Share the Love: Honey Balsamic Harvest Steak Salad {$50 Whole Foods Giveaway}

One of my joys in life is creating meals that my family and our friends delight in when they eat it.

But it doesn't come easy in this house ... at least with the kids it doesn't.

I don't know about your kids, but mine consider things like macaroni and cheese {which has its place in life} the king of all feasts.

And sometimes -- like when I made super delicious apple-cider braised purple cabbage and apple-chicken sausage for dinner -- I hear their protest cries. Loudly.

We parents have a lot going against us when the rest of the free world seems to taut chocolate cookies as the touchdown of all snacks and schools serve low-fat but high-sugar chocolate milk with snacks and lunches.

Now I'm not anti-treat or anti-mac and cheese or anti-chocolate milk, but, darn it, those things sure give vegetables a run for their money when it comes to choosing.

This is why I so appreciate the initiatives made by the Whole Kids Foundation, a nonprofit committed to improving childhood nutrition by increasing the availability and consumption of fruits and vegetables, both at schools and at home.

The foundation just kicked off its annual fundraiser to support school salad bar and garden grant programs and nutrition education classes for teachers, and in doing so, Whole Foods Deerfield has asked me to help spread the word about the importance of including a hearty heaping of veggies into our families' diets by creating a salad recipe the whole family will enjoy.

Well. Twist my arm.

So John and I set out to make a salad that our whole family, a friend and a friend's whole family would enjoy -- which translates to one baby, four kids and five adults, three of which are gluten-free and one who is dairy-free.

We decided to make two main dishes: a Honey Balsamic Harvest Steak Salad and Mini Tomato Salads {aimed at appealing to the minis}.

Honey Balsamic Harvest Steak Salad Recipe:
{fed five adults and four kids with leftovers}

Steak Marinade:
-Your choice of steak -- we used 1.2 pounds of flank steak
- 6 T of gluten-free soy sauce
- 2 T brown sugar
- 1/2 t dry mustard
- 1/2 t of ginger
- 1/2 t of onion powder

Let steak marinate over night.

Salad Ingredients:
- 1 Green Pepper
- 1 Avocado
- your favorite harvest tomatoes
- 1 pound of cremini mushrooms
- a heaping handful of pecans
- a container of sheep's milk {or cow's milk} feta
- two heads of romaine lettuce {you'll likely use 1.5}

Dressing Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1/8 of honey

Stir ingredients to blend well.

Grill the steak. While the steak is grilling, sauté mushrooms in butter or coconut oil and add a tablespoon of balsamic to the pan. Chop all of the veggies. Toss veggies, mushrooms, steak, lettuce and dressing together. Top with pecans and feta.

Mini Tomato Salads Recipe 

Ingredients
- about 25 cherry tomatoes
- one to two balls of fresh mozzarella
- handful of basil leaves
- toothpicks

Slice cherry tomatoes in half. Slice mozzarella into bit sizes. Place tomato, basil leaf and mozzarella chunk on each toothpick. Serve with balsamic vinegar and olive oil blend.

Here's how it panned out: 

-The adults raved about both salads.

-Three kiddos gave the Honey Balsamic Harvest Steak Salad a thumbs up. My oldest said, "Well, I'm shocked. This is actually good." {Thanks, kid.}

-One kiddo thought the Mini Tomato Salad was awesome, but they all tried it. Quote: "Wow. I really like those."

So want to make your own salad creation or recreate one of these salads? Whole Foods Market Deerfield is giving away a $50 gift certificate for Whole Foods Market!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway Disclosure: Whole Foods Market Deerfield provided me with a $50 gift card to make these salad creations. 

Living Healthfully: Eating a Gluten-and-Dairy-Free Diet

I feel like a new person on the inside.

About a month ago, I severed my love affair with dairy, suspecting that it was adding to some GI issues I first started experiencing this summer after somehow contracting a parasite. (Don't ask; I don't honestly know how I got it, but I've been reassured that most of us live with many little buggers without really knowing it. My little buggers, well, they have been evicted.)

So anyway, out went the dairy and entered in its place almond milk, coconut and olive oils and some crazy, stretchy tapioca cheese-like substance that I'm not crazy about but like well enough when I want to make pizza. {Oh, pizza, why do you have to be so good and so evil?!}

While going dairy-free helped quite a bit, I still was experiencing GI issues, so a few weeks ago, at the suspicion of perhaps having developed a leaky gut during all the GI issues, I went to the next food culprit : gluten.

For my body, it was a pretty quick read: gluten is not my friend. Almost two weeks into my gluten and dairy free diet, I feel normal again. No more bloated, irritated GI tract and away with crabby wife and mommy as well.

Honestly, I feel so much better that I'm inclined to not even want to reintroduce dairy after the allotted time of gut healing has passed. Because who wants to go back to gross after feeling so good?

Been mulling a diet change of going cold turkey {mmm, you can still eat turkey!} with gluten and dairy?

Here are a few things that helped me through the first week:

* Find a friend or two who is willing to walk you through the emotional, chemical and physical changes that occur in your body and in your pantry. The support is key in knowing you can do this!

* Take a trip to Trader Joe's or Whole Foods Market and ask a crew member to brief you on dairy and gluten free options. Most staff members I've come across, especially at Whole Foods Market, have gone above and beyond to help guide me.

* Or browse Amazon for really wonderful gluten-free and dairy free foods like: Bob's Red Mill Almond Meal, apple pie Lara Bars, Bob's Red Mill gluten-free Oats, quinoa and a few other Bob's Red Mill staples that will provide whole grains in your diet without reeking havvoc on the gut.

* Find your happy place with fresh, whole foods like chicken, fish, fruits and veggies. This one is important. Whole, real foods are always better than anything processed, in my opinion!

We often snack on apples and cashews, enjoy slow-cooker chicken with Italian seasoning alongside green beans tossed with almonds and dried berries and sweet potatoes mashed with coconut oil for dinner; we feast on baked apple pie oatmeal for breakfast.

* Take a peak at some of the great foodie blogs for gluten and dairy free eating:

The Gluten-Free GoddessGluten-Free Girl and the Chef {must exchange dairy for almond milk, soy milk or rice milk}

* Find good substitutes for dairy. My favorites so far:

-almond milk in place of dairy milk {goat milk is great for the kids}
-hummus in place of cheese
-coconut oil in place of butter {you will never believe how good it is until you try it. Just do it!}
-olive oil in place of non-stick butters
-Daiya Tapioca is a good cheese-esque replacement for pizza
- coconut or almond milk ice cream in place of regular dairy ice cream

*If it's a packaged food, always double check for gluten by calling and asking if gluten is in the ingredients. Anything with wheat, bran, semolina, bulgar, spelt, tabbouli, orzo, couscous, farina, kamut and barley contains gluten. Defatted wheat germ also contains gluten, for any Standard Process supplement users.

As always, I'm happy to help, too. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

{I was not compensated or asked to talk about any of the products I mentioned. I just like them a lot!}