Menu? What's a Menu?- How do we eat

So I am long overdue in posting a basic weekly menu and how we do what we do. I do not make menu plans. I cook what I feel like cooking that afternoon based on the foods I have on hand. This list is in retrospect using Buddy's food diary -actually a large calendar posted on the fridge. I fill it in as he eats foods that day and circle the allergen food. Then I can look at what is circled and see a visual of what allergens he has eaten when. Based on that, I will never let him eat something in less than four days. So if he eats an allergen food, he can not eat the food again for another three days (atleast).

I am trying really hard to give Buddy more days in a row that he eats allergen free. There are some foods that he eats pretty much everyday (especially Peanut Butter) but the boy has to eat!  I will just put in what I cooked for the rest of the family each night for dinner to help give the bigger picture. Breakfast and lunch are the usual uninteresting orders of wheat bread sandwiches etc.

Okay not terribly interesting post but maybe it will give an idea to those who are needing to cook for different food needs in the same house.

A generel rule of thumb, I try and cook the same protein for everyone for dinner but just modify it for Buddy. As when I make chili or meatloaf or meatballs and spaghetti, I make a hamburger on the side (his favorite food anyway!) for Buddy. I pull off the meat for his hamburger before I start assembling the dish and then fry it in a small pan right before we are ready to eat. If we eat pasta, then I cook a small sauce pan full of rice pasta for Buddy. Or when I cook chicken or pork I try and cook the meat the same way but have a smaller baking pan with Buddy's meat that is seasoned safely for him. It is possible to feed everyone and not lose your mind trying to do it. I try and keep it simple.

Here goes the break down, if you're not still with me by the end,
I understand  ....


Day 1 (*allergen foods eaten)
Organic Oatmeal with Maple Syrup

Gluten Free Bread with Organic Peanut Butter & Local Honey along with apple slices

Tuna Patties with onion and garlic powder pan fried in safflower oil and coconut oil with steamed Brown Rice and fruit (* allergen foods- fish & onions)
( The rest of the family ate Tuna Patties with Brown Rice and green beans)



Day 2 (allergen free)
Fried Egg with Corn grits

Gluten Free Bread with Organic Peanut Butter & Local Honey along with apple slices and corn chips

Baked chicken breast, steamed organic brown rice and apple slices. I try and cook the same protein in a smaller pan with Buddy's allowed seasonings.
(The rest of the family has baked marinated chicken breasts with baked potatoes and salad)

Day 3 (*allergen food eaten)
Scrambled egg with gluten free bread toasted

(can we all guess this time?) - Gluten Free Bread with Organic Peanut Butter & Local Honey with Peach chunks

Shelton's Turkey Hot Dog (* allergen food- has sage family seasonings in it) with organic mustard and local honey with Deboles Brown Rice Pasta and blueberries and applesauce
(The rest of the family had .... ummm I don't remember, I only keep a food log for Buddy!)



Day 4 (allergen free)
Fried Eggs with Rice Pancakes and maple syrup

*clearing throat* ummm  Gluten Free Bread with Organic Peanut Butter & Local Honey with grapes

Hamburger with Cascadian Farms Krinkle Cut Fries with blueberries and So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream
(The rest of the family had Hamburgers on Wheat Bread and salad and regular ice cream)

Day 5 (allergen free)
Fried egg with grits

Gluten Free Bread with Organic Peanut Butter & Local Honey with peach chunks and blueberries

Hamburger with Pamela's corn muffins and more blueberries ( cooked Buddy's Hamburger from the same beef that I made the chili- just in a small separate pan)
(The rest of the family had Chili with corn muffins and salad)

Day 6 (*allergen food eaten)
Eggs and Coconut Milk Yogurt with blueberries (*the coconut yogurt has cane sugar in it which is an allergen)

Gluten Free Bread with Organic Peanut Butter & Local Honey and Banana

Pork tenderloin with steamed brown rice and applesauce and blueberries, and Vanilla Almond Breeze with Arrowhead Mills Puffed Corn (he was reaaally hungry that night)
(The rest of the family had Roast Pork Tenderloin, baked potatoes or steamed rice and yellow summer squash) I usually buy the Pork tenderloins from Kroger that are two in a pack. I roast both- one seasoned for Buddy and other seasoned for the rest of the family.

Day 7 ( allergen free )
Oatmeal with maple syrup and raisins

ummm do I really need to type lunch?.... with apples slices and corn chips

Ian's Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets with Cascadian Farms Organic Fries  with applesauce and Homemade Puffed Grain Bar for dessert.
(The rest of the family ate- either Grilled Pre-seasoned Steaks or Applegate Farms Organic chicken nuggets with fries or baked potatoes and salad)

Mikey He Likes It! (Puffed Grain Bars Extra Nutty)

So as you may have read in my other Puffed Grain Bar recipe, Buddy was less than excited about the first recipe product. But with some tweaking (and even some pictures for this one). Here is the one he WILL eat!!


Puffed Grain Bars Extra Nutty
1 cup honey
1 cup date sugar
2 cups nut butter of choice
4 cups puffed grain

So here is the specs on what I used.

I used 1 cup roasted almond butter (no salt)  and 1 cup cashew butter (no salt).I like to use the organic nut butters from Once Again Nut Butter.

But we also get the organic butter from Maranatha. Just watch out for their No Stir ones, they usually have sugar and palm oil added.

 

I usually buy puffed rice, puffed millet and puffed corn from Arrowhead Mills BUT they are NOT certified Gluten Free. They claimed (when I spoke with someone at the company) that they practice good handling practices and clean equipment between runs; but they can not guarantee that there are not any traces of gluten in the puffed grain. But that is okay with us since Buddy does not have Celiac's disease. But if you have someone who does find another brand, one that does say Certified Gluten Free. We are now gluten free so I use Erewhon Rice Twice Cereal for the puffed grain.

For this recipe I used 3 cups puffed brown rice and 1 cup puffed millet. I use about 3 cups of Erewhon Rice Twice Cereal. (I found it at the Whole Foods 90 miles from me. I stock up)

Mix together honey, date sugar & nut butters. Microwave one minute at a time. Stir after each minute. I microwaved for a total of 4 minutes (but my cashew butter was cold out of the fridge). Microwave in one minute increments until bubbling and fully combined. This stuff will be REALLY HOT! I cook mine in my Pampered Chef Batter Bowl.

Remove from microwave and mix in  the puffed grain (you can also add raisins or chopped dried fruit at this stage too), stirring carefully until well combined. Pour out into a well greased large lasagna pan or cookie sheet with a lip. (I spray my lasagna pan with Pam Olive Oil Spray). Let cool completely.

Cut into squares or bar shapes and store in ziploc bags.

Store flat in one layer or put plastic wrap between layers. They will want to stick back together.

And if you ever travel with them in the car, beware,
you may end up with one very larger grain BALL. Twelve or more hours of travel in an over-stuffed minivan for us, equaled a large grain ball about the size of a cantaloupe. But it was still yummy.  We just tore off chunks and munched. When you are in the car for that long with three children, food makes everyone happy and hopefully a little more quiet!!!

So there ya go. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do. There are days I even count this as Buddy's protein in a meal (Shhh don't share that.) and give him some extra crackers and fruit.

Microwave Meatloaf

Okay, so I know you read the title and are thinking "you can't make good meatloaf in the microwave!" Aaaah but you can and here it is.

1 lb ground chuck or ground round

1 onion finely diced

1 tsp Paul Prudhomme's Poultry Seasoning

pinch salt

pinch of black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp minced fresh parsley (or dried if need be, but use 1/2 tsp if dried)

1/8 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 c Gluten free cracker crushed, or Gluten Free Italian bread crumbs or crushed saltine crackers

1/2 cup spaghetti sauce (I use Meir Glen Garden Vegetable)

1 egg

Mix all the ingredients together well in a microwave safe - oven safe pyrex dish. Shape mixture into a ring, forming around the outside edge of the bowl. Microwave 7 minutes. Remove and squirt ketchup over the top. Microwave another 7-8 minutes. To finish you can place in the oven or under a low broiler for a crunchier top. When finished cooking, the fat from the beef will pool in the center hole of the ring and you can use a turkey baster to remove it or simply mop it up with paper towels. 

What I love is that this is so fast and the shape allows you to remove the fat, which otherwise would absorb back into your meatloaf and make it all greasy. bleck! 

So yummy with mashed potatoes and green beans or your veggie of choice. This also makes great meatloaf sandwiches the next day cold and freezes really well. You can make this gluten free by simply using Gluten Free Crackers for your bread crumbs. It double and triples really well, just be sure to increase your cooking time. 

Gooey Puffed Grain Bars

I have to thank my friend Karen for this one. She gave me the recipe and I have used what worked in our diet restrictions in it. Of course Buddy doesn't really like them, but everyone else does. Squirt likes to eat one on her ballet class day when she will eat dinner late and burn lots of calories before. Her Daddy likes to grab one in the AM if he is running late for work and needs a quick breakfast. And Bubba likes to mooch bites from anyone who will share with him. Buddy takes one bite and is done. ((((sigh)))) at least I tried to give him a new food option. Anyway, I have no idea how many calories or protein grams are in one but they are loaded with both.

1 cup honey
1 cup date sugar
1 cup or more of nut butter of choice (I use almond butter or cashew butter)

Combine in microwavable safe bowl and microwave for three minutes stopping and stirring between each minute. Pour in puffed grain of choice and mix well (about 3 cups or less). I just eye ball it until it is the right consistency I want. More puffed grain for crunchier, less for gooier. I use 2 parts puffed organic brown rice and one part organic puffed millet (more protein).

Pour out into greased lasagna pan or other pan with lips and let cool completely. Cut into squares and store in ziploc bag.  These are waaaaay cheaper than buying protein bars and have so much less other 'stuff' in them. Simple and yummy.

Bread Recipe 2

I tried out a new version of a bread recipe today. I picked it up from Paula's Bread. I had been having trouble with my bread being a little too wet recently. I know that humid hot weather didn't help, but I needed a better solution. So this turned out great. I think the key was cutting back on the oil and honey.

3 1/2 cups very warm water (115 degrees or so)
1 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp dough enhancer
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup oil
5 cups freshly ground hard red wheat flour
3 Tbsp yeast

Combine ingredients in mixer. Mix til just combined. Let sit with lid on and sponge for 20 minutes. Stir down and add about 5 more cups of wheat flour or less, adding one cup at a time until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl. The key is to add one cup of flour at a time at this stage. Let each cup become fully incorporated before adding the next cup. If the weather is dry it may take only 3 to 4 cups of flour. If the weather humid it may take closer to 5 cups. The texture you are looking for is when the bowl's sides look clean and the dough has formed into a ball but still looks pretty sticky. Then mix on setting 1 on the Bosch Universal Mixer for 4 minutes. Turn out onto oiled surface. Cut into four sections and form into loaves. Place in greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise until double in size. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until golden brown on top and sounds hollow when thumped. Turn out onto racks, cool and bag. Use right away or freeze. If using from the freezer simply leave on the counter to come to room temperature and then enjoy. Don't refrigerate this bread.

Chili - to add meat or not to add meat?

Chili

(to add meat or not to add meat that is the question..... )

I never even liked chili until I made this recipe. The original is the Rachael Ray's Veghead Chili  recipe. I have played with it and made it my own (as I so often do).

You can either add in a pound of browned ground beef drained or  following recipe and leave it vegetarian. Often, if I am short on beans, I will even cut back on the beans and use mostly ground beef. You can adjust the Vegetable Broth to accommodate the change in ingredients adding or not adding to get the consistency you like.

2 sweet peppers  diced (green, red or yellow)  I use whatever is cheapest
1 large onion diced
2 cans diced tomatoes
4-6 cloves of garlic minced
3 cans of beans (kidney, black or other)
1 cup vegetable broth (Pacific Organic Vegetable Broth is what I always use) Add to get correct consistency right before adding the spices.
1 Tbsp Cumin
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 tsp salt

Cut up green peppers and onion. Sauté  in  large pot in a little olive oil over medium heat. Cook until onions are translucent. Add in garlic and cook for another minute. Add in diced tomatoes & beans. Stir well to combine. Add Vegetable broth as needed for desired consistency (add less for a thicker chili). Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add in cumin and chili powder and simmer on extra low until ready to serve.

We eat this vegetarian style over steamed brown rice for a complete protein. Or carnivore style without the rice and with the ground beef.

If you are doing this with ground beef. Brown your ground beef separately and add to your pot of onion and green peppers when you add the garlic. Then follow the steps from there adding in or not the beans if you want.

We love to eat this along with a fresh batch of Pamela's Cornbread muffins made with honey and sunflower oil or olive oil. (Of course Buddy usually has a hamburger and rice, since the chili has too many allergens for him. But he loves those cornbread muffins!)

Makes awesome leftovers and freezes well too. You can even freeze cooked brown rice separately to eat with it another day.

If I make this with ground beef, I simply set aside some plain beef for Buddy and fry a hamburger in a small pan on the side for him. Then he eats the brown rice and cornbread with the rest of the family and his choice of allowed fruit.

What's in the Pantry or Fridge? (Before GAPS Diet)

I was thinking about writing down a basic menu for the week of what my little guy eats and how I cook it along side everyone else's meals.

But before I do that, here is our basic pantry and fridge items. I have listed them in how I put them in meals for Buddy.

Just to recap our allergens. We rotate sugar, spelt, sheep milk, oranges,  pears, tomatoes, chocolate, and cinnamon.

We avoid goat or cow milk, wheat, soy, barley, sorghum, legumes and a number of fruits and vegetables. See our allergen page for more specifics.

Breakfast Foods:
Eggs (cooked any way he wants, but no cheese or milk)
White Corn Grits
Organic Oatmeal sweetened with agave nectar or organic sucanat or maple syrup
Rice Pancakes with maple syrup or agave nectar or honey
Rice Waffles
Spelt Bread (only on spelt day)
Any of these cereals with Almond milk
Glutino Honey Nut O's  (does have sugar, so we rotate)
Enviro Kids Gorilla Munch (also has sugar)
Puffed Brown Rice
Orange Juice (rotated)
Almond Milk either Almond Breeze unsweetened in the shelf stable Quart or Vanilla Unsweetened refrigerated half gallon.
Lunches and Dinners-

Deboles Rice Pasta with a meat and fruit

Organic Brown Rice with a meat and fruit

Kroger Organic Plain Applesauce (goes like water around here between my two boys)

Shelton's Turkey Hot Dogs  (rotate due to other ingredients not the turkey) with a carb and fruit
( I loved the Applegate Farms Organic Turkey Hot Dogs but we can't get them here. They do have onions and sodium lactate from beets. But they are dairy free, casein free & gluten free)

Ian's Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets with Cascadian Farms Organic shoes string fries or crinkle cut fries and Heinz organic Ketchup (edited to say that Tomato has now be taken off of rotation)

Gluten Free Pantry French Bread Mix This is our staple bread, because it is sugar free and I can make it without any rotation allergy ingredients. My little guy eats this about six out seven days in a week. It is really easy to make and if you slice it and place plastic between the slices, you can pop a slice out of the freezer and microwave for about 35 seconds- comes out like fresh soft bread.

Any nut butter (see Puffed Grain Bars recipe for more info)- Peanut Butter, Cashew Butter or Almond Butter  with honey, apple butter, or all fruit  (edited to say All Fruit now has maltodextrin in it and that makes me nervous, even if it is gluten free. Something that far processed can't be good for you.)  honey on Pamela's French Bread or Spelt bread or even as a pancake sandwich on Rice Pancakes.

Beachy's Apple Butter comes from Salisbury PA (I love this!!!! It is just apples, cider and spices. It does have cinnamon which we have to rotate, but it the BEST apple butter you have ever tasted!)

Polaners All Fruit Blueberry - No it is not organic, but it is sugar free. It is sweetened with pear juice which we rotate. So Buddy eats this on Pear day.

Pamela's Corn muffins made from mix (we all love these with spicy chili or red beans) Buddy eats them with anything! I make them dairy and sugar free.

Hamburgers grilled or fried with just salt and garlic powder

Kettle Lightly salted potato chips (great with lunch)

Kroger Brand corn chips (that are cooked in corn oil) Buddy actually prefers these over potato chips.

Lots of apples, blueberries, peaches, cherries, bananas, grapes, dried apricots, and raisins. (as much of any kind as he wants any day). I buy frozen peaches, cherries and; blueberries in bulk and pull out what I need.

Plain Sheep Yogurt with pure liquid stevia and frozen fruit. (we rotate sheep milk)

Snacks and treats-
Glutino Original Crackers
Blue Diamond Almond Nut Thins
Pamela's mini chocolate chips (treat! has sugar)
Pamela's Dark chocolate chunk cookies (also treat, has sugar)
Jennies Coconut Macaroons Sugar free. These things are awesome!
So Delicious coconut ice cream vanilla or chocolate (chocolate is rotated) Awesome, awesome stuff!!!!!

We love any of the So Delicious products but we can really only buy the Coconut Ice Cream in our little town. We did find the coconut yogurt at a big city Whole Foods while on vacation. Buddy chowed down on it. I love that it is sweetened with agave nectar, so we don't have to rotate the vanilla flavor.

OK my brain is fried now. Hope I didn't forget anything. There is always the edit button.

(Edited to note:  this is no longer how we eat or what is in our fridge and pantry. We are now totally grain free and following the Gut and Psychology Diet aka GAPS Diet for our whole family as of August 2011. See my posts on GAPS for further info and this post describing how we eat now.)