Good Products Make Life Easier

Hope you've had as many great meals with good people in awesome locations as I have this summer. <3

After chatting with a friend of mine last night about all of the progress it seems my local grocery store has made in offering products for dietary-restricted individuals, I got to thinking about how easy it is to eat without dairy, soy and sugar (among many other things!) now. Really. Major progress.

My friend doesn't have any of the restrictions that I do, but would rather purchase products that are naturally sweetened if the option is there - or made without the soy protein or whey preservatives - and why wouldn't she? Of course everyone should want to expand their list of go-to products to hopefully include new items that are without what you feel may be a potential problem area for you. If chocolate is your guilty pleasure (and why wouldn't it be?!) then maybe not having sugar added to your morning granola bar snack, your salad dressing and cereal may help you feel better about indulging in your sweet tooth in a more deliberate way.

I made a list and sent it off to my friend of my new absolute favorite products, so I thought I'd give them a share with you - Internet friends. These lists have made my life easier for so many reasons from: not having to spend hours at the grocery store reading labels to not having to make absolutely everything from scratch and - most of all - to not having to "cheat" in order to have ketchup with my fries or mayo on my sandwich. I can save a "cheat" here and there for something more deliberate - like a bowl of spicy ramen noodles or chige (my Korean guilty pleasures!).

Notes: I purchase these products based on their ingredient lists. These are not suggestions based on nutritional values. Each person will have their own separate goals regarding ingredients vs calories vs nutritional values. All of these are also not sweetened with aspartame. Get away from that where you can!

These products also lead me to one of the main reasons I just cannot indulge in the paleo diet at the moment - I finally found products that make life easier and I'm just not ready - or willing - to give that up at the moment. :)

Dairy, Soy and Sugar-free Goodness
If not listed, I bought them at the Super Store

• Spectrum Canola Mayonnaise (burgundy label) 
• Barbara's cereal bars and fig newtons
• Renee's Cucumber and Dill, 1/2 Caesar Dressing and Spring Herb Italian
• Daiya Cheese - Pepperjack, Mozzarella, Cheddar
• Taste of Nature Granola Bars: Green Apple Country and Quebec Cranberry Carnival (more flavours but these come in a box)
• Amande Yogurt - all flavours but Plain and Vanilla (fave) come in big tubs for a better price
• Zevia for a soda pop craving (no caffeine!) - Ginger Ale, Cola, Orange
• Krisda for your 'fake' root beer craving
• Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened Milk
• Rice Dream Unsweetened Milk
• Earth Balance Soy-free Margarine
• Dorset Cereals - Simply Delicious Muesli 
• Fave breads: Mary's Bread Basket, LaHave and StoneHearth (fave being Mary's Bread Basket, many kinds, pre-sliced): Must read ingredients as their offerings change each week. Most have wheat, olive oil, honey and water - not much more.
• Weight Watchers Whole Wheat Tortillas
• Fancy Pokket Pita bread
• Mott's new unsweetened veggie + fruit sauces. Great for on the go.
• Sahara Sugar-Free Organic Ketchup - purchased at Planet Organic
• Natur LeFruit Jam - apricot and blueberry
• PC Organics Pasta Sauce - Tomato and Basil, Primavera (pricier but good in a pinch)
• Frank's Red Hot Original and X-tra Spicy

Enjoy! I have many other staples now so I'm happy to answer questions or do a little research if you're looking for something specific. This list is simply products that we rely on - most of these are becoming preferred products for J, too!

Spinach {Pasta} Salad + {Slow Cooker} Chicken Wings

Happy end of the week!

I have a few good "pub" or "fast food" type meals to share with you - done the healthier + intolerance-free way. During the past week, we've had another really great pizza, some portobello mushroom burgers (which were so good, I basically went back to the store the next day to get more mushrooms...) and the above chicken wings and spinach salad.

It feels like I'm a bit of a kid all over again. Like I was just treated to a week of "junk" food (which as a kid, pizza, chicken nugget or western sandwich nights were clearly your favorite). It's an awesome feeling to know that we can have those same pleasures whenever we want - and without the expense, both literally and physically.
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I input a little break here because this is the point where my blog decided not to save my previous writing. I have just spent the last hour - yes, hour - sitting here and writing an extremely long blog post. I thought it was pretty good. Unfortunately, my wireless and blog decided to both not cooperate at the same time and now I've lost it all. After a week of having no time to blog, I could just cry but ALAS I won't. I've got a wonderful hubby who just cheered me up with a berry/cantaloupe/vanilla rice milk smoothie so I will move on. :)

I had written a long post about my relationship with chicken wings (admittedly, 2 paragraphs might have been too much anyway), and how my feelings on them have ebbed and flowed over the years. I wrote about my issue of eating meat off of the bone. And how we used to consume many a chicken wing on a Wednesday or Thursday evening in university without thinking twice. Even last year, I was still convincing myself that I enjoyed eating a basket of wings at a noisy bar ~ I guess we all change, right? I've come to learn that I can still embrace chicken wings, just in the comfort of my own home and if J either bakes, bbqs or slow cooks them....
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Instead of heading out for 25 cent wings this weekend, cook at home, be healthier and save the money (because with wings, comes draught beer) - or even better: let the slow cooker do the work for you! (and hey: drink better beer with them at home, too!)

Beer + BBQ Slow Cooker Wings
From Allie's Kitchen (by J)

1/2 of a bottle of Organicville's BBQ Sauce

1/3 can of beer (the cheap stuff!)

A few pinches of your favorite hot sauce (Frank's obviously!)

Plop those chicken wings in your slow cooker and cook for 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low. That's it. Literally: that's all you have to do, 

Notes:

- Although the BBQ sauce is sweetened with Agave Nectar instead of sugra, I just realized it's also sweetened with molasses...sigh! Just use a 1/2 bottle of any sugar, soy, dairy free BBQ sauce. I'll update the product page soon.

- J came home for lunch and put the wings on high for 3 hours. The 6 hour time is just a guestimate for low.
- The BBQ sauce is Gluten-free

Print this recipe.

The one thing I do remember noting in my other really good post was that wing nights were filled with just that: wings. You'd rarely have a vegetable to go along with it (maybe a slice of carrot or celery?). I can't believe that used to be fun! 

Tonight, we were craving a spinach salad...so I tried to switch things up a bit by playing around with the dressing and adding pasta! LOVE. So easy, too.

Spinach {Pasta} Salad or "There's Pasta In My Spinach Salad!"

From Allie's Kitchen

Cook your pasta.

Dressing:
In a small bowl, mix together:
- 1/4 cup of Renee's 1/2 Caesar
- 1/4 cup of Helman's Mayo
- 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar

Salad Ingredients:
In a large bowl, mix together:
- 2 cups of spinach, cut/ripped
- 1 cup of tomato, diced
- 1 cup of cucumber, cut small
- 1 cup of Fresh Gourmet Organic Seasoned Croutons, crushed

Once pasta is cooked, drain and let cool. Mix together with dressing then add in salad ingredients. Mix well and serve!

Print this recipe

Aren't these much better options for a Fast Food Friday night?  I think so! I've been cooking with a few different product names as of late and need to update the "Brands I Love" page. I haven't really done that since I "cut out" sugar. I also would like to further explain the way I handle sugar. For example, Hellman's Mayo has sugar listed as the 6th ingredient, so I want to make sure to tell you that on the other page. I'll let you know when I make those updates. I'm also going to remove brands that simply "work" with my diet, and only include truly brands that I love.

Have you liked the new Allie's Changing Kitchen Facebook page yet? It's very new, so bare with me! Go on over to visit. Happy Friday! :)

Veggie Goodness Soup

This post was originally going to be a Meatless Mondays post. I made this on Monday for that very purpose. It's now much later into the week so we'll call it - A Very Notable Vegetarian Option For Any Day Of The Week.


Okay. So now that's I've sort-of acknowledged that I haven't blogged in over a week (*giant tear!), I will just move on. I promised myself I would remove all pressure surrounding blog posts and the social media life that follows suit. I also have a lot of blog posts from other awesome people to get caught up on! When your an adult, time just seems to fly by, doesn't it?


When you're having a non-stop week or a week where your brain just won't shut off, it's so important to at least stop for a moment in your day to enjoy moments like this ---->


Seriously. You can't stop to smell the roses in the winter, but you can get some furbaby (and hubby) love. Just as good, if not way better.

Side Note: The other day I tweeted about Gili eating a piece of artichoke and spinach and I think it's the most people-I-didn't-already-know have tweeted back! Funny how we all appreciate the little quirks of our wee little animals. It was a riot to see how many strange things our pets get into. I so want to set up a webcam in the house while we're not home to see what actually goes on. I assume it's mostly sleep, but who knows... I'm not a crazy cat lady (I swear!). I'm just a crazy animal lady. If I had a pet toad, I'd tell you about him, too.


This soup.

I didn't feel like spending a lot of time over the stove on Monday, but did have the time to lightly monitor something while I continued to work. I've had Bob's Red Mill Vegi Soup Mix in my pantry for eons. I've never tried it, although I felt it would be good to have on hand because the ingredients are all great. You can definitely eat the soup on it's own, without adding extra ingredients. You can also make a cream-based soup with this.

We had some swiss chard stems to use up (because all swiss chard recipes seem to only call for the leaves...) so I thought I would give this a go on my own.

Veggie Goodness Soup with a base of Bob's Red Mill Vegi Soup Mix
From Allie's Kitchen

2 cups of Bob's Red Mill Vegi Soup Mix (organic aisle, it comes in a clear bag)
1 cup of frozen corn
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 of a red onion, chopped
1 medium sweet potato, chopped in 1/2 inch cubes
2/3 to 1 cup of swiss chard stems, chopped in 1/2 inch cubes
8 tsp of vegetable bouillon powder (or the equivalent of whatever bouillon or broth you use to match water quantity)
8 cups of water
1 tbsp of mixed herbs (fresh, or squeezable fridge herbs)
Season with: Italian spices, salt and pepper

1. In a large soup pot, bring 2 cups of the soup mixture to boil with 8 cups of water + 8 tsp of bouillon (or just 8 cups of broth). Once it reaches boiling, let simmer.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the garlic, onion, swiss chard stems and sweet potato. Saute on high for approximately 8 minutes. (*Look at the color!!!*)
3. Once the soup has been simmering for approximately 30 minutes, add in corn and the sauteed mixture.
4. Continue to let simmer for another 30 minutes.
5, Season as you wish and enjoy!

Note:
-This made a lot of soup. If you divided this in half, you would still have leftovers. We wanted this to last for the week.
- As the soup contains lentils, barley and pasta, the water will absorb in the fridge and the color won't be the prettiest. Don't be shy, though, you can add a wee bit of water to your bowl before re-heating if to make it soup-y again OR just eat the mush like I've been doing. It is SO filling and delicious!

Print this recipe
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How has everyone been doing? It's nice to see that I've finally reached a point where I still get the odd page view on days when I don't blog. It used to be that I would not post anything and would receive ZERO views!


More updates to come soon.... Love, Allie

A Walk Through Planet Organic

My Friday night was spent reading (read: Sarah's Key. Sigh) and strolling through Planet Organic.  Let me tell you - it was luxurious.

After my naturopath appointment on Thursday, I learned that there is another non-rice, non-soy, non-dairy cheese that exists out there.  One that comes in mozarella. One that is available in cheddar. One that melts and stretches.  Daiya.  My mother had eyed this brand before in her Skinny Bitch cook book, but I had yet to see it here in Halifax.  This issue of Clean Eating Magazine also made reference to a new "cheese-type" (they can't call it cheese, if it's not technically/officially cheese) spread that is now available.  Fingers crossed that that, too, will hit our markets!

So here's my tour of Planet Organic. I made myself take pictures of items so that I wouldn't get overly excited and purchase the whole store.  Instead, I only purchased the Daiya cheese, some Agave Nectar, Bob Mill's Veggie Soup mix (to have on hand) and some supplements.  Of course, I just returned from the store again and treated myself to just a few more of the treats below...

My "Initial" Exciting Purchases

Daiya Shreds

Bob's Red Mill Vegi Soup Mix

Agave Nectar

I can only give a review on the Daiya and let me just say that in three days I have had Daiya on broccoli, tuna melts and nachos.  Two major thumbs up. I'm SO excited.  So, so very excited.  And while I'm on this note, I should mention something else that was odd that happened the other day.  First I need to start out by saying that I used to be a girl that would drink milk instead of water - and more often than not - instead of juice. I loved Farmers 1% milk. From a cow.  The other day, Jon bought me unsweetened coconut milk to try (Rice Milk wasn't at the store we were at).  Anyway, I picked it up to try it and thought it was so gross. Turns out, I accidentally drank Jon's milk!  I never thought I'd take a sip of cow's milk and truly think it tasted gross.  I've been on this different kind of milk for so long now, I'm completely hooked!  Now, it took me awhile to get a kind that I like, but I'm onto my refrigerator-section-Rice Dream and love it.  I'm still shocked about how I thought his milk tasted...So anyway, here's the rest of my tour. Enjoy!

 Let's see what we have here: an entire section of non-sugar cane sweets! (Some costing $70, but just make sure to look closely:P)

...And an entire row of bouillon/broth options!  And most of everything is dairy, gluten - and sometimes soy and sugar - free!

Not ready to give up on Heinz. My friend, Katie, would cringe at this photo...BUT it has no sugar! 

 Do I really need to add anything here?  Yes, I went back to buy this goody. I'll "review" it later. (GF/SoyF/DF/SugF)

I hope everyone cooked something wonderful this weekend and enjoyed some sun! I'll be blogging about a couple of recipes that were cooked FOR me this weekend by my mom and Gram.  Both were delicious and will hopefully become part of my cooking repertoire soon.  I also have a picture of an amazing pork tenderloin that Jon cooked over the weekend - a.m.a.z.i.n.g. - no recipe for his genius chef ways, though.  Any recipes to send my way?

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Thank You Condiments

Coming from a person who really dislikes the pre-made sandwich - and "boring" sandwiches in general - I am so thankful that I am able to have these three condiments:

- Renee's 1/2 Caesar
- Renee's Cucumber and Dill
- Hellmans Mayonnaise 

Being able to keep these three items in my fridge allows me to still make decent salads, sandwiches, dips, and so on. And because it's "creamy", it almost feels like I'm cheating a little!  Now, a person could easily get bored of these things quickly, so I ensure that not all of my salads are caesar - and I ensure that I sometimes add a bit of curry powder to my mayo to switch it up - and so on.

So here's one that works great as a lunch or dinner salad, and leaves behind great ingredients for a work day wrap!


J's Chicken Caesar Creation

Chicken:  cut in thin strips, marinade with basil, lemon and Cajun-type flavors.
Greens:  Anything - we used romaine lettuce and spinach

My Loaded Sunday Salad

Topping Options: Tomatoes, red pepper, cucumber, bacon - anything really.  J had even cooked up some onions, mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes together for some "flare".  Oh - and I found a "lightly seasoned" kind of croutons at Sobeys that are free of the evil ingredients.  Will have to check to see the brand and add it to the Brands I Love Page!

I sometimes forget how easy it is to throw together a really great salad, and then use the leftovers as a wrap the next day.  EASY....EASY, I say.

What I'm Currently Eating for Lunch

Just a quick note on lunch:

For the most part, Jon and I cook enough supper for leftovers for our lunches.  We sometimes take sandwiches, but I truly think that my schooldays have ruined me from enjoying a good pre-made sandwich.  Don't get me wrong:  sandwiches are delicious - when they're first made and when you have the opportunity to toast it.

Other than the above option and salads, it's really good to have something in your drawer at work for days when you just didn't get your s*@! together to be creative.  I know it's not the healthiest route, but sometimes - whether you like it or not - convenience enters the picture.

Introducing:  Nile Spice soup mixes.  I've only had: Red Beans and Rice, Lentil Soup and am currently eating Couscous Lentil Curry, so I can not speak for all kinds being free of dairy soy and sugar.

As always with cups of anything, you're contending with high sodium.  But with a little boiled water, you have a quick, allergy-free delicious lunch!  It kind of reminds me of the delicious ease of grabbing a cup of ramen or potato meal in Korea.

Back to enjoying some Coucous Curry at my desk....

...These a few of my Favorite Things...

Weekly, I seem to be returning to the grocery store to pick up these few things that I have learned to love, love, love:

- Organics Vegetable and Chicken Broth
- Coconut Milk
- 100% Natural Peanut Butter (chunky or smooth!)
- Maple Syrup
- Onions
- Garlic
- Rice Dream Rice Milk (for cooking)
- Silk Almond Milk (for drinking)
- Renee's Cucumber and Dill (for dipping everything!)

Thank you products for making life easier and tastier!

I Made a Pie, I Made a Pie!

Okay...well Pilsbury* made the crust and my grandmother helped me determine when the pie was properly baked...but I successfully made the filling of a pie!

So, to tackle the creation of a pie, the most important thing to start with is a pie plate - tin foil or not - not a cake pan.  Running to the grocery store right before it closed on Saturday night, I grab cake pans.  Yikes.  Off to a lovely start.  I also could NOT find maple sugar - anywhere - in that store.There was even a maple display of maple brittle, maple peanuts, maple coffee - two different brand, maple syrup times 7, and maple fudge.  I think those products were mocking me because a simple cup of maple sugar is all I was searching for, but no....

To the recipe:  I found this on http//milkallergycompanion.blogspot.com which linked me to http://mykidsallergies.blogspot.com.  Someone here found or invented this recipe, so I'm thankful for that. :)

Ingredients
14 ounce can of pumpkin pie
Just under 2/3 cups of maple syrup (future, I'd use 2/3 cup of maple sugar) + 1/4 tsp of baking soda (omit baking soda if using maple sugar)
1/2 tsp of ginger
1/4 - 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
3 slightly beaten eggs
2/3 cup of rice milk
Pilsbury (or homemade?) pie crust

What To Do
My order was slightly different since I mixed everything together and had to cook it at my grandmothers (she saved the day with extra pie plates!), but this is what you'd do:

1.  Pre-heat over to 375 degrees F.
2.  Put the pie crust into a pie dish.
3.  In a bowl, combine pumpkin, syrup (or sugar), cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and baking soda.  Add the eggs.  Beat/mix until it's just combined.  Gradually stir in the rice milk.
4.  Pour filling into pie crust.
5.  Bake the pie for 35 - 45 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.

We just finished the remaining piece last night, 5 days old and still pretty good!  This pie was a hit at Thanksgiving.  Nothing, of course, beats my Grammie's Pumpkin Pie BUT I do think everyone heard "no cane sugar" and "rice milk" (rice being key) and thought that it would taste completely not like a pumpkin pie.  Leading into their first bite with this mentality, everyone was obviously pleasantly surprised!

Really, though, think about it - can you really go wrong with a mixture of pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon and maple?  Tasty combination..........!  Tip for next time:  Use maple sugar, not syrup.  Find out why Gram's pie always tastes spicier - perhaps it's the overbearing maple syrup?

*Pilsbury ready-made crust is dairy and soy-free (small bit of sugar :( ) and is found in the fridge section next to the yogurt at the Super Store.  As there was sugar in the crust, I made sure to have a sugar-free filling!

My Love for Renee's

Renee's dressings have restored my faith in this whole "giving up" food-thing.  Now, it doesn't replace my cheese and chocolate cravings but it does fulfill my need to snack on vegetables and dip -and chips and dip, and also allows me to have a creamy sauce option for salads.

Their website is so great, I had to promote it...www.renees.com.  Even better, they have a list of their products that are dairy-free.  Check it out!

A Challenge, You Say

Accept!

As mentioned in a previous blog entry, Sunday night was the dinner with a few of our good friends - our good friends that also have "food specifications". :)

 The "situation":  The meal had to be  sans dairy, soy, gluten - and meat.  These were the musts from the ladies.  We also had a few dislikes (olives, chickpeas, mustard, yogurt).

Our goal:  come up with an appetizer, salad and main-course that everyone could have.

Well, we all just came to terms with (or the boys did anyway) us having a taste-less meal... but I believe we came up with something that was quite filling and delish.

Started provided by Sarah L:  veggies and rice chips and hummus (both original and jalapeno) - and let me just point out that I have been craving Sea Salt Rice Works chips and Our Compliments Jalapeno Hummus every hour since Sunday...

Salad provided by Sarah D:  A veggie-filled salad with feta for everyone else - and chopped rice cheese for me :)  (Please note:  Do not take a bite believing you will taste cheese).

Main Course provided by me:  Thai Potato Curry, which just happened to also be nut-free - just in case. (see recipe below)

Dessert:  Wine and Strongbow

It's a shame I didn't get a picture.  I will make the potato curry again - definitely - but will go for a bit more curry as I prefer for it to have a bit more "bite".  Jon whipped up a bit of extra curry to pour on, using the left over coconut milk, curry paste, a small handful of chopped cilantro, basil (thai basil would be ideal but we only have regular), and 3 or 4 lemon verbena leaves (in place of lemongrass) - this worked perfectly.

Thai Potato Curry
 (I multiplied these measurements by 1.5 as I was cooking for 6.  This serves 4)
Ingredients:
2 tsp of veg. oil
1 large chopped onion (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 1/2 tsp of green curry paste (this is not very spicy)
1 lb red-skin potatoes cut into 1/2 -inch cubes (we used regular baking potatoes)
1/3 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup veg. broth
1 cup canned whole tomatoes with the juice
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
3 cupe hot cooked rice (I used basmati)

1. In a large pan, heat oil on medium-high and add onion until golden (5min)
2.  Add curry paste and stir-fy for 1 min
3.  Add potatoes and toss well to coat.
4.  Stir in coconut milk and broth.
5.  Lightly crush the tomatoes and add them and juice to pan.
6.  Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender (15 - 20 min)
7.  Stir in lime juice and basil.

Serve on rice!

Weekends Are for Leisure Cooking

I have two very delicious recipes to share from my Saturday cooking adventures.  Although a beautiful, sunny day to be outdoors, Jon and I spent our Saturday packing, organizing, and purging.  It's rare to be home on a Saturday afternoon and evening, so I finally had the time (and patience) to attempt my very first risotto/paella-type meal.  Our friend, Frank, has altered this from the original paella recipe and passed his make-shift recipe over to me.  We shared this with our friends, Erica and Amanda, and believe that there were 8 metaphorical thumbs in the air (not to toot my own horn or anything...).

Frank's "Paella"
Ingredients:
1 whole onion (chopped)
3-4 cloves of garlic (minced)
10-15 cherry tomatoes (I used 15)
1 red pepper (sliced)
5 - 10 sliced mushrooms (I used 10)
Arborio Rice (not much needed)
Frozen peas (just about a handful)
Chicken Broth  (amount depends on how much veg.)
1 tbsp cayenne, 1 tbsp chili, 1 tbsp tumeric, 3 tbsp paprika 
(this made it quite hot / could cut down on spices for something tamer)
olive oil, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper
Optional:  Add-in meat. I used shrimp

Instructions:
1.  In a over-safe pot, add chopped onion, minced garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil.  Mix together.  Add whole cherry tomatoes on top; sprinkle with thyme and rosemary.  Bake on medium heat for 15-20 minutes.
2.  Remove from oven and crush tomatoes.
3.  Add a very thin layer of rice.  Throw in all of your spices.  Mix.
4.  Add mushrooms, pepper, and peas.  Cover entire mixture with chicken broth (I made 3 cups worth).
5.  Place back in over and cook on medium/high heat for 30 - 45 minutes.  I checked it every 15 minutes or so to make sure there was enough liquid and to check on rice.
6.  For non-vegetarian:  After 30 minutes, I threw in cooked/peeled shrimp and cooked for an additional 8 minutes.

I want this again now that I am thinking about it...

Snack-time:  Spicy Fruit Salsa
(found from one of the cookbooks listed below - forget which one right now!)

Ingredients:
1 - 13oz can of crushed pineapple
1/2 cup of minced red onion
2 chopped plums (this recipe actually called for 1 nectarine)
1/2 minced jalapeno (called for 1 whole jalapeno, but I was a wimp when it came to the spiciness)
2 tbsp of lime juice
1/2 tsp of salt
1/8 tsp of cayenne
1 tbsp of minced ginger

Mix it all together and let it sit for a few hours!  The next day, I also mixed this salsa with one avocado and got a spicy,fruity guacamole.

And to start our meal off on Saturday, Amanda brought a great green salad and introduced me to a new salad dressing:  Kraft Extra Virgin Olive Oil Signature Tuscan Italian.  At my mom's on the weekend, I was also introduced to Renee's Ravin' Raspberry (and purchased Renee's Tangerine and Lime to try) - all great, healthy and dairy/soy free!

Almond Breeze: Oh No!

As I'm reading through more and more discussion posts, notes, blogs, etc, I see "check all nut and rice milks because some still contain soy!".  Uh oh.

So, Jon and I check Almond Breeze - and there it is:  it contains soy.  So all of this time of drinking "dairy and soy free milk", I have actually been drinking dairy-free nut milk, with soy included.  Crap.

Currently in our fridge, we have Jon's regular Farmer's milk, So Good Soy milk (from before "diagnoses"), Almond Breeze Original, Almond Breeze Chocolate - Lovely.

Thanks to Jon, he did tour around and look at all the milk labels and found these - which I hope to be great - options:

- Silk Pure Almond
- Rice Dream  (Original and Vanilla)
- Oat Dream
- Earth's Own Ryza
- Yu Basmatic Rice Milk

Preferences to come once we start emptying our fridge of all of this milk!  The good thing (and the weird thing) about some of these is that we can purchase them while they're on sale and they can sit in our cupboard until we need it!

Recipe: Taco Chicken w/ Artichoke & White Bean Puree

After finding these brown rice tortillas in the natural food section of our Super Store, I decided I wanted to make some kind of taco.  After reading a lot about the intensely-high sodium in taco packages, I decided to make my own.  I saw this artichoke dip recipe somewhere on the internet and thought I'd use it as a spreadable in this case.  Filling, and only need one each (I actually had half of one for supper, half for lunch) but a great switch up from our regular type of eating!

Food For Life

Taco Seasoning: (I mixed all of this together to keep, but only used 2 tbsp of it with 2/3 cups of water to cook two diced chicken breasts)

6 tbsp of chili powder
3 tbsp of onion powder
2 tbsp of cumin
1 tbsp of garlic powder
4 tbsp of paprika
1 tsp of cayenne

Artichoke and White Bean Puree:  (I made all of this but only used enough to spread - cold - over each warmed tortilla and saved the rest to warm up later for a dip)

In a food processor (one of the best $5 yard sale finds!)....

2 minced garlic cloves (raw garlic, so use less if need be)
1 tsp of rosemary
1 can of drained and rinsed white beans
1 can of drained artichoke hearts
2 tsp of olive oil
lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste


Garnish with fresh basil (if you want) and Voila!

Camping With Restrictions

Just a quick note about my success in camping this weekend.  Although others had the cheaper bread, hamburger buns, cheese and dips - - I managed to eat well with Butterball Lactose-free Turkey hot dogs, Stonehearth Caraway bread (for breakfast, lunch and supper!), veg veg veg, eggs, bacon and roasted red pepper hummus (for veg. dip and a sandwich spreadable)!

Although hard to avoid the other temptations, I feel the better for it.  Success!

First Major Challenge: Finding Hamburger Buns

After a frustrating team effort of reading every label of every brand of hamburger bun, I find one single bag of buns hidden at the back of the freezer in the "natural section".  One bag.  $5.50.  One bag of buns made without dairy products.  It felt promising when I saw another bag of buns in this same section - "calcium propionate-free" but wait - - it was made with cheese.  Cheese hamburger buns.  Sigh.

Tapioca Rice Buns it is!  (Kinnikinnick Foods)