Reeling it in...making better choices thankfully one day at a time!

Before I was pregnant with Liam I had been eating gluten free and reducing my sugar intake trying to do my part to keep my MS symptoms at bay. When I found out I was pregnant my DR advised me if I didn't have any real sensitivity to foods I should try eating a well balanced diet for the remainder of my pregnancy. I gladly reintroduced whole grain bread back into my balanced diet. However balance started to shift and healthy bread turned into "healthy" muffins which turned into cookies then into cake and most recently I added a piece of cheese pizza to my salad to act as the much needed croutons. At this point I decided I needed to reel in my eating! 

Last week I got a great report from my last MRI showing no new lesions and that several of my lesions had shrunk; thank you Jesus!  So I feel I should take that good news and get back on track by doing my part. Removing gluten and refined sugars has always helped combat issues with my digestive system. As well I find for myself if I remove those items as choices I choose better; more fruits, vegetables and natural whole foods!

Cher and Hurley were coming over to join me and the kids for an impromptu dinner. I grabbed some chili from the freezer and decided gluten free corn bread would be simple enough.

I just tweak my regular recipe;

1cup Tapioca flour starch

4tsp baking powder

2tbsp honey

1 tsp salt

1 cup cornmeal

2 eggs

1/4cup olive oil

1 cup milk

I mixed all the dry ingredients together first.

Added in all the wet ingredients at once and then mixed well.

I then added in chopped jalapeños and shredded old light cheddar cheese.

I baked this at 375F convection for 30 minutes.

The kids both enjoyed the cornbread!  Because of the corneal being a huge part of cornbread texture you really can't tell that it's "missing" anything. 

Happy Liam!

Two minutes later!

Sleeping Liam!

Couldn't resist!!

The next day I still had half of the cornbread left. 

Cornbread repurposed:

Jeff decided to cut thick slices of cornbread, toasted them and served it with an over easy egg and salsa; that was a delicious brunch. So delicious there was NO time for a picture. 

I decided for dinner to accompany BBQ chicken and quinoa I would make a yummy spinach salad. I toasted large chunks of the cornbread with olive oil to make tasty croutons.  This was a great way to repurpose the cornbread and a much better choice than cheese pizza as croutons!

I also did up some honey chili lime peanuts to add in. Jeff introduced me to this simple garnish a while back:

Chili flakes and lime zest in a hot skillet.

I added a teaspoon of honey and 1/2 cup of unsalted peanuts. I cooked this until the honey browned slightly and then I took it off of the heat. 

I squeezed in the juice of a half a lime and added a pinch of salt. This also stops the cooking so the honey doesn't burn.  I poured this out onto parchment so it wouldn't cool into one big clump.

I made a lime vinaigrette and served this with spinach, bell pepper, cucumber, the cornbread croutons and chili lime peanuts. Very delicious and it was the perfect accompaniment to somewhat bland quinoa!  Light and healthy can still be tasty. I'm just trying to make better choices; taking life thankfully one day at a time!