A culinary challenge

Matt has been on a nutritional "challenge" for the past month - hence I have been on a culinary challenge, cooking without any sugar or flour. Now at first this doesn't sound so hard, right? It just means I get all the ice cream, but when you start to think about not cooking with any flour (and that includes all of the alternatives to flour for those on gluten-free diets), things get a little more difficult.

No pasta. No pizza. No burritos. No quesadillas. No hamburgers. No sandwiches. No waffles. No pancakes. No french toast.

Need I go on?

The other part of the challenge is that he must eat five servings of vegetables (that's vegetables, not fruits and vegetables) a day. Well, that has proved trickier than I thought, too. If I want to keep pace with him on the challenge, that means 10 servings of vegetables a day that our family is eating, and that's not including Emery!

My refrigerator is only so big. And yes, I know I have confessed my penchant for the grocery store, but even I have my limits.

Plus, I'm not crazy about eating meat every day (nor is my wallet), and this challenge definitely requires more animal protein.

YET, it has been good for us all, I think, because it's forced me to get more creative in the kitchen, use more whole grains, get out of some ruts, eat more veggies, etc.

Here have been a few of our favorite recipes this month:


Bulgur Chili with Beans and Loads of Veggies - a meatless favorite of mine, this was so satisfying you'd never have missed the meat.

Chickpea Tagine with Chicken and Bulgur - a great example of how you can cook with a small amount of meat, to please the meat lovers in your family, but not so much that you break the bank or feel that you've eaten more than your fair share of animal protein for the week, and still get so much flavor and heartiness.

Mixed Greens with Chicken Sausage and Mozzarella - this one is easy, barely requires a recipe.  Just cut already cooked chicken sausage (we use Bilinskis) into small rounds, brown on the stovetop, let cool and add to mixed greens with sliced mozzarella and any salad vegetables you have on hand. Toss with salad dressing of your choice.

How has Emery fared with all of this culinary upheaval? Well, she continues to eat less and less of what I put in front of her, but I think that has less to do with the nutritional challenge and more to do with just being 13 months old.

I think she's surviving though, from the looks of these pictures!