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I learned so  much from my passion project through these six weeks. Before this I had been struggling with figuring out my diet. I thought there was nothing for me to eat. These new recipes really opened up new doors. Also, my diet has really improved my health. In my video I explain how I rarely get hives and discoloration in my face. I'm now very healthy and strong. I've learned how to shop correctly for my ingredients and make a list from the recipe book.

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The last week of my passion project I focused on deserts. I made a chocolate moose made with coconut cream and carob powder. Surprisingly I used no chocolate at all! It was really crazy and tasted really good.  The second desert I made was a  blackberry and pear smoothie. I added coconut water and a pinch of natural sugar. This tastes super good on a hot day in the sun. Fortunately, there were no problems and both dishes were made smoothly and correctly.

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The TCC Passion Project has been my "all-time" favorite assignment to witness as a parent. This past year, when Aubrey's food allergy blood test returned with significant autoimmune results, we were all discouraged with her limited and somewhat boring foods that were safe for consumption. The Passion Project challenged her to look at her circumstances in a positive and creative way. She chose delicious, healthy, and beautiful meals to serve the family. She planned the menus, shopped for ingredients, prepared the dishes, and presented them with artistic beauty. Throughout the process, she learned several new cooking techniques that were beyond the basic level. She also learned that her new diet did not have to be boring and that everyone could enjoy the prepared items.
Aubrey encountered a few challenges where she had to substitute ingredients due to seasonal availability but results were still fabulous.
Watching Aubrey joyfully comb over cookbooks in preparation for each weeks assignment made me so proud as a mom. She loved the process, start to finish, and was delighted to share her results with family and friends. I feel confident I can always call upon my teenage daughter to help prepare a meal, for celebration or family in need, and it would be beautiful and healthy. My job as a mom just got a little easier with Aubrey's new passion and talent for cooking. Thank you TCC!

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The second dish I made during week five was meatballs. The recipe also provided an alternative tomato sauce. Since the tomato is a nightshade they go against the AIP protocol. The sauce I made was mainly created from beets. I added a squash puree, dried basil, dried marjoram, apple cider vinegar, coconut aminos,  and sea salt. All of these ingredients came together to make a sweat and savory sauce. It wasn't quite like regular tomato sauce, but it still tasted fantastic.  The meatballs were made out of bison meat and regular hamburger meat. I added chopped garlic, parsley, and a lot of salt. I served this along with the french onion soup.

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IN the second to last week of my project I raised the difficulty level on my dishes. I chose to prepare a french onion soup and meatballs with NOmato sauce.  The french onion soup took a very long time to make. We made the broth out of cauliflower and chicken stock. We also added dried basil, and lots of salt and pepper. For the garnish I cooked apple smoked bacon in a skillet. Once the bacon was crispy I removed it and drained it. Although, I did not clean the bacon fat from the skillet. I took the onions (also for the garnish) and cooked them in the bacon fat. They were removed once crispy and hot. The soup turned out really well. I was really proud of myself for taking my time and following the recipes.

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The second salad I scheduled for this week was originally a fruit and pork salad. I then realized that none of the summer fruits are in season right now. I changed my dish to a "leftover" chicken salad. This looked really yummy and included radishes, which are my absolute favorite. The salad also called for the aoli that I made last time or an avocado mayonnaise. I wanted to try and see if I could make the aoli sauce a better way. I used a regular mixer and just mixed it in a tall bowl. I had to be a lot for thorough because I wanted to make sure it was absolutely smooth. I added chicken that I cooked on the grill myself, along with some basil and bell pepper sausage. I really enjoyed eating this salad. It had lots of fresh greens and it just tasted healthy.

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This week's two recipes were a shrimp and citrus salad, and a leftover chicken salad. The first salad I completed was the shrimp and citrus. This salad was a little more difficult than the other dishes because I had to defrost, and peel the shrimp. This took quite a while to prepare the shrimp and I my dad told me that I was "impatient". After the shrimp was done, I chopped up the vegetables and prepared the greens. The second most challenging part was making the aoli sauce that goes in the salad. We had to use a stick blender and put all of the ingredients in a tall glass. This was very tricky and took a while to completely blend the sauce. When we finally finished blending it, it tasted really good. The salad came together well, and I was very surprised that I managed to cook the shrimp perfectly. That evening my mom had some friends over and we all enjoyed the shrimp and citrus salad. Here are a few pictures!

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prosciuttoThe second dish I cooked in week 3 was a Melon and prosciutto salad. This dish was extremely easy to make and very fun. The were so many awesome flavor and it was really refreshing. The first step was to lay down some baby arugula. I personally do not like the way arugula tastes, but it went very well with the sweetness of the cantaloupe. I also added some balsamic vinegar to add a bit of saltiness. Of course the prosciutto tasted wonderful with it.

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This  week I am very happy with the progress! I made a two dishes that tasted really good. They're also fairly easy to make. However, before I made them, my dad and I made a huge trip to Costco and Sprouts. We bought all the ingredients needed and headed home. The he first dish I made was asparagus wrapped in prosciutto. I covered it in olive oil as well as some pepper and salt. I then put it in the over at 400 degrees and baked it for 20 minutes. My mom likes things crispier, so I left it in for a little longer. I was very happy with the results. The asparagus was also made with a mint and basil pesto. I used a blender to make it. However, the blender gave me a hard time and I think I broke it. Later that week I made the asparagus again. It was delicious.

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I am very excited and determined to try these new cooking techniques and recipes. While looking at the instructions in the recipe book, I can tell that it will be a challenge. There are precise temperatures and not everything cooks as easily like regular food. I'm also very happy that I can help my dad as well. He suffers from a much more serious disease called Hashimoto's. Whenever he consumes dairy or gluten, his thyroid swells up and his skin inflames. With these new foods, it will give us both a variety of things to eat.

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This week I decided to plan a schedule. My goal for the end of these six weeks is to be able to cook gluten free, dairy free, and egg free foods. I'm getting all of my recipes from the book that I purchased in Week 1. I start cooking on Week three. Each week I have two recipes planned. For the first week of cooking, I will be making bacon wrapped asparagus with a mint a basil pesto, and melon and prosciutto. On Week 4, I will be putting together a shrimp and citrus salad, and a vibrant pork belly salad. In Week 5, I'm going to try and make French onion soup (special request from my mother), and meatballs with nomato sauce.  The final week will be for deserts . I chose two of my favorite sweet treats; French crepes, and chocolate mousse.

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Now that I have the recipe book I decided to briefly flip through it. I discovered at the front of the book the woman who wrote it actually had a severe disease. She experienced symptoms of heart attacks. However, the source was an autoimmune disease. This is similar to what my father has. Luckily, I'm only allergic and my consumption of gluten is not fatal. Furthermore, Sophie, the author had created a list of temperatures and substitutes to go along with the recipes in the book. This is definitely going to make it easier to cook instead of using the trial and error method. The book also begins with a plate that follows the AIP. AIP stands for AutoImmune Protocol. The plate is sectioned off into different portions of food. Unfortunately half of the plate includes vegetables. Maybe while cooking I can alter the AIP plate just a little.

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For my passion project. I decided to challenge myself with cooking. I've always been a good cook and I know all of the basics and can cook a full meal. However, recently I developed food allergies to gluten, dairy, and eggs. Cooking without these ingredients can be very difficult and finding substitutes can be tricky. My goal as I work on my passion project, is to be able to cook gluten, dairy, and egg free meals for my family and I to enjoy daily. My first step is to find some resources for recipes. My mom is a reflexologist and works with an essential oil company called Doterra. On co-worker's social media she found a really neat recipe book. Its how to cook french foods in a paleo style. Since I'm French, I thought it would be wonderful to learn how to cook French food that I can eat. The book is called ,"Simple French Paleo" by Sophie Van Tiggelen.