Beet, Dill, and Avocado Salad (gluten free, dairy free, soy free)

I love vegetables... always have. But there was one I never quite liked. (okay two- the second was turnips). It was BEETS. My mom always has pickled beets or boiled beets on the table at dinner and every now and then I would "check in" with them to see if I had developed a taste for them and still... no.

Then last summer my cousin Samira made this beet and avocado salad with dill on it so I was like- oooh let me give the good ol' beets a try again! And what do you know... victory! I ate so much of it and then I came home and asked her for the recipe to make for my daughter's first birthday party and her response was add some lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper, and dill together. So I did that and have a few more times. So now I just thought I would share with you the deliciousness of this combo because I actually did some measurements, but feel free to add more of this or that according to your tastes. I think they go well together because the avocado is soft and the beets slightly hard, a bit tangy, and herb-y all at once. If you don't like fresh dill, add chopped basil- either would be great! It's great for spring and summer picnics and a refreshing yet filling salad.

Avocado, Dill, and Beet Salad 
(gluten/grain free, soy free, dairy free, nut free, egg free)

4 medium cooked beets (I steam mine)

2 avocados

4 Tbsp fresh organic lemon (1 large lemon)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 Tbsp fresh chopped dill (or basil)

Chop your beets into cubes and put in a bowl. Cube your avocado into similar sized pieces and place on top of the beets. Add the rest of your ingredients on top and stir just enough to mix. Taste and adjust to taste. 

If you over-mix, your avocado will turn as red as the beets and get mushy so be gentle!

Enjoy!

***Update: 6/27/12:

This is also amazing with one or two chopped champagne mangoes as well!!

I used Chioggia Beets in this picture, and they don't bleed as red beets do.

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Sweet Potato & Black Bean "Sausage" (vegan, gluten free, soy free, egg free)

 

 

I've had this recipe on the back-burner for a few months now... I made this for a brunch potluck and never had a chance to work on my modifications and revise it. I based it off of this recipe by the Gluten Free Cooking School - the original recipe includes brown rice and is fried, so I modified it to bake it and replaced the rice with sweet potato and a few other adjustments here and there... My friend Anne said I hijacked this recipe so this is dedicated to you Anne- sorry it took so long! :)

You can still fry this recipe if that's your thing, but I thought it was easier, faster, and healthier to just bake them.  My daughter loves these and they make a great snack or meal- whichever you're in the mood for!

I tried baking it straight on a greased cookie sheet and using a Silpat/Silicone Linerand the ones straight on the sheet turned out a little better (crispier) but either will definitely work. You can make either links or patties out of these and the cooking time is the same.

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Sausage

(gluten free/grain free, soy free, dairy free, nut free, egg free)

1 1/2 cup sweet potato, cooked
2 cups cooked black beans

2 tsp grapeseed oil

1/4 cup chia seed meal (ground seeds)

4 tsp onion powder
2 tsp rubbed sage
1 tsp fennel seed, ground (I used a mortar and pestle)

1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin

-Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees and prepare a baking sheet.

-Combine the black beans, sweet potato, and oil in a food processor. Pulse until all items are well combined - you will need to stop it and scrape down the sides a few times. Should be a creamy mixture.

-Scoop the bean mixture into a mixing bowl and add the chia meal and spices. Stir well to combine.

-To make the patties and/or links, divide the bean mixture into 24 pieces and rolleach piece into a ball and place them onto your baking sheet. If you want patties, gently smash them down onto the tray. If you want a link, roll the ball between your two palms until it is a log shape.

-Bake in the oven for 12 minutes, remove, flip them over, and place back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for a few minutes then enjoy! 

**These can be stored covered in the refrigerator and eaten warm or cold or frozen and re-heated at a later time.

Before Baking

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Spinach Bites (gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soy free, nut free)

Since having my daughter I feel that a lot of my recipes have shifted quite a bit- I've moved towards simpler foods that are prepared quickly but can be adapted for whatever mood you're in.

When I found out that my daughter had an egg allergy it wasn't a huge issue for me since I was already familiar with egg replacers, but definitely flexed my cooking/baking muscles a bit more than normal! My daughter eats a lot. A LOT :) So I'm always looking for snacks that I can give her without compromising our desire to have her eat healthy. As I've mentioned in other posts like this one or this one, finding snack foods for little ones that aren't full of fillers, sugars, or fortified with unnecessary vitamins is quite difficult!

I had spotted Dr. Praeger's spinach littles and broccoli littles in the store, but they had egg whites in them so that was a no-go. I adapted the ingredients a bit to suit our tastes, but you can of course adjust the seasoning to you or your child's preferences- we tend to like food with a lot of spice (my daughter included). I make a bunch and just store them in the freezer (info below) to re-heat whenever she needs a quick and healthy snack.

A note about shapes: This recipe does take a bit of work if you wish to make shapes like I did in the pictures. If not, just plop little portions onto your baking sheet and bake! You can also use a mini cupcake tray or silicone cupcake holders. I used a Mini Noah's Ark cookie cutter set that I found at Joann Fabric (also available at Amazon as well as one of my favorites. If you have high cookie cutters just be aware that cooking time will vary.

Spinach Bites - for babies, toddlers, kids, or anyone!!

(egg free, gluten free/grain free, dairy free, soy free, nut free)

1 cup cooked & mashed organic potatoes (2-3 small potatoes or 2 cups raw cubed potatoes)
2 cups frozen organic chopped spinach
2 tsp flax seed meal + 2 Tbsp boiling water (mixed in small bowl)
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp Herbamare Organic Herb Seasoning
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp Grapeseed or Canola oil

Pre-heat your oven to 350°F.
1. Cook your potatoes in a small pot of boiling water with a bit of salt added. When done, drain and place in a mixing bowl.
2. Steam or lightly cook your spinach. Blend until creamy**. Add to potatoes.
3. Make your flax egg: mix the flax with boiling water and let sit to gel while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
4. Add the spices and oil, mash and stir well. Add the flax egg and stir until combined well.
5. Place on silpat/Silicone Liner or Unbleached Parchment Paper lined baking tray and bake for 40 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack and then serve!
**I usually blend the spinach, but you can also leave it unblended but it will look different and the spinach will be more obvious (see pictures below).

With blended spinach

With un-blended spinach

To store:
Keep in the refrigerator in a sealed container.
To freeze for later snacks- cool and freeze in storage bag/container.

To re-heat:
Place on foil-lined tray in a toaster/convention oven and warm. Alternately, if you run them under cool water for a minute and then place in the toaster oven they thaw MUCH faster and will be ready within a minute or two. I don't have a microwave so I can't tell you how they come out from there :)

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Easy Grain Free Flatbread 2.0

Thank you to everyone for their kind comments and suggestions about my Grain Free Flatbread. I've received a lot of questions about options that I had not experimented yet, so if you have, please let me know! Either via my Facebook page, comments on the post, or email.

I did end up trying to use both chia and flax as people suggested, but neither worked to make a flexible bread. Instead they became (delicious!) crackers much like my Coconut flour and Chia crackers. The psyllium in this recipe really provides the flexibility and binding that is needed for an egg-free, grain free, gum free bread. If you don't need these restrictions you can probably try using one of them and it will most likely work. The other substitution that I've tried and worked is light olive oil for the coconut oil. 1/4 cup should work but I still preferred the coconut oil because the olive makes it dry out faster.

I wanted to share one more variation I made shortly after the first that did work. I thought I would try using less psyllium to see if the taste mellowed out a bit- and it did. The only thing that is sacrificed is its ability to roll. So this bread can fold over (see the pictures) and still serves as a great sandwich bread, but won't wrap like the first. In short, you just lessen the amount of psyllium, but I'll go ahead and give the whole recipe again to make it easier :)

Easy Grain Free Flatbread 2.0 (the non-rolling version)

grain free/gluten free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, nut free, vegan

1/2 cup Coconut Flour
1 TBSP Konsyl Psyllium Fiber Powder
1/4 cup Coconut Oil
1 cup boiling water

optional:
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning herb blend
your favorite herb/seasoning

Whisk the coconut flour and psyllium together in a bowl along with the salt and herbs if using. Add the coconut oil. Add the hot water a little at a time, stirring as you add it (will melt the coconut oil). Mix well quickly making sure all the dry bits are incorporated and looks uniform. Using the back of a spoon is helpful.

Roll (with rolling pin) or pat (with moistened spatula) the bread out on a Silpat/ Silicone Liner or unbleached parchment paper-lined jelly roll pan until thin and even. The dough is forgiving, so feel free to move pieces around and repair patches as you go along. I tried baking as two separate pieces and as one large bread and both worked out well.

Bake at 375º for 15-20 minutes depending on your oven and how thin you've rolled the bread. (Mine was about 11"x12" for 15 minutes.) Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature before slicing/eating.

The taste will mellow out the longer it cools and sits out. Store in ziplock or other sealed container (if you don't eat it all at once!).

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Coconut Flour Chia Crackers (grain free/gluten free, egg free, soy free, vegan)

As I mentioned in my Easy Grain-Free Flatbread recipe post, I was attempting to make crackers when I "accidentally" made bread instead. Good accident. But- it didn't solve my cracker problem. So back to work again. Now I've become obsessed! I've made these crackers 3 times in the past week and my flatbread everyday as well with various modifications. Why? Because it's really easy. Especially when you leave your jelly roll pan, silpat, and rolling pin out :)

So for the crackers I decided to use Chia Seed meal along with the coconut flour and I made these herb crackers by throwing in some garlic powder and Italian Seasoning blend. You can leave them out or add other flavors you might like- nutritional yeast (for a "cheesy" flavor), rosemary, cinnamon, etc... If you're wondering about the wonderful nutritional benefits of chia, click HERE.

Coconut Chia Crackers

(grain free/gluten free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, nut free, paleo)

½ cup Coconut flour

¼ cup Organic Chia seedmeal**

¼ cup Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

¾ cup Boiled Water

1/8 tsp Sea salt

1/8 tsp Granulated garlic

½ tsp Italian Seasoning

**For the Chia seed meal I grind whole Chia seeds in my blender or coffee grinder into a powder and just store it in the fridge in a jar.

Pre-heat the oven to 375ºF

Using a whisk or fork, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl until well incorporated.

Add the coconut oil into the bowl.

Add the hot water a little at a time, stirring as you add it in. (This will melt the coconut oil.)

Mix well with a spoon, stirring and mashing out any lumps that might still exist. Once you have a uniform dough in a ball, place it on your silpat or unbleached parchment-paper lined tray and roll out. Keep rolling your dough until it is as thin as you can get it without seeing through or tearing it. Feel free to move pieces of dough around and press it in- the dough is forgiving and easy to "cut and paste."

Mine rolled to be approximately 14.5” x 10” in measurement. Slice into squares with a pizza cutter.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes depending on your oven. 15 minutes got me a soft bread-like cracker, 20 firm but crisp, and 25 minutes extra crispy and darker.

Makes approximately 49 crackers (at 7 rows x 7 rows)

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Easy Grain-Free Flat Bread

 

I posted the other day on my Facebook page about an "accidental" recipe I had made and have been really excited about... so here it finally is! I wanted to test out a few more things with it, so I've been working on that.

What I was aiming to make was some simple grain free crackers and ended up with a great flatbread instead! I was sent some Psyllium Fiber by Konsyl to test out for gluten free baking, so I was also eager to incorporate it into my baking to see how that went. Turns out the Psyllium powder is great- especially as an egg replacer and binder so it works well to keep the bread together.

I have really enjoyed this bread because (other than the few ingredients) it's so easy to roll and flexible- it doesn't crumble or break like a lot of gluten-free tortillas and breads do and is reminiscent of Persian Lavash bread.

I've given two variations- one is the basic recipe, and then you can add on whatever you like to adjust the taste or make something a little different.

Easy Grain Free Flat Bread

(gluten free, egg free, dairy free, soy free, vegan, nut free)

1/2 cup Coconut Flour

1/8 cup (2 TBSP) Konsyl Psyllium Fiber Powder

1/4 cup Coconut Oil

1 cup boiling water 

optional:

1/8 tsp sea salt

1/8 tsp granulated garlic

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning herb blend

Whisk the coconut flour and psyllium together in a bowl along with the salt and herbs if using. Add the coconut oil. Add the hot water a little at a time, stirring as you add it (will melt the coconut oil).  Mix well making sure all the dry bits are incorporated.

Roll (with rolling pin) or pat (with moistened spatula) the bread out on a Silpat/Silicone Liner or unbleached parchment paper-lined jelly roll pan until thin and even. The dough is forgiving, so feel free to move pieces around and repair patches as you go along. I tried baking as two separate pieces (picture below) and as one large bread and both worked out well.

Bake at 375º for 15-20 minutes depending on your oven and how thin you've rolled the bread. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature before slicing/eating. The taste will mellow out the longer it cools and sits out.

Enjoy! 
(ps- if you haven't been eating a lot of fiber recently, don't eat the whole pan at once!!)

 

 

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Equal Exchange Coffee Review

I recently had the opportunity to sample a new product that I thought would be important to share with others- The Equal Exchange Congo Coffee Project coffee blend.

If you're not a coffee drinker, you might enjoy hearing about the project anyways or buy some for someone who is- I'm an occasional coffee drinker myself, but I really feel that if you are going to drink any, this is definitely one of the more important products to support.

First about the project:

A portion of the sales from this coffee is donated to the Panzi Foundation which supports the medical programs of the Panzi Hospital in the D.R. Congo which provides life-saving treatments, counseling and aftercare programs to more than 2,000 survivors of sexual violence each year. You can find more information on this project on their site if you are interested – http://www.equalexchange.coop/congocoffeeproject

From the site: "The challenge for the survivors of sexual violence and women with gynecological conditions to access primary as well as secondary health care remains significant. This is due to factors such as displacement, political insecurity and lack of capacity within the local health structures.  More than 5,000 women were raped in South Kivu alone during 2009, according to the UN."

For every bag of coffee sold, Equal Exchange will donate $2 to the Panzi Foundation.  All of Equal Exchange's products are fairly traded from small farmers, making this a great company to support.

So now the what is the coffee all about??! 
I really loved this coffee.  It is a blend of East African Coffees that is smooth and balanced, with rich chocolate, sweet vanilla, brown spices and a hint of fresh berry.  One of the things that bothers me about a lot of coffees is that either they are too weak or too bitter if they're strong. This blend was able to  remain bold without that bitter taste- it was smooth and rich and was able to hold its own without any cream or sugar added. My husband was a big fan of it as well and said that it was definitely one of the best coffees he has had!

To prepare it we ground the whole beans and brewed it in the french press. One day we even made mochas with it using a little So Delicious Chocolate Coconut Milk drink!

Thank you to Mambo Sprouts for providing me with the opportunity to learn more about this great company and its efforts! 

 

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Coconut-Ginger Curried Chicken & a So Delicious Giveaway!!

I just returned from a fabulous warm-weather vacation and made this recipe up remembering the amazing flavor of fresh coconut and strong, delicious spices coming together... definitely one of the most tasty chicken dishes I've made! It is a bit on the spicy side, so definitely reduce the cayenne if you don't like spicy food. I don't eat rice anymore, but it would be delicious served on top of a fluffy bowl of brown rice.

I also used So Delicious Coconut milk drink in this recipe - I really love this drink. I give it to my daughter to drink all the time and use it in desserts, but not that often in my cooking, so I was excited to use it here. It has a light and smooth flavor that is pleasing even if you're not that crazy about coconuts! I am quite excited to offer some free So Delicious products for you to try, so check out my giveaway at the bottom of this post.

Coconut-Ginger Curried Chicken

1.75lbs (approx) organic chicken leg quarters*

1large sweet potato (1 heaping cup chopped)

3organic carrots (1 cup chopped)

4large organic collard green leaves (2 cups packed/chopped)

1Tbsp grated ginger

4large cloves crushed garlic

2Tbsp curry powder

1tsp cinnamon

2tsp salt

1tsp oregano

1/8tsp cayenne pepper (less if you don’t want it spicy)

1Tbsp olive oil

1cup So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk

2Tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut

112 oz can organic black beans (optional)

*vegan option: Tofu would work wellhere, or just use the black beans and forget the meat

Mix together in a small bowl theginger, garlic, spices, and olive oil. Gradually add the coconut milk whilestirring and set aside. Place the chicken(or tofu) in a large, oiled pyrex and arrange the vegetables around it. Pourthe sauce over everything. Cover the pyrex in foil and place in therefrigerator to marinate for 1-2 hours.
To cook: preheat oven to 375ºF.Cook for approximately 40 minutes, remove foil, and cook another 5-10 minutesor until chicken is cooked through (internal temp of 165 ºF)
Serve with lime slices over brownrice or alone.

THE GIVEAWAY & PRIZE:

I will be running a giveaway herefor 5 free So Delicious products of your choosing + coupons for more amazing products!
The giveaway will be limited to U.S. residentsonly, and I will send prizes to the winner directly.

To Enter:
There are multiple ways to enter the giveaway!

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Crunchmaster Giveaway Results!

I greatly apologize for the delay in posting these results- I'm out of town and didn't have access to a computer :(

I am happy to announce that I have picked a winner for the Crunchmaster Multi-Grain Crackers giveaway chosen by random.org:

The winner is Kristin Caudill!!!

Kristin please email  me at nooshins [at] gmail [dot] com with your mailing address, and Crunchmaster will send you your case (12 bags) of crackers in the mail! Congratulations!

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Crunchmaster Review and Giveaway!

 

I recently received a case of Crunchmaster Multi-Grain Crackers as part of the Moms Meet Blogger Program that I’m involved in (I’m a Moms Meet Ambassador – we sample natural and organic products).  I was sent the White Cheddar, Roasted Vegetable, and Sea Salt varieties, and all three were delicious! I had never tried any of the Crunchmaster crackers before, so they were a nice surprise. I was asked to review the White Cheddar variety, so here we go:

To put it simply, these crackers taste pretty amazing.  They are definitely called “Crunchmaster” for a reason – they are a crispy, crunchy tasty little snack that is quite addictive.  I’ve eaten a few different varieties of gluten free crackers and these are by far the best. It’s been a while since I’ve had wheat crackers, but I think the texture is similar and the taste doesn’t scream “rice cracker”. Even my non-gf husband called them highly addictive. You definitely don't have to be gluten free to enjoy these.

Crunchmaster Multi-Grain Crackers are:

• Oven-baked, with a unique, crunchy texture
• Wheat-free and certified gluten-free
• 21g or more whole grains per serving
• A good source of fiber
• All natural
• Free of saturated fat
• Cholesterol-free
• Delicious, with a great multi-grain taste

I do think that these would be enjoyable for people of all ages- kids and adults included. They come in a shiny ziplocked package and stay fresh (even if you forget to seal it- oops!). The Cheddar variety is not overwhelmingly covered in cheese- it's more of a mild flavor so you still taste the cracker and it doesn't taste too artificial which is a bonus. 

So overall, I definitely recommend this product! I do have to say I probably would eat the Sea Salt the most – I could put a nut butter on it and make a nice snack out of it, and the Vegetable ones reminded me of Wheatable crackers I used to eat ages ago (also delicious).  I eat dairy so rarely (with a Lactaid pill) that the Cheddar is more of a treat. So if you haven’t tried Crunchmaster, check it out- it’s available at a lot of conventional grocery stores as well as the more specialty stores like Whole Foods, etc.

Find Crunchmaster online at:
www.crunchmaster.com and
www.Facebook.com/crunchmaster

Disclaimer: I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms MeetSM program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms MeetSM blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.

 

THE GIVEAWAY & PRIZE:
I will be running a giveaway here for 1 Case (12 bags) of Crunchmaster White Cheddar Multi-Grain Crackers!! That's a lot of crackers!!
The giveaway will be limited to U.S. residents only, and the brand will send prizes to the winner directly.

To Enter:
There are multiple ways to enter the giveaway!

Make sure to leave a comment for *each* entry 

1.  “like” For the Love of Food! on Facebook (<-- Click link) (1 entry – leave a separate comment. If you already like For the Love of Food! on facebook just leave a comment that you do) 
2. “like” Crunchmaster on Facebook (<– click link) (1 entry – leave a separate comment. If you already like Crunchmaster on facebook just leave a comment that you do).  
3. Tell me (in a separate comment) why you would like to win these crackers! (1 entry)
4. Share this giveaway on your blog or Facebook page and let me know  (1 entry – leave a separate comment.) 

Contest ends at Midnight EST on November 27, 2011. Please check back here on Monday November 28th to see if you've won! I will need your email address to obtain your mailing information for the prize, so make sure to get in touch with me if you are the winner.

Good luck!

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