GF breakfast: Apple Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal

Ingredients:
1 cup oatmeal
1.5 cup water

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 apple peeled and chopped

1/4 cup raisins

1 TBS cinnamon

Directions:
1. Bring water to a boil
2. Add oatmeal first and stir then add all other ingredients and stir
3. Cook on low 5 mins or until oatmeal and apples have a nice consistency


So I know oatmeal is not all that exciting but I grew up on it and it is easy for a quick basic gluten and dairy free breakfast! All you need for a perfect breakfast is a glass of OJ, some protein and you have a quick balanced breakfast. I recommend grabbing a boiled egg from the fridge or frying one up on the skillet while your oatmeal cooks. This breakfast is comforting to me and reminds me of staying with my grandmother as a kid. We would have it more often in our home but one of my kids does not like the texture so I give him a different breakfast (which can be a hassle). Maybe one day we will ALL enjoy this easy quick breakfast. One can always dream right?

Cinnamon Apples: This dish + carrot cake icing makes the apple cinnamon donuts (soon to come)

I have been a rebel and took the family off the gluten free diet for a while (for a GI doc who was wanting to do testing) and we have not totally gotten back on the band wagon yet (I know... for shame, for shame, tssk, tssk, tssk) BUT I did start having crazy medical issues and I have started cooking GF again. SO the first real big batch of cooking I did was because I joined a food co-op and ordered 25 pounds of apples (and no that is not a typo), along with 20 pounds of carrots, and tomatoes.  (Oh why am I so ambitious?) Alas even after DAYS of cooking I still ended up giving away a bunch of produce. But on to the cooking ........

Candied Apples:

5 apples cored and sliced (I leave peels on because time is a commodity and they have a lot of nutritional value)
1/3 cup brown sugar (for those not wanting sugar this can be skipped all together but requires longer cook time and will be a little bitter, or honey, agave, stevia, Splenda can all be used)
1 TBS ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1-2 TBS vegetable oil (or butter if you are not dairy free)

Directions: Spread oil on skillet, then apple slices, next sprinkle on sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cook on Medium heat covered for 3 mins. Stir well and cook for 8 more minutes(stirring occasionally) until desired crispness/softness is reached. Also if want to have softer apples can recover it after first stir and just leave it for less work and more of a steamed apple texture. Eat as many as you like then refrigerate the rest for later! They taste good hot or cold!

*These are not super sticky or greasy like most fried apples but they can be with additional sugar, oil and pan frying for longer (and uncovered). My kids actually prefer them per the above recipe though. They like them with a little crunch and I cook them just soft enough that my kids will eat the peels without complaining.

**Can skip oil by putting 1/4 cup water instead and cooking a little longer though it does effect the texture some

Breakfast Smoothies

 

This morning we had smoothies and dry cereal while watching a little educational t.v. 

Here is my recipe:

Frozen mixed fruit (from Costco's frozen isle) -about half blender full

silken tofu -half a pack

sugar- 2 heaping spoonfulls

Orange Juice- about 2 cups

Blend all until smoothe

I love these mixed tropical frozen fruits from Costco, and I like the tofu because it gives it more protein. We sometimes use Strawberries and almond milk instead of mixed fruit and OJ! 

What is your favorite smoothie?

Week 1: Meal Planning

The most difficult thing for me when starting was trying to meal plan with picky kids. That being said my son's willingness to try things has increased and our options are much broader than when we first started. If you are feeling desperate and don't know where to start hopefully this will help you! Since it is Tuesday (and payday) the plan starts on Wednesday.

Wednesday:

Breakfast- Chocolate Muffins and fruit
Lunch- Lunch meat, Glutino Pretzels, fruit
Dinner- experiment with tuna casserole (did not go over well)


Thursday:
Breakfast- Leaping Lemurs Cereal, fruit smoothies
Lunch- Peanut Butter and Jelly pancakes, fruit
Dinner- Spaghetti and salad


Friday:
Breakfast- waffles and syrup
Lunch- chicken nuggets, sweet potato fries
Dinner- left over Spaghetti


Saturday:
Breakfast- cereal and smoothies
Lunch-chicken nuggets, pretzels, fruit
Dinner-(probably Subway or Pei Wei)



Sunday:
Breakfast- Waffles and syrup
Lunch- Salmon Patties and salad
Dinner- Coconut curry chicken, steamed veggies and rice

Monday:
Breakfast- Pineapple upside down cake
Lunch- left overs
Dinner- Sweet and Sour Pork, stir fry noodles 

Tuesday:
Breakfast- Pineapple upside down cake
Lunch- Sweet and Sour Pork and noodles
Dinner- sausage, onion and bok choy stir fry

I will try to put recipes up for each item as we make it!

Chocolate muffins or cupcakes: Protien rich breakfast and treat!

Today I stumbled upon a can of garbanzo beans and got really excited!! (I am in need of a grocery trip) I was excited because I thought we were out. I have been really wanting to make some muffins. If you are just starting Gluten Free Dairy Free cooking you may have found there are PLENTY of recipes out there on the world wide web. If you have started trying to make them you (like me) have probably figured out a good percentage of them don't turn out very tasty. I was starting to become convinced gluten free people may have gained their health back, but lost there taste buds!
So my promise to you as a gluten free mommy blogger is every recipe I publish has been made in my kitchen. Also by me and my kids standards it tastes good (not just edible!). I will not garauntee they are healthy, they probably do not have a low glycimic index, and they may not be fully balanced (but can be if you add fruits, veggies etc). I only claim they taste good. Good enough that my kids will ask for more!

Another wonderful appliance I have gotten my money's worth from since going gluten free is my food processor which you will need for this recipe. I use it several times a week. It is 10 cup "Better Homes and Garden" brand.

The muffins/cupcakes are modified from a recipe on all recipes linked here 


I do not follow the recipe exactly as I use a little extra on the chocolate chips, I add a teaspoon of vanilla and extra sugar :)

So my recipe is this:
 In food processor I dump:

1 can drained garbanzo beans
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 cup of sugar
4 eggs

In a ramekin I microwave :
2 cups of chocolate chips - 30 secs then stir, then microwave 10 sec and stir until all chocolate is melted.
***Careful to not burn the chocolate or your muffins will taste like burnt chocolate which taste BAD!! If you want to be a little cautious you can start with 10 seconds at a time microwaving**

Pour melted chocolate in processor and process until well blended. I let it sit and rest about 5 minutes after processing to let eggs deflate. Then I use a large spoon and fill my cupcake liners about 3/4 full and cook at 350 for 25 minutes. I always check with a toothpick that they are done. Also I have deflated the middle by opening the oven.

Also today to try and get maximum height I slowly increased the oven temp as the cupcakes grew. I started it at 330 and everytime it reached temp I increased it 5 degrees. This way the fire (we have gas) never turned off. When they finished the temp way 360. This was just an experiment and it worked (don't ask me why it may just be a coincidence). I got the tallest cupcakes I have made yet with this recipe. They did shrink a bit when cooling but it is better than normal. Normally they fall a little in the center. These were flat and some actually a little round. Yay! I better go take a picture before they are all eaten up!

I love this recipe because it is so protein rich. It makes a great quick easy breakfast. Also I love having leftovers to help avoid cooking for a meal or two!




Please take a moment to answer in the comments (and add any comments on the post of course!)

What is your favorite breakfast food and why?