Nut Free/Dairy free Flat Bread or tortillas!

So, I stumbled upon this recipe at Pecan Bread. I have to say, we had the flat bread tonight with our hamburgers and both J and I were amazed at how good is actually did taste. N liked that he could "roll" it up and hid beans in it! I am shocked at when you eat this with meat or some other filling how the brain really processes it like bread!

These would make great "roll up" finger sandwiches, tortilla shells, or "crepes" for sandwich fillings.

Overall, they don't take too long to prepare, probably an hour start to finish...which when you consider the time it takes to make bread...this is nothing!

The trick is to make sure your egg whites are beaten until very stiff and the pureed veggies have all excess water removed. I simply boiled some carrots and beans together until soft, drained all the water, pureed them with my hand-held blender. The result was very thick! Perfect for this recipe.

Recipe:

1/3 cup pureed veggies (a combination of carrots, green beans, cauliflower, or squash, or just pick one of them)
6 Egg Whites
4 Egg Yolk
2 Tsp salt or seasoned salt. ( I like the "sugar free" season salt...I will post a recipe.)

If you don't have left over cooked veggies, than peel and cut some carrots and add green beans to the boiling water. Drain water and puree with a hand-held blender. Place egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high with the salt until stiff peaks form. Blend the egg yolks and veggies together until liquid.

Carefully fold in the veggie mixture with the egg whites until blended.

Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees.

Put batter on a sil-pat on a cookie sheet either spread through the whole thing or drop and slightly flatten in circles if using for buns or tortilla substitute. I would suggest potentially spreading the batter between 2 sheets if doing just the flat bread. The recipe makes aprox. 22 "bun" sized rounds. (I recently tried this on parchment paper and not the sil-pat and it was a disaster...so I recommend the silpat. I am going to try it on a well greased sheet next, I will let you know how it turns out!)

Place in the oven for 30 minutes until lightly browned. If stacking pans, rotate mid-way through cooking.

We are really excited about these! Give them a try! Let me know what you think... It can't get any better, eggs and hidden veggies:)

Coconut Squash Muffins (Gluten Free/grain free)

A new variation, I like the consistency of these way better than the Nutty Squash ones, but the flavors are equal!

N and J both enjoyed them greatly...and if you aren't on a Candida or another special diet, I would add 2-4 Tbsp succant, honey, or maple syrup! I also dry roasted the squash this time and I found the muffins were way less wet! So, to dry roast your squash, cut the bulb off of a butter nut squash or use an acorn squash. Cut them in half and remove the seeds. Place in an oven-proof dish and set the oven to 250-300 degrees. Roast flesh side up for 30 minutes than turn the oven off. Remove from oven when flesh is soft. This stops the squash from getting excessively moist!

1 Cup dry roasted butter nut squash
1 cup finely shredded coconut flakes (unsweeted, un-sulphured.)
2 Tbsp Coconut oil
4 Eggs
2 TBSP freshly ground flax seeds (optional)
2 Tbsp or more of cinnamon
1-2 Tbsp of homemade vanilla extract
(2-4 TBSP of a sweetener if allowed)

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter or Oil an 8x8 pan or muffin tins. (I personally hate muffin tins...I just find them a pain, so my family has gotten used to "cut" muffins from a cake pan!) Combine the squash and coconut shreds in the food processor or blender, blend until combined. Add the oil, flax, cinnamon, vanilla and eggs. Process again until well blended. Place batter in the buttered pan or tins. Place in the oven for 30-40 minutes until lightly browned ontop and a toothpick comes out clean. If you remove from the oven to soon, the muffins will shrink and get compacted. When they are cooked all the way through they will retain their shape!

Happy eating!

Squashy Nutty Muffins/bread

These are a nice substitute when you are avoiding grains or if you are trying to get more protein and veggies into your or your kids diet. They aren't the best things on the face of the planet, but they are a good supplement. I would highly recommend adding some honey or maple syrup...maybe 2 TBSP if you aren't avoiding Sugar than I think these would be awesome! They taste like a pumpkin pie bar minus the sweetness!

2 Cups cooked and cooled squash (aprox: 1 acorn, or 1/2 butternut)
1/2 cup crispy pecans
1/2 cup crispy almonds
4 eggs
1 Tbsp Coconut Oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp Ginger
1/8 Tsp Ground Cloves
2-4 TBSP maple syrup/succant/honey (optional)

Place the Almonds and Pecans in a food processor or blender and process until it is a fine meal. Add the squash oil and spices. Process until blended. Add the eggs last and blend until combined.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place batter either in mini muffin pans, muffin pans or a square cake pan. Oil the pan first! Bake for 30-40 minutes until the muffins pull away from the side of the tins or the pan. A toothpick inserted into the muffins should come out clean when inserted. The top should also brown a bit.

N really enjoyed them and did J. We all agreed they could use some honey...but they were a nice addition to our chicken soup dinner!

let me know what you think! Sorry no photo now, I will take one next time we make them. They were gone to quick to grab a photo!

How is Your Gut Today?

The candida diet is going well. I am still in the "die-off" phase of existence meaning things typically get worse for up to 10 days prior to getting better!), but J is already on the up swing. I can't help but get frustrated with how much quicker men's bodies in general respond to "new treatments."

Rebuilding the gut to an optimal state of existence is a process! It isn't just a 4-6 week run, it takes months to repair the gut environment, after all, many of us have been assaulting it for years and years. I know J is looking forward to learning more about what his body responds well to, and doesn't like, and I am looking forward to a reduction of a whole slew of unwanted medical/fertility issues. It is next to impossible to predict how much "better" you will be when your gut is healed...but I know I experienced amazing relief from a Central Nervous System disorder (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy) chronic pain, migraines, chronic constipation, sinus infections, and seasonal allergies. N got rid of his eczema, started eating better, and we were able to remove him from his seizure medication with success! I know I sound like an infomercial and this point, but I am just excited to share with you all how impacting a crazy "food turn-around" can be for you!


Changing the way we view our food is key. Food is the Nourishment our provider has created to provide his "temple" life. When we eat food from the earth full of vitamins, minerals and nutrients, we are "feeding the temple." When we eat foods that have been sacrificed to the idols of Money and Corporations we are draining our systems and in turn our lives of their full potential.

A sick gut causes our minds to become clouded and our decisions poor. Think about when you have been really stressed out, or if you are a woman struggling with PMS. It is like we can't control our cravings or desires for "food" that really isn't "food." Chips, chocolates, candies, fast food is the first thing on most peoples minds when their gut is sick and being stressed to it's limits. This is no surprise. We are all addicts. Food Addicts that is. Each has their own specific addiction, but the point is we have sought after food for it's pleasure, convenience, and taste value, not the nourishing value...and your sick gut is fueling your addiction, one cheeto at a time.

A sick gut can manifest symptoms in a variety of different ways, and can't be limited to a simple 1 page list of things to look for! Do you suffer from a constant stuffy or runny nose, ear infections, puffy eyes, bags under the eyes, food cravings, arthritis, hypoglycemia, infertility, hormone imbalances, low glandular production, a wide variety of psychiatric problems including depression and social anxiety disorder, Irritable Bowel syndrome, endomietriosis, constant infections of colds or flus, eczema, acne, migraines, bad breath, itchy bum (I know no one wants to talk about this) and on and on. It doesn't just mean that you have a stomach ache or stomach problems (although that can be a symptom as well!)

A sick gut can come about via many different paths. Some we can thank our parents for, literally. Some of us are born with a weak gut and poor ratios of good and bad bacteria, a weak immune system ect. The genes we inherit are the genes we have been given. You can't get them any better than where you start, but you can for sure make them worse depending on how you treat the ones you are given!

Frequent or overuse of antibiotics also produce a bad gut. Anti-biotics are just that: bacteria killing agents. They don't discriminate good and bad bacteria, they just kill everything in sight. Broad Spectrum anti-biotics do the worst damage to a gut. Don't be fooled into thinking that antibiotics for infection are the only ones you consume. If you eat conventional eggs, meat, or milk than you are getting more than your daily dose of antibiotics. If you are a tap water drinker, than you are exposed to them in the water supply along with chlorine and fluoride other killers of bacteria.

Needless to say, as an average American you are at war with your environment everyday! To make matters worse we have mounds of conflicting information about what "healthy foods" truly are as well!

A simple way to start the healing process:

Consider a GAPS diet. (link in the side bar)
Consider a Candida Diet
Talk to a holistic health care practitioner
Keep reading my blog :)

But just don't do nothing!

Take back your clarity, sight, and mind. Get your gut healthy! Yes, this will probably take drastic lifestyle changes, but it is worth it in the end!

The Doctor is IN....Bronner that is.

It has been awhile since I shared about what is in our home...

It always amazes me how we are so careless with what we put on our skin. I know I never thought of skin as an organ that is drinking everything that gets placed on it, and assimilating it into our bodies/blood etc. Now that I am older, and like to think wiser, I am shocked, appalled and in general disbelief when I walk down the self care isles of the stores.

My general opinion on the matter, if you can't or won't drink it, than you shouldn't be using it on your skin! I know that sounds intense, but it is true!

Soaps are a tough one. Finding one that lathers, doesn't dry your skin out, and doesn't have toxic chemicals, plus is affordable can be tough.

I can say we have had an obsession with Dr. Bronners Castile Soaps for quite some time. N, J and I all use them for soap, facewash, and shampoo. They some in so many different essential oil blends that the variety is almost endless.

So, for a facial pack or for the morning when you just can't seem to get your eyes to open, or you have sinus congestion. Place a squirt of the peppermint or eucalyptus soap in a sink of hot water. Soak a wash cloth and place it on your face. Inhale the oils...and wait for the amazing tingle. I am officially obsessed with this! I joke with J that this is my morning therapy after a rough night of little sleep!

For shampoo : Mix the rose and citrus oils together in a separate bottle. The rose will help build volume and the citrus helps remove excess oils and dirt. The peppermint is a nice clarifier ever once in a while....but will leave your hair straw-like if used on a regular basis.

For bodywash: I like the citrus, or rose. J likes the Eucalyptus or peppermint. I find the "spicy" oils can be a bit much on the sensitive areas of the body, but hey, give it a whirl...

You can also use it as a mouthwash. I don't particularly care for the after taste, but to each his own I suppose.

I have also used it as a dish soap with great success!

Needless to say, a bottle of Dr. Bronners goes a long way in your home! The bottle is a bit scary, they definitely are working from an interesting belief system, but the soap is great! They even have a Non essential oil soap...

Coconutty Fish Soup...Mmm Mmm Good

After making your lovely fish stock it is time to bring the house down with some amazingly awesome soup! I don't know about you all, but we are obsessed with coconut milk. It is within the last year or so that it has become a staple in our household, and now I am thinking how did I ever live without this amazingly rich, creamy, and Delicious goodness! I know I sound a little obsessive, but it is true, I love my coconut, and N and J are also completely enthused about it.

It I am ever in doubt over weather they will like a recipe, I add coconut milk to it, and it is a hit. I don't think either of them have ever rejected it's goodness!

Okay, okay, I'm moving onto the recipe...:)

With summer veggies in swing here, we found ourselves with some super fresh spinach to use! yum.

Coconut fish soup:

1 1/2 quarts fish stock
1-2 cans of coconut milk, depending on the thickness and flavor desired
1 tsp dried ginger
Bunch spinach washed
4 carrots (shredded or chopped. I prefer shredded, J likes them chopped)
2 Daikon Radishes shredded (you can omit these, they really don't add that much flavor, just nutrients)
1 onion diced or shredded
2 celery stalks finely chopped
3 tomatoes chopped
10 basil leaves (added at the end or garnished)
small bunch cilantro (added at the end or garnished)
Salt and Pepper to Taste

This is a pretty self explanatory recipe. Add all the veggies with coconut oil for sauteing to the pot and saute until just soft. Add the stock and coconut milk. Simmer for 10 minutes to give the flavors time to meld. Add the basil and cilantro at the very end, or place it in the serving bowls at the bottom and pour soup over top. (always add fresh herbs at the end of cooking and dried herbs at the beginning)

J, N, and I all loved this soup. It reminded us of a soup we used to get out at a local Asian restaurant. J added cayenne pepper to his, b/c he loves to "feel the burn." N and I enjoyed it with salt and pepper. We all had pecan bread with it! Yummy!

Of course you could add cooked brown rice to this recipe. N just can't eat that! Mix it up, it is soup after all, how wrong could you go?

Sorry about the fish photo, I need to get better at taking photos of our food! :)

Enjoy and please let me know what you think! Have any great fish soup recipes yourself?

Here Fishy Fishy.....stock!

We have been intending for awhile to use the fish heads/parts etc that we had collected from the Nice Wegman's Fish Man. Nothing like paying a dollar a pound for excellent wild caught low mercury halibut...

Fish is one of those food items that we would all love to eat more regularly, but the cost is just a problem for our tight budget. Especially when you consider the 2.30/lb we pay for free range organic chickens and the 3.40/lb we pay for our grass fed beef with all the bones! I love to try to get fish and all of it's goodness into our life, but I have found I need to be creative. (yes, it does help that my husband works for Wegmans, and we know when they have extra "parts" laying around for real cheap)

What comes home from the grocery store takes all that is in me not to hurl, (I'm still working on that) but the end product is quite delicious, nutritious, and typically gets us 3 meals!

How do we feed our whole family fish for 3 nights for just 3-4 dollars? Go to the fish man and ask him for all the filleted parts, the stuff they usually just chuck, and ask to have it/ or pay for it. Yes, you will get heads, tails, and various other things, but when made into stock, it will taste just like fish...I promise! Plus there are always "flakes" of meat left after you make the stock to thicken up your soups a bit.

Fish stock:
3 or 4 fish carcasses (non oily fish are best like, sole, turbot, rockfish, or snapper.)
1-2 onions
1-2 garlic bulbs or 5 garlic scapes or both if you like garlic:)
2 carrots chopped
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
4-5 quarts water

The following add after the boil and skim:
6-7 basil leaves
parsley
dash of oregano
2-4 Tbsp cilantro

I added all the top ingredients and brought the water to a boil, and than skimmed it. I covered the pot and let it simmer for about 4-24 hours. When it is done, remove the carcasses and all the added veggies and herbs. If there is excess meat I save this for soup that day! Be sure to remove the excess fat that congeals on the top for long term freezer storage.

Place in the freezer in 2-4 cups storage pouches for later use.

What do you use fish stock for? Delicious soup!

Please check out the Nourishing Gourmet Pennywise Platter Thursday for more frugal recipes/tips, and tricks in your kitchen.

picture taken from Battle Creek Watershed Conservatory.

Candida Diet...Not So Bad

For those of you who don't know, I have struggled with Candida systemic yeast infections on and off for about the last 6 years. I always dread finding out that yeast is yet again what is causing my symptoms. I reluctantly buy all the supplements and get mentally prepared to do the "diet."

This reluctance really does show the human nature. I always feel so much better when all is said and done, but parting with some of my favorite foods is just so hard. I guess you can say, I like instant "food" gratification:)

This time around, as I started the candida diet today, I am determined to make it different. I am actually excited about this adventure. I hope to post many candida friendly recipes for you all to try-out or use if you are on the "diet."

I started some serious research tonight on pecan/almond/hazelnut flours and am looking forward to baking successes. After all, there shouldn't be a reason why one can't enjoy bread, pancakes, and french toast while starving off the yeast, right?

For those of you not familiar with what Candida is, in short, it is a massive yeast overgrowth that is affects you systemically. So, not just feminine areas. It is guesstimated that approx. 90% of woman struggle with some form of candida. Chalk it up to hormones, or just a lack of luck, but women seem to have more problems with this pesky yeast than man.

It starts in the gut, as most health problems do, and actually eats it way through your intestinal lining and starts to cause a whole mess of unwanted symptoms. The true irony here though, is that most Americans just roll with it. They wake up feeling awful, tired, moody, headachey, in need of caffeine and just think that that is a normal way to feel. Well it isn't! You should be able to go to the bathroom at least 2 times a day, and not get "tired" at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

The true kicker is that until you have done a yeast free diet, and know what it feels like to feel good, you truly have no idea how awful you feel everyday. Don't be fooled into thinking that yeast just give you moody, bowel issues. Yeast infections can be the underlying cause of various other health problems!

Obviously, I am not a doctor, but I can speak from experience! If you aren't going to the bathroom at least 2 times a day, suffer from bloating, headaches, sleeplessness, and sleepiness, and your a women...you probably have one...

Break Free! I hope I spiked your curiosity...stay tuned for more :)

Bread Glorious Bread...

I recently came to the conclusion just a week of 2 ago, that N will quickly be 2 and 1/2 and he has never tasted the goodness of a sandwich! I have tried so hard to find a way to adapt a recipe to a "starchless" "glutenless" bread, but really haven't had much success...until now.

I got a call from J saying we were going to have a family outing...which we all love, but my first thought was "uh oh-what am I going to bring for Noah?" I didn't have any "travel" food ready. I did a quick search online, and quickly found one of my new favorite blogs, cheeseslave (She is on the blog roll list and the picture is hers.) She has an amazing recipe for Almond bread.

I am constantly amazed at how one can use almonds to replace starch. I have had lots of success with Almonds in place of wheat flour...pancakes is one.

We gave it a go, and I love it, J loves it, and most importantly N loves it! And I am happy to say the little man got his first taste of a sandwich, a grilled cheese one at that! I feel as though I have had a great kitchen success this week!

I know you are all probably dying for the recipe so....

2 1/2 cup whole crispy almonds (or crispy pecans) (recipe in Nourishing traditions CB)
1/4 cup butter (coconut oil, or lard, homemade yogurt or creme fraiche)
3 eggs
1 Tsp salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Measure nuts whole and place in a food processor or blender (I like the blender better for getting more of a fine meal) When almonds are pretty much pulverized remove from chopper of choice and place in a bowl. Add the eggs, and fat of choice and mix until well blended. Put "dough" (it will look much more like "sweet bread" recipes in consistency) in a small bread pan and bake for 40-60 minutes until a tooth pick comes out clean.

You can also buy almond meal at the store. You still use 2 1/2 cups, and soak this overnight in yogurt/buttermilk/kefir covered to remove the phytic acid and than proceed with recipe as noted above.
Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before using a butter knife to remove it from the pan.

We have used this for traditional sandwiches and also some french toast today. I wish I had taken pictures.

This recipe excits me for so many reasons, it is GAPS friendly, and yeast friendly, starchless, and full of protein. All and all, I am yet to find downers. :)

I will warn it sticks together really well, but the texture is not exactly like bread...it is a little more dense...kind of like a sweet bread. :) Enjoy!

Side note: just did this with pecans and added cinnamon, it is denser, but good. If you are looking for sandwich bread...definitely go with the almond!

A Must See Movie

So, I know some of you much prefer to watch movies instead of reading lots of information. I know I like a good documentary every once in a while.

So, one I watched this week on Hulu, was the Future of food. If you are curious to understand more about the debate that goes on between the GMO world of farming and the non-gmo world of farming and how all of this plays into what you buy at the grocery store, this is a wonderful video. You get to see first hand what the farmers are up against. It is relatively short and worth your time.

While I considered myself "knowledgeable" on the topic this documentary really did blow me away, and it should cause you to really think about what "Nourishing Food" advocates are up against!

Sugary and Not So Sugary Problems

Pop quiz: What is the largest source of calories in the Average American's diet?

If you answered soda you would be correct!

This is truly a sad reality. Consumption of sugar, in general, causes insulin spikes and dips, but in the larger quantities like we see in pop (or soda) it has the potential to devastate this balance leading to type 2 diabetes, potassium depletion (leading to muscle weakness, constipation, and neuromuscular disorders), osteoporosis, attention deficit disorder, insomnia, kidney stones, and tooth decay, and obesity...just to name a few. Not to mention as well, that it is taking precious stomach room away from nutrient rich foods in children and adults alike.

As American's we tend to look at the potential side effects of life, drugs, etc, and take them in stride, with the ignorance of thinking these things will never happen to me...or my children. But everyday Average American's, and most likely the same that are the average consumers of pop, are diagnosed with those conditions...

Soda consumption is a simple if/than analogy. If you consume soda on a regular basis than your risks of contracting all the of above conditions increases drastically, and if you continue to consume soda than your risks just get higher. For every can (I mean a can, not a bottle) of pop you drink a day you increase your risk of obesity by 60%! Yup, that's right, 60%! So, if you are a two canner a day, you are 120% likely to become obese. If you are sipping a soda and reading this...you can put the can down now.

Some of you woman might be thinking now, “well that is why I drink diet soda silly!” While you may think you are avoiding all of the above by drinking your diet variety, you are falsely lead as well.

Since most woman are obsessive compulsive calorie and fat label checkers, the soda companies, and all the other manufacturers for that matter wised up to our weakness and created something just for you...with no fat and calories...

Now, do you ever stop to wonder how you could be consuming such a “sugary” beverage with almost no or no calories and no sugar? We can all thank the company Monsanto for such a discovery...or curse. Aspartame itself doesn’t have any calories, but basically, one of its ingredients, the amino acid phenylalanine, blocks production of serotonin, a nerve chemical that, among other activities, controls food cravings. As you might well imagine, a shortage of serotonin will make your brain and body scream for the foods that create more of this brain chemical—and those are the high-calorie, carbohydrate-rich snacks that can sabotage a dieter. Obviously, the more aspartame one ingests, the more heightened the effects. Simply put, aspartame appears to muddle the brain chemistry.

A great example of this is when one consumes aspartame (equal, sweet n low, spoonful), it appears that it still causes an insulin spike, but with no true “sugar” to counter-act this process, cravings for food that will counteract the insulin..ie: sugar or simple carbs (junk food) happen, and the body will not quit until the insulin level is returned to normal.

For those of you who knew Aspartame wasn't a good option, and chose the safe alternative “splenda” or sucralose, I have some bad news for you too. Splenda actually has never undergone long term human study. So, the only research I can offer is from rats, mice, and rabbits. This research showed that sucralose consumption can cause shrinking of the thymus gland (up to 40 percent shrinkage), enlargement of the liver and kidneys, atrophy of lymph follicles in the spleen and thymus, increased cecal weight, reduced bodily growth rate, decreased red blood cell count, hyperplasia of the pelvis, extension of gestational periods in pregnancy, decreased fetal body weights and placental weights, and diarrhea.

Long story made short. You are best to stay with what is natural. Natural meaning how you would find it in nature. Nature doesn't produce High Fructose Corn Syrup...a manufacturer has to change the molecular make up of corn to do it. Nature doesn't make fat free milk...it gives us cows that have varying fat contents throughout the year and different vitamins and minerals in the grass. Nature does give us a wide variety of delicious fruits and veggies that are wonderful freshly juiced or squeezed!

If you would like more information about any other sweetener alternative here is a large database.

sources not linkable: The Lancet 2001;357:505-508