Hemp--My New Favorite Food Source

My husband gets a lot of mileage out of this, but I have discovered a new source of protein and fiber in a gluten and dairy free format. Hemp!

Despite his incessant joking about the new products in our fridge and freezer, my ultra-hippie new fad is reaping many benefits for my poor diet restricted household.

1st--I have found the solution to one of my last posts where I complained about the difficulty of finding a nutritional supplement drink to replace all of the Boost we used to give to PB (before we knew that dairy was a problem too). There are two really tasty hemp protein mixes, chocolate flavored of course, that I now mix into Becca's almond milk. And I recommend you ONLY use almond milk for this. Water, rice milk, and other alternatives simply will not dissolve the powders half as well. Of course, if you are allergic to nuts then you could try coconut or soy milk, which might work but I did not have on hand to use in my experiments.

2nd--I have found a dairy-free gluten-free ice cream that satisfies the worst of my cravings. It is creamy, rich, and very chocolatey! Also a hemp-based product, it is now a must-have on every shopping trip.

Before discussing the brands I think I'm now required to state that I have received NO compensation, correspondence, or offers from the makers of these foods. If I were making money off this blog, I wouldn't be keeping my day job! And I don't even get free samples. Instead I paid good money for the privilege of testing and reviewing the products. Hopefully that covers all my bases.

For the protein powders, I recommend Nutiva Hempshake (tm) and Manitoba Harvest Certified Organic Hemp Protein Powder (tm). While there are several flavor varieties, I get the chocolate versions of both and then mix them for a smooth, mocha-type flavor. You have to stir this stuff really well, or get a mini blender and whiz the liquid and the powders together for a good 20 seconds. But the result is well worth the effort.

As far as the hemp ice cream--I am in love with Living Harvest's Tempt (tm) Ice Cream in Chocolate Fudge flavor. I am just as likely to tear through a pint of the stuff in one sitting as I ever was with Ben and Jerry's. But when it's all said and done, I at least know I consumed enough omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids to get me through a week.

And NO there are no detectable levels of anything naughtier than chocolate in any of these products. Enough already! *this last bit is mainly for my dh's benefit*

Expanding My Food Horizons

I've mentioned that at times, Princess Becca (PB) can challenge my preconceived notions of what constitutes an acceptable food choice. Tonight, she did it again--with a little help from her father this time...

We were busy going through the motions of our snacktime conversations:

"I'm HOOONNGRY," PB whines.
"What do you want, baby?" I ask her. I don't expect a usable answer yet.
"Something yummy."
"OK. Like what? Do you want turkey? Or some ham?"
I don't get a verbal response, just a glare.

This is where daddy chimes in. He's not always home for these exchanges, and so the game of "feed Becca" still has some alure to him. (When he's home with the kids, they get two food choices. Take one or don't eat.)

"I used to eat ketchup on my soy-nut butter sandwiches," he tells our daughter.

I gasp and utter an "Oh gross!" before I can stop myself. I immediately know two things:
1) There was never any soy-nut butter in my husband's childhood.
2) He is absolutely sincere that he put ketchup on his ~peanut~ butter sandwiches.

Despite the stomach-churning idea of those foods entering my mouth together, I feel guilty for my reaction. We encourage PB to think outside the norm as she chooses foods that work for her, within her dietary constraints.

Becca gauges my level of disgust, and sides with Daddy (thank goodness for reverse psychology). "Yeah! I want that." she says.

I put a muzzle on my sensibility and give my husband a look. He knows that I will never, ever, be the one to make her a soy-nut butter and ketchup sandwich. They head to the kitchen together for a little father/daughter bonding over their favorite red condiment. I find somewhere else to be until the sandwich is gone. And yes, she really did like it. Daddy loves being right.

Wish List Foods--Nutritional Shake

Before we decided that dairy was causing much of Becca's elimination troubles, we let her drink Boost almost daily (because it is gluten-free). Now, we are really wishing we had an alternative to keep her going on car trips, or at other strange times when a gluten-free meal is not readily available, or when her tummy is cramping too bad to eat solid foods.

Does anyone know of a nutritional drink--chocolate flavored of course--that is both gluten AND caseine (dairy) free? If not, I'm going to start trying to come up with a recipe of our own. I'd welcome ideas from other parents of GFCF kids, or from nutritionists!

Oh, and I do want to mention that powdered mixes would be fine. We can always shake it up with a little rice milk from those individual serving packets.

Cold Bacon

Becca is never hungry in a normal sort of way. She is all or nothing. When she is not hungry, good luck getting anything down her except water and juice. But when she IS hungry she will wear you down in her efforts to keep eating, eating, eating.

So after I have pulled out, heated up, mixed together and served thirteen different foods in an hour's time, I get a little less rigid about our food boundaries. My dad has often caught me at these moments, and raised serious objections about the things I'm letting her choose.

Tonight, for instance, is one of PB's hungry times. But in addition to being ravenously hungry, she was maddeningly picky. I opened the fridge door and read off the list of items (for the tenth time) available for her dining pleasure. Ah-hah! Hiding in the back was a small batch of pre-cooked bacon.

We had a winner. I take the bacon to the microwave to warm it up.

"I want it cold!" says the little princess.

It takes me less than two nano-seconds to decide on this one. My eyebrow raises, but just barely. I rip out two pieces and fork them over. She walks off chewing happily on her prize, and I am content knowing I just saved myself fifteen seconds of microwave time and three minutes of blowing on hot bacon to cool it back down. Ain't I smart?

Home Made Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets Recipe

I found a recipe on the web for making chicken nuggets that are "just like" McD's. Unfortunately it was full of gluten, "just like McD's."

So we reworked it for a gluten-free version (and changed up the seasonings) and the result was a hit with everyone in the family. The only thing that still needs some tweaking is the breading, which turned out a little bit grainy. If anyone plays with this recipe and develops a good variation PLEASE post it as a comment.

Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets Recipe:

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 Egg, beaten OR egg substitute prepared according to package directions

1 Tbl water

Gluten-free seasonings to taste (paprika, sea salt, powdered onion, garlic, white pepper, etc)

OR

Gluten-free beef bouillon powder

2 c. gluten-free all purpose baking mix (ie Bob's Red Mill)

Oil for frying -- Grapeseed or Canola

In a small bowl, beat the 1 Tbl water into the egg. If using egg substitute have it in a small bowl ready for dipping. Pour the two cups of baking mix into a separate, medium-sized bowl. Lightly season baking mix with salt and white pepper, or whatever other seasonings your family prefers.

Cut the raw chicken into pieces and drop into your blender, or just throw it whole into a food processor. Season the pieces with the buillon or your own seasonings and then pulse together until chicken forms a paste.

Heat 1 and 1/2 inches of oil on medium heat in frying pan, or use a deep fryer. Make sure oil is new, or has never been used to cook anything with gluten.

Roll chicken paste into ball shapes (a rounded tablespoon of chicken each). Dip the ball into the baking mix and coat well. Flatten the chicken in your hand until it resembles a chicken nugget and is of even thickness all across. Dip nugget into egg mix to coat and then back into baking mix. Set aside on a dedicated plate until you have a batch ready to go into the fryer.

Deep fry the nuggets for five minutes, turning once if they are not fully submerged. Remove to plate to cool. Serve with dipping sauces or plain.

See attached picture of how ours turned out! If you don't want to go gluten-free, just substitute plain old flour for the baking mix.

Roast Beef for Dinner

"Mom...I'm hungry."

A normal complaint in any household, but for us it is a non-stop mantra. Becca really is ALWAYS hungry. Usually we don't stop at fast food restaurants because they are so unpredictable. But tonight the baby was screaming at the top of her lungs, and Becca was whining her own sad tune..so, I cut across two lanes of rush hour traffic and pulled into the first restaurant we passed. It happened to be Arby's.

"Can I have turkey?" was Becca's request.

"You mean roast beast?" I asked. My husband is responsible for none of our children knowing what roast beef really is, so we all speak in terms of Dr Seuss.

I'm not in the mood to ask the young thing manning the drive-through window if the beef was gluten free, so I ordered it without a bun and had it packed up in a plastic case. Poor Becca had to smell her dinner all the way home so I could check it on the computer.

The good news? Arby's advertises on its website that the roast beef is gluten free! Yay! The bad news? Roast beef is not sufficiently insulated by a plastic box to retain any heat for a delayed meal. Becca scarfed it down anyway.

Score one for Arby's!