Food is Fuel...Eating To Live, Not Living To Eat...

It's time for a change. Holmes Manor is undergoing a complete transformation of our eating lifestyle starting today!

Ok that was a little dramatic..but seriously... We are actually already fairly health conscious when it comes to eating. But we have decided to eliminate a few unnecessary ingredients. The goal? Eliminate Addictive foods, Allergenic Foods, and Acidic Foods...

Seth and I are beginning a 28 day detox, utilizing a clean eating plan, and implementing some Arbonne Essentials to help us along.

As for how this applies to the kids, we are COMPLETLEY eliminating all refined, processed sugars, and artificial dyes (See this link for more great info about why...)

As for Seth and I, we have chosen detox for several reasons..

Allergenic foods- the eating plan calls to eliminate all allergenic foods for 28 days... After the body is clear of these foods we can slowly reintroduce them.. If unsatisfactory symptoms arise, we can easily pinpoint the culprit.  I personally struggle with migraine headaches, a constant sore throat and sinus congestion, eczema, and acne... All of these these things are commonly cause by food inflammation. Seth has severe caffeine withdrawal, muscle pain, inflammation, and joint pain and we both struggle with fatigue. 

Sugar and Acidic PH.. Everyone (yes everyone)has cancer cells in their bodies.. Sick or mutated cells floating around and what we have learned is that cancer cells THRIVE in an acidic environment. A huge majority of Americans have a highly acidic PH and are harboring cancer cells and the cause of high acidicty is the american diet..... The second fact is that cancer cells have 7 TIMES more sugar receptors, making them thrive AND MULTIPLY in a sugary acidic place.... Thus the increase in cancer rates (over 40%) that means nearly 1 of ever 2 people. That's astounding!  Its very clear to us (having severe sugar cravings) that the bondage of sugar addiction must be broken.. Here is an EXCELLENT video that explains it best...

http://youtu.be/BXuFFn3PrG0

Arbonne essentials create several ways to aid in success of such an extreme change. The vegan, soy free, Non-gmo protein shake mix is packed with vitamins and minerals and free from any artificial sweeteners.. Giving a great alternative for busy people on the go, a GREAT REAL FOOD meal replacement for those who need it and enough protein to help stabilize blood sugars. The fizz sticks offer a coffee or diet soda alternative for people who need a pick me up without crashing, fit chews to help with a sweet craving, detox tea to help aid in the toxin flushing, and there's more but I'll stop rambling.

I AM SO CONFIDENT AND EXCITED BECAUSE Balancing blood sugar levels, gaining complete REAL FOOD nutrition, eliminating acidic and allergenic foods, and allowing the kidneys and liver to flush the stored up toxins will result in drastic improvment in moods (balancing seratonin levels) allow for better more restful sleep, cut cravings, and improve health overall..what's not to be excited about???

I plan to post bi-weekly updates with meals that were enjoying, pictures, recipe ideas, and just overall feelings and thoughts..we are ready!

 (Below are some awesome testimonies from others who have stuck with this awesome detox plan!)


"I can't believe I don't need my Ambien to get to sleep anymore. I drift off quickly and sleep more soundly than I have in years!" -JH

“This is more than a diet or detox or losing weight for me. This program is how I finally ended my addiction to food. Wow. That's powerful. I never really thought of that as a result of this program until last night. Food was not driving the experiences, I was. Thank you.” –ML

“This is the BEST THING I've done for myself in over a decade!!! My skin is bright, I've lost weight, I sleep like a baby, my brain is clear of the fog, I have energy, my moods are better and I'm going to keep doing this!” –EP

Gluten Free Goodness

We have been gluten/dairy free as a family for over 3 years.. It is a tough transition initially.. finding alternatives that are affordable, taste decent, and work in the recipes that you currently have is a tricky task! I have had several people request some of my recipe's so I figured I could type them up all in one place :D lets start with my most requested recipe...

Gluten Free Flour Blend

My #1 priority for gluten free living was to find a GOOD gluten free flour blend... something that is versatile, and I can replace it "cup for cup" for most of my current recipes. There are many that are store bought, but to save a little money, I have developed my own favorite blend.

Ingredients:

Brown or White Rice Flour (I use brown to gain added nutritional benefits)
I purchase this at winco bulk bins, keep in mind its not 100% gluten free because of the other flours in the bins surrounding, but we aren't highly allergic, so this works for us. If you don't have access to winco, you can order it online on amazon.com.

Tapioca Starch same as above. (this is called either tapioca flour or starch, both are the same)

Potato Starch I order this on amazon.com. I buy the Bob's Red Mill brand.. you can also buy it in bulk or bags at Bobs red mill store or most health food stores like Whole Foods or New Seasons. MAKE SURE you don't get potato flour... it needs to be potato STARCH.

Xantham Gum This is a spendy but necessary ingredient for gluten free baking. It is the "binder" that binds the gluten free flours together..while it is expensive, you need very little, which is nice. I have found the best deal at amazon.com, but you can get this at most natural food sections of grocery stores.

(Optional) Garbanzo Bean flour. This is also at most natural food stores, including fred meyer, in the alternative/gluten free food section. Or Amazon.com

I recommend storing any unused flour ingredients in Tupperware in the freezer until you need them.

Gluten Free Flour Blend

2 cups rice flour

2/3 cup potato starch

1/2 cup tapioca starch

2 Tablespoons garbanzo bean flour

1 and 1/2 teaspoons xantham gum

 

I multiply this recipe by 6-10 and blend all the ingredients in a giant tupperware and use this flour blend specifically for cooking (thickening gravy) and baking cookies, cakes, muffins, ect... I do NOT recommend this flour for gluten free bread, or pancakes... more on that later.... :)

 

mmmm cake.



 

food food food. Foodie Food Food.

I love food.

 

I know I am not alone here. I love to cook. I love to bake. I love to create. I love to eat.

I love to EAT.

Here's a few of our foodie adventures lately around Holmes Manor.



I made this silly golf cake for Seth's birthday. Banana cake with more frosting than we could ever consume. Ground up GF cookies for the "sand"... fun right?

 

I took my Ethan on a Mommy-Son date last weekend. We went to the fro-yo place and Ethan always gets sorbet (dairy free of course)... We don't usually eat sugar but this was a special treat. He LOVED it.

 

 Don't let this face fool you, this kid LOVES veggie juice. It was too cold for him... I try and juice at least once a week and Luke is the only mancub that will drink it. (Ethan--uh-- not a chance).. this week we did kale, spinach, celery, cucumber, carrot, swisschard. YUM!

 This here is my popcorn buddy. He calls it "cop-corn".... ha!

 

Did you know you can grow green onion from the stubs? I don't think "stubs" is the technical term, however, if you chop off the tops and stick just the roots in water or dirt, voila'!

 Green Onion Kitchen Pet!

 

Did I mention I love food?

{mostly} Dairy Free Salted Caramel {and praline} ice cream

Oh yes. I. Did.

 

 And its good.

 

For the record, this is a timely and laborious process, this ice cream business. But when you are deprived of that good ice-cream texture and flavor, you will go to extremes to make it happen. This was my second experience trying a dairy free ice cream, (last time was plain old vanilla.) That was also delectable. So here we go. try to keep up.

 

{{disclaimer:        this recipe calls for butter which is clearly not dairy free, feel free to replace it with Ghee, as I'm certain it would taste just as delightful.}}

 

lets start with the custard base of the ice cream. (adapted from a dairy recipe.)

 

3/4 tsp of vanilla

1 1/2	cups unsweetened almond milk
1½	cups granulated sugar
4	tablespoons salted butter
½	teaspoon sea salt
1	can of trader joes coconut cream
5	egg yolks
	Start by creating an ice bath out of a large bowl, fill it half way with ice, then with water to make the ice float. place a smaller (at least 2 quart) bowl inside of that. Put 1 cup of the almond milk into the bowl to start chilling, and set aside the other half for the next step.   Put the sugar in a large sauce pan and heat on medium until the sugar begins to melt and brown, stirring with a melt-proof spatula.   As soon as it starts to brown and smell "brown" (this wont take long) take it off the heat and add the butter and salt.    Whisk in the coconut cream until well blended and return back to the medium heat on the stove. The caramel might clump up, but keep stirring, it will melt again.   Add in the remaining almond milk and whisk together till smooth and all the caramel clumps are gone.   Take it off of the burner, and whisk a small amount of the hot caramel mixture into the egg yolks to slowly temper the eggs. Keep adding more caramel until the egg mixture is warm and then whisk the egg mixture back into the pot. WHISK IT!   heat this mixture until right before boiling. It should be steaming, but no boiling, and it will slightly thicken. Pour the custard into the cold bowl with the milk and mix occasionally as it comes to room temp.  Then chill in the fridge for several hours.   THEN- the fun part. Process it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer instructions... and while THATS going on.. on to the praline (optional)   take that same sauce pan (all washed and dried) and put a 1/2 cup of sugar in it. On medium heat let the sugar melt and turn to caramel mixing often and before it burns, pour onto a cookie sheet lined with a silpat mat or brushed with oil. spread the praline really thin and sprinkle with a 1/4 tsp of salt. let it cool and break it into smithereens.   When the icecream machine stops signaling that its all done, transfer it into a bowl or Tupperware and mix the praline pieces into it and put it in the freezer to set (2-4 hours).         THEN> ENJOY IT!

Dried Cherries. Dont mind if I do!

My mom has a huge cherry tree. I tried to pick as many as I could before the rain came along and split them all.. I decided to try and dry them to see if they were half as amazing as the dried cherries I buy at Costco. (for an obscene amount of $$$)

 

I sliced them in half to get the pits out. Then I soaked them in water with a tsp of citric acid to help preserve them. Then I placed them on the food dehydrator and let them dry for 2 and a half days until they were the right "chewiness". So. It was a decent amount of work for a small amount of yield.

 

but.

 

they are delish. And with no added sugar. win! Try it. You'll like it. What fruit do you like dried?

 

 

sourdough!

I am a bread addict. Its a little pathetic actually. So when I found out I was sensitive to gluten I was so bummed. I used to buy a loaf of sourdough wheat bread and sit at the toaster and just toast it and eat half a loaf in one sitting. I love me some sourdough. But if you have ever been gluten free, you will know that gluten free sourdough doesn't exist.

This is bubbles at the very beginning of the starter process. Those are grapes floating in there.

so I decided to make my own. Why not? :} I started with this recipe for sourdough starter. This was my first attempt making sourdough starter and I cant believe it but it worked! I didn't kill it. And being that its a living organism and parked in my fridge for the long haul, I decided to give it a name. I named my sourdough starter "Bubbles".

Anyway. On to the baking. I tried a loaf of sourdough bread and it was so dense and heavy that it wasn't really edible. But the flavor and the crust were DELIGHTFUL. So I consider that a semi-success. I will try again with a new recipe soon.






So I get to feed bubbles once a week to keep her happy. I give her a half cup of gluten free flour and half cut of water and mix well then put her back in the fridge loosely covered so she can breathe. If I think I am going to bake something I need to feed her the night before.

My latest sourdough venture was sourdough pancakes. Have you ever been to pig 'N' pancake before? They have the most amazing sourdough pancakes. ever. did I mention they were amazing?

So I tried this recipe. IT> WAS> EPIC!!! so good! The best gluten free pancakes I have consumed in my lifetime. Enough ranting and raving. Take a look for yourself.



Not Awful Gluten-Free Waffles

Gluten-free baking can be tricky and frustrating. Take strange and expensive ingredients, and add the adjustment of measurements and equivalents.. If I make a bad recipe I have to hold back tears as I scrape it into the garbage.

 

Ok. that was dramatic.

 

But seriously. It is so disheartening when you dirty up the kitchen and half of your dishes just to make an inedible product.

 

We have been gluten-free and dairy-free for over 2 years now and I can safely say I have developed a waffle recipe that the whole family likes, AND I can double or triple the batch to make enough for freezing to toast later. (for the win!)  Now if I could only say the same for pancakes..  I digress.

 

Here it is. Welcome to gluten-free breakfast bliss.

 

Gluten (and Dairy)  Free Waffles

 

1 and 1/4 cups gluten free flour blend ( I used 1 cup of my all-purpose blend and 1/2 cup almond meal)

1/2 tsp xantham gum. (omit if your flout already includes it)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

 

Blend all of the dry ingredients in one bowl and set aside.

 

 

3 TBS melted margarine or butter

2 large eggs (ROOM TEMP)

1 Tbs Sugar or 9 drops stevia extract

1 cup milk (I ALWAYS use almond) but you can use cow or soy

1 tsp vanilla

 

beat the eggs in a large bowl then add the remaining wet ingredients.

BEAT UM!

 

Then add the bowl of dry ingredients and beat with a whisk (by hand) really quickly until all ingredients are blended then

 

STOP. walk away. no. more. mixing.

The batter is going to thicken into the perfect waffle-y batter we all know and love. Let it it do its thing while your waffle iron is heating.

cook and enjoy. :D

{Don't forget to double or triple the batch if you want to save yourself some time.}

 



So much for "wingin it"

So. We are gluten and dairy free, my family of four. Because gluten free baked goods are ridiculously overpriced I like to bake a LOT. At least once, if not twice a week. E will wake up most mornings and ask me "what muffins are you baking me today?"

Someday he will bake ME some muffins..

I also really like to avoid using a lot of white and refined sugar, so I have to do a lot of experimenting to create and adjust a lot of recipes to make them edible. Every now and then I win the lottery and create a totally edible recipe, and I learned after making the mistake once, to write everything down as go. Don't forget! You'll regret it.

So today was not one of those magic moments. I went crazy trying to make a chewy granola-type-bar and they turned out the consistency of sawdust. Seriously. I almost cried a little.

Ill admit, I've probably attempted at least 10+ pancake recipes and many of them are decent but my kids are like pancake garbage disposals.. They will eat anything that resembles a pancake if I put enough peanut butter on it... Same with most of my baked goods. They aren't picky..

These bars were the exception... L.J. tasted them and then spent the rest of his time playing in the sand.. er.. crumbs.

Sad day.

Well tomorrow is a new day and new recipe, and in the meantime I went back to the kitchen and used an actual recipe and had success. Go figure. Garbage bars. Bah!