Food Restriction Cooking

So, if Melanie cannot eat dairy, what do our meals look like?

Pastas
- noodles
-seasoning (we love using garlic salt!)
- olive oil
- meat

Meatloaf (always popular in our house!)
- ground beef
- breadcrumbs
- ketchup
- eggs
- seasonings

We do lots of beans, veggies, and fruits.

We just did a stir fry the other night that was a major hit!

Pork Stir Fry
- pork chop, cut up
- rice noodles
- peanuts
- green beans
- diced carrots
- soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp Madras curry (the only spice I actually measure out! lol)
- some garlic

That's all! Adair typically does not eat mixed foods. It's like pulling teeth. And then you put something in front of him that's new? Yeah, that's typically a no-go. We got him to try this meal though!

Breakfasts:

Melanie LOVES egg cups. I mean, LOVES. I make a dozen at a time, and she will go through all of those in a week. I also make her muffins with her almond milk, and she's a huge fan of pancakes and waffles. We have noticed that she can tolerate some baked goods with milk in them, but they have to be in serious moderation.

The thing I love the most about the cooking changes is the way my kids eat. Adair's favorite after school snack is raw carrots. Mady has always been my fruit kiddo. She will go through a pint of berries (any type) in one sitting if I let her. Melanie constantly wants things like green beans or raw broccoli. It's incredible to me to see my kids going for such healthy choices.

The munchkins do still love cheese. I'm so grateful that we have been able to find vegan cheese for her. It stinks in my opinion, but it's dairy free, soy free, casein free (which is what she's allergic to), and lactose free. It allows us a little freedom for cooking, plus being able to do sandwiches for her.

I'm working on writing down the recipes I cook. Most of them are "Oh hey, this needs to be used before this veggie goes bad. Wonder how I can use it? Oh, this sounds like it might work!" Seriously, that is my daily thought process now with cooking! And somehow, it seems to pull together really well at the end of cooking!

I'm a dance mom!

Okay, if you know Mady, you see my crazy tomboy. She loves to play baseball, soccer, and be out in the country.

We decided in December that we were going to look into putting her in dance. Why not? She loves to be center of attention. I was not sure how she would react to it. She got bored in gymnastics since it was so much "sit around and wait for your turn". She's shocked me though. She LOVES to dance. She practically begs me nightly to take her to dance.

Well kiddo, buckle up. You've now got dance nightly! Her first recital/show is coming up, so we are in the busiest dance week a dance mom has. Hair and make-up nightly to get her 100% used to it. And if you haven't seen her lately, her hair is not super long. It's growing, but we currently use, I don't know, about 7-8 butterfly type clips, plus around 1-1.5 dozen bobby pins. And that's just to keep the short layers up! Remind me not to take her through a metal detector with her hair up like this.

Oh, and the make-up...bright blue eyes and super dark lashes. I don't do super dark make-up. Soft pink and medium brown eyeshadow, eyebrows filled in (thanks blonde hair!), black kohl liner, black mascara (lucky girl only needs 1 coat to get long lashes!), a little soft pink blush, and pink lips. She could knock you out with how beautiful she already is, and all of her stage make-up makes her pop so much more (but then again, I'm highly biased!). However, the eyeliner...I'm pretty sure I'd rather bathe our cat than tackle getting eyeliner on this child. You would seriously think I'm trying to stab her eye out with how she howls! Oh this crazy little nut.

James keeps telling me I much love being a dance mom. What I love is seeing my oldest daughter finding her niche, finding a hobby that she excels at, and that gets her excessive ADHD energy out. In just 4-5 months, she has learned so much. She knows what first position is, and very happily gets into it. We are working on her smiling while she dances, but she's at least up there and enjoying every moment!

Funny where life takes you...

When I started this blog, it was to vent and share our life. Then it shifted to a cooking blog, a setting for me to share the recipes I was creating. Looking back at the things I used to cook, it astounds me at how far our life has come from that point.

Most people know this, but if you don't, I'm throwing it out there now: our youngest has a severe dairy intolerance. She also has a milder soy intolerance, which honestly frees us up a bit since she can do soy in moderation. Just how bad is her dairy intolerance? One Cheeto. James gave her just one Cheeto since he felt bad that she wanted one, and he's just not very good at denying her. Lol. She is definitely Daddy's Little Girl. So, what's the big deal about one little Cheeto? It seems innocuous enough, right? Wrong. One Cheeto caused her 72 hours of severe constipation and discomfort. The only way to eliminate this was to give my miserable little girl a suppository. To be quite frank, if you've never had to experience doing this with a miserable, squirmy toddler, I do not recommend it.

As I reread my past blogs, I realized how far my cooking has come in the past almost 6 months (we discovered Melanie's intolerance at 13 months old). We have eliminated cooking with cheese. I don't use milk in most my cooking; if I have to, I make a separate batch of whatever it is for Melanie. Cooking separate batches of food is highly time consuming, so it's become simpler to eliminate the dairy. We don't do most pasta sauces unless I make them from scratch. We now read every label on items we plan to buy. I cannot even risk purchasing things she *MIGHT* consume if they were cooked/packaged in a plant that handles milk. Cross contamination is a very real thing. What else is gone from our house?
- Ranch dressing (gasp!)
- mashed potatoes
- macaroni and cheese
- pizza

All things I love, all things I dearly miss. However, I have not eaten a meal without having to share it in about, oh, 5 years. So it's not worth the risk.

I'm that mom at restaurants. I have actually asked managers to show me ingredient lists in specific foods (like batters on chicken or shrimp) before I will order them for her, just to make sure she does not get anything in her system that will hurt her. I stop people from feeding her if they have food with dairy on their plate. I am so hypervigilant on what she consumes because I have to be.

Not only that, but she's allergic to blue food dye. That's fun!

If you saw her, though, you'd never guess she's got a serious food allergy. This child is such a little chunk! As long as she's not had foods on the "no way Jose" list, she is such a happy little ball of sassy energy!

Did I mention sass? This girl is my biggest personality. She is my sassy diva. She will not walk across grass barefoot. She does not like sandals that go between her toes. She HATES jeans. She prefers to be running around in a dress or a skirt. She has an obsession with giving me attitude. But, she exudes empathy at a young age. If I am having a rough day, she is the first one crawling up into my lap, giving me her sweet, wide-eyed concerned look, begging me to tickle her, and kissing all over me. I seriously have no words to describe all the sides of this girl. She has Mommy's sass, vibrancy, and energy, plus Daddy's sense of humor and his German stoicism when she's mad. The pout kills me!

When we got the dairy intolerance diagnosis, I had no clue where to go or what to do with it. I had no clue how to cook for her. In just 6 months, I have learned so much. Our diets have cleaned up immensely. It's crazy how much I've grown just from needing to change things for her health.

Bacon wrapped cilantro cheese stuffed chicken

Okay, Mady was in a weird mood and didn't want to eat anything but the cilantro corn I made for the side-dish (apparently she thought dinner needed macaroni), but Adair devoured this! And I was so full after only half a medium sized chicken breast!

Ingredients:
Chicken breast
Cheese, finely shredded (I went with Colby Jack and Mozzarella)
Cilantro, fresh if possible
Paprika
Garlic Salt
Bacon, at least 2 strips per medium breast

The seasonings can be interchangeable with whatever suits your taste buds.

Preheat your oven to 400. Make a slit in your chicken breast, going about halfway into the breast, and leaving a half inch of uncut chicken on each side of the slit. Mix your shredded cheese, spices, and cilantro. I tossed mine by hand. Stuff your cheese mixture into the chicken breast. Wrap each breast with bacon strips, with the ends under the chicken if possible. Bake for 40 minutes. The best results are from baking on a roasting pan, so all the juices and bacon fat will drip down and not cause the bacon to remain soft and not crisp up.

The smell was incredible while they were baking. I put a side of cilantro corn (corn cooked with fresh cilantro, garlic salt, and white pepper) to go with it. This meal seriously filled us all up. And it's hard for me to eat until the point of being stuffed!

Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken and Rice

This recipe definitely needed a bit more heat for my liking, so next time I'll add in red pepper flakes. I didn't take into account that the citrus would greatly sweeten everything!

Ingredients:
Chicken breast (I used 3)
1-2 limes
Garlic Salt
Paprika or Red Pepper Flakes
Creole seasoning
Cilantro

Preheat your oven to 375. Put your chicken breasts on a pan lined with foil. Season to your desire with garlic salt, paprika/red pepper flakes, and Creole seasoning, doing a little more heat than normal due to the citrus.

Zest your lime entirely. Set the zest aside. Slice the lime and arrange 3-4 slices per breast, depending on the size of your chicken. Bake the chicken for 40 minutes.

Rice:
I used minute rice. Cook your rice according to the directions. Once the rice is set, add the lime zest, cilantro, garlic salt, and a dash of red pepper flakes for just a touch of heat. Be careful not to do too much pepper so it doesn't overpower the entire dish.

Serve up and enjoy! This dish lends itself easily to playing with different spices since citrus marries well with so much.

Grocery Shopping on a Shoestring Budget

A few of you asked me to post how I grocery shop and spend on average between $80-$100 a month on groceries to feed a family of 4. I will say there are some months that I end up spending $120 for the month, which is a lot to me. I figured I would share my secrets since some of you were interested.

Secret #1: Meat is a separate budget.

I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but we stock up on meat once every 2 months. Look at places like Albertson's. Lots of Buy 1, Get 2 Free, Buy 1, Get 1 Free, etc. Chicken, steak, pork. The staples. That is where we usually buy our meat. $40 can get you anywhere between $80-$100 worth of meat. James sets money aside every 2 months for that trip.

Secret #2: Know what you have on hand.

When I started out doing meal planning and extreme grocery budgeting, I spent an hour and a half going through cupboards and our fridge, freezer, and pantry, writing down everything I had on hand, right down to spices. This was a great wake-up call to see what we were wasting money on that was not being used. It also helped me with my meal planning.All my meals are planned around what I have on hand. Granted, I'll plan some where I need to buy several things to complete it, but knowing what you have on hand prevents you from buying excess.

Secret #3: Meal plan.

This one sounds simple, but I can attest that it takes some skill. It took me a good 2-3 months to really get the hang of this. When I sit down to meal plan, I plan for 2 weeks at a time. I factor in at least 2 nights for leftovers. We don't plan more since James and I both take leftovers (or try to) during the week for lunch. When you meal plan, write down every single item you need for each meal initially, especially if you aren't used to meal planning. It helps you see what you need at the store.

Secret #4: Don't shop hungry.

Yes, the age-old adage. I've had to train myself if I have to go to the store hungry to stick to my list. If you shop hungry, you overshop.

Secret #5: Buy generic.

Some things I will refuse to buy generic of (if you haven't bought generic green beans, I don't recommend it). Otherwise, I buy what I can generic: pasta, cheese, pasta sauce, etc. You do save money, and the generic items are usually made with the same ingredients as name-brand, you just are not paying for a fancy name.

Secret #6: Give yourself a time limit.

I usually spend about 30 minutes (not counting check out time) in the store. Having a specific shopping list aids in this. For me, spending as little time as possible in the store helps me stick to my list, as well as my budget.

Secret #7: Only buy what you need.

How many times have we gone to the store and picked up a bag of chips or a package of cookies? I'll admit, I still do this. Then, after walking an aisle or two, find myself thinking, "Do I really need this, or do I just want it?" There are times I will buy an item as a treat just because we want it. More often than not, junk food goes back to the shelf. Even with my kids. They already know better than to ask for cookies. In fact, when I tell Mady no, her response is a simple, "Ah man!" No whining or anything after that. The grocery bill racks up faster when you buy a bunch of stuff you do not need. Also, we buy the bags of Malt o' Meal brand cereal. The price per ounce is much cheaper, and the bag will end up lasting us the better part of a month or so.

Secret #8: Shop seasonally.

When I need to purchase produce, I stick with what's in season. You'll find lower prices then. For example, apples are lowest in price during the fall. Same with oranges (United has small navel oranges 5/$1 currently). I buy produce for the most part when it's in season or on sale. Bananas are always around at our house, as are apples usually. Berries tend to only be bought late Spring/early Summer. I keep frozen berries for the off-season. As tasty as fresh green beans are, I make do with canned when the fresh are not on sale. Same with fresh corn.

Secret #9: Skip as much processed as possible.

Yes, I still buy things like bread for convenience. However, I skip things like Kraft macaroni and cheese. For us, it's much cheaper to make our own. I also know that there is not some unnaturally orange sauce going into my kids' bodies. I also skip things like Shake and Bake. You can purchase a thing of bread crumbs for under $2, then add your own seasonings once you get home for cheaper than the box of Shake and Bake. Also, for me, skipping boxed mixes allows for a little more money to go towards produce.

I'm sure there is stuff I'm forgetting. I shop off a well-constructed menu plan and grocery list. I know what I have on hand pretty much at all times. I double-check my fridge and pantry before I ever leave for the store. I skip the aisles with things like chips and cookies.

However, I think the biggest money saver for us has been omitting processed foods and junk foods. I can fry up my own tortilla chips for cheaper than that bag at the store. And by eliminating the junk stuff in our house, both our kids ask for fruit and veggies for snacks. Mady is happy eating a bowl of pickles, berries, or carrots (not all together). And don't get me started on her love of yogurt with fruit mixed in!

By making our own food, most of it from scratch, we save a good bit of money every month. I know this post has been long. I apologize for that. I was trying to think through every step I go through, since I've been doing this for 6 months at least, so it's become second nature to me. My average grocery bill for 2 weeks tends to range between $30-$45. We have lots of leftovers during the week, and our kids usually have full tummies before bed, depending on how ornery they're deciding to be over what is served at dinner.

My biggest secret: I do not coupon. Nope. Not at all. I taught myself how to save money on groceries without needing to rely on coupons. I might venture into coupon land, but right now, I'm happy with where our budget is at for 4 people.

Balsamic Asparagus

So I had some asparagus to finish up last night, and I didn't want to do the normal "throw it in a pan with spices and olive oil and roast it" bit. That's when I remembered we had balsamic vinegar.

Ingredients:
Asparagus
Tomatoes (I needed to use up grape tomatoes, but cherry tomatoes would go great as well)
Balsamic vinegar
Half a lemon
Garlic salt

Snap your asparagus like normal after washing it. Put it in a medium to large pan, depending on how much you're cooking. Slice the tomatoes in half and add them. Start cooking over medium heat, stirring frequently to keep the tomatoes from burning. Once the asparagus starts to turn vibrant green, add in a drizzle of balsamic. Be careful not to overdo the balsamic or the results will border on inedible. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the mix. Add a good amount of garlic salt (gives a lovely counter balance to the balsamic). Keep stirring. Cooking time should take 5-7 minutes total.

I unfortunately did not have any mushrooms on hand, but sliced mushrooms would also pair beautifully with this dish. Kids actually tried a bite of asparagus. Mady asked me to put a stalk on her plate and ate half of it, so I call that a victory!