A New Broth

I made a vegetable broth, specifically named Magic Mineral Broth, for the first time the other night.  I’ve made chicken bone broth in the past, but don’t do it too often because of the unappealing smell created while it simmers.  This vegetable broth was different.  It actually smelled warm, homey, and delicious!  It made me excited to try the broth.  Unlike the many, many hours of simmering time that the chicken bone broth takes, this vegetable broth was done in just 3 hours.  The hands-on time was about 5 minutes.  Magic Mineral Broth is rich in minerals and nutrients.   It’s easy on the tummy too.  It’s perfect for an easy go to for a nourishing drink on the go, a soup base, or a healing drink when you aren’t feeling very well.

The kombu that the recipe calls for seems expensive but there’s so much in the package that you’ll be able to make several batches of broth before buying more.

Ready to simmer!

 I laughed when I took this picture when I realized what the jar says.  The broth really is golden!

Checking In with Some Info to Check Out

If you are in need of some decadence, this cake will hit the spot!

Listening to your body and making improvements to your health, take it a step at a time.

Having dairy free kiddos, this milk alternatives information isn’t new to me, but I’m so glad to see it all in one place now!

 

Have a Great Week…And Breakfast!

Trying a new breakfast can be exciting and even encouraging to get out of bed.

This information is encouraging to me…change can and will happen!

Spring is here! Embrace the fickleness of the weather by making a hot soup with fresh vegetables.  A quick and easy favorite is chicken broth, green onions, baby bok choy, sweet peppers, ginger, coconut aminos (gluten free soy sauce), Sriracha sauce, snap peas, mushrooms, and rice noodles. Just chop the veggies, bring broth to a boil and add the coconut aminos and Siracha sauce , toss in vegetables and noodles, simmer for a few minutes.  Enjoy!

Working on a pancake…it’s delicious and gluten and dairy free too…just look at it. Yum!

And, here they are served up

Trying A Come Back

My blogging has been foiled once again by life 🙂  I’ll try to do better and post more.  I’ve taken many pictures of some recipes and often think to myself, “that’s be a great blog post!”  Now, just to follow through on it!  Some friends and I have formed a group of health and allergy conscious moms and have been meeting regularly to plan and share.  I am very excited to keep up with this group and share more about our discussions.  Until next time, go give this fast and easy cookie a try.  It works great as cookie dough and as a baked cookie!  It truly is a fast one…I just whipped it up about 15 minutes ago amidst the post school starving crazies!  All 4 of my kids and I loved every bite we took both as dough and baked.

Quick Chocolate Treat

I admit, I have a HUGE sweet tooth…probably sweet teeth!  However, I also know that eating sugar is not healthy.  There’s been plenty of information lately about sugar and its ties to obesity–too many calories in and not enough out leads to excess energy in storage which equals fat.  But, sometimes a little treat is worth some extra exercise. (Here’s an article about different types of sugar cravings.  Which one or more do you get?)

Customizable Chocolate Treat

Melted coconut oil

Cocoa (unsweetened highest quality you can get)

Grade B Maple syrup or raw honey

Mix-Ins such as dried fruit, chopped soaked and dried nuts and/or seeds, nut/seed butters, ginger, cinnamon, get creative

Stir the melted coconut oil, cocoa, and maple syrup together. (I know there are no measurements here.  You can start small by doing a couple tablespoons of coconut oil, cocoa to taste, and a couple of teaspoons of sweetener.  You want a liquidy and pourable consistency.)

Give it a quick taste and adjust if necessary.

If you want just chocolate, skip the mix ins and go to the next step.  Stir in your desired mix ins.  (Today, Penelope and I used dried cranberries and some walnuts.)

Pour the mixture (or enjoy now)  on to some wax paper laid on a plate or small cookie sheet.

Place the chocolate in to the freezer for 20-30 minutes to harden.

Remove from freezer and break in to pieces.

Enjoy!

Other combinations that taste great are apricots and almonds, cinnamon and cherries, cherries and pistachios, walnuts and finely diced ginger.

Altering Recipes

There are so many wonderful recipes out there!  Good news for those with food intollerances or allergies, many recipes can be altered some to fit your needs.  For example, the blog, Our Best Bites, often has some pretty delicious sounding and looking recipes but many times the ingredient list contains items that don’t work for my family–gluten and dairy.  Tonight’s dinner calls for some butter.  Instead of butter I can use either ghee (I buy this one at Whole Foods) or coconut oil.  Ghee is clarified butter.  Yes, it is lactose and casein free and therefore safe for those who need to be dairy free.  Ghee has a rich flavor and can be used in place of butter.  However, I choose not to bake with it because it is expensive.  I use it more to saute vegetables or to add a little bit to savory dishes.  When I bake I use coconut oil.  For tonight’s dinner, I will add some ghee because it will enhance the rich flavor of the bean dish.

For recipes that call for flour, doing direct substitutions can be tricky depending on the recipe and what is being used as the substitute.  If I’m making a roux or just need a tablespoon or so of flour, I will use either a rice or sorghum flour.  For baked goods I’ve been using coconut flour and almond flour much more.  With that said, know that you can NOT just substitute one of these flours in a gluten based recipe.  Most likely you would be very unhappy at the results.

If you have a favorite recipe that you are trying to convert but would like some help, I’d be happy to take a look at it for you.

Welcome!

Nutritive Wellness is where I share with you all the cool things I’m learning along the path toward becoming a dietitian/nutritionist.  Because several people know that I’m back in school (getting my second degree about a decade after the first one in elementary education) and that I have a complete over the top crazy passion for nutrition, I get asked many different questions, but lately a common one is, “How do I get started?”  Well, there are 2 approaches you could take.  One is all in and the other is baby steps.  Both methods have their benefits and I personally have used both methods for various reasons.  Last year, I quit eating gluten.  I went cold turkey on New Year’s day.  It wasn’t even really planned.  I just thought I’d give it a shot since I had read so much about the effect gluten has on the body.  Our second son had been diagnosed with Celiac Disease a couple of years prior and about the same time our oldest son was diagnosed with a severe dairy allergy.  The kids had been both gluten and dairy free for about a year, so I thought I’d give it a try too…at least the gluten free part.  So that has been my all in method.  My baby steps method has been used to increase our vegetables and decrease sugar consumption.  More on each of these soon.  So, while I get this site up and running with more and more information, check out the different pages, leave me a comment or two, introduce yourself, and feel free to ask any questions.  I love to talk food and nutrition!

Roasted Cauliflower Bites

When you get a craving for hot and salty, give roasted cauliflower a try.  My almost 7 year old was determined to NOT try these, but once he did he was surprised at how much he liked them.  I, for one, NEVER liked cauliflower, but now find myself easily eating just about an entire head all by myself!

Start with a fresh head of cauliflower.  Cauliflower looks similar to broccoli, but usually is white.  Sometimes you can find purple and golden colored varieties of cauliflower.  The only difference is in the color.  The flavor is the same.

Peel off the green leaves and use a sharp knife to cut off the stem that the leaves are connected to.  Then, use your sharp knife to cut the white portions of the cauliflower in to bite sized pieces.

Place all of the pieces in to a large bowl and toss with some extra virgin olive oil or melted coconut oil and some salt and pepper.

Heat your oven to 400.  Spread the cauliflower pieces on to a rimmed cooking sheet.

Bake the cauliflower for 50-60 minutes.  Every 20 minutes stir the cauliflower around some.  Roasted cauliflower tastes best when it is browned some–it also gets a bit crunchy the longer it cooks…Delicious!

Let me know what you think of this easy side dish or snack.