As the days get longer and warmer, I find myself desiring more fresh raw greens in my diet. Perhaps it’s something primal; my body instinctively knows that this is the time of year when fresh greens start to become available, and that it needs them to help clean things out after a winter spent in relative hibernation. But whatever it is, recently I’ve found myself craving more salads.… Continue reading
dairy-free
Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream
We’ve had several warm days in a row. When our local dairy cow-share had an unexpected supply of cream, my 6-year-old immediately asked if we could use it to make chocolate ice cream.
I wanted to fulfill his desire without serving up a bowl of typical, sugar-laden ice cream. So I made our own ice cream that I sweetened with bananas.… Continue reading
Grain-Free Bread
The other day we read a book that involved sandwiches. Since we don’t eat grains, we don’t regularly have bread in our house. As a result, my kids have never had a traditional sandwich. They’ve certainly had their share of roll-ups, but not a regular two-piece-of-bread-with-filling-in-the-middle sandwich. After reading the book, my 6-year-old really wanted to try a sandwich.
While I’m very careful about the food that I feed to my kids, both for health and food allergy reasons, I also try hard to make sure that they don’t feel deprived on our diet.… Continue reading
Homemade Elderberry Syrup
Elderberry syrup is a great, traditional way to boost immunity. Our naturopath recommends taking some at the first sign of a cold or flu. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to find high-quality organic elderberry syrup that doesn’t contain vegetable glycerin.
We try to avoid foods containing vegetable glycerin as a preservative because glycerin can coat your teeth and thereby prevent the natural tooth remineralization process.… Continue reading
Pureed Cauliflower “Mashed Potatoes”
If you’re looking for a way to incorporate more vegetables into your diet, or simply looking to lower the glycemic index of the foods that you’re consuming, this recipe is a great comfort-food inspired way to do both.
While it doesn’t taste exactly like mashed potatoes (it is, after all cauliflower), I’ve surprised many people by telling them that they were eating cauliflower.… Continue reading
Grain-Free Biscuits
With all of the cold, snowy weather we’ve had recently, I’ve felt the strong desire for comfort foods. For me, warm baked goods definitely fulfill that desire. These biscuits are a modification of a recipe I found on Elana’s Pantry.
Grain-Free Biscuits Recipe
2.5 cups almond flour, plus about ¼ cup for dusting the dough
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup coconut oil
2 eggs
Blend together coconut oil, eggs and salt.… Continue reading
Grain-free Banana Bread
For the last couple of days, my 6-year-old has been requesting that we undertake a baking project. With lots of snow on the ground and more forecasted to come, this seemed like a good day. We decided to try something new and made grain-free banana bread.
It smelled amazing as it cooked, and we were all counting down the minutes until it would be done baking.… Continue reading
Food with a Fibonacci Spiral (+ Romanesco Recipe)
It’s probably the math fan in me, but as soon as I saw romanesco available at our local market, I had to buy it and try it. Yes, it’s a cruciferous vegetable. Yes, I’m sure it’s very healthy (lots of vitamins C and K, carotenoids, and, of course, fiber). But my decision to purchase was mostly from an aesthetic perspective.
Spirals occur in many places in nature: snail shells, some flowers, pinecones, DNA, pineapples, and even our galaxy.… Continue reading
Snow Ice Cream
It snowed a lot over the last couple of days. When we get a lot of snow, we try to find fun things to do with the snow that we might not be able to do otherwise. .
Last week during story time at our local library, the librarian read a book that mentioned making ice cream out of snow. My 6-year-old immediately wanted to try it.… Continue reading
Dandelion Root and Chicory Tea
During the winter, everything slows down. Animals hibernate, plants go dormant, people spend more time indoors; everything turns inward. I feel like the same thing holds true of my body. And at times like this, I love to make Dandelion Root and Chicory Tea.
Dandelion root is a great liver cleanser. It’s also helpful with purifying the blood. Dandelion also has a host of other health benefits, including aiding with digestion, lowering blood pressure, regulating blood sugar levels, reducing inflammation, and boosting the immune system.… Continue reading