Peach Quina Salad- GF and DF

This salad is gluten free and dairy free.

Since I started my health food journey I have learned a lot from the help of Tone It Up. I have learned how to cook a certain foods I would have never imagined let alone eat them. I have even learned through my journey about so much more oils, fruits, vegetables, fish and Etc. Or even mixing foods that I would never even think about that taste oh-so-good.

Speaking of mixing foods I am going to share with you my favorite salad right now. It is perfect for the spring and summer months. It is simple to prepare and you probably have most of the ingredients already in your kitchen. Perfect right?  And if your like me I love quinoa in just about everything or plain with dressing. I'll share on the blog soon how to eat quinoa simply.

Find the recipe and ingredients needed below. 

Peach Quinoa Spinach Salad

This salad is made with only spinach. 

Ingredients

• Spinach salad
• Pepper
• Sesame seed oil
• Sliced peaches
• cooked quinoa 
• whole or chopped peacons 

How to prepare the salad

1. Place spinach leafs in a bowl small to meduim sise bowl
2. Put in 1-2 table spoons of seasme seed oil
3. Add a sprinkle of pepper to taste
4. Mix the salad
5. Add about a cup of quinoa
6. Add in the to your preference peacons
7. Add in the sliced peaches. About one peach. 
8. Enjoy

Dairy free Dry Italian Seasoning & Dressing

This past week I came across an amazing dinner on Pinterest. By amazing I mean two things. It was so simple to prepare/cook plus my whole family loved it. I absolutely jump when all three of my daughters tell me they loved dinner and ask if I will serve it again. Especially when it's so simple to prepare.

But before I share this simple dinner with you. I wanted to convert it over to dairy free. Yes you can also make dairy as well. All you have to do is buy your typical store bought dry Italian dressing. Why? Because this meal is so simple and delicious I wanted every family to be able to try it. Or at least almost every family?

With that being said, I researched and found what I thought to be the best dry Italian seasoning. In this post you will also be able to prepare the dry mix into regular salad dressing.

Dairy Free Dried Italian Seasoning 

• 1 tablespoon garlic salt or garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano 
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme ( The seasoning container may say "Ground Thyme".)
• 1 teaspoon dried basil ( The seasoning container may say "Basil Leaves".)
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley  
• 1/4 celery salt ( optional) 
• 2 tablespoons salt

1. Mix all the ingredients in a tightly sealed container and there you have your very own homemade dried Italian seasoning. It really is so simple. Don't be scared away by the number of ingredients. I bet you have more than half already in your spice cupboard. 

Dairy Free Italian Dressing

• 2 tablespoons of the dry mix.n ( Shown above. )
• 1/4 cup white vinegar 
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons water

1. Whisk all together. 

                 

Lemon Pepper Tilapia Fish: DAIRY & GLUTEN FREE

Fish is our second favorite on my family's list of dinners. Don't be frightened off by the word fish in the title. Tilapia is the perfect fish to start off with. For one I personally think it taste like chicken if you cook it correctly. I have heard others say the same thing. Tilapia a great fish to start kids off on as well. Our daughters will tell you it's great brain food.

Lemon pepper Tilapia Fish

Prep: Easy

Prepare Time: 5-10 Minutes 

Cook Time: 3-5 Minutes per side

Ingredients

1.1 Package of tilapia fish

Flour Mix (steps 2-4)

2. 1-2 Cups dairy free flour

3. 1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning 

4. Sprinkle of sea salt or regular salt is fine

5. Vegan butter (I use earth balance) or oil of your choice for the pan when you saute the tilapia so the fish will not stick.

6. Frying pan

Recipe

1. Make the flour mix. You may do this in a bowl. (above steps 2-4)

2. Get your Frying pan ready with the vegan butter. All you really need is a thin slice to start off with. (You may need to add a little more after you saute more fish.)
3. Dip the tilapia into the flour mix and lay the tilapia on the frying pan and let it cook for 3-5 minutes on one side.
4. Flip the tilapia over with a spatula and saute them for another 3-5 minutes on the opposite side.
5. Be sure to watch the temperature on your stove so you do not burn your tilapia.
6. A tip I learned: you may need to add a little more lemon pepper seasoning into the flour mix when you get down to the last few fish. :)

Dairy and Gluten Free Glazed Carrots

Dairy Free Glazed Carrots

This recipe is truly one of our family favorites in our home. Not only is it a favorite there is some history behind this recipe. I remember my Grandmother making it around special holidays. 

It is great to add as a side with dinner.

 I revised this recipe to meet our dairy free needs. They are also gluten free. Also always double check the back of your product before purchasing to ensure they are dairy and/ OR gluten free. 

skill level: easy

Prep time: 5 minutes or less

Cook time: 30 minutes-1 hour

Ingredients

Organic baby carrots-1 bag

1 Tablespoon vegan butter ( I use earth balance.)

Brown sugar

Sauce pan

Instructions

1. Boil the carrots till they are soft enough to put a fork in. This is the time consuming part. Usually takes roughly 30 minutes to an hour. It really depends on the carrots. 

2. Once the carrots are soft drain them, add the butter. Let the butter melt all over the carrots.

3. Once the butter is completely melted sprinkle/ stir in gently the brown sugar. I say gently because sometimes you can break or mash the carrots. You really do not want mashed carrots. :) 

4. Your carrots are ready to serve, They are best tasting when hot or warm. 

Enjoy!

Dairy Free Dinner: Lemon Pepper Crockpot Chicken

This was our very first dairy free dinner we had since our family had gone dairy free. It was a total hit with our daughters. There exact words while cleaning up dinner were, "Can you make this again mom?!"

Prep: Easy
Prepare time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 8-10 hours on LOW 4-6 hours on HIGH (With a cup of water)

Ingredients

1 package of skinless thawed chicken breast
1 fresh lemon
5 teaspoon/ Lemon pepper seasoning
1teaspoon/ Parsley

4 Tablespoons/ Vegan butter. (I use earth balance.)

Recipe 

1.I always turn my crock pot on first to that it can start to warm up.

2.Melt the vegan butter.

3. Lay chicken onto a dinner plate or a cutting board and cover the chicken with the lemon pepper seasoning.

 4. Add chicken into the crock pot. 

5. Poor the melted butter over the chicken that is already in the crock pot.

6. Slice the lemon and add it into the crock pot.

7.  Sprinkle the parsley all over. 

8. This is optional. I do this If I run out of time. Add a cup of water and place your crock pot on HIGH. It will cook your chicken in 4-6 hours. Mine cooked in 4 hours. 

 9.Please double check your chicken to make sure it is fully cooked. 

Why The Dairy Free Recipe Page???

As I entered into the new year we had learned that our oldest daughter may have some sort of food allergy. Possibly dairy or gluten. Though we do not have confirmation yet. She have been battling stomach aches and pains for just over a year now. They have become more frequent. This past month she had become very sick. We brought her in to her pediatrician and thought we had some sort of answers. Things did not clear up and she ended up in the ER via her Pediatrician's orders over winter break. Or should I say on New Years Eve. While she was in the ER they ran some tests on her and told us if the test were to come back negative from bacteria it would most likely be she is dealing with some sort of food allergy. The reason being,

• It's been on going and progressing for over a year now.
• She had a milk allergy as a baby.
• She never had a fever while this was all going on.
• Other symptoms that were occurring were possible clues pointing towards an allergy.
• I had an dairy allergy as a child. I was able to grow out of it and now have a dairy intolerance. 

All the tests came back negative. It was great knowing there were no other serious cause. Yet the possibility of our daughter having a major food allergy, and if this is what it is doing to her, it is still a serious topic. 

So here we are today, she has been completely off dairy since the beginning of the new year. This is the longest she has gone without a stomach ache or stomach pain in over a year. Her appetite is back and she is sleeping a lot better. 

We have to keep a food and bowel diary for her follow up which is tomorrow with her pediatrician. Then an appointment will be made with a GI specialist. We are in hopes to hear the final answers from the GI specialist. Of course we do not want our daughter to have any sort of food allergy, but we want answers so she is healthy and no longer sick. 

This is where I choose to start a dairy free page to share with all of you my recipe's I  make for my daughter and family. Since I have kept her off dairy it has been a whole new world for our family, myself as a mother and our daughter. I thank God she is old enough to understand. I think it helps that she knows not eating dairy makes her feel so much better as well. It is a learning curve for sure. For instance pizza with no cheese. researching a new butter and milk to buy. What snacks to keep in the house. What dinners to cook from now on. Finding desserts that are still delicious and dairy free. 

So stay tuned to the blog and dairy free page where you can always go back and find the information. 

Does anyone on your family have a food allergy?