I was recently contacted by a reader who has Celiac Disease and wanted to share herstory and a great resource for thos who suffer from Celiac Disease:
" I was looking at your Apple A Day website, and I thought this might be a useful addition to your celiac posts.
http://www.guidetoculinaryschools.com/tips-and-tools/gluten-free
For the past nine years I’ve been suffering from celiac disease, and even now, I still fight the physical side effects of my food allergies. As of two weeks ago, I learned that: 1) An ambulance ride is not as glamorous or exciting as one might think. 2) Apparently celiac disease knows no boundaries, as I was “saved” by a gluten/dairy-free firefighter, who happens to be from Australia.
I know, right? What are the odds…the joyous, joyous odds…
The reason I’m going into such a lengthy account of my background is because I know first-hand how difficult it can be to accept this sort of lifestyle, and how physically detrimental this condition can be if you don’t adhere to the diet.
To help myself, and other people who are no longer able to eat gluten, I created a resource article that features a list of the best gluten-free restaurants/bakeries, cookbooks, products/brands, support groups, and informational websites that I’ve come across.
I wanted to let you know about this article in case it would be useful to you, or the people who visit your site. (I trust that I can rely on you to bring joy to those who are wallowing in a world of rice cakes a jus…). "
Thank you, Lindsay, for the information!
August 28, 2010
April 27, 2009
Do You Scream for Vegan Ice Cream?
A new vegan ice cream cookbook out from Cathe Olson. Check it out!
Also from Cathe:
and...
You can get them all on Amazon.com.
March 11, 2009
Why Organic? Beware of the "Dirty Dozen"
I don't normally buy everything organic, but I do when I can. There was an article in the most recent edition of Energy Times that told about the "Dirty Dozen" of produce...the fruits and veggies that should be bought organic because of how many pesticides remain on them when not grown organically. You can read the article here.
You can get information on the pesticide residues on other foods here. (Click here for a printable shopper's guide.)
If you care to get a free online subscription to Energy Times, you can do so here.
You can get information on the pesticide residues on other foods here. (Click here for a printable shopper's guide.)
If you care to get a free online subscription to Energy Times, you can do so here.
March 6, 2009
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas
Grapeseed oil
2-3 teaspoons dried minced onion
4 teaspoons dried minced garlic
2 cans (15 oz. each) black beans
2 cans (15 oz. each) sweet potato puree
1 cup water
2 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoons taco seasoning (or chili powder for a bit more spice)
Chopped cilantro
Shredded cheese
10 whole wheat tortillas
1. Put dried minced onion and dried minced garlic in a small amount of water until "puffy". (Or you can skip this step and use a fresh onion, diced, and 3-4 cloves of fresh garlic, minced.)
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium/high heat.
3. Cook onion and garlic until fragrant.
4. Add black beans, water, cumin, and taco seasoning to skillet.
5. Cook, stirring often, until most of the water has evaporated and the spices have made a paste/sauce.
6. Put some bean mixture and sweet potato puree in each tortilla. Add a pinch of chopped cilantro and a pinch of shredded cheese.
7. Roll each enchilada and line them up in a slightly oiled baking pan/casserole dish.
8. Top the rolled enchiladas with shredded cheese and chopped cilantro (and any left over sweet potato puree or bean mixture you may have).
9. Bake in a 350 degree oven (preheated) until enchiladas are heated through and cheese is melted. Tortillas may be a bit brown and crispy.
10. Top with sour cream and guacamole, if desired. (I make a simple guacamole with mashed avocados, salt, garlic powder, lemon juice, and lime juice.)
Yummy and inflammation free!!!
Grapeseed oil
2-3 teaspoons dried minced onion
4 teaspoons dried minced garlic
2 cans (15 oz. each) black beans
2 cans (15 oz. each) sweet potato puree
1 cup water
2 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoons taco seasoning (or chili powder for a bit more spice)
Chopped cilantro
Shredded cheese
10 whole wheat tortillas
1. Put dried minced onion and dried minced garlic in a small amount of water until "puffy". (Or you can skip this step and use a fresh onion, diced, and 3-4 cloves of fresh garlic, minced.)
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium/high heat.
3. Cook onion and garlic until fragrant.
4. Add black beans, water, cumin, and taco seasoning to skillet.
5. Cook, stirring often, until most of the water has evaporated and the spices have made a paste/sauce.
6. Put some bean mixture and sweet potato puree in each tortilla. Add a pinch of chopped cilantro and a pinch of shredded cheese.
7. Roll each enchilada and line them up in a slightly oiled baking pan/casserole dish.
8. Top the rolled enchiladas with shredded cheese and chopped cilantro (and any left over sweet potato puree or bean mixture you may have).
9. Bake in a 350 degree oven (preheated) until enchiladas are heated through and cheese is melted. Tortillas may be a bit brown and crispy.
10. Top with sour cream and guacamole, if desired. (I make a simple guacamole with mashed avocados, salt, garlic powder, lemon juice, and lime juice.)
Yummy and inflammation free!!!
March 2, 2009
Food allergies
In reading many things about autoimmune disorders and anti-inflammatory diets, it seems that it all boils down to what foods in particular you may be allergic to that can set off your symptoms. I recently had a blood test to determine what foods I may be allergic to (I am hoping this will be a quick route to the things that can be discovered through something like an elimination diet), and I wanted to share some information I found about how they do allergy testing via blood. You can read up on it at labtestsonline.org.
March 1, 2009
What's a gluten?
I've been hearing a lot about Celiac Disease and gluten-free diets. I know that gluten is found in wheat, but wasn't sure what else contained gluten...so I thought I'd look it up. Gluten-free and wheat-free are not the same thing. A gluten-free diet excludes more than wheat...and actually some gluten-free products may not be wheat-free. Here are some foods that contain gluten and should be excluded from your diet if you are told to eat "gluten-free" (unless of course they are prepared and labeled as "gluten-free"):
Bread
Baked goods
Crackers
Baking mixes
Pasta
Couscous
Cereal
Pizza
Stuffing
Pretzels
In addition to that, there are some lesser known ingredients that may contain gluten:
Starch
Autolyzed wheat protein
Brewer’s yeast
Malt
Farina
Kamut
Dextrimaltose or maltodextrin
Textured vegetable protein
Vegetable starch or meal
Look out for some of these foods that may contain those ingredients:
Malt vinegar
Malted cereal or farina cereal
Gravy
Soup
Baked beans
Chili
Salad dressing
Sausage
Pate
Stock cubes or bouillon
Cold cuts
Beer
Wine
(Information in this post was taken from WiseGeek and other websites.)
Bread
Baked goods
Crackers
Baking mixes
Pasta
Couscous
Cereal
Pizza
Stuffing
Pretzels
In addition to that, there are some lesser known ingredients that may contain gluten:
Starch
Autolyzed wheat protein
Brewer’s yeast
Malt
Farina
Kamut
Dextrimaltose or maltodextrin
Textured vegetable protein
Vegetable starch or meal
Look out for some of these foods that may contain those ingredients:
Malt vinegar
Malted cereal or farina cereal
Gravy
Soup
Baked beans
Chili
Salad dressing
Sausage
Pate
Stock cubes or bouillon
Cold cuts
Beer
Wine
(Information in this post was taken from WiseGeek and other websites.)
February 28, 2009
Stroga-not
I had some of the ingredients on hand for stroganoff (and they needed using before they went bad), but wanted to make a dairy-free version. (And from my limited knowledge of glutens, I believe this can also be gluten-free if you just substitute a gluten-free flour for the one I used.) Of course it is not as creamy as regular stroganoff that uses sour cream and milk, but I really liked how it turned out.
Here is the recipe:
Stroga-not
Grapeseed oil
1 pound ground turkey (I like the kosher kind from Trader Joe's)
1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
2 teaspoons dried minced onion
1-2 cups chopped mushrooms (I chop the mushrooms because my kids don't care for them and this keeps them at a similar size as the cooked ground turkey)
3 cups rice milk, almond milk, or a combination of the two (I used a combination)
8 tablespoons whole wheat flour (toasted*, if desired)
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 pound Brown Rice Pasta Fusilli (from Trader Joe's), cooked and drained
1. Place dried minced garlic and dried minced onion in a small amount of water until it plumps up. (You can substitute with 1-2 cloves minced garlic and about 1/2 of an onion, chopped.)
2. Heat a skilllet and brown the ground turkey with the garlic, and onion. I cook in a cast iron skillet and use a very lean turkey, so I added some Grapeseed oil to my skillet to keep it from sticking.
3. When the turkey is almost browned, add the chopped mushrooms.
4. When the turkey is fully cooked, add the rice/almond milk to the pan, stirring occasionally.
5. When the "milk" is warmed, whisk in the flour. Stir often until sauce is thickened.
6. Add Worcestershire sauce and stir.
7. Add cooked pasta and stir to combine. Serve warm.
*To toast the flour, place it in a dry skillet and heat until it is slightly darker than normal. This just intensifies the flavor a bit.
Here is the recipe:
Stroga-not
Grapeseed oil
1 pound ground turkey (I like the kosher kind from Trader Joe's)
1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
2 teaspoons dried minced onion
1-2 cups chopped mushrooms (I chop the mushrooms because my kids don't care for them and this keeps them at a similar size as the cooked ground turkey)
3 cups rice milk, almond milk, or a combination of the two (I used a combination)
8 tablespoons whole wheat flour (toasted*, if desired)
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 pound Brown Rice Pasta Fusilli (from Trader Joe's), cooked and drained
1. Place dried minced garlic and dried minced onion in a small amount of water until it plumps up. (You can substitute with 1-2 cloves minced garlic and about 1/2 of an onion, chopped.)
2. Heat a skilllet and brown the ground turkey with the garlic, and onion. I cook in a cast iron skillet and use a very lean turkey, so I added some Grapeseed oil to my skillet to keep it from sticking.
3. When the turkey is almost browned, add the chopped mushrooms.
4. When the turkey is fully cooked, add the rice/almond milk to the pan, stirring occasionally.
5. When the "milk" is warmed, whisk in the flour. Stir often until sauce is thickened.
6. Add Worcestershire sauce and stir.
7. Add cooked pasta and stir to combine. Serve warm.
*To toast the flour, place it in a dry skillet and heat until it is slightly darker than normal. This just intensifies the flavor a bit.
February 27, 2009
Crock-Pot White Chili
A tomato-free chili! I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds good.
Crock-Pot White Chili (from GE Recipes)
Serves 6 - 8
Ingredients
4 cans (approximately 14 ounces each) navy beans
2 cups diced, cooked chicken
3 cups chicken broth
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (approximately 4 ounces each) diced green chilies
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Salt to taste
Preparation
1. Place beans, chicken, and chicken broth together in crock-pot.
2. Saute chopped onion and garlic in oil until transparent.
3. Add spices and green chiles to onion mixture and stir well.
4. Add to crock pot mixture and stir well.
Cook in crock- pot on low for at least 2 hours. Garnish with sour cream, chopped green onions and Monterey Jack cheese if desired.
Crock-Pot White Chili (from GE Recipes)
Serves 6 - 8
Ingredients
4 cans (approximately 14 ounces each) navy beans
2 cups diced, cooked chicken
3 cups chicken broth
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (approximately 4 ounces each) diced green chilies
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Salt to taste
Preparation
1. Place beans, chicken, and chicken broth together in crock-pot.
2. Saute chopped onion and garlic in oil until transparent.
3. Add spices and green chiles to onion mixture and stir well.
4. Add to crock pot mixture and stir well.
Cook in crock- pot on low for at least 2 hours. Garnish with sour cream, chopped green onions and Monterey Jack cheese if desired.
February 20, 2009
Lentil-loaf
This is a wonderful "meat"loaf recipe (I call it lentil-loaf). It will take a few modifications to get it completely in line with an anti-inflammatory diet...mainly finding a good non-tomato based sauce to substitute for BBQ sauce. Maybe some Worcestershire sauce would accomplish the same "tang"?
Lentil-loaf:
2-4 servings
1½ hours - 10 min prep
2 cups water
1 cup lentils
1 small onion, finely diced (or to taste)
1 cup oats
3/4 cup grated cheese (cheddar, swiss, jack or american)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup BBQ sauce (I think substituting with 1/2 cup applesauce would be tasty, but I haven't tried it yet)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
Sauce/Topping if desired (but it is great without it):
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2-4 tablespoons dark brown sugar (to taste)
1/2 cup ketchup
(or mix some brown sugar, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce to taste)
1. Boil water in a saucepan.
2. Add lentils and simmer covered 25-30 minutes or until lentils are soft and most of water is evaporated.
3. Drain and partially mash lentils.
4. Scrape into mixing bowl and allow to cool slightly.
5. Stir in onion, oats and cheese until mixed.
7. Add egg, BBQ sauce, garlic, basil, and parsley.
8. Mix well.
9. Spoon into loaf pan that has been well-greased.
10. Smooth top with back of spoon.
11. Bake at 350 degrees for 30- 45 minutes until top of loaf is dry, firm and golden brown.
12. Cool in pan on rack for about 10 minutes.
13. Run a sharp knife around edges of pan then turn out loaf onto serving platter.
Lentil-loaf:
2-4 servings
1½ hours - 10 min prep
2 cups water
1 cup lentils
1 small onion, finely diced (or to taste)
1 cup oats
3/4 cup grated cheese (cheddar, swiss, jack or american)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup BBQ sauce (I think substituting with 1/2 cup applesauce would be tasty, but I haven't tried it yet)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
Sauce/Topping if desired (but it is great without it):
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2-4 tablespoons dark brown sugar (to taste)
1/2 cup ketchup
(or mix some brown sugar, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce to taste)
1. Boil water in a saucepan.
2. Add lentils and simmer covered 25-30 minutes or until lentils are soft and most of water is evaporated.
3. Drain and partially mash lentils.
4. Scrape into mixing bowl and allow to cool slightly.
5. Stir in onion, oats and cheese until mixed.
7. Add egg, BBQ sauce, garlic, basil, and parsley.
8. Mix well.
9. Spoon into loaf pan that has been well-greased.
10. Smooth top with back of spoon.
11. Bake at 350 degrees for 30- 45 minutes until top of loaf is dry, firm and golden brown.
12. Cool in pan on rack for about 10 minutes.
13. Run a sharp knife around edges of pan then turn out loaf onto serving platter.
February 19, 2009
Cooking Allergy Free
This site is wonderful!
When you log in as a user, you can add any food allergies (foods you want to avoid in recipes) and the site automatically will show you warnings based on the allergens your have entered.
For example, if you are trying to avoid the nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and peppers), you will go into "Edit My Allergies" and check the "Nightshade" box found under "Sugar". Now, when you look at the recipes, a big red exclamation point will show up next to recipes that contain these foods. What a great resource!
Check it out:
http://www.cookingallergyfree.com/
When you log in as a user, you can add any food allergies (foods you want to avoid in recipes) and the site automatically will show you warnings based on the allergens your have entered.
For example, if you are trying to avoid the nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and peppers), you will go into "Edit My Allergies" and check the "Nightshade" box found under "Sugar". Now, when you look at the recipes, a big red exclamation point will show up next to recipes that contain these foods. What a great resource!
Check it out:
http://www.cookingallergyfree.com/
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