Coaching Cooking

Another article by Jean Duane, The ALternative Cook

Mary MacIntyre — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:00:26 +0000

Spring takes many forms let new sprouts grow within

Here’s a post from Jean Duane’s blog. If you have questions about a Gluten Free Life, this book may be just what you need. Share.

June 12th, 2009 by Jean Duane

If you are looking for a comprehensive reference book on gracefully living the gluten free lifestyle, look no further. Suzanne Bowland has written a book that provides enlightening information for the veteran Celiac and for the newly diagnosed. From the basics of defining gluten and how to avoid it by deciphering food labels, to looking beyond food – in the medicine cabinet and toiletries, this book has it all.

Travel is challenging to say the least on a restrictive diet, and Ms. Bowland shares tips on how to travel worry and hunger free. She suggests shopping at grocery stores, bringing foods with you, bringing reference cards so you know what ingredients to avoid and many other tips including how to avoid cross-contamination when traveling abroad. She offers snack ideas to have in your carry-on.

The Living Gluten-Free Answer Book

Chapter 6 offers an extensive list of safe, gluten-free packaged foods including brands and product names. This list will provide the even the seasoned Celiac with an array of new tidbits to sample. And the newly diagnosed can rejoice. This book does all of the work for you and will streamline your trips to the grocery store.

Social events and friend and family gatherings can be fraught with embarrassing and compromising situations for those on a special diet. Ms. Bowland offers suggestions on how to attend weddings, camping trips, work-related events, movies, potlucks and parties.

People with compromised immune systems have more reason to take extra care of their bodies and Ms. Bowland offers a chapter on how to ensure you eat a high-quality gluten-free diet. This chapter helps you ascertain whether your diet is healthy and how to improve it.

The book is written in a question/answer format, so chances are, you’ll find your burning question and a well-researched answer you can feel confident about. This book is available in the Recommended Books section of this blog or at bookstores near you. The Living Gluten-Free Answer Book is published by Sourcebooks, Inc. Paperback, $16.95, 2008. (c)Alternative Cook, LLC 2009. All Rights Reserved.

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Great Gluten escape Camp for Kids

Mary MacIntyre — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:54:01 +0000

If you get hungry for Spicey living enjoy! Photo by Mary MacIntyre

The ALternative Cook always has new ideas and ways to keep us and the kids healthy. Enjoy!

July 1st, 2009 by Jean Duane
http://alternativecook.com/askjean/
What a week! Attendees at the Great Gluten Escape Camp engaged in many fun activities including horses, several different crafts, archery, canoeing, swimming, calf roping, low ropes and cooking. The cooking sessions were conducted by yours truly and what we made depended on the age group. Thank you to Kelly LeMonds who knows what kids like – because our choices were hits with each age group. The youngest made fruit pizzas which consist of a sugar cookie iced and topped with fresh fruits. They were really good! We cut them out into cowboy shapes (a cactus, a cowboy hat, a boot – the most popular with the boys because it was the biggest; and a horse – the most popular with the girls, because, well… it was a horse!). Everyone got to put on as much icing as they wanted, and decorate with chopped fruits. Kelly derived this recipe from one of her mother’s classic recipes. She spread the dough on two cookie sheets and baked it and then when the ‘campers’ came to the session, we cut them out with the cookie cutters.

GFCF Sugar Cookie
2 C Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Gluten-Free Flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
6 T butter substitute
1/3 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg or 2 egg whites
1 Tbs. rice milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Fruit Pizzas
Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Beat butter and oil for 30 seconds; add sugar and beat till fluffy. Add egg or egg whites, rice milk and vanilla and beat well. Add dry ingredients to beaten mixture, beating till well blended. Cover and chill at least 3 hours. Working with 1/2 the dough at a time, on a lightly floured surface roll to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Place on un-greased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8 minutes or till done.

Ice with purchased icing, or make some by combining ½ cup butter substitute with 2 cups of powdered sugar. Whisk until smooth. (If you need to thin it, add a little rice milk.)

Here’s a little history about the camp written by Cheryl Gainer the Camp Nurse: The Great Gluten Escape originated in 2005 as a Gold Award project by two sophomore High School Girl Scouts, Tara and Grace. The adult advisors that worked with these two young Girl Scouts were so impressed with their work and the resulting camp; they collaborated to create a non-profit 501 (c) (3) called the Great Gluten Escape Camp, Inc. which ensures the camp continues as an annual event. Monetary donations help reduce the cost to campers and their families so that more children can afford to attend this special needs resident summer camp. Donations are completely tax-deductible and can be sent to: The Great Gluten Escape Camp, Inc.,1416 Tascosa Court, Allen, TX, 75013. For more information check the website at http://www.greatglutenescape.org

Great Gluten Escape Camp 2009
Here is a photo of the campers this year. Stay tuned… I’ll write more about the food we made in the cooking sessions in subsequent blogs. ©Alternative Cook, 2009. All Rights reserved

Almost the 4th, Poblano Mushroom Quesidilla

Mary MacIntyre — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:50:42 +0000

My Mama TOlde me....

Lovely day and night. I went to dinner after class with my friend. We went down to the plaza. Classic Santa fe. As we drove up to the restaurant, we saw a group of South American Women singing and playing guitars. Then after we parked, we noticed Wilet Jim playing his guitar. In the Restaurant Santa Fe BAr and Grill, we got a window seat overlooking the plaza. Also had a terrace of beautiful festive flowers. The air was cool, a sunset started, and we were lulled into the charima of Santa Fe. Soon our free summer concert series will begin.

I had the Poblano (chile) quesidilla. The recipe was suppose to include grill chicken that you could add. Here’s the recipe.

2-6 poblano chiles (green)
Also could used NM poblano chiles dried
Grill or sear the chiles
Peel them.
Chop them and saute or grill them again

2 flour tortillas small to medium
either toast or cook in a light oil
or butter and quickly grill them

Sauteed mushrooms
White grated cheese of choice or minx three cheeses.

Place filling in between 2 tortillas, warm until cheese melts
slice and serves with salsa or guacamole on the side.

Poblano Chiles are usually medium ho

3 hour dieting? Get real! Surprize videos

Mary MacIntyre — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 05:18:44 +0000

Spring storms emerging wind strong freeing

Ok, maybe this would work. I want to share the article with you so you can decide. The reality is that many people need such a concept. I had hoped to hear that if you did xyz for 3 hours then…well I am an optimist. If you were to really try this out make your portions small, and filled with healthy nutrients. No soy. Avoid hi packed energy bars: real food: a few nuts, an apple, or other high fiber fruit would be better and contain less carbs and sugars! Mini sandwiches would be good, and some stuff that you love. Read on.
3 Hour Dieting

When it comes to the world of dieting you will find that there are many diet, weight loss, and fitness plans on the market. It takes years for some to become a contender and others remain a best-kept secret of sorts. One such ‘best kept’ secret would be the 3 Hour Diet that was designed by Jorge Cruise. I am sure that there are many reading along and chuckling under your breath that there is no way one can lose weight by eating every three hours however the science behind the theory is fairly common and Jorge Cruise is a mainstay in the fitness industry.

The long and short of this diet operates with the knowledge that if you do not feed your body accurately and regularly your body will go into what is called ’starvation mode’. In this mode your body holds onto the fat rather than burning it up and consuming it for use. This means that your body is burning muscle rather than fat to take the energy it needs in order to function.

With the 3 Hour Diet you will not feel hungry all the time, in fact, there are many who claim they are constantly setting alarms and reminding themselves to eat. You will also learn the proper foods to eat in order to achieve the best possible results. The key is in learning which foods are right for you when dieting with this plan. You can purchase the book The 3-Hour Diet by Jorge Cruise and you can sign up online for more information about the weight plan itself and how to incorporate it into your busy routine.

I do recommend purchasing the book if you are seriously considering this as your method of dieting as there are many wonderful hints, tips, and tricks that are mentioned in the book to help you keep things going no matter how busy and hectic your lifestyle may be. One thing you need to keep in mind is that dieting with a program such as this is no small commitment. You need to stick to the timetable as much as possible in order to achieve the results this plan is famous for. If you aren’t willing to eat every three hours then this plan really may not be the plan for you.

Otherwise, if this is something you would be interested in, I highly recommend it. There are special considerations based on the amount you weight currently and the amount of weight you are hoping to lose. It is best if you are honest throughout the process in order to achieve the best possible and most immediate results. The claim is that you can lose as many as 10 pounds in the first two weeks and there are those that have claimed to do just that over and over again. This is a diet that even many celebrities endorse for quick and immediate results.

The good and the bad about 3 hour dieting is that it is effective but takes a very real commitment on the part of the one that is dieting. This diet is one that is taking the world by storm. If you haven’t heard of it before now, please take the time to check it out and see if this is something you could incorporate into your life. The results that have been reported as a result of this diet as nothing short of phenomenal. If there were one diet I would recommend above others for those who hate feeling hungry, it would be this diet.

Skip Dieting and make a new start

Mary MacIntyre — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 05:01:54 +0000

My Mama TOlde me....

It is time to be gentle to yourself, move back into your body, and stop dieting. Perhaps start with falling in love with you again. Sound crazy? No. If weight is an issue for you, you need a fresh perspective and tools to approach the issue.
1) You need all the support you can get.
2)Look up Carol Solomon EFT therapist. She has lots of good loving tapping exercises about weight loss.

3) Find an acupuncture D.O.M.
4)LOve yourself often.
5) Create short term plans. (Small succeses build faith and stamina)
6) Choose healthy foods.
7) Make a list of 3 things you can do today.
Dump the negative chatter one thought at a time. Replace those thoughts with prayers,affirmations, and a positive counter thought.

The following article has a few other ideas. Eat with love, honor your food, and proceed slowly.

Avoid Dieting Make Positive Changes Instead

Why is it that merely saying the “D” word, you know “diet” brings immediate thoughts of failure to the minds of many men and women around the world? Could it be that we have all learned through trial and error that diets simply do not work? I know many of you are sitting back with jaws dropped at the moment. After all, this is an article about dieting, right? It is and it isn’t. Dieting is the kiss of death for many while a new phase in your life or lifestyle adjustment may be just the thing that will mean success for you and your fitness and health goals.

In order to have real success you must make a lifestyle change. This is the only way that you will be able to shed those unwanted pounds without experiencing the horrible guilt that so many dieters go through each and every step of the way with their diets. Set goals for yourself. Keep them aggressive but realistic for fitness, dropping pounds, and eating new healthy foods. Even if your goal is as simple as eating 5 vegetable servings a day it is a great place to start.

Change your way of eating. Then change your way of seeing food and you will experience amazing changes in your attitudes toward your health, your body, and even your fitness level. As the first pounds begin to drop you will begin to experience more energy and less pain when exercising. This should help keep you motivated to do even more as time goes by.

Do not think that long term weight loss goals will be as easy to achieve as the first five or ten pounds. Consistency is vitally important when making these lifestyle changes. Take each day as it comes and begin again the very next day. This means that even if you fall completely “off the wagon” today, you can start over tomorrow. The trick is in staying the course more days than not and learning moderation and balance when it comes to straying from the straight and narrow.

There are many ways to fail when it comes to dieting and I know people who have failed in almost every one I can possibly imagine. There is no way to fail, however, when you are making positive changes in your life that are getting positive results. It may take weeks, months, or even years to reach your goal. As long as you are making steady and continuous efforts and progress, you are doing many great things for your health and well being.

Keep meals simple and with choices. Keep kids in mind.

Mary MacIntyre — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:53:42 +0000

Anything can happen

ALthough there is good tips below, first consider your attitude about meals. Yes you can have a great gourmet meal. Still break down the expectations and selections. Create a marvelous salad with two different dressings on the side. A new version of potatoes could be wonderful, but also have good bread and butter. If they don’t like the potatoes they can gracefully eat some bread. If they want to place cheese, some salad on the bread as a sandwich, relax. They are eating aren’t they? The less attached you are to the results, the better. Enjoy your food. Let them find ways to enjoy theirs.
Choices empower everyone.
Read on.

You should also keep in mind that your children are people too when cooking for them. Just as you have foods you like and dislike they also will develop tastes over time. Those tastes may also change in time as well. It’s frustrating, I know, to spend time and money preparing a meal only to have your child push the plate away and refuse to even try the meal. For this, I recommend enlisting their help in the kitchen. Children are much more likely to eat the things they had a hand in preparing as a matter of accomplishment and pride. It’s psychological warfare I know but all is fair in war and dinnertime. (Erase that warfare idea. Kids love to help out and share their ideas. Encourage them with love and fun.)

Perhaps the greatest gift you can give yourself (much greater than the help in the kitchen) by ‘forcing’ your little ones to help prepare dinner is that they will learn to better appreciate your culinary efforts and eat peacefully rather than sullenly. This tactic has met with great success in my friends’ households when cooking for little ones. I hope you will enjoy the same degree of success as well.

More fun in the kitchen with Children

Mary MacIntyre — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:37:49 +0000

Anything can happen

Start by making a list of foods you want them to eat and foods they want to eat. Classify by category (protein,fruits, vegetables, grains). Mix and match. Limit multiple starches.
Pick 3 vegetables for each meal, let them choose portion size. Have at least one veggie they like. If you know that they love burgers vary burgers: veggie burger, bean and sprout burger, chicken burger, and red meat burger. They will get a protein they like. Skip the buns. Use whole grain bread, tortillas (whole grain) or pita bread. Or simply skip the bread. Add some brown rice or quinoa.

REad below For more ideas. Also frequently have small bowls fo soups. You can add 3-4 veggies in a soup creating a quick way for children to get theri veggies quick.

On a burger night be sure to add veggie topping and use a fruit for dessert.

When it comes to cooking for little ones, however man, woman, and child cannot live on macaroni and cheese alone. It’s been tried and tested and failed miserably. Try mixing things up whenever you can while keeping meals kid friendly. It is important that you try to introduce whole grains, proteins, and vegetables whenever possible at meal times around your home. The good news is that there are many prepackaged convenience foods that are introducing whole grains like never before in order to meet the growing demand of consumers for healthier meals that can be prepared with little fan fare or fuss.

Cooking healthier meals for kids is now easier than ever before. Fresh fruits and vegetables are best whenever possible. However, if you cannot manage fresh, you should avoid canned (fruits especially as they are often swimming in sugary sweetness) whenever possible. Frozen is far preferable to canned when it comes to both fruit and vegetables, as there are often fewer additives. (Progresso soups and some health store soups are an exception: however watch the ingredients for extra salt or sweeteners.)

If you need some great meal ideas that are kid friendly and easy on the budget, you can often find recipes readily available online. You can meet your child’s calcium and dairy product needs by adding milk as the drink of choice for meals or a slice of cheese melted over their favorite vegetable. Ice cream, yogurt, and pudding also make excellent calcium rich treats, in moderation of course.

Encourage your children to try new things rather than cooking the same few meals over and over again that you know they are likely to eat. This prevents two things from happening. First of all, it helps you not to get bored when cooking for your children. Second, it allows your children to try new flavors and textures and form opinions about them. By trying new things they will learn not only about the things they dislike but also the foods they really enjoy

Make dinner happy for the children? Big challenge tips.

Mary MacIntyre — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:15:55 +0000

Anything can happen

There’s so much to say on cooking for toddlers and up. SO here’s some advice and then tips.

Erase dinner arguments over food. I can tell you it isn’t worth it and the aggravation will help YOU gain weight. Forget what Mom told you. Long ago I did an experiment. I cooked very healthy food, and then shut my mouth. The children had choices and could choose to eat as much as they wanted. Little bellies are often filled faster than you think. Within a short time since the war was over, they chose a variety of foods. Read on for more ideas.

Cooking for Little Ones (hot topic)

Cooking for toddlers and growing children presents some unique challenges along the way. While you want to provide them with those ever so important nutrients, it is often difficult to get them to eat those foods that are best for their growing bodies. We are all probably well aware of the food pyramid and the number of servings our children need of healthy grains, proteins, fruits, vegetables, and calcium products. Getting them to eat these nourishing products is another matter all together unfortunately.

Make snacks building blocks for nutrients. Have a variety of ruits and veggies pre-cut and ready for snacks. Fron thinly sliced cucumbers to watermelon chunks, kids will learn to enjoy and ask for healthy treats. If they don’t want the carrots or celery sticks, give them the option of adding some nut butter, cream cheese or yougurt. If they aren’t interested her, create a small smoothie with a little protein powder. (Avoid powders sweetened with sugar)

Coconut Apricot RAW cookies

Mary MacIntyre — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:15:43 +0000

Anything can happen

Let’s face it, sometimes during a hot summer, you may not feel like turning that oven on. Still hungering for a light dessert? Try these.

2-6 large fresh apricots
1/2- 2 cups of fresh coconut or shredded coconut
blended nuts of your choice (pecans for me)
optional almond butter, peanut butter
a dash of honey or agave
1 cup of dates or blended dried fruits

blend coconut, dates, and nuts.
puree apricots and honey

spread the date blend in shapes of cookies on a tray
pince edges and pour apricot puree in the middle
Chill in the fridge four 20 minutes or until an hour
Serve.

You can also turn these delights into small balls with the puree in the middle. Chill or freeze. Serve cold.

Here another idea. In cup cake (foil cups) use date-nut blend as a shell, and fill with apricot puree and ice cream. Freeze and serve cold.

If this is too much work, purchase your favorite cookies. Crumble and mix with date nut blend, and add puree. Or simply use the cookie as your base and spread a blend of your choice on top. Cookie sandwiches are fun with ice cream, nut butters, or one of the blends mentioned. Add protein to those sweet delights. Have fun with a healthy diet.
PS: Sunset has a cookie book Best Ever Cookies, where you can find over 100 cookie recipes.

Beat the heat: Fennel, Tomato, Onion Soup

Mary MacIntyre — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:48:54 +0000

My Mama TOlde me....

Make a big batch of the zesty soup. Chill. Have it for lunch or a “late” supper. When it’s too hot to cook this recipe or its alternatives will make your work light. Also great to compliment a barbeque or bring to a potluck. Test along the way to adjust for your personal preferences.

Basic ingredients:
1 cup of water
1 clove of garlic
5 sprigs of fennel
4-8 tomatoes
1/2 to 2 onions or scallions to taste
(I used a white onion)

You can choose to use a blender or chop vegetables to a chunky portion size. I chose to blend the fennel with water, add tomatoes and onion to that base (all blended). Eat immediately or chill.

I also did a variation: I added lettuce leaves, pumpkin seeds, two bok choy leaves (small), and flax oil to the above soup. Everything blended.

You could add Chile powder, lemon juice, and oils of your choice. OIls really add delicate flavor accents to significantly change the experience of a recipe. Someimes combinig a small amount of two oils, or oils infused with herbs will dramactically enhance the experience of full flavors.

Be Daring: add small chunks of mango to the soup.

Make a yogurt or sour cream dip and serve with sliced fruits. Supper is ready.

Fantastic knife chop..do watch!

Now use these ingredients but don’t cook them. Serve immediately or chill.