Avocado Salsa

Hey there! I am so in love with this salsa that I am almost positive I could eat it all in one sitting if I let myself!

We put it on our bacon burgers the other day and it was amazing!! We also like it on taco squash, fajitas, or any other Mexican dish you can make:) And Blake LOVES avocado so getting him to eat it is a synch! A fave go-to side dish for a great allergy free, clean eating summer meal! It doesn’t hurt that it’s super easy to make too;)

Storage:
We don’t keep it in the fridge long… maybe a day, but it usually doesn’t last much longer than that anyways:)

AVOCADO SALSA

2 Avocado peeled, cored and cut into chunks
1 large tomato(ripe) cut into chunks
3 T red onion minced
1 T cilantro
2 cloves minced garlic
Lime juice from one lime

Mix all ingredients together and chill until ready to eat!!

Enjoy!
-Jennifer

Sloppy Jenn’s!

Paleo Sloppy Jenn’s

1 lb Grass fed Ground Beef

2 T Coconut Oil

1 Sweet Onion –Finely Chopped

2 Cloves Garlic– Minced

1/2-1 C Carrots –Shredded

1- 6oz Can Organic Tomato Paste

1- 8oz Can Organic Tomato Sauce

1 t Chili Powder

1/2 t Cumin

1/4 t Pepper

1/4 t Paprika

1 cap of Apple Cider Vinegar

**Optional Ingredients**

1 t Pure Maple Syrup {taste before adding to see if you even want to add this}

Green Pepper –Chopped

Now down to business...

Finely chop your onion and shred your carrots. Using a large pot melt down your coconut oil over a medium high heat. Once oil is melted down add your onions, carrots, *peppers*, and thawed ground beef. Stir until the beef is cooked all the way and the veggies are soft. Don’t drain because all that juice from your grass-fed beef is very nutritious! Then just add in the rest of our ingredients– tomato paste, sauce, spices. Stir and let simmer until desired consistency!

I usually eat this alone, on spaghetti squash, wrapped in lettuce leaves for optimal “sloppiness”, or I will even serve this on top of some Ezekial toast and make an open faced sammich:)

These are super easy and very delicious!! And you don’t have to worry about the added sugars from the store-bought mix or whether food allergies will strike because you just rocked your kitchen and made a kid friendly meal with all {choose your canned goods wisely} fresh ingredients!!

Please feel free to comment below and let me know if this was a hit with your family:)

-Jennifer-

What was the one experience that completely changed your life?

Asked: What was the one experience that completely changed your life? What happened? How did it change your life?

Oh… well this is the essence of my entire blog. An experience that not only led me to the highly under-appreciated world of food allergies, but also to the lifestyle that will surely leave me and my family living a healthier, longer life!

I remember standing in the pediatricians office when we got told that our boy had indeed had an allergic reaction to dairy. We gave him a seemingly harmless food. – He was just starting to eat solids and so we did as most parents do and ran to our local grocery store to see what fun foods we could buy and try. Trying to keep it “safe” we picked out some sort of yogurt bite from the baby food section that was easily dissolvable. Yes, this highly used company made a dairy based nibble food and advertised it for “supported sitters”. Since we had a “sitter” we thought, for sure, this would be a great start! – This seemingly harmless food landed us an emergency visit to our pediatricians office and, after that day, introduced us into a whole new way of thinking, eating, living.

As the doctor went on about the ins and outs of what I would need to do from here on out my head was spinning. I think if you were standing there looking at me you could probably see it! I was going through, like a list, all the stuff about my life/our lives that would have to change. All the food that was no longer allowed in our home. All the foods that I consumed on a regular basis that I couldn’t. I thought about all the foods I ate all my life that my child wouldn’t be able to enjoy.  The list was endless.  I let my thoughts go from there on to worries about the safety of my child. I wanted to know what the worst case scenario would be. The best case. How long would this last? …Like I said… endless!

This, of course, led to endless hours of research.  Feeling rightly obligated to protect my little one the best way I knew how. I was bound to outsmart the cruel world of allergies and make my best attempt at giving my child a normal life. Even as dramatic as it was when we found out, it didn’t beat the troubles we would have to face as our baby got older. He is still only a toddler now, but even with just a little insight to living with food allergies your eyes are opened to all the future challenges we are bound to face. Is there going to be a daycare that is going to be safe for my child? Is he going to make friends easily or will he be the kid in the corner that everyone is afraid to touch? Will he be responsible enough to avoid his allergens or will he, like many school age kids with food allergies, succumb to the pressures that come along with trying to fit in.

Weeks after we found out and things were settling down I went back to doing my normal research on my laptop: How to lose your after baby belly! Not being a huge fan of exercise I read just about everything I possibly could that would give the most results with the least amount of effort…{Don’t laugh because I am NOT the only person that tries to succeed by this angle!} Most of my research led to me the same answer… get off my lazy ass and work out. So I did. Slowly, of course. It also lead me to joining a program that teaches you the ins and outs of actual healthy eating. Not like the western diets that are believed to be healthy. This was another life changing moment that would alter how me and my family thought about and consumed food.

With out getting into too much nitty-gritty about the whole discovery process on what we would keep in our diets and what we wouldn’t,  I will bring you to where we are today. We have learned to eat our foods as close to the “caveman” style as possible while still making it enjoyable. First off, its super healthy. We also feel better. I have to admit I successfully lost all my baby weight and then some! Resulting in a very happy me! Second, when it comes to Blake’s allergies {which is what led us down this road to begin with} it is the safest lifestyle we can live. It is the second BEST thing I could do for my son besides offer him unconditional love! When I took out all the overly processed junk food we were eating and replaced it with whole foods and meats, I not only starting promoting a healthier path for my child but I made the transitioning stage non-existent for him. He wont have to break himself of bad habits and toxic foods and learn to like healthy foods because he will already have a grand appreciation for them. They will be his normal.

So back to the question I was asked…

What was the one experience that completely changed your life? What happened? How did it change your life?

The cruel discovery of food allergies led me to the beautiful life me and my family live today. I guess it is safe to say that when one door closes another door opens. We have learned to take all the good out of an otherwise crappy situation. I feel truly blessed to have learned all I have.  Learning to embrace this whole new way of life will, no doubt, be an experience I will appreciate for many years and hopefully my child will do the same. 

-Jennifer

The Art of the Orange

Morning Bloggers:) Happy Saturday! Just wanted to share our quick morning breakfast and the delightful craft-tastic idea that followed.

While prepping our fruit salad and bacon breakfast this morning {yum} I was feeling a bit nostalgic, and I decided to make this fabulous “Mama” inspired potpourri!  As a kid growing up my Mom used to smell the house all up with different flavors of potpourri that she would boil on the stove. We would come running up the stairs {our kitchen was upstairs} after school thinking for sure we had a big pie waiting for us in the kitchen.  Although, I’m not into the art of trickery I definitely love the way this makes my house smell like a home And I want my beautiful family to experience it too! Maybe even make memories in the process…

What you will need…

Breakfast

4 Ripe Kiwi

1 Banana

1 Orange {saving the peels}

Bacon

–Fill a bowl with your sliced and peeled fruit! Serve with a plate full of deliciously crisp bacon.

Enjoy your allergy free & clean eats!–

Potpourri

The peels of an orange

Cinnamon

Vanilla

Water

– Take whatever medium sized pot you own and fill it half way with water. Add your peels from your orange {more than one if you want a stronger smell}. You can add either a cinnamon stick or just some ground cinnamon, your choice. Add a few good shakes though if you choose the ground.  Then pour in about a teaspoon of vanilla. Voila! Let this come to a boil, then reduce to a very low simmer. I usually let this go for an hour or two in my home. You have to check it regularly to make sure it doesn’t dry up!!! Very important!! When the water is running a little low just fill it back up to half way and let it simmer down again.–

I hope you enjoy your weekend! 

-Jennifer-

Spaghetti & Meatballs

-Pasta Night-

Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs

Allergy Free & Clean Eats

This is probably one of my favorites! Pasta is a hard dish to replace but spaghetti squash has made the possibilities plenty! I’m not going to get into the nitty-gritty of how to prep and cook your squash in this blog, but if you need to you can check out how here!  It varies from time to time but Blake isn’t always a big fan of the squash. {He is just a toddler.} I think it may be a texture thing! But when it comes to allergies, it is nice to have the option of replacing the “noodle”.  And this just so happens to be a pretty darn healthy one!

I am also going to skip over the homemade sauce recipe and save that for another day { like when I pull out my measuring spoons and stop winging it}.  In a pinch I will grab an organic tomato pasta sauce from our local HFS- being sure to check the label for not just allergens, but for sugar too! Those sauces can have tons of sugar/sweeteners!

My focus on today’s blog is what makes me love this recipe so much! The meatballs! These are good on top of the “pasta” or alone. They make for yummy finger foods at a party, pack great into quick lunches, and I have to admit that they make for an even better midnight snack attack;)

MeatBalls

2 lbs grass-fed ground beef

1 onion, chopped small

3/4 cup mushrooms finely chopped

1/2 t dry oregano

1/2 t dry basil

4 t dried parsley

2 t honey (or 1 t 100% pure maple syrup)

pepper to taste

Instructions:  Preheat oven to 360. These usually fill up two baking sheets so I have them out and ready.

Combine all ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Using your hands {don’t be shy} mix all the ingred.’s  until all the spices are distributed through. Then start making your balls!! Make them about 2 inches thick and try to make them all around the same size so they cook evenly. As I make mine I place them in to rows on the baking sheet I set out. I usually end up with 30-34 meatballs.

Cook for 25 minutes. If your oven has a hot spot be kind to your balls and rotate the baking sheets halfway through cooking! Also allow your meatballs to rest about 5 minutes after cooking to allow the juices to distribute evenly. 

Check out these bad boys!

I hope this quick and easy recipe makes it onto your dinner table and satisfies your taste buds well! Congrats on keeping your family healthy and free from allergies!

-Jennifer

Choco-love Brownies

Coconut oil

1 1/4 cup Natural Unsweetened Applesauce

1 Small Banana  {ripe}

1 cup Unsweetened Raw Cocoa Powder {call co. to ensure its allergy free}

1/4 t Sea Salt

1 T 100% pure Maple Syrup

2 t Vanilla Extract

1 1/4 cup Brown Rice Flour {gluten-free}

1/2 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

Instructions:

Grease a medium-sized baking dish with your coconut oil. Pre-heat oven to 350.

Put banana in mixer and let it turn to mush . Add applesauce. Next add flour and cocoa powder* and continue to mix. I usually scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure it’s all getting mixed together. Then add in your salt, maple syrup, and vanilla. After the mixture is good and fluffy** fold in your EL Chips.

*Cocoa powder is measured the same as flour. Spoon it into your measuring cup and then level the cup off. If it is packed in it may result in a different flavor/texture.

**I say fluffy because this isn’t going to look like your boxed brownie mixture. It will look a little bit fluffy and a lot less runny.

My dish is medium in size and the brownies turn out about an inch thick!

Then pour batter into your greased baking dish. For a batter that pours to be about an inch thick you will need to cook on 350 for 30 minutes on {or as close to} the center rack.  When you test for doneness {with a butter knife} be sure to check in a few spots in the center of the brownie. The EL chips tend to melt down and may trick ya if you do your test where a few have gathered together.  

I hope you enjoy this clean, allergy free, and !Oh! so yummy treat for your next cheat day…. Or on the next day ending in “y”.

One more picture just to get your taste buds going!

Enjoy!

-Jennifer

Raspberry Chocolates

Everyone that follows a clean eating lifestyle knows how hard it is to find some decent chocolate! When you look at the first few ingredients of your store-bought chocolate bar {even from a health food store} you are probably thinking “Eh, looks healthy enough”, but you are never quiet sure what the extra additives are at the end of the list. It can cramp your sweet tooth style quickly when you are true to your healthy ways like I am. Also, I know that dark chocolate is actually good for you, in moderation, but when it comes to the allergy end of things i have yet to find a bar that isn’t “made in the same facility as”…well…almost everything!

So to solve my little dilemma I decided that I was just going to make some of my own:) At first it started with just a plain chocolate, but I love to have a little something extra in my chocolate! My latest obsession, before cutting store-bought treats out of my diet, was raspberry chocolate! I love the combination of the two.

 

Fix that sweet tooth with these Raspberry Chocolate bars

Raspberry Chocolates

1/3 c Pure Maple Syrup

2/3 c Organic Raspberries (fresh or frozen)… add a little more for more flavor!

2/3 c Coconut Oil

1/2 t Pure Vanilla Extract

2/3 c Cocoa- Unsweetened and Allergy Free

Raspberry Sauce:

Heat maple syrup to a boil on stove top. Add raspberries and reduce to a simmer. Stir. Dont let heat for more than 15 minutes, but allow the raspberries to reduce down. Continue to stir to ensure that your sauce isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and set aside.

Chocolate:

Whip your coconut oil (I usually leave it in its solid state) and vanilla. Add cocoa (measured like flour– spooned into measuring cup and leveled off) and let mix, scraping down the sides of your bowl once.

Once your chocolate base is mixed, slowly add in your raspberry sauce while the mixer is running. This will melt your chocolate mix and that is ok. Just make sure the mixtures are completely combined.

To cool:

This can be played with and is totally up to you! You can cool your chocolate with a candy tray if you have a freezer safe one, or you could add it to mini cupcake holders to resemble chocolate cups!! I have also lined a dish with parchment paper and let it freeze as a solid, thin (about 1/4-1/2 in) whole chocolate. After it freezes I break it into chunks, like a brittle!

To store:

Store this chocolate in the freezer!! This is important to keep it in its perfect solid state. It wont be too hard to eat right away when you pull it out of the freezer like most chocolates! Yay! But you wont really be able to stick it in your purse for an on-the-go snack. It should last quiet a while too if you just snack on it occasionally, but being that this is a deliciously guilt free snack… im sure it will disappear fast:)

(pictures to come soon)

Happy Monday:)

Jennifer

As promised!! Pics are in!

This is your maple and raspberry reduction!

Coconut oil and cocoa mixture

What it looks like when all ingredients are mixed

Pour over wax paper in a 9×13 baking dish

Refrigerate and try not to eat!!

Thanks for stopping by again!! And if you try this one out please let me know what you think!! I love to hear from ya!!

-Jenn

Winna Winna Chicken Dinna

So in lieu of  the traditional Easter ham that most prepare, I am doing my oh so yummy roasted chicken!

I haven’t found a farmer around that I can get a really good ham from {bummer} and this is this next best thing in my house hold:)

Before my lifestyle change to clean eating I was all about convenient chicken in a bag and the thought of roasting a chicken was on my “never to do” list, but really only for convenience sake. Eventually I broke and bought a roasting pan…{ nothing fancy, just a cheapo from Target}…mainly because I bought like three whole chickens from a local farm and had nothing to cook them in;). Surprisingly enough it is so simple to roast a chicken! There is tons of room for creativity! I am going to go with my recipe that left my son clapping and “Mmmm”-ing the entire meal:)

Rosemary Roasted Chicken

You will need:

1 whole chicken {ours was 2.5lbs}
Olive oil
Fresh rosemary, about two sprigs
Garlic
Onion powder
Thyme
Oregano
Pepper
Dash of sage
Mini carrots*
Onion*
Potatoes*

* optional sides to cook in same pot

Preheat oven to 375.
Rinse chicken. Mine has all the other inside mess removed already {yay!}. Pat dry.
Sadly, I don’t measure my spices. What I can tell you is you will need about 2T oil and then add your dry spices. Usually i just do a few shakes of each spice and use sage sparingly. Then I rub the entire chicken down with oil/spice mix and place in roaster with the legs up. Gently rinse your fresh rosemary and place in the cavity of your chicken. Add your extra sides into the pan if your doing the whole meal together {we like onions sliced, mini carrots, and quartered yellow potatoes}! Place top on roaster and place in hot oven.

Now, because we had a 2.5lb chicken {which is good for about 3-4 ppl} it only needed to cook for an hour. Yes, just an hour! I think the rule is 20 minutes per pound, but A meat thermometer will tell you if it’s done. Just stick in a meaty section of your chicken and be sure it’s not resting on a bone. Some people take the lid off for the last fifteen minutes or so to let chicken skin darken a bit, but mine tends to darken with the top on so this one less step for me:)

I hope you and your family enjoy this healthy, allergy free, Easter dinner as well as the quality family time! Have a blessed weekend y’all:)

Jennifer

Just A Banana

Did you know that food companies are not required to label their products with: “made in the same facility as” or “may contain”? That those who do that, do it voluntarily!

So it leaves us parents of children with food allergies (or anyone with food allergies) the job of finding out for ourselves.

What I do with any and all pre packaged food I bring into my home is call the company or email the company to get a direct answer on the exact product. (For example the unsweetened cocoa I use to make desserts)

Many of you may think that is a little extreme…. And your right! But you’re also wrong. My sons life is very important to me, and when he is this young it is my responsibility to keep him safe and out of harms reach. So I would do just about anything to keep him safe. So for that reason, I wouldn’t say that calling the companies is extreme at all.

It’s when your pantry is so jam packed with processed and pre packaged foods that all that calling and email seems a bit extreme. Who has time for all that? I certainly don’t. And I could think of a thousand other ways I would rather be spending my time… Like playing with my sweet toddler or reading him a story…. I may even find time to paint my toes!

This, my friends, is only one of the reasons my family eats clean (besides its over all health benefits)! So when I go into my fridge to get a snack for my son, he can eat it assured that there is no hidden allergen ready to take him down. When I grab him a banana {his fave snack} I know what he is eating is just a banana:)

So, you choose! There is a long list of beneficial reasons to start eating clean. Bring on the snarky comments and the crazy looks… Me and my family are proud to admit we are of the clean eating population!

Thanks for reading-
Jennifer

More Bacon!!!

This has been my latest addiction for breakfast since I quit eating grains. It makes my house smell like a mixture between Christmas and Mamas potpourri And it doesn’t hurt that it really doesn’t require much thinkin’ so early in the morning….and of course it is allergy free:)

What you need:
Bacon {chopped… Or not} 2-4 pieces
2 Organic Apples
Cinnamon
Stevia or maple syrup*

…sounds simple right?!

Start bacon in large frying pan over med heat. While bacon is starting to cook- rinse, core, and slice two apples. {I have one of those doohickeys you can use to do it all at once! They don’t cost much at the store}
After your apples are ready, your bacon should be sizzling, toss them in! Reduce heat to med low. Stir with a wooden spoon to ensure your bacon doesn’t crisp. Add a little cinnamon and continue stirring until desired doneness:) Once removed from heat add either your stevia or maple syrup to sweeten! Enjoy!

This would also be great with some organic peaches thrown in! I can’t wait to scoop some up when I start seeing them!
Also- another tip- save your pan leftovers! This sweet oil would be great over a bacon salad later on!!!

Jennifer