Health-a-licious

My life is about healthy eating sprinkled with junk food...or is it about junk food, sprinkled with healthy eating? From day to day, I am not quite sure. I am guessing you are like me. We try to find the balance between optimum nutrition and the foods we love to eat and hate the consequences of eating them. The Consequences : The gelato and jelly beans filled with sugar that make your heart beat fast like a little kid at the local ice cream shop.  The Saturday pizza binge that makes your tummy so bloated that you decide to wear your "fat" clothes.  Ah, regret. However, mmmm, love those yummy foods of satisfaction and loathing. The beauty of eating gluten-free today is that now you can have the satisfaction without the loathing. Or, a least, less loathing. I am putting a couple photos of my favorites here. New staples in our household, that are especially purchased for me because I need to be gluten free for health, however, the entire family can and will enjoy them t...

In my family's effort to remain, healthy, energetic and eat delicious foods, we have discovered through trial and error that our sweet furry babies can no longer tolerate processed foods. One of our furry babies spent Easter weekend 2016 in the animal hospital. It was life-changing for our family. We found over the course of two months, several food brand changes and food prescriptions that the only food which will not induce vomiting is a homemade food blend. We mix the homemade blend with a little bit of Rachel Ray's hard dog food (for vitamins and nutrients). By the end of  the day each furry baby has eaten about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of food. We do feed them smaller amounts twice a day instead of once a day feeding, otherwise they will over eat and throw up their food. Once one of them throws up a food, they will both no longer eat any food for two-three days. Health-a-licious Homemade Recipe for your Furry Friends Ingredients 3 lbs Ground Turkey (With rosemary extra...

I always taste the cookie dough? Do you? I know we are not supposed to because of the raw eggs, but I have been eating cookie dough since I was a kid. The dough is an indication to me of how the cookies will taste once they are baked. GF dough is an especially sensitive indicator of how cookies will taste after baking. This dough tasted different than the other recipes I have adapted and I thought...THIS ONE IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT! May even on the verge of greatness! So, here it is. My newly adapted sugar cookie recipe. It has taken 3 years and many batches to find this adaptation. I hope you enjoy them. GF Fluffy Sugar Cookies Ingredients 3/4 cup All Purpose GF Baking Flour (Bob's Red Mill brand) 2 cups White Rice Flour (Bob's Red Mill brand) 1 tsp Baking Soda 1/2 tsp Baking Powder 1/2 cup Butter (softened) 1/2 cup Butter Flavored Crisco 1 1/2 cup Sugar (This batch I used white sugar. Next batch I will try organic cane sugar.) 1 egg 1 tsp Madagascar Va...

This casserole is similar to the Chili Tot recipe I shared last year. My husband is always my gauge on whether the family will love any dish. He is a very picky eater. Picky in the sense that he will only eat items that are flavorful, preferably with a protein ingredient and preferably with some type of sauce. This dish was a home run! Pizza Tatar Tot Casserole Ingredients 1-1 1/2 lbs of Ground Meat of your choice (we used 7% lean hamburger) 1 medium Green Pepper (chopped) 1 medium Onion (chopped) (we prefer a sweet onion) 8oz of Mushrooms 1 jar of your favorite Italian Sauce (or homemade sauce) Basil Oregano Garlic Salt Tatar Tots Shredded Mozzarella Cheese Shredded Cheddar Cheese (mild, sharp or extra sharp for your taste preference) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine ground meat, chopped green pepper, chopped onion and mushroom in a large pan. Cook on medium heat until meat is fully cooked. Drain cooked mixture. Put back in pan and add Italian sauce, basil, oregan...

After years of trying to eat together as a GF family, my husband and I sometimes get it right. He decided to make tacos and looked for GF ingredients for me. He ended up finding products that we both love together. This is definitely a keeper recipe. We recommend you change the spice level for younger children. Teenagers will love this because it is like Doritos and a little edgy. Spicy, Semi-Homemade Tacos Ingredients: 1 lb ground meat (hamburger, turkey or chicken) 1 packet of Old El Paso brand gluten free, low sodium taco seasoning 1 can of Rotel brand diced tomatoes and green chilies (drained) 1 small can of tomato sauce (for thickness) 1 cup of lettuce (chopped) 1 tomato (diced) 1/2 cup Mexican mix shredded cheese 1 package of Old El Paso Bold Spicy Cheddar Flavored Taco Shells Salsa, hot sauce, sriracha, tapatio of your choice Prep time: 20 minutes Brown ground meat, drain. (Do not cool). Prepare cooked meat according to the taco seasoning instructions. Add Rot...

    GF Frustrations - Can you relate?    Remember that moment when you discovered YOU NEEDED to adopt an elimination diet and/or gluten free lifestyle in order to live a better life? It have been because you have a clinical health condition or maybe experience chronic pain or maybe your doctor recommended the diet change. It is difficult for one person in a household to adapt to a gluten free diet, let alone a large family. Wow! Talk about a curve ball in life. Adopting a GF and elimination diet changes everything about family meal time.       When your family wants to eat pizza, you have to make 2 pizzas; one with a GF crust and sauce and one with regular crust. When its Italian cuisine night, you have to boil two pots of water, one for GF pasta and one for any other kind of pasta your family would like to eat. If you have ever eaten GF anything that is trying to mock a wheat flour product,( pizza crust, pasta, cookies), you know that the wheat f...

I would venture to guess that you either love peppermint or hate it. There are not many in-betweeners, I have found.  I always carry something made of peppermint in my purse. I believe a little "Peppermint makes everything better."  A peppermint candy puts a smile on a child's face, a peppermint breath mint is refreshing, peppermint gum cleans your breath and teeth, fresh peppermint leaves smell earthy and heavenly all at the same time. For those of us with chronic migraines, peppermint does so much more. Peppermint essential oils , help to relax our brain and give us energy. Peppermint oils on our temples, give some symptom relief. For me, when a migraine is so intense that I ache from my head to my toes, I put a couple dabs of peppermint oil on my feet. My new favorite for migraine symptom relief is peppermint tea. I've learned in the last year or so that ginger root gives me a migraine if I don't already have one and increases a migraines' intensit...