Health-a-licious

Wha What?  Gluten-Free Taco Salad! I bet you don't believe me. In the last year there have been so many food production companies that have jumped on the GF, non-GMO band wagon. It makes me so happy. I truly feel that my problem with gluten comes from my own personal hormone issues related to thyroid and having genetically modified food does not help my body at all. This recipe has been one of our family favorites for probably over 30 years! It is a true classic and now I can enjoy it how it was meant to be enjoyed. Great for a meal, parties, side dish etc. Thank you Kroger for your GF, GMO Tortilla chips that taste like the brand name chips. Kroger, You are my tortilla-heroes! This is my Mama's Taco Salad recipe adapted to my family's specialized tastes. Ingredients 3 Roman Lettuce, cut into bite-sized pieces. 1 small package of cherry tomatoes cut in half. 8 oz of shredded Colby Jack cheese. 1 lb hamburger, browned, and prepared with Taco Seasoning of yo

We all have relationships with food.  These relationships are constantly changing. Most of us have a love hate relationship. We love certain foods, but they don't love us. The foods we love are not good for our bodies. Or we eat too much of the food we love. We don't eat enough of the foods that are good for us. It is a constant struggle and test in self-discipline for most of our lives. I have found throughout the last eight months and the elimination diet that I have gained 15 lbs because I am trying to replace the foods I love with other foods. I gave up all Tyramine rich foods, all processed foods, all sugar additives, all MSG, all aged foods and all nuts. I have found that a migraine trigger for me is nuts. Almonds and peanut butter seem to be the biggest triggers. I couldn't  believe it. I have eaten peanut butter my entire life. The great news with adding foods back in from eight months of elimination is that you rediscover foods you have loved and forgot you l

Almost 2 years ago to the day I started writing this blog. I discovered that eating wheat flour-free made a difference in how my body felt in just one day. Over the last two years I have found many foods that my body does not agree with through the elimination diet and food experiments. Health-a-licious Personal Diet Discoveries You know your body best. Listen to what it is telling you. Keep searching for your answer, even if a doctor says they can not help you and you should be on disability. Go with your gut. Don't listen to others who don't know your journey. When you don't have a thyroid, your thyroid medications will work better if you eliminate certain foods from your diet. For me it has been eliminating the following foods or ingredients: Gluten                 Corn Syrup                                Soy Milk                    Almonds                                   Peanuts and peanut butter Ginger                 Mango                                   

This is now a family favorite. Easy to make. All fresh. Semi-homemade. It can be made in just a few minutes for lunch, a quick warm filling dinner or appetizers when guests come over. Gluten-Free Chicken-Olive Quesadillas Ingredients 1/2 cup chopped or pulled cooked chicken breast 3 tablespoons sliced black olives 1/4 teaspoon chili powder 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese Package of corn tortillas (we prefer the 6 inch size) Salsa, sour cream and green chiles optional. 1. Combine first 6 ingredients in medium bowl. 2. Coat a skillet (any size) with cooking spray. Heat over medium heat. 3. Place one tortilla in skillet and add a couple large spoonfuls of chicken mixture. 4. Let cook for a minute then fold over one side of the tortilla and press on the other side until the cheese has melted enough to stick. 5. Brown tortilla on each side until the tortilla is crispy. 6. Serve with salsa, sour cream and green chilies. So easy an

We have spent two years trying to find amazing gluten-free baked goods. We have had no luck. Most GF baked goods are for the most part, hard.  Sometimes they are as hard as a rock. Sometimes they are crusty as a rock on the outside and soft on the inside. Sometimes they taste like salty, spoiled, I don't even know what. And sometimes they are only good when they are just cooked and an hour later they taste awful. Mostly, we have tried other people's recipes and GF products from the grocery store GF and frozen section. FINALLY, I have made a recipe that works! These cookies are awesome when they come out of the oven. Awesome the next day. Awesome after they are frozen and thawed. So excited I can finally eat a good cookie again. INGREDIENTS 3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter (We use JIF Natural) 1/2 cup Butter, softened 1 1/4 cup Light Brown Sugar, firmly packed 3 Tbsps Milk 1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract (not imitation vanilla) 1 Large Egg 1 3/4 cups Bob's Red Mill All Purp

  ENOUGH SAID! HAVE A HEALTH-A-LICIOUS DAY!

I know, crazy right? My country cookin' friends seem to think so too. I, on the other hand think it is a great idea. Most southern cooks talk about chicken fried steak or chicken fried pork. Well, why not chicken fried chicken?  No bone, no dark meat less grease. Sounds good to me. Since my mom is an amazing cook and doesn't shy away from any recipe, I thought I can do it too. So even with the mocking from others I tried it. Turned out great. The kitchen smelled like home cookin at it's finest. I will tweek the breading recipe spices a a bit next time. My Chicken Fried Chicken Recipe 4 Chicken Cutlets 1/2 cup GF cornmeal 1/2 cup grated GF cornflake cereal 1/2 tsp garlic 1 tsp onion powder 1/2 tsp red crushed pepper 1/4 tsp black pepper 1 tsp salt 1/2 cup almond milk 1 large egg Canola oil Add milk and egg together in cereal size bowl. Mix well Add all dry ingredients in cereal size bowl. Mix well. Heat canola oil in large frying pan. About 1/4

This was my first time making risotto. Couldn't believe this simple recipe. Of course I adapted it to make it easier and based on what we had in our home. My husband actually said, "You must cook this every week." Translation; "I love it and I can eat it whenever you make it." This dish is light, fresh and filling all at the same time. The recipe says it is only enough for 4 servings, but we found it is so filling it will make six to eight servings per recipe. The first picture is my kitchen creation. The 2nd is from the cookbook.   Ingredients: 3 cups chicken broth (We use organic, yeast extract free, gluten free.) 1 cup water 2 tsp olive oil (We use Italian Blend olive oil from http://oliveoilpurveyor.com/ ) 2 1/4 cup sweet onion (We used onion powder.) 1 cup rice (We used Jasmine rice, 1 1/2 cups.) 2 garlic cloves (We used garlic powder) 1 3/4 cup asparagus cut into bite size pieces (We used closer to 2 1/2 cups) 1 lb medium shrimp, pealed

I promised some delicious GF recipes and we have found some. This one is an adaptation from the original recipe and may need just a smidge of adjusting but irregardless turned out to be a hit. They were so delicious and went so quickly that I forgot to take a picture. Sausage Balls Original                                                   GF, NF Sausage Balls 1 lb ground sausage                                                       1 lb uncured ground sausage 1 lb shredded cheddar cheese                                        1 lb shredded mozzarella, american or velvetta 2 cups Bisquick Original Mix                                         2 cups GF Bisquick Mix 1/2 cup water                                                                 1/2 cup water Mix all together in same bowl. Roll into teaspoon size balls. Place on cookie tin. You can use tin foil or parchment paper underneath. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until desired crispness on bottom. Have a Happy

I blogged about gluten free foods once a week for a year. My chronic migraine condition was getting worse and not better. I won't accost you with all of the details of my health discoveries in the last six months, because there are so many discoveries both good and bad. Bottom-line GF eating will not change the fact that I have migraine headaches. GF eating has changed my digestive system in good ways. I do not feel stomach pain after I eat anymore. I am not using the restroom 5 times a day. My eyes aren't watering all day everyday. My lips are not getting a yeast line. (I know these are gross, but those with GF sensitivities will understand what I am saying.) I have changed my entire way of eating in the last 3 months. I am still having 15 days of headache pain a month and in the last 30 days 12 of those days have been excruciating. Most of those days were spent in bed or on the couch with the lights off and in my pajamas, or at my dotor's office. After a year