Some of my favorite things...

Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens...

Sorry folks, but I do like me a good Julie Andrews song.


People ask me all the time how I live on a gluten free, dairy free, soy free diet, and how I get my children to eat that way. They always follow it up with, "I could NEVER give up gluten or dairy 100%". I say in response, "Tell me what you can't live without and I will give you the gluten free, dairy free version". Nine years ago, when we started on this journey, the choices were no where near this fantastic or readily available. I can get a box of "Betty Crocker" brownie mix at my local grocery store that is gluten free, and dairy free and very yummy. I don't usually buy those type of things, but it is an example of the market and how it has changed. Bread is generally the first complaint from people wanting to switch over to a gluten free diet. Gluten free bread is dense and heavy and needs to be toasted to eat. But I have to tell you, there are several new items that will make you forget about your old food. Here is one of my favorite new brands.


Bread...normal bread...
I never thought I would have soft, light, non toasted bread again in my life time. I was wrong. Along came Udi's...

www.udisglutenfree.com



Ingredients:
Filtered Water, Tapioca Starch, Brown Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Canola Oil or Sunflower Oil, Egg Whites, Tapioca Maltodextrin, Evaporated Cane Juice, Tapioca Syrup, Yeast, Xanthan Gum, Salt, Baking Powder (Sodium Bicarbonate, Cornstarch, Calcium Sulfate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Cultured Brown Rice Flour, Cultured Dextrose, Enzymes, Ascorbic Acid (Contains Cellulose and Cornstarch). Contains: Eggs

Udi's also has a pizza crust that I am anxious to try and muffins and bagels. Please let me know if you try any of these, I would love to know what you think.



I buy my Udi's bread by the case and save quite a bit of money. I freeze most of them when we get them home. We eat a lot of bread and a case lasts about a month.

Holy Cheese, Batman!

Sorry for the "cheesy" title but I am too excited about this new find. What rock have I been living under to not have seen this until now? A cheese that those of us living with serious food issues can eat!! The company that has invented this cheesy concoction of taste is Daiya. Even "Amy's", my favorite frozen food company, has joined forces with this new magic cheese to create a gluten free, casien free, soy free mac and "cheese". FUN!! I can't wait to try the cheese. I have heard good things so far. The best thing is that the company says that the cheese really does melt. Pizza anyone?

I will let you know what I think of the taste. If anyone out there has tasted it yet, let me know. I am so excited to know!!




What is Daiya?
Where can I buy Daiya?
What varieties are available?
What is Daiya made from?
Nutritional info
Cooking suggestions



What is Daiya?
Daiya is a revolutionary new dairy-free vegan cheese that tastes, shreds, melts and stretches like dairy based cheese. Daiya is not made with casein, the protein found in dairy products or soy, common to many other non-dairy cheese alternatives. In fact, Daiya does not contain any common allergens, animal products or cholesterol. Daiya is made with nutritious planted-based ingredients and is:

33% less fat than dairy-based cheese with equivalent attributes
Cholesterol free
Trans Fat free
Dairy free
Free of all animal products (Vegan)
Free of common allergens including:
Soy, Casein, Lactose, Gluten, Egg, Wheat, Barley, Corn, Whey, Rice, and Nuts
Free of Artificial Ingredients
Free of Preservatives
Free of Hormones & Antibiotics
An excellent source of a naturally occurring vegan vitamin B-12 as well as an excellent source of B vitamins in general
Where can I buy Daiya?
Daiya is currently available for foodservice purchases but we are working on a retail launch strategy. If you'd like to be informed when a retail product is available in your area, please fill out our contact form if you haven't already. Daiya is available at some restaurants, deli and prepared foods markets and online. For more information, please see our Where to Enjoy Daiya page.

What varieties of Daiya are available?
For foodservice, Daiya is currently available in Italian Blend, a cheese perfect for pizza, nachos, lasagna and the like, and Cheddar Style, a cheddar like cheese perfect for grilled cheese sandwiches, mexican food and the like. We sometimes like to blend the two and for any of you that had a chance to sample the pizzas we made at the Natural Products Expo West show in March of 2009, we used 75% Italian Blend and 25% Cheddar style which was a huge hit. Our products are available in shred and block formats.

What is Daiya made from?
Daiya is made entirely from plant-based ingredients. The full list of ingredients are as follows:

Purified water, tapioca and/or arrowroot flours, non-GMO expeller pressed canola and/or non-GMO expeller pressed safflower oil, coconut oil, pea protein, salt, inactive yeast, vegetable glycerin, natural flavors (derived from plants), xanthan gum, sunflower lecithin, vegan enzymes (no animal rennet or animal enzymes), vegan bacterial cultures, citric acid (for flavor), annatto.



Nutritional Facts, Daiya Italian Blend
Vegan Cheese Alternative
Nutritional Facts, Daiya Cheddar Style
Vegan Cheese Alternative
Cooking with Daiya
You can use Daiya in the same way you would use regular cheese.

Pizza Volumes:
It is important to use the optimum amounts of Daiya on pizza for best performance. Below are optimum recommendations resulting from performance tests in mass market pizza franchises throughout North America.
10 inch=110 grams (4oz); 12 inch=160 grams (5.5 oz); 14 inch=220 grams (8 oz); 16 inch=280 grams (10 oz); 18 inch=358 grams (12.5 oz)

Baking with Daiya:
Use Daiya as you would regular cheese. For best results (as a topping such as the top layer of a lasagna) add Daiya in the last 5 - 10 minutes (depending on temperature) when baking. This will yield smooth melting properties without excessive browning.
Tip: Try adding Daiya at the very end after baking is finished, by sprinkling a shredded layer on top of oven-hot food and covering for a few minutes. This preserves the most nutrients and maintains optimum resilience.

Microwave:
Daiya works great in the microwave in tortillas, burritos and whatever you normally would cook with cheese in the microwave. Be careful not to overcook Daiya as like dairy based cheese, it will become tough.

Storage:
Always keep refrigerated.

Freezing Daiya:
You can freeze Daiya and use it as you normally would after thawing. Like most food products, do not freeze, thaw and re-freeze.

Top

Copyright © 2010 Daiya Foods Inc. All rights reserved.

Dr. Amy Yasko Conference in Boston

Yasko Protocol Conference
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 4:17:33 PM EST

PATHWAYS TO RECOVERY: The Yasko Protocol Conference

When: July 30th, July 31st & Aug 1st, 2010

Where: Boston Hilton Logan Airport

Cost:

Pre-Registration (until Feb 28th): $195 plus receive 50 Conference Points to be used on HolisticHeal.com
Registration (after Feb 28th): $225 plus receive 25 Conference Points
Day of Event: $225
To Register: Visit HolisticHeal.com/yasko-protocol-conference.html

To Make Reservations: Contact the Hilton at 1-800-445-8667, mention the "Holistic Health Group Rate" to receive a discount off of the room.

If you have any questions, please call the office at 1-207-824-8501.

Thank you, we look forward to seeing everyone there!

Temple Grandin

I have been raving about the HBO movie Temple Grandin to anyone who gets close to me on the street. I am practically accosting people. I just can't rave enough about this movie and the incredible job Claire Danes did in her depiction of Temple Grandin. I have been fortunate to have met Temple and listen to her speak. She was very memorable and inspirational. This movie was so motivating and inspiring and yet agonizing for me to watch. Claire Daines did such an incredible job that you truly forget she is just an actress and not Temple herself. If you are interested, Temple Grandin is also featured in a BBC documentary and has written numerous books on her life with autism and her passion for the humane treatment of cattle. She is a pioneer in so many things, and yet the doctors told her mother to institutionalize her as a child. Not only did her mother refuse to send her away, but she refused to believe that she somehow caused Temple's autism from lack of love. "The Refrigerator Mother" was an absurd and brutal theory in the 1940s-1960s that blamed mothers for causing their child's autism by being distant and unloving. Thankfully, It was the work of scientist and father of an autistic child (the inspiration for the character in the movie "Rain Man") Dr Bernard Rimland that changed the thinking of the world at large and opened the door to the hope and belief that autism is biomedical and treatable.

The Crockpot

I am not the first one to use the crock-pot. All of my friends and family have been berating me for years to use the crock-pot, but it seemed like a bigger inconvenience than just cooking. I thought that it was bad enough to have to make the meal, but thinking about it in the morning and doing prep and making sure I had groceries hours ahead of time seemed like a huge deal. Then I made my first crock-pot meal. My mom asked me to put the ingredients in her crock-pot while we were visiting one day, and then a few hours later, we had a tasty meal. Easy peasy. The real thing that hooked me was that the kids loved it. I hate cooking, but I hate cooking and having no one like the meal even more. I love how I put some raw meat and some veggies and some whatnots in the crock-pot and voila, a meal is ready at dinnertime. I love the smell the house gets during the day. So now I am preaching the ways of the crock-pot. Hallelujah!

It is easy to make meals that are gluten free, dairy free in the crock-pot also. Eating food like stews and soups are easier on your digestive system too. There are so many great crock-pot cookbooks and websites. Once you get the hang of it though, you just need to use your imagination and anything is possible. I am going to list some of our favorites for those who might be interested. I don't like when people tell me to try a website or cookbook and don't give me their favorites for me to get started.

Another tip we like in our house is to include a separate starch on occasion. I like biscuits or tortillas (see recipe in earlier post) or mashed potatoes or rice.

I am still a beginner and my imagination is not fantastic, so my meals are very basic. Once you get the hang of it, you will get ideas from everywhere. It is a fun thing to exchange ideas with your neighbors or friends. I also like playing with a dessert in the crock-pot. Bread pudding is on the list for this week.

Easiest crock-pot meals: spaghetti sauce and meat of choice on low for the day. It seems silly to do this, but you put the raw meat in and the sauce and at dinnertime it is ready. The taste was better too.
Another beyond easy and basic idea came from my mom. She put raw chicken breast in the bottom of the crockpot and just added green chili enchilada sauce. I had a hard time finding gluten free enchilada sauce, but green chili salsa worked great.

We love stew and beef roast too. I either make a cornbread or a gluten free biscuit. My new obsession is making a good, light, tasty gluten free biscuit. The family loves even the ones that didn't turn out. It is a treat, not an every day thing.

Good luck in your crock pot endeavors. Let me know of any good recipes!! Kid tested...

Trip to Mexico

We are back from our trip to Casa Lagarto, Platanitos Mexico for Christmas and it was fantastic. We had a wonderful, relaxing visit. The kids love seeing their Honey and Papa and Auntie and Tio. Sophie has Tio right were she wants him, around her little finger. The boys are Auntie's favorites for sure. They are the three amigos. I got to relax and read an entire novel while listening to the ocean and enjoying the perfect weather. We didn't need to turn on the AC once. The best part for me was having food made for us daily and not having to worry if it was safe for us to eat. My parent's have an amazing house keeper that cooks all the meals using fresh, local ingredients. Gluten is not a big worry for us aside for the flour tortillas she puts on the table, and cheese is rare there. Most of the ingredients are local meat, local farm fresh eggs, local fresh vegetables and my favorite fresh squeezed orange juice. I brought some Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Flour and xantham gum as well and taught the house keeper how to make the gluten free "flour" tortillas from my previous post. I can't decide what my favorite thing about going to Mexico is, the beauty or not having to cook.

Here are a few pictures of our trip. If anyone is ever interested in an amazing trip, even on a gluten free, dairy free diet, Casa Lagarto is a great choice.

The boys were able to enjoy going jet-skiing on Papa's new jet-skis. Connor was a little timid about the speed but he had a good time with his aunt on them anyway. We also were able to participate in the release of baby turtles into the ocean. It was very educational for the kids as well as very memorable. We spent a lot of time in the sand and sun on the beach of Platanitos. Since we spent Christmas in Mexico, we decided to participate in a tradition of Mexico, piñatas. The kids took turns hitting the eggs filled with candy.

It was a great trip I would recommend to anyone.



www.casalagarto.net

Flour Tortillas!!

Connor has been gluten free, dairy free and soy free since he was a baby. His momma, me, on the other hand, became gluten free as an adult. I know what a warm donut tastes like. I know what a warm, flaky croissant tastes like. I miss good, light, fresh, good bread for a sandwich. I love good food, which makes going gluten free, and dairy free so hard for me. It is hard to find good gluten free food. It is hard when you know what a good home made flour tortilla tastes like fresh off the grill to then settle for a store bought corn tortilla. Well, I have found a way to satisfy some of my food sadness. I haven't found a good donut or croissant yet, but I have found an excellent and easy flour tortilla recipe.

When I was a young wife, before I had kids, I use to make home made flour tortillas daily. We would some how find a way to make tortillas work with what ever we were having for dinner. We could be having fried rice, and we could make it work with flour tortillas. When friends came over, the first thing they asked for were the flour tortillas. Good, homemade flour tortillas are incredible. We are from the West, and Mexican food is a part of our culture. I was very sad when we found out we had to go gluten free, because that meant the tortillas had to go, until now. I found an incredible and EASY recipe for those of you that are challenged in the kitchen. A website called, "Gluten Free Cooking School" has the best recipe for gluten free flour tortillas. I challenge you to make these and not tell anyone that they are gluten free and see if anyone notices. I find the true test is when they go unnoticed as being "good for being gluten free". I want them to just be great!! My family keeps asking me to make these tortillas. That is awesome!!

Gluten Free Tortillas:

2 c. Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour Mix (I use Bob's Red Mill)
1 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 c. warm water

1. Add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix the ingredients thoroughly.

2. Add the cup of warm water to the bowl and mix the dry goods into the water. Just mix it all up until all of the dry ingredients are no longer dry. And then keep mixing a minute longer.

3. Separate the dough into 8 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place all but one of the dough balls back into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap until you’re ready to work with them.

4. Sprinkle a clean, flat surface with a bit of all purpose flour and then roll your dough ball into a roughly circular shape. Get is as thin as possible. Make sure to keep it from sticking to your surface.

5. Throw the tortilla onto a hot griddle (I use a cast iron griddle on medium heat with just a smidge of shortening or oil) and let it cook approximately 1 minute – or until it has started puffing up and the bottom side is developing those lovely brown spots. Flip the tortilla and cook the other side until is toasty as well.

6. Slide the cooked tortilla onto a waiting plate and repeat from step 4 until you’ve cooked all 8 tortillas. I generally roll one tortilla out while another is cooking, so that there’s is always a tortilla on the griddle.

I find it helpful to not stack hot tortillas on top of each other. I like my tortillas slightly crunchy and the steam from one tortilla will make the next one soggy if they are stacked.

ENJOY!!