GF Mac and Cheese (A Simple Mom's Recipe)

 

 

 

 

a simple real food recipe :: quick real food mac-n-cheese

 Author: Renee – www.theSIMPLEmoms.com

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups dry gluten free pasta (go for a rice or brown rice pasta – even our local NON health food store carries them now)
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated (organic preferable – NOT from the green can. Get a block of cheese and grate it yourself – there are SO many additives and unnecessaries in the pre-grated)
• 1 ½ cup cheese, shredded (organic and raw preferable – not pre shredded and dyed yellow – there are so many additives and unnecessaries in the pre-shredded and bright yellow cheese)
• ¾ – 1 cup whole cream or whole milk depending on how creamy or thick you like it (Organic and raw preferable. Raw cream is not available where I live, but a great local farmer does carry a quality cream. Do NOT get Ultra pasteurized.)
• ¼ cup real butter
• Sea salt/Pepper to taste
• About ¾ tsp turmeric for coloring yellow (optional only if you want the bright yellow!) OR a natural yellow food coloring – most health food stores will carry them

Instructions

1. Boil noodles in water (or like I did in chicken stock for extra nourishment!) and strain.
2. While the water comes to a boil and the noodles are cooking, warm the cream and butter in a separate pot so they aren’t ice cold when they hit the cooked noodles – just warm until they combine together. You can also shred your cheeses while the noodles are cooking.
3. Add your cooked, strained noodles and the shredded cheeses into the pot with the warmed cream and butter and combine.
4. Add your seasonings and, if you wish, the turmeric for color.

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Kitchen Tips:

1. This made enough for the girls and I to have 2 lunches worth and a little left over. To be honest my youngest wasn’t a huge fan – she isn’t a big “noodle” person. We just don’t eat a ton of it. She took a few bites and pushed it away asking for more broccoli instead. My 3 year old LOVED it! I thoroughly enjoyed my serving by the way
2. To reheat leftovers, just heat on the stove with a couple splashes of milk or water to re-moisten. Do not microwave or you will ruin all the good nutrients in the real cream and cheese!
3. To pack up in a lunchbox, I would get it nice and hot in the morning and store it in a thermos with a couple extra splashes of cream, milk, or water to keep it moist – it does thicken a little because the noodles will soak in more moisture.
4. Boil your noodles in homemade chicken stock for more nourishment!
5. THIS is similar to the gluten free rice pasta I get at our local grocer – shop around – gluten free pretty easy to find these days. Just be sure to read the ingredients – no soy!
6. THIS is what turmeric looks like and THIS is a good natural food dye. Again – you may be able to find these cheaper in your health food store or local grocer.
7. Read THIS and THIS on why real wholesome animal fats like those in real cheese and cream are so nourishing.

This Recipe is by Renee from The Simple Mom Facebook page. To see this and more recipies see their page http://www.thesimplemoms.com/2013/04/a-simple-real-food-recipe-quick-real-food-mac-n-cheese.html

Renee

the real food hippie :: renee is married to her superman and mama to her 2 busy bees. she loves soaking up the sun, real butter, and julia child. she believes any meal becomes great with butter, onions, garlic, and a glass of wine. her passion is helping people take baby steps to raise a real food generation in this world of highly processed food – one with healed guts, functioning minds, and solid health. Find more of Renee on pinterest and Google+.

More Posts

GF Spinach Lasagna (The Simple Mom's Recipe)

You’ll need:
1 lb grassfed ground beef
3-4 TB friendly fat to cook in (butter, coconut oil, tallow, lard)
2 medium onions chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
4 small or 2 large tomatoes, seeded, juices scooped out, and chopped
2 quarts homemade beef stock (chicken stock works too)
1 TB Italian seasoning
2 cups brown rice pasta
Handfulls of organic spinach – it really wilts so don’t be afraid to really get a lot in there – I use a whole small box!
Sea salt/pepper to taste
Grated parmesan cheese or sour cream to top if desired

1. Brown the beef in a little bit of the friendly fat, in a big soup pot, and set aside – don’t drain the fat – that is major flavor and grassfed beef fat is extremely nutritious. Grassfed ground beef is pretty lean anyway – it won’t be super fatty or greasy I promise.
2. Add some friendly fat and the onions to the pot you just cooked the beef in. Saute them in the beef fat and butter with a pinch of salt to bring out their juices and sweeten. About 5 or so minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook for a minute.
4. Add the stock, beef, seasoning, and tomatoes and bring to a boil.
5. Do not reduce to a simmer – add the noodles and boil in the stock until they are al dente.
6. Turn the heat down to low and add the spinach to wilt and cook through – will only take a few minutes or so.
7. Top with Parmesan cheese or sour cream if you want!

Kitchen Tips:

1. If you are going to freeze this you will not want to cook the pasta all the way through otherwise they will be pretty soggy. It does turn out very good after being frozen, and most often I freeze a whole batch flat in a gallon freezer bag for a new mama – it slides right in the freezer so nice and she can bring it out when she is ready for it
2. You could use rice or quinoa instead of the noodles. If you are grain free try potatoes. 

This is a Simple Mom's Recipe by Renee. To see this and many other healthy recipies check out their Facebook page http://www.thesimplemoms.com/2012/12/a-simple-real-food-recipe-spinach-lasagna-soup.html

Renee

the real food hippie :: renee is married to her superman and mama to her 2 busy bees. she loves soaking up the sun, real butter, and julia child. she believes any meal becomes great with butter, onions, garlic, and a glass of wine. her passion is helping people take baby steps to raise a real food generation in this world of highly processed food – one with healed guts, functioning minds, and solid health. Find more of Renee on pinterest and Google+.

 

Fruit Smoothie

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped mango

1 small banana

6 Strawberries

1/3 cup greek or raw milk yogurt

2/3 cup milk or almond milk

4 ice cubes honey

(optional small handful of spinach, this will change the color)

 

Directions

 

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy as a healthy snack or breakfast!

Baked Applesauce (The Simple Mom's Recipe)

You’ll need:
4-5 lbs of apples (just use whatever kind you’ve got!)
2 TB real lemon juice
1 TB pumpkin pie spice or 2 tsp cinnamon
¼ cup filtered water

1. Quarter and core your apples. If you want them peeled, you can do that before you cut them.
2. Put the water and apples in a roasting pan with a lid, or dutch oven.
3. Toss the apples with the lemon juice and pumpkin pie spice.
4. Bake at 350 degrees with the lid ON for 1 ½ hours.
5. Let them cool a bit before pureeing in food processor or blender to the consistency you want.

Kitchen Tips:

1. This makes the house smell SO good. Which is why I don’t do a bunch of batches all together – I’ll do up a batch when I know I’ll be home for the afternoon or evening, and make the house smell like heaven If you need to batch up more, you could fit 2 roasting pans full in the oven.
2. I store our applesauce in pint containers and these little Ball freezer containers. The small ones hold about a cup – which is a perfect split snack for the girls I’ve been sending a half of one of those small containers with my 3 year old for her morning snack at preschool. This batch made 2 pints full and 4 of the smaller containers.
3. We like our applesauce a little “chunky” but you can puree it further and it will be nice and smooth.
4. This took me about 10 minutes to get into the pan, then hands off for a little over an hour, and about 15 minutes to puree – not long at all. And that is doing it in batches in my smaller processor – if you have a real blender or processor, you can do it in one batch most likely super fast!
5. You can leave out the pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon) if you like your applesauce plain – it is still really good! I used to batch up baby food apples this way!
6. I don’t think the applesauce needs extra “sweet” but if you think it needs more, by all means add some honey or maple syrup

This Recipe is compliments of Renee from Simple Moms. To see this great recipe and many other great real food recipies check out Simple Moms here http://www.thesimplemoms.com/2012/10/a-simple-real-food-recipe-baked-applesauce.html

Renee

the real food hippie :: renee is married to her superman and mama to her 2 busy bees. she loves soaking up the sun, real butter, and julia child. she believes any meal becomes great with butter, onions, garlic, and a glass of wine. her passion is helping people take baby steps to raise a real food generation in this world of highly processed food – one with healed guts, functioning minds, and solid health. Find more of Renee on pinterest and Google+.

 

Healthy Homemade BBQ Sauce

Nutrient Dense BBQ Dipping Sauce Ingredients

• 1-finely diced white onion
• 1 ½ heads of garlic, shredded
• 4 cups beef bone broth – learn how to make beef bone broth here
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups molasses
• ½ teaspoons allspice
• 2 tablespoons celery salt
• 3 cups tomato paste
• ¾ cup spicy mustard
• 3 teaspoons horse radish

Nutrient Dense BBQ Dipping Sauce Method

1. Heat onions & garlic in 4 cups bone broth on medium stove heat.
2. Turn stove heat down to low.
3. Add all other ingredients, and combine completely by stirring.
4. All sauce to cook for 45 minutes – 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
5. At this point, test the thickness of your sauce. When you’re happy with the consistency, remove it from the heat.
6. If you want a thicker sauce continue to cook down with occasional stirring.
7. If you want a thinner sauce, add ¼ cup bone broth or water at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Yields: 3 quarts

This post was generously contributed by Monica Ford of Real Food Devotee. Check back next Friday for more delicious recipes from Monica that will make your mouth water and your tummy purr. If you’re lucky enough to live in Los Angeles, Real Food Devotee can make your life easier by delivering nutrient dense goodies directly to your door.

photo credit: An Eye Full Studio

Gluten Free Paleo Banana Pancakes

http://tv.greenmedinfo.com/gluten-free-dairy-free-banana-pancakes-in-1-5-minutes/

Ingredients

3 Bananas
3 Eggs
Cinnamon
Sea Salt
Cocont Oil or Real Butter

Directions

Smash 3 bananas in a bowl. In a seperate bowl whisk eggs. Combine and mix well. Add a little cinnamon and sea salt. Cover skilled with coconut oil or butter. Cook a few minutes on each side.
Cover with Agave, real maple syrup or even peanut butter.

Apple Boats

In an effort to get my daughter to eat healthier snacks and more peanut butter (she does not like pbj)  we came up with Apple Boats. Let the kids smear on the peanut butter and add the raisins. Add little toothpicks with a sail for a cute fun snack for parties. You can also do the same with bananas slices. We all know kids love to play with their food ;) You can also sub any nut butter.

Whole Wheat Tortillas (100 Days of Real Food)

(100 Days of Real Food)

Serves: 12 Tortillas

Adapted from Anson Mills

Ingredients

• 2½ cups whole-wheat flour (I used King Arthur’s white whole-wheat flour)
• ½ cup oil (I used avocado oil)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup warm water (heat in the microwave for 1 min)

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer set with a dough hook, pour in the flour, oil and salt. Beat with the paddle until crumbly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the sides as needed. If your hand-held mixer comes with dough hooks those can be used as well.
2. With the mixer running, gradually add the warm water and continue mixing until the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes.
3. Take out the dough and divide it into 12 equal sized pieces. I do this by making the dough into a big log shape that is about 8 – 10 inches long. Then I cut it in the middle. Then I cut each of those pieces in the middle and so on until you have 12 pieces.
4. Using the palms of your hand roll each piece into a round ball and flatten it out on a baking tray or board. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to one hour.
5. Heat a cast iron skillet, griddle or 12-inch skillet over med-high heat. The pan should be fairly hot before you begin cooking the tortillas.
6. On a lightly floured board or counter top, use a rolling pin to turn each ball into a 8 to 10 inch flat circle (measure against your recipe if printed on a 8.5X11 sheet of paper). Be careful not to use more than a teaspoon or two of flour when rolling out each ball into a tortilla because too much excess flour will burn in the pan.
7. Grease the pan with a touch of oil (or ghee) and then carefully transfer each tortilla, one at a time, to the pan and cook until puffy and slightly brown, about 30 to 45 seconds per side. Set aside on a plate to cool slightly. Eat within an hour, refrigerate or freeze.

 

 

This a great page with lots of great healthy from scratch recipies
Great Homemade Whole Wheat flour tortillas from 100 Days of Real Food
http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/05/26/recipe-whole-wheat-tortillas/

Gluten Free Banana Bread (The Simple Mom's Recipe)

Another great recipe from Simple Mom's
http://www.thesimplemoms.com/2012/09/a-simple-real-food-recipe-banana-bread-gluten-free-with-dairy-and-egg-free-options.html

Gluten Free Banana Bread


3 large ripe bananas
½ cup coconut flour
1 cup white rice flour or sprouted brown rice flour
¼ cup organic honey
1/3 cup softened butter (if you are dairy free use melted coconut oil)
3 eggs (if you are egg free use egg replacer or flax eggs)
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 TB cinnamon

1. Mash up the bananas in your mixing bowl with the back of a fork.
2. Pour the rest of the ingredients in the mixing bowl and blend with and mixer until blended through.
3. Spread the batter in a well greased (with butter or coconut oil) small loaf pan.
4. Bake at 350 fo 45-50 minutes. Do the toothpick test though – you may have to bake a little longer.

Kitchen Tips:

1. This freezes up great! If you see ripe bananas go on sale at the grocery store, stock up and make up some of this bread for the freezer! I did this right before I had my second baby and loaded up my freezer with 4 loaves that took care of breakfast or snacks for a while after baby was born!
2. Because of the great nutrition and filling quality of the ingredients in this bread, it makes a perfect breakfast topped with cream cheese, butter, or coconut butter.
3. Make up the batter the night before if you have to so all you have to do is stick it in the oven in the morning while getting ready for the day. The batter only takes about 5-7 minutes to get together anyway!
4. Makes great muffins too! This recipe fills up a 12 muffin tin but you will want to bake them more like 25 minutes – keep an eye on them and tooth pick test them!