Raising Dieter

Shay is a fellow food enthusiast who does a great job taking care of her family. When she's not in the kitchen whipping up enticing/healthy food she enjoys quilting, making crafts, reading, and spending quality time with her beautiful family. Her adorable son Dieter has food allergies and she does a wonderful job sharing what has/hasn't worked when it comes to keeping him healthy and happy. Many parents struggle with their kids food allergies and she does a great job at keeping her family balanced and healthy. Check out her blog Raising Dieter for more allergy tips! 

Here is her story:

"I noticed Dieter's eczema when he was five months old. He was also vomiting more frequently around that time. I took him to a chiropractor that specialized in the NAET treatments. He tested allergic to corn, soy, dairy, gluten, and refined sugars. I started the treatments and I ended up going a couple of times a week for 7 months! During that time his allergies kept getting worse and worse. Any new thing he came in contact with he was allergic to: rubber, plastic, latex, bananas, apples, tomatoes, polyester, olive oil, pineapple, the list goes on... His skin looked terrible and he was still vomiting. I finally stopped the treatments and took him off of everything. We (I was still breast feeding at the time) had a pretty simple diet. Our main food was rice, beans, and potatoes. Most fruits and vegetables were okay. Dieter was on that diet for a year and still couldn't have most foods. Something had to change! His skin was still breaking out and he couldn't hardly eat anything! One night, I happened to find a blog that talked about the GAPS diet. I ordered the book and started Dieter on the diet the week after the book arrived. My whole family needs to start on the diet.

I have learned a lot since my son was allergic to everything. I have bought grains that I never new existed: quinoa, millet, amaranth. His allergies today are soy, corn, dairy, gluten, refined sugars, and tree nuts. Before finding the GAPS diet, I was compiling a binder with good wholesome recipes. Now with the GAPS diet I have more to add! My family is going back to the basics: homemade, whole foods." 

Almond Flour

I make almond flour after I have made almond milk. After I have blended the almonds and squeezed the milk out through a nut milk bag I have leftover pulp. Since the almonds have already been soaked to make the milk all I need to do is dehydrate them. Simply spread the pulp out on a baking sheet and stick in the oven at 150 degrees for a few hours or place it in your dehydrator. Once it is dry I give it a quick buzz in my food processor and it's ready to use!

Strain the soaked, blended almonds through a nut milk bag. Squeeze out the milk and save the pulp.

The pulp should have as much liquid expelled as possible.  

Spread the pulp onto a baking sheet or in a dehydrator. Keep the temperature on low until it is completely dry. 

Give it a quick blend in a food processor or blender and it's ready to use! 

Find other great recipes like this on Real Food Wednesday! 

Creamy Almond Milk

I don't tolerate dairy well, so I make my own nut milks. For extra creamy and rich milks I add a can of full fat organic coconut milk. If you are worried about saturated fat, don't be. When it's coming from a healthy source like coconuts it is actually quite beneficial for your health.

Unrefined coconut oil is known for it's antimicrobial/antifungal properties, so you can give your immune system a little boost. It will also aid in weight loss, and the absorption of calcium, magnesium, and amino acids. If you have any thyroid or gall bladder issues this is the easiest fat for your body to metabolize. More info on coconut oil HERE.

Soak 1 cup of nuts in salt water for at least 7 hours to remove the phytic acid. 

Rinse and drain the nuts and put them into a blender. Add 4 cups of filtered water.

Blend for about 1 minute (probably less if you have a blendtec or vitamix).  

Pour into a nut milk bag with a container underneath to catch the milk.  

Squeeze the bag until all the milk has been extracted. At this point you should have about a quart of milk. You can stop here and store the almond milk in the fridge or add the coconut milk to make it extra creamy.

The remaining pulp should be pretty dry. Save this because you can dehydrate it. Then you have home made almond flour.  

blend or whisk in 1 can of organic coconut milk. Be sure to use regular full fat, not light.

Pour the milk into glass containers and store in the fridge for up to 7 days. Be sure to give the jar a little shake before using, as the milk will start to separate as it sits in the fridge.

Ingredients:

1 tsp sea salt

1 cup raw almonds (or other nuts/seeds)

warm filtered water (for soaking)

4 cups filtered water (for blending)

1 can full fat, organic coconut milk

Directions:

1. In a large dish add the nuts, salt, and pour warm filtered water over them until the nuts are covered. Stir to mix in the salt. Let the nuts soak for at least 7 hours. 
2. Discard the soaking water then rinse and drain the nuts. Place the nuts into a blender along with 4 cups of filtered water. Blend for about 1 minute. 
3. Pour the mixture through a nut milk bag into a bowl or pitcher. Gently squeeze the nut milk bag to extract the milk from the pulp. The pulp can be dehydrated into a nut flour. At this point there will be about 1 quart of milk which can now be stored in the fridge. 
4. For an extra creamy milk blend or whisk in 1 can of full fat, organic coconut milk. 
5. Pour the milk into glass containers and store in the fridge for up to 7 days. Be sure to give the jar a little shake before using, as the milk will start to separate as it sits in the fridge.