Whole Foods now open in Mishawaka!

When the boys first came home with their lists of foods to remove from their diet, I was overwhelmed to say the least. I literally came home and had nothing but water (REALLY!) in house that they could eat/drink. Finding alternatives was expensive, time consuming and down right hard most of the time.

Over the years I’ve found all of the local health food stores, co-ops and learned about Whole Foods in the bigger cities. I can usually find one product here, another over there (usually in completely different towns!) And I only shopped at a  Whole Foods market when visiting or someone else drove by and picked things up for me.

Sooo, I was thrilled when I learned they opened a Whole Foods Market in Mishawaka! Now, Whole Foods isn’t a end all to my food shopping problems, BUT it sure does make it easier to pick up a bunch of things in one stop! On a wonderful outing with my dearest friend Roni, we ventured into a PACKED store and I found some real gems I thought I would share with you!

Both boys have digestive problems, one of the main reasons they are food sensitive. So when the doctor suggested we get as much coconut yogurt in their diet to help with this, I’ve been on the search for it. While I have found it locally, it’s irregularly in stock and I have never seen Greek style. Until now! And it’s GOOD! Surprisingly good!

 

We also found Keifer! It’s full of pre and probiotics, great for tummies

And I NEVER thought I would see the day they offered Gluten, dairy and SOY free mac and cheese!!!! And it was pretty darn good! It’s made with the Daiya cheese that we have come to love. It’s pretty expensive for the small amount you get (one box can be a side per boy) at almost $5 a serving.  But it would be a great thing to travel with or take with us to others house for dinner.

And something we’ve known and eaten before is Van’s Blueberry Waffles, YUM! These are such a treat for the boys, since I haven’t come up with an edible waffle recipe myself…yet. This morning the boys were home with a cold of some sort and we treated ourselves to this wonderful breakfast! Oh, and I finally found the soy free Earth Balance spread for the boys! Tastes just as good as the other stuff

And last, but not least is…get ready for this….Soy-free “soy” sauce! We originally found out about this stuff at the health food store in Angola (small, but packed with some awesome stuff that’s hard to find! Totally suggest you visit if in the area!)

It’s by Coconut Secret called Raw Coconut Aminos. Basically it’s fermented coconut. (The crazy stuff people will eat when they don’t have a choice, lol.)

They have a variety of products that I haven’t checked out yet, but noticed when I was at the store. What’s amazing about this stuff is that not only is it super super good for you, it seriously taste like soy sauce! It’s not as salty, and I find we use more than regular soy sauce, but you really can’t tell any other difference. It’s pricey, like everything else, so we use it sparingly. But it’s worth it!

All in all, I found many things that I just can’t find regularly anywhere else. While most things are on average the same to $2 higher, it’s almost worth it to make one stop. Especially if you are already in town.

I probably won’t make trips there weekly by any means, but stock up on occasion. And I found out they give discounts for buying in bulk/cases, so that might be incentive to spend the gas and get everything I need!

Our Breakfast Burrito

When you just want something different, sometimes it’s hard to pull off. It seems we have many of the same meals repeatedly and sometimes you just get bored with it!

So tonight I wanted to make something different and use left overs, not always an easy task in this house.

Enter, the Breakfast Burrito. It may sound like gas station food to you, but to us, it’s a special treat.

Not often do we splurge and buy the gluten free wraps (really they are just non-wheat tortillas). Nor do they usually taste anything worth the $4 to $7 they cost.

Luckily, the last time I was at a health food store, my mom spotted these! And they turned out to be quite good! Instead of being made of the usually rice and other gluten free flours, there are made with Teff and Millet Flour. (This bread is actual common in Ethiopian cuisine!)

With these I decided to make a burrito of sorts. Turned out to be one of my better food ideas! Even my pickiest critic, Nathan, LOVED THEM!

I just took out some left over rice from the freezer that had some ground beef already in it and stir fried it up with an egg. (Quinoa would be ideal in this the next time! Also, don’t be afraid to put in anything you like! Avocado, artichoke hearts, onions, spinach, etc.) To keep it from sticking in the pan, I added a little bit of Earth Balance Buttery Spread, it also helps put some moisture into the mix.

Next, I cut the wraps in half, I found they were much easier to work with. Then, I spread them with some soft Chavrie Goat cheese. This helps keep the rice/egg mixture inside the wrap and adds such a wonderful texture and creaminess. Next, I shredded some hard goat cheese on top.

Then place a spoonful of your rice/egg mixture in the wrap and roll it like a burrito. Because these wraps aren’t as pliable as a normal wheat tortilla shell, just rolling them up works the best.

Then in a hot, greased (we used coconut oil) skillet, place seam side down and cook until golden brown.

That way, they cook shut and won’t fall apart.

Serve with some dipping sauce and enjoy! These were so very good! I will be making them again, and hopefully coming up with a tasty recipe for some wraps of our own!

What to do with cubed steak…

I find myself always thinking of cubed steak as just for Country Fried Steak. But when you are challenged to find new ways to prepare foods (because our diet is restricted) you have to get creative.So, besides country fried steak, I make a variation that the boys REALLY like.

I call them Steak Fries.

Take your cubed steak and beat the heck out of it. Yeah, it’s great on stressful days.

Then slice into strips. Like a French fry. A protein laden, beefy French fry. Yum.

Mix up some breading. Since the boys can’t have wheat, I use a lot of corn starch. Mixed with some GF flour, seasoned with garlic, onion powder, salt and peppa and sometimes some paprika.

Don’t forget to season the beef strips with salt and pepper before you dredge them. This really helps them taste super good, and the salt breaks down the tough parts in the meat.

I like to dredge them, and then let them sit while I heat up the pan. The breading tends to stay attached to the meat instead of the pan.

Grab up some Earth Balance dairy free buttery spread (also affectionately known as Fake Butta in this house) and add it to your hot pan. ( I usually use bacon fat, but the dog ate it. Just thought I would let you know….since it’s super important.)

When the pan is hot and covered in butta, add your beefy fries and brown.

Sizzle my little fries, sizzle away.

Turn them so that they are evenly cooked. Now, with this cut of meat, I tend to cook it like I would steak. Medium rare. I like a little pink in the middle, but for those of you who don’t, just make sure you don’t cook so long as to make them tough. It will happen. I won’t tell you how I know, but just take my word for it.

Moving on…

When they are cooked through, set aside and cook remaining fries. I like to sit them on the back of the stove and then add all of them together in the pan to heat them up right before serving.

Speaking of serving, I like to put mashed potatoes and corn with it.

Mashed potatoes…. how do I get them creamy with no dairy you might ask? Well, I guess I could let you in on my secret.

Yep, I put fancy goat cheese in our taters. Most people use cream cheese, which is my favorite. But, we can’t use that and I don’t mind the tofu cream cheese, but it tastes funny sometimes. This however, taste like a creamy cream cheese and it’s good. Very good. Plus, I put a glob of Earth Balance in there too. Yum!

So, there you have it. Steak Fries. Even my pickiest eater likes them!

Pizza!

Pizza at our house is a bit different than most other homes. Instead of a box from the delivery guy, or a frozen package, ours is home made. Not really because I want to, because pizza night is supposed to be the night you don't have to cook. Not here. We can't have wheat. Or yeast. Or dairy.

You may be asking how in the world you can have a pizza without wheat, yeast or dairy. Well, it's actually really easy. And it tastes better than you would ever imagine.

Behold the secret, Daiya. It's the most amazing non dairy cheese on earth. Literally. Life. Changing. The best part about Daiya, beyond that is is soy free (!) is that it actually tastes and feels and melts like cheese! Crazy!

Beyond that, it's pretty much just a cup of GF flour, salt, baking powder, oil and water. And BAM! you've got some crust. The tricky part is getting the right consistancy and then rolling it out. It looks and works a little different than "real" dough, but when you've gone without pizza crust for so long, you really don't care. Just top with your favorites and some Daiya cheese.

 

And then after you bake it, it ends up like this:

 

...gone.

 

Gluten free dinner at Biaggi's!

 

It was so good to see my brother, Derek and Dawn. My parents and I met them at Biaggi's in Fort Wayne where we had a wonderful visit and meal.

 

 And to our surprise, they have a  Gluten Free menu! With Luke's dairy allergy, they even had goat cheese! So, for the first time, he had pizza at a resturant! Nate had spagetti and meat sauce! Not to mention gluten free bread, which means they got to have the wonderful olive oil dipping sauce too. It was so nice that they actually had good choices and good food to eat right along with everyone else.

 

 

 

Thank you Derek and Dawn for a wonderful time and Biaggi's for the good choices and food.