Tag Archives: allergen free

Seal Beach

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Beach hopping continues! We drove up the coast about an hour to our new destination: Seal Beach! Our campsite here is actually not a campground, but an RV park. We are quickly learning there is definitely a difference between the two! Since we are just starting out, we did not realize (what is probably common knowledge for full timers) that RV parks in general do not allow tents or have campfire pits (which by this time was actually a welcome change). We are at the Seabreeze RV park which is extremely nice, clean and uncomfortably quiet. I’m not entirely sure there is anyone here – maybe just a bunch of empty RVs parked here for the summer? Either way – it’s our first time having FULL hookups!!! We are a bit excited to finally be able to use the sinks without apprehension (though still trying to conserve and be responsible) 😉

Seal Beach is a cute little beach town sandwiched between Huntington Beach and Long Beach just south of LA.

Since we LOVE food and love to find great local places, we often look to YELP to scout out the highest reviewed non-chain (when possible) place to eat that uses real, fresh food that can be made allergen free and safe for the kiddos. Our search in this area landed us at Cesar’s Bistro…

This little spot is AMAZING – we’d highly recommend it. The service was fantastic and it felt like we had known our server forever by the time we left. They were very accommodating to the allergies and had excellent gluten free options since a lot of their ‘breads’ were home made with corn. Check out the presentation here! This is the Caribbean pulled pork and the salad was something I’d come back for alone – so much flavor!

Had to finish off the meal with sweet plantains, of course.

Definitely check this place out if you’re in the area!

marshmallow dreams

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Funny the questions that have been popping into my head about people who travel and live full-time at campgrounds. Tonight the thought struck me that they probably get really tired of campfires. {gasp} I know it seems like such an awesome part of outdoor life, but in reality, smoke and sticky marshmallows surely lose their charm night after night, right?

Good news is that for us, they are still magical and every bit an essential part of this camping life. (Though I quickly learned not to leave the airstream windows open next to the fire ?).

My boys have an obsession with burning their marshmallows to a crisp and declaring it ‘perfectly done!’

You may wonder how S’mores work for kids with food allergies. We have come up with 2 alternatives that are not just acceptable, but in my opinion far surpass the traditional S’more…

1) Sharf brand gluten free shortbread cookies. These paired with toasted marshmallows are so good, you usually forget the chocolate, but the Enjoy Life Dairy Free Chocolate Chunks make an excellent addition if you remember to put them on.

2) Betty Crocker’s Gluten Free Brownies  (this one is still their fav of all the gf brownie mixes). Bake up a batch and top it with your roasted marshmallow for a really indulgent campfire treat!

There’s no way we’ll be able to make this a nightly event, but since we are just starting out you’d better bet the boys are LOVING some evening camp fires and marshmallows!

liquid garam masala

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So I love the flavors of curry, but can’t take the heat with most pre-made sauces. With the allergies here we have to make everything from scratch anyway, so I’ve developed a quick and easy way (NOTE:: not claiming it is authentic) to make a yummy curry dish here at home with whatever we have at the time… and use our amazing doTERRA oils to flavor it!
liquid garam masala
Here is my loose ‘recipe’ that you can follow and modify at will:

MEAT & VEGGIES:

  • about 2 lbs of bite sized chopped meat (beef or chicken)
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 head cauliflower, chopped (we’ve also added potatoes before)
  • several carrots, chopped
  • 1 small carton of grape or cherry tomatoes
  • 1 jar of Majestic Garlic curried garlic (this stuff is not easy to find, but is AMAZING). I apologize if most of you can’t get this bc IMO it really makes the dish. If you can’t get it, any whole pickled garlic cloves may also be a good substitute. I put in a LOT.

SAUCE:

  • 1 can of organic fire roasted diced tomatoes
  • 3 small cans of organic coconut cream
  • a few TBSP of dairy free butter

SEASONING:

  • several TBSP of mild curry powder
  • about 2 TBSP of cumin
  • a few drops of doTERRA lime essential oil
  • 1 drop each of doTERRA Cardamom, Coriander, Ginger, Cinnamon, Clove Bud, Black Pepper essential oils  (if you don’t have these yet, msg me and I can get them to you)
  • a dash of sugar to balance out the tomatoes
  • more cinnamon powder if needed
  • salt to taste

This week I started with some beef pieces cut into small bite-sized portions and marinated them ahead of time in some olive oil, salt and a can of coconut cream (we usually use chicken).

Heat some olive oil in a pot (I like to use my enamel coated cast iron dutch oven) and cook up some chopped onion until tender. Add in the cauliflower, carrots and meat until meat is browned and veggies are tender.

Add in 1 can diced tomatoes, 2-3 cans of coconut cream (less if using the full sized cans, but mine were the really small cans) and butter. Throw in the grape tomatoes, garlic cloves and all seasonings and let it simmer until flavors are well blended. This one really requires you to customize the flavors to your liking, but that is what I love about making this dish!

Serve over brown jasmine rice. YUM!

Real meal plans week #1

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Ok here is this week’s meal planning menu board using real dairy, egg, wheat, nut free food.

Posting in case I need to get these ideas again later, or maybe someone else out there needs ideas too!

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Here are some of the recipes (though I have modified a few for our family).

MONDAY – http://paleomg.com/summer-squash-meatball-casserole/

TUESDAY – http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-deen/roasted-carrot-and-basil-soup-with-grilled-cheese-dunkers-recipe/index.html

WEDNESDAY – http://paleomg.com/indian-chicken-and-rice-paleo-recipe/

THURSDAY – http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/71808/brazilian-black-bean-stew