Rice Is the New Pasta

May 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I’ve shared the recipe before for my ultimate comfort food, homemade Mac ‘n Cheese. That has to be one of the recipes that I miss the most since discovering my wheat allergy. Obviously, the macaroni is not allowed because it is made from wheat flour. But would you believe that regular tomato soup contains all three of my enemies… wheat, soy, and corn (high fructose corn syrup)?!

I’m proud to say that I have fallen in love with this yummy meal all over again now that I have found new ingredients to substitute with. The only down side is that with these organic ingredients, it is no longer the $3 meal it once was.

I combined and baked:

Six large handfuls of rice pasta (very precise measurement)
One container of creamy tomato soup (16 oz)
Half a bag of shredded cheddar cheese (1 cup)
A little pepper to taste

Although it was not quite as good as the original, I’m more than happy with my replacement. I was a little surprised that all that cheese didn’t bother my stomach. I really wanted to go for the leftovers the next day, but I knew that would be pushing it on my milk tolerance. Now I’ve started looking through some of our other old favorite recipes to see how they can be reinvented.

Mac 'n Cheese

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Blueberries Galore

May 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Yesterday I went blueberry picking with a group of friends from church. This was my first time picking blueberries. We were instructed by the farmer to eat as many as we wanted while picking. I ate enough that I didn’t need much lunch when I got home, they were tasty.

Mom picking blueberriesNicole picking blueberries

Nicole looked like a professional when she strapped on my bucket to help me finish filling it. Those blueberry bushes were making my eyes burn and water like crazy, not to mention making my nose run. I think the combination of eating lots of berries while being out in the field breathing blueberries was what sent my allergies over the top. It was still fun though, and we all enjoyed the “fruits” of our labor.

Blueberry pickersOur blueberry harvestBlueberriesMy blueberry bucket

Later that night (after a benadryl induced nap) I got to work preparing all my blueberries. First on my list to make was blueberry ice cream.

Making blueberry ice creamBlueberry ice cream

I also made blueberry popsicles, and then froze lots of blueberries for future ice cream. We also have lots left to just eat fresh. We love blueberries!

Frozen blueberries

We tried out the blueberry ice cream after lunch today. It was really good, but not quite as good as the strawberry ice cream.  However, since I already had the blender out yesterday, I also went ahead and made some strawberry ice cream too. I used some of the frozen strawberries that I picked last month.

Strawberries

I like to mix with Fage plain yogurt because it has no extra ingredients, but the recipe suggests using strawberry (or whatever flavor ice cream you’re making) to add extra flavor.

YogurtMaking strawberry ice cream

Then add some water, sugar, and blend until desired chunkiness and allow to freeze. When you want to eat some, it needs to sit out for about 20 minutes before you can scoop it because it freezes pretty solid. It’s actually more like a sherbet, but it’s as close to ice cream as I can have… so yummy!

Blueberry sherbetHere is the recipe to try:

1 lb. berries
4-6 oz. yogurt
2 tbsp. sugar (or to taste)
2 tbsp. water

Enjoy!

 

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Nutritionally Challenged

April 13, 2011 By 2 Comments

I have a friend who likes to refer to my food allergies issues as being nutritionally challenged. I think that is the perfect way to put it because it has become such a constant challenge. When our group of friends get together there are two of us that deal with food allergies so there are always warnings about foods that are not intended for the nutritionally challenged. I really appreciate that they understand my needs for safe foods and love that it doesn’t stop the rest of them from having the foods that they enjoy.

The Allergic Girl book that I read encourages the nutritionally challenged to rethink how they view their food by becoming a foodie. Foodies are amateurs who simply love food for consumption, study, preparation, and news. Foodies want to learn everything about food, both the best and the ordinary, and about the science, industry, and personalities surrounding food.

Cooking toolsSo I have been challenging myself to try out new foods and make new recipes and it’s been fun. I now view cooking as a hobby rather than a necessity to survive. As my cooking skills continue to improve I am being more confident to substitute ingredients based on what I happen to have in the fridge or even cook without a recipe and make it up as I go. I hardly ever follow a recipe exactly anymore, there are almost always adjustments needed for ingredients that I can’t have.  But I don’t focus on what I can’t have anymore and I don’t automatically rule out a recipe because I can’t have some of the ingredients.  It just means that I get the challenge of making it my own version which makes the meal that much more satisfying when it does turn out well.

We also love to watch and learn from cooking shows. Our favorites are Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, and Man versus Food among others. Lately we’ve also been watching The Next Great Restaurant. We like to see how these people create their food and figure out how we can make a similar dish. I think my most favorite cooking show is Good Eats because it is so educational. I hear the theme song for the show playing in my head as I write that sentence. I love watching that show because he explains the role each ingredient plays in a dish and the history behind how our favorite foods came to be. The show really gives a different perspective on food preparation and makes me want to try what he makes.

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