Blog - Allergy Free Menu Planners

09Oct

Making sauerkraut and other adventures

October 9, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver 3 Comments

Sauerkraut

I have to admit I have never liked sauerkraut. I don’t even like looking at it most of the time, much less smelling it! My husband’s family serves it every year at Thanksgiving after they’ve cooked it for hours in a crock pot. It is very brown and limp looking and I simply can’t stand the smell.

I don’t think I ever ate it as a child, but remember trying it at some point and just not liking it. So I guess you can say that my faint memories combined with my present reality during Thanksgiving has put a damper on trying to make my own lacto-fermented sauerkraut.

One thing I knew before I decided to give it a go is it would be different from my inlaw’s version because you don’t cook it. And after continued praise of this culinary concoction from countless resources, I have finally given into giving it a try.

The main praise of lacto-fermented sauerkraut (along with other lacto-fermented veggies and fruits) is that is has beneficial bacteria, or naturally occurring probiotics, which are great for our digestion. Having a gut populated with billions of these beneficial bacteria are vital for everyone to have good digestion.

However, I have to say I wasn’t thrilled about making it. I love cooking. After I cook for my clients, I go home and create more things for my family to eat and enjoy. I have always loved this simple act of creating a nourishing meal and then sharing it with company.

29Sep

Am I having a Herxheimer reaction? Plus great grain-free goodies

September 29, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver 2 Comments

Grain-free Coconut Crepes

Last week I got hit pretty hard with a Herxheimer reaction. A what, you say?

A Herxheimer reaction (also called a “die-off” reaction or a “Healing Crisis”) “is the result of the rapid killing of microorganisms and absorption of large quantities of yeast toxins, cell particles and antigens.” (Virgin Coconut Oil).

Basically what this is saying is that when toxins try to leave the body faster than it can handle, it creates “die-off” symptoms which can vary from person to person. The symptoms are usually a repeat of symptoms a person already has but they can get worse before they get better.

But it’s a good thing! It means your body is actually on its way to achieving a new level of healing. However, it is difficult sometimes to know if you’re simply reacting to something you ate (in a bad way) or if there is actually a healing crisis going on.

22Sep

Nourishing Foods for a Limited Diet

September 22, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver 12 Comments

: Zucchini Pasta Noodles

This is my weekly post talking about what’s been twisting and brewing in my kitchen. It is part of Wardeh’s Tuesday Twister at GNOWFLINS. Check it out!

It’s been a busy and eventful week! I have been very inspired and have been experimenting with new and wonderful recipes! My week started out last Sunday with a renewed inspiration and dedication to creating traditional foods that are very nourishing for the body. Wardeh’s post about reversing food allergies through traditional foods got me started with this.

Midweek, I was contacted my someone who had emailed me a few weeks ago asking for help with menu planning for a very limited diet. The first time she emailed, she was reacting to many foods including all grains, eggs, casein, poultry, and milk. On top of that, she also has celiac disease.

Last week she emailed me and told me she had been doing the GAPS diet and program. She said that it was not only helping with her problems, she was becoming “un-allergic” to foods that had previously upset her. Her diet is still very limited but she is looking forward to introducing more foods and sounds really good!

Now, when I hear the same thing twice in one week from two different sources, I feel like “someone” is trying to tell me something!

I checked out GAPS and was intrigued by what it claims to help people with! In a nutshell, it aims to heal the gut lining, and therefore helps adults and children with an array of digestive AND mental problems such as: depression, celiac disease, non-anaphylactic food allergies and sensitivities, autism, ADHD, colitis, obsessive compulsive disorder, Chrohn’s, learning disabilities, diverticulitis, candida overgrowth, and much more!

I am almost finished reading the Gaps Guide, by Baden Lashkov and will soon be ordering the book, The Gut and Psychology Syndrome, by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD. I am completely fascinated by this diet and program and am really enjoying reading it! I am still learning so much; when I am a bit further with it, I will write a more thorough post about it.

15Sep

A week at the beach, our gluten-free and dairy-free menu plan and some kid-friendly tips

September 15, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver 6 Comments

Dreams do come true. I’ve been dreaming about the ocean and the beach, literally, for the past couple of years. I was pregnant two years ago and traveling wasn’t very easy so we didn’t go. And last year, we went to the mountains in California but weren’t able to visit the beach on that trip. But this year we took our 21 month old toddler to the beach in North Carolina and we had a ball.

We went with a beautiful family whom we have only recently befriended this past spring. But with some friendships, doesn’t it seem like you’ve known each other forever?

My friends have three kids, ages 2, 5 and 8. So counting all the heads, that made eight people to feed, breakfast, lunch and dinner. To make things more complicated, Jana and I are both gluten-free and Elijah and I are dairy-free. So before our trip, we did a little gluten-free and dairy-free menu planning and came up with the following ideas for our families:

For dinner:

Turkey Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries (one of my standbys)

Meatloaf (Made with Grass-fed Beef) and Steamed Broccoli (I used almond meal in place of breadcrumbs)

Chicken Burritos with Lime Guacamole (I use Food for Life Brown Rice Tortillas for the gluten-free people)

Lasagna with Ground Turkey (I use Tinkyada Brown Rice Lasagna noodles)

Pasta with “Cheese” Sauce and Green Beans and Peas (I use Tinkyada Brown Rice Noodles)

For breakfast:

Gluten-free pancakes (made one batch with coconut flour and one with buckwheat flour)

Grain and Gluten-free Apple Muffins (made with quinoa flour)

Omelets with Mushrooms, Onions and Tomatoes

Eggs and Toast

Smoothies

Fruit Salad

Lunch:

Chicken Salad with Celery and Raisins (I would have added chopped apples but they made faces at me when I mentioned this!)

Sandwiches and other snack items

Leftovers

Some kid-friendly tips that I learned on the trip:

I learned a lot this week about what a lot of parents struggle with daily – how to feed a children new and different foods they aren’t used to. Luckily the toddlers are not very picky – my little one is used to my “weird” cooking and doesn’t question me about if cheese is real or not. Jana’s toddler Zack is also a champ at eating unless he’s not hungry.

09Sep

Gluten-free pizza crust recipe, tarte style

September 9, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver 13 Comments

Gluten-free pizza crust, tarte style

Notes: I’m having some quirky problems with my website so I am using bullets to separate the paragraphs in this post. I am also submitting this post as part of the Tuesday Twister Carnival at GNOWFGLINS. Please visit Wardeh’s site to see all the other wonderful weekly posts.

As promised, I am posting a recipe for gluten-free pizza crust. However, this is a different recipe than the one that I mentioned in my review of premade pizza crusts. The following recipe is for a tarte style gluten-free pizza crust that I adapted from a recipe in Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon. I have been slowly transitioning to more traditional methods of preparing and making baked goods, as suggested in her book. The main step that is added in traditional methods of preparing baked goods is to soak the flour for 12-24 hours in yogurt, buttermilk, or water with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar if you can’t eat dairy products.

This extra step (though it takes planning and time) makes baked goods much more digestible than if they are baked without soaking. Through soaking flours, the process of lacto-fermentation begins, which is a natural process that creates healthy bacteria like the ones in yogurt and traditional sauerkraut.

I have to say I’ve been somewhat resistant to transitioning to this new “lifestyle” of soaking flours ahead of time. I usually end up wanting to make something right before I’d like to eat it, which doesn’t work so well for this process.

But after making my muffins, and then this pizza dough, I am becoming sold on this way of preparing baked goods. And it is mostly due to the way these baked goods make me feel verses ones that aren’t soaked first.

When I ate this pizza crust, I didn’t get that “carbohydrate rush” that comes with most baked goods. Instead, I felt nourished and fulfilled. My blood sugar remained “stable” and it also felt more like a meal than regular pizza makes me feel. I didn’t have any digestive upsets from it at all, which I normally have even a little bit of after I eat non-soaked flours, even if they are gluten-free. On the contrary, I felt like it was nourishing food for my body.

02Sep

How to make gluten-free, casein-free, soy-free cheese

September 2, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver 44 Comments

Dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free cheese with garden tomatoes I feel like I am somewhat on a quest; a quest to find food that anyone can eat, no matter what their food restrictions may include. This is now my second attempt at a recipe for SLICE-ABLE and GRATE-ABLE, dairy-free, casein-free and soy-free cheese. Unfortuanately it doesn’t cover people with nut or cashew allergies, but hopefully many people can use and enjoy this recipe.

I actually like it better than my first attempt at slice-able, casein-free cheese. The first one was a bit flimsy, though it did slice. And the only way to get it to grate was to freeze it, which was time-consuming and a bit cold on the fingers!

I found this new recipe in The Real Food Daily Cookbook by Ann Gentry under “Cashew Cheddar Cheese.” I made some adjustments – such as replacing the soy milk with almond milk and canola oil with olive oil. I also halved the recipe completely because it called for 2 ounces of agar agar. At around $7 or so an ounce of this seaweed, I decided to just half the recipe to see if I even liked it before spending so much on the agar agar!

Because this recipe uses agar agar, it is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. The previous recipe called for gelatin, which I’m not too fond of either.

The other great thing about this new recipe is that the cheese can be grated without freezing it! See below:

dairyfreeshreddecheese

And yes, it can be melted after it hardens, or you can use it as a melted cheese when you first make it.

As for the flavor, I thought it had a nice flavor, however I may use a tad more garlic and onion powder next time and maybe a bit more nutritional yeast.

26Aug

Review: Gluten-free Pizza Crust

August 26, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver 8 Comments

Pizza made with Kinnikinnick Frozen Gluten-free Pizza Crust

Bread has always been my downfall. Pizza crust is even worse. When I was a kid, I loved all things bread and would snack on a piece of bread and butter.

One of my favorite restaurants was Beau Jo’s pizza, a local and awesome pizzeria that specializes in thick pizza crust and is famous for bringing you honey bears to enjoy with your pizza crust. It’s kind of like eating a sopapilla with honey as dessert, only thicker and yummier. This pizza place started in Idaho Springs, Colorado, and has now expanded to several different locations spread out over the Colorado landscape. If you live in Colorado and love thick crust, this place is for you!

Gluten-free Pizza Crust at Beau Jo’s and Uno’s

News Flash! I just visited Beau Jo’s website and they are now offering not only gluten-free pizza crust but also dairy-free cheese! I no longer live in Colorado but when I visit, I will be sure to try this. If you live in Colorado and have tried this crust, please leave a comment and let us know how it is!

I recently tried the gluten-free pizza crust at Uno’s and was not that impressed. Mostly because I don’t like thin crust and that is all that they offer in gluten-free. I also can’t have cheese so it ended up being a pretty boring pizza to me.

From no pizza to yummy gluten-free pizza crust:

For a long time I just gave up pizza, sadly, believing that it just wasn’t possible. When friends or family ordered it in my presence, I felt myself shrink and repeat the mantra, “I can’t eat wheat.”

For whatever reason this changed when I decided there must be a way I can enjoy pizza again.

I first tried Bette Hagman’s gluten-free pizza crust recipe in her book, The Gluten Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods. I actually didn’t follow the recipe and ended up kneading it like regular dough. What turned out was an amazing crust that I turned into a calzone, and was thick and doughy like regular crust. I was impressed and sold on the idea that gluten-free pizza crust was not only possible, but delicious too. My husband even loved it. I will be doing a separate post about this recipe very soon.

Quick and Easy Gluten-free Pizza Crust?

But what about the days you don’t have a couple hours to spend making gluten-free pizza crust? What about the days you get home at 5 and have to have dinner done by 5:30 so that you can feed your hungry kids?

18Aug

Why soaking flours can help you digest your baked goods

August 18, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver 13 Comments

apple muffins

Did you you know that it used to be common practice to soak flour in cultured milk, buttermilk or cream to make baked goods such as pancakes, muffins and cakes? For people who are allergic to dairy products, water with a little lemon juice or vinegar can be used.

Why soak the flour?

As many people know, wheat and other grains are one of the hardest things to digest. This accounts for many of the sensitivities to wheat and grain products that people have today. However, if the grains and flours are first soaked for 12-24 hours, this begins the “digestion process” well before it hits your stomach.

“Because they are acidic, buttermilk,cultured milk, yogurt and whey (as well as lemon juice and vinegar) activate the enzyme phytase, which works to break down phytic acid in the bran of grains. Sour milk products also provide lactic acid and lactobacilli that help break down complex starches, irritating tannins and difficult-to-digest proteins. Soaking increases vitamin content and makes all the nutrients in grains more available…” Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, pg. 476.

11Aug

Raw desserts and nourishing foods

August 11, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver Leave a Comment

Raw Zucchini Chocolate Cake

For whatever reason, many of the recipes I worked on this week ended up being raw or mostly raw. In part, I was continuing my quest for some travel-friendly treats for my son and decided to try some raw fruit and nut balls, similar to Larabars.

I was also testing recipes for my menu planners for limited diets free of gluten, grains, dairy, eggs sugar and other common allergens. Many raw recipes work great for people with a lot of food limitations. The only drawback I find is that they use nuts extensively, which is a common allergen. I find though, that seeds such as pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds can be used in place of nuts in some of these recipes.

As far as eating raw nuts goes, it is really best to soak them for a varied amount of time, depending upon the nut or seed. This process is what releases their enzyme inhibitors and unlocks their full nutritional value. In terms of soaking, you can either soak just long enough to germinate, or longer to sprout (however it’s difficult to sprout some nuts).

I have to admit that I didn’t soak the nuts and seeds in the recipes I tested this week. This was partly due to the recipes not asking me to do this and in part laziness and impatience on my part. However, if I were to do them again, I would soak the nuts and seeds in these recipes.

Here is a list of some new and yummy things I made this week:

Cashew Apricot Bliss Balls and Cherry-Walnut Bites

04Aug

Tuesday Twister: Our weekly gluten-free, dairy-free, legume-free menu plan and the miracles of our garden

August 4, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver 6 Comments

Our lovely cherry tomatoes

I have been enjoying the Tuesday Twister blog posts by Wardeh Harmon at Gnowfglins.com for the past few weeks or so ever since I found her website. These blog posts have been a synopsis of her week in the kitchen and what has been twisting in her cooking. I love reading them, mostly because she focuses on nourishing, whole foods!

Last week she announced her new Blog Carnival, the Tuesday Twister Carnival and her invitation to participate in the weekly postings. I started thinking about doing this and then a couple days ago, inspiration struck I finally decided to give it a go. I can’t promise I’ll do it every week, but we’ll see what happens.

My Meal Un-Plan

I started thinking about my week in the kitchen and what it is normally like during our busy days. And what stood out to me the most was the fact that I hardly ever meal plan.

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