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Easy Chickpeas-y Curry Rice

November 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Learning to eat gluten-free has been a challenge. I’ve found that I cannot eat most convenience foods; I have to prepare the majority of my meals – there’s no grabbing and going from the refrigerator or pantry.

Just before I made this diet change, I was invited to be a member of the WORLDFOODS Maryland Fusion Taste team by Liza of (a)Musing Foodie. WORLDFOODS makes ready-to-use sauces in a variety of Asian flavors.

I panicked a little. How was I going to review Asian flavors with my diet restrictions?

Fortunately, the hamper I received from WORLDFOODS was complete with gluten and dairy free sauces.

Score!

And the flavors are amazing – very robust, just the right amount of spice, perfect for dressing up any dish.

Seriously.

I improvised with what I had in my pantry and the Thai Green Curry Paste and I now have a new favorite dish. This side-dish is so good, I’ll eat it as a meal. And I don’t share. Go make your own! Smile

Easy Chickpeas-y Curry Rice

Easy Curry Chickpeas and Rice

Ingredients

1 TBSP Coconut Oil

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped green peppers

1 15.5 oz can of chickpeas, drained

4 TBSP WORLDFOODS Thai Green Curry Paste

2 cups rice

Instructions

Make rice as directed – I use boil-in-a-bag rice.

Heat oil in pan.

Saute onions until translucent.

Add green peppers. Saute until soft.

Add chickpeas and curry paste. Mix until combined.

Heat evenly.

Combine curry chickpeas and rice. Enjoy as a side dish or lunch entrée.

Makes 2 servings.

win thai curry sauce

Want to win some Thai Curry sauce? Visit WorldFoods on Facebook to enter their giveaway. Click on the USA Sweepstakes tab and enter the password MDFTT. This contest is open until 11:59 p.m. EST November 30, 2012.

 

Disclosure: As a member of the WORLDFOODS Maryland Fusion Taste Team, I received samples of WORLDFOODS sauces for the purposes of review. The opinions expressed above are my own.

Filed Under: Food (Allergy), Recipes, Reviews Tagged With: , ,

Minerals on a Mission

October 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I had no idea when my son was diagnosed with multiple food allergies that I would be embarking on a more natural way of living, that I would be concerned with not just the ingredients in our food but in the products we used as well. But I’ve learned a thing or two over the past two plus years of reading labels and I’ve started to care about seeps into my body through my skin as well as my mouth.

That’s why I switched from liquid foundation to mineral powder makeup and I love the way it makes my skin look.

I’ve used several product lines and have recently discovered Mineral Fusion, although, I haven’t tried their makeup…yet. But I have tried their skin care line.

I was going to wait at least two weeks before writing about it; I wanted to give it time. But after a day, I was in love.

I. kid. you. not.

I like the scent – kind of a deal breaker for me – reminds me of going to the spa. And I love that the products are paraben free, which means natural in my book.

I love these products so much I’m being cautious not to waste to a drop. I use about a quarter size of the Purifying Gel Facial Cleanser, a dime of the Skin-Balancing Facial Moisturizer, and a pencil point of the Revitalizing Eye Treatment on each eye.

I’ve tried several eye creams since the crows feet started to make their mark and this is the first time I’ve seen a visible effect. The wrinkles actually seem to disappear! Now, I know they are still there and that no beauty product is going to stop time from marching across my face and through my hair, but I’ll take the illusion.

While my wrinkles seem to be fading, my acne seems to be reappearing. Not bad but I am breaking out a little. It could be the minerals purifying my skin. Or lack of sleep (I have two small children). Or poor hydration (I drink more coffee than water). I am not deterred, though. I’m going to keep using these products, together, and hope my skin clears up.

I’ve heard that using several products in a line together is the secret to good skin care – that and drinking lots of water. Maybe that’s the secret to this success.

What’s your favorite natural skin care product?

Giveaway: Mineral Fusion has partnered with Dermstore and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (a cause important to me) to give away five Mineral Fusion Glam Kits. Visit the link to enter. Their giveaway ends November 3, 2011.

Disclaimer: As a member of the Mineral Fusion Beauty Crew, I received these products for free. These opinions are my own. I seriously love this line!

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The Digital Mom Handbook

August 2, 2011 by 2 Comments

I’ve been drawn to “how-to” books lately. (I’d love to get lost in a novel but I don’t seem to have the desire when I’m picking which book to read next.) So I was drawn to The Digital Mom Handbook by its tagline “How to Blog, Vlog, Tweet, and Facebook Your Way to a Dream Career at Home.” Specifically, I was interested in  vlogging because its something I’d like to learn more about. And if I can figure out a way to supplement my income from home, even better.

I ordered this book from Amazon on Monday. It arrived by Friday. And I devoured it by Sunday.

If you’re looking for a book to help you get started in blogging, this is a good choice. It lacks the technical information you might need – the nuts and bolts of starting a blog – but it more than covers the bigger issues all bloggers should consider before starting a blog with the hopes of making money from it.

The book is written for would-be bloggers but experienced bloggers will find it worth the read, too. I’ve been blogging for over a year now, and immersed in social media for three years, and I took away several useful nuggets. Chapter 5 “Manage the Benjamins” was particularly useful. The authors, Audrey McClelland and Colleen Padilla, did a great job of providing food for thought and then providing the resources to find more information.

I have plans for this blog and another blog in development. I’m definitely going to hang on to The Digital Mom Handbook as a resource when I’m ready to take the next steps with those blogs.

What books have been valuable to you and your blog?

Filed Under: Books, Reviews Tagged With:

The Food Allergy Mama’s Baking Book

January 19, 2011 by 1 Comment

I made a cake the day my son was first diagnosed with food allergies. No, not to celebrate. I was taking a cake decorating class and had made it in preparation. Before his appointment, I suspected he was allergic to milk but it wasn’t until after that we learned about his egg allergy.

And I had made the cake with eggs. I didn’t know any other way to bake a cake.

Now I had this delicious yellow cake ready to eat and I couldn’t take a bite because I was breastfeeding and he was allergic to its ingredients.

I was heartbroken.

That seems silly now given that its just a cake but I love to bake and it looked like my new hobby was coming to a screeching halt.

Since that day, though, I’ve discovered numerous recipes for baked goods – some good, some not so much – that are dairy, egg and nut-free. One source in particular is the Food Allergy Mama blog.

I’ve been following Kelly Rudnicki’s blog for a while now. I think she hooked me with a confessed love for anything apple – or maybe it was pumpkin.

I resisted buying her cookbook though because so many of her recipes are online.  But then I tried a recipe. And then another. And then another. And I loved them all (well, except the cornbread one, couldn’t get that one to turn out right).

So I added her cookbook, The Food Allergy Mama’s Baking Book, to my birthday wish list and was delighted when my mother-in-law bought it for me. I now use it regularly – it was like my Bible for baked goods during the holidays.

I’ve made the French Puff Muffins, the Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins (a family fav now), the Chocolate Chip Brownies, the Chocolate Chip Cookies, the Pumpkin Pie (twice), and the Hot Cocoa recipe. And there are so many more recipes in her book that I want to try.

What I love about her recipes is that they are simple and don’t involve weird ingredients that you have to hunt down at a specialty food store. The weirdest was silken tofu, which I easily found for $1.99 at the organic market. Its perfect when you need a cream substitute. (Just don’t breathe through your noise when baking with it if you have a sensitive stomach. Fortunately, you won’t taste it.)

I highly recommend this book and feel its a must have for any food allergy mom who likes to bake or who just wants their food allergic child to eat cake once in a awhile.

Disclosure: No one paid me to write this or even asked me to. I just love this book and think you will too! The link is an Amazon affiliate link but you don’t have to click on it or buy the book.

Filed Under: Food (Allergy), Reviews Tagged With:

How to Make Pumpkin Soup

December 30, 2010 by 4 Comments

I love soup, especially in the winter, but I stopped buying it when my son was diagnosed with food allergies. I couldn’t find a soup that did not contain a milk product.

It was probably for the best given the amount of sodium in most soups.

I never thought about making soup myself until this fall when a plethora of butternut squash from the CSA begged to be pureed into a hearty soup.

Making the soup was easier than I imagined and the end product was delicious. I was hooked!

So when I checked out Kitchen Play’s progressive menu for December, sponsored by My Spice Sage, I knew right away I was going to give the Spicy Pumpkin Soup Shooters a try.

I, of course, had to put my own twist on it. (Translation: adjust the recipe to accommodate the ingredients I did and did not have).

I used less than a full can of pumpkin puree (hubby had used some for a cheesecake); I substituted soy milk for 2% because we don’t have cow’s milk in our house due to allergies; I added a little bit of sugar to sweeten it up; I opted out of the bacon garnish; and I made it all for myself, i.e. served sans shooters; hubby doesn’t like soup anyways.

Now, maybe it was because I used less pumpkin, or maybe its the combination of spices, but the pumpkin flavor was not nearly as strong as I was expecting – a pleasant surprise actually. Instead of tasting like a warm harvest soup, it tasted like a fiery Indian appetizer. And I liked it!

Here’s a link to the original recipe. If you give it a try, let me know what you think.

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