What we ate Wednesday & a recipe! { for Health }

{Sesame Tahini Salad}

I have been having fun in the kitchen lately. First I made a few little changes to my gluten free buckwheat bread and like it even better. Crazy how a few little tweaks can make significant changes. I will be sharing the recipe later on. I'm off all forms of grain right now as I am on a strict Candida diet/detox once again. Maybe the end of February/beginning of March I'll be able to make the bread again and make sure it is good enough to share. :)

Other recent kitchen experiments include a meatloaf made from liver and grass fed beef. I never looked forward to Kaelyn whining about liver and onions for supper so I decided to try and hide it in a meatloaf experiment. Guess what? She loves it!!! In a crazy way the liver gives a tomato taste to the meat. I'm not sure I love it but it isn't bad and hey its a huge win when she doesn't complain about eating it. She even asks for it several times a day! (I didn't tell her there was liver in it and not sure when I will disclose that information. Ha!)

My favorite experiment has been clam chowder. Oh my goodness, this soup was something I really missed. My grandma used to make it every Christmas eve and it was my favorite soup! After my daughter and I were having so many food allergies/food intolerance issues I didn't think I would be able to enjoy it again. Not too long ago it hit me what I could use instead of potatoes and dairy and it turned out to be a big hit! Yay!!! My family loved it so I tested it on my grandma to see what she thought and she was amazed! Last Sunday we had an impromptu get together at our house and I fed them the clam chowder and it continued to get the thumbs up. So I will be sharing that recipe soon. I never measure ingredients so I should probably go back and get some idea of amounts.

This last week I've been loving this salad I created with sesame tahini. I may be slightly addicted. :)

If you would like specifics, here are the links to several of the ingredients I use and really like:
Kal nutritional yeast flakes ~ gives an awesome cheesy flavor for those who can't have dairy/cheese, and the flakes also contain many beneficial vitamins
turmeric ~ don't need to add but gives a nice burst of flavor and turmeric is a great anti-inflammatory ingredient
Himala sea salt ~ not like refined table salt, HimalaSalt  contains essential minerals
Bragg's olive oil ~ there are many to choose from but I am currently using this organic extra virgin olive oil
sesame tahini ~ could grind your own sesame seeds into a butter or use this spread if you are short on time. I love this spread but it is a bit spendy. It is organic, raw and stone ground with good nutritional value.
pumpkin seed butter ~ I've added this in with the tahini and it tasted good. Good source of iron too.

As far as the meats go for the healthiest version, I make sure the chicken or turkey is free of antibiotics and hormones and no other ingredients are added. Free range and organic are best but hard to find around here. Always get organic celery. The chemicals they spray on some veggies can be extremely hazardous to our health, so make sure the celery and leafy greens have the USDA organic label on them.

Experiment all you want with this recipe. Amounts all depend on personal taste. Seed butters are a wonderful dressing alternative and they are full of nutritional health benefits. Hope you like it as much as I do!