Spinach Divine

As I've mentioned before L has serious issues, allergy, to dairy.  She has done extremely well keeping a positive attitude and recognizing that she can't have it.  She has also been very courageous in trying new foods; surprising combinations for a 4 year old.

Her latest favorite is "salad" which is actually spinach and that thrills me because its full of so many vitamins; many nutrients that most kids receive from dairy.

She enjoyed spinach with strawberries and honey (her favorite), spinach wrapped around her chicken nuggets and she even got her finicky sister on board with spinach wraps-putting peas and corn inside and rolling it.

 

 

And as always we can't forget our favorite; HONEY with anything.  Although the picture below looks like a shot of whiskey its just honey and celery.

 

 



My Favorite Pick-up Yet

How delicious does this bounty look!?   I've separated the lettuces into to-go containers so Steve can grab a salad on his way to work.  I'm also prepping for some yummy stuffed peppers, this time with eggplant instead of okra and then making a chicken stew with sweet potatoes.
I will let you know how it all turns out!
YUMMY YUM YUM!
I am super excited for tomorrow because it is my first cooking lesson!  Maybe I will have a lot less waste both in food and my time.  I have high hopes for Lynn:)

Bad Version of Eggplant Pomodoro Pasta

I saw a delicious looking recipe on-line called Eggplant Pomodoro that included red wine vinegar and olives and so on.   A little Mediterranean which is good for Steve's skin but when I went to make it I realized I really wasn't prepared.

So typical of a non-chef, non-cook!  So I did what I do and I substituted.  I thought it was good but I decided either I don't know how to cook eggplant well or I just don't like it.

While the family nibbled on some fresh green beans I cut up some:
--eggplant
--broccoli
--onion
--tomatoes
--garlic
and boiled up quinoa spiral noodles (what are they called, the spiral)?

After all the vegetables were sauteed in a little oil and lemon I tossed in the noodles.  It wasn't really yummy (but good) but I wish I took a picture because it looked superb.

A little salt and pepper, extra lemon for me and of course Steve added his sirachi, which makes anything good!

I don't care though because he ate a boat load of fresh ingredients full of all the nutrients a fella needs.

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

I love when L wants spaghetti because she can never remember how to say it so she says, "Mommy, I want the noodles like Katy makes but long."  So cute.

We are pretty much down with the quinoa and mixed potato noodles but I really didn't care for the rice noodles.  I think because I keep over cooking them.

This week in our CSA, besides some lovely flowers, was a spaghetti squash.  I keep meaning to try this out so I finally did!

It was really yummy. 

It kinda tastes like noodles but a little crunchy, not crunchy like noodles that aren't cooked, but crunchy like a pretzel...sorta.  I will definitely make this again.  L like it but H wasn't in the mood.  Steve was at work so he hasn't tried it yet.

• I cut the squash in half length wise, drizzled with a little oil and black pepper
• Put it on a baking sheet and into the over for about 2 hours on 350
• Pulled it out and with a fork just scraped it out and poured sauce on top

That easy!  Here are a few pictures. 

Is it More Than Lactose?

My little L has had tummy issues since the beginning.  I had to stop breast feeding her at 6 weeks because everything was making her sick.  She had to go on alimentum with rice as well as a prescription for her reflux.

The conclusion was she was lactose intolerant.  Over the years there were times when we thought maybe she had outgrown it but sure enough regular cows milk sent her into one of two directions; total constipation or the total opposite way.

We are now revisiting at all of this.  Why?  Over the last month or two she has had numerous accidents.  Accidents that she misjudges.  Accidents that she thinks is just gas.  The pain has created a little girl who does everything she can to avoid going to the potty because she knows there is a high possibility that it will be severely painful.

This, no doubt, has lead to constipation and cramping and, of course, many tears.

At 3, I tell her, "you cannot have milk or cheese, no gold fish or yogurt" and so on and she remembers.  If someone tries to give it to her she simply says, "I can't have that.  It will hurt my tummy." 

There is a serious problem when a young child will forgo her favorite foods because she knows what the end result will most likely be.

We've decided to cut out all dairy and see if this will help her.  Initially we only cut out straight dairy like ice cream, milk or cheese.  We did allow her certain foods that did not contain lactose like goat cheese, mozzarella and yogurt.   But now we are giving that all up including anything that obviously has dairy like cheese nips or gold fish.  
We will see how this goes and maybe step it up to anything with milk like cupcakes, breads etc.

Any other ideas?  Suggestion?  It is breaking my heart watching her in so much pain.

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut squash is part of the winter squash family with the tough inedible skins.  I find this annoying to cook.  I like ease.  I like trouble free.   I try not to use the microwave so the best way I've found to cook these is to, clumsily, cut the gourd in half length wise, scoop out the seeds and roast on about 300 for a couple hours; until the meat is soft.

I'm always glad when I go through the trouble because not only are they delicious but they are high in vitamins A and C, iron and riboflavin (B2).

Interestingly we think of them as a vegetable but from a botanical point of view they are a fruit because they contain their own seeds.

Anyway after I cooked the squash and scooped out all the flesh, I added about 5 cups of low sodium chicken broth, some curry seasoning, cracked black pepper and blended it up nice and smooth.  I then added frozen corn.  The heat from the soup thawed the corn which added extra liquid instead of increasing the amount of chicken broth I used.

I love love love this soup.  I ate it with pretzels because it was the only gluten-free crunch I had.  Steve enjoyed it but wouldn't satisfy him as a meal so in the future this will be a side, appetizer or a snack.

If anyone has an easier way to cook these tough beasts let me know!

Power Breakfast

It's not always fun prepping for healthy meals, all the washing and cutting but when you take the time it is truly worth it.

We cooked up some "dippy" eggs along with sauteed peppers, fingerling potatoes, onions and chunks of garlic.  It was so delicious and although the prep time was tedious the clean up was easy.

Unfortunately I just found out that peppers and tomatoes are inflammatory foods.  That is truly going to cramp us up here since that is our primary garden staple and a favorite.

That is the most difficult part of a special diet, the constant discovery of foods that you think should be so great and wonderful for the body but just aren't.

Substitutes please?