Healthy Habits Recipe: Wilted Spinach

Here's another great recipe I just had to share! We've been getting quite a bit of greens with our vegetable CSA so we've been trying to find easy recipes that taste good for the whole family. You can only eat so much spinach salad so this is a cooked version that brings out even more vitamin content and helps your body to absorb the nutrients better too. This takes less than 10 minutes to make and you will almost always have the ingredients on hand so it comes together quick.

Ingredients:
1 tsp minced garlic (I usually keep a small jar with my spices so this is always on hand)
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 bunches of spinach
1 tsp pink Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:
1) Heat minced garlic and olive oil over medium high heat until it starts to sizzle.
2) Add rinsed spinach to pan.
3) Add salt, pepper, and lemon juice over top.
4) Stir until spinach turns a bright green and wilts completely.
5) Drain lemon juice off or remove spinach from pan.

Enjoy! My girls love the garlic and lemon flavor of this spinach and even asked for seconds.

Crispy Crunchy Kale Chips

These easy to make kale chips are a great alternative to potato chips or popcorn. They have the crispy texture and salty snack flavor that we love! I did a video of this recipe to show how easy this is to make.

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale (removed from thick stem)
Drizzle of olive oil
1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp pepper (optional)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2) Rip kale from stem and break into small pieces.
3) Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper
4) Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until it's as crispy as you like. I prefer 15 minutes because then some are crispy and some are a bit crunchy.

Enjoy! My girls usually polish a whole tray off in about 20 minutes so make sure you grab some while they are fresh!

Gluten Free Apple Cider Cinnamon Quick Bread

It's been raining and when I say raining I mean torrential downpours with basement flooding and whole parking lots underwater. So we've been stuck inside and you know how I get when I'm locked up inside!

We went to Christ Apple Orchard in Elmwood IL a few weeks ago and are on the last dregs of our 2nd gallon of apple cider and I'm getting appled out with the huge bag of apples we picked. So I decided to use the last of the apple cider and some apples in a lovely apple cinnamon bread that I modified.

As you know, we've been dealing with some food allergies in our house including dairy, gluten, and yeast so I'm forever trying to find recipes that don't seem gluten free or dairy free but still smell, look, and taste amazing. So here ya go!

If you haven't cooked with gluten free recipes before there's a few things to keep in mind. #1 Always get the good flour and don't try to mix your own. I personally love Gluten Free Mama's Coconut Flour Blend because it is very smooth but it tends to soak up a bit more liquid since coconut flour is super absorb able so you'll have to play with adding more liquid to make it right. When I'm modifying recipes I tend to favor the Cup 4 Cup Gluten Free Flour which I buy in bulk on Amazon Prime because you can literally use it cup 4 cup in recipes so there's no guesswork and it doesn't tend to dry out as much as the Gluten Free Mama when baking over 40 minutes. It also rises and has a similar texture to regular flour so its much easier to trick your tastebuds into thinking its not gluten free.

Ok I'll shut up now... Here's the recipe

Bread Mix
1 1/2 cup Cup 4 Cup Gluten Free Flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp Five Spice Blend (I'm a bit of a spice freak but this is totally optional!)
1/2 cup butter (melted in microwave)
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup apple cider
1/4 cup cream cheese or sour cream (to maintain some creamy texture)

Apple Mix
1 apple peeled and chopped into small chunks (any variety will do but I used a large Gala because that's what I had)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

Cinnamon Sugar Topping
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees because it is super easy and quick to put this "quick" bread together. Bad pun, I know right?!?
2. Mix the bread mix in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the apple mix together.
4. Grease your loaf pan (it makes it much easier to get out and for it to not fall apart since gluten free flour doesn't tend to hold together since gluten is like glue and keeps it together)
5. Pour and spread HALF of the bread mix in the loaf pan.
6. Sprinkle HALF the apple mix on top.
7. Pour and spread the rest of the bread mix on top.
8. Sprinkle the rest of the apple mix on top.
9. Add that topping and you're ready to go in the oven.
10. Bake for 50-60 minutes until a knife comes out clean in center.

Gluten Free Dairy Free Pancakes

So my husband requested to take the allergy test and it came back with a dairy and yeast allergy so we are now going to be testing new recipes and products to see what he likes as alternatives. (Picky eater alert!!)

Since I'm gluten free these recipes will use gluten free flour (I'm trying Cup4cup flour for the first time) and almond milk or olive oil as dairy alternatives.

Recipe:
1 3/4 cup Cup4cup gluten free flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup almond milk
2 eggs ( you can use 1/2 cup applesauce)
6 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp vanilla

Note: Dough gets pretty sticky so when you flip your pancakes you'll need to flatten them with your flipper. I think next time I'll use 1 3/4 cup milk to help them be a little more runny and fluffy.

No One Noticed the Gravy was Gluten Free: Biscuits and Gravy

Who doesn't love biscuits and gravy? Well I do and I miss it terribly so I decided to embark upon a journey to find the perfect gluten free biscuits (still searching in fact) and gravy (DISCOVERED!). I don't have all the gluten free staples in my house but typically can use alternatives to find a way to make recipes work. The recipe for the gravy called for xantham gum which I didn't have so I experimented (Yes I am a culinary scientist when I need to be) with a combination of coconut flour and arrowroot powder to thicken the gravy. It worked so well in fact that no one noticed the gravy was gluten free and I was asked to make this again when we go camping. SCORE one for Momma!

As I mentioned I am still looking for the perfect recipe for gluten free biscuits to pair with this lovely gravy however the recipe I used left much to be desired. I found a recipe for gluten free coconut flour cheddar biscuits but they were gritty and mealy and tasted like more like egg than cheddar. Not impressed but if you are a culinary scientist I'll include the recipe below for future experiments. I will note these could probably be turned into the Red Lobster style biscuits with garlic and butter and improvements on the bread-like consistency.

Gluten Free Cheddar Biscuits
1/4 cup melted butter
4 eggs
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix together and drop spoonfuls on baking sheet. Bake 14 minutes in oven preheated to 400 degrees fahrenheit.

And now for the piece-de-resistance. the gluten free gravy! I will note that I used homemade chicken broth which is impossibly simple if you make a whole chicken in the insta-pot the night before like I did. I put the bones with any leftover meat and skin into a stockpot and cover with water and boiled for about an hour. Voila broth and if you're really adventurous keep boiling for 4-24 hours to make bone broth (you will have to add more water to cover the bones multiple times).

Gluten Free Sausage Gravy
1 lb ground sausage
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
3 tsp arrowroot powder
3 tsp coconut flour
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp onion powder (or 1/4 chopped onion)
salt and pepper to taste

Brown sausage with thyme, onion powder (or onion), and salt and pepper over medium high heat. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. In a separate bowl or cup mix the heavy cream, 1 tsp arrowroot powder, and 1 tsp coconut flour and whisk until thick. Add the cream mixture slowly into the sausage broth and stir. Wait until it begins bubbling and then add an additional 1 tsp arrowroot and 1 tsp coconut flour. Stir and make sure it keeps bubbling and then add the last 1 tsp arrowroot and 1 tsp coconut flour and continue to boil until it thickens. If you are having a hard time getting it to thicken you can add an additional tsp of the arrowroot and coconut flour but I found the 3 tsp of each worked very well for me.

Now the rest of my family is not gluten free so I made regular biscuits for them because I haven't found a recipe that is delicious and because you really can't fool people with gluten free biscuits (at least I haven't been able to yet since I am still searching for the gluten free biscuits of my dreams). So serve the gravy over the biscuits of your choice (I have been told Aldi's carries a gluten free baking mix that can be used exactly like a Bisquick mix but I have not experimented with this yet).

Someone Stole My Gluten Free Brownies

Well I was going to do a review on these King Arthur Gluten Free brownies but someone stole some before I had a chance to take a picture. I'm still not sure if it was my husband or my 8 year old (my 1 year is napping so she's not in the investigation) but apparently they smelled so good someone had to slice into them before they were fully done cooling.

This mix uses a combination of almond flour and tapioca starch instead of traditional wheat flour and also uses baking powder to help the brownie rise to resemble normal gluten brownies. I'm all about convenience since I'm always at the office so I was pretty excited to get this from Amazon prime and not have to battle lines at a grocery store. I purchased these in an Amazon order from prime pantry along with a few other staples I keep around the house. I also purchased some of Amazon's wickedly good soups so I will have to do another review later on.

Here's my thoughts:

These smell amazing and the cocoa texture is decadent without being overly rich or sweet like some brownies. These are chewy around the edges but seem to stay a bit doughy in the center even when baking at the maximum time (45 minutes for glass pans). After chewing I did noticed some of the graininess all of the almond flour but it didn't really bother me like some previous recipes I had tried. Overall I would definitely purchase these again.

The Paleo 30 Day Challenge

Ladies and Gentlemen....On August 1st 2012, I am embarking on a 30 day Paleo Diet Challenge. I am going to eat nothing but Paleo approved meals which means I will be cutting out all processed sugars and white flour or wheat products from my diet for 30 days. We have been reading the book Paleo Solution here in the office and researching the effects of refined sugars and grains on our bodies. The results are in and eating refined sugars and grains have been harming our bodies by causing inflammation and leading to chronic diseases such as auto immune disorders, food sensitivity, sugar dysregulation, and hormone imbalance. If you haven't heard anything about the Paleo diet or the "caveman" diet or the hunter-gatherer diet as its also known, I highly recommend picking up this book, The Paleo Solution. It's a bit technical in some parts but really gets the point across about how refined sugars and carbs are affecting your health on a cellular level.

For others that are curious what this diet is really all about, the main idea is that we return to the diet of our ancestors who foraged off the land and had to keep moving to survive instead of setting up farms. They ate a diet full of protein and rich in seasonal fruits and vegetables. Their lives might not have been as long as ours, however they lived full lives with plenty of activity and traveling long distances to forage the land. This is the one part of our lives that is missing now, the movement part. Many of us sit at a desk or stand in one place on our feet all day and then return home to eat large meals and sit on the couch and watch TV. In addition, we eat a diet full of processed and refined carbs that cause us to pack on the pounds. In the wake of this change, we've seen droves of disease and metabolic disorders rise in astounding numbers in our population. I won't bore you with more details, but if this sounds eye opening to you I'd highly suggest you look more into "paleolithic diet" or "caveman diet" or "blueprint diet".

In the meantime I do want to share some family and kid friendly recipes, because the application is the hardest part in our society today. So below find a 2 year old approved breakfast compliments of my daughter Camryn and an easy crockpot dinner that will impress guest's palates.

In case you're wondering whats on her plate: Pork sausage cooked with fresh basil leaves and chopped garlic for the hair, 2 slices of ripen peaches for eyebrows, green grapes for eyes, nose, and earrings, and banana sliced for the mouth. Fried eggs or hardboiled eggs also work great for eyes.

Now for dinner: Cranberry Pork Roast

Ingredients: 1/2 cup to 1 cup all natural cranberry juice, 2 tbsp coconut flour, 1/2 cup golden raisins, 2-3 tbsp ground ginger, 2 tbsp dried mustard, 2 tbsp garlic powder or 4 sliced cloves, salt and pepper, 1/2 small lemon for garnish, 2-3 lb pork roast, and a crockpot. I also added some fresh basil leaves for a bit more flavor punch but it tastes great without as well.

Pour cranberry juice in bottom of crockpot until fills whole bottom about 1/2 inch. Wash and pat dry pork roast. Rub all spices into roast and place in center of crockpot. Sprinkle coconut flour and raisins over roast. Garnish with 2-3 thin lemon slices. Cook in crockpot on low 8 hours or high for 5 hours. Enjoy :)