Starting tomorrow, Lovebug has 2 weeks of swimming lessons first thing in the morning, followed by a week of Science Camp in the mornings. That means we will not be sitting down at the table for a leisurely breakfast for quite some time, so we needed something we could “grab & go”.
It couldn’t be just any food though. It needs to be healthy and packed full of nutrients so that she can get through the morning with enough energy and is able to focus.
Today I made “Egg Cupcakes”, and “Apple Muffins”, and I made a ton of them so I can throw them in the freezer and just pop a couple out each day. One of each, and a side of grapes or apple slices will make a perfect breakfast that can be eaten easily in the car if needed.
The Egg Cupcakes have eggs, chopped ham, zucchini, red bell pepper, spinach and seasonings. Lovebug will eat almost anything, but she doesn’t like zucchini or red bell pepper. However, thanks to my food processor, she can’t even taste it in there – as evidenced by the fact that she ate 3 of them tonight fresh out of the oven!
The Apple Muffins have apples (of course), banana, grated carrots, & raisins. They are also GFCF, and made with almond meal instead of flour. Delicious!!
These also make great snacks, or a quick lunch too!
I love my Vitamix!! It was a generous gift from my parents 3 years ago, and I bet not 10 days have gone by that we haven’t used it. It is the BEST gift they’ve ever given us!
I love almond butter, but it’s so expensive. Not with the Vitamix! I buy almonds in bulk at Sam’s and got 3 pounds for under $9.00.
Then, I pour about 3 cups at a time into the Vitamix, crank that baby on high and in a matter of minutes, I have fresh, creamy almond butter at a fraction of the price I would pay for the pre-jarred stuff. If you are trying this, it doesn’t just grind them all up by itself – you have to use the tamper for this and keep pushing the nuts down into the blades. That’s another thing I love about the Vitamix – the tamper will NOT reach the blades, so no getting plastic pieces in your food. Not that I ever had that happen with a regular blender…nope, not me
Lovebug loves to help me make it, and I have so much fun with my favorite sous chef in the kitchen!
The blender looks dirty because I had just made a batch of macadamia nut butter and didn’t rinse it out. I didn’t really care if they mixed a tiny bit.
Taste testing!
Final products: Almond Butter and Macadamia Nut Butter! The macadamia nut butter is much more runny, but is better after sitting in the fridge for a couple days. It is super runny coming out of the blender because it gets so warm. It’s oh so tasty though!
Gluten Free or NOT Gluten Free….That is the question!
We put Lovebug on a Gluten Free diet a few months ago. At first I thought I was seeing some changes, but the more we progressed I’m not so sure anymore. I think we were just in a “season” of hers. See, ever since she’s been very young, Hubby and I have noticed that she has cycles. 6 months on, 6 months off. She tends to have half the year that is easier for her, and then the other half is more…well…challenging. Physical changes I’m sure play a big part in it as she’s growing. It seems that she is often learning a new skill or going through a change and it all plays a part. So, sometimes I find myself thinking we are in a really challenging time with her and trying to figure out what’s wrong and what we should do. Other times I’m thinking “Wow, this is easy sailing…is this the same child?”. All to realize we’re on one side of the 6 month cycle.
So, a couple weeks ago, I stopped avoiding the gluten. Just to see how it goes. I let her have pizza. Regular bread. A sausage roll. I haven’t seen any negative effects yet.
I know some will argue that I should give it a whole year ON the diet to really see any changes. But the truth is, I don’t wanna. I’m just not sure that she needs it. I don’t know that it would cause a noticeable improvement. I’m not sure that her struggles are “bad” enough to warrant the effort required for a GF diet. It’s also VERY expensive and has put a serious dent in our grocery budget. I’m frugal, so this is painful.
Now, of course I would do ANYTHING for her if I thought it would help. I would spend whatever I had to in order to help her health. But if there is a cheaper option that works just as well, I’ll choose that first. We already avoid HFCS, artificial colorings, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, and we eat mostly organic. I KNOW those things have made a WORLD of difference! I wouldn’t go back on these things, ever! I just don’t know that we have that much more room for improvement.
It’s also REALLY hard on her emotionally to be GF. We already avoid so many things, that to add to that list was hard for her to take. Sure, she got excited when she saw so many things in the store labeled gluten free. She has also, many times, cried in the grocery store when I had to tell her she couldn’t have an old favorite food because it wasn’t gluten free.
It would be one thing if it made her noticeably sick or in pain. But she doesn’t have Celiac Disease. She knows that artificial coloring alters her behavior and her ability to focus, so she has no problem avoiding that. But she also knows that she feels no different ON gluten or OFF gluten. So that makes it harder to enforce or explain.
I’m still a huge fan of all-natural and organic eating as well as finding healthy, fun, kid-friendly foods, so I’ll continue to do that and pass on gluten free recipes that I find. I have so many friends that are gluten free that it’s definitely an interest of mine. And who knows….we might go back to it. But first, I’d have to find a way to make more things from scratch because I just can’t handle the price of pre-made, gluten free bread/pizza/muffin/cupcake products!
That said, I think that I’ll be careful not to overdose on gluten, if there is such a thing. But I’m also not going to avoid it. We might revisit this at a later time, but for now we’re off the wagon.
Strawberries & Cream Crepes, served with a side of “Cheesy Eggs”
My husband is the King of Crepes! Before Bug was born, Hubby’s mom bought us a crepe pan and a crepe cookbook. Those 2 things are in the top 5 most-used gifts we’ve received! We’ve had to replace the pan a couple times since because we use it SO often for all sorts of things. He can even flip them!! See?
Recently we had our first try at making Gluten Free pancakes, and they were delicious! We couldn’t tell the difference from what we used to make. We made Strawberry & Cream Crepes. YUM!! Make them yourselves, and see what you think.
Crepe Batter Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups milk OR your favorite dairy free milk substitute
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons melted butter OR light olive oil
1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour mix (Use your favorite – we used Bob’s Red Mill GF All Purpose Baking Flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
Light olive oil or canola oil to grease skillet
Preparation:
Crêpe Batter- Pour milk, egg, melted butter OR olive oil and vanilla into a blender pitcher or a medium mixing bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients together and add to the blender or mixing bowl. Blend or whisk just until combined and smooth. The batter should be the consistency of thin pancake batter. Add more milk, one teaspoon at a time if the batter is too thick.
Note-Batter can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to one day. (We always make it the day before)
Directions:
Heat a low-sided 8-inch skillet or crêpe pan over medium high heat. Add 1/4 teaspoon oil to the skillet and brush to coat the bottom of the skillet. (Do this before making each crêpe) Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the heated skillet. Swirl the skillet until the bottom of the pan is covered with batter. Cook the crepe for about 1 minute- the crepe should be barely moist on top. Use a thin spatula to loosen the edges of the crêpe, slide the spatula under the crêpe and gently flip it upside down. Cook for about one more minute, just until golden and transfer crêpe to a cooling rack or plate. Repeat with the remaining batter.
We turn the oven on 200 degrees F, and place the cooked crepes on a cookie sheet to keep warm if using right away.
Filling:
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon (or to taste)
Mix together by hand, or in a food processor.
Topping:
I took a bowl full of frozen (no-sugar-added) strawberries, microwaved till soft, added 1/4 cup or of sugar, then tossed it all in the Vitamix and pureed till smooth. Use your favorite berry, or a mixture!
Assembly:
Place crepe on plate.
Put 1/4 cup or so of filling down the middle of crepe.
Fold like a burrito – tops/bottoms in, then roll from one side.
We had some friends over for dinner last night and served one of our favorite meals….Tacos! I love this meal when we have company for several reasons.
1) Each person can personalize their food with the toppings they choose. Don’t like tomatoes? Just leave them off. LOVE olives? Load ‘em up! Going carb-free? Leave off the shell and make a taco salad. Vegetarian? Throw on extra beans instead of the meat.
2) It’s easy to prepare ahead of time. You can cook the ground beef, season it, and store in the fridge for a couple days or freeze if you need to make it way ahead of time. Same goes for spanish rice if you choose to offer it. Cut up lettuce, tomatoes, olives, onions – all store well in baggies or tupperware containers. Grated cheese is something we always have on hand. Sour cream and salsa can just sit in the fridge in their original containers until you are ready. Refried beans? We love Amy’s refried black beans! Just open the can, put in a glass bowl and microwave till warm. Chips or taco shells can sit in the pantry for a few days if you don’t always keep them on hand.
3) Leftovers never get wasted! We eat lots and lots of salads around here, and every single ingredient that we serve with tacos is something that will get eaten by us if leftover.
Oh, and those “Stand n Stuff” taco shells? Genius!
What is your favorite “simple” meal to serve company?
One of our favorite things about summer is enjoying sweet, juicy watermelon! This summer, we made a new twist on an old favorite. It’s tasty enough to be a treat, and healthy enough to have for breakfast!
Servings: We made this for 3 people, but there was plenty of everything to make twice that many as long as you have more bananas!
Difficulty: Super Easy!
Prep Time Needed: 10 minutes for chopping fruit
Cook Time Needed: None!
Ingredients:
3 bananas
Medium sized watermelon sliced in half (you will at least need a large piece a few inches thick for making the scoops)
1 cup diced fresh blueberries
1 cup diced fresh strawberries
1 cup diced pineapple (fresh or canned)
3 TB strawberry all-fruit preserves, heated
1 cup your preferred yogurt (we use plain, nonfat yogurt and sweeten with honey or applesauce)
1/2 cup grated unsweetened coconut
Directions:
1. Slice bananas lengthwise and place in bowl.
2. Using an ice cream ball scoop, top bananas with 3 scoops of watermelon.
1 cup dates, pitted & chopped (may substitute raisins, dried cranberries, or any dried fruit)
1/3 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup unsweetened grated coconut (optional)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Add the oats, dates, applesauce, vanilla, cinnamon, nuts & coconut. Mix well. Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
**NOTE** These cookies will come out of the oven the same shape they go in. If you want a flatter cookie you may press down before baking, or form them into bar shapes.
