Just Some Ideas

Following the birth of our baby, and a 5 day hospital stay due to infections, we were given several delicious meals in which the chefs came up with some great substitutes.  Here are some ideas I gained from them:

Meat Loaf

Use rice, diced chilies, and black beans instead of the old tomatoes and oatmeal.

Chicken and Rice

Just use water instead of cream of chicken soup, but still get zesty flavor with red peppers and green chilies.

Salad

Make a lettuce and spinach salad.  Toss with raisins and ground peanuts.  Top with a balsamic dressing. 

Pork N Apples

Following the birth of our baby one of our friends brought us this easy meal.

Pork N Apples

4 boneless butterfly pork chops
4 apples (I used golden delicious), cored and wedged
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Cinnamon to taste

Place pork chops in bottom of a slow cooker.  Cover with apples, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.  Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

Slow Cooker Quinoa Chicken Chili

Slow Cooker Quinoa Chicken Chili

1 c. quinoa
2 (14oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 (7oz) can diced green chilies
2 (16oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15oz) can corn, crained
3 c. chicken stock
2 large chicken breasts, thawed
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tsp. chili powder

Toss everything together in a slow cooker.  Cook 6-8 hours on low or 4-7 hours on high.

Remove chicken and shred with two forks.  Return to slow cooker.

Optionally: top with cheese, avocado, sour cream, or cilantro if desired.

No Bake Oatmeal Drops *

As a kid my dad would make these easy "cookies" with us. Instead of dropping the "batter" into individual portions we would spread it out in one big patty and eat off it family style.  When I made this last night that's what my husband and I did too.  My mom's recipe was called NO BAKE COOKIES but I've made a few modifications to make it allergy free.  I love that it only takes a few measuring tools, a saucepan, and a spatula so clean up is super easy!

No Bake Oatmeal Drops

3 Tbsp. spectrum all vegetable shortening
1/2 c. corn syrup
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla.
pinch of salt
2 c. gluten free oatmeal

In a saucepan over medium low heat, bring shortening and corn syrup to a boil. Stir with a spatula frequently.  Add in peanut butter.

Remove from heat.  Stir in cocoa powder.  Fold in remaining ingredient.

Drop by spoonfuls on to wax paper.  Cool.

(Or as I said above, just spread the entire batch onto wax paper and flatten with the spatula.  In my family we never let it cool all the way before we dip our fingers in for a tasty bite!)

Honey Flat Bread

Well, here is my first attempt at gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, cane sugar-free baking.  It actually doesn't taste too bad.

Honey Flat Bread

1 c. Domata Ready to Substitute GF flour

1/3 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/3 c. cold water

2 Tbsp. honey

Stir all ingredients together until they form a dough ball.  (You may need to add more flour.)  Roll or pat thin on a floured surface.  Place on cookie sheet or baking stone.  Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 F.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

1/2 c. canola oil

1 c. light agave nectar (I used honey)

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

2 c. grated zucchini

2 1/3 domata flour

2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Mix wet ingredients in a large bowl.

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl and blend into wet ingredients.

Pour into greased 9 x 5 loaf pan, and bake at 350 F for 55-60 minutes.  Rotate pan half way through.

Tastes like cake!!!

Strawberry Balsamic Chicken

Here is my first entree recipe to be posted since our allergen free diet began.  It's certainly a keeper.

Strawberry Balsamic Dressing

1 c. strawberries (fresh or frozen), chopped.  (If frozen thaw slightly before processing)

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/8 tsp. salt

Optional: sweetener such as agave nectar or honey

Combine all ingredients together in a food processor.  I thought it was sweet enough with just the berries but you can add sweetener if desired.

Additional Ingredients:

3 lbs. chicken breasts (about 4)

Avocado

Optional: fresh parsley to garnish

Prepare the chicken as desired.  We made ours on the stove in a cast iron skillet, but you could grill or bake it too.

Slice or dice the avocado.

To serve, place chicken breast on a plate, top with avocado and a generous pour of dressing.  Garnish if desired. You could also serve it on a bed of fresh greens for a tasty salad.

So Our Journey Begins

My husband has recently been tested for a variety of food allergies, and the results showed the following list of intolerances.  Yikes!  Try finding recipes without these ingredients

Never to fear, thanks to a few allergen-free cookbooks and gluten-free vegans I have begun to collect recipes for foods he can actually eat, and you can too.  It will by my commitment to find recipes which contain one or less of the following allergens: gluten, dairy, soy, onions/garlic, and nuts. Enjoy!

Extreme Intolerances:

Dairy

Gluten

Soy

Sweet Potatoes

Basil

Hops

Eggplant

Onion

Intermediate Intolerance:

Plum

Banana

Blueberry

Cranberry

Grapefruit

Cucumber
Cane Sugar

Tomato

Cauliflower

Almonds

Cashews

Tuna

Cod

Halibut

Garlic

Cinnamon