Steak Night

Steak Night
If you have been following us for a while, you know we don't eat out at restaurants due to all of our food allergies. Craig and I both enjoy watching cooking shows and then creating recipes in a way that we can eat them. Tonight was steak night in our house inspired by Hell's Kitchen.

 

Ingredients
1 - Filet Mignon
1 - Rib Eye
4 - Organic Russet Potatoes 
1 - Yellow Onion 
2 - Green Squash
1 - Package Organic Tomatoes 
1 - Bunch of Organic Asparagus 
1 Tablespoon -Grapeseed Oil 
4 - Cloves of Garlic
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Lemon Essential Oil
Black Pepper Essential Oil 
Primal Kitchen Steak Sauce 
Kerrygold Butter
Organic Dijon Mustard

Steaks

My filet was super thick, so Craig actually diced mine up before pan searing it on the stove. We added a drizzle of Grapeseed Oil, salt and pepper to the steak. Once finished, I like to add a few drops of Black Pepper Essential Oil.

His Rib Eye was pan seared on the stove with some KerryGold butter.


Veggies

Chop up your veggies and place into a mixing bowl. We used asparagus, squash, onion, and tomatoes. You can add any other veggies you like. We normally will add mushrooms too, but we were out this time. You will also mince up your garlic cloves. We are huge garlic lovers so feel free to decrease this amount if you desire.

Once all your veggies are chopped, add the minced garlic, drizzle with Grapeseed Oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss your veggies together or mix with your hands so they are mixed up and have an even coating of oil and seasonings.

I then transfer to a cookie sheet and bake in the oven along with the potatoes, but the veggies only need about 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your knife cuts.


Baked Potatoes 

Wash your potatoes. We like putting ours into a metal mixing bowl, adding water and about 10 drops of Lemon Essential Oil and letting soak for about 10 mins. The lemon oil will clean the potatoes. After that 10 mins, you can rinse.

Once washed and rinsed. Wrap your potatoes in aluminum foil and bake at 450 degrees for 45-60 minutes depending on the size of your potato. 

I topped my baked potato with Dayia Dairy Free Shredded Cheese.
Craig topped his with Kerrygold Butter.

Dijon Butter

I melted about 1 teaspoon of Kerrygold Butter for about 15 seconds and then added Dijon Mustard and stirred together with a fork until creamy.

About the Ingredients

Let's take an inside look at some of our ingredients and why they were chosen.

Organic Vegetables
We choose to always buy organic ingredients and grass fed beef. Organic foods often have more beneficial nutrients, such as antioxidants, than their conventionally-grown counterparts and people with allergies to foods, chemicals, or preservatives may find their symptoms lessen or go away when they eat only organic foods. Organic produce contains fewer pesticides.

Grass Fed Beef
In addition to being packed with B vitamins, grass fed beef has been found to be higher in vitamins A, E, and other antioxidants compared to grain fed beef. Grass-fed beef has significantly lower levels of saturated fat compared to grain-fed beef. In fact, the fat content of grass-fed beef can be compared to skinless chicken. Replacing saturated fat in grain-fed beef with the unsaturated fat in grass-fed beef has been proven to reduce your risk of heart diseases. Studies have also found that grass-fed beef contains more antioxidants than grain-fed beef. Antioxidants help prevent cell damage that can lead to serious diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Some people with gluten intolerance or celiac disease will also have symptoms with grain fed beef, I am one of those people.

KerryGold Butter
KerryGold butter comes from Grass Fed cows and is a great all purpose butter (if you eat dairy). 

Dayia Cheese
This is a great alternative cheese company for those of us who are gluten and dairy free. If you have tried it in the past and wasn't a huge fan, they recently updated all their recipes and it is now really good!

Primal Kitchen Steak Sauce 
I love this steak sauce because it's organic, gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, vegan and no soy!

Gluten and Dairy Free Potato 🥔 Soup

Gluten and Dairy Free Potato 🥔 Soup
Potato Soup is one of those comfort foods that our family loves. Here is how we still enjoy this family favorite but keep it gluten and dairy free!

3-4 lbs Red Potatoes, diced
1 bunch celery, diced 
6 large 🥕carrots, diced 
1 large onion, diced 
4 cloves garlic, minced 
4 cups liquid (chicken broth, bone broth, or water) 
Salt and Pepper 

Toss in Instant Pot 
Turn on soup setting for 15 minutes 
Then add:
Chopped Kale (optional) 
2 cans coconut 🥥 milk (only add the thick part from the can, not the clear liquid) 
Place cover back on for 5-7 minutes 
Once completed, add 3-4 drops of Basil 🌿 Vitality Essential Oil 



Fresh Salsa Recipe

Fresh Salsa Recipe
One of my favorite snacks is fresh salsa! Here is a quick 5 minute recipe!

2-4 Tomatoes 
1 Large Onion
1 Jalapeño Pepper
1 Bunch Fresh Cilantro
6-8 Cloves of Garlic
1 TBSP Salt
1 TBSP Pepper
Juice of 2 Lemons
6 drops of Young Living Lime Vitality Essential Oil

You can combine all ingredients in a food processor for a less chunky version, or chop your tomatoes and onions.  I used a vegetable chopper for this batch.


Gluten & Casein Free - Beginning the Lifestyle

Gluten & Casein Free - Beginning the Lifestyle

By becoming  gluten-free and casein-free you remove all sources of gluten and casein from the diet. The word “diet” is really a misnomer because this is a lifestyle change. It is a way of seeing food as nourishment for the body and brain. Once you see what gluten and casein can do to some people’s bodies, you will begin to understand why this lifestyle change is so important.

What is Gluten?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and some oats. Most bread, pasta, cereals, cookies, cakes, and pretzels contain gluten. They must be removed.

What is Casein?

Casein is a protein found in dairy. Cow’s and goat’s milk both contain casein as does butter, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, and cream. Ghee is butter that has had the casein removed from it. You can use ghee if you are not allergic or sensitive to dairy.

What improvements may you see?

Below is a list of improvements that are commonly seen after implementing a gluten-free and casein-free lifestyle.

  • Better cognition (described as the “fog lifting”)
  • Improvement in receptive language
  • Improvement in expressive language
  • Better sleep
  • Reduction in disruptive behaviors
  • Less hyperactivity
  • Better bowel movements
  • Reduction in ear infections and other illnesses
  • Pain tolerance normalizing
  • Eczema clearing

So what do you eat?

If you shop the perimeter of the grocery store, you will find tons of delicious foods that are naturally gluten and casein free: fruit, vegetables, nuts, beans, legumes, seeds, meat, and fish. Gluten-free grains include corn, rice, quinoa, buckwheat, millet, sorghum, teff, and amaranth.

There are a number of good dairy-free milk substitutes, such as coconut, almond, hemp, flax, and rice milk. But, water is the most important drink.

Keep it simple and uncomplicated with whole foods as the goal, such as:


tips for being Gluten & Dairy free

  1. Eggs are not dairy and do not contain casein. Eggs are allowed.
  2. Lactose-free milk is not casein-free. Lactose is the sugar component of milk, casein is the protein component. Do not use lactose-free milk.
  3. Organic does not mean gluten and casein free. Organic refers to how the product was grown.
  4. This diet requires that all sources of gluten and casein be removed no matter how high or low the content is. Unfortunately, this means you cannot allow your child to consume even small amounts of casein and gluten. The body will react to the proteins no matter how much is ingested.
  5. The ultimate goal is a healthier, whole foods diet free of these large proteins. 
  6. This is a lifestyle change, so take it one day at a time.
  7. Try to keep sugar to a minimum.
  8. Avoid food coloring and food additives as well. They are not food. In other words, they are chemicals. Additionally, food coloring and additives can cause behavioral and health issues.
  9. Read your labels 
  10. Don't trust restaurants to be completely gluten and casein free, there is almost always cross-contamination.
What needs replaced? 


Finding Hidden Sources Of Gluten & Casein

Don’t allow cross-contact or hidden sources of gluten, dairy, or soy to undermine your efforts. Cross-contact occurs when a food that is GFCFSF comes into contact with foods or surfaces that contain restricted ingredients; making it unsafe for your child to eat. Cross-contact can occur at home, restaurants, the grocery store, and even during the manufacturing, packaging, growing, and harvesting processes.

When shopping for groceries, be sure to read ingredient labels to look for hidden sources of gluten, casein, and soy. Even some items that are advertised as safe are, in fact, not safe.

Reading Food Labels

Thankfully, laws have been passed to help consumers read food labels. Below the food ingredients, the package will list any of the top eight allergens: milk (casein), wheat (gluten), soy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, fish, and shellfish.

The less processed food you buy, the less you will have to read labels. In the beginning, you may need to use some prepackaged foods in order to transition your child, but the goal is to get away from prepackaged foods and buy whole foods. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store, where the fresh foods are kept.

A lifestyle change is always hard at first! It's a choice and you can choose it! Our family has been gluten and casein free since 2011 and even with a picky eater we were able to transform our lifestyle to adapt to this change that was necessary for us. I have helped numerous others start this lifestyle change and they have all seen different results, but not one family has said they can't tell a difference.

We all have to make hard choices, and change can be hard. Health, and therefore behavior, does not get better by chance. Rather, it gets better by change. Be sure to choose your “hard” carefully.