Gluten Free Military Care Packages: Paleo, Gluten-free, and AIP options

Well, well, well, you'd think I didn't own this little blog here as often as I post lately. (At least there was pumpkin pie. :)) Life has been...well, interesting. After spending about 5 years being sick and unfortunately not knowing why, my life has changed significantly. More recently, I've been dealing with mold exposure that forced me to move. It's been...well, exhausting and unfortunately my health has suffered a setback. It has required me to focus on my health and sleep (which cuts my blogging time down). But that's a story for another time. Today, I'm so excited to finally share this project with you that I worked on for several months over the summer.

I was putting together a care package for a friend and I decided that I wanted to do something bigger. With many people out there suffering from Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity or those that simply have a number of issues when they eat gluten, I decided to put together a strictly gluten-free military care package. As a veteran that now knows I can't eat gluten, I would have been so happy to receive one of these when deployed. My goal was to have the packages align with the paleo lifestyle as well, so a majority of the packages were also paleo-friendly (with Justin's peanut butter being the only non-paleo item in the paleo boxes).

I was quite overwhelmed with all of the companies that donated product for this project. I am very grateful for their help in making this happen. I was able to send out 14 really nice packages of gluten free, real food products. I received a couple very nice emails back from family members of those that received a box (thank you for that!) and am very happy that I was able to to do this. The help and happiness that I brought to others brings me great joy. So, I wanted to share this here to give you ideas for products to include in a real food or gluten-free military care package. When you are deployed, you are limited food options and it can be difficult to maintain a gluten-free diet without a bit of help. That is my purpose for this. To help. To provide these packages for those that need them and to help others put together packages as well.

Below is a list of the companies that generously donated their product so I could put these care packages together. Along with them, I am also including several companies that were unable to donate at the time, but I believe would be other great options for a care package. Following the products, I'll show you the packages I put together and shipped out.

AIP Pumpkin Pie and Crust: Baked Version (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free, Egg Free)

I am very excited to share this pie with you. Last year I posted my mini, no-bake pumpkin pies. I love those as a fun (and cute!) alternative to a regular pie and they are tasty, but this year I wanted to make a real pumpkin pie. Gluten is definitely out of the question since I discovered I can't eat it. And since I've been moving towards the autoimmune protocol (healing protocol for autoimmune disease and gut healing), I wanted to make an AIP pumpkin pie. Not an easy task! Especially for someone that prefers cooking to baking. :)

Giveaway! Win the new Paderno 4-blade Vegetable Spiral Slicer!

If you've seen my last few posts, you know I'm loving using the spiralizer to make vegetable noodles. For those of us that have to be gluten-free or choose to be, making noodles out of veggies is fun and gives you a wide variety of exciting recipes to try. I waited months and months before I took the plunge and finally purchased a spiralizer. (Mine turned out to be a counterfeit, so I had to get a new one...) So, I'm very excited to have the opportunity to give one away to one of you!

While I own the tri-blade spiralizer, Paderno World Cuisine has offered to give their new 4-blade vegetable spiral slicer away to one of my readers. If you look at the picture above, you can see the new "angel hair" blade which is perfect for thinner vegetables like carrots.

Cold Cucumber Noodle BLT Salad with Tomato Basil Vinaigrette (Gluten Free, Paleo, Whole30)

I'm fairly straight and narrow when it comes to following the rules. I always wear my seat belt. I don't break any traffic laws. Well, not often. I won't cheat, not even playing Yahtzee. I feel bad when I accidentally take the bank's pen. Sorry, I didn't mean to. Sure, I've broken some rules in my days, especially in my early 20's when getting pulled over for speeding was a regular thing. Hey, I have a heavy foot... I just believe most rules are made to be kept. But, there are some that are made to be broken. Like wearing white after Labor Day. Although I don't wear white before or after.

And eating summer meals after Labor Day... Okay, so it's probably not technically a rule. Labor Day is supposed to signify the end of summer (even though it's not officially over until the end of September). The end of outdoor events and parties. And for many, the end of tomato dishes and the beginning of all things pumpkin.

I actually planned to post this before Labor Day, but...stuff happens. 

Fresh Tomato Basil Vinaigrette (Paleo, Whole30)

Summer, summer, summer time.

Time to sit back and unwind.

Just a bit of a break from the norm (were you singing along?) with this tomato basil vinaigrette. Fresh summer tomatoes are one of my favorite things. Juicy. Sweet. With just a sprinkle of salt. And lately, as a vinaigrette. With basil, of course. Because tomatoes and basil just belong together.

If you like tomatoes, I think you will love this vinaigrette.

60+ Paleo Spiralizer Recipes plus How to Avoid Buying a Counterfeit Paderno Spiral Slicer

Guess who's back...back again? Well, it's been a long time, my friends. It's been a crazy, stressful summer around here, so I apologize for not posting. I hope that you are all enjoying summer wherever you are.

A few months ago, my spiralizer broke. Since I have recommended this spiralizer before, especially to those of you on Facebook, I figured I should tell you guys what I found out. I purchased (what I thought was) the Paderno vegetable spiral slicer back in September, but at the end of May (after only using it a few times a month), part of the handle broke. Turns out it was a counterfeit unit (purchased through Amazon, but sold by another seller).

I also scoured the Internet for spiralizer recipes from many talented bloggers. For those of you that already have a spiralizer or plan to get one, I didn't want to leave you hanging without recipes to use this thing. It only took me a few months to put this together. ;-)

So...after contacting the company, Paderno World Cuisine, this is what I learned from the CEO: