Menu Plan Week of January 2nd

Happy New Year!  It is an exciting time - time to reflect on the year gone by and focus on the renewal of good habits. I am not a huge fan of new year's resolutions per se.  Rather than resolutions, I consider my goals to be refreshers, or a way to recharge the good habits that I have formed over time but don't always stick to during the busy holiday season. I think that this takes the pressure off of the whole concept of a new year's resolution, which makes success feel more doable. Take some pressure off of yourself and try to do a few things every week or one thing every day to refresh your good habits while implementing new habits over time.

Healthy eating is always a huge focus for the new year, and I would love to help refresh your healthy eating habits by posting some recipe makeovers right here on my blog. Have you recently learned that you or someone in your family has a food allergy? Are you looking to make your kids' favorite meals more nutritious? Email me or comment below with a recipe that you would like to see changes to in order to meet your families health goals or dietary needs. I would love to feature it right here. Please put "Recipe Makeover" in the subject line and specify what changes you would like to see based on your needs.

Here is my menu plan for this week:

Monday: Rose Bowl - GO BADGERS! :) Pulled pork sandwiches (new recipe! Sub in rapadura aka Whole Cane Sugar for brown sugar, if possible) with Roasted Broccoli (I will use plain lemon juice and coconut oil).

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Whole Chicken with Cauliflower Poppers (I will drizzle with coconut oil before baking) and a side salad
Tip: Cook and carve the chicken on Sunday or Monday (if you are off on Monday) - you can stretch the meat over multiple meals throughout the week!

Wednesday: Mexican quinoa (scoop quinoa onto a bed of greens, dressed lightly with oil and lemon) with Baked Corn Tortilla Chips (use coconut oil!), salsa and guacamole

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Turkey Salad (wrap/pita pocket optional) with kale chips and raw veggies

Saturday: Out

Sunday: Mark Bittman's Autumn Millet Bake with a side of green beans

Round Up: Top 5 Posts in 2011

Happy New Year!

To ring in 2012 I thought I would highlight my top 5 most popular posts in 2011!  I look forward to writing more nourishing recipes for you in the New Year!  Thank you for continuing to follow me here at Elevate Wellness!

The Top Five

Pumpkin Muffins


Cooking With Your Child:  Allergy-free Granola Bars


Cranberry Pumpkin Ketchup


Allergy-Free Thanksgiving Recipes


Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Menu Plan Week of January 2nd

Happy New Year!  While some may be suffering from the "holiday blues," I like to think of the positives that a new year brings - reflect on the year gone by and focus on the renewal of good habits.  I am not a huge fan of specific new year's resolutions, although I do always have a few goals in the back of my mind.  Rather than resolutions, I consider my goals to be refreshers, or a way to recharge the good habits that I feel I have formed over time but don't always stick to during the busy holiday season.  I think that this takes the pressure off of the whole concept of a new year's resolution, which makes success feel more doable.  Take some pressure off of yourself and try to do a few things every week or one thing every day to refresh your good habits while implementing new habits over time. 

Healthy eating is always a huge focus for the new year, and I would love to help refresh your healthy eating habits by posting some recipe makeovers right here on my blog.  Have you recently learned that you or someone in your family has a food allergy?  Are you looking to make your kids' favorite meals more nutritious?  Email me or comment below with a recipe that you would like to see changes to in order to meet your families health goals or dietary needs.  I would love to feature it right here.  Please put "Recipe Makeover" in the subject line and specify what changes you would like to see based on your needs.

Here is my menu plan for this week:

Monday:  Rose Bowl - GO BADGERS! :)  Pulled pork sandwiches (new recipe!  Sub in rapadura aka Whole Cane Sugar for brown sugar, if possible) with Roasted Broccoli (I will use plain lemon juice and coconut oil).

Tuesday:  Slow Cooker Whole Chicken with Cauliflower Poppers (I will drizzle with coconut oil before baking) and a side salad
Tip:  Cook and carve the chicken on Sunday or Monday (if you are off on Monday) - you can stretch the meat over multiple meals throughout the week!

Wednesday:  Mexican quinoa (scoop quinoa onto a bed of greens, dressed lightly with oil and lemon) with Baked Corn Tortilla Chips (use coconut oil!), salsa and guacamole

Thursday:  Leftovers

Friday:  Turkey Salad (wrap/pita pocket optional) with kale chips and raw veggies

Saturday:  Out

Sunday:  Mark Bittman's Autumn Millet Bake with a side of green beans

Happy Holidays!

I will be taking a blogging hiatus until the New Year.  I want to wish you and your family the happiest of holidays.  2011 has been a year of growth and transformation for my family in so many ways.   It is hard to believe it has been just one year since this blog was born. 

I am very thankful to each of you who continue to read this blog - so many of you have encouraged me to continue to write and that is what motivates me to do so. I am also so grateful for the network of parents who I have "met" via blogs and Facebook pages.  We all need one another to continue to "elevate wellness" in our lives. 

I cannot even begin to think about what 2012 has in store!  Until then, enjoy some downtime with your family and friends.  I look forward to lots of "foodie" adventures with each of you next year.

With love and gratitude.

Christina

Menu Plan Week of 12/18

Happy Holidays!  Christmas and New Years are upon us...  it is a busy time of year but more important than ever to prepare nourishing (but quick and simple) meals for your family to keep them healthy during this busy time.  My little guy is working his way through a cold right now, so there is lots of extra vitamin D and probiotic-filled foods (sour pickles, Cocokefir, etc.) being consumed.  When he is sick, we also find that eliminating dairy (although he does not usually consumer dairy, anyway) and little to no sugar also helps him bounce back quickly.  Just a few tips for battling cold and flu this holiday season! :)

Here is our menu this week.  For those of you celebrating Christmas next weekend, have a blessed holiday!

Monday:  Turkey Tetrazzini using leftover turkey (coconut milk for sauce, I'll omit mushrooms)
Note:  I don't know if there is a good way to make this in advance - you could probably put the whole casserole together on Sunday and cover and bake when you get home on Monday night.

Tuesday:  Spicy Moroccan Chickpeas with salad
Tip:  This is easy to make ahead and only takes a few minutes to put together the night of!  Prepare in the frying pan, cover and refrigerate, just warm it up right in the pan.  Use pre-cooked frozen beans (see this post for details).

Wednesday:  Crock Pot Autumn Sausage Casserole  with roasted broccoli
Tip:  This is super easy to put together the night before!  Try roasting he broccoli with two tbsp. coconut oil at 375 - toss broccoli after 10 minutes, roast and additional 5-10 mins, SO delicious)

Thursday:  Crock Pot Chili with Cornbread and salad

Friday:  Christmas Celebration

Saturday:  Christmas Celebration

Sunday:  Leftovers from the freezer (Chili, Autumn Sausage Casserole)

Check out Orgjunkie's blog for more menu planning inspiration!

Quinoa Burgers with Mexican Flare

I absolutely love quinoa burgers.  Mostly because my two year old likes them (wouldn't most moms say that?) and because my husband and I also think they are delicious.  They are versatile and  great vegetarian, allergy free option for my dinner rotation.  My two year old is not a huge fan of eating quinoa on its own, so this is a great way to serve it (with a little dip, of course - plain yogurt, organic ketchup, you name it!)  If you are not familiar with quinoa, it is an "ancient grain" that is an amino acid-rich (protein) seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked. (This definition is taken from this site). 

I took the original quinoa burger recipe that I use and spruced it up with some "Mexican flare."  It was even more delicious than the original!  I love Mexican food, as it is easy to bump up the nutrients with side dishes (avocado, greens, beans, etc.)

Quinoa Burgers (with a Mexican touch)

Adapted from original recipe here

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa (1 cup uncooked = 3 cups cooked - prepare 3 cups and freeze the other half for your next batch of burgers!  I recommend preparing it with vegetable or chicken broth for added flavor).

1/2 cup cooked organic black beans (or canned) + 2 Tbsp water

2 Tbsp egg replacer or ground chia seeds

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 heaping tsp cumin

1 heaping tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

4 Tbsp tapioca flour

1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Heat a non-stick frying pan on medium

Add all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until it forms a ball of dough

If you have time, chill the mixture (you can leave it overnight or for the day)

Divide burger mix into 5 equal portions form patties (wet your hands to make this a little easier)

Fry in a little coconut oil on medium heat, 5 - 10 minutes each side, until browned and firm

(You can freeze these uncooked, thaw and cook as desired).

Serve on their own topped with a little salsa or as shown (brown rice tortilla, wraps, greens, and a little melted organic cheese).

Re-posted at:

Day2DayJoys: Healthy 2day Wednesdays
Allergy-Free Vintage Cookery Lunchbox Love
Fresh Bites Friday

Menu Plan Week of 12/12

We are yet another week closer to Christmas and New Years.  I don't know about your family, but ours is in full swing with the spirit of the Christmas season!  Lots of Christmas music and the building of new traditions.  Some of those traditions will continue to include new versions of our favorite foods to accommodate our little guy's food allergies and intolerances. 

We try to keep sugar to a minimum in our house, but I cannot resist a few cookie creations for the holidays.  One recipe I ran across this week that I am excited to try are these Sunbutter Thumbprint Cookies from Easy, Breezy Food Allergies.  For a full rundown of some great allergy-friendly cookie recipes check out this allergen-friendly cookie exchange!

Here is our menu for this week:

Monday: Baked chicken with slow cooker wild rice (no almonds) and broccoli
Tip:  Cook rice the day/night before - start it right when you get home from work and it will be done by bedtime, as long as you stay up until 10 or 11 :)

Tuesday:  Leftovers and/or whatever is in the fridge

Wednesday: Quinoa Burgers with kale chips and green beans
Tip:  Make burgers the night before, chill.  You can even blend in the food processor and leave it in the processor in the fridge, make patties when you arrive home.

Thursday:  Slow Cooker Beef Stew (no potatoes) over noodles with green salad
Tip:  Assemble stew the night before

Friday:  Baked Salmon with steamed sugar snap peas and rice
Salmon:  just squeeze some lemon over it and a drizzle with melted coconut oil, bake at 375 degrees until done to your liking, 10-20 minutes depending on thickness

Saturday:  Out

Sunday:  Out

Check out orgjunkie's blog for more menu planning inspiration!

Tater Tot "Hot Dish"... for you Minnesotans out there!

I want to preface this post by saying that I am not originally from Minnesota, so the "hot dish" concept is new to me in the last 8 years.  I did, however, marry a Minnesotan who grew up eating "hot dish".  When I first heard about tater tot hot dish (my husband's favorite), I was a little perplexed.  When I tasted it, I sort of got it, it wasn't bad.  However, I always told my husband if he wanted Tater Tot hot dish, he could make it.  (That has yet to happen). :)

When I saw that Alexia Foods had sweet potato tater tots in the frozen foods aisle (they are allergy friendly), I wondered if I could make an allergy-free tater tot hot dish and surprise my husband with his favorite dish, but a version that is a bit healthier and allergy-free.  I knew my husband would be happy with me and I figured that my little guy would like it, too.  (It is very kid friendly, according to all of my Minnesota friends who grew up eating it).  I think this recipe turned out good!  Of course, not exactly like the original but close enough that my husband had a big smile on his face after eating it.

So, for all of you Minnesotans out there, and for those who are now intrigued, here is my allergy-free, here is my healthier spin on tater tot hot dish....

Ingredients

1 pound grass fed beef
1 onion, chopped

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 pinch ground black pepper (note: a Minnesota hot dish cannot be spicy, that is an unwritten rule) :)

1 (32 ounce) package frozen sweet potato tater tots

3 cups of homemade condensed soup (recipe below - I made this dairy free!)

1 cup of shredded cheese (optional, I did not use this).

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.               

In a large skillet cook ground beef with onion, salt and pepper.   Add beef mixture and tater tots to the condensed soup (ideally heated on the stove in a large soup pot.  Spread into a 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle with cheese, if using.          

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour.

Condensed Soup Recipe (dairy free)

Adapted from Tammy's Recipes:  Homemade Kitchen Inspiration

Yield:

3 cups (about 2 cans)

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups chicken broth* (ideally, homemade bone broth!)
1/4 teaspoon onion powder**
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt (or less; taste to test)
dash of paprika
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
3/4 cup flour (All purpose GF flour blend)

Instructions:

1. In medium-sized saucepan, boil chicken broth, 1/2 cup of the milk, and the garlic and seasonings for a 3-4 minutes.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 cup of milk and flour. Add to boiling mixture and continue whisking briskly until mixture boils and thickens. 

(Note:  My GF version thickened very quickly and needed more broth than the original recipe (original called for 1 1/2 cups).  You may need a little bit more than this.  I made this in advance and stuck it in the fridge in the soup pan that I made it in, then took it out and warmed and re-whisked it before mixing in the beef mixture and tater tots).

Overnight Steel Cut Oats

Breakfast can be a tricky meal, especially on a weekday when you are trying to get out the door in time for work, remember one million things and convince your kids to get their coats and shoes on before they "escape" to the other side of the house and begin a chasing game with you (or just lay down int he middle of the floor refusing to budge.  Fun times.) :) 

Breakfast is also the most important meal of the day.  I love soaked oatmeal, and it only takes a few minutes to cook, but at some point my little guy decided he was sick of it so we have taken a break for a period of time.  Steel cut oats cooked overnight in the crock pot is very different than the soaked oatmeal - it turns out much more like baked oatmeal this way.  Plus, steel cut oats have incredible nutritional value compared to other oatmeal variations.  It's the "real deal."  Cook this oatmeal overnight and it is ready when you wake up in the morning.  This is great leftover, as well - just warm it in the microwave for a minute.

I have taken a couple of recipes and converted them to my liking.  With a little trial and error, here is what I have come up with!

Overnight Steel Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

1 cup steel cut oats

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup ground flax seed meal

1 tbsp. whole cane sugar (a.k.a rapadura) or organic brown sugar

4.5 cups water OR 4 cups water and 1/2 cup organic cream or half and half (note that the oatmeal will brown a little on the edges and bottom due o the cream but it does turn out delicious)!

Add-ins (for the morning):  Organic half and half or cream (coconut oil is a wonderful dairy free dd in!), maple syrup, raw honey, nuts, chia seeds, other dried fruits, chocolate chips, Sunbutter or peanut butter.  A fun idea - make a few little bowls of toppers and let your kiddos top the oatmeal themselves!

Directions

Combine all of the ingredients into a slow cooker (a 4 quart works fine for this recipe).  Cover and set to low before you head to bed - ready 8 hours later!

Menu Plan Week of 12/5

It is hard to believe we are into December already.  This is my favorite time of year.  I love it even more now that we have a two year old in the house.  It is so fun to start new holiday traditions!  He "gets it" this year - he loves Christmas music, the ornaments on the tree and we have even started talking about the religious aspect to the holidays as well.  He loves birthdays so the fact that we are counting down to "Jesus' birthday!!!" is especially exciting for him.  I believe we will have to have a birthday cake, or he will be thoroughly confused. :)  That being said, I hope to add a couple of holiday recipes to the blog in the coming weeks.  I still owe all of you an allergy-friendly recipe re-do of Tater Tot Hot Dish (something I did not know existed before I began dating my husband).

I will be headed to Des Moines this coming weekend to visit my sister, her husband and their newborn baby son!  I plan to bring my crock pot (I'll need mine and theirs!) and will be cooking nourishing foods for them all weekend long.  I know so much more now about how critical these foods are, especially for a new mommy who is breast feeding her baby!  Lots of good essential fats and homemade snacks, veggies, fruits, oatmeal, etc.  And of course there will be lots of snuggle time with my new nephew!

Here is my menu for this week.
Monday:  Shredded Chicken Quesadillas with fixings, Kale Chips

Tuesday:  Slow Cooker turkey breast with green beans and Quinoa Cranberry Pilaf (no nuts)
Tip:  Prep the turkey in the slow cooker the night before.  You can make the quinoa recipe even easier by tossing some lemon juice and dried fruit/nuts to the quinoa after cooking it, no need to saute the veggies, etc. if you don't have time!)

Wednesday:  Sweet Potato and Sausage Hash with roasted broccoli (thanks to Taiha Wagner at Just One Bite for the recipe suggestion!

Thursday:  Leftovers

Friday:  Off to Des Moines
My plan includes: 
Crock Pot Autumn Sausage Casserole 
Whole chicken (with veggie sides)
Mini Meat Loaves (multiple recipes, see my recipe link)
Steel Cut Oatmeal in the Crock Pot
Other homemade snack(s)

Lunchbox Inspiration: How to keep lunchtime exciting!

In this lunchbox:  (top left) sweet potato chips and sun dried tomatoes, (top right) cut up turkey, (bottom left) cucumber sticks and plain yogurt dip), (bottom right) grapes.

Having a two year old, food allergies or not, means that lunchtime (in and out of the house) can be a big challenge.  As you know, I love to cook and prepare food so I consider this to be a really fun challenge - keeping mealtime fun for our kids so they are excited to try new foods!  When packing lunch for your kids, I am always looking for easy ways to pack lunch while still offering plenty of variety.  So far, I have been pretty successful at this!  I am looking forward to sharing these initial ideas with you and plan to continue with more posts about lunchtime in the near future.

First, for lunch at home.  This can be equally as daunting as packing lunch in many cases!  I try to implement one leftover from dinner along with foods that I can drizzle dressing or sauce over and I also make sure to include a nutritious dip of some sort (my two year old LOVES to dip!) 

For lunch on the go, a lunchbox like the one I have in the picture above (a Laptop Lunchbox) is key - we have the box and then the zip-up lunch "bag" to put it in so that we can keep it cold with an ice pack.  It even has a tiny dip container that my little guy loves! 

See my "lunchbox inspiration" links at the bottom of this post to get your creative juices flowing!

Here are some ideas:

Veggies (I always include two)

• Baby spinach or mixed greens with oil and vinegar (let your child grind pepper, squeeze lemon, or add a pinch of salt!)
• Cucumber sticks or "chips" (cut into thin rounds)
• Carrot Sticks
• Jicama Sticks (on special occasions, I buy this pre-cut at Lunds)
• Kale Chips
• Frozen peas (yes, frozen - kids love them this way!)
• Pickles (we buy Bubbies pickles - lots of probiotic power!  I cut them into sticks)

Fruit
(We do not do a ton of fruit at lunch, especially when at home.  We save them for snacks and smoothies!)

• Whatever is in season and/or on sale - cut into bite size pieces
• Frozen berries

Meat/protein/cheese

• Leftover burger (vegetarian option - Quinoa Burgers)
• Rolled lunch meat cut into small circles
• Grass fed beef hot dog cut into small bites (we love Thousand Hills)
• Grass fed beef sticks (also Thousand Hills for us) cut into bite-size chunks.  I will mix them with frozen peas many times - a great snack on the go, too!
• Small pieces of cheese cut into fun shapes
• I have seen some great meat and cheese kabob ideas out there, too. 

Dips

• Homemade or store-bought hummus
• Plain yogurt (we love So Delicious Plain Coconut Milk Yogurt) or CocoKefir's CocoYo (again, a powerful probiotic - get them in any way you can!)
• Guacamole (I'll mash an avocado with just a little lime and put it in a bowl on the side if we are at home)
• Cranberry Pumpkin Ketchup (mix a little in with the yogurt!)

Grains

• Brown Rice Cakes (we like Lundberg Lightly salted) broken into bite-size pieces
• Sprouted corn tortillas (we like Food For Life) with a thin spread of Sunbutter, cut into triangles
• Bread (whole wheat, GF, or other) cut into fun shapes that are easy for dipping
• Take a muffin out of the freezer and stick it in his/her lunchbox - it will be defrosted by lunchtime!  If you cut it into quarters for smaller hands, it will defrost that much faster!
• Tortilla Chips (blue corn are best!)
• On a special occasion, Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato Chips (a favorite in our house!)
• When at home, some warm rice or quinoa pilaf

Other

• Dried Fruit - I cut up 2-3 dried apricots into strips for dessert.
• Sun dried tomatoes - you can get small bags of these at Trader Joe's.  My little guy thinks of them as a treat (sweet and chewy!)
• Small chunks of homemade granola or granola bars

Some lunch (and snack!) making inspiration:

My little guy's recent muffin tin lunch!

I just ran across Muffin Tin Mom and am already thinking of all the fun ways I can use a muffin tin to serve lunch and snacks - brilliant!!!! Warning: you may spend way more time perusing her site than you expect. (Hint:  I just bought a silicone Christmas tree muffin "pan" from Target for $2.50 in the dollar bin area specifically for this purpose!!!)

This Lunch Rox is also awesome an addicting. :)

Last but not least (I shared this once before) this is a great idea for older kids or for you and your hubby - freeze single serve leftover soup in mason jars, defrost the night before, warm up in the morning and stick it in a thermos.

This is re-posted at Allergy Free Cookery - another great place for lunchbox inspiration every Friday!