Category Archives: food allergies

Dairy Free Keto for Brain Health – Week 1

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Many people are jumping on the Keto diet for weight loss, but most have no idea that this diet is actually designed as a therapy diet for brain conditions. When my husband was diagnosed with seizures from a prior Traumatic Brain Injury, I knew this would be a helpful step in rehabilitation. I’ve opted into doing a dairy free keto since we have one child with dairy intolerance (no longer an anaphylactic allergy, but it instantly flares up his skin and ezcema to unbearable leavels) + we have seen how inflammatory dairy has been in the rest of us especially when it comes to congestion, allergies and pain.IMG_2110

We are already gluten free because of a wheat allergy, but we are making quite a few modifications to take out the dairy AND nuts, which can be two big elements of the keto diet. On top of that, we have one child that also has to avoid soy, avocado, banana and seeded berries (strawberry, blackberry, raspberry).

These are the recipes I compiled for week one of our Dairy Free Keto Plan. Many of the recipes leftovers make great breakfast by simply adding an egg on top, paired with one of the Keto ‘dessert’ type foods. We do a big breakfast meal here on the farm, generally a light snack for lunch and then an earlier dinner (since I have also been doing intermittent fasting for several months).

{DAY 1}
Breakfast: Nasi Goreng is hands down my new favorite breakfast recipe. I like to make a large batch since it heats up really well as leftovers (saving the eggs on top to cook fresh). I can make one mess to shred it all up and then be done for the week!

Dinner: Sheet Pan Chicken with Sausage and Asparagus I used pork sausage instead of chorizo since we have a good local source for that, but this was a good standard easy dinner to start off a Monday.  3D943CE4-DE4B-4479-B153-58D5035FBE2D 2

{Day 2}
Breakfast: Leftover Nasi Goreng with an egg on top and/or Dairy Free Chocolate Milkshakes (we have some very hungry growing boys around here that quite often eat 2 different breakfast meals by the time it is all said and done. I have had to sub the bananas in our original recipe lately for 1-2 cans of coconut cream since the little can’t do bananas, but this is a great dairy free keto treat.

Dinner: Drunken Chicken Zoodle Casserole. OMG this was SO GOOD! It was a bit more prep than some of the other meals, but totally worth it. I used chicken breast pieces, cut the chili garlic paste in 1/2 (since the kids don’t love super spicy), and used coconut aminos instead of the soy sauce, and it was just right. My husband and I love Thai food and the sauce in this recipe had such good flavor. Everyone raved about this dinner the whole way through. BONUS: This was even more amazing as leftovers!IMG_2108IMG_2111

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{Day 3}
Breakfast: Egg Salad I have no idea why I have not yet posted my Deviled Egg Salad recipe, but it’s super simple so I’ll just post it here. This is not keto in it’s original form, but the kids LOVE it, so I made a batch for them and then made some for us without the secret ingredient {brown sugar}. lol

To make this, I soft boil about a dozen eggs in the instant pot (put on the grate, add some water to the bottom and run for 4 minutes). Peel the eggs and mash them up into a bowl with some mayo, spicy brown mustard and just a pinch of brown sugar to taste. I am going to have to make this with measurements soon because I am the world’s worst at measuring. We love to use homemade mayo and I’d say I do several TBSP of that, 1-2 Tbsp spicy brown mustard and maybe 1-2 tsp brown sugar. Mix it all up and it does not last long here. For the kids who are still eating some carbs, they put this on some toast and devour it. We do the non-sugar version and mix in some chopped celery, onion and chopped pieces of leftover bacon into a bowl and….YUM.

Dinner: Keto Beef and Broccoli Bowls  These were yummy and the kids agreed they would like to have them again, but I think I’d tweak the sauce a bit next time to be a little thicker with a little more flavor. I found the broth watered it down a bit too much by the time it soaked in. We served these over cauliflower rice and overall it was VERY yummy and easy.IMG_2107

{Day 4}
Breakfast: Leftover Beef and Broccoli – this made great breakfast leftovers by heating it up and adding an egg on top! For the kids, I made a batch of Pumpkin Pie Pudding on the side and it was delicious!

Dinner: Superfood Baked Salmon Sheet Pan This was a beautiful dish to prepare and serve. I was honestly a bit underwhelmed at the flavors though when it all came out in the end. The wild blueberry balsamic basil topping did not have the punch I was hoping for, so I think I would add in quite a bit more garlic and lemon next time, as well as add some raw chopped bacon around the sprouts (nothing better than sprouts that can soak up the bacon flavor to crisp up while cooking).IMG_2106

{Day 5}
Breakfast: I used the extra sprouts from the night before as the base of this SUPER Sheet Pan Breakfast Hash. This will absolutely be on my morning rotation from here out. While I have used the brussel sprouts with breakfast several times before, adding in the raw bacon and then baking the eggs onto the sheet pan was just perfection!IMG_2114

IMG_2155Dinner: Egg Roll in a Bowl This was interestingly similar to the Nasi Goreng in the preparation – only instead of the broccoli this had a LOT of cabbage and also included ACV which gave it a notably different taste. While I ADORE the flavor the coconut aminos give to many of these meals, I have to change it up so we don’t feel like we are eating the same thing over and over (though essentially we are). HA. Overall though, another huge win – the kids devoured these bowls and it will definitely be staying in the Keto rotation!

UPLEVELING the Meal Planning

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Life has a good way of reminding us that we are never in control. This year has brought on new challenges that we never thought we’d be dealing with. When faced with an unexpected health challenger or diagnosis there are 2 choices: fight and do what you can to help your body heal, or give up and resign to let it eventually beat you down. I wholeheartedly believe that food is medicine, so when we found out this year that my husband’s twenty year career as a Marine left him with some long term traumatic brain injuries that are just now starting to present, a “no brainer” move has been to tweak our diets to give him the best possible nutrition to boost brain health and regeneration.

Part of his developing condition was the onset of focal seizures, which are not the typical seizure that people think of, but incredibly debilitating and damaging nonetheless. The Ketogenic diet was originally created as a therapy diet to deal with brain conditions like seizures. We are DEFINITELY not newbies to food restrictions and special diets with all the food allergies and chronic issues that we have been through with our kids, so going Dairy Free Keto was a fairly simple tweak to the diet we already had. It mostly meant taking back out some of the carbs and sugars that we had slacked and let come back in even though we eat a very real food diet already.

For me, the biggest step in making a diet change for our family is the MEAL PLANNING! This is such a foundational part of our week anyway since without the meal plan my days and meals turn into chaos.

1) IMG_2098I have been using the app Plan To Eat for several months now, and highly recommend this for anyone wanting to organize or start their meal planning. I absolutely LOVE this app for scheduling, tweaking recipe changes, saving new found recipes and putting together a shopping list of the week’s meal plan ingredients. This makes a weekly shopping trip a breeze and ensures I have all the items stocked and ready to go for what we plan to eat each week.

2) Once I’ve dropped in both a breakfast and dinner meal plan each day of the week, I transfer them to our Meal Planning Menu board  that is front and center in our dining/kitchen area so the whole family knows what to expect each day.

3) Adding breakfast to our weekly meal planning has made a WORLD of difference in our homeschooling routine. I refuse to let the kids eat sugary cereal each morning and call it breakfast, so putting in some variety lets them know what they can expect and what they are only allowed to eat that in the morning, even if they wake up before anyone else. Let me tell you – this has been a GAME CHANGER!

Do you have a meal planning system that you love? Share it with us below! Stay tuned for some of our weekly KETO meal plans and compilation of recipes.

Gluten Free Stirfry

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I often make meals that are healthy and meals that taste good, but they do not always align at the same time 😂 I try.

Tonight my 7 year old said as he was eating, ‘this tastes better than cake,’ so I figured this is worth writing down. This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, nut free and soy free and is both Whole 30 and Keto friendly.

I have been transitioning to cauliflower rice for obvious nutritional and health benefits, and am loving these super easy stir fry bowls. I’ve done chicken & broccoli but tonight’s rendition was Ahi Tuna steaks over the stirfry and it was GONE in a flash with rave reviews from all 3 boys. Super super simple.

PREP AHEAD:

Marinade Wild Ahi Tuna steaks a few hours ahead of time with a drizzle of olive oil (I use my fav Rosemary Thyme Infused oil) Coconut Aminos, and crushed garlic. Put in fridge.

Prepare homemade mayo if you do not have any (this is a soy free 4 ingredient super clean condiment that tastes WAY better than anything you get in a store)

  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup LIGHT TASTING olive oil (do NOT use regular or it will be disgusting)
  • 1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard

Season with a dash of salt and blend all in a cup with immersion blender until nice and thick and creamy

Set in fridge and save for later

——-

When ready to eat:

Use any riced cauliflower of your choice (I have used several brands all with great results, but love the Green Giant with no additives or even seasoning). Pour out desired amount in an oven safe dish and add in a bag of frozen organic mixed vegetables or chop and pre-cook fresh veggies until soft and then add to cauliflower mix.

This is so easy it’s not really a recipe, but the simple seasonings make it go from blah to amazing. Stick the frozen cauliflower rice and veggies in oven or on stove until cooked through and hot.

When almost done, heat skillet over med/high heat and sear/cook the marinated tuna steaks (or can do the same thing with chicken). Depending on thickness I usually do 2.5 min per side for the tuna so they are still med rare.

Before serving, drizzle on coconut aminos over ‘rice’ and veggie mix, salt and pepper.

Top with Ahi Tuna steak and drizzle the ‘mayo sauce’ over the top. Enjoy!

Hot wheels birthday cupcakes

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Every year the birthday ‘themes’ have become one of the things the boys look forward to the most, and SO FAR it has been enough to keep them away from wanting the big parties that so many kids have nowadays that I just really cannot stand. I love planning events more than the average mom, but when it comes to kids birthday parties, I can seriously do without all that crazy hype and social expectation.

I did, however, get myself into a bind with these themes and it started because my oldest (now 8 year old) was allergic to EVERYTHING and I did not want him to feel deprived of a birthday cake so had to learn how to make them myself and then make them look like I didn’t necessarily make them myself 😂

So each year the kids look forward to helping with their cake – the idea, design and implementation, though I am really trying to steer them toward the awesomeness of CUPCAKES! Amen?!

OH so much easier and way more practical. So this year my 7 year old chose Hot Wheels and we came up with this super basic cupcake and mini cake design that he loved. Easiest thing ever and he got to help pick out a few cars to use as toppers for .87 at the store. Win!

Ok, so when you let your 7 year old be in charge of the ‘grass’ it may look a little crazy, but who cares – they love it.

This was a simple gluten free mix.

To decorate:

1) spread some basic white frosting smoothly where you want the road. Be careful to ONLY put the frosting where you want the road or this part can actually go wrong

2) sprinkle on or dip upside-down into small black sprinkles for the ‘pavement’

3) use the green easy decorating frosting cans to make the ‘grass’ all around the road

4) place your little Hot Wheels car right on top

5) DONE! I mean, so easy and every little boy loves them.

Nourishing Bean Soup

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Not only is a warm bowl of homemade soup a fantastic end to a winter day, there are a lot of health benefits that can pack into a soup and it is one way we make sure to get in a lot of good broth and veggies. There are a lot of benefits to upping your intake of bone broth, and with my son dealing with severe autoimmune and gut issues we are trying to make sure that the broth and soups are a regular part of our diet. Of course our soup recipes are always gluten, dairy and nut free thanks to our sons’ food allergies. (the only dairy would be an optional cheese on the top).

This week I chose to try a ham and bean soup. I had saved the ham leg bone from our Christmas ham and had it in the freezer. The base for a lot of my soups starts the same. I chop up a bunch of onion, carrots and celery and cook until softened, then start branching out on my flavors from there. Here is the recipe that I ended up with for this soup and it was absolutely DELICIOUS! One of my favorites yet and even the kids gobbled it up quickly and asked for more.

Ingredients:

  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 bunch of organic  celery, chopped
  • 2-3 cups of organic carrots, chopped
  • 64 oz of organic chicken broth
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 Tbsp organic minced garlic
  • rosemary and thyme infused olive oil
  • 1 ham bone (optional for flavor)
  • 2-3 cups organic spinach leaves, chopped
  • 1 bottle angry orchard crisp apple gluten free hard cider
  • 2 – 15 oz cans of organic navy beans
  • 2 – 15 oz cans of organic cannelini beans
  • 2 packages of aidells natural chicken and apple smoked sausage (browned and chopped)

 

How to:

  • Add chopped onion, celery and carrots into a large stock pot with some rosemary & thyme olive oil (or oil of your choice) and cook on high until they begin to soften
  • Add in ham bone if you have one
  • Pour in the chicken broth and turn heat down to a low simmer
  • Add in the hard cider to flavor your broth (this is a delicious flavoring), salt, pepper and garlic
  • in a separate pan, brown the chopped chicken and apple sausages until thoroughly cooked
  • add the sausage into the soup
  • allow to simmer for 30 min – a few hours (I personally think the earlier in the day you make them the better the flavor)
  • add spinach
  • about 15 minutes before serving, add in the beans. I like to add them at the end so they are not too mushy, but still have a chance to get warm
  • remove the ham bone and discard
  • pour into bowls and top with some fresh grated Parmesan cheese (if you can do dairy)
  • ENJOY!

Seal Beach

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Beach hopping continues! We drove up the coast about an hour to our new destination: Seal Beach! Our campsite here is actually not a campground, but an RV park. We are quickly learning there is definitely a difference between the two! Since we are just starting out, we did not realize (what is probably common knowledge for full timers) that RV parks in general do not allow tents or have campfire pits (which by this time was actually a welcome change). We are at the Seabreeze RV park which is extremely nice, clean and uncomfortably quiet. I’m not entirely sure there is anyone here – maybe just a bunch of empty RVs parked here for the summer? Either way – it’s our first time having FULL hookups!!! We are a bit excited to finally be able to use the sinks without apprehension (though still trying to conserve and be responsible) 😉

Seal Beach is a cute little beach town sandwiched between Huntington Beach and Long Beach just south of LA.

Since we LOVE food and love to find great local places, we often look to YELP to scout out the highest reviewed non-chain (when possible) place to eat that uses real, fresh food that can be made allergen free and safe for the kiddos. Our search in this area landed us at Cesar’s Bistro…

This little spot is AMAZING – we’d highly recommend it. The service was fantastic and it felt like we had known our server forever by the time we left. They were very accommodating to the allergies and had excellent gluten free options since a lot of their ‘breads’ were home made with corn. Check out the presentation here! This is the Caribbean pulled pork and the salad was something I’d come back for alone – so much flavor!

Had to finish off the meal with sweet plantains, of course.

Definitely check this place out if you’re in the area!

San Clemente

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We’ve been coming to San Clemente for the past 4 years for every pediatrician appointment that the boys have – sometimes with a 3 hour drive in each way. It is always 100% worth it for so many reasons! First of all, our pediatrician is hands down the BEST there is. We’ve been seeing Dr. Sears for several years and I have never once left there feeling like we did not get amazing care that was completely geared toward the best interest of our kids. Dr. Bob has worked with us to find the most natural options to take care of whatever they are dealing with and has been great to work with through some of our more difficult challenges dealing with 2 of the boys’ food allergies.

The boys love their visits to see Dr. Bob! I also loved that I have been able to partner with the Sears Wellness Institute as a Certified Health Coach to learn more how to support their nutrition and teach others what we have learned through the years. The boys did great on their check-ups and are all super healthy and strong!

While loading up on donuts may seem very ironic after finishing up well visits, we could not pass up a trip to Sensitive Sweets bakery seeing as they are RIGHT across the street from Dr. Bob’s office. It’s not every day (or EVER) that we have a completely allergen free bakery in the area, so it was super fun to take the boys in and they could have ANYTHING they wanted and know it was completely safe. They are a gluten free, dairy free, nut free, peanut free, soy free, egg free bakery with 2 locations in CA. For those of you who only dream of a place like this, check them out at www.sensitivesweets.com because they SHIP too! Awesome! So the boys could not decide so we did a little sampler of the blueberry muffins, cupcakes, donuts and pumpkin spice donut holes. 🙂

For those who have kids with food allergies, you know how happy it makes your heart to see them enjoy a rare treat that normally they cannot have. <3

San Clemente is such a charming little town. Since we are looking for a small cabinet to store our computer in while we travel, I had fun searching through antique stores. La Casa Verde is a cute little shop on Granada St that you definitely want to check out if you’re in the area! Some of our FAVORITE spots to eat are South of Nick’s (upscale Mexican) and Mimosa’s for breakfast/brunch. The Fisherman’s is another great spot if you want to grab fish and chips on the pier, but it’s super touristy and usually has a long wait, so we prefer the more local stuff off the beaten path.

There are few places as charming as wandering the streets of San Clemente. We literally could stay here forever, but we have to get rolling on our adventures, so time to say adios and start our drive up the coast! san clemente 4

the new normal

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I did it! I survived our first laundry day on the road! You can only put off this stuff so long before it creeps in, so I braved the laundry room and oddly realized how much I LOVE being able to throw all our loads in at the same time! MAJOR bonus!

I also pulled off using our stove and oven and making some dinner just like we had at home. Let me tell you  how tempting it is to go out to eat lately – especially with all the amazing food options here in Orange County. ACK! It’s so tempting to just grab something out, but this is another thing we have said we have to master soon and get used to cooking just like we did before.

Love our campsite on the bluff overlooking the beach

The kids are more than settling into their new life. This little guy is lounging, enjoying his first ever SAFE yogurt that we were not able to find out where we lived before in the desert. He is in his little happy place.

And this kid…..he’s gone from wanting to watch TV and being ‘bored’ to getting out and literally playing in the dirt for entertainment. SCORE! This is what we love to see. It seems like they will never change and get used to it, but we are starting to see some great changes for the better in the boys already. Super thankful they are adapting and loving this adventure so far.

marshmallow dreams

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Funny the questions that have been popping into my head about people who travel and live full-time at campgrounds. Tonight the thought struck me that they probably get really tired of campfires. {gasp} I know it seems like such an awesome part of outdoor life, but in reality, smoke and sticky marshmallows surely lose their charm night after night, right?

Good news is that for us, they are still magical and every bit an essential part of this camping life. (Though I quickly learned not to leave the airstream windows open next to the fire ?).

My boys have an obsession with burning their marshmallows to a crisp and declaring it ‘perfectly done!’

You may wonder how S’mores work for kids with food allergies. We have come up with 2 alternatives that are not just acceptable, but in my opinion far surpass the traditional S’more…

1) Sharf brand gluten free shortbread cookies. These paired with toasted marshmallows are so good, you usually forget the chocolate, but the Enjoy Life Dairy Free Chocolate Chunks make an excellent addition if you remember to put them on.

2) Betty Crocker’s Gluten Free Brownies  (this one is still their fav of all the gf brownie mixes). Bake up a batch and top it with your roasted marshmallow for a really indulgent campfire treat!

There’s no way we’ll be able to make this a nightly event, but since we are just starting out you’d better bet the boys are LOVING some evening camp fires and marshmallows!

Wild orange and cassia gluten free coconut French toast

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This is the best French toast, and so so easy. We use gluten free bread because of food allergies and coconut milk gives this the perfect sweet touch while keeping it dairy free!


Here’s the recipe:

  • 1 loaf gluten free bread (or bread of your choice)
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 small cans of organic coconut cream 
  • 2 tsp cinnamon powder
  • Dash vanilla extract
  • 2 drops doTERRA wild orange essential oil
  • 2 drops doTERRA cassia essential oil

Mix all ingredients (except for the bread)? in a stand mixer and blend until smooth. Soak each piece of bread in mixture until coated and pan fry in coconut oil. 

For an extra sweet treat, top with cream cheese and maple syrup!

It’s that easy. Enjoy!

dairy free gluten free mac-n-cheese

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I wish I had a video of the dancing that ensued in the kitchen when my boys found out I was going to attempt a ‘safe’ mac-n-cheese. When you go your whole life allergic to dairy and wheat, you don’t get this as a dinner staple….or at all. My 6 year old had never had it, but when we ordered food and a local place accidentally delivered a side of mac-n-cheese that my 4 year old (not allergic kid) devoured. Their curiosity was peaked for this ‘kid’ food staple.

So I finally decided making a ‘cheesy’ sauce with no cheese couldn’t be that hard, right? While we usually try and change our diet rather than sub food, we have incorporated some shredded Daiya brand ‘cheese’ into a few dishes and the boys feel like they are getting something cheesy (quesadillas are their fav)

So for this Mac-n-cheese I started with a pack of organic gluten free rice/corn blend fusilli (who doesn’t love the spirals!!).

 Here is the recipe for the ‘cheese sauce’ though I apologize – I never really measure anything.

Start by melting the butter over med heat until liquified, then adding in the gf flour to make a rue.

Once this paste is formed, add in the Daiya shreds and let them melt and add in flax milk to cream it up. Whisk the blend until smooth and creamy.

 Add in salt to taste, the grated nutmeg (bc everything cheesy is better with nutmeg) and remove from heat. Stir in 2 drops of dōTERRA black pepper oil for an amazing flavor boost.

Drain pasta and drizzle on some Rosemary & Thyme infused olive oil. Top with cheese sauce and watch your dairy free kids smile with delight and gobble it up!

We kicked it up a notch my adding in some natural sausage – browned and crumbled into the mix. You can sneak in chopped spinach as well!

gluten free instant pot quinoa breakfast bowl

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This is hands down my new favorite quick and healthy breakfast. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE our instant pot? 

For this breakfast bowl…

STEP 1: start your breakfast meat cooking (optional). We love the Jones Farm Natural Maple Sausage Links and cook up a batch of those while the rest is preparing

STEP 2: make quinoa in your instant pot (if you have the Bluetooth instant pot there is a recipe script on the app). If not, add:

  • 2 cups quinoa (rinse it first)
  • 3 cups water
  • A few shakes of sea salt

Close and lock the lid, select manual and drop it to 1 minute

Let it release naturally after 10 minutes

When pressure releases, fluff with fork and drizzle with rosemary & thyme infused olive oil

STEP 3: We routinely make soft boiled eggs with the instant pot. It is SO easy with perfect results every time!

Insert your rack into the instant pot. Add about 1/2-1 cup water and however many eggs you want to boil

Close and lock lid. Set to 4 minutes on manual. If you like them really soft boiled, cancel it when the cook time is done and manually release the pressure. Otherwise, let it naturally release in 10 min and they are more like medium boiled eggs (no runny yolk).

Once pressure is released, put eggs into cool bowl of water with ice to stop the cooking. The shells are a breeze to peel this way too.

Peel your eggs

STEP 4: prep your veggies. I love adding chopped spinach and/or avocado but you can do whatever you’d like

ASSEMBLY: scoop some of the rosemary & thyme flavored quinoa into a bowl. Add in a few peeled eggs, your sausage, chopped veggies and sprinkle with Parmesan or sharp cheddar (optional). Add in some fresh grated sea salt, lots of freshly grated black pepper and dig in!

 

Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread

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This bread is good any way you slice it. I compiled ideas from several recipes and this is what I came up with… We started making this for St Patrick’s Day 2009 and it has been a favorite ever since! Since this one is not easily adapted to be dairy free, we have avoided it for the kids until this year. Now that we are able to do baked egg and milk, we converted this to a gluten-free variation this week. The texture is a bit more dense, but the flavor is still spot on!

IRISH SODA BREAD

1/2 cup white sugar

2 cups white flour***

2 cups wheat flour***

***[for gluten free, sub these for 4c gluten free complete flour mix]

2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda*

3/4 tsp. salt

1 cup currants

1/2 cup craisins

1/2 cup pecans [nut-free sub for sunflower seeds]

1 Tbsp flax seed, pecans

1 Tbsp. caraway seeds

2 eggs lightly beaten

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup plain yogurt**

**(can substitute yogurt/sour cream) If using ALL sour cream, decrease baking soda by 1/2 tsp. If using ALL yogurt, increase baking soda by 1/2 tsp.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 10 inch round cast iron skillet (or could use round baking or cake pan)

2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, raisins and caraway seeds. In a small bowl, blend eggs, buttermilk, sour cream and yogurt. Stir the liquid mixture into flour mixture just until flour is moistened. Knead dough in bowl about 10 to 12 strokes. Dough will be sticky. Place the dough in the prepared skillet or pan and pat down with a dusting of wheat flour. Cut a 1 in. by 6 in. deep “X” into the top of the bread before baking.

3. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for appx 50 min or until brown and pulling away from sides of the pan. Turn bread onto a wire rack to cool.

how to make kombucha

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Kombucha can be intimidating, but once you jump in and realize that your scoby won’t jump out of the jar and eat you in the middle of the night (and that it is harder to kill than a goldfish) you’ll think this is super easy. I will do another entire post about the importance of gut health and the benefits kombucha can give, but this will focus on the how-to.IMG_9347

Things you’ll need to get before you start:

  • a scoby (I’d suggest asking around to all your natural minded friends and there’s a good chance someone will know someone who has one they would be happy to part with. If not, you can often get them at local health food stores)
  • a large glass jar (1-2 gallons or larger) I love the ones with the pour spout as it makes continuous brew kombucha SO easy! This is the jar I use and LOVE.
  • a piece of breathable cloth or a tshirt you can cut to make your ‘lid’
  • a rubber band to hold on aforementioned lid
  • enough black tea to brew however many gallons your jar will hold
    NOTE: get PLAIN black caffeinated tea. This is not the time for the decaf and DEFINITELY don’t do herbal. Scoby will not like that.
  • organic sugar (1 cup per gallon)
  • class containers to house your kombucha
    NOTE: If you do a 2nd ferment (the part that makes it yummy and fizzy) you will want to invest in some EZ cap long necked glass flip top bottles. These work SO much better than any others if you like a lot of carbonation These are my FAVORITE!
    You will also want fruit, herbs or fruit juice to flavor your 2nd ferment.

IMG_9693HOW TO:

1) Brew your tea as directed in another container and add your sugar. Let it cool to room temp.
**the temp is super important for the scoby. Do NOT EVER pour your scalding hot water on him, and freezing cold tea will put him into hibernation**

2) gently pour your tea into your large container with your scoby. It should rise to the top. If it doesn’t it may be the temp is off but eventually it should float. if you have to reach in there or touch it with any type of utensil, just do NOT use reactive metal.

3) cover with your [clean] tshirt piece and rubber band that on. I suggest using a dry erase to mark the date so you know when you’ve started this masterpiece.

4) leave it alone in a nice corner where it won’t get too hot or too cold. let it sit there for about a week and then give it a sip. Don’t be scared of the scoby. Just dip a plastic spoon in there and give it a taste. The longer it sits, the more that scoby will eat the sugar, making the health benefits great, but the flavor will start to really sour (vinegary) the longer that it sits. Some people like to let it go for 2 weeks – I personally have found 8-9 days is great for my liking.

5) this is where you can drink it as-is or choose to go to 2nd ferment. This is my favorite part, but will require a few additional containers. If you paid attention and got the EZ cap flip top glass bottles (mentioned above), now is the time to pull those out. click here to get the cobalt ones I LOVE!

2nd FERMENT

6) pour your kombucha into your smaller containers and add about 1/4 c juice to every 16 oz container that you fill with kombucha. MAKE SURE to leave enough room for this stuff to ‘breathe’ so do NOT fill the bottle too high (1-2″ space left at the top or in the neck)IMG_9470

7) seal your bottles and let them sit anywhere from 2-10 more days on the shelf. only refrigerate them when you are ready for the fermentation to stop (when it is sufficiently carbonated to your liking)

8) carefully pop open the top (it can get SUPER fizzy) and enjoy your handiwork knowing that you are getting a great probiotic drink at a fraction of the cost to buy it in the stores!

2nd FERMENT FLAVOR OPTIONS:

There are endless possibilities when it comes to how you want to flavor your 2nd ferment, but here are a few that I’ve tried and our favorites:

~ Organic Cranberry Pomegranate juice – LOVE
~ Organic Blueberry Pomegranate juice – LOVE
~ Pineapple juice – my FAVORITE
~ Apple juice – MEH – It’s really good if you let it carbonate a lot and then tastes like sparkling cider, but otherwise tastes more like ACV
~ Fresh Peach slices – NOT A FAN – Love the idea of the fresh fruit, but this just didn’t add enough sugar to carbonate it to my liking and still had a strong vinegar taste

The BEST part about flavoring your kombucha is that you can also add in a drop of dōTERRA essential oil into the 2nd ferment (make sure it is one that is safe for internal use). They give an amazing burst of flavor!

Check out some of these combos (and msg me if you need any of these oils):
Blueberry + Pomegranate + dōTERRA Lavender
Blueberry + Pomegranate + dōTERRA Lemon
Blueberry + Pomegranate + dōTERRA Tangerine

You can also add in things like cinnamon, herbs, oils, turmeric, etc. I’ve found powders like cinnamon and turmeric add good flavor, but they leave a thick sludge at the bottom, so be prepared to either suck it up and drink that or strain it out.

Would LOVE to hear your favorite flavors, tips and tricks!

Breakfast casserole

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Our lives have taken a step in an exciting direction with the discovery that our oldest can have eggs as long as they are baked into something and thoroughly cooked! We LOVE eggs, and I feel like some mornings, breakfast just isn’t complete without them. For years we just made due, but I have recently been able to incorporate a breakfast casserole and my little one is ecstatic!

This is so easy and versatile – it takes about 45 min to bake so it’s great to get up and throw in early before they all get crazy and hangry.

Here’s a picture of our casserole today before it has been baked. It was a great way to clean out the fridge from the random meats, sides and veggies from the week!
Ingredients:

You can literally throw anything into this! Here is what we usually do:

  • Pre cook a roll of natural sausage or breakfast meat
  • Add chopped (pre-cooked) potatoes or even throw in a layer of frozen fries or tots
  • Chop in veggies you have in the fridge (mushrooms, spinach, zucchini and onions are our favorites)
  • Add cheese if you can have that. We aren’t quite there but sometimes I mix in some dairy free Daiya cheddar shreds
  • Mix about 8-12 eggs until they are whipped up, adding in some cream or milk of choice, salt and pepper (I love adding in 1-2 drops of dōTERRA Black Pepper essential oil)
  • Because we still need a binder with our eggs to make them safer, I add in about 1/4 cup gluten free bisquick to the egg mix

Grease a 9×13 casserole dish and grease the bottom. Throw in your meat, potatoes, veggies and then pour your egg mix on top to set it all!

Bake at 350 for appx 45 min or until egg part is thoroughly cooked! It’s a huge hit every time!