Thanksgiving Recipes for vegetarians

One of our all time favorite thanksgiving recipes is so super easy that it’s going to make you laugh!

Because we follow the idea of eating gluten free and low carbs we have adapted lots of the paleodiet recipes.

Here is a recipe for “rice” gluten free, dairy free and paleo food friendly.

And So simple and delicious!

So simple and a great side to have around.

Posted in recipes by Donna

Salad – Thanksgiving Slaw (Serves 6)

Using a little bit of cranberries as one of the ingredients, the following easy recipe for slaw makes a great addition to Thanksgiving dinner. Paleo food and easy paleo recipe
Slaw Ingredients
6 cups of shredded coleslaw
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh parsley (minced)
Sprinkling of slivered almonds
½ cup of mayonnaise ( egg free)
2/3 cups cranberries (dried)
Directions
–Mix the above ingredients in a bowl. Cover the bowl and refrigerate before serving.

Posted in Food Allergies, Food- Recipes, recipes by Donna

Vegetable Side Dish – Butternut Squash (Serves Six)

Vegetable Side Dish – Butternut Squash (Serves Six)
A Thanksgiving classic, the following recipe is simple to make and will appreciated by all the guests at your Thanksgiving table.
Ingredients
One big squash (butternut)
1 tablespoon of dairy free butter ( earth balance butter)
Dash of salt
Dash of nutmeg
Water
Directions
–Slice the squash lengthwise in two. Place each half face-up in a microwave-safe dish in a little bit of water and cover. Microwave for approximately ten minutes.
–Take the squash out of the microwave and allow it to cool before taking out the seeds and throwing them away.
–Remove the pulp and put it in a serving dish, mixing in the margarine.
–Mash the vegetable until it has a smooth consistency.
–Sprinkle on the nutmeg and salt and microwave again for five minutes before serving.

Posted in Food Allergies, Food- Recipes, recipes by Donna

Easy Kids lunch ideas

cute lunch boxes

cute lunch boxes

Back to school for kids is coming up very quickly.  bye Bye to the summer schedule and hello to the routine of school! Here is a list of 10 easy kids lunch ideas.  These lunch ideas are super easy, take less than 15min to prepare and our healthy lunches for kids.

Easy Kids Lunch Ideas:

1. Sandwiches- A foundation of every kids lunch.  You can have veggie sandwiches with turkey, a little mayonnaise ( we recommend vegananies) and a healthy bread.

2. Another favorite is Peanut butter and Jelly. Since we avoid Tree nuts we often recommend sunbutter and jelly. Our favorite jelly is either homemade ( yes you can make jelly) or an organic local brand. There are lots of craftsman who make their own jelly, shop your local farmers market for a source.

3. Turkey roll ups- for those kids that either don’t like bread or are on a gluten free-dairy free diet we take hormel’s turkey ( gluten & dairy free) and slap on 1tsp of veganiese and roll them up like little cigars( not advocating smoking).  I put about 7 in the lunch box for my 5 year old.

4. Leftover Spagettihi- super easy and super delicious!

5. Mac n’Cheese- We make ours with gluten free noodles and Daiya Cheese.  I can’t rave enough about Daiya cheese, thank you thank Daiya cheese people!

6.  Grilled Cheese Sandwich- Again with a gluten free or ezekial bread and daiya cheddar cheese! Yummy!

7. Hamburgers- We make ours with turkey meat. A back of kettle chips, some apple slices and water!

8. Hot dogs no bun, carrot sticks, grapes and water.

9.  Black bean burger- I make these and freeze them a head of time.  I put cilantro, onions and garlic in my blender and blend them for 20 secs so that they are mixed but not too smooth. I coat them with gluten free dairy free bread crumbs, fry them in light canola or olive oil for about 4 min on each size on medium. Let them cool and freeze them.

10.  Tortilla roll ups. Similar to the turkey roll ups, you take two corn or flour tortillas fill them with daiya cheese and melt in the oven on broil for a minute. then cut into 2 inch strips and roll them up into cigar shapes.  Can serve with salsa and corn chips and orange slices.

And there you have easy, kid lunch ideas that our healthy and good for kids with food allergies or sensitivites. Healthy lunches for kids are important! Get back to school for the kids right this year! Good luck!

back to school for kids
lunch ideas    kids lunch ideas     healthy lunches for kids

Posted in Back to School, Lunch boxes, recipes by admin

Oh yum! A nut free way to do apples & no peanut butter

In our family we are nut free. Not that we are allergic but since we have so many other food allergies, I just like to live on the safe side :-)

Here is the best nut free peanut substitute on the market:

Sunbutter! Oh goodness I live by that stuff. You can buy it at target or my favorite on line shoppe is

http://www.allergyfreeshop.com/shop/

Here is the simple recipe:

Take 1 organic apple

and 2 tsp of sunbutter

dip the apple and enjoy!

A healthy gluten free-dairy free-tree nut free but not taste free snack!

Posted in Food Allergies, Food- Recipes, Lunch & Snack Ideas for Kids, recipes by Melody B

Yummy Ginger cookies, dairy free, egg free and gluten free

Last night I got the yearning for some ginger cookies. So we pulled a recipe from About.com dairy free cooking and modified the recipe.

Recipe:

2 1/4 Gluten free flour mix. I used 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour, 1 cup brown rice flour both Bob’s Red mill

2 tsp of egg replacer ( mixed with way too much water as my 5 year old helped! we only added what was needed)

1/4 tsp xanthum gum ( bob’s red mill)

1/2 tsp baking soda ( bob’s red mill)

1 cup brown sugar

3 tsp molasses

1 tsp clover

3 tbs ginger powder

1/2 cup vegan organic shortening by spectum

dash of salt as we do low sodium in our lifestyle

1/4 cup granulated sugar for dusting cookies

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line wax cookie sheets with wax paper

mix all dry ingredients together.

Mix sugar, shortening, egg replace together until nice and fluffy. Then add the dry ingredients

using 2 medium size spoons, spoon a cookie unto the sheet. Using the back side of spoon press the cookie down then sprinkle with a dusting of granulated sugar.

Bake 12-15 min at 350 depending on oven.   Remove was harden, place on wire rack and enjoy your gluten free, dairy free, super easy to make ginger cookies!

Prep time: 20 min ( more if doing with kids but well worth the time and experience)

Bake time: 12-15 min

Eat time: 1 min or less! my kids loved them!

Posted in Food Allergies, Food- Recipes, recipes by Melody B

Vegetarian Finger Foods for Kids

Vegetarian snacks are great to carry in any Lunchopolis or Eco Fab lunch box. The following three recipes are simple to prepare and very kid-friendly too.

Carrot Fries

A tasty, nutritious treat for kids are fries made from carrots. They can be baked in under a half hour and offer a nice alternative to any fast food fare.

Ingredients:

A dozen carrots

Sea salt for taste

2 Tablespoons Virgin olive oil

Wash the carrots and cut each carrot in thirds. Place the carrots in a bowl and add the olive oil, then toss. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit before placing the carrots on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle sea salt over the carrots and bake until the carrots are lightly browned, or for about 25 minutes. Serve the carrots with a dip, such as ranch dressing.

Little Pizzas

Another vegetarian snack alternative that kids love are little pizzas. They’re not only tasty but healthy too.

Ingredients:

Two whole grain bagels, cut in half

Tomato sauce

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Turkey pepperoni pieces

Bell peppers

Cover each halved bagel with tomato sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the bagels and add sliced bell peppers and one or two slices of turkey pepperoni. Place the bagels on a cookie sheet or pizza pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately ten minutes.

Fruit Kabobs

Here’s another easy vegetarian snack to fix that takes little time to prepare and is also fun to make with the kids.

Ingredients

Fresh strawberries

Sliced bananas

Sliced pineapple

Seedless grapes

Four skewers

Plain yogurt

Shredded coconut (optional)

Place the strawberries, bananas, pineapple and grapes alternatively on each skewer. If you wish, use plain yogurt for a dip. Also, you may want to sprinkle a little bit of shredded coconut over the fruit. Toast it lightly in the oven first to add to the taste and texture.

The above snacks are great treats to include in a Lunchopolis lunch box or Eco Fab lunch box. That way, you can always be assured that your kids are well-nourished and using a lunch box that is safe and healthy too.

Posted in Food- Recipes, Lunch & Snack Ideas for Kids, Lunch boxes, recipes by Donna

Easy Chicken & Chili bean -Gluten & dairy free

This is a super easy Chicken and Chili bean gluten and dairy free recipe. I made it with left over chicken.

1-Garlic clove

1 can of Northern white beans ( gluten and dairy free)

6oz of chicken, cubed ( I used left overs)

3 tsb of gluten free flour( love bob’s red mill all purpose)

6 tbs of oil-I used olive oil can use Earth’s best vegan butter sticks

8oz of chicken broth ( used beef and it was just as tasty)

1- green zuchinni

1-yellow zuchinni

1-onion

2 tbs of agave syrup

2 tsp of cumin

2 tbp of Chili powder

In a frying pan saute the onion and garlic in oil for about 4 mins.

Then add the flour, cumin, chili powder and beans and broth.  Stir the flour in first until it begans to thicken then add the powders, beans and broth. Allow to boil and stir frequently.  Lower the temp to simmer and add the chicken.

I then started the rice ( brown rice) but I recommend starting this first as it takes longer.

Once the rice is ready the food is ready to serve!

We topped ours with Salsa and tofutti sour cream! yummy!

Posted in Food Allergies, Food- Recipes, recipes by Melody B