School Friendly Granola Bars

1/3 cup vegan becel margarine
1/2 cup liquid honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 cups Lara's rolled oats
1 cup ground flaxseed
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup chopped dried fruit (apricots, dates, raisins)
1/2 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chip
1/4 cup sesame seeds

In a small sauce pan, melt margarine, add honey and sugar. Stir and bring to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Let cool slightly. In large bowl combine rest of ingredients. Gradually stir in dry mixture into syrup mixture. Firmly press into 11x17 inch baking dish. Bake at 350F. for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool. Cut into squares.

Makes about 40 squares.

PBB Muffins

This recipe is so delicious. I dare you to just eat one.

Ingredients

3 Bananas
3 eggs
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 canola oil
1/2 cup vanilla soygurt
1 3/4 cup of brown rice flour
1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chip


Preheat oven at 350F
Mix first four ingredient until smooth
then blend in the next few ingredients in order until mixture is no longer lumpy.
Add desired amount of chocolate chip.

Lined muffin tray with paper
Fill each paper to the top
Cook for about 20 minutes or until toothpick comes clean

Immune support breakfas

Healthy Recipes

• Immune support breakfast:
o The modern American diet, which is high in refined carbohydrates,
highly processed foods wreaks havoc with the body’s digestive
and elimination systems. By strengthening the body’s eliminative
function, the functioning of the immune system is also greatly
enhanced. This recipe is to be used 2-4 times a week over a period
of 2 months in order for the effects to be noticeable.
o 4 cups rolled grains (such as oats or barley)
o 2 cups oat bran
o 1 cup dried fruit
o 1 cup sunflower seeds, ground
o 1 cup raw, unsalted nuts, chopped
o 1 cup lecithin granules
o 1 cup flaxseed, ground
o Mix all ingredients well and store in the refrigerator. For each serving,
soak ½ cup dry mixture at least 30 minutes (overnight soaking is
okay) in soy milk, nut milk, rice milk, diluted fruit juice or water.

provided to me by my naturopath: http://www.rockwoodnd.com/

Inspiration

I love facebook.. I'm addicted to it.. I love having that fly on the wall aspect of dear friends and family.

One of my good friend, someone that always had the right words when you come to see her for advise posted this on as her status:

Don't be afraid if things seem difficult in the beginning. That's only the initial impression. The important thing is not to retreat; you have to master yourself."
Olga Korbut
Olympic Gold Medallist Gymnast

I thought that is so perfect for what my life has become.. the whys have almost all disappeared and have been replaced with what can I do.. Hence why most of my friends think I'm insane when I tell them that my children are dairy and gluten free.. Yes, it hard work. Yes, I wish for the simple life but you know once you start you can only go forward and the changes in my children are worth it. I've actually decided to apply the same principal to my own life..by taking care of my health, I hope that find some more balance...... but I know a secret...... If you believe it will happen. It might be though at first but it will come and yesterday will always seem easier than today no matter what your life circumstances are.

So on that, I bid you goodnight.

Take care
MommaBear

Canadian Jerk Chicken

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup of chopped green onion
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp gluten free soy sauce
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tablespoon of grated ginger root
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp allspice
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 12 boneless skinless chicken drumstick

Directions

1. Whisk together all marinade ingredients in a medium bowl.
2. Place chicken thighs in a large, heavy-duty, resealable plastic bag.
3. Add marinade and seal bag.
4. Turn bag several times to coat chicken.
5. Marinade overnight.
6. Preheat grill to medium.
7. Grill for about 15 min turning occasionally.

Strawberry Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins

These muffins smell and taste like summer.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (I use Bob's RedMill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour)
  
• 1 cup rolled oats ( I use CreamHill Estate Oats)
  
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup light canola oil
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
  
• 2 cups chopped fresh strawberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line 12 muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, milk, canola oil and sugar. Mix in strawberries. Stir strawberry mixture into oat mixture just until evenly moist. Spoon into prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Makes 12 small muffins.

Quinoa Soup with Avocado and Corn

You'll be surprise at how amazingly quick this soup is made and oh so filling!

Ingredients:

1L Imagine Vegetable or Chicken Broth
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/3 cup chunky salsa, to taste
1 ripe avocado, diced
Salt

1. In a large saucepan over high heat, bring the broth to a boil. Stir in the quinoa, reduce heat to medium-high, and continue boiling, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

2. Stir in the corn and salsa, then return to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the avocado.

Serves 4 large bowls. :)

Basic Pancake Recipe

2 eggs
2 cups milk (rice, almond, soy or dairy)
1 cups Flour .. I use Bob's RedMills Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 cup Oat, Quinoa Flakes, Flax Seeds, Grounded Nuts or Seeds or a combination
1/3 cup Canola Oil
2tsp baking powder

1 fruit (ie. apple, pear, plum) or 1 cup berries
1tsp of cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice,

Heat up frying pan
Mix all ingredients together

Add some olive oil
Add 1/4 cup of the batter
Cook until bubbles rises in pancake then flip.
Cook until Golden brown.

Crockpot Chicken Potato Soup

As most parents, I'm always at the search for an easy quick meal to satisfy even the empties stomach.

Crockpot Chicken Potato Soup

1 carton of Imagine Chicken Broth
1 zucchini, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 bag of small potato, quartered
4 cooked chicken breast
2 tbsp of fresh thyme.

Put everything into the crock pot.. Cook at lowest setting for at least 4 hours.

When ready to serve

add 1 tsp of dried oregano and on tbsp of chopped garlic.

Sneaky Shepherd Pie

This meal has been inspired by Missy Lapine cookbooks.. Sneaky Chef.

This shepherd pie did not last more than 2 days in our house and no one commented on the taste.

Sneaky Shepherd Pie.

Topping.

5-6 potatoes
1 head of cauliflower.
1 cup of reserved water
2TBSP of oil (my favourite is PC's Omega Oil)

Cover vegetable with water. Bring to a boil. Once cook, keep one cup of liquid, drain and mash together with oil and water.

Middle

1 bag of frozen corn

Bottom

2lbs of ground meat
2 small portabello mushrooms.
1 cup of cooked quinoa

Cook meat until no longer pink. Add mushroom. Cook until soft.. blend in Quinoa.

Cooking instructions:

Preheat oven at 350

In a 13x9 pan
Layer meat mixture at the bottom
Cover with Corn.
Cover with mashed potato mixture.
Cover pan and cook for 35 min.

Gluten Free Dairy Free Cupcakes

Surprise! Surprise! These cupcakes are moist and keep you coming back for more.


Gluten Free Dairy Free Cupcake

2 cups of Bob's Red Mills All Purpose flour
4 eggs
1 tsp of xanthan Gum
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup of canola oil
1 3/4 cup of sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup Ryza's Original Rice Milk

Preheat oven at 350C
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and xanthan gum set aside.
In a large bowl, cream oil and sugar until light and fluffy
Add vanilla and eggs one at a time
Add flour and milk until smooth.
Bake for 25min

I have now tried this as a cake.. you need to add another 20 minutes of baking.. It has a banana bread texture but very tasty..

Honey Chicken with Potatoes

This one wasn't a hit with the kids.. but I like it and even ate the leftovers cold the next day in a salad!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds baby potatoes
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup chicken stock or water

Preparation

In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and brown on both sides.

Scatter the potatoes, onion and garlic in the bowl of a crock pot. Season with salt and pepper. Lay the browned chicken over the veggies and drizzle with honey. Add stock, cover and cook, undisturbed, for 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.

Served with steamed vegetable.

Serves 4

Cream Corn Sauce Recipe for Fish.

I have to say I was a bit apprehensive when I tried out this recipe.. I was longing for a sweet tropical island taste.. I serve fish at least twice a week and for some reason always on Friday.. I'm not overly catholic.. It just so happens this way.. I won't put too much thought into that.

The recipes wasn't a total hit with my kids.. I think they were intimidated by this adult looking plate were everything is not mashed up together! But they did eat it that always a good start.



Fish with cream corn sauce


Cream corn sauce recipe.

2 Tbsp VEGETABLE OIL
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 large Onion, chopped
1 tsp Ginger, chopped
1 cup stock (vegetable)
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
1/4 cup of Vinegar
2 Tbsp Sugar
1/4 cup Green Sweet Pepper, julienne
1/4 cup Red Sweet Pepper, julienne
1 can CREAM STYLE CORN

In a saucepan heat oil, add minced garlic, onion and chopped ginger and saute for 2 minutes.
6. Dissolve egg powder in stock. De glaze pan using stock . Add sesame oil, sugar, vinegar and sweet peppers; allow to simmer.
7. Add cream style corn, combine well and continue to simmer for an additional minute.
8. Drizzle over fish fillet

Serve with rice and mixed green salad.

Cabbage Rolls without the Fuss

My kids loves this recipe it's simple to toss together and its full of good vitamins that they would normally not touch.

2lbs of ground meat (beef, pork, chicken or turkey)
1 cup of onion
2 garlic clove
1 jar of favorite spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 cup of water
1 cup of instant rice
3 cup of cabbage
3 cup of bok choy

preheat oven at 325C
cook meat; add onion and garlic; cook until onion are transparent. Stir in spaghetti sauce, water and rice.
Put cabbage in oven safe dish. Pour meat mixture over.
Cover and cook for 1 1/2 hour.

Gluten/Dairy Free Pot Pie Bowl

Gluten/Dairy Free Pot Pie Bowl.. The kids couldn't get enough of this one.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

* 4-5 potatoes, scrubbed and cut in small chunk
* 2 cloves garlic, smashed
* 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 pound of chicken, fish or any meat you have on hand. cut into small pieces
* 1 small, finely chopped onion
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* 2 cups gluten-free chicken broth
* 1 cup frozen mixed vegetable
* 1 cup small broccoli florets
* 2 tablespoons cornstarch
* 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
* Salt and pepper

Preparation:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the potatoes, garlic and enough salted water to cover. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes; drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the gluten-free chicken and cook for 4 minutes each side.

3. In the same skillet, add the onion and thyme and cook, stirring over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups chicken broth and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Lower the heat to medium, add the peas and carrots and the broccoli; cook for 2 minutes. In a bowl, stir the cornstarch into the remaining 1/2 cup gluten-free chicken broth, then stir in the mustard; season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
4. In a bowl, mash the potatoes with the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil and the reserved cooking water. Divide mashed potatoes among 4 shallow bowls; make a well in the center and top with the chicken and vegetables.


Serves 4

Add a caption

Chicken Pot Pie Bowl.. The kids couldn't get enough of this one. Recipe: Ingredients: * 1 1/4 pounds yellow-fleshed potatoes, such as Yukon Gold, peel and thinly slice * 2 cloves garlic, smashed * 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil * 2 large, skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1 pound) * 1 small, finely chopped onion * 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme * 2 cups gluten-free chicken broth * 1 cup frozen peas and carrots * 1 cup small broccoli florets * 2 tablespoons cornstarch * 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard * Salt and pepper Preparation: 1. In a medium saucepan, combine the potatoes, garlic and enough salted water to cover. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes; drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water. 2. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the gluten-free chicken and cook for 4 minutes each side. Transfer to a plate and shred; season with salt. 3. In the same skillet, add the onion and thyme and cook, stirring over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups chicken broth and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Lower the heat to medium, add the peas and carrots and the broccoli; cook for 2 minutes. In a bowl, stir the cornstarch into the remaining 1/2 cup gluten-free chicken broth, then stir in the mustard; season with salt and pepper. Keep warm. 4. In a bowl, mash the potatoes with the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil and the reserved cooking water. Divide mashed potatoes among 4 shallow bowls; make a well in the center and top with the chicken and vegetables. Serves 4

Dairy Free Ice Cream Popsicle

A picture would not do justice to these fabulous treat. Both my kids are dairy intolerance..I'm talking major cramping, fussiness and loose bowels.. So I had to come up with a treat that the whole family could enjoy.. Here's one that I found was a great hit..

Tropical Coconut Bliss

1 can of organic unsweetened coconut milk
2 ripe bananas
1 cup of frozen mango

Toss in the blender.
Pour into your Popsicle mold and Voila! you've got dairy free (high in iron) ice cream bars!

Both kids devour there within 15 minutes which is a record in my house!

Enjoy

MammaBear

Brain Injury

My 4 year old has brain injury and there's time that I swear that I have it too!.. She's having a hard time with transition and gets frustrated easily, I've been told that this is common for 4 years old. But I'm not convinced, our daughter use to have the longest attention span known to her age and she used to ask from help if it was required. Now, sometime, I have to intervene if I see a storm coming.. Sometimes, I just let it happen so she can learn to control these things. I'm sure that there's all these kinds of support group but that would mean that either I take more time off (that I can afford) or do it later at night ( I already don't spend enough time with the kids).

There's a lot of causes from brain injury and lots of different areas that can be affected. My daughter's injury is on the brain stem which means that it can affect everything. But the hardest part for me is that she gets so easily upset and it takes a good five minutes to calm her down. She can also be easily set off once she's had one of these outburst.. This also happens three to four times a night because she's stuck in the blanket, thirst or just work up. My days are busy and my nights are interrupted but this is my life.

So here I am trying to see how I can help her get better. I've started the whole family as a mean of support on a gluten free lifestyle. This as help her to remain focus and a drop down her outburst but if we derive from this lifestyle (ie. we visit someone, go out and are not prepared, or birthday parties), it can take up to three days for her to get back to her normal self.

When she first was sick, I research what kind of food would be beneficial for her the only recommendation, I found where the following:

1) Eliminate all alcohol and wine.
2) Eliminate all sugar and sugar substitutes, instead eat fruit with low sugar content.
3) Eat lots and lots of protein
4) Eat lots of vegetables
5) Drink plenty of water

Well the first one doesn't apply but the other one is just part of a sensible diet.. So I was not very impressed. A year later, I found myself a Naturopath and she recommend that we eliminated dairy which was already being done since I had just discovered that my son was dairy intolerant. She explained to me that since most dairy product are pasteurized a lot of the digestive enzymes are eliminated. Making it hard for people to digest hence compromising our immune system. And since, our daughter acquired this conditions from Influenza B. It would be certain that I would give this a try.

The second recommendation was to go gluten free. Celiac disease is on the rise and if we can eliminated the over consumption of this product at a young age, we can help their health in their adult life. Also this type of diet is recommended for the following: those suffering with joint pain, brain fog, loss of balance but I would check with a naturopath or a family doctor before making any change in my diet.

Since we started the kids on this lifestyle in march, there as been no cold and fewer stressful moments.

This is just things to ponder.

Take care for now,

MommaBear

Chocolate Banana Bread

This is a delectable dessert. I've tested it on my husband, my babysitter and the numerous kids at day care and they all love it.. It's dairy free and gluten free.


Ingredients

* 1 cup canola oil
* 2 cups white sugar
* 4 eggs
* 6 bananas, mashed
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 3 cups Bob's Red Mill all-purpose gluten free flour
* 1 tsp Xantham Gum
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Fry's at a dairy free version)
* 1 cup soy yogurt
* 1 cup enjoy life chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugar, sour cream and eggs. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Sift in flour, Xantham Gum, baking soda and cocoa; mix well. Blend in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60-90 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean.

Surprise this is life.

Hi Everyone,

I've started this blog to share my views as a mother, spouse, friend and full time employee in hope that I can bring inspiration or help to anyone looking for support in regards to the similar matters in their life. I am not a nurse or a doctor nor do I possess any medical degree or educations. I am a simple mom that has been dealt more than she could have every expected in her life and is trying to understand and hopefully help other parents find some kind of solutions or inspirations too.

My life took a turn for the unexpected last March. Both kids were sick at the time with influenza B. My son was 9 months old and my daughter was three. In the middle of the night, my daughter throw up and wet her bed and was unresponsive through our many attempts to communicate. We rush her to the hospital. Had I not been insistent they would have turn us away. They kept my daughter under observation and when we were going for chest x-ray, she started having seizures. There's no words that can explain what how helpless a mother feels when she sees her child going through seizures, no knowing what is causing it and not being able to help. She was then rushed to an acute care hospital . She was diagnosed the following day with acute necrotizing encephalitis. I will create another post to explain more about encephalitis. We were 6 weeks at this hospital and another 16 weeks at a rehabilitation center. My daughter had to relearn everything. Today she can walk with her AFO (braces) and needs a walker for longer distance. She speaks but in longer sentence the words will be blurred. She is no longer potty train and the battle to get her to this point is still going on. There a lot of reward system implement for this.. She is very emotional and gets frustrated easily.. This one, we are still working on. This one is a long learning curve. As a result of this illness, my daughter has acquired brain injury. This is a new fact of life for us and once that we are still getting use to. She is currently on a dairy free and gluten free diet in hopes that this will help her recovery. So far, she is more focus and less prone to emotional outburst. I can say this from the few slip ups that we have. I've seen the difference.

My son was saved from encephalitis even though he had the same flu and he was just an infant. However, he has been introduced to a whole of therapy that gives him great pleasure to interact within. He's dairy intolerant and we've had to adjust our diets to complement his diet and support his needs. Every day, I hope that by including him in our activities, that he will never feel left out or less important than his sister. After all, I'm sure that most mothers feel this way.

I can say that my life keeps me busy and that at any given point, I have my agenda close by to schedule another meeting to help our family get on track. I'm the one that most of my friends will turn to for advise since I will give them the most truthful and honest opinion that I have or might be able to point them in the right direction. As an individual, I've experience more than most people will have in a lifetime. Is this a good time? I'm not sure but time heals all wounds.

For this, I am call MommaBear because I will protect my family with such a fierceness to ensure that everyone is well taken care. Whether this means staying up late to research new means to cope, recover or adjust our life.

Take care until next time,

MommaBear