in praise of the baked potato

One thing this gluten free diet has had me embrace is the simpler things in life. Having more organic whole foods in my diet has helped me make sense of what i should and should not be eating. Tonight's dinner is centered around the baked potato. My kids are going to have a blast (i hope) with a big silver foiled object on their plates tonight! They're going to experience the joy of slathering butter on top of their potatoes and seeing it melt, YUM! I don't do butter or fake butters anymore, but we're all going to be eating the same thing for dinner, which is my mission in life these days! And I'm poaching a salmon, steaming green beans and baking 4 russet potatoes. And I'm even going to make a salad, a spinach salad with garbanzo beans and cherry tomatoes topped with a drizzle of Annie's Organic French Dressing. I never thought i'd like French dressing as much as i do nowadays. Since it's one of the few bottled brands that doesn't give me grief after i eat it, i am in love.

Spaghetti with Kale Meatballs in a Marinara sauce.

I like to make this dish year round, but now that the fall weather is rolling in I was excited to make this for dinner tonight! Note: all of my recipes are geared for those with food sensitivity issues and not full blown allergies. I use spelt breads, real eggs and sauce from a jar. I like to cook low fat whenever possible and even though i have a variety of dietary restrictions i strive to cook for my whole family, that way I'm not cooking three different meals when dinnertime rolls around. Here's what's cooking at my house tonight:

Spaghetti with Kale Meatballs in Marinara Sauce

1 lb. extra lean ground turkey
1/4 bunch kale, steamed and finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
1/2 diced onion
2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
1 or 2 jars marinara sauce (depending on how saucy you want your dinner to be)
1.5 slices spelt breadcrumbs (process in food processor)
sea salt & pepper to taste
1 package tinkyada fettucine style brown rice noodles

In a large pot heat water for noodles on high heat til boiling, then add noodles and cook to package directions.

In a different large pot: heat marinara sauce on med heat uncovered.

Next, in a large bowl combine: diced onion, chopped garlic, ground turkey, beaten egg, steamed kale, salt/pepper and breadcrumbs. Mix together with your hands but don't over mix your ingredients as you don't want tough meatballs!

Using your hands create 1-2" meatballs and drop them in to sauce one by one, turning them around in the sauce as you go so they don't stick. If some sauce gets in the mixture of the ones you're rolling in your hands, even better! At this point, if you like you can add more marinara or a little water to keep the meatballs from sticking together and make even more sauce for this yummy dish. Bring to a boil on high heat then immediately set to a simmer for at least one hour. Covered with the lid slightly ajar is how i like to leave to simmer.

Drain your noodles and set aside, when meatballs are done serve immediately over drained noodles! For those of you who are able to enjoy dairy products serve with lots of parmesan cheese! Now i'm hungry!!!

Food Intolerance

Hi! Welcome to my blog about food. I love food. I miss being able to eat whatever i fancied whenever i wanted but that all changed one day, literally and after having months of gall bladder attacks and then a thrilling gall bladder removal surgery I"m happy to be alive and now revamping my recipes. I'm not a celiac so you will find no information on that subject in this here blog, i'm just totally intolerant to anything fun LOL!. I don't do dairy, wheat, soy, caffeine or alcohol. No butter? No cheese? No latte's??? Having been sentenced to food hell this former foodie has had to totally rebuild her cooking plans. It's challenging enough to cook when you feel sick all time but throw in two kids and motherhood and you've got quite a party going on! Since becoming gluten free and dairy free i thought i'd start a blog about it, who knows maybe it will help if i vent about it. Living gluten free is a challenging thing, planning meals gives me a headache. A quick trip to the market gives me chills of dread because there are always more labels to read and i have doubts about everything making me sick, lots of internal dialogue about whether i should i eat it. Sigh....

I have a few tried and true favorites, I love Kale Meatballs in my spaghetti sauce. I can't do a lot of tomato based things because it's just too acidic for me, but the family is my main focus and if they'll eat it, I'm happy!


I'm working on a kale meatball recipe I'll post it later as the kids are now finished with their Dumbo and want grapes mommy!

xoxo