Giving Up Grains

French Fries

So, Collin (age 7) still loves french fries. I have taken all chips (corn ships, potato chips ect..) out of his diet(everyone's diet)but I still make homemade fries for him and fry them in coconut oil. I really wanted to get away from white potatoes all together but this diet has been a progression and going really well so far. Sweet potatoes had not worked in the past. Ryan liked them but not Collin. BUT, this past week-end at the Whole Foods Market I remembered they had a variety of sweet potatoes including a white sweet potato. It is not the season for the white sweet potato BUT I found a JAPANESE SWEET POTATO. It is purple in color on the outside and whit-ish on the inside. I bought two to try.I sliced them into french fry shapes, fried them in coconut oil and the kids LOVED them. Woohoo! I went back to buy a bunch more and I am going to try slicing and freezing them as to have them on hand or when they are not in season. They are a little tough to slice. (I used a mandolin) and can break off if you're not careful but all in all it was very easy to do. The boys ate every last one of them. They eat them with organic catsup and I think they tasted much better than white potatoes and now we have a vegetable on the table that is paleo with out the lectins, saponins,and enzyme blockers that potatoes have.

Gluten Free, Grain Free, Dairy Free Organic Chicken Tenders! Wooohooo!

I have been "threatening" to replace my kids chicken tenders with something that is grain free. They have been eating organic gluten free chicken nuggets/tenders, but those still contain rice flour and corn starch ect. This was very easy to do, I just need time to try it. Yesterday I cut up free range, vegetarian chicken boneless chicken breasts into 1 inch strips and then cut them in halves and some in thirds. Ryan (age 3) helped me dip each on in egg then in another bowl full of coconut flour and salt. I then deep fried the pieces in a mini deep fryer I purchased filled with organic coconut oil. I fried the basket of pieces for 6 to 8 minutes and them put them on a plate with a paper towel to cool and drain. The KIDS LOVED THEM. I was skeptical about Collin (age 7 with autism) because he is SO picky and different tastes can be very aversive to him.BUT he loved them. Collin just started eating chicken recently. For years it was a huge turn off to him. He eats his with organic catsup and Ryan used Ken Steakhouse Honey Mustard (gluten free also).

Traveling...and sticking with our diet!!!

So we had an excellent Paleo Thanksgiving and are really enjoying and doing well at our new grain free dairy free diet so.....I was not going to let one little trip mess us up. It does take some prep work, and we are driving on this trip so I was able to prepare lots of food to bring. I really didn't mind at all. I did most of it Thursday and Friday early morning and we were able to leave by 10am. We are headed to Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park to meet my brother and his family for some fun this week-end. The boys are tremendously excited and we are too. I planned a menu to have all breakfasts, lunches and plenty of snacks on hand for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We will probably leave the lodge in the evening and go meet my Dad and my Aunt who are near by this NC Wolf Lodge. I am requestiong a steakhouse and one that promotes gluten free like Outback. Collin HAS TO EAT GLUTEN FREE no matter what. Other options may be five guys (gluten free with no buns) and or PF Changs. In any event I do not want to take in any grains or dairy during this trip. The way we have been eating is making us feel better and better.Here is a list of what I prepared. Spinach,Sun-dried tomato and spicy turkey sausage tart (from Elana's cook book) 2 packs of nitrate free organic bacon (trader Joe's) Bark ( a candy type dish using dark 85% chocolate and roasted and salted nuts) Gotta have some road trip junk! Breakfast Bars (from Elana's Pantry website www.elanaspantry.com) A tub of fresh mixed veggies like broccoli, carrots,sweet peppers ect. w/cumin dip. Yum in the car!!!! Paleo Pancakes Applegate Farms Sun-dried tomato spicy sausage (organic and nitrate free) Almond milk (chocolate and vanilla) Gluten free chocolate chip cookies for the boys Apples,oranges,bababas,grapes Chocolate Chip Scones from Elana's Pantry (There is a Duncan Donuts in this place so this will be a good replacement) raisins, craisins,nuts,natural fruit sticks AND red wine and Gluten Free Beer from Red Bridge!

Birthday Parties and Cupcakes

So Ryan has a birthday party today too. We made grain free dairy free brownies (in blog below this week) for his party on Friday and today he is going to PLAY for another. Ryan and I made cupcakes following this recipe. Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes with Vegan Chocolate Frosting ½ cup coconut flour, sifted ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt ¼ teaspoon baking soda 6 eggs ½ cup grapeseed oil ½ cup agave nectar 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. In a medium bowl, combine coconut flour, salt and baking soda
2. In a small bowl, blend together eggs, grapeseed oil, agave and vanilla
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry and blend with a mixer or hand blender until smooth
4. Pour batter into well oiled muffin tins
5. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes
6. Cool completely
7. Top with chocolate frosting

We made these in kind of a hurry. I was rushing out to go teach CrossFit. As I poured the batter into the muffin cups I realized there was lots of flour on the bottom of the bowl. So they did NOT turn out great. BUT they have a delicious flavor. I will try them again, probably this morning b/c I still need cupcakes for the party. What I usually do with my kids is make a dozen or two of cupcakes that are gluten free and dairy free then freeze them and when a party comes up or an event at school where the Mom's are bringing in cakes ect. I send in one cupcake for the boys. The teachers and staff are all aware of their "allergies" and are always good about asking me what they can and can not eat. Yesterday one of Collin's teachers brought in apple pie and knew to e-mail us to ask if he could have some ("NO"). If I know in advance what they are going to serve I can pretty much duplicate it with the ingredients I choose. Parents ALWAYS ask me "how in the world do you keep up with that, find time, figure it out ect?" I have been doing this so long for Collin who has been on the GFCF diet since age 20 months due to autism, that I really don't know any different. I do it for Ryan (age 3) just the same and it really is not that difficult. Ryan's school has pizza day every Wednesday and I send in a gluten free pizza for him every Wednesday. I either make it or buy a frozen one form a specialty store. I just try to stay prepared.At Collin's and Ryan's school the parents send out an e-mail to the class list and will let us know a day or two in advance when they are going to come in and bring a "treat" for a child's birthday. I just grab a cupcake out of the freezer and add it to their lunch.I use these little carriers. My kids are fine with this and so far it has never been a problem!