My Mediterranean (Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free) Pizza

Holy moley, Mabel!  This is the best thing in the world, I swear.  We have not been thrilled with all of our pizza attempts as of late, so we decided to alter our course.  This is what we came up with:

This is such a tasty dish, and it was pretty easy to make.  We used a Bob's Red Mill GF Pizza Crust mix for the crust (substituting 3 T water and 1 T ground flax seed per egg), pre-baked it per the package directions, coated it lightly with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkled some Italian seasonings and garlic powder on the crust, placed a layer of baby spinach on top of the seasonings, and covered that with chopped up organic Roma tomatoes, diced feta, and almond mozzarella.  We followed the package directions for baking the topped pizza, let it rest for five minutes, and dug in heartily.

The flavors in this recipe are so amazing, and every single person in our house loved it.  That includes all four little ladies.  All of them!  We are so pleased!!

The 18-Hour Energy Diet

I think this would be a fitting name for an all-natural, organic, mostly (if not completely) vegan diet. If a diet rich in vegetables and fruits and a modest amount of complex carbohydrates were marketed in this fashion, it would be all the rage.

Never, in my wildest dreams, could I have imagined that I would have so much energy that I could barely sit still nearly every day, just because of my diet. My sleep is peaceful, I wake up happy and ready to roll, and I am not "just making it through" the day now. I take my kids on walks, run errands, cook, clean, and work out. This is fantastic!

My next goal is to tailor my vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements to my diet and health needs and wants. What a blessing it is for the Lord to have opened my eyes. I thank Him every day for showing me the path to health and happiness. May I show Him all the praise through my dedication to treating my body as a temple and encouraging others to do the same.

My Favorite Peanut Butter

We have tried so many different kinds of natural and organic peanut butters in the past year, and we finally found the one to call our favorite: creamy Maranatha Organic Peanut Butter with a hint of sea salt. Love this stuff!

My Favorite Gluten-Free Bread Recipe

I have been searching and searching for a great-tasting gluten-free bread recipe for years.  Through a little combining of recipes from here and there, plus a good deal of experimenting, I have finally hit upon a family favorite:

Ingredients
2 c. warm water
1/4 c. expeller-pressed canola oil
1 t. apple cider vinegar
3 T. agave nectar
3 T. ground flax seed*
1-1/2 c. brown rice flour*
1/2 c. coconut flour
1 c. quinoa flour*
1/3 c. cornstarch
4 T. Dari-Free non-dairy dry milk
1 t. salt
1 T. xanthan or guar gum
2-1/4 t. yeast

*These ingredients can be made at home with a spice grinder.

Directions

For a bread machine:
Place water, canola oil, vinegar, agave nectar, and ground flax seed in the pan with the paddle already attached.

In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, except yeast, and mix well.

Pour dry mixture into the pan, make a small trough in the dry ingredients for the yeast, place in bread machine, and use the 2-lb, gluten-free setting.  If your machine does not have a gluten-free cycle, the white bread setting should work just fine.

For a conventional oven:
Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Grease and flour pan.

Place water, canola oil, vinegar, agave nectar, and ground flax seed in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.

Mix the remaining ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl.

With the mixer on low, slowly combine the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.  Mix only until combined, as gluten-free foods are easy to over-mix.

Transfer dough to greased pan, lightly greased with shortening and dusted with gluten-free flour or cornstarch. Place pan into the oven with foil in place, and bake for 50-55 minutes.

Allow bread to cool thoroughly on a wire rack before slicing.  Store in tightly-sealed bags or freeze.

Vegan Potatoes Au Gratin

Today was a day for experimentation, and both recipe experiments were a huge success.  I will share my gluten-free bread recipe in another post, because this one is all about my first real attempt at making a vegan dish without a recipe.  Boy, is my family happy I did.  These potatoes were gobbled up in record time this evening, and they were a breeze to make.

Ingredients

4-5 medium russet potatoes, preferably organic, peeled and sliced

2 cups vegetable stock

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

3 T cornstarch

olive oil

salt, pepper, garlic, onion, etc. to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350º.

Lightly coat the casserole dish with olive oil to coat the side and bottom.

Place sliced potatoes into casserole dish and set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring the vegetable broth to a boil, saving a little in a separate bowl.  Whisk into the boiling stock the nutritional yeast until well mixed.  After combining the cornstarch with the small amount of stock in a separate bowl, whisk this mixture into the stock and yeast sauce until well-mixed.  

Add salt and pepper to taste, and try using your favorite spices to flavor your cheese mixture.

Remove the sauce pan from heat, pour the cheese over the potatoes in the casserole dish, and cover with aluminum foil.

Cook the casserole dish in the oven for 60 minutes, or until potatoes are thoroughly cooked.

Remove the casserole dish from the oven, uncover, and let stand for five minutes.  Serve and enjoy.

Passion

I never dreamed I could feel so passionately about food and exercise.  When I see others making poor food choices, crash dieting, or being sedentary, I want to scream, "Don't you know that you are the one in control?  Don't you know that you can change your life?  Don't you know what you are doing to yourself?"  I fear I am becoming one of those obnoxious health nuts.

Excuse me while I try to remember to carry my soapbox instead of stepping upon it at every opportunity.

Romans 15:7 “Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.”