"So what DO you eat?!"

Since I've had my little love.my diet has been completely revamped to accomodate his food sensitivities.  Just so everyone knows, there is no such thing as colic, your baby is either hurting or uncomfortable and it's more than likely from what they're eating (or what you're eating) but I'll get more into that in another post. Having changed the way we eat I now weigh 16 lbs less than I did before I had Turtle. I am my 15 year old weight and I feel amazing so people who see me always want to know what I eat because of all the restrictions so I'll be posting meals and snacks and whatever to help anyone else with food sensitivities and for those who want to stay updated about the cleanses we got goin on over here I'll specify those foods too!

Quick kale & millet chili [V, GF, SF]

We've had a couple of cold nights and chili is always my go to. Having a tiny babe in my life I'm all about quick dishes with minimal clean up and this is just that.

Prep time: 10 mins  Cook time: 30

Ingredients:
●1 can pinto beans
●1 can black beans
●1 can kidney beans
●1 can garbanzo beans
●2 cloves of garlic, minced
●1 small onion, minced
●1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
●1 fresh jalapeño, diced
●3 cups of kale
●3/4 c. millet
●1tbs. smoked paprika
●1tsp. smoked salt (optional)

Sauté the garlic and onions in oil (we use grapesed) with the paprika and salt. Once the onions are translucent add in everything EXCEPT the kale & millet. Let it cook on medium high for 10 mins, once it starts boiling add in the millet and reduce the heat to medium low for another 10 minutes. Add your kale, turn the heat off and cover, letting it sit another 10. Serve it up with some avocado and tah dah, winning.

chocolate chip cookies [V, GF, SF]

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes 

Pandora station: Edith Pilaf

Preheat oven to 350°

2 1/4 c. Rice flour 

2/3 c. Applesauce

2 tsp. Baking powder

3/4 c. Sugar

3/4 c. Brown sugar

1tsp. Vanilla

1/2 c. Coconut butter

1/2 c. Coconut oil

1tsp. Xantham gum 

1tsp. Salt 

3/4 c. Enjoy Life allergen free chocolate chips

For non-vegan*

Replace applesauce with 2 eggs and coconut oil & butter with 1c. of butter

Cream together applesauce, vanilla, coconut oil, butter and salt. Add dry ingredients one at a time, mixing in between each ingredient. Spoon onto a silpat mat or parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until edges brown. These are crunchy on the outside and so soft on the inside. They don't taste exactly like "real" chocolate chip cookies but dammit they're close. Grab a glass of hemp milk and get down. 

One pot pasta [V,GF, SF]

I've never attempted one pot pasta before because of all of the horror stories about the gluten making everything all mushy and meh but since we've switched to brown rice pasta I thought I'd give it a shot and I was not disappointed.

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins

Pandora station: Dean Martin Radio

●28 oz can of diced tomatoes 

●32oz brown rice rotini pasta

●4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

●1 medium onion, thinly sliced 

●2 c. Kale

●1 pkg. Sliced mushrooms 

●2c. Low sodium Vegetable broth 

●2tbs. Olive oil

●1tsp. Red pepper flakes

●1/2tsp. Dried oregano

●1/2tsp. Dried basil

●1/2tsp. Black pepper

●1/2tsp. Garlic powder

●1tsp. Himalayan salt

Grab yourself a sturdy pot toss in the pasta, garlic, onions, mushrooms, kale and tomatoes (with the juice). Pour on your broth, add your olive oil and spices, cover and boil. 

Once it's boiling turn it down to medium-low and give it a stir every few mins. It should be good to go after 10. I let mine sit for an extra 5 to soak up all the extra juices but gluten-free pasta is pretty delicate so keep an eye on it.

Garden Pasta

I've been craving pasta like nobody's business so I finally caved and tossed this together real quick from what was in the fridge and everyone loved it.

1 large onion

2 zucchinis 

1 bell pepper

4 cups of quartered Brussels sprouts

3 tbs minced garlic 

1 can diced tomatoes

1 pkg sliced mushrooms

1 jar Newman's Own Sockarooni

1 pkg. all natural organic casing free spinach garlic chicken sausage

variety of spices 

*optional* we had leftover feta jalapeno burgers I made the night before so I cubed up two of those

6 cups of Brown rice penne pasta

While pasta is cooking; in a large saucepan with olive oil saute onions, garlic and bell pepper for 10 minutes then add the rest of the vegetables and meats, cook another 10 minutes.  Add drained pasta and sauce to mixture, mix, cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes (make a nice salad in the meantime) 

Season how you like.  I used h.s. salt, pepper, crushed red peppers, garlic powder, parsley, basil and oregano.  

pre-pasta

Turnip-cauliflower Mash

I'm riding this health train hard.  Yes I may have had one too many snap pea crisps today but who's counting?

Today I was craving mashed potatoes and spinach (and for some strange reason celery).

So I dug in my fridge and pulled out 1/2 head of cauliflower and 2 turnips and got to work.

I steamed the cauliflower and skinned, diced and boiled the turnips.  Drained and mashed them together with garlic, black truffle salt, herbs de Provence, pepper and because they weren't as thick as I like my potatoes I added 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed.  Came out perfect.  Meals like this don't make me feel like I have to give anything up to look and feel better. 

Vegan, paleo, gluten-free, non-judgmental, midnight tacos

I don't know about most people but I like to eat alllllllll niiiigghhhtt looonnnggg.  Especially on weekends and I have been trying my hardest all week to not eat past 8 to try to keep my glucose levels in check.  Last night   around 9:00 all I wanted was to fall into my college life habits and go to Denny's or Applebee's and eat less than appetizing appetizers just out of habit.  Instead I ran across the street to Sprouts and grabbed ingredients to make tacos, these ain't ya mama's tacos.

I grabbed a head of my most favorite butter lettuce, Happy Living.  It's locally grown and has it's little roots still attached.

I also got:
2 portabello mushrooms
1 chayote
 And went to the fridge for:
1 red bell pepper
1 fresh jalapeno
1 small onion
1 avocado

I sliced the mushrooms into 1/4 inch pieces and marinated them in a little apple cider vinegar, ground fennel seed, garlic, chimayo powder and lime juice.

Cut the chayote in half, seeded it then thinly sliced and salted it

Sliced the red pepper and jalapeno and kept half of each for later.

In a pan with a little oil I cooked the chayote, peppers and onions, seasoned with ghost pepper powder. Deglazed the pan with a little pure mango juice to balance out all the heat.  Added the mushrooms and cooked until soft.

Double stacked the lettuce leaves and scooped a little into each one.  Topped it with some mashed avocado, and the remaining raw jalapenos and red peppers for crunch.  

Late night apps without the uncomfortable bloating and sudden need to crawl into a corner and sleep.  These powered us through the Hatfield's and McCoy's on Netflix until 3AM.  These and a little "ice cream" made from frozen banana, durian preserves and mango juice.  What a night.