Tag Archives: preparation

Grain Free Haven Newsletter and Discount Code – January 7, 2016

Newsletter,

applestuffedporkloin

We are back! Happy New Year everyone!

We are starting the new calendar year off with a bang at the Dallas Farmers Market! As the days get longer and you are recuperating from the holiday mayem, come on down and get some fresh muffins and macaroons! As always our trusty nut mixes will also be available.

GRAIN FREE EATING REBOOT

If you are looking to clean up your eating habits this year it is easy. Just keep it simple. My brother and husband have an approach that helps him during the day at the office, and at home we do something similar. Get a bunch ready in advance to help avoid temptation.

As I mentioned before, being prepared is critical when following a grain free diet, since so many convenience foods are heavy on grains. Prepare all your lunches for the week at the office on the weekend, storing them in what you will take with you. Don’t give yourself the excuse of not having time in the morning. Grab those lunch sized storage containers and fill them up with protein, vegetables and fruits, waiting for you to take them along during the week. Check out my food blog for great grain free recipes.

At home we stuffed our crisper drawers with fresh salad vegetables and prepare batches of soup, chicken and pork roasts. Whether making an egg scramble, or green salad topped with chopped meats, we are ready to eat well and have fewer excuses to go out. Also take advantage of winter vegetables to add variety, including apples, squashes and some year round vegetables we are spoiled with here in our mild Texas winters (trust me, they are mild), like cauliflower, broccoli and leafy greens.

When we do find excuses to go out to eat we do our research. Find a place nearby that has a flexible menu and will substitute grains and starches for other sides. They are easier to find than you think, and include quick service restaurants. Places with salad bars are easy “yesses” and others with a variety of side dishes and flexible “make your own” selections will work well. Places like Whataburger, Boston Market, Panera, Taco Cabana and Chik-fil-A have special allergen menus you can review that help you order in an educated manner. They work with you on special orders and also have existing grain free options on their menus.

I hope your new year is starting off on a positive note, and look forward to seeing you at the Dallas Farmers Market!

RECIPE

Here is a lovely recipe that makes a filling family dinner, protein and vegetables and all, while also providing easy leftovers for lunches.
Apple Herb Stuffed Pork Loin
1  4 1/2 – 5 pound pork loin, fat on
1 Tbsp butter
3 small Granny Smith apples
1/2 large carrot
1 celery heart with leaves (or 2 stalks)
1 medium white onion
4 ounces goat cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
Seasoning salt or salt and pepper to taste
Roughly chop apples, carrot, celery and onion. In medium sauce pan over medium high heat melt the butter. Add garlic, onion, celery and carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally for about five minutes. Add apples, basil, oregano and parsley, cooking for three more minutes. Drop in goat cheese and stir until melted. Let mixture simmer until bubbly. Remove from heat.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. With a fillet knife gently cut into the loin about 1/2 inch below the fat layer, curving around to continue the 1/2 inch thickness until the loin lies flat. Generously sprinkle all sides of the loin with seasoning salt or salt and pepper. Place the loin with fat face down. Using kitchen twine place a length under the loin every inch, making sure there is sufficient length to tie knots.
Place the apple mixture on the end opposite the face down fat. Carefully roll the loin over the filling, ending with the fat side facing up. Tie each length of twine to secure the roll. Place in shallow 9×13 inch baking dish.
Bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 300 degrees and bake for an additional 40 minutes, ensuring the pork is at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from oven and let rest for about ten minutes before serving.

LOCATIONS

Saturday, January 9, 2016, 8am-5pm: Dallas Farmers Market. It will be our first session at the market. We will have our standard nut mixes, macaroons and muffins, including a new orange ginger muffin! Excited about seeing you there!

Sunday, January 10, 2016, 10am-5pm: Dallas Farmers Market. Our second day at the market! Our muffins will again be available and ready for your Sunday brunch! Also look for our Power Buns for your weekday meals and nuts for afternoon snacks. Be ready for the week to keep your eating healthy!

DISCOUNT CODE

If you come by my booth and tell me this week’s discount code you will get $1 off any purchase of $15 or more! The code for this week is JANUARY REBOOT!

Please feel free to forward and share this newsletter with anyone you like! I look forward to seeing you this weekend!

 

11/23/15 Grain Free Haven Newsletter and Discount Code

Uncategorized,

cornlesscornbread

I hope your holiday week is ending up to be enjoyable and full of time with family and friends! We are gearing up for our grain free Thanksgiving meal later this week.

GRAIN FREE FEAST

How are we doing it, you ask? Each family has their own traditional dishes for holiday meals. After some trial and error we have landed on our own grain free and sugar free versions that we gobble up (see what I did there?) each year. Here are some typical substitutions we make for some of the grainier accompaniments to the grand turkey.

Pumpkin Pie: one of the simpler dishes to transform into grain free, the custard of the traditional pumpkin pie can be left alone (or sweetener substituted for sugar). The challenge is the crust. We have come up with a great tasting almond meal crust that holds together under the weight and moisture of the custard.

Green Bean Casserole: this creamy dish has always been one of my favorites. The hard part is substituting the crispy onions and canned soup to avoid grains. Using cheese, cream, onions and mushrooms inside the casserole was an easy substitution for the soup. To keep a crunch on top we crumble pork rinds, or mix things up with a sprinkle of parmesean cheese. A little more effort is needed without the canned ingredients, but well worth the rich, creamy result!

Mashed Potatoes: this was the easiest for us to replace. Making mashed cauliflower with the traditional mashed potato flavors is a staple we rely on all year, not just during the Autumn and Winter holidays.

Corn Bread and Rolls: after much trial and error we have come up with a quick recipe for cornless corn bread, made into mini muffins, and convert our power bread into small buns. Slicing them in half and toasting them with some butter helps us sop up the gravy and meat juices like champs.

Gravy: the challenge of replacing a wheat flour roux to start a great gravy is always a battle. We have relied on arrowroot powder for a thickener, but make sure the juices are reduced a little before adding it, since it does not brown like wheat flour roux. Here is a recent article from Bon Apetit about how to make gluten free gravy, which I found helpful.

RECIPE

This syrup goes great in coffee or for drizzling over ice cream, and is an easy way to use up any leftover pumpkin purée.

Sugar Free Pumpkin Spice Syrup

1 cup water
1 Tbsp Stevia (or use your preferred sweetener, equivalent to 1 cup pure cane sugar)
1/3 cup pureed pumpkin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ inch fresh ginger
½ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground clove
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine pumpkin, water and sweetener in medium sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until everything is dissolved and begins to bubble. Add cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove and vanilla.

Simmer on low, stirring frequently, for about ten minutes until the syrup thickens and makes the house smell wonderful. Let cool to room temperature.

At this point you can do one of two things: 1) store in glass jar in the fridge, or 2) strain through fine sieve into glass jar and store in fridge. If you don’t mind stirring your coffee while you drink it don’t worry about straining and do number one. If you want a more blended cup of coffee or aim to use the syrup in a latte, then do number two.

Use about one tablespoon for an 8 – 12 ounce cup of coffee. If used in a latte add about one tablespoon for every cup of milk. The syrup also goes well drizzled over warm muffins, cinnamon rolls or stirred in with pancake syrup for an autumn twist.

LOCATIONS

Come out and support my small business and others on this Small Business Saturday! We will be at the  Grand Prairie Farmers Market  on November 28th from 8am–1pm.   Enjoy a relaxed shopping experience, get some Sugar Free Hot Chocolate Mix and stock up on all the nut mixes you rely on now – sweet Chocolate “Cinn” Cashews, spicy Cajun Peanuts and the savory Momma’s Mixed Nuts or Pecans.

A special option this week is your chance to make gift bundles! I will have complimentary bases, wrapping and bows ready to make pretty whatever combination of my products you would like for gifts! You will be entertained by watching me battle the shiny cellophane film! I will also have some pre-wrapped packages for a quick getaway. Be ready for Hanukkah or any other gift giving celebration that is coming up soon!

DISCOUNT CODE

If you come by my booth and tell me this week’s discount code you will get $1 off any purchase of $15 or more! The code for this week is CELEBRATE!

Please feel free to forward and share this newsletter with anyone you like! I look forward to seeing you this weekend!

11/18/15 Grain Free Haven Newsletter and Discount Code

Newsletter

cauli-n-chzHOLIDAY CHALLENGES

This time of year is a bit tough when you have diet limitations.  Just eating whatever I want would be easy, but detrimental to my health. Not worth it. The inflammation and digestive discomfort is not something I want to return to.

Everywhere I  go there are grain filled treats and sugary sweets. It is hard to walk past and seek out healthier options. Here are a few things my family does to make it easier to pass up those temptations.

Be Snack Ready: To help my daughter (and myself) to get past the offerings and enjoy the parties and gatherings, I keep a bag of my Chocolate “Cinn” Cashews in my purse. A handful of the rich, sweet nuts gives us both a shot of protein to take away any hunger pangs, making it easier to pass up less healthy treats.

Eat Before You Go: We take time to have a bite to eat before going to an event that serves food. Most parties and festivals have a lot going on other than food. If you take care of hunger before you go then you can give more attention to the non-food festivities.

What Do You Actually Like or Miss? As I have transitioned to grain free eating I discovered something surprising–I usually don’t miss a whole dish, but only one or two aspects of it. From sandwiches I missed being able to pick it up, from lasagna I missed the cheesy gooiness and tomato sauce. I missed the spicy sauces from thai and other asian dishes, not the rice. I couldn’t care less about pizza crust–it is all about the toppings! I focused on what aspects I missed instead of being sad about the entirety of what I used to eat.

The recipe below from my blog and is a version of “mac n cheese” that gives me the comfort food feeling from my youth. I was so happy to figure it out and still enjoy throwing it together when I have a hankering.

If there is a holiday food  you miss because it is full of grain or sugar, figure out what about it you miss. Pursue the flakiness or spice or sweetness or gooiness until you find a replacement. It is out there somewhere and worth the hunt.

Eggnog? Pecan pie? Pumpkin pie? Dips? Tamales? You might even find what you are looking for on my food blog, www.anykitchenwilldo.com,  for we have been dealing with holiday dishes for years and came up with some zingers.

NEW PRODUCTS

This week we introduce a wonderful drink mix. Our sugar free hot chocolate mix is ready to heat up and warm your belly! It is made of rich, dark cocoa powder, some stevia and pinches of salt and nutmeg to enhance the chocolate flavor.

It takes just one tablespoon of the mix in a cup of liquid–whether it be water, cream, almond milk or a combination–the mix is a decadent treat that will take the chill away on cold days. A teaspoon can also be added to your coffee, making it into a wonderful mocha.

RECIPE

Cauli n Cheese
1 head cauliflower
2 eggs
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp sea salt, plus more for top
1 tsp ground black pepper, plus more for top
1 tsp onion powder, plus more for top
1 tsp garlic powder, plus more for top
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Remove leaves and stem from cauliflower. Cut cauliflower head into bite-sized pieces, keeping as much of the florets attached to the base as possible – avoid the crumbling of the florets.
  3. In a medium bowl whisk the eggs and cream, then add the salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Whisk in the seasoning. Add the cheese and stir in with the cream mixture.
  4. Arrange the cauliflower evenly in a 9″x13″ baking dish. Sprinkle some salt on cauliflower. Pour creamy cheese mixture over cauliflower, spreading cheese to cover the top entirely.
  5. Sprinkle a bit more salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder on top. Place uncovered in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, until top is browned and bubbly. Remove from oven and let sit for ten minutes before serving.

LOCATIONS

Sorry to have missed you at last week’s Market! We will definitely be represented this Saturday and every Saturday through December 12th at the Grand Prairie Farmers Market! Besides our new hot chocolate mix we will also have gift packages that are ready to go for you family and friends.

As always, you can contact me directly any time to place special orders. Why not buy a few extra bags of nuts to add to your gifts? Discounts for purchases of five bags or more are available!

DISCOUNT CODE

If you come by my booth and tell me this week’s discount code you will get $1 off any purchase of $15 or more! The code for this week is TURKEY!

Please feel free to forward and share this newsletter with anyone you like! I look forward to seeing you this weekend!