Real Food with Christine

I hope you all enjoyed a nice Easter. Here is a recipe for berry crisp that I made today. It is a favorite of my kids so I wanted to make this for them today. All of my gluten eating guests enjoyed this as well. This berry crisp is gluten free, dairy free, and has no refined sugars. I served this with vanilla ice cream.   Non-Dairy Almond Dream Vanilla Ice Cream  or So Delicious Dairy Free Vanilla Bean Coconut Milk Ice Cream This recipe was adapted from  this recipe . Ingredients For the berries 3 bags mixed berries unthawed (I used wild blueberries, raspberries and blackberries 1 bag of each) 2 tablespoons coconut palm sugar 1/4 cup Bobs Red Mill gluten free all purpose flour or brown rice flour 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice For the crumb topping 3/4 cup Bobs Red Mill gluten free old-fashioned oats 3/4 cup Bobs Red Mill gluten free all purpose flour or brown rice flour 2/3 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger ...

Many years ago, I use to make this amazing pasta salad which consisted of some kind of pasta, tomatoes, black olives, cheese, and bottled dressing. I know, me using a bottled dressing is crazy! I've recreated this dish to be much more healthier and tossed the bottled dressing idea. Here's a great dish to bring to any lunch, dinner or BBQ. Benefits of Quinoa Quinoa is a complete protein containing all nine essential amino acids. Quinoa contains almost twice as much fiber as most other grains. Even though it is called a grain, it is actually a seed. Quinoa contains Iron, lysine, magnesium, riboflavin (B2) and manganese. Ingredients 1 cup quinoa 2 cups water 1/2 container of grape tomatoes halved 1/2 cup black olives halved 3 ounces of goat milk chedder cubed handful of fresh parsley chopped juice of a lemon 2 tablespoons olive oil sea salt and pepper to taste Directions Put quinoa and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and...

Spaghetti squash is a great alternative to pasta. It is great for anyone watching their carbs or on a grain free diet. This dish is so simple to make and very satisfying. My kids enjoyed this dish very much and asked for seconds. They were asking for more "spaghetti" so I knew they had no idea that they were eating squash. Nutritional benefits of spaghetti squash -1 cup has only 42 calories and 10 carbs -It contains manganese, potassium, magnesium, calcium, copper, iron, phosphorus, sodium, zinc and selenium. -1 cup contains 2 grams of fiber Ingredients 1 spaghetti squash 1/2 cup of dairy free pesto ( recipe first posted here ) Directions Cut squash lengthwise. Be very careful, sometimes it is hard to get through the skin. Scoop out seeds and fibers and place cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or longer depending on the size of your squash. Do not overcook, otherwise it won't come out like spaghetti, it will be more mushy. Whe...

Ice Cream is by far the most popular dessert in my house. We can eat it every day but I know that would not be good. Recently I have been limiting my daughter's consumption of dairy because when she has more than a bite or so she develops this terrible cough that keeps her (and all of us) up all night. She has been so good about cutting out the dairy, but I know she loves ice cream. I have found a good coconut milk ice cream at Trader Joe's, but there is a good amount of sugar in. This ice cream satisfies that ice cream craving in a much healthier way. Using bananas as a base (first tried here ), this is a very creamy frozen treat that is actually good for you so you won't feel bad if you make it very often like we do ;) This recipe is adapted from this recipe  from Detoxinista . Ingredients 3 frozen bananas 4 tablespoons raw cacao powder (more or less depending on how chocolatey you like it) 3 tablespoons maple syrup 2-3 tablespoons almond milk (or rice milk or...

We love tacos around here, we usually make bean or chicken tacos. Tonight, I was originally making salmon but my son wasn't in the mood for it. To get him to eat the salmon I made it into these fish tacos which ended up to be so good that I had them too. Now I think we have a new favorite meal! This is a great way to get kids to eat salmon, which is so good for them. Ingredients 2 salmon portions (skin on) 1 avocado cut into chunks handful of cherry tomatoes halved small bunch of fresh cilantro chopped hot sauce (optional, leave off if you don't like it spicy) wedge of lime corn tortilla shells Directions Preheat broiler and place salmon on a baking sheet skin side down. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil salmon for about 8 minutes until cooked through and browned on top. Remove and let cool enough to handle. Place corn tortillas into the oven at 425 for 1-2 minutes to get crispy. Layer salmon, avocado, tomato and cilantro into taco sh...

A special treat for my daughter is bringing her to the health food store and letting her pick out a gluten free muffin. There are only a few places that I can go where she can pick out something right from the counter and it is good for her to eat. This was becoming a weekly thing, so I knew I had to create these muffins myself. They make many flavors, but blueberry seems to be her favorite. I created these blueberry crumb muffins, that are not too sweet and are gluten, dairy, soy, corn, and nut free.  Makes 12 muffins Ingredients for the Muffin 2 cups of gluten free flour mix 1/2 cup evaporated cane sugar 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1 tablespoons baking powder 1 teaspoons baking soda 2 eggs 1/2 cup safflower oil 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 cups rice milk (if you can eat nuts almond milk works also) 1/2 cup blueberries (preferably fresh, otherwise your batter will turn blue) Ingredients for the crumb topping 1/2 cup gluten free fl...

This is a great meal all by itself or as a side dish. It is packed with nutrition from all the veggies and beans. This is a great vegetarian dish. This dish can be spicy or mild depending on your preference. Enjoy! Ingredients 2 cans or cartons of canellini beans 2 small zucchini chopped 1 onion chopped 2 cloves of garlic minced 1 yellow bell pepper chopped 1 red bell pepper chopped 2 small carrots chopped small handful of fresh parsley celtic sea salt red pepper flakes (as much as you like depending on how spicy you want it) 3 tablespoons olive oil Directions Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the zucchini, carrot, onion, garlic and bell peppers and cook until softened. Add the beans and cook until beans are heated through, about 20 minutes. The sauce will begin to thicken. Add the parsley, salt and red pepper flakes and stir to combine.

This is one of my newest combinations and it is so good. My kids don't eat much lettuce, and this is a good way to get it to them! There are many benefits to eating Romaine Lettuce. Romaine lettuce is 17% protein, one head has about 200mg of calcium and 44% RDA of Omega-3 essential fats, 167% RDA of vitamin C, 6mg of iron, and is rich in B-vitamins: Thiamine (B1) – 38% RDA, Riboflavin (B2) – 32% RDA, Niacin (B3) – 12% RDA, Pantothenic Acid (B5) – 18%, Pyridoxine (B6) – 36 %, Folate (B9) – 213%, contains 20 ounces of water, 33% RDA of copper, 22% RDA of magnesium, 42% RDA of manganese, 27% RDA of phosphorus, 33% RDA of potassium, 5% RDA of selenium and 13% RDA of zinc! Ingredients for 2 large juices 4 pears 1 large head of romaine lettuce 2 limes with rind Directions Put all ingredients through a juicer and enjoy!