Three Quick and Delicious Smoothie Recipes

I've decided to make two lifestyle changes this January, both ones that I think will be reasonably easy to accomplish.  The first is to drink more water.  I've got my 1.5 L bottle, and the aim is to drink at least one full bottle per day, preferably more. 

The second is to drink a smoothie a day.  Breakfast is one of those meals that I often replace with coffee, so this year I want to make having a nutritious breakfast a priority.  Smoothies are a simple way to make this happen.  Here are three smoothie recipes I'll be using again and again.

Pineapple Banana Smoothie

2 cups chopped pineapple
1 banana
1/2 cup yogurt
2 ice cubes
1/2cup water or orange juice

Combine all ingredients in blender and serve. Makes 2 servings.

Pineapple Mango Smoothie

1 cup chopped pineapple
1 chopped mango
1 cup water
2 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in blender.  Thin with more water, if desired.  Makes 2 servings

Chocolate Peach

1 cup frozen peach slices
1 scoop chocolate greens or smoothie powder (I use VEGA because it is gluten free)
1 cup milk (or dairy free substitute)

Combine ingredients in blender, thinning with more milk if desired.  Makes 1 large serving or 2 smaller servings.

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

Some Memories From Our Christmas in El Salvador

 

 

 

My husband's Grandparents

My husband, his parents and his brothers

Xavier & his Tio Juan

90 years old and looking great!

Nothing like Christmas day at the beach

The crater of the very active San Salvador volcano

View of the volcano.  My dad, feeding the baby

My mother-in-law & my mom

At Beto's seafood restaurant. Great food, great views

The yard of my husband's Aunt's beach house.

The gate to the beach

My mother-in-law and Xavier

Happy New Year

Just a quick note to wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous new year! 

 

Thank you for all your support in 2012, and here's to another year of gluten free living. 

 

May you enjoy every moment!

2012: A Year in Review

 

While I was thinking about doing a retrospective of sorts of 2012, I couldn't help but realize what an eventful year it's been for me.  I had a baby, travelled to Europe and El Salvador, hosted my mother-in-law (twice), wrote 50 000 words of a novel in one month, and the list goes on.  I thought it would be fun to repost 12 entries that either highlighted something important that happened in my life this year, or something that I thought was interesting or significant in the world of gluten free living.  A few are simply posts of products or recipes that I really enjoyed or that were popular on the blog that you might have missed.  Click on the title of each entry to read the whole post.  These are posted in no particular order, in case you're wondering why gelato is posted before my new baby :)

As we move into 2013, I wish you and yours Health and Happiness in the year to come. 

And some pretty fine gluten free food too.





1- Gluten Free Gelato in Florence, Italy 
Italy is full of gluten free options, and I was happy to find that one of the country's best tasting desserts is no exception.







2- Welcome, Little One! 
I had another baby!







3- Food Label Changes in Effect 
This one was a huge deal in Canada.  Food labels have been changed for the better. 








4- Blissdom Canada 2012 Recap 
My first blogger  conference, and it was great.  I even got to meet Jian Ghomeshi.  Not too shabby!

5- I Get to be a Master of Something!  
This was seriously one of the proudest moments of my life.











6- Recipe: Gluten Free Meat Lasagne 
This has become a staple in our house.  It's easy to make, freezes well, and everyone loves it.  It's a popular recipe on the blog too, so in case you missed it, here it is again.








7- European Memories 
I took a group of 20 students to Europe in March, lugging my pregnant self around France, Spain and Italy.  The sights were incredible.  These are a few of my favourite shots.







8- Holiday Treat Extravaganza
This was a series of 12 holiday dessert recipes, all posted in one place for your convenience.  Although they were on my Christmas baking list this year, many of these treats would be great any time of the year, like the butter tarts or the cake pops.  There's something for everyone here.









9- Family Trip to El Salvador
We took a trip to celebrate a 90th birthday, a wedding, and Christmas.  And it was great.





10-NaNoWriMo    (I was too busy writing for photos)                                                         
Write 50 000 words in one month?  Sure, why not? 
By the way, I did it!

11- Summertime Fun Round-Up of Posts  
At the beginning of the summer, I did a round-up of warm weather recipes, products and places.  Although it's winter in Canada right now, it's not cold where all my readers live.  If you're someplace warm, perhaps some of these posts will give you some inspiration.  And yes, I'm jealous that you're basking in the sun while I'm looking out at a yard full of snow.






12-Two Years of Blogging! 
A big, fat, thank you to everyone who reads this blog. 
Really, THANK YOU!

Gluten Free Dinner for a Crowd

Last night we celebrated a late Christmas dinner at my parents' house.  My sister cooked, and EVERYTHING was gluten free.  It isn't impossible to make a great meal without gluten, as last night proved. 

The lady behind the meal & the man who cooked the fish.

 Here's a visual rundown of what we ate.



APPETIZERS

Mexican-style dip with tortilla chips 

Rice crackers with tuna salad

Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits with Maple Cream Cheese and Grapes 






DINNER

Almond Crusted Chicken 

Baked Fish in a Sweet Sauce 

Lamb Kebabs 

Fresh Cheese and Tomato Salad, Peas and Mushrooms & Glazed Carrots

Corn Fritters

Baked Potatoes with Mashed White Beans & Cheese

Roasted Red Peppers







This is what round one of my dinner plate looked like:

DESSERT

I was stuffed and lazy by the time dessert rolled around, and didn't take many photos. 

We had lemon squares, sweet potato pies, cake pops and fruit kebabs.

So the next time somebody says that you can't make a great gluten free dinner for a crowd, tell them b*tch please, and send them on over here to take a look.
 
Don't tell me it can't be done, because my family does it for my son ALL THE TIME.

Gluten Free Weekly Menu Plan

This is the last menu plan for 2012, taking us into the new year!  I'm looking forward to a brand new year of new gluten free meal ideas to keep you inspired and eating simple, delicious and (mostly) nutritious gluten free food.  We'll be eating our traditional lentil soup for lunch on New Year's Eve. 

Monday: Chicken and Rice Soup and Greek Salad
(I cook the rice separately and add to the soup when serving, so it doesn't expand and suck up all the water.)




Tuesday: Fish Tostadas with Sweet Potato Wedges (These I'll make Tuesday, or they won't keep)

Wednesday: Turkey Scaloppini in a Mushroom Cream Sauce with Garlic and Almond Green Beans

Thursday: Tofu and Vegetable Stir Fry on Steamed Rice






Friday: Chicken and Green Chili Enchiladas and Black Bean Salad (The ingredients are ready, but this will be put together the day of, or it will go soggy.)

My Kid Asked Why He Can't Have Fishy Crackers Too

My son is starting to understand his food limitations.  He asks if something is gluten free before he eats it, although sometimes he still confuses whether it's gluten free that's good for him or gluten free that's bad for him.  These things are confusing when you're three.  Sometimes he gets upset if there's something he wants in the moment and can't have, such as French fries, but is usually placated with a substitute or a promise that we'll get him a gluten free version soon. 

He gets a gluten free meal provided to him at daycare from the catering company that provides all the lunches for the children, and most of the time the meal looks the same.  They do a great job of making his dish as similar as possible to all the other meals.

But the other day, out of the blue, he asked me why he can't have the fishy crackers too. 

It took me a minute to understand what he was talking about.  I didn't buy Goldfish crackers before he was taken off gluten, and since he has been gluten free since before he was two, they're not something that he came across before going gluten free. 

Then I realized that he was seeing them at daycare.  We provide his crackers, cereal, etc. for his snacks, since they aren't provided by the catering company.  I guess the other kids are getting Goldfish crackers and my son is getting his regular crackers.  Only fishy crackers are obviously much more appealing to a three year old than the regular round ones that I pack. 

And unlike most other times, I can't pack a gluten free version of Goldfish crackers because there aren't any.  There aren't even any imitation ones that I've been able to find locally, and I'm not ordering $10 crackers off the internet.  So when he asked me if we could buy the crackers to bring to daycare, I had to say no. 

It may seem silly to someone who doesn't deal with this every day, but it made me incredibly sad to have to say no, and then try to explain why.

Most of the time I don't have to say no.  I may have to say not now, or next time, or when we go to this or that store, but rarely a flat out no, this product doesn't exist for you.  I'm sure that this will happen more and more often in the future, as he gets older and becomes more aware of products that he has yet to be introduced to, and I'll have to find a way to cope.

But I don't think I'll ever really get over it.

Friday Five List: Christmas Week Edition

This past week has been a whirlwind of activity. 

My family joined my husband, the kids and myself in El Salvador to spend Christmas with his family.  It was a busy, crazy week that left little time for sightseeing, but getting everyone together over the holidays is something that may not happen again for a long time to come.  In addition to my husband's siblings, all the cousins flew in this year as well.  For a family spread out over many countries, including Canada, the United States, Colombia, Mexico and Bolivia, getting everyone together in one place is no small feat.  My husband hasn't spent Christmas with all of his family since 1996, so this was a big deal. 

There will be a few posts over the next little while, but for tonight, five memorable moments will suffice.

1- Abuelo's 90th Birthday Party:  The night we arrived was the birthday party for my husband's grandfather (Abuelo, in Spanish).  Family and friends gathered at his Aunt's house for the party, and it was the first opportunity for our youngest son, 4 months, to meet his great-grandfather.  To say that it was a special moment would be an understatement. 

My husband, our youngest son, and his great-grandfather

2- The Wedding:  My brother-in-law, Jaime, got married the next day.  Weddings tend to be in the evening in El Salvador, and we went straight from the church to the reception being held at the hotel where we were staying.  My husband and I carried the rings, and our oldest son walked down the aisle with us.  It was an honour to be a part of his special day, especially since "Tio Jaime" is my son's favourite person in the world. 

The happy couple and our son



3- Christmas:  My husband's grandmother invited everyone over to her house for Christmas Eve celebrations.  More than 30 people descended upon her house for an evening of fireworks, food and the opening of gifts.  Setting off fireworks is a tradition there, and they go off all through the night, with everyone lighting their own.  It was nice to have my parents and my in-laws spend Christmas together.  Great-grandma put together a lovely speech before dinner, commemorating 4 generations celebrating together under one roof.

My husband's grandmother, reading  her Christmas speech

4- Family Vacation: The last time we took a family vacation with my parents and my sister, aside from the cottage, was in 2006, when my husband and I got married.  It was also great to be able to show my family where my husband is from and to let them get to know his country of birth a little bit.  He's been in Canada for a long time, and sometimes it's easy to forget that he wasn't born here.  This gave my family a chance to get to know his extended family and his culture a bit better.

On top of San Salvador volcano.  Yes, it's active.  And apparently overdue for an eruption.



5- Fun in the Sun and Introducing the Next Generation: Getting away when the weather is cold is always nice, and it was fun watching the kids play at the beach.  We spent Christmas day at a relative's beach house.  We realised when we got back to Canada that the baby saw the ocean before he saw snow.  I didn't see the ocean until I was 18 years old, but who's keeping track?
Along with frolicking on the beach, we got to introduce our baby, Xavier, and our nephew, Santiago, to each other.  They're only 6 weeks apart.  You can tell the Canadian one, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt without socks on, and the Salvadoran one, in long sleeves, a blanket and a hat, on a "cold" evening!

I never get tired of this view

Cousins!  One looks ready for the beach, the other looks prepped for winter!



Coming Home

I'm writing this before we check out of the hotel in El Salvador, so it will be short.  After spending a week with my husband's family celebrating birthdays, weddings and Christmas, we're on our way home.

Great Grandfather, 90, with his great grandson, 3

 I'm going to miss the people and the weather, but I'm also looking forward to going home and having another small celebration when we get back.  Santa must have left presents under the tree while we were gone! 

Regular blogging will resume tomorrow.  I'll definitely be including a recap of our time here, including a hotel review and some suggestions for eating gluten free.  Menu plan posting will resume as normal on Sunday, and then with the new year I'll be rolling out some of the new features, such as the monthly cookbook review. 

I hope you and your family are enjoying a wonderful holiday season, and are looking forward to the New Year!