hands of love #26...

Ready for some recipes???

It's been a year since our last "hands of love" post!  Originally, the posts were during our time of "nutritional therapy" as Caroline's hair was falling out and we dived head-first into the world of gluten free eating to see if it would make any difference.  (Who knew that would be the way we'd discover that Marc would be the gluten free one among us?!)

When we ventured into the land of gluten free, I knew very little about food or cooking, and so it's probably not a surprise that the whole endeavor was FAARRR more burdensome than enjoyable initially.  But it was through that crazy time I began to read ingredient labels and understand what was IN our foods and why that mattered.  Cooking began to give me more joy as I understood more about it.  I'm definitely no "foodie," and I'm definitely not on any type of strict food restrictions, but I do love to (as much as I'm able) make and eat meals full of nutritious, whole foods that actually work for my body instead of against it.  (and most of those happen to be naturally gluten free!)

I found some great recipes to share!

THIS (pictured left) is the salad I want to eat for the rest of my life:  Southwestern Chopped Salad with Cilantro Dressing.   Oh my goodness, yummmmmm.  It'd be great for picnics, church functions, company, everyday, anyday, TODAY.

Both kids ate this salad.  (can I repeat that?)
BOTH KIDS ATE THIS SALAD.

(I'd probably double the ingredients in the dressing next time, because can you really get enough Creamy Cilantro-Lime Dressing in your life??)

I'm convinced the secret to cooking with small children or if you're super busy is one thing:
THE CROCKPOT.

I'm all about dumping in a bunch of stuff and having dinner waiting for me when I get home.  It's even better when I can double or triple the recipe to freeze extras for future meals, and here's one of those easy, GREAT meals: Enchilada Chicken Stew.  (just garnish with cilantro and avocado.  Honestly, honestly- I didn't miss the cheese this time.  But of course, you could add it!)

Here's another super delicious one: Quinoa & Vegetable Stir Fry.  Quinoa (pronounced "KEEN-wah") is a grain, similar to rice but with more protein and nutritional content.  I actually didn't have any quinoa on hand, so I opted for brown rice instead, and doubled the amount of rice the recipe called for.

I also added some shrimp cooked in soy sauce to the meal.  (for the record, Kikkoman and La Choy soy sauces are gluten free)

This was a yummy alternative to coleslaw, No-Mayo Avocado Slaw.  Took me 10 minutes to make.  Next time, I'd put less vinegar than the recipe calls for, but it was still a GREAT side dish with our hamburger/hot dog cookout with neighbors.  (And not to mention, stocked full of good veggies.)

There you have it!  From my hands of love to yours.