Time to Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Siete Family Foods

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I love to cook. I grew up in a family where every gathering centered around preparing and enjoying a large variety of different dishes. Everyone would bring their favorite dish to share. I would also spend hours pouring through different cookbooks (this was during the mid 1980's before the Internet) looking for the next great new recipe to try. Living in Houston, Texas we were surrounded by a variety of restaurants that we frequently dined at. Also during this same time, I owned and operated a neighborhood pizza parlor, called Lone Star Pizza. We served the most amazing pizza and other Italian dishes, complete with cheese cake. I had no food allergies at this point in my life, so I enjoyed all foods with wild abandon. My absolute favorite food to this day is still cold pizza followed by authentic Mexican food.

Around fifteen years ago I began to develop some very serious life altering health issues. And, after many tests and misdiagnosed conditions, I finally found out that my medical problems were related to food allergies, as well as the overuse of prescription antibiotics.

Fast forward to today I still suffer from severe allergies to the major food groups. This makes it particularly challenging for me to eat out. In addition to my allergy to dairy and gluten, I am also allergic to corn and corn derivatives, soy, potatoes and tomatoes. My youngest daughter was also diagnosed with Celiac a few years ago after almost dying from her body's reaction to grain. Her diagnosis of Celiac propelled her to studying and graduating with a four-year degree in Nutrition. She also recently published an amazing cookbook and has a website called “Grain Free Table.”

Cooking for our entire family with a wide spectrum of food allergies is an ongoing challenge for me. I can no longer cook the traditional meal for most family gatherings. I am constantly on the lookout for new products on the market that will fit within the narrow list of allowable food items, that are also tasty. So on a recent shopping trip to Whole Foods I discovered some amazing new food products that I can actually serve to my entire family -- Siete Family Foods -- Grain Free Products,

Siete Family Foods - "...a mission based company...advocating for healthier lifestyles..." Siete Family Foods originally started when the co-founder, Veronica Garza, became diagnosed with several autoimmune disorders that, as she put it, "...almost wrecked my life. I was fatigued, overweight and depressed." Together with her family, Veronica researched and experimented with foods that healed her body, Going grain free was the answer to Veronica's health issues. The ideas for their grain free products were created out of their love of tacos and fajitas, once served in corn and four tortillas, now served in their grain free tortillas.

All of the products offered by Siete Family Foods are gluten free, paleo, non-GMO, grain free, dairy free, soy free, and are vegan. I was so excited to find a variety of items that I could use to create an amazing meal the entire family would enjoy. Even one of my family members who is so restricted on what she can eat enjoyed what I served. She was quite pleasantly surprised when she did not have to go to the car and pull out her emergency backup meal that she normally carries with her whenever she attends a dinner out.

So, here’s what I served my family at our recent “not so traditional” family get together:

Siete Cassava Flour Tortillas - ingredients: cassava flour, water, coconut flour, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, sea sale, and xanthan gum.

We used these as tasty wraps with a variety of organic meats, vegetables, dairy free almond cheese, and condiments.

No meal is complete without Siete Grain Free Tortilla Chips - ingredients: cassava flour, avocado oil, coconut flour, ground chia seeds, and sea salt.

The chips were used to dip into the guacamole, mango salsa and...their delicious queso!

Siete Mild Nacho Cashew Queso Dip - ingredients: water, cashews, tomatoes, carrots, green bell peppers, nutritional yeast, sea salt, distilled white vinegar, flax seed, fermented extracts (oregano, flax seed, and plum), coconut milk powder, lactic acid, onion powder, tomato powder, and garlic powder.

This amazing queso dip was definitely a big hit! We even used the queso to make dairy free nachos.

Our meal also included a vegetable platter of black olives, carrots, celery, arugula and micro greens, a bowl of fresh berries. Overall the family brunch was a success! Everyone was pleasantly surprised they had options and enjoyed everything I served!

Thank you Siete Famly Foods!

For more information on where you purchase Siete Family Foods Grain Free products go here.

La comida ya está, ¡comamos!