Watermelon Blast

Here is an article I wrote with a recipe I developed a couple of years ago while we were living with my grandmother. I was so wrapped up in what we were dealing with that I forgot to edit it and take a photo! I just came across this as I was working on updating the blog, and I remember that I loved this recipe so much that I still wanted to share this. Here's to the warmer months coming up around the bend! (I'm soooo looking forward to summer.)

Some of you may remember that a few years ago I lost a lot of weight.  I went from 275 to 212.  I was doing great and still losing when I started caring for my grandparents who have Alzheimer's (in November 2011).  My grandfather was in very bad shape, and the emotional strain was very difficult to handle.  I also had to make adjustments in my cooking style as one of my jobs became cooking for them, and they were stuck in their ways of eating, not to mention that because of their disease they could only really taste sweet or salty foods.  Grandpa passed away a year ago last June.  Between November and June 2011, I gained back 30 pounds.  What can I say?  I was totally unprepared for the curve ball that was thrown at me, and I had started eating a lot of junk.  Neither of my grandparents appreciated our family's way of eating (lots of raw fruits and veggies, salads, brown rice and other gluten free whole grains, etc.).  They wanted the standard cooked foods they were used to.  I didn't have time to prepare multiple kinds of meals every day, so while I still made mostly gluten free things, I made them in ways my grandparents would eat them (and still do that for grandma).  My family naturally ate all those things, and I started eating a lot more junk foods as I was trying to deal with the emotions that come from the situation I was in.   I also had started eating dairy again.  I never drank milk because it makes me so sick.  However, Grandma was always eating ice cream (multiple times a day), and the temptation was just too great.  In spite of the fact it makes me feel bad, I started eating it anyway.  Then I brought back yogurt, frozen yogurt, pudding, and cheese.  I felt nasty, but once I started eating all that dairy I craved it like crazy!  Dairy makes me gain weight.  It doesn't matter how little I eat, it becomes impossible for me to lose weight.  Voila!   30-pound weight gain!

By the time I became pregnant, Grandpa had passed, and I had gotten more in control of my eating.  I stopped gaining weight and stayed pretty much the same throughout my pregnancy.  I was careful with dairy, though I still ate cheese (doesn't seem to have the same affect).  I gained a few pounds at the very end (had gone back to eating ice cream), and a week after giving birth, I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight, albeit 30 pounds heavier than I had been in November.  I had to cut dairy completely for a while after John was born because it seemed that he got very irritable and gassy.  I brought dairy back in the form of frozen yogurt (ahhh, Sweet Frog, you are my enemy!)  and would gain a pound or two every time I ate it.  This month I decided to bring green smoothies back into my diet and cut dairy back out except for the occasional piece of cheese.  I have cheated with frozen yogurt once or twice and have skipped the green smoothie a few times, which slowed my weight loss for a couple of days. Even with the cheating, I have lost 7 pounds so far!  My husband and I are doing Simple Green Smoothie's 30-Day Challenge to kick-start our quest to get back on track.  We are kind of competing with each other to see who can lose the most weight.

I have to say, I always liked green smoothies, but I was definitely in a rut, making them the same way every time.  It got boring, and Chuck and the kids got sick of them.  I never thought to use other fruits.   With this challenge we are doing, Jadah and Jen send out a weekly grocery shopping list and recipes to try.  We have tried some, and we all have been pleasantly surprised!  This past week, we made smoothies using watermelon, one of my favorite fruits.  Yesterday, I didn't actually use one of their recipes because when I got to the grocery store, I had forgotten my list.  I did remember a few things from the list but couldn't remember them all. Instead, I came up with a recipe using some ingredients I already had, and it was awesome!  I made 2 pitchers full because Chuck wanted a quart jar to take with him to the church for later.  I will be making the same recipe later today as well.

Juicy Watermelon Blast

4 c. watermelon
2 c. spinach tightly packed
1 c. frozen strawberry slices
1 c. frozen mango chunks
2 Tbs. flax or chia seeds (optional)

Cut the watermelon off the rind and blend enough of it to make 4 cups of juice.  Add the spinach, frozen fruit, and seeds.  Blend just long enough to get smooth.  If you want your smoothie to be thicker and more frosty, you could chill or freeze some of your watermelon the night before.  If you find your smoothie is too thick to blend, you can add a little more watermelon juice, coconut water, or spring water. Enjoy!

Cashew Coconut Fruit Dip

In the last couple of weeks I have had several parties--a Pampered Chef party, a graduation party for my dear husband, and a Memorial Day picnic.  I have been trying a ton of new recipes, including this one of a Raw Vegan Ranch Dressing Dip that my friends have all loved.  I tweaked it, of course, and am not completely ready to share it, yet, but the recipe is very good just as it is from Sunny Raw Kitchen.  If any of you would like to try it before I blog my own version, please click on the link and give it a try.

Between testing new recipes, cooking for parties, and getting my garden ready to plant, I haven't had any time for blogging.  My garden is still not done (Is it ever?!?), but I figured I would take a little break to blog about a new recipe I have developed.  I made this dip for all of the recent parties I have been at, and it has been a consistent favorite, with many asking for my recipe.  With all of the busyness, I haven't gotten a picture taken, yet, however I will try to get one soon and will post it when I do.

Cashew Coconut Fruit Dip
1/2 c. cashews, soaked and rinsed
1 can Thai Kitchens coconut milk (regular, not light)
2 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. lemon juice
20 drops NuNaturals Alcohol-Free Vanilla Stevia
1 1/2 Tbs. chia seeds*

Blend the cashews, coconut milk, honey, lemon juice, and stevia until smooth.  Keep the blender running, and add the chia seeds.  Continue to blend until the chia seeds are blended up and the mixture is thickened.  If you don't have vanilla stevia, you could add some vanilla extract and may want to add an extra tablespoon or so of honey.  If you add vanilla and more honey, you may decide that you need to add a touch more chia seeds if your mixture doesn't thicken as much as desired.  I try to keep this dip as thick as I possibly can and still be able to blend up the chia seeds.  If it's too thick to blend up the chia seeds, you can add just a little touch of water, just enough to blend the chia seeds.  I'm sure that a VitaMix blender would be able to make it a little thicker, but my blender is not quite as powerful as that.

This dip will thicken more in the fridge as it chills.  It's a good idea to make it the day before your party, or at least several hours before.  After taking it out of the fridge, it will thin out a little as it gets to room temperature, so if it seems too thick to you (I like it really thick), let it sit out for a little while before serving.  I like to eat this with fruit for breakfast sometimes since I can't have yogurt.  It's healthy and delicious.

*You can also grind your chia seeds in a coffee grinder and then add the chia flour instead of the whole seeds.

Dairy Free Nacho Cheeze Dip

Here's an extra recipe for today.  I've been trying to perfect a dairy-free cheeze substitute recipe, and I have finally perfected one.  My family is so excited about this dip.  Everyone loves it, and it really does taste cheezy!  I made some today and added a can of chopped chiles for nacho cheese dip to go with tortillas.  Averie has some nice dairy-free cheeze recipes on her blog that helped inspire this recipe, along with other recipes I have come across online that gave me the courage to try this.  

12/29/10--I just edited this recipe because over time I have made some slight changes.  I doubled the amounts I originally posted because I always have to double it anyway.  It keeps in the fridge for probably 4 days or so, though it never lasts that long for us since it gets eaten fast!  I also have started using a small can of sliced jalapenos as well as the can of chopped chilis, and I added 1/4 t. of McCormick Spicy Chili Powder.  If the jalapenos add too much heat for you, just use 2 cans of chopped chilis instead.  To make this recipe raw, you can use a fresh, de-seeded jalapeno pepper instead of canned chilis and jalapenos.

                                           Check out the cheezy goodness!

DF Cheeze Dip
2 c. raw cashews
1- 1 1/2 c. cold water
3 Tbs. lemon juice
6 Tbs. Nutritional Yeast
2 Tbs. tahini
1 1/2 t. paprika
1 Tbs. salt 
1 1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. spicy chili powder
1 small can chopped chiles
1 small can sliced jalapenos

Soak the cashews in clean cold water for an hour or two.  Then drain and rinse them.  Blend all the ingredients in your blender.  I don't have a Vita-Mix, so it takes a little more water for me to get the blender to work it.  I just stand over the blender and add a touch of water, maybe a tablespoon at a time until I see the dip start churning in the pitcher.  If you have a Vita-Mix, you won't have to use as much water.  Just use as little or as much as your tastes desire.  I have made this dip without soaking the cashews first, using a little more water in the recipe.  It still tastes good, though the texture is not as creamy.  Don't use the soaking water in your recipe.   


This makes about 3 c. dip.

Fresh Salsa

I just love fresh salsa.  My husband prefers the canned stuff you buy in stores that has been cooked until it's soft and that flavors are all melded together into a jar of mush.  My favorite salsa is bursting with flavor and has texture.  I first realized what salsa could taste like when I bought a container from Sam's Club in their refrigerated section by the meats.  I had never had salsa like that before.  So good.  Then I went to Moe's and had their green salsa.  Never knew salsa could be green.  I loved the flavors, the texture, the smell.  I just knew I had to try to make my own.  Now, Nathan can't have this because raw peppers give him hives, and Chuck just plain hates the texture of peppers and onions.  They can have the canned stuff.  More power to them.  All the more of the good stuff for the rest of us!  What I have learned is that salsa is forgiving, and different people have different tastes.  So, taste this as you go along.  Some of my children thought it wasn't spicy enough.  One thought it was too spicy.  I thought it was just right.  You will have to go by your own gut with this and make it how you like it.  Also, if you want your salsa to be all green, omit the tomatoes and use all tomatillos.  If you want it red, do the opposite.  I might try to make a double batch and freeze it in ice cube trays for individual serving sizes.  I'll update this post to let you know how it works out if I do.

Fresh Salsa
4 tomatillos
4 medium tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
2 jalapenos
2 small onions
1/2 bell pepper
juice of 1 lime (about 1/4 cup)
fresh cilantro to taste

Allergy-Free Eating on a Budget: Tip 3 and Quick and Easy Buffalo Chicken Wraps/Quesadillas

     Tip #3 is to know your prices. I frequent my local health food stores and the Nature's Marketplace section of Wegman's often enough to know where to buy different things. I pay attention to the prices in the co-op catalog each month. I occasionally check my local WalMart Superstore to see if they have added any GF or DF (dairy-free) products. I know that the Rice Dream rice milk is cheapest at WalMart. I have searched and cannot find it cheaper anywhere else. (I know Rice Dream says it's GF, and other people say it's not. Nathan doesn't seem to react to it, so I use it when I'm not making my own rice milk or nut milks, though I feel a little nauseous if I drink too much (usually just have it on cereal a couple times a week). I know that it's cheapest to make my own rice milk and nut milks, so I try to do that when I'm not too rushed for time. Our favorite DF milk is cashew milk, and it's the easiest to make. Raw nuts and seeds are definitely cheapest through the co-op for me, but some of you might have a Trader Joe's nearby where you may find it cheaper.  Homemade nut milk is more nutritious than homemade rice milk, too.
     Keep a record in your planner, purse, or wallet of prices from different stores and mail order companies (or co-ops) where you buy things.  Compare prices.  After awhile you will have a pretty good idea where you want to purchase which foods.  Some places might be kind of out of the way for me to go to in order to get the best price.  I might handle that by going there once in awhile and buying the 1 or 2 things I get from that store in bulk, decreasing the amount of times I will have to go there.  Or, I might take a loss and purchase what I need at whatever store I am at if I really need to and don't have time to go to the other store.  In that situation, I have to weigh which is more important to me, time or money, and whether or not the price of the extra gas to get there would make up for the savings I would be getting.  For instance, we buy a large amount of sweet rice flour from an Asian store that is about 1/2 hour away from us, in an area where we rarely ever go.  It's not worth going there if it's just for 1 small bag, so we buy at least 5-10 lbs. at a time which lasts me quite awhile.
     One thing I noticed is that Betty Crocker has come out with a line of cake, brownie, and cookie mixes that are GF.  Our local grocery stores have finally started carrying this line of boxed mixes, which excited me tremendously when they first brought them out.  However, I started comparing prices as I noticed all the stores starting to carry them.  I found

Allergy-Free Eating on a Budget: Tip 2 and Cereal and Snack Ideas

     My second tip for allergy-free eating on a budget is to buy your ingredients and/or foods in bulk.  It is always cheaper in the long run to make your food from scratch.  I choose to do this for the most part, however there are certain things that I buy already made, knowing it would be cheaper to make them from scratch.  I just don't always have the time or equipment to make literally everything myself.  For instance, I buy GF pasta.  Sure it would be cheaper to make noodles from scratch, but if I am making spaghetti for dinner, chances are it's been a busy day for me and I am making pasta because it's easy and fast, not just because it tastes good, although it is delicious.  I also do not own a pasta maker, which makes it more difficult and time consuming for me to make pasta.  I also buy rice tortillas.  I am aware that I can make my own tortillas and freeze them for future use, which would be much cheaper than buying them.  I just haven't tried it yet.  I don't have the right size frying pan at this time, and it hasn't been a priority of mine.  At some point, I may try to make my own tortillas.  I have heard it is very easy.  I will need to buy a new frying pan, first. 
     So, you know that I am not perfect.  I don't make everything from scratch.  I do buy some GF foods that are already made and are more expensive than making my own.  I have every intention of trying to make pasta noodles and tortillas from scratch someday but not just right now.  In order to save some money, though, I do buy my ingredients, a few mixes, tortillas, pasta, dry beans, canned tomato products, etc. in bulk.  There are several ways that I do this: