menu musings: gravy train

I don't really like gravy. I mean, I'll eat it if it's already on my meal, but if it's on the side, I opt out. My husband, on the other hand, loves gravy and sauces and condiments. So I tried my hand at a gluten free gravy from scratch. I searched the internet for some recipes, but I quickly became overwhelmed by too much text... yes, my laziness is real.
So, I know that gravy is made with some kind of mix of water and flour, so I decided to wing it. I did search for a simple gravy recipe just to get the proportions of flour and water. It turned out delicious. Here's my recipe for gluten free gravy.

Ingredients:
onion (about 2 sliced rounds)
1/2 green pepper
mushrooms ( I used 4 baby bellas)
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup water
1/4 cup gluten free flour (I used millet flour)
1/4 cup chicken (or whatever meat you're cooking) drippings
sea salt to taste

Make it:
1- chop the onion green pepper and mushroom
2- in saucepan heat oil over medium fire
2- add chopped veggies to heated oil and toss around for about 5 minutes
3- add water
4- fold in flour
5- stir in drippings
6- stir, stir, stir. once mixture begins to thicken (should happen very fast) turn fire to low and cover for about 6-7 minutes. keep a watch on it for desired consistency.
7- salt to taste
8- the end.

Enjoy!

on maki's menu: preparing sweet potatoes

With Maki soon entering his 6 month, it's time for us to start making the transition to solids. He's been exclusively breastfed (chest bumps myself in the mirror) up until now which according to the American Academy of Pediatrics is the best start a mother could give her baby.
While I love breastfeeding and am extremely happy that I was able to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months, we're really excited to be entering the world of solids. Maki's getting quite aggressive with the attacks and lunges for our plates; and Daddy is excited to be a part of the feeding process.

So, in my excitement and preparedness, I decided to bust out the baby bullet steamer that we received at our baby shower, and prepare a sweet potato puree. True to the advertisement, it was so easy and quick. Just peel, cut, steam, puree. And thanks to the baby bullet system (processor and steamer), I'll be able to provide Maki with the better choice of solids: fresh, additive free fruit and vegetables as opposed to the relatively costly and less nutritious jarred stuff.

What do you think? Homemade baby food: Not worth the time or a penny saving must?

menu musings

Maki has really bad eczema. His skin is super sensitive to many food and topical triggers. Because I breastfeed, I've had to eliminate the foods that trigger his eczema from my diet. So far that has amounted to a farewell to dairy, eggs and gluten. Nuts were on that list for a short while, but I willed him not to have a reaction because I couldn't bear the thought of no peanut butter on this already exhaustive list of no-gos.

Going gluten, egg and dairy free has been an interesting experience for us (my husband stands  eats in solidarity with me). I feel like it has given me more control over my diet and the things that I put into my body. I find myself reading labels and making smarter choices about food (nutritionally and financially).

So far, the most frustrating thing about eliminating gluten, egg and dairy from my diet is finding decent recipes. Don't get me wrong, they're out there, but boy you've got search. The problem that I come across most often is dairy free recipes rely heavily on wheat, gluten free recipes rely heavily on cheese and both tend to throw a little egg in the mix. Sigh.
Oh and another thing I've learned quickly about being g-e-d free is you need to get used to cooking....every meal. Basically, give up the notion of grabbing something quick on-the-go from anywhere other than your own cabinet/fridge. So always make enough for leftovers.

Speaking of cooking and recipes, I'm currently on the hunt for g-e-d free pancakes. I need to diversify my breakfast options, which currently consist of a lot of smoothies, hash-browns or toasted rice/nut breads. To be honest, I've come across a few recipes, but if it looks like too much to read at first glance I'm pretty sure it requires more work than I'm willing to put in on an empty stomach. Hopefully I'll find one that's simple enough soon because I really miss pancakes. And when I do find one, you can look forward to a post here. I'll be sure to keep it simple.


Are you vegan, dairy or gluten free? What are some challenges and wins that you've encountered?

hi there

Hi readers, thanks for joining me! Let's skip the lengthy introduction and keep this first post short and sweet. Pretty much anything I should be telling you here, you'll learn as you stick around with me. So I hope you enjoy the good and bad, ugly and beautiful, messy and clean, wins and fails, fun and not so fun times ahead.