"Fast Food" Let's face it, sometimes there's not a lot of time to cook a wonderful meal. Yet we don't want to sacrifice our families health for the sake of convenience. Here are some ideas: Choose a less hectic day to prepare several meals ahead of time, and freeze for later use. Freeze individual portions if necessary in order to avoid waste. (Time Saver: Plan ahead the method you will use to thaw the frozen items.) For days when time is short keep on hand quick side dishes such as: Frozen veggies. These are easily prepared in a few minutes by steaming or boiling. Our faves include: peas, green beans, broccoli, squash, and spinach.  These can be quickly jazzed up with your favorite seasoning, such as soy sauce, garlic granules, sea salt or umeboshi vinegar!  For some reason, maybe it's a texture thing, my family prefers canned green beans. (Although I love fresh.) While they may not be our first choice, canned veggies are a quick accompaniment to any meal, including our homemade pizza night. (One might typically serve salad with pizza, but my children frequently go through food phases where they despise something one day and love it the next.) I especially like to have canned beets and many varieties of beans on hand. The canned veggies require little or no cooking, and they are a better alternative than say, French Fries!

Living Dairy-Free

Through the years we have had to adapt our favorite recipes for friends or family members who were sensitive to dairy.  Most recipes have been easy to convert.

Many of our baking recipes use either soy or rice milk.  We also prefer dairy-free non-hydrogenated margarines that are a blend of oils, for baking.  Many times you can get away with using olive oil, just keep in mind the taste factor.

If you are solely avoiding dairy as a health choice, not because of an allergy, give yourself about a month to get past the dairy cravings.  For Lent I decided to replace the dairy in my morning coffee with soy milk.  I went through many mornings thinking that life just wouldn't be the same without my dairy!  But 40 days later I tried going back to milk and I had to dump my cup of coffee.  I'm now a soy convert!

If you're preparing food for someone with an allergy to dairy remember that many "non-dairy" items, such as soy and rice cheeses, still contain casein, a protein derived from cow's milk.  A good rule of thumb is to look for "Vegan" on the label, this means there are no animal products added.

Also, just because it says non-dairy, it doesn't mean it's healthy.  For instance, many non-dairy creamers are full of high-fructose corn syrup, colorings and numerous food additives.
Read the ingredients list carefully, not just the label!

-KLJ

Our Life In Food

  My sister and I began our blog last year, when our cooking website folded. We originally began our website as a way to keep track of favorite family recipes and also as a way to bring those family recipes into a new world. The world of food restrictions and allergies.

  Our family has always loved to cook and even more, we love to eat! And we found that all the great stand by recipes from our childhood, were becoming out of date and useless, as we began to cook and bake gluten-free, wheat-free, and dairy-free. Well, we couldn’t have that! No recipe left behind, thank you very much!
 
  And so, that began the process of adapting the old favorites into new, relevant favorites. Sometimes it worked amazingly well! And other times, it wasn’t so great, as our family and several friends (i.e. test subjects) can attest to.

  As we built our website it evolved into something more than just a recipe archive, it became a collaboration between the two of us and the rest of our family. Though we were several states apart, we felt like we were in each other’s kitchens every day! Sharing delicious accomplishments as well as utter disaster.

  So now, as we build up our blog with the old and the new, we hope you also have memorable experiences as you try out our recipes.

  Food is not just meant to be eaten, it is meant to be experienced! It’s science! It’s art! It’s passion! Don’t settle for less!
　

Moms Naturally,
who are we?




Ever since we could reach the kitchen counter, by standing on a chair, our parents encouraged us to work with food. Our great teachers were Mom, Dad and numerous cookbooks!

Now that we are moms ourselves we also enjoy having our girls in the kitchen, rolling out cookies, patting down bread dough, or just watching mushrooms saute! Food has been our lives!

We wish to thank our families for their continued support in our endeavors and our awesome Creator who continues to fill us with inspiration!
We hope that by sharing with you a little taste of our lives, your life will be enriched, naturally!

- JBW and KLJ