25Feb

What kind of weekly menu planner are you looking for?

February 25, 2010 by 18 Comments

First off, I apologize again for my absence on my blog.  We now have a contract on a house and are in the midst of all the details before we close.

Also, on a personal note, I am finding that wintertime has been urging me towards resting more and being more internal.  I mentioned in one of my New Year’s posts that I am not suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) this season like I have in the past.  What I feel is happening instead is that I am actually enjoying the “yin” energy of the winter.  This is mostly showing up as working less, relaxing more, taking more baths, and not going out as much.  It seems like it started shortly before the massive winter wonderland we received a few weeks ago. To me, this is a real sign that my being is balancing out and becoming more in tune with nature, the way we are supposed to be.

New Changes to my Menu Planners and Website:

At the same time, I am very excited about some upcoming changes to my website.  I am not ready to go into all the details of what is going to change but I feel I want to start talking about them at some level.

These changes are in response to the needs people with multiple food allergies have.  When I started my menu planners, I didn’t really know what I was getting into.  But I did realize that making menu planners for people with food allergies posed some real problems to solve.  The main one being – everyone is allergic to something different.  There are common food allergens, but from there, there are so many other foods that people can be allergic to.  Beyond that, people, especially children, have many preferences of what they like to eat and what they don’t like.

I have been solving this problem by creating menu planners for specific diets.  The response to this has been great and so far I have the following menu planners.  Most of them are for four weeks of menu plans:

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09Feb

Devil’s Food Brownies (Egg, Grain and Gluten Free)

February 9, 2010 by 9 Comments

Sometimes when I’m experimenting, something doesn’t turn out how I expected but it does turn out as something that is very delicious.  For this recipe, I was trying to adapt the Devil’s Food Cupcakes from the Valentine’s Menu Planner into an egg free grain-free version.  At first, I thought it was a disaster because it was taking a lot longer to bake and it was bubbling.  It looked like bubbling chocolate hot lava and I really wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out.

I ended up baking it for about 50 minutes and it was still bubbling when I took it out of the oven.  But as it cooled, I had hope that it was still going to be edible.

What it turned into is an awesome batch of grain, egg and gluten free brownies.  Moist, very rich and very yummy.  It was so good that I decided to add the recipe to the Valentine’s Day Menu Planner for Limited Diets.  But I’m also going to give you the recipe here:

Devil’s Food Chocolate or Carob Brownies (Egg, Grain and Gluten-Free)

Dry:

1 2/3 cup almond flour

1/2 cup cocoa or carob powder, sifted

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp flax meal mixed with 6 Tbsp. boiling water

Wet:

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup coconut oil or melted butter

1 cup coconut milk

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon juice

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.   Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.  Mix the wet ingredients together in another bowl.  Mix the dry into the wet and mix until it is thick cake batter consistency.  Add a little flour if too runny or add a little milk if too thick.

2.  Grease an 8.5 inch square cake pan with coconut oil or butter.  Pour batter into pan and bake for 45-50 minutes .  Brownies will be soft and bubbling but should be done after 50 minutes.  Let cool for at least an hour or overnight before serving.  They will be very soft and moist.

Note about GAPS: This recipe is not GAPS-legal because it uses chocolate.  Also, carob is also not on the allowed list.  I have to confess I ate WAY more than I intended to, as I am trying to stick to GAPS.  I tested it for the menu planner but didn’t have the will power to just eat a nibble…

I did notice a slight increase in irritability, which is a good sign for me that chocolate doesn’t work for me.  I still don’t know exactly why this is though.  Anyone?

chocolateheartcupcakes2The Valentine’s Menu Planner for Limited Diets is now available! Don’t miss this awesome meal planned specifically for people with multiple food allergies, the GAPS diet and gluten-free diets.

Have a beautiful Valentine’s Day!

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