5 OF MY FAVORITE HEALTHY RECIPES

Hope you all had a great Easter! We sure enjoyed ours. I have been saying for quite some time now that I will be sharing some healthy recipes with you all. So that is what this entry is all about!  By healthy I mean.. Clean

-NOT PROCESSED

-GLUTEN FREE

-DAIRY FREE

-WHOLE FOODS

This may not be someone else's "healthy" but this is how I am currently eating. You can substitute anything or everything. For example: I am just going to say tortilla, and you can chose if its flour, corn, or gluten free tortillas. I will say that I do not deprive myself of anything, and there are some days where I eat all the food that I listed on my "do not eat, list".  If I want to eat an entire tin can of Pirouline, cookies, then I will! (Just like I did the other night)  But, this is not something I do everyday.   I do not have an allergy to gluten or dairy, I just do not like how they make me feel when I eat them in excess, so I try to avoid them as much as I can.  I am also trying to keep Gavin on a gluten and dairy free diet....which is a little difficult since the other 2 boys have already been exposed to certain foods that they don't want to give up. If I incorporate just a few meals a week that do fit into the above criteria, then the transition is a little easier.

I also must add that I do not have a Type A personality so I never follow recipes exactly ( I am sorry for all of you that are, and will probably go nuts after reading my recipes) Instead of 1/2 tsp. I may say 2 shakes of cinnamon...It is horrible and there are some circumstances where my recipes turned out DISGUSTING because I didn't follow the directions exactly...but for the recipes below I made them up and tweaked them a little until I liked them. Feel free to do the same.

#1. Fish Tacos with Jalapeño Coleslaw

This one is pretty straight forward...

-Bake, grill, or sauté your favorite fish, however you would like it.
-Chose a grain to go with it, rice, brown rice, quinoa, etc.


- Jalapeño Coleslaw:
(I DO NOT like coleslaw, I actually can't stand it, and I HATE SPICY FOODS, but this is amazing...I promise)
Depending on how many you are feeding will determine how much you will make...use your best judgement, like making a salad.
-Chop up a half head of cabbage (red or green, but I prefer red) into very small pieces, almost like skinny tiny strips.
- Do the same for a carrot or 2
- Dice up 2 jalapeños, and make sure you get out ALL the seeds or it will be very spicy.
-add 2 small splashes of apple cider vinegar (lol told you)
- add a little less than 1/4 cup of honey (or to your preference)
-throw in a few shakes of poppy seeds
- add in about 1/2 cup(once again add or take away based on your judgement, and how much you are making) of mayo (this can be Veganaise, greek yogurt, or plain ole Helmanns) whatever you prefer.
-add the juice of about 1/2 of a lime
-chop some cilantro and throw that in too.
Let this chill in the refrigerator for a few hours, so make ahead. Stuff your tortillas with your fish, grains, beans, any other toppings you want and add coleslaw on top.



#2.  Red Quinoa Burgers

Make sure you cook the quinoa before you add to the meat. Make sure its drained and not holding a lot of water.

-1lb ground beef
-1- 1and a 1/2 cups of cooked quinoa
-1 egg
-a few shakes of salt and pepper (to taste)
- garlic (fresh or powder)
-dice up about half an onion.

Smash it all together with your hands and form the patties. They will be extra mushy if the quinoa was holding a lot of water, but this is ok. Just make them into the best patty you can put them on a plate or a tray and stick them into the refrigerator for 30 min. Then grill!

Add whatever toppings you like...I like feta cheese, with avocado and tomato.
Enjoy!



#3.  Spaghetti with secret veggie sauce (sorry no picture)

-Ok so this recipe is one of my favorites but I am not going to tell you how to make pasta or to add meat or not....that will be left of to you. I personally do add meat, and I make gluten free, brown rice angle hair pasta.

-For the sauce: You will need a very powerful blender or this will not turn out how you want it to. I use a Vitamix, so use something similar... Ninja, Blendtec.. etc. You don't have to do this but the veggies will not be a secret :( you will have small tiny minute pieces and your kids WILL see them.

-Pick your favorite store bought sauce or make your own with tomatoes.  To save some time I use an organic tomato sauce out of the jar. Pour half in the blender.

-Next you want to sauté or steam 3 carrots, 2-4 garlic cloves (depending on how much you like garlic) half an onion, 2 celery stalks spinach or kale.  Not a ton of the spinach or kale because you don't want it to turn green (unless you want to turn it into "Hulk Sauce" or something of that nature.)

- Add all the veggies into the blender and blend on high for about 30 seconds. Next add this to the remainder or the sauce you have and heat it up. Add meat, salt and pepper or whatever else you want, and serve over your pasta.

#4. No grain banana protein muffins

- 2 or 3 very ripe bananas, smashed
- 3 eggs
- 1 tspn of honey
-1/4 cup of coconut flour
-1/2 cup of oat flour (you can make your own if you have a Vitamix, or something similar)
-1/2 tspn of baking soda
-1/2 tspn of baking powder
-1 tspn of vanilla
- 1/4 cup of coconut oil (or any oil will work)
a few shakes of cinnamon
Optional: I add half of a scoop of protein powder in the mix...this can be any kind or flavor you would like. I also add chocolate chips to mine, but make sure they are REAL chocolate and make sure they are made with cacao over 60%. That way you don't have to feel bad about eating chocolate because its good for you!

Mix all ingredients together, put in muffin pans, in the cupcake inserts because it will stick and bake at 375 degrees for 15-22 min or until center is done.

#5. Soba Noodle Stir Fry (sorry no picture)

This recipe is pretty much self explanatory...make your own stir fry, however soba noodles are my new "lo mein" choice.  The soba noodles I use are buckwheat so they are a lot healthier for you than the lo mein and they taste almost identical.

Basic instructions: Chop some of your favorite veggies and sauté them in lots of coconut oil. I like to use carrots, onions, zucchini...just to name a few. After they are sautéed, depending on what mood I am in I will add some flavor.  Some times it will be a teriyaki, soy mixture, and sometimes I add turmeric powder and butter. You can add whatever you want.  You can cook chicken or another meat and add it to this mixture as well and then serve over the cooked soba noodles.

I would love to hear back from you if you try any of these and also if you put your own spin on some of them. I am always looking for new recipes and new ways of cooking. Please let me hear your feedback.

Once I can get my frazzled brain thinking straight, I can sit down and write up some more recipes to share.  Hope ya'll enjoy!

Is it March Already?

 And Almost World Down Syndrome Day!

Kristen Pace Photography

Almost 5 months have flown by and I finally find myself having a minute to update you all.  Its been a rough, depressing winter. Last I wrote, I went on an adventure of some sort to find a "cure" for my terrible back pain I was experiencing.  I decided I was going to eat extremely healthy, eat an anti-inflammatory diet and find the cause of this mysterious pain that no doctor could diagnose (except for arthritis, which I wasn't going to take).  I had some great recipes that I was going to share with you, (and still will) and was doing great on my journey...but the pain was still there...so to make a long story short, I cut out whole food groups...no dairy, no grains...NONE AT ALL...no sugar, to processed food, and no caffeine.  So I basically ate grass...no not really but close.  Fruits, veggies, meat and lots of nuts. Did I feel better? Absolutely not. I got worse...but in a different way. I lost a ton of weight (not trying to) which contributed to my problem. I got to a point where my body actually was shutting down and telling me to stop. I had a high fever, couldn't get out of bed for a few days. My body was literally using my muscle for energy...so I had to regroup and start getting myself back to a normal body weight.  After a few months of struggling through that I am finally at a place where I feel is "healthy".  I found out that my pain was actually "normal" for what I have been going through.  My muscles are in a constant state of tension. I am lifting all day long and with Gavin's low muscle tone...it feels like he is heavier than he is.  I don't want to take muscle relaxers for the next few years, and I can only get a few cortisone shots a year (which I don't really want to do either) so building muscle, exercising and strengthening my core are the best options for me. I have only been on this path for two months now, but my back pain is completely tolerable now and getting better by the day.  I am having a balanced diet with a variety of food groups. Still clean eating though. Very little caffeine and sugar. Only dairy I eat is butter (to put on weight, has to be grass fed) and I am back eating grains, but all whole grains.  I am hoping to put a few recipes together to share very soon...or at least our top 3, that even the kids will eat.
 

Gavin is doing great! He is crawling everywhere, pulling up and cruising on furniture. Will stand for a split second on his own but still hasn't mastered that yet.

We celebrated his first birthday back in November after Thanksgiving. I had a rough time on his birthday because all the feelings of his birth came flooding back to me. I had to re-live the whole thing over again.   People told me that it gets better with time..and it does but just when you think you are doing better....wham! All those horrible feelings hit you smack in the face.  Lots of ups and downs again and the depressing winter we have had didn't help at all. I will say that this little boy is amazing. His little personality is contagious and he is so loving! As much as I don't like DS, and  I can't stand the fact that he will have to work harder at everything he does in life,  does not change the way I feel about HIM.  I hate his diagnosis but love this boy unconditionally.  Its safe to say this kid really loved his party very much.

"Ahhhh, CAKE! My mom hasn't given me any sugar my entire first year of life!"

Not sure about this hat

Just tried some cake

Gavin celebrating with two of his buddies

Christmas came and went very fast as always. And 2015 brought lots of new therapies for Gavin. We started our neurodevelopmental therapy program that we traveled to Atlanta for. This is something we do on our own at home everyday with Gavin, lots of flashcards, exercises and touch therapy. Its lots of work..no lie! I barely have enough time during the day to get 3 kids fed, clothed, bathed, etc. but adding therapies into that mix, makes my head spin.  We also started seeing a cranio-sacral therapist who is really good. She manipulates his skull and facial bones to help with certain problems that children may have: fluid in his ears, congestion, mouth breathing etc. The last 2 thing we added were speech and oral motor skills. Gavin is STILL nursing. Yes, he is 15 months and ONLY TAKES THE BREAST! The boy eats grilled cheese sandwiches, and veggie straws but does not know how to swallow liquids!!! Talk Tools is supposed to help him with oral motor function and eventually be able to swallow liquids from something other than me! Besides the drinking problem he is doing great with everything else. Just wanting to be like his big brothers.

Christmas 2015

   
    Lukas on the other hand is regressing on being potty trained. After almost a year of being trained with the occasional accident, he started going in his pants 2-3 times a day! I don't know why, and I don't know what to do about it. Is this a phase? Is he doing it for more attention? I would love any advice from someone who has gone through this. On a positive note, he learned how to ride his bike without training wheels! A 2 year old riding a bike with a diaper and a paci...how funny?? Besides that, hes still the cool, crazy middle child who is constantly getting into stuff.
      Zachary is ready for school to be out for summer :(  Kindergarten isn't the same as it used to be. There is a lot more pressure and not as much fun. He is learning a lot and does enjoy it once he gets there, I just feel like we fight every morning to get him to go to school. He absolutely hates getting up early (which who can blame him?)  He celebrated his 6th birthday last week and is so excited that he is finally older, lol...I am not excited :(

SkyZone with his friend and brother

Pizza was birthday dinner

We have both the boys in spring soccer and this is Lukas' first time playing so this will be interesting. 

Such a cute!

      Last weekend we went to the IDSC (International Down Syndrome Coalition) meet-up in Charlotte, NC which was a lot of fun. We got to meet some other families that are going through some of the same things we are going through.  I was extremely optimistic after hearing and seeing some of the children and talking with their parents.  It was a lot of fun and a great way to kick off the month of World Down Syndrome Day. Which brings me to my next topic...

Love these two, don't know what I'd do without them

Enjoying the wave pool at The Great Wolf Lodge!

***This Saturday, 3/21 is WDSD and I am asking for you ALL to show your support and raise awareness for Down syndrome. ***

Here are 2 ways that YOU can do this:

1. Show support by wearing your craziest socks you own. If you don't own crazy socks...mismatch them or wear 3 socks for 3 chromosomes.  Wear them March 21st, take a picture and tag me on Facebook or Instagram... I wanna see you rockin your socks!!

2. I am asking all of you to take the 3/21 PLEDGE. Ruby's Rainbow is an awesome organization that grants scholarships to adults with Down syndrome who are seeking post-secondary education. Their goal is to create awareness of the capabilities of these individuals and help them achieve their dreams of higher education.  You can read more about them here.

-The pledge is that you donate just $21 (to Ruby's Rainbow)
-To be kind and compassionate to people of all abilities
-Ask just 3 of your friends to take the pledge with you and donate $21 to this organization.  I just took the pledge...who else is with me? Let me know when you take the pledge and I will send you a Down syndrome awareness rubber bracelet.

If you want to see Ruby's Rainbow in action, and see some of the young adults that they have helped, check out this article from Kelle Hampton's blog, Enjoying the Small Things.  Kelle went to Western Carolina University and visited two of Ruby's Rainbow scholarship recipients.  Kelle is also the author of the book, Bloom. This was the first book I read after Gavin's diagnosis and it is such an amazing book...it gave me so much hope, something to look forward to.


I hope you all take the pledge, and rock your socks on Saturday! Can't wait to see them!

Much love,
XOXO