Misto Olive Oil Sprayer

I noticed that my purchased olive oil spray had all kinds of ingredients other than olive oil, so I stopped using it. But today at Costco I found a two-pack of Misto olive oil sprayers. At $19.99 (unfortunately) I found out later that they are cheaper on Amazon. Oh, well. I look forward to testing them out!

Bread-like Stuff

I made another batch of crackers but this time tried including some cooked quinoa. There was too much moisture for this to be crisp like the first batch but it turned out like thin bread, which was a great discovery. This is the first time I've made anything bread-like with the new ingredients so it will open up new possibilities. It really held together which is awesome.

Chinese Takeout Containers!

I was thinking about how to store freezer meals in a way that would make them easy to reheat, and store better, and the idea of Chinese food containers popped into my head! I called Smart and Final and they had the ones with no wires, so perfect for the microwave! Storage tip: Use square or rectangular containers for more efficient storage everywhere. It was so fun to have these tonight as I made dinner for a friend to take home and I put it in a couple of these awesome boxes!

Bean Crackers!

I wanted to try making crackers because I haven't found anything out there to buy that doesn't have forbidden ingredients in it. My, my, my, I can't even believe how good these were! I saw someone is selling packages of 18 gluten free crackers on Etsy for $7.50 not including shipping!! Crazy. Seriously, I'm not a fan of everything on the new diet but these crackers were almost as good as pie crust. I came up with the recipe based on a few I saw on the internet. I will make a larger batch next time; this is so small because I happened to have a half cup of pinto beans I needed to use. 1/2 cup canned pinto beans, drained and rinsed 1/4 cup ground flax seed 1/2 cup very finely grated dried coconut (mine is called "macaroon cut") 1/4 cup (maybe more?) olive oil 1/2 teaspoon baking soda sea salt black pepper 1 clove garlic Preheat the oven to 400. Pulverize everything using a hand blender or food processor. The dough should be about the consistency of cookie dough or grainy pie crust. Roll out the dough thinly (think Wheat Thins) between two sheets of baking parchment, transfer it (still on the parchment) onto a cookie sheet, and sprinkle a little sea salt on top. Press the salt in slightly. Cut into cracker-sized pieces using a bench scraper or table knife. Bake for about 13 minutes until crisp but not burned. Cool on a rack. April 18, 2012 Update: Our naturopath suggests we stay away from legumes for a while as they are harder to digest. In addition, since posting this recipe I have eliminated baking soda since it failed a muscle test our osteopath did a while back. We really haven't missed it.

14 Karat Cookies, Sam Style

This is based off a recipe for the best carrot cake I have ever eaten, baked by my friend, Lori. http://tblondonlori.blogspot.com/2011/09/14-karat-cake-and-frosting.html I adapted it to fit Sam's diet. No cream cheese frosting or sugar, but he LOVED these! 14 Karat Cookies 2 cups finely blended oatmeal 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda (omit for Sam) 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 cup mashed cooked sweet potatoes 1 cup mashed ripe bananas 1 fresh pear, grated or finely chopped 1/2 cup coconut oil, at room temperature (to make it liquid) 4 tablespoons ground flax seed 1 cup water 2 cups finely grated carrots 3-1/2 oz flaked coconut Mix dry ingredients, then mushy/wet, then chunky. Scoop onto cookie sheet, flatten, bake at 400 for about ten minutes.

Banana Zucchini Mini-Muffins

Sam was eating the batter raw, which was no problem since it contains no eggs. 1 cup grated zucchini, with skin on 1.5 cups mashed banana (about 3 bananas) 2 tbsp. ground flax seed 1/2 cup water 1.5 cups uncooked oatmeal (Note: try grinding part into flour next time) 1 tsp. baking soda (omit for Sam) 1/2 cup coconut oil Bake in mini muffin tins at 350 for about ten minutes.

Bean Burgers

1 can pinto or other beans, with liquid 2 tbsp. ground flax seed 1/4 green bell pepper, in chunks 1/2 onion, chopped and microwaved a little to soften 2-3 cloves garlic quinoa flakes olive oil Blend everything except quinoa and olive oil in food processor until smooth. Mix in enough quinoa flakes to make a fairly firm dough (like cookie dough). Form into patties and fry in olive oil, both sides, until brown. April 18, 2012 Update: Sam is taking a break from beans per our naturopath.