Brussel Sprouts for Everyone!

I know, I know…most people hear Brussel sprouts and it doesn’t make their tummy growl.  If there is ever a recipe to change their minds this is the one!  It’s a great side dish to add to your gluten free Thanksgiving dinner!

2Lbs of Brussel Sprouts

1 Medium Red Onion

1 Package of Bacon

16 oz of sliced mushrooms

2 Tbsp butter

Salt & Pepper to taste

 

Cook the bacon in a frying pan or in the oven until crispy.  Use a paper towel to soak up the excess fat and set aside

Cut the ends of the sprouts and slice in half, removing the excess leaves and rinse.  Place the sprouts in a steamer and steam 13-15 minutes or until they have reached the desired consistency.  For this recipe, I prefer them on the more tender side.

Dice the onion and slice the mushrooms

While the sprouts are steaming, sauté the mushrooms & onions in a large frying pan with 1 Tbsp of butter until tender, then reduce heat to low.

Place the bacon between two paper towels and crumble using a rolling-pin.  (I prefer this method because it soaks up a little more of the excess fat)

When the Brussel sprouts are done, remove them from the steamer and add them to the mushrooms and onions along with 1 Tbsp of butter.  Toss the mixture until the butter is melted, then add the bacon and toss.  Continue stirring for an addition 5-10 minutes so the flavors meld.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

As a side note, I always make extra of this dish because it lasts for a few days and is a yummy and filling snack!

 

Gluten Free Cornbread with Apples and Thyme

Here is a great dish with a twist!  Spice up your Thanksgiving menu with this awesome cornbread recipe!

Gluten free cornbread with apples and thyme is a flavorful diversion from plain, often dry and bland cornbread. Apples add moisture and natural sweetness and thyme adds a nice savory note. Enjoy this easy-to-make cornbread with a spicy bowl of chili or use it to make traditional cornbread dressing.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup gluten free stoneground cornmeal
• 1/2 cup amaranth flour
• 1/2 cup superfine brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons guar gum
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dry crushed thyme
• 2 lightly beaten eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk OR non-dairy subsitute (I use canned organic coconut milk)
• 1/4 cup light olive oil
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup chopped unpeeled apples (about one medium apple)
• 3 tablespoons bacon fat OR olive oil

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375°F
Place 3 tablespoons bacon fat OR olive oil in a 9-inch cast iron skillet. Preheat the skillet with fat in hot oven

1. Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to thoroughly combine.
2. Blend eggs with milk, 1/4 cup olive oil and vinegar.
3. Add liquid to dry ingredients and stir until combined.
4. Fold in chopped apples.
5. Pour batter into preheated skillet and smooth with a spoon or spatula.
6. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Yummy Asparagus Soup!

YIELD: MAKES 4 SERVINGS

active time: 20 min
total time: 50 min

Ingredients

2 pounds green asparagus
1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 to 6 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup crème fraîche or heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
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Preparation

Cut tips from 12 asparagus
1 1/2 inches from top and halve tips lengthwise if thick. Reserve for garnish.***
** Instead of saving pieces to garnish I cut them up to put in soup for texture !

Cut stalks and all remaining asparagus into 1/2-inch pieces.
Cook onion in 2 tablespoons butter in a 4-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Add asparagus pieces and salt and pepper to taste, then cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Add 5 cups broth and simmer, covered, until asparagus is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
While soup simmers, cook reserved asparagus tips in boiling salted water until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes, then drain.
Purée soup in batches in a blender until smooth, transferring to a bowl (use caution when blending hot liquids), and return to pan. Stir in crème fraîche, then add more broth to thin soup to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil and whisk in remaining tablespoon butter.
Add lemon juice and garnish with asparagus tips.
Cooks’ note: ·Soup keeps, covered and chilled, 2 days. If making ahead, add last tablespoon butter and lemon juice after reheating.

Gluten Free Beauty Products!

Did you know that some people with Celiac Disease are so sensitive that beauty products containing gluten can have a negative effect?  It’s true! Check out Mineral Fusion for a complete line of celiac friendly products!  Also, Alterna Haircare, the hemp-based haircare line features products that will make your trusses glow without affecting your gluten intolerance!

YUMMY Thanksgiving Stuffing!

Ready for Turkey Day?  Not if you don’t have the signature side dish of delectable stuffing!  This is a fantastic recipe that even those non-celiacs will love!

Serves 8 to 10

Add finely diced sausage or bacon bits to the sautéed vegetables, if you like, or toss in diced chestnuts, apples or raisins.

Ingredients

6 cups gluten-free bread cubes or 1 package Gluten Free Bakehouse stuffing cubes, already toasted
2 shallots, minced
2 onions, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
2 carrots, diced
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) salted butter
2 teaspoons dried sage
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup gluten-free chicken broth
4 tablespoons parsley

Method

Toast bread cubes carefully in a preheated 300°F oven for 20 minutes or until dried, stirring occasionally to promote even browning. If using Gluten Free Bakehouse stuffing cubes, skip this toasting step.

Sauté shallots, onions, celery and carrots in butter until they are soft and onions begin to caramelize. Add sage, thyme, salt and pepper and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add wine and continue cooking over medium heat until liquid is reduced by half.

In a large bowl, mix sautéed vegetables with bread cubes, chicken broth and parsley. Transfer to a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes at 325°F.

Nutrition

Per Serving: 180 calories (80 from fat), 9g total fat, 4g saturated fat, 4g protein, 21g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 4g sugar), 20mg cholesterol, 790mg sodium

A Growing Trend

Within six months of going gluten-free I lost almost 30 pounds.  I know that much of it had to do with the fact that I wasn’t poisoning my body anymore and I could actually absorb nutrients properly.  However, I think it had more to do with the systematic change in what I consumed.

Like any celiac knows, going gluten-free is daunting at first.  You don’t know where the gluten is hiding so if you are like me,  you just avoid anything that it might be in.  As I was learning exactly what I could and couldn’t have, I basically just stuck to a whole food diet: meat, poultry, fish, fruits & vegetables.  If I was processed I just stayed away from.  In the end, this is the most healthy way to eat and I believe is what led to my weight loss.

Many friends began asking if they started avoiding gluten, would it have the same effect?  Well, yes and no.  When you eat healthier, it makes sense you will lose weight.  But there are so many gluten-free options now you can just as easily fall back into the pattern of a diet consisted mainly of processed foods such as pasta, pizza and cookies.

An interesting article by Matthew Solan of Men’s Health Magazine argues this same point and offers some good tips if you’re considering making the switch.  For a quick read, check out, Is Gluten Making Us Fat?

Cheers~

My Friends Never Cease to Amaze Me: Gluten-Free Thai Pasta Salad!

Like many of you, I hate to burden my gluten-eating friends with my dietary restrictions.  When attending a dinner party or event I usually eat before just to be safe, and generally always bring a hearty side dish to make sure there is something safe for me to munch on.  I feel horrible when I hear the inevitable, “Oh my goodness!  I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize you couldn’t eat this!” We’ve all heard it before and no one ever wants a host to feel bad when they have gone to so much trouble to create an amazing meal.  However, we can’t a shouldn’t hide our condition from others and I feel that gives rise to a wonderful opportunity to educate others about Celiac Disease.

Those who know me know that I am a big believer in sharing knowledge.  The more we all know the better off everyone will be; both gluten-free and gluten-eating folks alike.  Having been sick for so long all of my friends are aware of what I went through and now most of them know as much about Celiac Disease as I do. I even have “Nina’s cupboard,” at a close friends’ house where they keep a stock of my favorite snacks just to make sure there is always something in the house for me when I visit, and many of my good friends will place a quick call before a dinner party to make sure there is something there for me.  But this past weekend, my friend Jennifer took home the grand prize.

We had a big tailgate party planned with more than 30 people and everyone was responsible for bringing their own entrée, plus a side-dish to share with the group.  As usual, I had my “safety bag,” packed with my own goodies along with our gluten-free marinated chicken and tri-tip, plus I baked some fantastic gluten-free chocolate chunk cookies and brownies to share.  Everyone posted to the event invite what they planned to bring so we wouldn’t duplicate and all the usual deadly items showed up on the list: macaroni salad, chili, cupcakes, and other standard tailgate delectables.  Jennifer never posted what she planned to bring, but we had more than enough food at that point so I wasn’t concerned.  Plus, I knew that I had enough of my food to take care of myself.

When everyone arrived and began unloading, I saw Jennifer unload enough food and Tupperware containers to feed an army.  Giggling, I approached her and asked if she knew she wasn’t solely responsible to feed the entire group.  She grinned and handed me a stack of recipes and said, “I wanted to surprise you and I got experimental in the kitchen.  Everything I brought today is gluten-free.”  Stunned and overwhelmed at her thoughtfulness I began thumbing through the seven items that she had prepared.  I couldn’t believe she had gone to such great lengths to accommodate me and I told her as much.  Her response, “Everything was so easy to find it really wasn’t hard at all, and its all so good!”  Moreover, she didn’t just look up a few recipes online, but she called my boyfriend to ask him what I would like and to make sure everything she was making would in fact be safe for me.  She had done all that, because she knew if she asked me I would insist that she didn’t go to that much trouble for me.  Everything she prepared was absolutely amazing, and EVERYONE loved it, never knowing that it was gluten-free.

As I said before, I never want to put anyone out because of my diet.  But at the same time it can get tiring eating raw vegetables all night when out at a gathering, and I know we’ve all been subjected to that.  But when we talk about our condition and share with our friends and family what it means to live gluten-free, I believe more people will be inclined to substitute rice flour for regular, gluten-free pasta for whole wheat, or the amazing Thai Pasta Salad I had this weekend for macaroni.  Yep, my friends never cease to amaze me.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: SERVES 2 (Main Dish) OR 4 (Side)

Ingredients:

• 8-10 oz. thin dried rice noodles (vermicelli size), available in the Asian section of your supermarket
• 2 tomatoes, cut into small slices
• 5 green onions, sliced finely
• 1 can miniature corn cobs, drained and chopped into bite-size pieces
• 2 cups snow peas, steamed or boiled until bright green but still firm
• 1-2 cups bean sprouts
• 1 cup fresh coriander/cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts OR cashews, left whole or lightly chopped
• 1 can cooked shrimp / Or for vegetarians: 1/2 cup deep-fried tofu, cut into small cubes
• GARNISH: fresh basil, fresh coriander, and chopped peanuts
• DRESSING:
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 5 Tbsp. wheat-free soy sauce
• 1 fresh red chili, de-seeded, OR 1/2 tsp. dried crushed chili or cayenne pepper
• 1-2 Tbsp. brown sugar (to taste)
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Preparation:

1. Dunk noodles in a pot of boiling water. Remove pot from heat and allow noodles to soften in the hot water 10-15 minutes, or until soft enough to eat (‘al dente’). When ready, drain and tip noodles into a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the bean sprouts while noodles are still hot and gently toss (the residual heat from the noodles will lightly cook the sprouts).
3. Mix the dressing ingredients together in a cup, stirring well to dissolve the sugar. Taste-test for a sweet-sour balance, adding more sugar if too sour for your taste. Note that the dressing will taste quite strong/salty now, but will be milder when combined with the salad.
4. To the bowl of noodles and sprouts, add the tomatoes, green onion, corn cobs, shrimp or tofu, and fresh coriander. Toss to mix (If you’re having trouble combining the noodles with the other ingredients because the noodles are too long and tangled, cut them several times with a pair of clean scissors – this is a great tip I picked up while in Asia!).
5. Now add the dressing, fresh basil, and nuts, tossing well to incorporate.
6. Taste test the salad. If not salty enough, add more fish sauce or soy sauce. If not spicy enough, add more chili. If too salty, add a little more lime juice.
7. Eat immediately, or cover and allow to sit in the refrigerator for an hour or two, or until cold. Place on a serving platter or in a salad dish and sprinkle with fresh basil, coriander, and peanuts. Serve with wedges of lime, and ENJOY!

Storing this Salad: This salad tastes best when eaten fresh, as rice noodles tend to dry out when left longer than 2 days. Until then, place in a covered (sealed) container in the refrigerator, and enjoy!