Healthy Blueberry Crumble

Every summer the second June hits I start thinking about blueberries. I love them, in everything and in every way. Tonight, as I was thinking about them, I felt I simply had to make something indulgent...so I winged it with my own version of a Blueberry Crumble. While I will admit, this was a little runny (I forgot to add some almond flour to the blueberry mixture) it was still so good, and suited me just fine. Here is the jist of what I did...I know, I barely ever have an exact recipe, but you can "wing it" too, and see what you come up with! It's fun! Oh, and by the way, this recipe suggestion is using all whole, healthy, real foods, without refined white sugar, without gluten, dairy, or soy. Best thing about it (besides the taste) is that it is full of healthy power packed nutrients! The blueberries/quinoa/almond flour nourish with antioxidants, protein, iron, calcium, & fiber! Food is the most fun when what you choose to eat actually benefits your body with each bite you take!

I preheated the oven to 400* and used coconut oil to "butter" a 8x8 glass baking dish. Next I mixed together: Almond Flour (Honeyville is my favorite), Quinoa flakes, organic cinnamon, a pinch of sea salt, a little birch xylitol and a little coconut palm sugar, and a drizzle of grapeseed oil to creat a crumbly mixture.

Next, I took about a bag of frozen organic blueberries and added a 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce to it, along with the juice of 1 lemon, some cinnamon, a small amount of xylitol and coconut palm sugar (no more than 1/4 c. combined total, but probably less). Now, remember to add in a little almond flour to soak up some juice). After tossing all of this together, I poured it in my prepared dish, and using a fork, I covered the top evenly with my crumb mixture.

I baked this for about 20 minutes...basically until the crumb topping was browned and the blueberry mixture was thicker and bubbling.

Made my night very sweet...
 
      So nice to indulge once in a while...

Served with unsweetened almond milk...pure food bliss!

Nourishing "Fried" Rice

So this was pretty much dinner every night last week! Okay not every night, but 4 nights! I made it one night as a quick dinner for myself after the kids were in bed. Just took some leftover brown rice and threw in a bunch of stuff I had in the kitchen. I loved it so much I made it the next night for my hubby and I. He loved it so much he requested it 2 more nights! I varied it slightly each night using different veggies and it was fab each time. Gotta love it when that happens!

So, I began with 2 slices of Nitrite/Nitrate free Turkey bacon...cooked it in my wok, removed it and set it aside. Next, I added a drizzle of grapeseed oil to the grease left in the wok (great flavor!) and sauteed a variety of organic veggies...my favorite addition had shredded carrots, onions, garlic, shallots and baby bok choy. In the version in the pic above I used snow peas since I ran out of bok choy- it was still delish). One night I even used zucchini...To each version I added Celtic Grey Sea Salt as the veggies cooked.

After the veggies were done, I removed them from the wok, and set them aside. I then scrambled 2 eggs, adding some sea salt to them. Finally, after removing the eggs from the wok, I added a little coconut oil to the wok and tossed around my leftover brown rice until heated through. Finally, I chopped the turkey back into small pieces, added all the ingredients back into the wok, tossed, plated and served. SO GOOD!

Turkey Veggie Avocado Wrap

For the most part, I have given up "breads," but every now and then I feel the need to have some sort of "sandwich" not wrapped in lettuce. Here, I took a Brown Rice wrap and made myself a little turkey veggie wrap that was delish! I first peeled and cut an avocado, and put that in my small Magic Bullet cup. I added a tiny drop of grapeseed oil, the juice from 1/2 a lime, sea salt, cilantro and a dash of garlic powder. Spun that around a few seconds and I have my favorite dressing/mayo replacement/dip in the world. I spread that across my warmed wrap, added cucumber spears, shredded carrots, romain lettuce, tomato spears, and gluten free organic free range turkey slices.  Added some raw peppers, celery and tomato wedges as a side and I was one happy lunch-eating mama.

It's the Simple Things

It truly is the simplest things that make us the happiest. Take this plate of cut up fresh organic fruit. Fruit. Plain. Cut. It is fresh. It is FULL of GREAT stuff. It is Whole, REAL food. And it makes me so happy.

Sometimes, we get caught up in the idea that we have to "prepare" fruits and veggies for them to be enjoyable...or we say we don't eat as much of them as we should because convenience foods are so much faster. Really? What is easier than peeling a banana? It is a portable snack, in it's own package. Throw an orange in your bag and you have a perfect food to eat in the car or on the go...whenever hunger strikes.

These days, I realize more and more...the simpler, the better...and it makes me happier and healthier!

Cranberry Goat Cheese Salad with Chicken

I was in the mood for spring and decided this salad would help me celebrate that it is coming soon. I started with Organic Romain Hearts. Added grilled chicken breast, diced organic apples, dried cranberries, goat cheese crumbles, and for crouton crunch without the gluten, I crumbled up some Cracklebred. To dress it I combined fresh lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, Celtic Sea Salt, Fresh Pepper and EVOO. Perfect.

Gourmet Gluten Free Pizza

 After making gluten free pizza almost every Friday night for a solid year plus, one gets quite over it. For several months I have made this for my family and opted to eat something else entirely; I could not bare the thought of eating it again. Then, because of a cleanse I was doing, I could no longer eat it, and the smell became very enticing again. Now that I am free to eat it, I decided I would make one regular for the kids, and vary the toppings to spice things up for the grown ups. This week I baked eggplant and added a few dollops of ricotta and loved it!

Prep eggplant...remove most but not all of the skin...slice vertically into thin slices and lay out on a cutting board or plate. Sprinkle with sea salt and let sit for 10 minutes. This draws out the moisture and some of the bitterness. While waiting, pre the dough...
Use Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Pizza Crust Mix
Prep according to directions
While dough is rising, wipe eggplant with a paper towel to remove the moisture and some of the salt. Place in a baking dish with some EVOO and bake eggplant slices at 350* until tender and slightly golden on top
Use VERY WET hands when spreading out dough onto pans
Bake dough 7-9 minutes without toppings
Top with a little mozzarella directly onto the crust
Add a little bit of your favorite g free pizza sauce, sparingly
Top with eggplant slices (broken into smaller pieces) and ricotta cheese by the teaspoon full
Add more mozzarella, and a drizzle of EVOO
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until desired doness :)
Enjoy!

Celebrating a Year of Good Health!

My family recently celebrated our 1 year anniversary of being gluten free! December 27th was one year since my sweet little girls first heard the words "Celiac Disease." We have experienced a lot of changes this year, as we learned about this condition and adjusted our lives accordingly. Our youngest daughter, now 3, made an astounding turnaround. When we think about the fear and sadness we felt last December as we watched our little one suffer with no answers...we are overwhelmed with gratitude and joy at her instant transformation once going gluten free. After only 2 days g-free she was her old self again; she smiled, she played, she slept! And in 4 weeks time she looked completely different, gaining back 4 much-needed pounds. She went from tired, uncomfortable, weak and frail to joyful, healthy, and full of life!

We never could have imagined the joy that this new journey would have brought us. To see our children become the picture of health is more than enough joy, but we have cause for even more. We have discovered how incredibly important nourishing our bodies truly is. We have changed the way we view food...it is an amazing gift. If we choose wisely, it can change and improve every aspect of our lives. The food we eat impacts our physical body, our emotions, our spirit, our everything. It is true, the saying "change your food, change your life." Throughout our year, we have learned that going gluten free is not always convenient, but always an adventure. It has opened us up to a whole new culinary world! It also pushed us to re-examine everything we eat and toward making the best choices possible, so that we can build our immune systems, heal our bodies, increase strength, and improve our lives. Eliminating gluten was the first step. Seeing food as a way to nurture ourselves, celebrate life, and bring out our creativity were the steps that changed everything. We do not do it all perfectly...we have so much to learn, and we give ourselves grace. But we realize that there is more to a meal than the taste, convenience and tradition. There is a new opportunity with each meal to do something good for ourselves, and to make a good decision that will reap fruit in our lives.

Nutrition, health and wellness has become a passion for our family. It has been a source of great joy and fulfillment. Using our experience to help others has been so much fun! It is my sincere hope that every person who reads this blog would take at least one step toward a healthier and more satisfying life. If one recipe idea or post would help someone else navigate their journey a little easier, than my joy becomes more complete! We all deserve to treat ourselves and our families with the best we can do. Nourish yourself and celebrate life!

With love and of course, JOY!
Lori