Kale Salad with Yam Noodles

I've heard so many people tell me they don't like kale.  Sadly, I hear it most often in our own house.  I don't get it.  Taste wise, kale is GREAT!  It's crunchy, lends great color to a salad, but the best thing about kale is its nutritional value!  I've heard it's the most nutritionally dense vegetable!  According to Livestrong.com

Dark green leafy vegetables are rich in iron, dietary fiber, calcium, vitamins B, E and K, protein, carotenoids and other antioxidants.

You really can't go wrong eating kale.

Gluten-Free Currant Scones

My mom is visiting next week.  It's time to brush up on the gluten-free recipes.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, she has celiac disease, but fortunately there are so many gluten-free options.  I'm trying some home-cooked-from-scratch treats...all gluten-free.

Moosewood Cookbook: Polenta Pie

Despite what nutritionists, diet specialists or hard core gluten-free groupies say I cannot seem to shake my love for pizza!  I've heard it said, if you refrain from eating something long enough you'll lose a taste for it.  I beg to differ, or my taste buds beg to differ!  No matter how long I stay away from pizza (and root beer), when I splurge and enjoy them I feel like my food-love bank is FULL!  They're the BEST!

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies

When my mom heard we were baking gingerbread cookies recently she requested I send some back with my Grandma when she returned home.  The problem for my mom in that is she suffers from Celiac Disease.  After years of health struggles, she was finally diagnosed.

The Celiac Disease Foundation states:

The cause of Celiac Disease (CD), also known as celiac sprue or gluten sensitive enteropathy (GSE), is still a mystery. One out of 133 people in the United States is affected with celiac disease. CD occurs in 5-15% of the offspring and siblings of a person with celiac disease. In 70% of identical twin pairs, both twins have the disease. It is strongly suggested that family members be tested, even if asymptomatic. Family members who have an autoimmune disease are at a 25% increased risk of having celiac disease. Celiac Disease is not a food allergy - it is an autoimmune disease. Food allergies, including wheat allergy, are conditions that people can sometimes grow out of. This is not the case with Celiac Disease.

There's a minimal chance I could one day be diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  I limit my intake, not so much in concern with having Celiac, but because I hang out with a paleo-ish crowd.  More and more people seem to be limiting gluten, wheat and rice intake.  I've seen this especially prevalent in the CrossFit world.  Limiting processed foods and eating REAL food is definitely beneficial to the body.  Although this is a bit of a contradiction to the yummy desserts and foods I've been posting lately, we do primarily eat paleo-ish.

Thinking of my mom and her desire to have gingerbread cookies, I wanted to find a recipe for cookies she could enjoy that wouldn't cause her issues.

I found a recipe on noursishingmeals.com that fit the bill.  Granted, many of their recipes have ingredients I do not readily have on hand and I do not want to go out and spend $50 on ingredients to make one batch of cookies.  Consequently, I used what I had and I think the cookies turned out GREAT!  They are soft and chewy and have just a hint of ginger and molasses.  I may increase the ginger a bit next time, but they taste great the way they are.  Appearance wise, they're a bit on the wrinkly side, but I'm a bit on the wrinkly side so, so they pass the test.  

Despite the appearance they are chewy soft goodness!

Nourishing meals recommended using hazelnut flour and provided a link to buy some on Amazon.  I don't have the desire or the inkling to order flour on Amazon so I just used ground almond meal flour found in the grocery store bulk section (Sprouts carries it).  

Also, they recommended using coconut sugar.  I purchased some in the Whole Foods bulk section when I was originally going to make these cookies, but used it for something else.  I ended up using raw turbinado sugar from Whole Foods 365 brand. It's a finer sugar than other raw sugar brands.  I would steer away from using a raw sugar that has granules as large as something like Sugar in the Raw.  The granules don't really break down well in the cookie dough.

I know my mom isn't as crazy about the frosting, so we didn't frost these cookies much.  Unlike my sweetheart and kiddies, I prefer to have cookies unfrosted also. They're much too sweet with the extra sweetness lathered on top.  

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies

Dry Ingredients

2 cups ground almond meal flour

1 cup sweet rice flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Wet Ingredients

1 cup coconut sugar (or raw turbinado sugar- fine granules)

1/2 cup softened butter

1/4 cup molasses

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix well.  

In an electric mixer combine wet ingredients.  Mix well.

Add dry ingredients.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for a couple hours.

Roll dough out to 1/4" thickness on surface sprinkled with sweet rice flour.  Using cookie cutters carefully cut out shapes and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet or on Silpat baking mat.  If you don't have a Silpat, add it to your Christmas list.  My mother-in-law gave me one for Christmas a couple years back and I LOVE IT!  Thank you MIL!

Bake 12-15 minutes.  If you bake them closer to the 12 minutes they with be soft and chewy.  If baked closer to the 15 minutes they will be crisper.

Ready for the oven

Our Peeps

Best Dressed!

Glamour Shot

This is a GREAT treat to enjoy with a cup of coffee, or perhaps the Christmas eggnog latte!

Mom, watch your mailbox...we're sending some friends your way!  Merry Christmas!

Sweet Rice Cake

Many, many moons ago I went to a birthday party in Hawaii.  It was a huge bash and the recipient of such an enormous party was a one-year old.  I had never been to such a big birthday party, but I learned then that 1st birthdays are a big thing in Hawaii.

One of the desserts we had was a dense Filipino cake made with Sweet Rice Flour.  I loved this cake!  Sadly, at the time I couldn't find anyone who could give me the recipe. 

Over the next few months, through a lot of questions to various people I was able to reproduce a cake similar to what I enjoyed in Hawaii.

This cake has been a family favorite.  It is made with rice flour so it's great for those on a gluten-free diet.

Tonight one of our kids made it. It's super easy and if you like treats like mochi, you'll love this cake!

Sweet Rice Cake


1 cube butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups coconut milk (full fat)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 box Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour (16 oz)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour 9 X 13 baking dish.  Combine butter and sugar.  Add eggs.  Mix thoroughly.  Pour in coconut milk.  Blend.  Add dry ingredients, mix until combined.  Spread batter in 9 X 13 baking dish.  Batter is thick.  Bake 30-40 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Mochiko

Enjoy!  

Decadent Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Frosting: Gluten Free, Vegan and Paleo-ish

Everyone has a birthday and most likely, even if you're on a very regimented eating program you still want to celebrate your special day with a little treat.  Today one of our fellow Crossfiters celebrated her special day.  She's gluten-free and many of us try to eat a paleo diet so I found a recipe that would fit the bill.  Note this isn't completely sweetener free as it has agave, but as far as birthday sweets go, I think it is a keeper.

I found the recipe on nourishing meals.com

Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Frosting

Ingredients

3 cups blanched almond flour (Almond flour can be very expensive, but I have found the finely ground almond meal works well and is and economical alternative).
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 cup canned coconut milk (full fat)
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line one 12-cup muffin tin with paper muffin cups.

In a medium-size mixing bowl sift together the almond flour, cocoa powder, arrowroot, baking powder, sea salt, and xanthan gum.

In a separate bowl whisk together the remaining wet ingredients.  Add the wet to the dry and whisk together well.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.  Bake for about 25 minutes.  Let cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

1/2 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate (about 3 ounces)
1/4 cup canned coconut milk
2-3 tablespoons agave nectar

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan.  Heat over low heat melting chocolate. Stir continuously until melted and thickened, about 2 minutes.  If frosting is a bit too thick, add a additional tablespoon of coconut milk.  Taste to make sure it is a suitable sweetness.  Remove from heat and let cool about 5 minutes then spoon over cupcakes.

So shiny!  Almost like a chocolate mirror!

A delicious, rich, paleo-ish, sugar-free, vegan, gluten-free dessert option!
Enjoy!

Vegetable Frittata with Potato Crust

This recipe is inspired from a great hometown favorite cookbook, The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook by Alissa Segersten and Tom Malterre.  The recipes in this book are all made with healthy, fresh, often gluten-free ingredients.  They do introduce some ingredients I don't commonly have on hand, but it's a great opportunity to learn about something new.

This Vegetable Frittata is a great breakfast/brunch option and we almost always have a variety of fresh vegetables on hand.  I just use what I have available.

Vegetable Frittata with Potato Crust
Serves 4
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2 cups peeled, grated potato (I usually go up to 3 cups of peeled, grated potato)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt.

Combine potato and sea salt and set aside for 10 minutes.  After 10  minutes time squeeze out excess water and pressed grated potato into buttered 9-inch pie plate.

Potato pressed into greased pie plate

2 teaspoons organic butter or extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup diced roasted red bell pepper
1 1/2 cup diced zucchini
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese, plus a little more for topping

In a medium skillet heat the 2 teaspoons butter.  add diced onion and garlic.  Saute over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes.

Onion and garlic sauteing

Place cooked onion and garlic into a bowl with diced roasted bell pepper and zucchini, dried thyme, black pepper and sea salt.  Mix well.

Roasted red bell peppers

Spices added to vegetables

Add eggs and cheese.  Mix well then pour egg and vegetable mixture over potatoes.  Sprinkle with a little more cheese, if desired.  Place into preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until eggs are cooked through.

Eggs added to vegetable mixture

Top with additional cheese, if desired.  Ready for the oven.

Beauty!

This one disappears quickly!

Try it with other vegetable options like broccoli and bell peppers.  It would also be great with a little ham or bacon!  Yum!

Vegetarian Three Bean Chili

There are a couple blogs I follow that have a clean/whole food focus.  The recipes are usually vegetarian or vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, etc.  I don't follow a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle and definitely love my protein, but the recipes are so healthy I can't help but make them and share.  Being conscientious in cooking healthy meals just feels good.  It's a blessing for the family.  I like that.

One such blog is Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen.  They offer ultra healthy appealing recipes that are really tasty.  In addition, they focus on providing gluten-free alternatives.  Since my mom was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, I try to make more and more gluten-free foods and am finding there are a lot of options available.

Along with following their blog, I also have their cookbook, The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook which features over 200 gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free recipes. 

I must warn you though.  If you don't usually cook or bake from clean/whole food recipes and don't stock your shelves with items like xanthum gum, tapioca flour, kombu,  ume plum vinegar, extra virgin coconut oil, etc., it can be a costly venture to begin.  I can guarantee you it's much better for you and your family's health, but there is a cost. 

The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook has a chapter dedicated to stocking your pantry.  It's a great resource.  It lists the item, a description and why it's so good for you.  The learning never ends.

When the Clean Food cookbook by Terri Walters first came out, I was crazy for it.  I still love it!  I would write down ingredients for a couple recipes, run to my local healthy grocery, purchase my items and it was almost always about $50.  If you can, buy spices in a bulk section especially if you only need 1 teaspoon or so.  Buying a teaspoon worth of fenugreek seeds rather than the spice jar full will save dollars.  Spices usually run about $5 per jar and they can really add up.  Another benefit of buying from the bulk section is you're getting fresh(er) spices.  I have some spices in my spice drawer that definitely need to be moved out.  That's another up-and-coming project.

Once you begin to build up a cupboard full of healthy ingredients, it won't be such a drain on the pocketbook.  You'll feel better about what you're feeding your family.  Your family will be happy with delicious meals you're placing before them and they won't even worry about if it's healthy or not.  It tastes great and that is what matters.

This week I made the Three Bean Chili from The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook by Alissa Segersten and Tom Malterre.  Often times when I'm cooking I may make concessions on the ingredients depending on what I have on hand here at home.  No need to make another trip to the grocery store if I have something doable here at home.  I made some minor changes to the recipe.  The chili turned out great!  I didn't have dry beans on hand, and didn't have the time to soak them, so I just used organic canned beans.

I'll share what I did at the end of the recipe as an option if you have limited time.*  Note, if you have the time and the dry beans on hand, they're a much better option.  It's more cost effective to use dried beans, and I prefer the flavor of beans I've soaked myself. 


Three Bean Chili

Serves 6 to 8

1 cup pinto beans (dry)
1 cup kidney beans (dry)
1 cup black beans (dry)
8-10 cups water
one 3-inch strip kombu

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
one 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
one 14-ounce can tomato sauce
4-5 cups bean cooking liquid or water
2 teaspoons Herbamare or sea salt, or to taste

1.  Rinse beans and soak beans in a large soup pot or bowl overnight or for at least 6-8 hours.

2.  Drain soaking water off the beans and then place beans back in large soup pot (8-quart) and cover with 8-10 cups of water.  Place kombu in pot.  Simmer beans for 1- 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender and cooked, set aside.

3.  Heat a large stock pot (8-qt.) over medium heat.  Add oil and onions, saute for about 5 minutes.  Do not brown onions, just saute until soft.  Add crushed garlic, sliced carrots, chopped green bell pepper, cumin, chili powder, and oregano.  Saute about another 3 minutes.

4.  Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, bean cooking liquid, and cooked beans.  Simmer 20-25 minutes or until vegetable are tender.  Add sea salt or Herbamare to taste.

* Instead of dry beans I used 2- lg (about 27 oz.) cans organic pinto beans with liquid, 2-14.5 oz. cans organic kidney beans with liquid, and 2- 14.5 oz. cans of organic black beans, rinsed and drained.  I do not use the black bean liquid because of the color.  No need for the kombu if using the canned beans.



Chicken Breast- I love the protein

Three Bean Chili Topped With Chicken Breast

The kids like a little grated cheese on their chili