How to be Gluten Free Naturally

With so many people being gluten free these days, companies are beginning to catch on and create g.f. packaged foods, full of junk that does not belong in the human body.

Now I'm not vegan, paleo, or anything like that, I'm just gluten free and mostly dairy free, but I still believe it is important to feed our bodies whole, real foods. It might be easier to pick up a package of granola bars off the shelf of the grocery store, but in the long run? Your body will thank you for choosing an apple and peanut butter, or something like that instead.

So below, I'm going to list some gluten free foods that are just naturally g.f. please note that I am not a doctor or certified nutritionist, and I'm not recommending that anyone go gluten free. This is for the many people who are gluten free, but would like to remove packaged foods from their diet.

Milk.                    
Yoghurt

Cheese

Butter

Fruit

Vegetables

Rice

Potatoes

Corn

Quinoa

Certified G.F. Oats

Eggs

Chicken

Beef

Pork

Lamb

Salmon

Tilapia

Codfish

Shellfish

Catfish

Vinegar

Coconut oil

Olive oil

Honey

Agave

Maple syrup

Cocoa powder

Nut butters

Nuts

Coffee

Tea

Please note also that you should always double check each item listed here to see if it really is g.f. because sometimes there can be a glutenful product in a place you least expect it.

Hope this has helped you! This is not EVERYTHING that's g.f., So be sure to explore your options around you!

<3 Danielle

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Do chicken nuggets sum up anyone else's childhood? It's not just me, right?

right?

Well, they were always my favorite. Whenever and wherever we went out to eat:

Culvers

McDonalds

Burger King

Sonic

.......Just to name a few. But that was before I was very health-consious, obviously.

These little gems I have for you today are much healthier, and baked. To be honest, I've never deep fried anything in my life. Grease just doesn't appeal. At all. I don't even remember the last time that I ate fast food!

Anyway, you should definitely give these a whirl, they are sooooooooooo much better than McDonald's. Although, I guess that's not saying much, but you get the picture.

Chicken Nuggets
2 cups cooked chicken breast, chopped
2/3 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 eggs
1 tbsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
2 slices bread (stale is good. if it is super stale, skip step no. 2)
2 tbsp. dried oregano
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt

1. In a food processor, grind the chicken until it forms a thick paste. Add the eggs, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, 1 tbsp. garlic powder, 2 tbsp. oregano, and 1/2 tsp salt, and combine until everything is evenly distributed. Set aside.
2. Dry bread out by toasting on low until very stale.
3. Crumble bread into super small crumbs (this can be done in a food processor). mix with remaining ingredients.
4. Take chicken mixture 1.5 Tbsp. at a time, form into a slightly flattened ball, and coat in breadcrumb mixture. Placeon a baking sheet lightly greased with coconut oil.
5. Once all the chicken is used (you'll probably have leftover breadcrumbs. Just throw them away), bake in a preheated (400 degrees Fahrenheit) oven for about ten minutes, or until heated through and golden brown and slightly firm. Allow to cool slightly before enjoying!

I hope you like them as much as I do!

<3 Danielle

One Pan Stir Fry

Note: sorry this post came a little later in the day than usual, I am out of town staying in a house of no WiFi, so bear with me for the next week or so... I'll do my best to post regularly!

Some nights, I just don't feel like cooking.

Some nights, I have too empty of a pantry to make anything fancy.

Some nights, I just want to eat something delicious, but don't have much time.

Some nights (read: every night), I crave Asian food. 

That's when I make this stir fry.

This is super adaptable:

Don't have the right veggies? Mushrooms, green beans, sugar snap peas, etc. work well

Don't have chicken? Omit  or  substitute cooked pork, tofu, or beans.

No rice? Use quinoa, spaghetti squash, cauliflower rice, or your favourite grain.

So, there is no excuses not to make this!

One Pan Stir Fry

2 cups chicken, cooked and chopped

2 cups uncooked rice

3 large carrots

1 head broccoli

2 large stalks celery

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce (I love Little Soya brand)

pepper, to taste

1 tbsp. sriracha sauce

1 tsp. ground ginger

2 tbsp. rice vinegar

1. In a large skillet, simmer rice in water for twenty minutes, or until soft.
2. While rice cooks, chop vegetables to a uniform size, or as shown in the picture above.
3. Strain the rice. in the same skillet, steam vegetables until tender, about ten-  fifteen minutes.
4. Once they are soft, remove steaming liquid from pan, and add rice, chicken, soy sauce, pepper, sriracha, ginger, and vinegar to the vegetables. Heat everything through, and keep heated until serving.

Serves about 6-8

Hope you all like it as much as I do!

~Danielle



Caramelized Basil Onions

I'm rather picky about my onions. First of all, when cooked, they must be soft; I find it gross when a dish has partially raw onions. Also, they have to have the right mix of sweet and spicy, in that onion-y way to theirs, of course. And lastly, please don't serve me unseasoned onions!

So, on the quest for perfect onions, I developed the perfect recipe, and it meets every requirement! Best of all (for all you sodium watchers) there's no added salt! However, I rarely add any salt to my recipes, so I've become accustomed to unsalty flavors. If you think this needs salt, by all means, add salt!

With only 4 ingredients, these a super easy. Not to mention they have all my favorite things: onions

Pepper

Basil

Butter (let's just be real here!)

I would have added a sqeeze of lemon, but alas, the fridge was barren of the citrus.

Caramelized Basil Onions

2 medium onions

2 Tbsp. Fresh basil, packed

1 tsp. Butter

Pepper, to taste

Melt the butter in a skillet, making sure it coats the bottom. Add onions and saute over medium heat constantly untill they have reduced and turned a soft brown (about 15 minutes). Add basil and pepper and continue to saute until basil has reduced slightly. Remove from heat and serve.

I ate mine with some chicken on a very fancy plate, as you surely noticed above.

~~{~@  Danielle

Avocado Chicken Salad

I've always loved traditional chicken salad, ya know, chopped chicken, salt and pepper, onions and mayonnaise.  But when I changed my eating habits several years ago, I decided the mayo had to go.

But whats chicken salad without mayonnaise? As usual, Pinterest held the answer.  I never actually clicked on a link leading to a avocado chicken salad recipe because I had a better idea.

Remember my awesome guacamole that I shared a while back? Well imagine that married to chicken and a few extra herbs. Yum. Normally, I do not add the feta to the chicken salad, but you can feel free to do so. In fact, don't make a special trip to the store if you're missing a minor ingredient (such as an herb or lime or vinegar)

My cooking philosophy is basically to add everything to taste, and according to whats in the pantry. It has always worked!

 Feel free to use white onions in lieu of red. You also can use extra vinegar instead of lime juice, and vice versa. Have fun with it!

Avocado Chicken Salad
1 cup chopped chicken (I use breast meat)
1/4 cup chopped cucumber
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 1/4 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 1/4 Tbsp. lime juice
1 large ripe avocado, mashed well
1 Tbsp. oregano, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. dill
1/2 tsp curry powder
salt and pepper to taste

1) Combine the last ten ingredients (this includes the salt and pepper as one ingredient)
2) Stir in the chicken and chopped vegetables until they are well coated with the avocado mixture.

* I garnished with cilantro, it adds more freshness to the flavor, I'd highly recommend it!

~~{~@ Danielle