Nov 8, 2012
i love to cook.
i often times get asked about the meals i make, how i have time, etc. i think that a common misconception is that because my husband & i love to cook, and because we blog about it; that we cook elaborate meals all the time. that is not even close to accurate. we are busy, have two boys under the age of 4, both work and attempt to have a social life. so many of our meals are on the fly and quickly thrown together. tonight for example, at 4:00 i realized that i hadn’t even thought about dinner & had absolutely no desire to cook anything. so, i decided it was loaded baked potato night.
we have huge box of organic local potatoes left from our CSA, always keep a few bags of organic frozen brocoli in the freezer and had a yummy block of raw cheese in the fridge. perfect. literally, the entire meal was less than 10 minutes to prep. we also slather our potatoes in coconut oil to add a little more fat to balance the carbs and make it more filling and my husband, also topped his potato with left over chili. of course bacon would have been perfect, but we didn’t have any). as a side, i served a little bowl of frozen blueberries. quick, simple no fuss dinners, that my boys love.
so on nights when you don’t want to cook…think, loaded bake potatoes {there are so many ways to top them creatively}.
Nov 7, 2012
today, i got the opportunity to walk through the new earth fare store opening in noblesville/fishers tomorrow. i have mentioned that we are super excited about having a new health food store so close…i mean literally minutes from our house.
so, i thought i would highlight a few items that i learned today from my visit and some tips for gluten-free shoppers.
- check out the wall right when you enter, that is always their “value wall” where they will have discounted specials to stock up on.
- bulk bins – they have a large selection and obviously this is a much more economical way to shop.
- what does “bulk bins” mean for people who have to eat gluten free and need to avoid cross contamination?
- a lot of the “gluten free” items are in the overhead pour bins, which helps lessen the chance of cross-contamination
- bins are always used for the same items, so they don’t switch up a gluten free item with a gluten-containing item, which is good to know.
- obviously, use your judgment. the cane sugar is by the whole-wheat flour, so for me personally, the savings isn’t worth the risk, but the millet is in a put bin overhead, not by any gluten containing items, so i would buy from that.
- coffee & tea selection
- my husband is going to love their selection, a ton of fair trade, direct trade and organic options. they have both packaged and bulk bins with coffee
- they have a nice tea selection, including a small section of loose-leaf tea. i am very happy that they have a few green teas, definitely will be trying those out.
- don’t see an item you want? ask.
- one of their commitments is to getting customers items that they desire or to introduce new items. i was told that many times they could order you an item to come monthly with their shipments. so if you don’t see something you are looking for, ask.
- gluten-free sections
- gluten-free items aren’t necessarily grouped in sections, but they do have tags denoting gluten-free items to help with the selection
- also, look for the sections on shelves that have a “wood” bar on the shelf (it will make sense when you see it). everything in those areas is gluten-free.
- if you have a question. ask.
- local items and preferred producers
- they will label items if they come from a 100-mile radius and they also feature some of the small farms & producers that they work with nationally and those will be labeled too.
overall, the was cheerful and friendly, a lot of selection and a lot of items on sale! and i promise that i will have a bunch of fall recipes to share shortly! i grabbed a few photos from their facebook page to share…as i went to the store straight from voting and didn’t think to take my camera.
i did want to remind all the winners in the earth fare $30 dollars in 30 days contest that they need to pick up their gift cards at new earth fare store. you have from tomorrow, november 7th– 11th to pick them up. a list of the winners are below…if you did not receive an email from me, with details please contact me a.s.a.p.
- melody c.
- lilian h.
- lindsey n.
- mark l.
- kim f.
- kim g.
- keith c.
- rachelle p.
- margrete m.
- lindsey m.
- meggan s.
- kathy g.
- ryan f.
- holly s.
- kyle m.
- kay n.
- erin l.
- judith m.
- melissa m.
- marcia f.
- lisa s.
- david f.
- lisa h.
- carrol b.
- melody s.
- michelle m.
- cameron g.
- lexie g.
- sara c.
- julie e.
Oct 5, 2012
not gonna lie, i was a little bummed when border’s shut down at the outdoor mall near us. {i know, i know…first world pain} but it was a favorite little hang out for my husband and i when we needed some time away from the kids. needless to say, i was so excited when i saw the banner hanging on the building welcoming “earth fare” this fall.
don’t get me wrong, we live in fishers. we are spoiled, we have both a whole foods & trader joes about 25 minutes away and farmer’s markets galore, but there are always those times when i decide on a whim that i want to make something, that i have none of the ingredients for and having more organic, nutritious options nearby is very exciting. earth fare will literally be less than 5 minutes from our house. if i am adventurous, i could even ride my bike with the boys in the bike trailer there.
my first experience at an earth fare, was 3 year ago, when i was looking for gluten-free foods while on vacation in the carolina’s and we happened to visit the charlotte store. overall, i was very impressed by the selection, the local options and the prices. as a store, their motto is “eat better. live longer. spend less. start now.” i love that they have a list of banned food products and that they work hard to keep prices affordable. i am excited to have another healthy super market and the convenience of how close we are to it is an added bonus!
earth fare is set to open in noblesville at the hamilton town center on november 7th. as part of welcoming earth fare to the area, the sprouted life is taking part of their “30 days, 30 dollars” contest. we will be giving away a $30 gift card {for the noblesville earth fare only} every day for the next 30 days. yes, we are giving away $900 in gift cards!
how to enter:
it is a simple contest. all you have to do is comment on this blog post one time and tell us why you are excited about the new earth fare store or how you would spend your $30 gift card. this will enter you for a chance to win all 30 days. each day, starting monday, october 8th, a generator will randomly select a winner.
to double your chances, “like us” on facebook and your name will be entered in the drawing twice. {if you already like the sprouted life, like the post on the facebook about the contest, and you will receive your second entry)
to triple your chances – share the contest link from the sprouted life’s facebook page to your friends on facebook and you will be entered in the drawing a third time!
all the other details:
each person is eligible to only win one gift card.
this offer is for the noblesville, indiana store only
winners will need to be available to pick up their gift cards in person at the noblesville store november 7th – 11th
please make sure your comment has a valid email address, this is how i will notify winners and daily winners will also be posted on the sprouted life’s facebook page.
join us in welcoming earth fare to the northside of indianapolis!
***comments may take a bit to appear, because of a recent spam barrage on my blog, i have tightened the spam blockers***
Oct 3, 2012
last week, i didn’t have a single pumpkin to cook with…and then suddenly this week i was given five. i love this time of year and pumpkin baked goods, but i am not quite sure what to do with all my pumpkin i acquired. typically, i would can the extra, but since we move (again) in less than 2 weeks, i am busy prepping freezer meals for the move week and just don’t have time to can it. i am thinking about freezing it…Anybody have any good experiences with frozen pumpkin puree?
last night i roasted 2 of the pumpkins and from that, i got over 2 cups of roasted pumpkin seeds (my kids love them…see what we do below) and a half-gallon of fresh pumpkin puree. so today, i have been busy baking with some of my fresh puree. i tried 2 recipes that my friend lindsey at enjoying healthy foods created recently. {here are the 2 recipes for her pumpkin chocolate chip & pumpkin banana cookies} both of the cookie variations are gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free and refined sugar-free (depending if you use chocolate chips or not). i did make a little variation to both cookies. for the first ones, i only used 1/4 cup maple syrup (instead of a 1/2)…not because i thought they would be too sweet, but because literally, i used the last maple syrup i had in the house. i also, added 2 Tbsp. of ground flax seeds to the cookies. i have gotten into the habit of adding flax to all my egg-free baking and am typically happy with the results. oh, and i also didn’t have pumpkin pie spice, so i just used a little cinnamon and fresh nutmeg.
the results, we loved the first recipe…and even with only half of the maple syrup in the first batch, i thought that they were plenty sweet. i am glad i added to flax seed as i feel like it helped bind the cookies better. the second version with the banana were good, i undercooked them a little, but i have to say i liked the purer pumpkin flavor of the first recipe better. my little boys helped make both batches and while i was getting one batch out of the oven, my 3.5 year old started feeding my 2 year old huge spoonfuls of the batter. definitely recipes worth trying.
i thought would share what we do when we roast pumpkin seeds. it is super easy, nothing fancy.
| roasted pumpkin seeds |
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Author: the sprouted life
- seeds of fresh pumpkin (approx. 2 cups)
- 1 Tbsp melted coconut oil
- celtic sea salt
- any other desired spices
- rinse and clean pumpkin seeds after pulling them out of the pumpkin.
- lay them out on a towel to dry
- when seeds are dry, toss with 1 Tbsp of coconut oil and sea salt to taste
- add any additional spices (we like plain sea salt best)
- on a baking sheet roast in the oven at 350 degrees stirring occasionally until they start to brown. approx. 30 minutes
2.2.6
Oct 1, 2012
fall is here and i love it! for us that means a lot of nights hanging out around a fire with family & friends and “pudgy pies.” i love pudgy pies, not necessarily because they are gourmet meals, but because of the experience of making them and the memories they trigger of fun evenings around a fire with friends.
the pudgy pie below were made when we were hanging out on my husband’s families’ farm. his mom, created an entire gluten-free pudgy pie station and scrubbed down the cast-iron pudgy pie makers for us. our little boys loved them and the experience.
so what’s in our pudgy pies?
we like to make pizza ones:
- 2 slices of gluten-free, egg-free homemade bread (buttered – use earth balance or coconut oil for dairy-free)
- pizza sauce (our favorite is muir glen organic pizza sauce
)
- browned ground beef or sausage
- pepperoni (our favorite is applegate farms)
- topped with raw sharp cheddar cheese
another favorite is to actually make dessert ones filled with pie filling (cherry or apple are my favorites).
bread is core to a pudgy pie…so what do i do when we need gluten-free, egg-free bread?
we eat so little gluten free bread, that i rarely buy any, unless i am in a major pinch and need it fast (but even then, they aren’t usually egg free for my son). there are a lot of gluten free breads on the market and they are getting better, but i honestly don’t love any of them and most have egg in it. early on in my gluten free days, i did eat millet & flax seed bread made by sami’s bakery, but unfortunately because of cross-contamination issues in their bakeries, it isn’t safe for me or any celiacs. i hope that some day they get their act together, because i really did like their products.
because we eat bread so little, i typically will just make my own. i have a millet flour one that we like (i promise to share that recipe at some point), but a lot of times i am throwing stuff in the bread maker at the last minute, so when that happens i use bob’s red mill gluten-free homemade wonderful bread mix
. it is easy, and quick and makes a pretty good gluten free loaf in a bread maker. i follow the instructions on the bag (except, for the egg and i use almond milk or flax milk in it). for this particular bread, i make 2 flax seed eggs {6 Tbsp water, 2 Tbsp. ground flax seed, and about a tsp. of coconut oil), but then i also add 1 heaping Tbsp of chia seeds right to the dry mix in the bread machine.
every bread maker is different. mine actually has a gluten-free setting on it, but i feel like that never quite gets the bread cooked, so i always add 10-15 minutes of baking time at the end of the cycle. you don’t want to undercook gluten free bread…it will just collapse.
if anybody has any other, quick fool proof bread recipes, i would love to try them!
Sep 4, 2012
i love our boys’ preschool (today is our youngest, first day ever going). i love the socialization they get from it, love the creative activities they engage in and their teacher’s absolutely love on them. plus, it gives me a much needed 8 hours a week to work, schedule client meetings, run errands or even just meet my husband for a kid-free lunch out (we celebrated today and met at coopers hawk – they have a fantastic gluten-free menu and my cobb chicken salad was delicious)
last night, i was the mom running around in circles, filling out all my little boys preschool paperwork, loading backpacks, labeling supplies, packing lunches and of course, making gluten-free play-dough! i love play-dough, my kids love play-dough, but i don’t love the wheat it is made out of. anybody with gluten free kids, knows the pain of play0dough. you can buy gluten free play-dough, but it is pretty pricey, and since i am making it for 2 kids for home, preschool & church classrooms, making our own is much more budget friendly and it’s pretty simple too.
{we have used the store-bought, soy-yer dough, and my kids loved it also + it is an indiana local small business, so i like that too.}
here are a few tricks i have learned from making many batches:
- most recipes say to heat on low while stirring until play-dough pulls away from pan…i have found that of you start on medium to high heat and let it heat faster until it starts to stick, than reduce to low, it turns out less sticky. (i don’t know why this helps, but it does…just be careful not to burn it.)
- gluten-free play-dough will become less sticky as it starts to cool down.
- if it remains sticky after it starts to cool, keep kneading in cornstarch until it is the desired consistency.
- i always knead my food coloring in at the end as it is cooling…the times i added it to the original ingredients, i get a sticky mess.
- i always make it in small batches and then combine if i want larger amounts of each color. big batches, just don’t seem to work as well.
| gluten free play-dough |
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- ¾ cup white rice flour
- ¾ cup cornstarch (you can use arrowroot for kids with corn allergies)
- ¾ cup iodized salt
- 1 Tbsp. cream of tartar (I always do a heaping Tbsp.)
- 2 tsp. grape seed or olive oil
- 1 ½ cups hot water
- food coloring if desired
- in a pot, combine all of the dried ingredients, the oil & hot water.
- turn on the heat to med-high and begin stirring.
- as soon as the ingredients start to stick a little, reduce the heat to low and continue stirring.
- play-dough will begin to form a ball and pull away from the edges (typically, about 3-4 minutes).
- remove from heat and place ball into glass bowl and allow to cool a little.
- once the play-dough is cool enough to handle, you can knead in food coloring if desired.
- if it is too sticky, knead in a little cornstarch until you reach desired consistency.
- it does become less sticky as it cools.
- store in an airtight container or ziploc bag.
2.2.6
here are a few photos of my little guys before we headed of to preschool this morning. my youngest was not sure about the heavy back pack he was wearing!
note on lunches: {i promise i will share this year some of what my boys eat for school…we are using the goodbyn eco-system this year}
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