gluten free

Tomatoless Sauce; Gluten, Dairy, and Nightshade Free

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Sharing my homemade tomato-less sauce recipe today for all our allergy sensitive friends and family.

When I first discovered that our son could not eat tomatoes I thought- “eh, its not that bad”. However, the more I started to meal plan I quickly realized how frequently we use them. It soon became clear that this nightshade intolerance would be the nagging little sister to a gluten intolerance. I needed a new ‘tomatoless‘ base for everything from chili to taco’s and this is what I cooked up in my homestead kitchen-

Tomato-less Marinara -no tomato, nightshade free, pasta sauce, recipe, the perfect allergy friendly dinner solutionTomatoless Sauce

Yields: 6 Cups Sauce

 Ingredients– 

  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
  • 3 Carrots (diced)
  • 2 Stalks Celery (diced) 
  • 1 Small-Medium Onion (loosely diced)
  • 4 C Beef or Chicken Broth
  • 1 C Water
  • 1 C Pumpkin or 1 C Sweet Potato Puree’
  • 4 Cooked Beets (peeled and sliced)
  • 2 T Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 2 T Lemon Juice
  • 2 T Garlic Powder
  •  Salt and Pepper to taste
Dinner, sauce, recipe, nightshade free, nightshade intolerance 
Instructions –

1. Pour just enough EVOO in a Dutch oven or large stock pot to lightly coat the bottom of the pot.

2. Sautee’ carrots, celery and onions over medium heat until onions are translucent and carrots are slightly softened.

3. Add broth, water and pumpkin puree (or sweet potato puree) and simmer 2-3 minutes.

4. Add sliced beets, vinegar, lemon juice and seasonings and continue to cook 5-6 minutes or just
until hot (DO NOT over cook the sauce or it will turn brown from over cooking the beets.)

5. Using an immersion blender, puree’ and serve immediately or freeze in portion sized containers. I use a silicone muffin tin like this one, freeze individual portion sizes, pop the frozen sauce cups out, and then freeze in a gallon zip-lock for later use. 

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies; Quick and Easy - Make ahead and freeze for laterGluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

If your kids are like mine chances are they eat all the time. Whenever possible I try not to give them prepackaged processed foods but rather have special treats on hand ready to go at all times. These cookies are quick, economical, and super convenient to make, freeze, and serve most any day of the week.

Yields: 16-20 cookies
Ingredients –

  • 2/3 C Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Blend * (recipe below)
  • 1/8 tsp. Xanthum Gum
  •  ½ C Almond Flour
  •  ½ tsp. Baking Soda
  •  ¼ tsp. Salt
  •  ¼ tsp. Ground Nutmeg
  • 1 stick Butter – slightly colder than room temperature
  • 1 Egg
  • ¼ C Brown Sugar
  •  ¼ C White Sugar
  •  1 tsp. Vanilla
  •  ¾ C Chocolate Chips, White Chocolate Chips, or Peanut butter chips

Instructions –
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the GF Flour Blend, Xanthum Gum, Almond Flour, Baking Soda, Salt and Nutmeg with a hand-held whisk until well incorporated.
3. In a large bowl, cream butter (make sure your butter is not too warm, as the butter temperature is ‘key‘ to making good cookies. Butter that is too warm will make for a flat cookie and too cold will simply make for a clumpy dough. I find leaving it on the counter for approximately 45 minutes to be just about the right time).
4. Add the egg, both sugars and vanilla to the butter until well blended. 
5. With an electric mixer on low, add the flour mixture (I add mine all at once but you can do it in smaller batches if desired) to the butter mixture.
6. With a large spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.
7. Chill batter for 10 – 15 minutes.
8. Drop spoonfuls of batter on an un-greased cookie sheet (I cover mine in parchment paper for easy cleanup) and bake for 7-9 minutes.
9. Transfer cookies to cooling rack before storing**.

*Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Blend – Equal parts brown rice flour, sorghum flour and tapioca starch mixed until well blended.

**I double and triple this recipe anytime I make it then, freeze big chocolate chip cookie dough balls wrapped in plastic wrap for future use. (see picture above) This way I am only 20-25 minutes from homemade cookies anytime my kids want them.
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies; Quick and Easy - Make ahead and freeze for later

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Print the recipe here

Raising A Healthy Family; Mind, Body, and Spirit

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Mind, Body, Spirit, Gluten-free, Food Allergies

Parents today no doubt have their work cut out for them. We fight for our children’s attention-simultaneously, they fight for ours. This world has gotten down right noisy on so many levels. There is technology buzzing around us-and, certainly no lack of temptation whirling about. Has it always been like this? Top it all off with an astounding number of health related issues in children-we have ourselves a recipe for disaster.

Raising my food intolerant, food sensitive, gluten free, dairy free, food allergy kids is not always easy but it’s the cards we were dealt and I hope it inspires you in your present situation. We can’t always control what happens around us, but we can choose to make it the best we know how. 

For me that means raising the healthiest family I possibly can with what means I have been given. A truly healthy person feeds their mind with worthwhile knowledge, their body with healthy food, and feeds their spirit with the things that lead to action. Coincidentally when I think of what makes my homestead the happiest it is when these three things align-mind, body, spirit. I also venture to say that is the same for you, your spouse, children, friends, and family. When one piece to the puzzle is missing we remain incomplete. Puzzles are made to be put together, take apart, and rebuild. Every once in awhile we need to evaluate the pieces and see what is most deserving or in need of our attention.
Since this is Easter week I intend to spend sometime filling my family’s spirit. We have been blessed in so many ways therefore, we will be reflecting, praying, giving forward, and giving thanks.

3 Ways to Fill Your Family’s Spirit 

  • Make cards for residents in a nearby nursing home.

  •  Deliver a special treat to your local fire department as a special ‘thank you’ for all that they do.

  •  Plant a tree, clean up trash, or take a field trip to a local recycling facility to learn more about how you can give back to our planet.

3 Ways We Will Be Filling Ours

    • We will make cards for a family whom I’ve never met but their story has moved my soul. Their recent loss of their baby girl has moved me to action. We will also be visiting a nearby butterfly house in Kate’s honor and be sending happy mail (aka snail mail) to her siblings. 
       
    • We will continue with our neighborhood clean up.
       
    • We will also be baking some gluten free treats to share with some much deserving friends. 

    What will you be doing?  How will you fill your family’s spirit this upcoming week? 

    More on butterfly’s for Kate here….