlic and squash until the mixture is slightly mashed.  Heat beans on the stove top and heat oven to 220 degrees.

Divide the heated beans and butternut squash into shells.  Add chicken and cheese if that works for you.  Place tacos into a large oven safe dish or cookie sheet and heat in the oven for about 10 minutes at 220 degrees.  Garnish with cilantro and a generous spoonful of tomatillo salsa.

Mile High Brownies

If you are living outside of Colorado, this is a conversation brownie. Be prepared to answer questions regarding the new law in Colorado if you call them Mile High Brownies.  

Anyway...

Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix is really good!  It even works when you omit the egg.  The mix has wheat but it is dairy free.  Substitute the egg with a FLAX EGG and make adjustments for altitude, if needed, as suggested on the box.

Seeing in a New Light

When I found out that my children had food allergies, our diets and the way we viewed food completely changed.  We had to read the label of each food to dissect the ingredients listed and determine if it was ‘safe’.  We cut out major calorie sources from our diet like dairy products, wheat, nuts, and eggs.  Basically, we had to find new foods to eat.

We were struggling to find replacement foods for the basics of a balanced diet and kid friendly alternatives for foods like bread, cheese, and baked goods.  Some searches and experiments were successful, others seemed completely fruitless.  Meanwhile, I felt like I was starving all of the time, and I knew that my son felt the same way. 

The journey in our diet has involved many years of research, help and tips from friends and family, and trial and error.  In the process, I felt overwhelmed most of the time.  It was at these lowest moments that we made our greatest strides and advancements in his diet.  The funny thing is that the foods we added were always around us; we just saw them in a new light.

Welcome to my first challenge for the year.  I challenge you to look at the possibilities of new foods to introduce to your diet, changing the way you make your food, and introduce one new whole food.   For us, these foods included baked potatoes, bananas, salami, brown rice wraps, homemade coconut ice cream, enchiladas made without cheese, acorn squash, hash browns, grits, and quinoa to name a few.  The list seems very modest and obvious, but when feeling overwhelmed by the demands of the allergy diet, the simple things are not always simple.

Please comment about the changes you made or food that you added to your diet. It will likely help others!

Here is what I tried this week:

Quinoa Flakes and Oats Granola

1 ½ cups quinoa flakes

1 ½ cups regular cut oats

¼ cup canola oil

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup maple syrup

Pinch of sea salt

Optional additions:

¾ cup shredded coconut

1 cup dried fruits

1 cup chopped almonds

Combine quinoa flakes, oats and salt in a large bowl.   Mix together oil, sugar, and syrup.  Pour mixture over dry ingredients and mix well.  Place on a large cookie sheet or dish and bake for 20 min at 400 degrees, stirring every 5 minutes.   The quinoa will cook fast and may burn if not stirred.  Mix in optional ingredients after the granola cools.  Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.  This recipe was adapted from a friend’s recipe and from my new favorite cookbook, It’s All Good, by Gwyneth Paltrow.

Special thanks to my kids and their friends who helped with this post today.  They each tried the granola and a new whole food today:  kiwi and pomegranates! 

I Smuggled Red Chile to Virginia for this Dish

Posole

Red Chile is the key ingredient in Posole.  The broth is red and the flavor is smokey and deep with a little heat, all thanks to the red chile. This is a New Mexico dish that is traditionally served at Christmas Eve to celebrate the years' blessings. This soup uses foods that native Pueblo Indians relied upon for their subsistence: corn, beans, and chile.  The whole recipe is gluten free.  If you are adding meat to this recipe, two options are available.  See below for the "*" details before you start.

Okay, so I didn't smuggle it, but I made sure that there was room in the suitcase for it.  Isn't it beautiful?

3-5 dried red chile

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1 garlic clove, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 large can of hominy, rinsed and drained

1 can of beans (pinto, kidney, etc)

32 oz of stock/broth (chicken or vegetable)

1 lb of cooked pork that is either cubed or shredded*

Extras:

Lemons, halved and quartered

Green onions, sliced

Cilantro leaves

Cabbage, thinly sliced

Radishes, thinly sliced

Plain yogurt

Remove seeds and stems from chile and tear into small pieces and place in a blender or small food processor.  Pulverize chile until it is a small coarse powder.  

Add 2 TBSP of canola oil to a 5 quart stock pot. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic. Sauté for 10-15 minutes until onions are soft.  Add red chile, cumin, and oregano and sauté for an additional few minutes. Add hominy, beans and broth. 

If you are making the vegetarian version, cook over medium heat for 30 minutes and serve.

* Meat options:  

• Diced uncooked, pork or chicken:  Add the diced meat prior to sautéing the onions and then continue with recipe.
• I prefer to slow cook a pork loin and shred the meat for the soup.  There are two ways to cook a pork loin and both require advanced planning.  
• Bake the pork according to these directions:  http://www.porkbeinspired.com/Resources/Images/2924.pdf 
• Slow cooker method:  Place a 2-3 lb whole loin in a slow cooker with 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup water, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp red pepper.  Cook in high for 4-5 hours.  Shred meat using two forks.

Goodbye 2013 and HELLO 2014

2013 was a great year for my family and I am inspired by the possibilities of the New Year.  Personally, in 2013, I became a little more adventurous and relaxed at the same time.   I took a risk with writing this blog and asking you to read it, too. Thank you!  I am happy that I took that risk and I invite you to continue to follow me in 2014.  

The coming year will focus on eating healthy and getting your kids to do the same.  I will have lots of new recipes and some challenges that will make you question and reflect on your eating habits.

Before 2013 is too far in the past, a recap of our recent travels with food allergies is in order.  At the end of 2013, my family ventured home to Colorado. 

We used all of the ‘tools’ in our toolbox in order to fly across the country, sled, hike, ski, play, escape, and repeat a cross country flight.  Chipotle came through once again for providing a safe meal for the whole family on multiple occasions.   We were able to bring back 5 loaves of Outside the Bread Box bread.  If you live in Colorado or a surrounding state, you should check out this bread because it is wonderful. 

Packed lunches are a must at the ski resort and help prevent that awkward cadence of stomping around in ski boots while trying to balance hot cocoa and a bowl of soup.  

We had trusting family and friends who helped to watch our kids and they included us in all of the fun.  My dear friends and neighbors introduced me to two new things.  First, I learned that Costco has a great vegan, GF, ready to cook, cookie dough mix. It made yummy cookies for a unique birthday cake.  Secondly, Gwyneth Paltrow actually has a great cook book called It’s All Good.  So get beyond your preconceived notions of movie stars, read it, and cook from it.  

We decided to carry along a thermos full of heated baked potato in the case of flight delays on our return to Virginia.  It happened to come in very handy at O’Hare airport in Chicago.  Fortunately, we did not need to figure out how to live in an airport for 3 days with kids with food allergies.

My visit was fun, enlightening, and offered me a chance at perspective for the coming year.  I was able to live for a short time in my future life, but return to my Virginia life.  I have returned with renewed enthusiasm for savoring the time we have left on our adventure.  Please join me!