Angela's Kitchen

Cooking gluten and diary free... because everyone deserves a cookie!

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The online Nourished Festival is coming!

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Are you looking for the best new gluten free products?  Take a peek at some of my new favorites.

If you are anything like me, I am always on the lookout for new, delicious, and safe gluten free products.  I been collaborating with the Nourished Festival, participating in their influencer networking events to meet amazing brands supporting the gluten free community and allowing me to taste test some fantastic products.  While I wasn’t compensated for my opinions, I did receive complimentary products to try.  This in no way influences my opinion.  As you will see, I will provide my honest assessment of the products that I tried.

Mom’s Place Gluten Free

Mom’s Place Gluten Free was extra awesome and shared a code so you can get 20% off your entire order: AL_MAR_GFEXPO21

You guys know that I am a from scratch, make-your-own-mixes kind of gal, but I also think having a good mix on hand for a short cut can be a life saver. And I have to say, Mom’s Place has good mixes. After the last Nourished Fest in September, I bought the mini doughnut mixes from their site and my girls have been having fun making them together on the weekends in our mini donut maker. So fun! for this Fest, Mom’s Place Gluten Free sent an awesome care package with cream of chicken soup base (yes! totally dairy free!), pretzel bite mix, pumpkin harvest muffin mix and licorice shaped like cute little scottie dogs. I am telling you, I would put in orders just for the licorice, it is that good!

I am super pumped to try more things from them. They use ingredients I would, with nothing weird to preserve them, and I love that they have an allergen filter so you can shop for just the items that fit your family’s allergen profile. Even when filtering out products with dairy, they have a ton of products in all sort of categories to choose from. You have got to check them out. One of their best sellers is their Soft Pretzel Mix.  Let me tell you, these pretzels were insanely delicious.  I did not even get a chance to take a picture of the finished product because my family scarfed down every single one.  I assure you that they are easy to make, are soft on the inside, and crusty on the outside.  I opted to make the pretzel bites.

Finding Mom’s Place Gluten Free was the best find.  I’ve placed an order for more of their products including these soft pretzels.  I cannot recommend this company enough.

Mom’s Place Gluten Free was extra awesome and shared a code so you can get 20% off your entire order: AL_MAR_GFEXPO21

Goodie Girl – S’mores Cookies

a box of s'mores sandwich cookies

The kind people from Goodie Girl Cookies sent along some of their brand new S’mores cookies for me to try.  I have not tried their products before as the flavors in my area contain dairy, and we can’t have that in my house. BUT that is not the case with their new S’mores cookies! Woo!

These gluten free and dairy free cookies have a graham cookie, a chocolate cookie and a marshmallow flavored filling. Super fun and just asking to be make into all kind of treats (or, lets be honest, straight out of the box)! My kids loved them! And yeah for another treat that is peanut free that we can bring places.

Epilynx by Dr. Liia

Created by Dr. Liia, a pharmacist who stared her company after she developed products to address her own health struggles, Epilynx is a full line of make up and skin care especially created for those with gluten sensitivities, allergies, autoimmune conditions and sensitive skin using all natural ingredients. All of her products don’t just feel amazing on your skin, but everything is packaged beautifully, so you really feel like you are treating yourself to something special (you are!). If you are not sure which products are best for your skin, Dr. Liia has a Skincare Quiz you can take and receive personalized recommendations based on your results, which is fantastic. She sent me some of her products from her Sunrise collection, and so far I am loving them. They go on light and smoothly, leaving my skin felling nicely moisturized all day without felling heavy or greasy. My under eyes (hey, I turned 50 this year) has especially perked up using her eye cream and my sensitive eyes aren’t bothered at all. Eye creams usually end up making my eyes sting, so I don’t use them like I know I should, so I am so pleased to find a cream I can use! She also sent her liquid eyeliner and mascara as well and I can’t wait to try those (even if I had to wrestle them away from my 17 year old – LOL!) Momma needs to kick it up a bit! Thank you. Dr. Liia! Check our her blog and podcast as well.

The Gluten Intolerance Group

If you or someone you know is living the gluten free life, The Gluten Intolerance Group is your advocate.  This group is literally in your corner fighting the good fight to keep you safe.  They are a great starting place for anyone who wants support in knowing how to safely navigate a gluten free diet.  If you’ve ever seen these official markings on your products, you can thank GIG.  They have tested thousands of food items to ensure that they meet rigorous safety standards that are twice as strict as the FDA before allowing the product to carry their symbol. The big news is that they are updating the symbol used so there is no confusion with copycat markings, so keep an eye out for the fresh look!

The GIG website is full of valuable information about current trends, news, nutrition, and research.  They have resources specifically for children and listings for support groups as well. 

EZ Gluten

The EZ Gluten’s test is an easy to use kit that will quickly detect the presence of gluten in foods and beverages. It is sensitive enough to detect levels of gluten as low as 10 ppm. This simple test is small and portable enough for use at restaurants or when traveling, and is sensitive and robust enough for use in industry and food manufacturing. It can be used to test individual ingredients in foods and beverages. I haven’t tried them, yet, but think this might be a good item to send off with my college bound girl with celiac this next Fall.

Redd Remedies

Redd Remedies offers natural health solution supplements that help people address their health from a whole body perspective. They use a comprehensive purity testing program from ingredient selection and verification, to ensuring each dose contains exactly what’s on the label, to their extensive finished product testing by industry-leading 3rd-party labs. Pretty impressive. I have really been struggling with sinus allergy symptoms this Spring and decided to buy some of their Adult Sinus Support formula, and let me tell you, I wish I had sooner! It has really helped cut down on my symptoms (so much post nasal drip, you all don’t want to know how gross it was! Yuck!) so I can breath freely without coughing (something NO ONE wants to hear from me even from behind a mask in our current world, you know?

Schar

Schar was at the Networking Session as well… but unfortunately, while there are several things coming up in the next few months to look forward to from them, they did not gives us the go ahead to share them just yet. But trust me, some fun things will be coming up in the Schar line up so keep an eye out!

Other products that reached out to me:

Blake’s Seed Based

Honestly, I had never heard of this company before or seen their products at the Nourished Festival, but I sure am glad that they reached out to me.  These bars are delicious.!  You can literally see the goodness in every bar.  Each bar is Top 8 Allergen Free and lower in sugar than most bars on the market, which is awesome for my ballet dancer to bring to her nut-free studio for her between classes snack.

San-J

San-J has been my go to tamari sauce for years. LOVE that they have a reduced sodium version as well! The big news? They have updated their bottles for a fresh look. New look, but the product inside is still the same fantastic quality you expect.

Menu Plan Monday – January 4, 2021

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This week we’re starting a new year, but what I need is some old school comfort food. Pulled pork, grilled sandwiches dipped in soup, stuffed omelettes with baked goods brimming with cinnamon… so good! Everything is gluten and dairy free, of course, with more veggies and less sugar, but with all the flavor and comfort my family (and myself) need this week. It should hit the spot. 🙂

What are your favorite comfort foods?

Monday: Slow cooker pulled pork on mashed cauliflower with red cabbage and apple slaw
Tuesday: Grilled sandwiches and tomato soup with Tex-Mex Chopped Salad
Wednesday: Turkey Shepherd’s pie with mashed sweet potato topping and salad
Thursday: Denver omelettes, homemade beef sausage with gluten and dairy free cinnamon amish friendship bread
Friday: Teriyaki chicken with Wild Rice Sweet Potato Salad with Pepitas and broccoli

Make December Matter

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I’ve always told anyone who told me that they’re feeling off their game or having trouble focusing on things during tough times to be kind to themselves. To allow themselves grace for the season they are in and that trying to weather storms in life is challenging, messing and stretching, and sometimes you just need to roll with things the way you need to roll with them. If that means you aren’t as tidy, or cheerful or productive as usual, that is cool. Tough seasons of life are a time to be gentle with yourself.

Having said that, I often go and do the opposite when talking to myself. Instead of reassuring myself that I’ve actually been doing pretty well over the past couple years with really difficult personal and family circumstances, I tend to make little lists for myself of all the things I haven’t been doing or taken care of… You know, things like isn’t the house supposed to be cleaner than ever now that I am in it ALL THE TIME. Hey guess what? It turns out, being in your house constantly and using it for every aspect of your life can trash the joint. Who knew? 🙂

I’ll go to bed thinking that the next day is the day I “get myself all together,” which is NOT a great set-up for the next day. It’s a goal that is so vague that I set myself up to be disappointed in what I haven’t completed instead of what I did accomplish. That cycle is just one big self-esteem trap, and it turns out I am really good at it.

One tool that I have been using to help organize myself that has been so positive in my life to get me out of that rut is Mia’s FLOW365 plan at Plan Simple. Her system has helped reframe my planning for the day to focus my time on what really matters to me, to what is truly important in my day-to-day life. I have appreciated how it works no matter what your circumstances are or where your current focus is. It helped me realize all I was showing up for, helped me plan down time to care for myself and to also find space for all the little things that has to happen day-to-day to get the pesky work and home things done as well. The biggest gift for me has been realizing that I really do have a choice to how I spend my day and it has helped make my ordinary everyday times truly matter by helping me shift my perspective. I love that she breaks goal planning into manageable chunks that can be started whenever you want and need to. That has been a lifesaver for me, especially with all the changing circumstances in these uncertain times.

Mia has a FREE 2 day retreat coming up this weekend, November 13-14, 2020 called Make December Matter. It is her gift to women “balancing it all” who want to create something different this holiday season and into the next year. She has amazing speakers lined up, a tasty menu to nourish you during the weekend, planning sheets, and times built into the day to help you recharge. I’ll be popping in and out throughout the days myself, so I hope to see you there!

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I’ve been wondering for so long how to come back to the blog when I’ve been away for so long and it stalls me from writing before I even start. I’ll have to apologize AGAIN I tell myself. Then I tell myself I’ll just need to do better from here on out and this will be the day I finally get my act together, whatever that means….

To be honest, my biggest block to get back to writing here is that I have been just in survival mode for a long time. Working in a job where you stand for hours at a time with really bad knees left me with very little energy to do much of anything beyond care for my family, and we had a lot happening around here that needed my energy. I haven’t given myself the grace and kindness to realize I honestly was doing the best I could do for what I needed to do for what was most important for myself and my family during that season. It has been so important for me to finally realize this. I hope if you learn nothing else from my writing today, is that you remember to treat yourselves with the grace and kindness you would extend to others.

And so it turns out, I am finally ok with doing the best I can. This blog and my work here is a one woman show. But it is written by a woman with a family who has really needed her a bit extra for the past little a while, and I feel really good about showing up for them when it was needed. It is written by someone who has been in survival mode for a few years due to intense joint pain, but was trying to wait until I was a bit older to get those joints replaced. And I finally did! This year, after I turned the big 50, I had one knee replaced in July and one 3 weeks ago. I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in that area. Woo! But the truth is that it will be a year of PT exercises, extra naps when needed while I am healing, and generally reminding myself that this is a process and to be kind to myself and it is ok if I just do the best I can.

One thing I do promise is that I will finish answering all the emails from questions I received from the Online Nourished Festival presentation. I appreciate your patience if I have not answered you yet. I did have over 1700 people in my session and received hundreds of emails with questions. I’ve worked through a lot of them, but still have about 100 or so to go. I will get back to you as I am answering as many as I can each day for about an hour at a time. It is time dedicated to you all blocked out in my planner. 🙂 That is as long as I can currently stay at the computer with my knees still healing at this time. Thank you so much for your understanding and patience. I appreciate it more than I can express!

I’m presenting at the Online Nourished Fest

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Hello! For anyone who tuned in on Thursday hoping to see the tips and tricks I use to make my yummy gluten free, dairy free cinnamon rolls, you know we had some tech difficulties. Well, the Online Nourished Festival has rescheduled my presentation! I’ll see you all there!

The NEW rescheduled time to see my FREE presentation of Decadent Cinnamon Rolls:

Register for the session by clicking this link:

Angela of Angela’s Kitchen Presents Decadent Cinnamon Rolls

When: Saturday, September 26, 2020 11am ET/12pm CT

Where: at the Online Nourished Fest

Easter dinner menu planning in the time of coronavirus…

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Easter is coming up in just a few weeks. It is a big holiday in my house. My grown kiddos come home, I bake up a storm, we go to church, them come home and eat and visit. This year, of course, things will be different. Our church is live streaming services. My high schooler is now doing online learning through her high school and her dance studio is using FB Live to hold classes while she uses a kitchen chair as her barre and flannel sheets in the yard as her dance floor. Another kiddo is home from college, doing classes online for the last half of her last semester as a Senior. Her commencement has been canceled and she is meeting up with friends over Zoom, FaceTime, and Google. My oldest is full on adulting, working remotely from his apartment and FaceTiming his mom now and then (smart boy… he knows I miss that sweet face!) Strange times, no?

For this Easter, this one where it will most likely be just those of us in the house, I thought I had better get a plan in place. Currently I am only going to the store every two weeks to minimize contact with others, so this really needs to be planned out. The days leading to Easter are typically a really busy time in the stores as well, and I definitely do not want to be out in that or contribute to the traffic in the stores.

Fortunately, before everything shut down, I did already purchase dairy free chocolate bunnies and peeps (I use them for decorations. Those bright pink bunnies and yellow chicken are so ridiculously colored and nostalgic!). As they seem to disappear fast (I am a peep purist and only want the yellow birds and pink bunnies), I always buy them as soon as they hit the stores. My husband picked up a really nice spiral ham on our last shopping trip which I popped in the freezer for Easter, so that is set. A few days ago Amazon delivered jelly beans and I found an egg coloring kit in the cupboard we didn’t have the time to use last year. Score!

My dinner plans are shaping up to be much more simple and streamlined than usual, but instead of being disappointed to not have all the frills, I am just grateful to have the time to be together, and to be relatively healthy and safe during this time. We’ll have the time to actually reflect on the meaning of the season instead of rushing to get all the fancy bits made. That is something I for one am looking forward to!

For Easter this year we are having:

  • Spiral-cut Ham with Apricot Brown Sugar Glaze: for the last 15-20 minutes of cooking time, glaze ham with a mixture of 1/2 cup apricot preserves (I like one that is fruit juice sweetened, if possible), 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons ground mustard mixed together.
  • Orange Cinnamon Rolls – I made these this past week using my Cinnamon Roll recipe as a base by not adding cinnamon to the brown sugar in the filling and spreading 6-8 tablespoons orange marmalade in the filling step right before sprinkling on the brown sugar. I froze them on a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap before they had a chance to raise. The night before Easter, I’ll pop them into an oiled 9 x 13 pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator overnight, baking in the morning. For the topping I’ll use orange juice instead of water for the glaze. Yum!
  • Dairy Free Scalloped Potatoes – I’ll be assembling this this next week and popping them into the freezer (see the recipe instructions for that)
  • Roasted Frozen Vegetables – simply take whatever frozen veggies you have on hand and roast. I am planning on using a mix of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and maybe mixing with an Italian blend that had yellow squash and broad beans in it (I am looking for the color and flavor blend) and adding a chopped red onion to the mix. Put the veggies on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer, toss with a couple tablespoons olive oil and about a 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Roast in a preheated 400F oven for 20-30 minutes, stirring around every 10 minutes until the veggies are cooked through and the edges start to caramelize and brown.
  • Decorated Hard Boiled eggs – we will make during the end of the week before Easter as a family activity.

I want it to feel special and like a holiday, but not being to go out and get flowers or cute napkins or the other things I normally do means it is time to get creative…

Last year I wove my kids Easter baskets from brown paper grocery sacks and they turned out so cute (an my eco girl loved them!), so that is happening again. I can use paper run through the shredder then lightly crumpled, fabric netting from my craft room or large homemade pompoms as filling. This year we are all home and have three weeks for some fun crafts to do together as a family. I picked 3 that really caught my eye, only required paper, a few things we have laying around the house, and a little time. This weekend we are making these simple origami butterflies out of the colored pages of newsprint, wrapping paper or scrapbooking paper to hang in the windows by our dining table. Second are these lovely origami flowers to help our table bloom. I like the idea of using old piano music that we have laying around from when the kids first took lessons. I think I’ll put them with some of my smaller house plants and scattered jelly beans to decorate the table. Finally are these cute origami bunny baskets from Gathering Beauty. I think her blog is going to be one of my new happy places! How cute would these be filled with jelly beans at each plate? I have some plain paper that we can decorate with colored pencils and markers to personalize them if we want. A bonus craft we might make, are these adorable pom pom branches, both colorful and with white puffs. So fun! We have more than enough yarn to make the pom poms. I am thinking of using a tiny pickle fork as my form to make really small poms. Cuteness overload!

Have you started Eater planning yet? Easter Story Cookies and Hot Cross Buns definitely made my list of things I wanted to make this year for our mini quarantine meal. What are the food traditions you’ll be holding dear this year?

One batter, three mini loaves…

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Easter is coming up in just a few weeks, and the grocery shopping, prepping, and planning I normally do isn’t going to cut it in our sheltering in place, going to the grocery store every two weeks reality. Easter will be a small gathering this year, so the amounts I need to make for our celebration are different as well. That’s where this recipe comes in!

Divide one batter to make Apple Pecan Cinnamon Streusel…

I needed a recipe that I could easily make with things I had on hand, would require less baking time, but deliver on more than one flavor profile. Around here for the holidays, I like variety. the more type of things the better. But with a need to simplify, and a desire to simplify, I decided to see if I could make thee mini loaves out of a single batch of batter. Turns out, you can!

…Blueberry Lemon…

This recipe isn’t just for a tiny Easter dinner celebration, but great for anytime you want more variety to show for your baking effort, without having to actually do that much more effort. Also, I don’t know if it is happening in your house, but all this staying at home means I am baking up a storm, and I simply don’t need three full loaves of deliciousness laying around my house while I am. Yikes! Mamma needs to do some crunches!

…and Coconut Pistachio

One Batter, Three Flavors of Tea Bread

For those times you don't want to bake three large batches of treats, but still want the flavor variety!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Servings 3 small loaves

Ingredients
  

Batter ingredents:

  • 1 1/8 cup unsweetened dairy free milk substitute
  • 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
  • 2 cups Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Flour Blend
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 1/4 cup light tasting olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Streusel Topping:

  • 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour
  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar packed
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 2/3 tablespoon dairy free margarine or coconut oil melted

Apple Pecan Min-in:

  • 1/3 cup diced, peeled tart flavorful apple
  • 3 tablespoons chopped pecans toasted
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Blueberry Lemon mix-in:

  • 1/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
  • 1 teaspoon finely minced lemon zest

Coconut Pistachio mix-in:

  • 1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut
  • 3 tablespoons chopped pistacios or macadamia nuts
  • 1/4 teaspoon coconut extract
  • extra coconut for topping

Glaze:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened dairy free milk substitute or more to thin glaze if needed
  • 1/4 teaspoon coconut extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Oil three small loaf pans and set aside.
  • In a small bowl, stir together 1 1/8 cups dairy free milk substitute and cider vinegar. set aside while assembeling the streusel topping and mix-ins.
  • To make streusel, stir together gluten free flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Pour in melted margarine and blend until until a crumbly dough forms. If you want big crumbs, squeeze streusel dough together to form a clump, then break off larger pieces to sprinkle over the batter. For finer crumbs, simply crumble the streusel dough over top the batter.
  • In three smaller bowls, assemble the mix-in ingredients for each flavor, one flavor mix-in per bowl. Set asside.
  • In a mixing bowl blend dry batter ingredients: gluten free flour, sugar, baking powder, bakig soda and salt. Add milk-vinegar mixture, egg and oil. Mix well until all incorporated.
  • Divide dough into three parts, one part for each bowl with a mix-in flavor. Stir mix-ins for each flavor until distributed through batter before pouring into one of the prepared loaf pans. Smooth dough on each loaf. Top apple pecan batter with completed strussel.
  • Bake loaves in a preheated 350F oven for 30 to 35 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Take loaves from pans and put on cooling rack.
  • When loaves are cool, mix together powdered sugar and milk substitute for glaze. Divide glaze into two portion Put lemon extract in one portion and spread on the bluteberry lemon loaf. Add coconut extract to the second portion of glaze and top the coconut loaf. Sprinkle extra shreaded cocnut on cocnut loaf immediantly. Allow glaze to set up before slicing.

Notes

I used Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Flour Blend in their recipe as it is readily available in most stores, such as Target, and online as well. 

Menu Plan Monday – March 23, 2020

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Maple syrup time!

What have you been up to while at home? We’ve been catching up on movies and shows, walking our pup, playing games, organizing, baking, and making maple syrup. This week we’ve got to get back to business as online college, dance and high school schedules have to be set up. I still want to keep things scheduled for game time and down time for us. If we have to be home, I want to really take advantage of the time to really be together…

Besides keeping your hands away from your face and washing your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds, there has been a recommendation for stocking up the pantry and snuggling down at home. I am a big fan of menu planning, stocking up the pantry, batch cooking and stashing a few meals in the freezer. I always think it is a good idea in our regular day to day lives, but especially now in current times.

Below I have a 2 week menu plan with a grocery list. This allows you to only need to go out once for two weeks, but also takes in to account having enough space in your freezer, fridge and shelves. My other suggestion right now is to see what you can pull together for meals from the supplies you already have at home. This is great to do whenever the food budget is a little snug, but I also like to do this a couple of times a year just to see what I’ve got to use up and to keep my food as fresh as it can be. You know how things can get shoved to the back of cupboards… time to see what you got!

To figure out what I already have on hand, I make a quick list of all the meat and veggies I already have in the freezer and refrigerator. Then I take all the cans, grains, and gluten free noodles from my pantry put them on the table, sorting into meals I can make. I jot down the meal idea on a list I hang on my fridge, adding anything else I need to get at the store to complete the meal. For example, using just the items in my cupboard and freezer I could easily make Pad Thai with chicken or shrimp (just need fresh cilantro and a lime – though I always seem to have that in my fridge), 3 different kinds of chili (Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili, Taco Chili and White Bean Chicken Chili), Black Bean Enchiladas (I could use a few more corn tortillas, but could make it work in a pinch), Salmon Sweet Potato Cakes and Tuna Veggie Casserole. That means I easily have over a week comforting, filling dinners as backup just sitting on my selves. Check your shelves – you will be surprised how much you already have on hand.

Below is a menu for two weeks for a family of four. With there still being a chill in the air I’ve leaned into warming flavors and comfort foods for this plan.

Grocery List and Menu Cards (all recipes for the week are on the download)

Breakfasts: You Pick It Smoothie Kits and Baked Apple Oatmeal Cups

Lunch: Sandwiches, Chicken and Broccoli Salad, Salmon Sweet Potato Cakes, and dinner leftovers.

Dinners:

Day 1: Slow Cooker Black Bean Salsa Chicken (freeze about half for day 10’s burrito bowls) over quinoa, rice or cauliflower rice

Day 2: Crustless Breakfast Quiche with fruit of choice

Day 3: Roasted Veggies & Sausage

Day 4: Maple Mustard Chicken Thighs with Roasted Brussels.

Day 5: French Dip Sandwiches (save half of the cooked beef for tacos) on Noah’s Rolls with veggies of choice on the side.

Day 6: Shrimp Pad Thai

Day 7: Slow Cooker Chicken Jambalaya over quinoa, rice or cauliflower rice

Day 8: Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili with tortilla chips

Day 9: White Bean & Ham Soup for the Slow Cooker

Day 10: Black Bean Salsa Chicken Burrito Bowls (with left over Black Bean Salsa Chicken from Day 1)

Day 11: Skillet Lasagna

Day 12: Carrot Cake Pancakes with syrup, sausage and fruit

Day 13: Pizza Sloppy Joes on Noah’s Rolls with Roasted Rosemary Potatoes and veggies

Day 14: Baked Beef and Black Bean Tacos with veggies

Menu Plan Monday – March 16, 2020

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The one dude in the house that is glad about everything being shut down. #ExtraDoggySnuggleBonus #LivingHisBestDogLife

If there is anything that seems to rattle us more than anything else, it is uncertainty. It can be a scary feeling, when our direction doesn’t seem clear and there does not seem to be a way forward. We are used to our set plans, our schedules laid out, with lists to check off. Places to go, people to see, hustling to and fro. When things stop you in your tracks and ask you to stop, to slow down, it can be quite a shock. It could be a job change, upcoming surgery, an illness in yourself or a loved one, or the current state of things right now… When we are uncertain, or direction isn’t clear. We may end up feeling numb, panicked, paralyzed, or desperate to feel like we have some control to what is happening around us.

And you know what? I am not going to tell you not to feel that way. Honor how you are feeling right now, in this moment of uncertainty. Be angry, or sad, frustrated, or laugh at the absurdity of it all. Work through those feelings. They are real. It IS frustrating and crazy right now. We are missing out on planned activities we have been looking forward to and not sure of the next thing.

But after that? Protect your thoughts. Guard them. Yes, things may seem unpredictable now, but worry won’t change the circumstance. What will change is how we choose to react and what we choose to act on. Soaking in the constant news cycle, constantly searching online for answers, can get too scary for yourself and your children. Personally, I have needed to step back and commit to staying off social channels, choosing to check my news feed only a couple of times throughout the day. The news will still be there if I need an update of anything that is truly important for me to know. But this way I control the flood, the panicked tones, and can guard my own thoughts and feelings.

And lastly, I would ask you, even in the midst of all the uncertainty right now, to remember to be kind and be a light to others. We are ALL going through this together. Not everyone has the resources you may have. No matter what life throws at us try to find moments to remember what you are grateful for and reflect on whether it is something you can share with others. Let someone ahead of you in line, offer a pack of toilet paper to someone if your cart has two, call or FaceTime relatives who are elderly and may be cut off from visits right now and feeling alone. There are all ways we can bring a light to someone now when things feel dark. And my friends, when you spread joy, that makes things feel a little less dark and uncertain for you.

In short, be a helper…

One thing I can do is share what and how we are eating for the next couple of weeks. I wanted a plan that would take advantage of what may be still available at the stores (there was not a run on artichokes, canned coconut milk or frozen shrimp at the store – LOL), still be delicious and be comforting. For the second week, I did not want too many components of the recipes to have to be frozen or refrigerated as well, so focused on recipes that had more components I could store in the cupboards. For my family, I was able to double up on recipes so I can put things away in the freezer for another day. For example, today I have a double batch of taco chili in the slow cooker. Before I serve dinner, I will put away half of it to cool in the refrigerator. Before bed, when the chili is cool, I’ll seal, label and date the meal, tucking it into the freezer for another night. By doing this, I’ve extended my menu plan from 2 to 4 weeks. You know how I like to be prepared!

Breakfasts: I checked my cupboards and I have enough ingredients to make pancakes (paleo and gluten free vegan), pumpkin waffles, gluten free oats, to get us through if needed. I also have enough frozen fruit/spinach/chia/dairy free milk on hand to have smoothies for over 2 weeks. I wanted to make sure I did not need eggs for any of my breakfast options, just so I can save the eggs I get for baking for treats or dinner items or save on space in the refrigerator. I also checked on the status of my coffee and tea. Trust me my family does not want me to run out!

Lunches: I have plenty of gluten free bread on hand in the freezer, lunch meat, nut butters, apples, carrots, clementines, gluten free wraps, breakfast items (see above) and I always encourage the eating of leftovers for lunch, so I honestly feel pretty set there as well. Before you go to the store, go through what you already have on hand. Do you have items to take care of breakfasts for a couple of weeks? What else do you need to add to your list or make sure you do. You will be surprised by what you may already have on hand.

Treats: by going through my cupboard, I found I had 4(!) boxes of gluten free brownie mix, 2 cake mixes, frozen gluten free pie crusts, popcorn and enough dairy free chocolate chips to keep everyone’s spirits up for a while. I am not sure why I have so many mixes, because I usually make things from scratch, but I think now is the time to try them out! Why not? I figure if I just make one or two things a week, just for fun, it will be a fun activity for the family to participate in, and we’ll have something tasty when we are done. I jotted down how much eggs/oil/etc. will be needed if we used the mixes. What is in your cupboard?

Grocery List (serves 4 – double if you would like to make a second batch of each to freeze for another week)

Day 1: Mongolian Beef and Broccoli over cauliflower rice, rice or quinoa

-For my budget I made this with ground beef and fresh broccoli this week. There was not any frozen broccoli in my local store. To change the recipe, I cooked and crumbled the ground beef, draining any grease. When beef is cooked, add sauce ingredients and add cut broccoli and sautéing until sauce is thickened and broccoli is crisp-tender. There was no rice at the store (!), BUT there was plenty of frozen cauliflower rice and quinoa available to serve as a side, so pick your favorite accompaniment.

–Roast a whole chicken. Remove chicken meat and package for day two, keeping in the fridge. Make chicken stock from chicken bones. I added a onion, a couple carrots, celery, and garlic to stock.

Day 2: Wild Rice Chicken Soup using chicken and stock from day one.

Day 3: Taco Chili with Dairy Free Brazilian Cheese Rolls (wrap and freeze remaining rolls for day four.

Day 4: Slow Cooker Cassoulet with extra rolls from day three wrapped in foil and heated in the oven for 5ish minutes at 400 degrees.

Day 5: Carnitas Burrito Bowls (in the bowls I will also have Cilantro Lime Rice/quinoa/cauliflower rice, sautéed sweet pepper strips, and sweet corn kernels cooked coconut oil, caramelized onions, garlic, ground cumin and chili powder) If desired, save half of the carnitas for day seven before serving dinner.

Day 6: Spicy Sweet Glazed Chicken with roasted asparagus

Day 7: Pulled Pork on sweet baked potatoes with frozen or fresh veggies on the side. (If you made a really big pork roast for the Carnitas on day five, didn’t pick up a second roast or have room for one, simply save half of the carnitas, mix with your favorite gluten free BBQ sauce and presto! Dinner is served!)

Day 7: Tuna Noodle & Veggie Casserole

Day 8: Teriyaki Chicken with Veggies over pad Thai noodles instead of rice

Day 9: Calico Beans, Corn Bread and apple slices

Day 10: Pizza Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Day 11: Simple Pork Fried Rice

Day 13: Caramelized Onion and Garlic Hamburgers with Roasted Dijon Brussels Sprouts and Rosemary Oven Potatoes

Day 14: Curried Shrimp (I will do this with green beans as there were no frozen snap peas at the store. Any green veggie will do. In a pinch I would grab frozen spinach, thaw, squeeze out extra liquid and and stir in about 1/3 to 1/2 the package after everything is cooked to add greens to the meal.)

I wasn’t ready this week with a grocery list, but hopefully this list helps give ideas in your planning as we move toward staying home for longer periods during this time. On Monday and every Monday for the next few weeks while things are a bit uncertain, I will post a grocery list, menu plan and prep for a two week menu. Each menu plan will include food for a two week shop for 4 people, breakfasts, lunches, dinners and a couple treats. My hope is that is will ease someone’s way as we go forward.

Feel free to ask any questions and stay safe and cozy!