REAL Food Nachos {Gluten Free} AND The Challenges of Being Hungry @ The Grocery Store With Kids

Today I totally forgot to bring a snack with me, that's always a bad idea when I know I'll be gone longer then 2-3 hours. Thankfully I had to stop at the store on my way home anyways, so I figured I would grab a few bananas for the kids and I to hold us over.

As I was walking through the store, I could tell my kids were just as hungry as I was. I had to stop myself from looking at everything, and just focus on why I came. The kids looked like vultures circling their prey ready to grab everything! I had to keep the cart in the middle of the isle so Weston didn't grab things from the shelves. I told Michael to hold onto the cart to keep himself from fingerprinting every box of goodies he saw.

Finally I grabbed some salmon and baby items and we headed to the checkout, BUT that's the worst place to be when your hungry. First they have magazines lined up with tons of garbage all over it and junk food galore. Weston grabbed for the kill and got a snickers, I gently grabbed it saying that i had some bananas in the cart for us to have. Thankfully he was so excited about the banana that he gladly let the snickers go without a fight.

As we left the checkout and everybody bundled back up to go into the arctic zone {I'm exaggerating a bit, but its so cold and keeps snowing, ah!} I gave the boys a banana. We got into the car and started on our way home. Along the road there was a lady waiting at the bus stop, and she pulled a doughnut out of her bag and started eating it. My first thought was, I wonder where she got that from? Hence where's the closet bakery BUT I stayed on my mission of home. Bakeries are places I rarely visit, because there's no gluten free options and I like to make homemade goodies anyway. BUT when your hungry anything with carbs looks good.

So when we got home Michael made peanut butter and jellies for Weston and himself, and I decided to make some REAL food nachos. Its so easy and you can add whatever you like or have on hand.

REAL Food Nachos

Corn Tortilla Chips
shredded cheese {I used RAW cheese I found @ woodmans! I was so excited}
black beans {optional}
plain yogurt {Or sour cream}
salsa
Guacamole or avocados {I used some leftover guacamole} {optional}

Other toppings you can use:
Tomatoes
spinach
lettuce
feta
onions
corn
And whatever else you can think of

Spread out your chips on a plate, sprinkle shredded cheese over the top, add black beans {and other items that need to be heated up}.

Warm up in the microwave for about 30-40 sec

 Add yogurt{sour cream}, salsa, and guacamole

Enjoy!

You can do this as a treat, snack, dinner, or for a party. People can make their own and personalize which topping they like.

You can always melt the cheese in a pot and add some butter and milk to make it more creamy like, but serve immediately before it gets to stiff ;)

Before You Call for Delivery, READ THIS! Eating REAL food is NOT about dieting, Also, Homemade Pizza Night {Gluten Free}

Running short on time, or forget about dinner? Don't get fast food or order out just yet! 

Homemade pizza is SO YUMMY and super quick. I actually ran to the store and grabbed some premade gluten free dough but I had all the other ingredients on hand. Sometimes I enjoy take-out too BUT I try to do everything I can to make all our meals at home. And places l eat are limited if the choice is up to me.  Since we are a one income household, we also have to be budget conscious when eating out and making food at home is ALWAYS cheaper for us.

{Recipe at bottom of post}

I enjoy cooking and I feel good about knowing whats in my food. Nothing is worse then going out to a restaurant so hungry, ordering things you normally wouldn't, questioning whats in the food, then eating it anyways. AND then you regret it about 10-20 minutes after when your stomach is hurting, your head is pounding and your so upset that you just treated yourself that way. Okay maybe that's how I feel, but you get my point. I have felt this way too many times that I have decided if I'm struggling and want something I know is gonna make me feel yuck, I will make it with REAL food in my own kitchen with ingredients I know my body will appreciate.

YOU are worth REAL food. Eating REAL food doesn't have to be like a diet, and you don't have to cheat. You can eat REAL treats. I'm going to be making some yummy brownies this week, but with REAL food and one of the ingredients is zucchini :) Look for the recipe coming soon!

I don't have to feel like garbage after I eat REAL treats, and I don't have to have guilt over my head because I cheated on my diet. And I don't have to feel like I messed up so now I'll just go back to eating whatever.

Your body is like a car, if you don't feed it the right fuel, its gonna burn out, explode, and fall apart.

I have chosen to not eat refined white sugar as much as is within my power, I have substituted all my sugar in recipes for stevia or honey. I'm doing this for many reasons, 1. I'm addicted to sugar and going cold turkey would create a monster, 2. I'm trying to heal my stomach but still crave sweet things sometimes, 3. Stevia doesn't have the same harmful effects as other sweeteners, such as aspartame which is known to cause neurological effects., 

I have chosen to quit gluten. After I had some blood tests done I have chosen for my health that its better to cut out all gluten as much as is in my power from my diet. I'm so thankful to God that I have done this. For me cutting out gluten also helped limit my carbohydrate intake {breads, pastas, muffins, cookies, etc.} Carbohydrates and sugar are whats making US {Americans} fat, NOT fat. We need fat, good fat, such as avocados, peanut butter, nuts, some meat, coconut oil. I feel more clear headed and have more energy as well.

Some people have also talked about cutting out all grains, I'm not there yet. I still eat rice which is naturally gluten free, quinoa, and popcorn. I do try to make recipes without grains because i want to limit my carbohydrates, but I'm comfortable at this point with eating rice, quinoa, and popcorn. I also do not eat rice made in the USA if I can help it, it has high levels of arsenic, although this can be in any rice, the US rice has very high levels. I usually buy basmati rice, jasmine white or jasmine brown rice.

You can curb cravings by replacing them, for example trade a late night snack with a warm cup of tea. You can also make healthier versions, in my case I like peanut butter cups, BUT I'm eating sugar free now, so I have a recipe for homemade sugar free peanut butter cups. Most products on the market that are sugar free, are dangerous because of the artificial sweeteners and have no nutritional value. My homemade peanut butter cups have a plant based sugar alternative, stevia, pure organic protein filled peanut butter, and dark chocolate with antioxidants, OR Chocolate protein powder, OR Carob protein which is naturally caffeine free. I will post that recipe soon :)

Its hard in the beginning to change your routine, and to turn your back on things that are easily accessible, fast, convenient, and something you really like. BUT the longer you start weaning yourself towards eating REAL foods, you start to feel better, energized, and overall better. You won't want to go back to the foods that gave you a quick good feeling, but afterword made you feel yucky. And if you do, it will be a reminder why you chose to give it up. {I know this from personal experience :)}

Homemade Pizza Night

Make this a fun night with your kids, get all the toppings out and let them help, or make individual pizzas. Make your dough from scratch or buy premade dough. If I still ate gluten I would have made my own dough BUT with being gluten free I'm still learning how to bake with gluten free flours and such, SO it was easier for me to get some gluten free premade dough. Buying premade dough to me is better then ordering out pizza. I can still remember the last time I ate take out pizza, I felt so yucky that I couldn't even sleep that night, it was horrible! SO, now I make our pizzas at home. Since I'm gluten free it also helps me reject certain foods I normally might cave on. I feel so good after being off gluten, I don't wanna go back!

Use what you have or add what you want!

Here's what I did:
1 box of 4 Premade Gluten free pizza dough from Woodmans
spinach
feta cheese
mushrooms
pepperoni
pasta sauce or pizza sauce
minced garlic
olive oil

You can also use/try:
pineapples
shredded cheese
Parmesan cheese
chicken
BBQ sauce
onions
tomatoes
zucchini
sausage
bell peppers

I spread a little olive oil on the dough before adding any toppings, then I spread out some minced garlic on the crust.

I added my sauce, then my spinach, add cheese, meat and veggies.

Bake until cheese is melty, and/or crust is tanned.

HAVE FUN AND EAT REAL FOOD!

Here is a recipe for homemade gluten free dough, I will be trying this soon!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust – Don’t Let the Name Fool You

Yummy Pumpkin Pie {Gluten Free w/ Dairy free version}

 Pumpkin pie is a favorite dessert of mine. I could eat it all year round. BUT I wanted to make a healthier version, so all the sugar didn't cancel out the benefits of eating pumpkin. AND I also needed a gluten free version, which in my opinion whether your gluten intolerant or not its a healthier version for you.

Wheat is not healthier in my opinion anymore, through my research in fact switching from white to wheat doesn't really make a difference, especially if your buying commercially made breads. Most wheat is genetically modified, AND its basically nutritionally void. I know that eating "whole grains" or carbohydrates is part of a balanced diet based on the USDA recommendations, but the USDA also recommends GMO's, and they are NOT safe. Lets try to think outside the box, literally :). Lets view carbohydrates  in broader terms then bread. Vegetables have carbs :) Rice has carbs and is gluten free :) Potatoes  and sweet potatoes have carbs. Quinoa has carbs. Oatmeal has carbs.

ANYWAYS, I've cut out the wheat and trimmed the sugar way done without taking away from the taste :)

Yummy Pumpkin Pie {Gluten and Dairy Free}

Crust
1c unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2c  Gluten free oats {Oats are naturally gluten free but some are made in places with wheat, so check package :)}
3.5 TBSP Coconut oil
2 TBSP honey

Filling
1c pumpkin puree
1/2 c  unsweetened almond milk or other milk substitute
1 tsp REAL salt
1 tbsp honey
1 egg
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Homemade whipped Cream
8oz Heavy whipping cream
1/4-1/2cup stevia or syrup {or your choice of sweetener}
1 tsp Vanilla

 For a dairy free version:
How-to Make Whipped Coconut Milk Cream

Preheat oven to 350

 Okay to begin, lets make the crust. Measure out your oats and coconut flakes and add to a blender or nutribullet, use a low speed or your two blade cutter. You just want to make grind it up into a kind of flour but not make it creamy.

Once its has become like a flour, you can add your coconut oil and honey. Place in your baking dish and spread out like a crust.

Next is the filling, add pumpkin puree, almond milk, salt, honey, egg and pumpkin pie spice in your bowl and mix it up good. Then pour into your crust.

Bake @ 350 for about 20-25 minutes or until your filling in firm and crust is a bit browned.

You can eat it warm, if it is really crumbly put in the fridge for about 30 minutes so the crust can firm up a bit. i have made this twice so far and the first time the crust was fine, but the second time it was more crumbly, so i just put it in the fridge for a bit.

Lastly make your whipping cream. Use blender or beaters for this. Only add heavy whipping cream and whip or blend until it thickens up. then add other ingredients.

Your all done. Enjoy your almost guilt free pumpkin pie with homemade whip cream :)