Spaghetti squash is a wonderfully versatile winter squash. Rich in beta-carotene, vitamin A, C, potassium and fiber, it is also healthy. Use the naturally stringy spaghetti squash in place of pasta in spaghetti, eat as a side dish topped with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, or make this healthy, portable, delicious breakfast! And, it's husband approved! :)
Squash Egg Muffins
from Clara Ogren, http://www.sixfoodintolerance.com
Ingredients (for each muffin):
Oil spray
1/8 cup spaghetti squash, cooked
1/4 a piece of thick-cut Esskay Turkey Bacon (or whatever bacon you have and however much you want!)
1 tsp or 3g Daiya cheese (I mixed both the cheddar and Italian blend flavors, next time, I think I'll use 2 tsp)
1 scrambled egg
Diced scallions, optional, for garnish
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
1) Spray a squirt or two of oil spray into muffin opening.
(I forgot to take a picture of this step, but I'm sure you get it.)
2) Place squash into muffin tin, pressing into the bottom and on the sides.
3) Place bacon on top of squash.
4) Top bacon with 1 tsp of Daiya cheese.
5) Scramble an egg and pour on top. Garnish with scallions, pepper or whatever you like.
6) Repeat this process for as many muffins as you would like to make.
7) Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes, until cooked through.
8) Gently pull muffins out of muffin tin and enjoy!
I have mentioned before that I'm not a big cereal person and that as such, I didn't want to pay more money for specialty cereal, that I would just get general store cereal that happened to be gluten free. Well, that has changed. Introducing Natures Path new whole grain, gluten free cereals, Crunchy Maple Sunrise and Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise.
Both contain an impressive ingredient list which contain corn, rice, flax, quinoa, buckwheat and amaranth. The cereals are organic, kosher, and a good source of fiber (3 grams per serving) and omega 3's (f0.15 grams per serving). They are also soy, nut and dairy free - score!
These cereals are not only good for you, but taste great too. As the name suggests, both are intensely crunchy and have great texture with the mixture of large corn puff balls, rice puff ovals, small crunchy balls that I think are quinoa or amaranth and multi-grain flakes. As the names also suggests, one has a maple flavor which I find is quite strong (which I like, it reminds me of the maple frosted doughnuts I used to get) and one has a vanilla flavor which is fairly mild but is great with vanilla flavored rice milk.
With the nutrition of the whole grain and the delightful flavor, these cereals are definitely winners. I found them locally for $3.99 each and they are worth every penny. Seriously, run out and by them ... Now ... They're that good. Yum!
Growing up with a Thai mother and an Australian step-father made meals at our house interesting. There was a large variety of different foods and actually. For dinner, one night we'd have stir fry and the next we'd have roast lamb and veggies. It was great. There was usually something different and new to look forward to. For breakfast, there was also a big difference.
Here is what one version of a traditional Thai breakfast looks like:
This is just a plain egg with white rice ... that was topped with just a couple splashes of fish sauce (start with 2 or 3, taste, and work your way up - this stuff is potent!). I know that this might sound strong and salty and unappealing to some of you - but it's not! I promise. Don't believe me? Ginger Lemon Girl tried it and liked it!! ;) It's so simple, so naturally GDSYWP-free, and so delicious. Something about the rich egg yolk with the salty fish sauce is just heavenly and comforting. There are two tricks - 1) The egg must be over easy - you want to try to get a really crispy egg white and yet keep a runny egg yolk and 2) Your fish sauce must be fresh. If it's a translucent light brown color (sort of like tea) with a light fishy odor, then you're good. If it's dark brown or even black and very strong smelling - toss it now!!! It's old and yucky.
And here is one version of an Australian Breakfast:
Just a bit more food than the Thai breakfast, huh? :) This is just fried eggs over toasted bread with bacon, baked beans and grilled (well, mine were fried) tomatoes on the side. With one change, this is easily gluten free, and with a few other tweaks, it's pork free! To make this gluten free, just use gluten free bread and to make pork free, use turkey or beef bacon and use vegetarian baked beans (these are my favorite). What I love about this is the mixture of the rich yolk with the sweet baked beans and the crunch of the toast and then a few salty meaty bites of bacon. I actually usually forgo the tomatoes, but thought I'd include it here to be true-to-the-food.
I know that for some of you, these dishes might be stepping out of your comfort zone, but trust me, it's worth it! They're pretty quick, tasty, and with just a few minor tweaks, GDSYWP-free - what more could you ask for? :)
Okay, so this looks an awful lot like the Strawberry You-Won't-Taste-The-Spinach Smoothie. I know. But! It tastes completely different! I promise. First of all, there isn't a single strawberry in there ... or a drop of spinach, for that matter! Today's smoothie is a Kale and Pear smoothie from the Vitamix website.
Anyway, I made this recipe and it was GOOD. Yum! And you won't taste the kale at all. I promise. Hubby does NOT like kale, not one bit (well, except in this recipe, but you can't taste it then either - it's covered in bacon! hahaha) I'll definitely be making it again - and you should totally give it a try. After all, kale is a super food!
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Kale and Pear Smoothie
from Vita-Mix: http://www.vitamix.com/household/health/green_smoothie.asp
Yield: 4 cups
Time: 1 1/2 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup green grapes
1 orange, peeled
1/2 Bartlett pear
1 banana, fresh or frozen
1 cup kale
1/2 cup water
2 cups ice cubes
Directions:
Place all ingredients into container and secure the lid.
Select VARIABLE speed #10, then to HIGH for 1 ½ minutes. Turn machine off.
Serve immediately.
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Enjoy!
Soon after my Hubby and I were married, we bought a Vita-Mix. We were roped into the sales pitch at our local Costco and we gave in. I love soup, Hubby and I both love smoothies, I could make various dips (like hummus! yum!), Hubby wanted to try making his own ice cream ... this machine seemed like a good investment! So, we plopped down nearly $400 on the Vita-Mix 5000. Yes. You read it right. $400. Probably not the best idea for our poor, newlywed, my-student-loans-are-about-kick-in budget.
But ya know, I have yet to read a bad review of the machine and in all honesty, it really does kick-ass in the blending department ... uh .... when I use actually it! So, this is what this is all about. I really need to start using this baby more. At least once a week. So, I am going to start Vita-Mix Fridays. Every Friday, I will post a new Vita-Mix recipe, some will be my own, some will be from various cookbooks or websites (always cited, of course! ;) ).
So, today, I will share my latest smoothie recipe, something I threw together based on what was in my fridge. My Hubby aptly dubbed it the "Strawberry You-Won't-Taste-the-Spinach Smoothie," which says a lot considering that he is not a fan of veggies ... especially spinach!
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Strawberry You-Won't-Taste-the-Spinach Smoothie
2 cups frozen strawberries
2 loose handfuls spinach
1 cup mango juice (I used this one)
2 tbsp vanilla rice protein powder (I used this one)
1 banana
Throw all the ingredients into the Vita-Mix, slowly speed up to variable 10, then to high and continue blending until smooth.
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I took this in to work for breakfast. It was good, but there are two changes that I would make. 1) I thought it had a tad too much protein powder in it (I could feel the powder on my tongue), so I would probably only use 1 tbsp next time, but the flavor was great. And the fact that Hubby even enjoyed it proved to me that it was yummy! 2) Ice! How could I forget the ice! I like my smoothies to be icy, chilly and cold. But, since I'm out of Vita-Mix practice, I totally forgot about ice! Oops! *Sigh* There's always next time! ;)
Oh, and if you're wondering about the container it's in, it's a Blender Bottle. It's awesome. I have a purple one and Hubby has a blue one. There is a metal wisk ball in there that shakes up all ingredients to make sure everything is all evenly dispersed and good. It's the best thing for smoothies!
Bakery On Main makes 5 different flavors of gluten free granola. I can only have 1 though, the Nutty Cranberry Maple Granola, because all the other flavors have walnuts in them. If you try the other flavors, be sure to leave a comment for other people who might be reading this that can have walnuts and let them know how it tastes! Oh, be careful when you go to find/purchase these, Bakery On Main also make non-gluten free (or glutenful!) granolas. Make sure your buying the right one. Both have the same type of packaging, but ours has a nice, big "Gluten Free" on the front, right under their name.
So, my thoughts on this product? This is a GREAT on-the-go snack. I usually just eat it by the handfuls, by itself, on the run. Or, sometimes, I eat it for breakfast and throw some in my yogurt. I could probably eat it as a cereal, too, and just throw it and some milk in a bowl, but I haven't tried that yet. The only thing I'm not crazy about is that I'm not much of a cranberry person, as I find that they are too tangy for me. I do make myself eat some since I know they're good for me, but I do pick out some and throw them away. If only they would come out with another flavor without the cranberrys and without walnuts (Bakery On Main, are you listening?) :D
Growing up with a Thai mom, I never ate avocados. I mean, it's not like they are called for much in Asian cooking. I never ate them, so I never liked them. I also hated guacamole.
But then, I married a Mexican man. He loves avocados, so I decided to give them another try ... by itself, just a small slice. Whoa! Delicious! Buttery, rich, creamy - wonderful! I ate them by themselves, over tacos, over soup, in salads, yum, yum, yum! Then I attempted guacamole ... and it was good! I realized that all the other guacamole that I had before had 4 main faults (at least for me): too much garlic, not enough cilantro, not enough lime juice and they were too dry/pasty (probably from the lack of lime juice!). So, over time, I perfected my own guacamole recipe, and I'm here to share it with you today. I'm so glad that it is naturally GDSYWP free! And, it's just so naturally simple! Oh, I will apologize in advance: I do not measure, and have made this recipe a million times, so I just sort of know what "feels" like the right amount ... although I still tend to put in too much lime juice from time to time ... weird? Anyway, here we go:
2 ripe avocados
1/2 - 3/4 onion (depending on your tastes), finely diced (in my order of preference: red, then Vidalia, then sweet yellow)
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
pinch of kosher salt
dash of granulated garlic (actual garlic provide a flavor that is too strong for me)
dash of adobo powder (be very careful with this - it is quite strong and salty)
splash or two of lime juice
I usually throw everything in, then mash it together. When it's done separately, I don't think the flavors mesh as well. Usually, I try not to mash everything super well. I like my guacamole to be a bit chunky. Note that there are no tomatoes in my guacamole. I don't like them in there. I think it takes away from the flavor and messes with the creamy texture. But, if you like them, just fold them in after everything is mashed! Oh, and if you can have dairy, it is really delicious if you add a couple spoonfuls of sour cream and mix it in!
I always serve this guacamole with My Tacos and love it as a dip for these chips.
Other things that I love to do with avocado:
Slicing it up and eating it alone with a dash of salt
Slicing avocado onto any sandwich
Or, over any salad ... especially:
Cobb Salad (obviously leaving out the cheese and subbing turkey or beef bacon for pork bacon)
Mexican Poached Eggs over Polenta with Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa from Weight Watchers
I've been on a muffin kick lately ... can't tell you why. Prior to going GDSYWP free, I never was a muffin person. They were just okay to me and I don't like sweet stuff in the morning, so I just never really ate them. So, why now? I'm not exactly sure, but I think it's mostly because I can have something sweet after lunch or dinner that is pre-portioned for me, and they're easy to share.
Through a Yahoo Group that I joined recently,The Gluten Free Recipe Swap (started by fellow GF blogger, Ginger Lemon Girl), I discovered this website, GFCF Cookbook. From their website, I have tried 2 muffins, their Banana Muffins and their Pumpkin Muffins, but they have several different types listed there. I used Bette Hagmans Four Bean Flour Blend (from her book, The Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread that I borrowed from my library!) for the flour mix. Let me tell you, boy oh boy are they yummy. Several of my gluten-eating friends and family have tried them and liked them - no complaints!
If you're a muffin lover - or not, like me! - you must head over to GFCF Cookbook
, go to their breakfast section and give one of them a try!
Am I like a walking ad for Namaste Foods, or what? I tell ya, I heard nothing but good things about their products before I was able to find them, and I'm here to back those claims up even further.
I made Namaste Foods' Muffin Mix the other night and they turned out fabulous! Really, they did! Says me, my Hubby (who had three that night, by-the-way) and even one of my non-food-intolerant neighbors. He even took one to go they were so good! Boy do I love showing people that GDSYWP-free foods can actually taste good - really good!
I made the mix as described, then stirred in a couple of sprinkles of cinnamon, a dash of nutmug, and a pint - minus a few - of blueberries - freshly picked by Hubby and myself, if I may add!
I put liners into the muffin tin and filled the liners up all the way with this mix. Then, as a nice final touch, I added a couple of the reserved blueberries to the tops of each one and sprinkled the tops with Turbinado sugar, as described here.
Beautiful, delicious and GDYSWP-free to boot! Now that's what I'm talking about!
When I first found out about my GDSYWP intolerances, many foods that I would never be able to have again ran through my mind. Cheese, bread, pasta, pizza, milkshakes and ice cream all came to mind. But, one thing that I didn't think of was cereal. I have never been a big cereal fan. Hubby, on the other hand, is. He LOVES cereal. I honestly think if I gave him cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner, he would be a happy man. Especially if I gave him a couple choices and even better if I mixed them together. Ick. Anyway, back to the subject at hand. When traveling (and this subject deserves several posts all to itself, which it will get later), cereal is probably the easiest breakfast option to not only consume safely, but also to find in local grocery stores. There were some surprising cereals that I thought would be GDSYWP free, but were not. This is a reoccurring theme in this lifestyle (again, a subject which needs its own post). In addition to the fact that I've never been a big fan of cereal, I also have a strong aversion to anything that tastes too "ricey" (I think I just made that word up, but if you are gluten free, you probably know what I'm talking about). Certain rice milks, Rice Dream ice cream, certain flour mixes and certain breads have too strong of a rice flavor for me and it is really gross to me. It kinda makes the gluten free part of this lifestyle difficult, but it is what it is. So, here is a list of not too "ricey" cereals from a GDSYWP free, non-fan-of-cereal.
Rice Chex Cereal
TrixSome cereals that I was surprised to learn were NOT GDSYWP free: Cocoa Krispies (Malt Flavoring and possible use of Soybean Oil). I figure if Cocoa Pebbles is safe, Cocoa Krispies should be too, right? Nope!, Rice Krispies (Malt Flavoring), I just thought this one should be easy enough to make gluten free, Corn Pops (possible use of Soybean Oil and some other unmentioned wheat product, but allergen information says the cereal contains wheat - maybe manufactured on equipment that processes wheat?), Honey Comb (made with non-GF Oat flour and is manufactured on equipment that processes wheat).
Now, I know that there are companies that make specially designed gluten and other allergen free cereals. I have tried a couple of them, but I just did not like them, either the taste or texture was off. I know that I could experiment more with them, but they are usually more expensive than the "regular" brands and since I am not much of a cereal person to begin with, I just haven't devoted much energy into it. Besides, I only occasionally eat cereal at home. One box would last ages in my house (well, if Hubby didn't get into it!). It is really only when I travel that I make cereal my safe breakfast, and if it's a specialty cereal, I may not be able to find it where I am going. If I stick to big store brand-names, I am sure to find at least one of these. I usually just pack some rice or almond milk (double or triple Zip-Loc bagged in my suitcase if flying, or just thrown in the trunk if driving) and then find the cereal at a local grocery store when I get to where I'm going.
And that's all I have to say about that!
Sorry about yesterday. Yes, I know it was A LOT of information. I always like to hear the stories of how people come to their diet (whether choosing to be vegan, vegetarian, soy free, etc) and therefore felt like I should share my story, lest I be accused of asking without telling!
Today's post will be shorter ... maybe. More interesting? Definitely! I have come to share with you the KINGS of all dairy AND soy free products. Yes, if you are dairy and soy free and haven't heard of these products yet, you will want to kiss me once you taste it. Yes, really, you will! Just you wait and see ...
The guests of honor are ...
YOGURT!!!
SCORE!
Get Out!
Shut Up!
For Real!
... right?
Anyway, the dairy free experts, Turtle Mountain, have recently released these beauties onto the market and I, for one, am seeing big things in their future.
I'll be honest, when I made this life change back in February, I was very surprised to see that nearly all dairy substitutes were made with soy. The only exception that I found was Rice Dream and Galaxy's Rice Cheese, but to a less-than-a-week GDSYWP-free person, this ice cream and cheese was NOT cutting it (and actually still doesn't at 6 months free). I truly applaud their efforts in offering something to us poor souls, but after 24 years of creamy, melty, flavorful dairy products, this stuff just plain sucked (sorry Rice Dream and Galaxy!).
Being of half-Thai decent and using a lot of coconut milk in various recipes, I asked myself (and complained to Hubby) why this couldn't be used to make dairy products. I mean, it was creamy and flavorful, and most importantly - dairy and soy free! (And actually, I had often thought of using it as a substitute for milk in my previously-dairy-filled-life recipes, but I just never got around to it ... ya know how that goes) And actually, if I had only pursued those thoughts, bought a food making business and knew how to make dairy products, well, then I could be the one reaping all these benefits right now ...
okay, that's a whole different dream ...
So, um, yeah, my current dream is rolling around in this beautifully creamy stuff for the rest of my life! :D
The Coconut Milk Ice Cream comes in 6 flavors: Vanilla Bean, Chocolate, Mint Chocolate Chip (contains soy lecithin), Cookie Dough (soy lecithin) and Coconut.
Chocolate was creamy, with a slight hint of coconut while on the tongue, but definitely finishes with a pleasant, rich chocolate flavor.
The Vanilla Bean flavor was the complete opposite of the Chocolate flavor. Vanilla started with a crisp, bright vanilla flavor on your tongue that morphed into, and finished with, coconut. My coconut-disliking Hubby did not like this flavor. He also thought the Vanilla Beans were too strong, though I liked that. I really loved the initial crisp, strong vanilla flavor, but be warned that it doesn't last long before morphing into coconut.
Mint Chocolate Chip is definitely minty, maybe even is a bit too crisp, but doesn't taste like coconut at all. The only thing that disappointed me is that the chocolate is not in flakes like I prefer. It's sort of flaky, but is in a ribbon swirled around throughout the mint ice cream. This flavor is really good, but I still miss my all time favorite ice cream ever - Blue Bell Mint Chocolate Chip. Maybe that's why I'm so critical of mint chip flavored ice cream.
Cookie Dough ... oh. my. I can't tell you just how THRILLED I was when I found out that the cookie dough is gluten free. Wow! Gluten, dairy and soy free ... AND delicious! It seriously is super good. Probably my favorite of the six, which is saying a lot considering that Iwas never a big fan of this flavor prior to going GDSYWP-free. The ice cream itself is either cookie dough flavored or a very, very mild vanilla (not like their sharp vanilla bean) and the cookie dough is in balls - whichout chocolate chips. The chocolate is in flakes throughout the ice cream, separate from the dough. I think that's why I like it so much. Another bonus, the cookie dough isn't super hard, which is part of why I never liked it before. Way to go Turtle Mountain - you hit this one on the nose!
Finally, the Coconut flavor was also creamy, rich and had tiny pieces of coconut floating around in it. Can you just imagine - a dairy and soy free ice cream that is rich AND creamy? Oh, I think I'm in love!
***Edited to add: They've now released 3 new flavors - Mocha Almond Fudge, Passionate Mango and Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl.
Mocha Almond Fudge is my new favorite! It's delish! Mocha ice cream with bits of toasted almonds and plenty - but not too much - of fudgy goodness!
Passionate Mango - I tried this again, but didn't expect to like it since I didn't like the yogurt. I didn't like it. I will put it in smoothies though. I'm just not a fan of passion fruit. I love mango, but all I can taste here is the passion fruit.
The Coconut Milk Yogurt also comes in 6 flavors: Plain, Vanilla, Blueberry, Passionate Mango, Strawberry Banana and Raspberry.
The Passionate Mango, to me, was gross. But then again, I don't care for passion fruit and that was all I could taste while eating this. I LOVE coconut and I LOVE mango, so I thought I would be able to work past the passion fruit, but I couldn't. If you do like passion fruit, however, maybe this would be good.
The Vanilla was DIVINE! It was smooth and creamy and didn't taste like coconut at all - not even a hint. I thought this, and my coconut-hating husband thought so, too! I can see myself using this one a lot, just for eating, and in my previous-dairy-filled-life recipes involving vanilla yogurt. SCORE!
The Raspberry was interesting. It was definitely tangy like raspberries, but I don't think it tasted quite like raspberries, but it didn't taste quite like coconut, either. I guess the melding of the two created this whole other flavor. It also has a medicinal after-taste. It kind of reminds me of flavored cough syrup that tries to cover the medicine taste with a fruity flavor that just doesn't quite cut it. With that said though, the flavor isn't AS bad as that. It's just not anything that I recognized easily. I think I'm going to have to give it another try to be sure.
The Strawberry Banana flavor to me was just o-k. I didn't love it, didn't hate it. It barely tasted of bananas or coconut, did have a more prominent strawberry flavor, but still nothing really went *pow* in my mouth.
I really liked the Blueberry flavor. It definitely tasted like blueberry, but the coconut flavor took the tarty edge off of them. I think it had a bit of a coconut aftertaste, but not much in my coconut loving opinion. (sorry, coconut-disliking Hubby was not around to taste).
The Plain, well, it tasted plain! JUST like regular 'ol plain yogurt. Tart yet creamy. I haven't eaten it by itself much, but have used it frequently in recipes calling for plain yogurt and it works just beautifully!
Okay, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. If you've had the pleasure of trying any of these, please leave me a message letting me know what you think! Are you as excited about this stuff as I am?
