Spelt Zucchini Bread aka 1st Day of Kindergarten Bread!

from some random google searching for gluten-free banana zucchini bread, shawn and i cobbled together a recipe that makes a really yummy moist bread.

2 tablespoons butter/coconut oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup maple syrup / agave
1 egg
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 tablespoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 cup mini choco chips
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1 smashed banana

preheat oven to 350. grease a loaf pan.

mix dry stuff first then add wet. **add zucchini and walnuts and choco chips at the end.

bake for at least an hour closer to hour and half or until cooked obviously.

its a really good snacking/breakfast/first day of kindergarten bread!

Camping Trip #2

well people, it was a success. we did not forget the food!!! i know, amazing right?we actually ate really well!

2 large baskets of peaches were a good addition to our list, instant oatmeal instead of cereal, and Shawn's giant batch of amazing lentil soup was a fantastic meal (i will post that recipe soon...)

the pinery was gorgeous and even had yummy poutine for us at the tuck shop and the saltiest and vinegariest chips we have ever had. those were gross. but the poutine made primarily of salt was a yummy treat for me.

anyhoo we survived: it didn't pour rain and we had food to eat and made wicked campfires everynight.



**oh highly recommended is the campsite emergency phone that directs you to the camp warden office when the LOSERS right next to you party until 1 AM. had i known about this wonderful phone the night of, i would not have had to walk over and frighten them with my scary sleep deprived maniac shouting to shut the party down. i was happy to find out some one else had complained the next morning so i wasn't alone in my sleepy anger. but yeah next time i am all over that phone....beware loud loser campers.

Wheat

Looks like Eva is back to having wheat issues. We kinda got lax on the wheat thing this summer and she has yet again developed a persistant cough and red racoon eyes. So we are back on the wheat-free train. This seriously ups the challenge for me in the food department.
Also super hard if we are out for the day since it seems that everything that is sold anywhere (except french fries) is made with wheat. I will admit limiting wheat isn't such a bad thing for the family either...it's just HARD to do.

Food we can do:
Rice Pasta
Real Rye bread
Rice or Ryvita crackers
Baking our own wheat free cookies and treats

Feel free to suggest other ideas. PLEASE.

Oh Dear God These Are GOOD powerbars - UPDATE

Adapted from the Kitchen Stewardship Healthy Snacks To Go ebook. So good So easy.


You will need a strong food processor. I say this only because the first one I used broke after one batch.


Step 1: Grind 1/2 cup walnuts and 1/2 cup almonds
Step 2: Add in 1/2 cup of pitted dates and 1/2 cup of raisins
Step 3: Add approx. 1 tablespoon shredded coconut, approx. 4 teaspoons of cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon coconut oil (the one that tastes like coconut - virgin)
UPDATE - Add a tablespoon or two of peanut butter and a squirt of maple syrup to make thses into desserty power bars. SO YUMMY!


I mush the finished product in some parchment paper or saran wrap, keep in the fridge (not necessary) and eat whenever hungry. 


Next I want to try an apple cinnamon version.


Oh we are going camping this weekend and are determined NOT to forget the food. Wish us luck!

Easy Guy Tomato Basil Soup

adapted from Feeding The Whole Family. this is a souper :( easy soup.

this is also the double version because we eat BIG portions.

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter/coconut oil
2 onions chopped
4-6 cloves of garlic minced
2 teaspoons sea salt
4 cups veg or chicken stock - did not use this by accident and it was still super yummy just not as much soup was made. we added the stock after the soup was all blended.
2 cans of diced tomatoes, or equivalent fresh tomatoes
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup basil finely chopped
pepper

heat oil, butter/coconut oil on medium heat. add onion garlic and salt cook until onions are clear and soft. add stock (or not), tomatoes, honey simmer for 10 minutes.

cool tomatoes and blend with sour cream.

add basil and pepper.

soups are like magic they are so easy.

Camping! notes from the trip...

SOOOOOO
heading up shawn and i realised that we forgot pretty much all of the yummy food! What??!? but thankfully had enough to tide us over anyway. and we ate a ton of marshmallows!


here is the scoop:

MEALS
cereal and scrambled eggs for breakfast - FORGOT THE EGGS CEREAL WAS BREAKFAST
easy chili - frozen, to be thawed and eaten 2nd day - YEAH THIS WAS GOOD! CUT UP AVOCADO TO GO WITH.
organic hot dogs from dufferin grove farmers market & beans from rural quebec bean restaurant called "la binerie". - FORGOT THE HOT DOGS, STOPPED FOR YVES VEGGIE DOGS EN ROUTE TO CAMPSITE, THE BEANS WERE EATEN AT TWO MEALS
egg salad sandwiches and canned soup - THESE SANDWICHES HELD US OVER THE SNACK ATTACKS ON DAY ONE

SNACKS
nacho chips with salsa and guacamole - FORGOT THE SALSA, NEVER BOTHERED TO MAKE THE GUAC.
cut up fruit & veg - FORGOT
large bag o' smartfood - ATE THIS FIRST DAY ON BEACH
quinoa banana berry loaf - muffin recipie baked in loaf pan - easier to transport - FORGOT
a few homemade larabars  - FORGOT
also planning a trip to the campground snackbar for a grilled cheese here - NO GRILLED CHEESE BUT HELLO DILL PICKLE CHIPS!!!


we are going camping again next month, i think we have learned our lesson...


also i THINK my kids are slowing down on the snacking front? did i just jinx myself?

Camping!

tomorrow we go camping for the second time ever with kids. last year was good and bad. daughter loved it while son cried pretty much the entire weekend. ROUGH. thinking/hoping this year will be better. here is the plan for food...

MEALS
cereal and scrambled eggs for breakfast
easy chili - frozen, to be thawed and eaten 2nd day
organic hot dogs from dufferin grove farmers market & beans from rural quebec bean restaurant called "la binerie". plan to eat this awesome meal twice - fire cooked hotdogs YES!
egg salad sandwiches and canned soup

SNACKS
nacho chips with salsa and guacamole
cut up fruit & veg
large bag o' smartfood
quinoa banana berry loaf - muffin recipie baked in loaf pan - easier to transport
i also made a few homemade larabars but then my brand new (cheap) food processor died on the second batch. note these bars are KILLER good will post the recipe when we get back
also planning a trip to the campground snackbar for a grilled cheese here and there MAYBE an ice cream cone too

looks like they are calling for thunderstorms for day one of camping - perfect. will let you know how the camping adventure goes...and what food notes i will have for next year's trip.