Fun with substitutes

I haven’t met a recipe that I couldn’t change.  No matter what it is, there are ingredients that can be substituted to make them safe for a person with food allergies.  And usually the substitutes are better for everyone–not just folks with allergies. 

My latest experiment was with Key Lime Pie.  The average recipe calls for the following ingredients, but if you’re lactose intolerant or have a flat-out allergy, you have been without this wonderful pie for a long time.

Normal Key Lime Pie:

 lime juice

egg yolks 

canned sweetened condensed milk

graham cracker crust

 sugar

I swapped the milk for coconut milk.  The recipe calls for 1 can of condensed milk which is thicker than coconut milk and sweeter.  So instead,  I brought two cans of coconut milk to a boil and stirred it over low heat for a while (at least 30 minutes…yeah, not fun!) and added some agave syrup to make up for the sweetness of the condensed milk.  I also cooked the assembled pies for about 10 minutes longer than the cow-milk version because they were still a little jiggly. 

The outcome:  they tasted GREAT!  But they didn’t look as pretty as the cow milk version.  They sat lower in the pie crust and pulled away from teh edges a little.  But looks aren’t everything!  You’re here to eat food not look at it all day!

Recipe of the week

I’m up to my eyeballs in summer crops!  Here is a recipe that I tried this week–it’s fast, simple and tastes great.  The only downfall is that it’s not made for folks avoiding nightshade vegetables.  All the other ingredients could be modified for wheat-free or milk-free diets –shoot me a message if you’d like those versions.

To be henceforth known as “Eggplant Poppers”

Ingredients:
Japanese Eggplant (the skinny long ones that look like an eel)
Italian breadcrumbs (in the spice aisle)
grated parmesan cheese
1-2 beaten eggs depending on how many poppers you’re making
Italian dressing
grape tomatoes
grated mozzarella

Set the oven for 375 degrees

Wash and peel eggplant.  Cut into 1/4-1/2 inch round slices.  Pour breadcrumbs onto a plate and mix with parmesan –add as much or as little as you’d like.  Toss eggplant slices into bowl of beaten egg, remove slices and place on plate of breadcrumb mixture to coat on all sides.  Place each coated piece on a non-stick baking sheet.  When sheet is full, place into oven and cook for 6-8 minutes until tops are starting to crisp.  In the meantime, slice grape tomatoes and marinate in Italians dressing.  Remove sheet and flip each eggplant piece and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.  Remove and sprinkle each piece with mozzarella and place one tomato slice on each eggplant piece.  BROIL for 1-2 minutes–watch very closely!  Serve warm.

ENJOY!

New website

I just signed on with Homestead.com to set up my website.  Right now the URL is www.livingwithwellness.homestead.com but I’m going to buy a site name and it will change to www.livingwithwellness.net.  The .com was taken but it’s not a real site, just someone buying up domain names to make a buck. 

The site is a work in progress right now and I will work on posting services and testimonials this weekend.  And then starts my marketing campaign.  It will be strange to write press releases about myself!

First Client

Last Wednesday, I met with my first client, my friend L.  We went to Whole Foods for an educational shopping trip to help her improve her diet with two goals: correcting an IBS problem and losing weight.  She learned how to select fruits and vegetables and which to be sure are organic.  She also learned how to read labels and how to take fiber to help with both goals.  As of yesterday, she said she felt better already and had lost 3 pounds.  Our next consultation will be a cooking day to teach how to add more veggies and whole grains (non-wheat) into her diet. 

The trip took about 1.5 hours.  It was a great experience because I learned that I need to have an option to go shopping at a regular store as well.  Kind of a part 2–how to shop at Piggly Wiggly and still make the best choices.