4th of July and other adventures

My parents have been on vacation for almost 2 weeks, so we've been out and about even more than usual.

Here are some of the meals I've remembered to photograph:

blueberries, hummus, Lentil Crackers, potato salad, grilled corn

Asian pear slices, baby carrots, green beans, Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta al Forno, Udi's Whole Grain Bread with butter

Melon balls, baby cucumbers, beans, quesadillas, cottage cheese

For my dad's birthday I made Gluten Free cake! Turned out really  well and super yummy :)

My uncle Ben and aunt Connie came to visit from California, so we had a great weekend. We didn't do much for the 4th of July, though. Just grilled some burgers and corn and ate some of my uncle Ben's delicious potato salad. Good, low-key day :)

Hummus
1 15 oz. can chickpeas (or 2 cups cooked chickpeas), drained - reserve liquid
1 Tbs. Tahini
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves
Salt to taste

Place all ingredients in food processor and add reserved garbanzo liquid until preferred consistency is achieved. Season with salt to taste.



Potato Salad*
Cooked potatoes
Hardboiled eggs
Pickles
Finely diced onion
Finely diced celery
Vegenaise
Mustard
Salt and pepper

Mix everything together and refrigerate until ready to eat.

*I don't give any quantities because we just "wing it" every time depending on how many people are going to be eating. It's all pretty much to taste anyway :)

Bittersweet

So my paternal grandfather passed away last night. We all have heavy hearts but cling to the blessed hope of being reunited again. Far beyond the sun...

On the "sweet" side, we had a wonderful weekend. Sophie was dedicated by her grandfather, we enjoyed beautiful music at church and wonderful company for lunch. Sunday was busy. We had a special brunch at home to celebrate father's day and also our anniversary! Yay for 6 years! In the evening we went to the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens for concerts in the garden. We had a fabulous time despite not being able to enjoy fireworks to to high winds. Boo. A great time was still had by all  :)

In other news, Sophie had her 6 month appointment today! She's 17 lbs and 26 inches long. Growing well and meeting all her milestones. Great appointment. Her pedi talked to me about keeping her gluten free - what did I think? I'm not going to risk it, so she'll be gluten free too. No biggie, it's not like she eats much anyway. All fruits and veggies are gluten free, thankfully, so she can eat normally.

Oh, and as a side not, she also got her shots. She did so well! Screamed for less than a minute, then she was all smiles. Brave girl :)

Levi has now been gluten free for an entire week. It was pretty easy, honestly, because we usually eat naturally gluten free anyway - mostly whole foods, not too many processed items. The biggest changes were his crackers. He LOVES Wheat Thins and Triscuits. Poor guy, I think that was his biggest bummer. Although he also really likes the crackers I gave him, so it helped him get over it :)

Here are some pictures of our fun weekend:

Sophie's Dedication

Marissa, Me, Krystal - He Knows My Name

Levi playing with my cousins Brandon and Paola

They turned the office into a bounce house....

We got them to sit still with Veggie Tales :)

After her shots

Today's lunch - pasta salad, goat cheese, blueberries, hazelnut Nut Thins

Pasta Salad

16 oz. cooked and cooled elbow macaroni (we use Tinkyada or Bionature)

Half of a red bell pepper, finely diced

Half of a yellow bell pepper, finely diced

1/4 of a red onion, finely diced

1 cup sliced black olives (or to taste)

1 stalk celery, finely diced

Half a bottle Italian Dressing OR Caesar Vinagrette (this is what we always use)

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until ready to eat. 

Day 2

Breakfast: Oatmeal with cranberries, sliced strawberries, garbanzos, milk

Snack: Apple

Lunch: Curry with cauliflower and chicken, jasmine rice, cherry tomatoes, pineapple, baby cucumbers

Snack: Chobani Pomegranate Yogurt

Dinner: Egg salad, Hazelnut Nut-Thins, Kumquats, red and yellow peppers, milk

Just in case you're wondering, Levi does eat all that food! Sometimes he asks for seconds, especially the fruits and veggies. I can ALWAYS count on him eating whatever fruit or veggie I give him. Proteins...maybe. Grains? Not so much. Unless it's rice. He likes rice :)

Egg Salad

2 Hard boiled eggs

1/4 cup vegenaise (you can, of course, use regular mayo)

1 to 2 Tbs. sliced green olives

1 tsp. mustard

salt and pepper to taste. 

Mash or use a cheese grater to grate eggs and combine with remaining ingredients. 

*This is a very basic recipe. I sometimes add very finely chopped onion, celery, or red bell peppers. It's always yummy :)