Homemade Peanut Butter (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free)

I'm a big peanut butter fan, and I like to make stir fries and other dishes using peanut butter in the sauce, or peanut butter cookies for my kids, or I use it in smoothies.

Unfortunately, most conventional peanut butter brands are full of unnecessary and unhealthy ingredients, like white or cane sugar, icing sugar, molasses, diglycerides, hydrogenated oils or preservatives.

Even brands labelled "natural" aren't always free of these ingredients, as many of them are natural. Evaporated cane sugar is still sugar, hydrogenated palm or other oils are natural ingredients, but not healthy or even necessary. Many of those ingredients turn a healthy food option into an unhealthy, sugary treat better suited as a dessert food.

Gluten Free Weekly Meal Plan (April 28-May 2, 2014)

This week has been so crazy, that I haven't blogged since Monday's menu plan went up. That has happened to me...ever. Well, at least I now have newly sanded and painted kitchen cabinets to show for it! I have so much to post about, that I've got at least 10 drafts started, so be sure to check back often this week. The cookbook of the month review is coming up, my kombucha is ready, and I've got some incredible plans for Celiac Awareness Month!

For now, the menu plan. This week's meals are simple and quick to make. Enjoy!

Monday: Gluten Free Sun Dried Tomato, Spinach, and Ricotta Pasta (This is a variation of this recipe.)

Gluten Free Weekly Meal Plan (April 21-25, 2014)

Hello everyone! Easter weekend was a busy one at my house, and schools are closed on Easter Monday around  here, so I've been busy with the family all day and put together a pretty quick and simple meal plan. I hope your long weekend was incredible and that this is a great week ahead!

Monday: Simple Rice Noodle Soup (Broth, Garlic, Ginger, Rice Noodles. Garnish with Cilantro.)

Happy Easter!

I love having moments in our busy lives where we're forced to slow down and enjoy time with loved ones,which can sometimes take a back seat to everything else we have going on. 

Easter is special because the long weekend allows us to have family time, but to also have a little time to ourselves. Plus, watching my little guys search for their eggs is so much fun!

After the awful Easter Egg Hunt at my son's school on Thursday, seeing his excitement this morning was fantastic.

His first question? Does the Easter Bunny know I'm gluten free? Once he was satisfied that everything was safe, he had a great time!

An Easter Egg Hunt Gone Wrong: Gluten Free at School

I've held off writing this post for a few hours, hoping to let my anger and sadness calm down a bit, but I'm still upset and think this post needs to be written.

My son is 5 years old, and in junior kindergarten. He's the one in our family who MUST be gluten free. His school is well aware of his gluten free status, as he attended the preschool there from the time he was two. I send him to school with his lunch every day, and I provide the school with gluten free treats when there is a special event. His school doesn't allow students to bring food to class for birthdays or special occasions, which makes things a bit easier to handle.

Today, my son's teacher held an Easter Egg Hunt for the class. Each child had to find two eggs, labelled with their name and filled with candy. A cute idea, and the kids loved it. My kid loved it, until the hunt was over.

I'm Getting My Kombucha On with a Continuous Brew Kit from Get Kombucha!

A little over a week ago I received a Gold Continuous Brew Kit from GetKombucha.com. I can't tell you how excited I was when it landed on my doorstep!

I love when things are simple, and Get Kombucha makes brewing Kombucha easy with kits that come with everything you need to get started.

I was headed off to a conference that weekend, so I had to wait a week to get my tea brewing, staring longingly at the kit sitting on my counter, waiting to be used.

Contest: Win a copy of The Blender Girl Cookbook!

April's Cookbook of the Month is The Blender Girl cookbook, by Tess Masters! 

This book has been highly anticipated by many in the natural food community, and I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of it to try out for myself. I've already made some smoothies and the Chimichurri bowl was on this week's meal plan.

I know there are many of you would would also love to get their hands on a copy of this gorgeous book, which features all gluten free and vegan recipes. Heading into the warmer months, it's the perfect book to get back into the habit of eating lighter and healthier.

Gluten Free Weekly Meal Plan (April 14-18, 2014)

Monday: Oven Baked BBQ Chicken Legs w/Roasted Vegetables (Everything bakes in the oven. Pour BBQ sauce over the chicken, toss the vegetables in olive oil, herbs, and salt. Bake until done.)

April's Cookbook of the Month: The Blender Girl

The Blender Girl

Super Easy, Super Healthy Meals, Snacks, Desserts & DrinksTess Masters

What’s your perfect blend?
 
On her wildly popular recipe blog, Tess Masters—aka, The Blender Girl—shares easy plant-based recipes that anyone can whip up fast in a blender. Tess’s lively, down-to-earth approach has attracted legions of fans looking for quick and fun ways to prepare healthy food. In The Blender Girl, Tess’s much-anticipated debut cookbook, she offers 100 whole-food recipes that are gluten-free and vegan, and rely on natural flavors and sweeteners. Many are also raw and nut-, soy-, corn-, and sugar-free. 
 
Smoothies, soups, and spreads are a given in a blender cookbook, but this surprisingly versatile collection also includes appetizers, salads, and main dishes with a blended component, like Fresh Spring Rolls with Orange-Almond Sauce, Twisted Caesar Pleaser, Spicy Chickpea Burgers with Portobello Buns and Greens, and I-Love-Veggies! Bake. And even though many of Tess’s smoothies and shakes taste like dessert—Apple Pie in a Glass,Raspberry-Lemon Cheesecake, or Tastes-Like-Ice- Cream Kale, anyone?—her actual desserts are out-of this-world good, from Chocolate-Chile Banana Spilly to Flourless Triple-Pecan Mousse Pie and Chai Rice Pudding. Best of all, every recipe can easily be adjusted to your personal taste: add an extra squeeze of this, another handful of that, or leave something out altogether— these dishes are super forgiving, so you can’t mess them up.
 
Details on the benefits of soaking, sprouting, and dehydrating; proper food combining; and eating raw, probiotic-rich, and alkaline ingredients round out this nutrient-dense guide. But you don’t have to understand the science of good nutrition to run with The Blender Girl—all you need is a blender and a sense of adventure. So dust off your machine and get ready to find your perfect blend.

Not for the Squeamish: The Effects of Being Glutened

Tonight's blog post was going to be a detailed recap of the Gluten Free Living Conference and all the wonderful people I met and information I learned that I want to pass on to you. Instead, I'm writing about my afternoon, because if you're the parent of a gluten free kid, this is probably a familiar story.

Sometime over the weekend, my son got glutened. No one is entirely sure when it happened, although my husband suspects it may have something to do with a piece of candy. If that last sentence makes no logical sense to you, welcome to my world. My 5 year old is generally so anxious about food that he always asks if it's gluten free.