Category: Products I Use Page 4 of 11

Curb Cravings with Crunchy Cacao Nibs {Plus 7 Recipes to Try!}

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On February 25, 2016

In Anti-Inflammatory, Dairy-Free, GBOMBS, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Products I Use, Recipes, Tips & Tricks

For the video version of this post, check out my Facebook page!

Either way, make sure you hit up the awesome recipes at the bottom 🙂

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Let’s pretend it’s 3:00 in the afternoon.

What’s something a lot of people crave right about now?

Nibs

Did you say CHOCOLATE?

The reason why might surprise you!

Many of us start to notice a dip in our energy levels and attention spans and the cumulative impact of stress throughout the day by mid-afternoon. Why not give our body a boost in energy, feel good chemicals and relaxation at the time we need it most? Why not enjoy some chocolate?

High quality dark chocolate that contains a high percentage of cacao (ka-KOW) is packed with magnesium.

Magnesium is known as the relaxation and anti-anxiety mineral, and most of us are deficient in it. Not only that, but in times of stress and high demands, our body needs it more than ever. Sources of magnesium include spinach, oats, beans, pumpkin seeds, leafy greens, sesame seeds.

And…CHOCOLATE! 🙂

The key is to use QUALITY chocolate. I’ve written before here about why I became a qualitarian and what it means to be one. As the word suggests, I encourage you to focus on eating the highest quality food you can, especially when it comes to things like chocolate – the darker and purer, the better.

One of the purest forms of chocolate we can eat is cacao nibs.

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These bitter, crunchy chocolate bits are peeled and crumbled from dried, whole cacao beans. They are PACKED with nourishing, fueling goodness! When we hear about chocolate being good for us, these little guys take the prize. One ounce (about 1/4 cup) of cacao nibs contains:

  • 35% of the recommended daily value of relaxing magnesium
  • 6 GRAMS of fiber, which fills us up and keeps things moving in our digestive system. Only about 3% of the population eats the adequate minimum intake of fiber, even though it is one of the main disease fighters, blood sugar regulators, and energy stabilizers out there
  • 4 grams of satiating protein
  • Over HALF of the recommended daily value of copper and manganese, trace minerals that help us with formation of tissues (like bones and skin), energy production, and blood sugar balance.

You can find them in the natural food aisle of your grocery store, but I find the best deals at HomeGoods or online at Amazon or Vitacost. Wegmans, Whole Foods, and MOMs Organic Market carry them as well.

You can enjoy cacao nibs in trail mix, cookies, chocolate bark, brownie bites, sprinkled on top of smoothies or avocado pudding (recipe coming!), and as a topping for my chocolate walnut brownies.

Check out SEVEN of my favorite cacao nib recipes below!

Click the picture to get to the recipe.

PB Oat Bites CoverIMG_2208Mint Choco Chip Bday Ballssuper food trail mixcherry choco biteschococherrybanner2barkmain

Yay for Tempeh! Why We Love This Plant-Based Protein

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On January 21, 2016

In Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Dairy-Free, GBOMBS, Gluten-Free, Gluten-Free, How To, My Story, Products I Use, Recipes, Vegan

I had never heard of tempeh until about two years ago when I was about to enroll in a Culinary Nutrition program.

One of the recipes my instructor, Meghan Telpner, had on her blog that I was curious to try was for Orange Maple Tempeh.

orange maple

I had never heard of tempeh (say TEM-pay).

I had no idea what it was.

And I wasn’t exactly jumping to try it because it sounded and looked, well…weird. I haven’t always been one to try “weird” foods, but I had gotten to a point in my food journey that I was more open than ever before.

What’s the worst that could happen? I wouldn’t like it? I was okay with that.

The rest of the ingredients in the recipe sounded so good that we decided to gave it a shot.

I’m so glad we did! It’s now one of our FAVORITE dishes…including my meat-eater husband, Bill. This is one of his go-to meals. If we had only five meals in our rotation for the rest of our lives, this would be one both of us would pick.

So, what exactly IS tempeh?

Tempeh is made from fermented soybeans (keep reading!) and is an excellent source of easily digestible, plant-based protein (15 grams per 3 ounce serving!) and fill-you-up fiber. Tempeh is a probiotic food, so it helps our digestive system (AKA our “gut”) produce healthy bacteria.

Having a healthy, well-fed gut is important for a strong immune system, so we want to make sure we’re including probiotic-rich foods in our diet. As I’ve shared before, 70-80% of our IMMUNE SYSTEM sits in and around our digestive system, so what we eat is critically important to our overall health, well-being and feeling good.

Tempeh has a “meatier” and denser texture than tofu and a mild, nutty taste, so it feels more like meat in a recipe than tofu does. If you’re a tofu hater (I’m not a huge fan of it), then give tempeh a shot. Tempeh can be baked, sauteed, grilled, and chopped up to be added to things like chili, salads, and stews. It can be a little tricky to figure out how to work with it the first time, but this post from onegreenplanet breaks it down into 5 easy tips:

5 Tips for Making Amazing Tempeh Dishes

Another perk is that tempeh is also a LOT cheaper than meat. One block of tempeh at my local market (MOMs) is $3.00. Not a bad deal for something that can serve as the main dish of a meal. We always make sure to buy organic tempeh, since the majority of soy crops these days are genetically modified. You’ll find tempeh in the refrigerated section of your grocery store next to the tofu.

Ready to give this lesser known protein a try? Here are our top two most favorite tempeh recipes (and great places to start for first-timers!). Click the picture to get the recipe.

orange maple.jpg

BalsMapleTempeh

And here are a few more tempeh recipes that we want to try.

Have you ever tried tempeh? Have you found any recipes you like that you want to share? Feel free to leave a comment or question below!

Rich & Creamy Brassica Tea Rice Pudding {Gluten-Free}

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On January 11, 2016

In Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Dairy-Free, Detoxifying, Gluten-Free, Products I Use, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

In my last post, I shared insights about detoxing from award-winning celebrity dietitian, Ashley Koff. It turns out that our body naturally detoxifies itself on a regular basis and that we can bring specific foods into our diet to support that process.

One of those foods is broccoli. Most of us have heard that broccoli is one of the best vegetables we can eat to support our health, but few of us know why.

Tom Malterre, a highly regarded functional medicine-trained nutritionist, gave a TEDTalk a few years ago about the incredible benefits of broccoli, calling it “the DNA whisperer” because of its powerful protective properties.

Glucoraphanin (say glu-co-RAPH-an-in) is one of the key nutrients in broccoli that makes it known as a “superfood”. Our body converts glucoraphanin into a potent antioxidant and cellular protector called sulforaphane. 

According to Brassica.com, 40% of Americans wish they could get the benefits of broccoli without having to eat it. That’s where something like truebrocℱ tea can help.

You can find truebrocℱ tea locally at Whole Foods Harbor East, Baltimore Coffee & Tea, and at Wegmans, but you also order it online no matter where you live by clicking here.

brassica box

For more information about Brassica Tea and truebroc glucoraphanin, please visit truebroc.com or facebook.com/truebroc. Follow us on Twitter @truebroc.

I first mentioned truebrocℱ tea in my last post and promised to share a recipe with you that incorporated it, so today I’m going to let you know how to make your own rich and creamy Brassica Tea Rice Pudding.

When I first saw the recipe, I realized I had all of the ingredients on hand except for the arborio rice, which is commonly used to make a creamy dish called risotto. I found it in the bulk section of MOMs Organic Market, a local natural food store, but you should be able to find it in the rice or gluten-free section of your grocery store.

Tea Rice Pudding - new 3

Recipe & photo credit: Amy Fischer, RD

I wasn’t sure how the dish would turn out as I was making it, but I ended up with a rich, creamy and almost caramel-ly (can we make that a word?) bowl of deliciousness! 

I have tried rice pudding at a few restaurants as a dessert, but this was the first time I’d made it and was the best-tasting one yet. I’ve made it twice and have had it as part of my breakfast and as dessert.

I made a few modifications. I backed off slightly from the recommended amount of water in the beginning. I cut it back by 1/4 cup, which resulted in a creamier texture the second time around. Also, I didn’t have vanilla bean powder on hand, so I used vanilla extract, and I used maple syrup instead of honey. I considered subbing in short grain brown rice, but, if you plan to do that, just simmer it a bit longer, as it will take more time to cook. It probably won’t be as creamy and might be a bit chewier but it’s worth trying!

Tea Rice Pudding 5

Recipe and photo credit: Amy Fischer, RD

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

1 cup brewed Brassica Tea with 30mg of truebrocℱ glucoraphanin from broccoli
1 cup filtered water (I used 3/4 cup)
1 (13.5 oz.) can coconut milk (I love the brand Native Forest)
œ cup arborio rice
2 egg yolks
Πcup coconut sugar
2 Tbsp. raw honey (or maple syrup to make vegan)
1 tsp. vanilla bean powder
Πtsp. cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
Optional toppings: ginger, raisins, greek or coconut yogurt

Directions

  1. Brew 1 cup of tea using 2 Brassica Tea bags.
  2. Combine 1 cup tea, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup Arborio rice & a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer, stirring frequently, cover & cook for ~25 min.
  3. Uncover and continue simmering and stirring frequently. Stir in coconut milk & continue to simmer approximately 10 min or until the rice is tender.
  4. In separate bowl, beat egg yolks with honey, coconut sugar, cinnamon & vanilla. Slowly add some of the rice mixture to the egg yolks and with a whisk, combine.
  5. Add mixture back into the rice and stir until combined well and egg is mixed in. Remove from heat. The mixture will still be loose but will thicken as it stands or when chilled. Serve warm or chilled. Add toppings before serving. Enjoy!
Tea Rice Pudding 7

Recipe and photo credit: Amy Fischer, RD

For more information about Brassica Tea and truebroc glucoraphanin, please visit truebroc.com or facebook.com/truebroc. Follow us on Twitter @truebroc.

Disclosure: I received free tea in exchange for writing this review, but I had tried and liked the product and what it stood for before this opportunity arose! All opinions are my own, and maintaining the integrity of all content on this site is of utmost importance to me. I will never promote products I don’t love and use myself! 🙂

Rachel D’s 30-Minute Meals: Veggie Pasta UNrecipe!

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On December 21, 2015

In Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, GBOMBS, Gluten-Free, Gluten-Free, How To, Products I Use, Recipes, Tips & Tricks

I’m usually a bit more on top of the whole Christmas shopping thing, but with all that has been on my plate this year, I really fell behind and started doing the bulk of my shopping on Friday.

Some people love the adrenaline rush of waiting until the last minute…I’m definitely not one of them!

After spending a few hours shopping on Friday with all the crazies, Bill and I were hungry and ready for dinner. Since we’d just spent money on gifts, I didn’t want to spend more money on food, so I was determined to make something using what was already in our fridge and pantry.

That’s how this (under) 30-minute meal came to be!

We had a box of Tolerant Foods’ red lentil rotini pasta, so I threw together a bunch of veggies from our fridge and a few simple add-ons like lemon juice, sea salt, and olive oil to give the dish some flavor.

tolerant rotiniTa da! Dinner is served 🙂

When I posted the picture on instagram and Facebook, a friend of mine asked the question, “Where’s the recipe??”

Short answer?

There isn’t one!

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Consider this an “un”recipe (you know, just like those “un”birthdays in Alice in Wonderland?!).

This is one of those dishes that I literally pieced together based on a template that works no matter what you have on hand. Check out the basic process below.

<30-Minute Meal Basic Ingredient List

  • Base: Quality, gluten-free pasta of choice (We use Tolerant Foods pasta because it’s packed with fiber and protein or brown rice pasta. Both are gluten-free and contain only ONE ingredient, which is ideal!)
  • Cooking Broth or Fat: Veggie broth, ghee, olive oil, coconut oil, or grass-fed butter
  • Aromatic Veggies: Onion (red, yellow or shallots), Garlic (2-4 cloves)
  • Simple Seasonings: Sea salt (coarse grain), Black pepper
  • Flavor Burst: Lemon
  • Finishing Fat: Extra virgin olive oil
  • LOTS OF VEGGIES! (cherry tomatoes, broccoli, bell peppers, squash, kale, spinach – add leafy greens at the very end)
  • Any add-ons like chickpeas, cannellini beans, chicken, fish, etc.
  • Top with fresh herbs like basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, etc. And if you like other herbs and spices, add them in along the way!

Here’s the foolproof process to follow:

Cook the pasta – saute the veggies – blanch the broccoli – toss everything together – top with lemon juice and zest, olive oil, sea salt and pepper.

And for those of you who like more detail…here you go!

  1. Bring water to a boil in a medium pot. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. During the last 90 seconds of cooking, add the broccoli florets to blanch them (quickly cook!).
  2. While you’re waiting for the pasta water to boil, heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Cut onions into thin half-moon slices. Add a few tablespoons of veggie broth or cooking fat of choice to the skillet. Add onions and saute 5-7 minutes until they soften. Add more veggie broth as needed to prevent sticking. Add tomatoes and garlic and saute until you can smell the garlic.
  3. Once pasta is cooked and broccoli is still bright green, drain the water in a strainer and add the broccoli and pasta to the veggie skillet.
  4. Add sea salt and black pepper to taste and finish with the zest of one lemon and the juice of one lemon. I used half a lemon to start and added more as I tasted. Finish it off with a few drizzles of olive oil.

We topped ours with some paleo parmesan cheese 🙂 The combination possibilities are endless, so HAVE FUN with it…and get cookin’!

25 Energizing Breakfast Recipes {Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free}

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On December 8, 2015

In Anti-Inflammatory, Dairy-Free, GBOMBS, Gluten-Free, Nourish, Products I Use, Recipes, Savor

For most of my life, the back of the cereal box was the highlight of my first meal of the day.

As much as I enjoyed starting my day that way, I’ve learned that typical breakfast cereals and other breakfast foods like donuts, bagels and granola bars are not the most filling or nourishing choices.

We’ve heard that breakfast is an important meal, and it’s true.

Eating breakfast helps us stabilize our blood sugar levels throughout the day, which affects things like our energy, alertness, and mood.

Not hungry when you wake up? You might have eaten too late the night before and spent your night digesting instead of repairing and resting. Another possibility is that you might not have gotten enough quality sleep and could still have some stress hormones floating around that are dampening your appetite.

When we grab something to “break the fast,” the key is to make sure we’re eating the most filling and satisfying combination of food to keep us going throughout the day. The secret to lasting energy and feeling satisfied after a meal is eating a combination of…

PFF

Fiber only comes from plants, so that would mean we want to include something that was growing in nature at some point. Protein can be plant-based or animal-based. Examples of healthy fats include things like nuts, seeds, avocado, wild caught salmon, and coconut.

Remember, breakfast is a time of day, not a group of foods. Anything is fair game!

Check out this video I put together that walks through some of my favorite breakfast ideas. Then, take a look at the links below that direct you to a bunch of the recipes I mention in the video!

Smoothies

Smoothies are a great way to jam pack nutrition in a glass, but drink them slowwwwly instead of downing them in 90 seconds, as I have a tendency to do. Smoothies are so easy to make as well and can be done in minutes with the help of the Best Juicer! Getting nutrients from veg and fruit has never been so easy.

Make sure you follow the guidelines of the PFF combo – protein, fiber AND some healthy fat in each smoothie. Most of the time when we make smoothies, we put in lots of fruit and juice and very little protein or healthy fats, so we spike our blood sugar and end up feeling hungry a couple hours later.

My basic formula for making smoothies looks like this: ~2 cups veggies (spinach, baby kale, lettuce, cabbage), 1 cup fruit (berries are best!), 1 -1.5 cups liquid, 2 tablespoons protein (nut butter, hemp seeds, protein powder) and then some add-ins like coconut oil, flax seeds, chia seeds, dates, cinnamon, or cacao powder. My preferred protein in smoothies are hemp seeds, sprouted pea protein, or sprouted brown rice protein (you can get all of them on Amazon). Sun Warrior and Vega are two good brands.

These are some of my favorite smoothie recipes, especially the Ultimate Pumpkin Pie Smoothie, Chocolate-Covered Cherry Smoothie, Caribbean Island Breeze, and this Snickerdoodle Smoothie.

Whip up a smoothie in the morning and put it in a thermos. It should stay cold for about four hours.

smoothie bannerIMG_6864

You can also find lots of free smoothie recipes here at Simple Green Smoothies.

Here’s a link to an awesome and FREE downloadable smoothie guide from the Academy for Culinary Nutrition that you can print out and put on your fridge.

I like smoothies, but I don’t drink them every day. Sometimes my body wants something warm or something a bit more savory like a frittata, so I pay attention to my cravings and eat accordingly!

Gluten-Free Grains

Sugary cereals aren’t the only bowl-based option for breakfast. Check out some of my favorite hot and cold cereal recipes below. I serve them with some almond milk or coconut milk. Yum!

PS Oatmeal Banner

Granola Aerial

No-Bake Bites

Enjoy these as a side to some fruit and/or veggies or oatmeal. If you make a lighter smoothie based mostly on veggies or fruit without fat, try these as a side to that, too. They also make a great snack!

coconut chai biteslacto cookies

Egg-Based Dishes

For more savory options, the dishes below are some of my absolute favorites. As the weather gets cooler, my body tends to crave these warmer, veggie-packed, nutrient-dense meals.

Beet Shakshuka Recipe from Two Moms in the Raw cookbookMexican Black Bean Scramble

Leftovers

Who says breakfast has to be a boring bowl of cereal? Have some leftovers from the night before? Heat them up for breakfast!

currycrock pot chili

Curry-Lime Chickpea & Protein-Packed Pasta {Gluten-Free}

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On November 30, 2015

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Dairy-Free, GBOMBS, Gluten-Free, Gluten-Free, Products I Use, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

After getting back from a long weekend away for Thanksgiving and my sister-in-law’s wedding (which was SO fun!), we hadn’t thought much about what we’d be eating for dinner this week.

So, when I got home from work tonight, I checked the pantry and fridge and used a few things we had on hand to whip up this recipe. That’s the value of having a well stocked pantry – even when you have no time and no plans, you can create a delicious dish pretty quickly without making a trip to the store.

This meal came together in about 20 minutes and was filling, delicious and nourishing (the trifecta of food awesomeness!). It showcases GBOMBS – some of the most anti-inflammatory, disease-fighting, immune-boosting, health-promoting foods we can eat!

If you’re not eating pasta because of the gluten or refined flours, keep reading! I have a solution for you 🙂

Meet, Tolerant Foods pasta.

Tolerant Green Pasta

I first tried their pasta last fall at the Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore. At the time, the only pasta I ate was brown rice pasta (ingredients = brown rice + water), but I was curious to try Tolerant’s pasta because it was made from one ingredient.

Beans.

Or, in this case, lentils.

We had tried the black bean variety and the red lentil version, but this year I was introduced to the latest and greatest addition – green lentil pasta.

Here’s why this pasta is so awesome.

Unlike regular highly processed pasta that’s usually made from enriched flours that can send our blood sugar (and energy levels and weight) on a roller coaster, Tolerant’s pasta is PACKED with satiating protein and fill-you-up fiber. 

Just over 1/3 of a box of the green lentil pasta has a whopping 21 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber. It’s also full of energizing B-vitamins, iron and zinc. It’s also made with non-GMO, organic ingredients.

Green lentil label

What’s not to like??

The pasta cooks up in 8 minutes, making it a great option for a quick dinner. And because of its pale green color, it looks more like pasta than the red lentil or black bean pasta, so it would be an easier sell with kiddos or bean-based pasta skeptics.

It’s sold at a higher price point than a box of Barilla, but I focus more on nutrients/dollar than calories/dollar, so it’s worth it to me.

MOMs and Whole Foods sell Tolerant pasta (sometimes on sale!), but you can also buy their stuff online at Vitacost or Amazon. Check out this link to use the store locator to find where Tolerant sells their products near you.

Then, make this recipe 🙂 (And don’t mind the less than stellar pics taken from my iPhone without daylight!)

Curry Lime Chickpea PastaChickpea Pasta Pan

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter) or coconut oil
  • 1 8-ounce box Tolerant pasta (or other gluten-free or bean-based pasta)
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder
  • 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, no salt added, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup full fat coconut milk
  • 4 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • Coarse sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside 1/3 cup pasta water. Strain pasta and leave in strainer.
  2. Heat ghee or oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
  3. Add onions and saute 5-7 minutes or until they start to soften. Add ginger, garlic, and curry powder and saute another minute or so. Add pasta water and stir to loosen up anything stuck to the pan.
  4. Add chickpeas, coconut milk and pasta and reduce heat to medium. Stir to combine. Add spinach and toss until coated and slightly wilted. Add lime juice and stir to combine.

I added some sea salt throughout, probably about 1/2 teaspoon total. How do you know when you have enough? If your food tastes flat or bland, add a little salt at a time to increase the flavor. The acidity from the lime juice, fat from the coconut milk, and spice in the curry powder give this dish a lot of flavor, so just add salt to your liking 🙂

Warm & Cozy Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal {Gluten-Free}

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On November 3, 2015

In Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Gluten-Free, Inspired, My Story, Products I Use, Vegan, Vegetarian

Sometimes we read books that transform us and the way we think, and once we’ve read them, we’re never the same.

That’s how I feel about a book I recently finished reading, The Slow Down Diet by Marc David.

I’m putting together a separate post about the key takeaways from the book, but as a sneak peek, one of them is to SLOW DOWN and listen to your body.

Sure, it’s not a mind-blowing revelation, and it’s something most of us have been told before, but I’m finally at a point in my life where I’m open enough to hear it.

The other day, after I woke up, I drank a tall glass of water, sipped my cinnamon tea, set up my oil diffuser (like a candle but better!), and did a video session of Yoga with Adriene.

I’m going through her 30 Days of Yoga series and am LOVING it!

It helps me stay focused and grounded first thing in the morning and brings more oxygen into my mind and body for clearer thinking and a boost to digestion.

After my yoga session, I was ready for breakfast and headed into the kitchen.

I’ve started being more intuitive about what I eat. Instead of just gulping down a smoothie on my way out the door, rushing to get to whatever is waiting for me for that day, I’ve been taking more time with eating. I’ve been pausing before making decisions about what to eat and paying attention to what my “gut” is telling me.

So, instead of robotically slamming a smoothie every day (typical time to belly = 60-90 seconds), I’ve gone back to basics and have been enjoying some of my favorite breakfast foods, foods I can chew.

Foods that are warm. Foods that are packed with flavor and texture.

PS Oatmeal

The first image that popped into my mind as I was standing at the door of the fridge that morning was a warm and cozy bowl of oatmeal, perfect for the cooler weather we’ve been having.

For me, oatmeal is one of the best comfort foods for fall, especially when it’s full of flavors like cinnamon, ginger, clove, and maple.

My favorite oats to use are Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free Oats. Almost every grocery store sells them. I even got to meet Bob Moore himself at the Natural Products Expo last month.

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It was super cool!

I’ll be sharing a recipe for Banana Nut Oatmeal in November, but in the meantime, give this pumpkin spice version a try and let me know what you think!

PS Oatmeal Banner PS Oatmeal Closeup

Servings: 3-4

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups water
  • Pinch sea salt
  • 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats (old-fashioned, not quick cooking)
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2 tablespoons almond butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon ground flax seed (flax meal)
  • 2 tablespoons 100% pure maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons chopped pecans, lightly toasted
  • Optional: scoop of unflavored protein powder (I like Vital Proteins collagen peptides)

Directions

  1. Bring water, salt, and oats to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir for 5 minutes.
  2. Stir in pumpkin puree, almond butter, vanilla and protein powder and stir. Remove from heat and cover for 5 more minutes.
  3. Stir in ground flax meal and maple syrup.
  4. Pour into serving bowl and top with chopped pecans.

The Ultimate Gluten-Free Bread Stuffing {Paleo}

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On October 26, 2015

In Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Gluten-Free, Holidays, Paleo, Paleo, Products I Use, Recipes, Vegetarian

Last weekend, my husband and I went out of town for a little fall getaway and spent a long weekend in the Adirondacks of Upstate New York.

With all of the (exciting!) things that have been going on in the way of travel, presentations, cooking demos, and workshops, I was in need of a break, and Bill and I were overdue for some time to reconnect and relax.

It was SO beautiful, and fall was in full swing. We captured this beautiful view of the town of Lake Placid, overlooking Mirror Lake.

ADK

This is my favorite time of the year for those reasons and because I absolutely love fall food.

Roasted root vegetables. Creamy squash soups. Savory stews. Hearty chilis. Heart and soul-warming cups of tea and bowls of oatmeal.

Hungry yet?

And with Thanksgiving coming up next month, things like turkey, stuffing, roasted Brussels sprouts and pumpkin everything will start to take center stage.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to teach a workshop and cooking demo about Going Gluten-Free without Going Crazy. (I’m working on a few other posts all about gluten, so stay tuned for those.)

But, in the meantime, we’re going to focus on one of the top-rated meals I served at the class that everyone loved…Paleo Bread Stuffing!

Stuffing Aerial

After the class, one of the attendees said:

That stuffing recipe is officially my new go-to. I’m confident I’ll blow away my 3 sisters-in-law this Thanksgiving, which isn’t easy to do.

If you’re ready to wow some of your family members this year, look no further than this recipe.

Most gluten-free bread is full of LOTS of other ingredients (they have to put something in if they take out the key ingredient in bread…gluten) and tends to have less fiber than its gluten-containing counterparts. Because of that, I’m not a huge fan of eating bread just because it’s gluten-free.

A “gluten-free” label on a package doesn’t deserve the health halo so many of us have given it. It’s 100% necessary for those with Celiac disease and people avoiding gluten for medical reasons, but “gluten-free” does not automatically mean “good for you.”

But this bread is different.

SM Bread Box SM Bread Closeup

It’s naturally gluten-free and only has 6 SIMPLE, REAL FOOD ingredients. The bread mix is from a company I met at the Natural Products Expo – Simple Mills – and all you need to make it is oil, apple cider vinegar and eggs!

  1. Almond Flour
  2. Arrowroot Powder
  3. Flax Meal
  4. Baking Soda
  5. Sea Salt
  6. Organic Coconut Sugar

That’s how the label of a packaged food should look. Let’s not compromise quality of ingredients just because we’re not making it ourselves! 🙂

Here’s the recipe! You are going to LOVE it.

Stuffing Banner Stuffing Closeup

The Ultimate Gluten-free Bread Stuffing (Paleo)

For a healthier spin on this year’s stuffing, try this recipe!

  • 1 box Simple Mills artisan bread mix (or 1 medium loaf gluten-free bread)
  • 1 tablespoon ghee (AKA clarified butter)
  • 1 cup celery (chopped)
  • 1 cup carrots (chopped)
  • 1 medium onion (chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary (chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh sage (chopped)
  • 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
  • 1 cup walnuts (chopped)
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries (chopped)
  • 3 large eggs (whisked)
  • 2 cups broth (chicken or bone both preferred)

  1. Bake the bread that morning or the day before according to the directions provided on the back of Simple Mills Artisan Bread mix bag.

  2. Preheat oven to 350°F.

  3. Cut the loaf bread into cubes; toast the cubes in the preheated oven about 10 minutes to draw out the moisture. Add walnuts and toast another 8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

  4. While the bread cubes are toasting in the oven, heat a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat and sauté celery, carrots, and onion in ghee for 5-8 minutes or until the vegetables have developed some color and are tender.

  5. Raise oven temperature to 400F.

  6. Add toasted bread, herbs, walnuts and cranberries to pan and toss to combine. Remove pan from heat. Whisk eggs together and pour on top of bread mixture, tossing to coat evenly. Then, pour on the broth and toss to combine.

  7. Pour veggie/bread mix into a baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, covered. Remove lid/cover and bake uncovered for 10 more minutes to crisp up the top. Sometimes we give it a stir and then put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so, depending on how crunchy you like it!

  8. If you save it for a day or two, I find that adding 1/2 cup-1 cup of broth to the mix to remoisten it before heating it up in the oven helps and prevents it from drying out. Enjoy! 🙂

You can find Simple Mills products on Amazon, at Target, MOMs Organic Market, Wegmans, and Whole Foods.

My Favorite Good-for-You Crunchy Snack…Chickpeatos!

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On October 21, 2015

In Dairy-Free, GBOMBS, Gluten-Free, Products I Use

As you know, I love cooking and experimenting with new recipes.

Most of the time when I do this, I’m pretty successful. But sometimes I end up with duds despite my best efforts.

I’ve tried to make crispy baked chickpeas about five different times with no success!

I’m still open to figuring out a way that works, but when I don’t feel like doing that, I opt for these yummy snacks instead. Although I make a majority of my own meals and snacks from scratch, sometimes I buy stuff in packages.

Like these.

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They’re called Chickpeatos. A fun play on “Cheetos,” one of my favorite snacks as a kid.

One of the co-founders was in medical school when he started making his own roasted chickpeas to curb his afternoon hunger pangs. He shared them with his peers, and the idea took hold.

If you’re from the Baltimore/DC area, you may recognize the former branding of this DC-based company, which used to go by 2Armadillos.

Known simply as Watusee Foods, they’ve created new packaging and branding that’s more attractive, fun and relevant.

Get it? What-You-See Foods?!

I love creativity and transparency, and this company delivers on its promise. You know exactly what you’re getting inside every package. No fillers, preservatives, or ingredients we can’t pronounce.

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Their crispy baked chickpeas are SO GOOD.

I’ve been sampling them at one of the health and nutrition workshops I teach about how to Fuel for the Road and Eat Well on the Go, and everyone is loving them!

As the front of the bag indicates, the rosemary chickpeatos are “Simply prepared with only 5 ingredients.”

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If you’ve read about my top eating guidelines in the past, you know that eating foods that contain a minimal number of ingredients is super important to me.

I apply the same standards for packaged foods as I do for fresh food.

Quality matters.

For that reason, I try to eat as many foods as possible that ARE ingredients (i.e., ingredients in an apple?…APPLE!) vs. foods that are made from lots of different ingredients.

Unlike other crunchy snacks that are usually loaded with a bunch of processed ingredients like genetically modified corn, artificial colors and flavoring, and pro-inflammatory refined oils, Chickpeatos are made from real, whole, quality ingredients. They have a lot going for them:

  1. Organic
  2. Gluten-Free
  3. Vegan
  4. Not genetically modified
  5. Simple ingredients. Here’s the ingredient list for the rosemary version: organic chickpeas, organic olive oil, organic rosemary, salt, organic garlic powder

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They come in four different flavors:

  • Rosemary (my favorite)
  • Tomato Basil
  • Cinnamon Toast
  • Spicy Cayenne

I’ve found Chickpeatos locally at MOMs Organic Market and Whole Foods, and I bet Wegmans sells them, too. You can also buy them directly from Watusee Foods’ website here. It looks like they’re adding a Store Locator functionality soon, so that should help you find them.

I like eating them as a snack OR putting them on top of salads for a nice crunch – just like croutons, only better for you!

Have you ever tried crispy chickpeas? Or maybe, unlike me, have you had success baking your own chickpeas that stayed crunchy and didn’t burn?

Either way, I’d love to hear from you, so feel free to leave a comment!

Disclosure: I received free snacks in exchange for writing this review, but I loved the product and what it stood for before this opportunity came to be. All opinions are my own, and maintaining the integrity of all content on this site is of utmost importance to me. I will never promote products I don’t love, believe in, and use myself! 🙂

The Top 10 Healthy Food Trends from Natural Products Expo East 2015

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On October 13, 2015

In Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Products I Use, Tips & Tricks

Last month I had the opportunity to attend the Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore for the second time.

The Expo gives companies who create natural, organic, and healthy living products an opportunity to showcase their stuff to a community of retailers, practitioners, business owners, press, and bloggers like me 🙂

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The best way I can describe the expo is like Halloween for healthy foodies. It’s like you get to meet all of the people behind all of your favorite products and then try their new stuff.

Pacing is important.

When you’re basically sampling all day from 9:30 until 6:00, you get full quickly, especially since many of these foods have decent amounts of fiber, healthy fats and protein.

Each year, new food trends pop up, and even though my #1 philosophy focuses on eating as much whole, real food as possible, trends are fun and can make mealtime and snack time a little more exciting.

Here are the top 10 trends I noticed in the natural food space and some products I tried along the way!

Transparency matters. Tell us what’s in your product and where it comes from.IMG_2373

As consumers are taking a closer look at labels and ingredient lists, there’s a growing demand for retailers to tell us CLEARLY what is in the packaged foods they’re making and to simplify their products to have fewer ingredients.

Here are some standouts that prioritize transparency. No secrets here!

The “free from” (dairy, gluten, nuts, grains, soy, etc.) movement is in full swing.

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Because of years of poor diet, chronic stress, too many antibiotics, and other environmental and lifestyle factors, many of us are walking around with compromised digestive health, not realizing how badly we feel until we start feeling better.

Since 70% of our immune system lies in and around our digestive system, it makes sense that an unhappy “gut” = less than awesome health.

While we’re in the recovery phase, (or if we have to be “free from” a particular food for life), it’s helpful to experiment with cutting out certain ingredients (for me it’s dairy and gluten) to feel better. These are some of my favorite “free from” brands. They’re all dairy-free and gluten-free and some are free from other allergens as well.

Gluten-free is the way to be (31% of the products at the expo were GF).

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I got to meet Elizabeth behind Purely Elizabeth granola! She's a fellow IIN grad and a rock star!

I also got to meet Elizabeth behind Purely Elizabeth granola! She’s a fellow IIN grad and a rock star!

Paleo is still going strong.

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As the free-from movement continues and we get back to our roots of eating real food, the paleo diet (no grains, legumes, dairy, sweeteners, processed foods) maintains its strong following.

Their philosophy is, “If man made it, don’t eat it.”

As someone who doesn’t eat gluten or dairy, I often buy products labeled “paleo” because I know they will not have gluten or dairy in them, which gives me some peace of mind!

Check out some of these paleo options:

Organic, grass-fed meats and dairy are the new standard.

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Cows are supposed to eat grass, not grains. When cows are fed grains, they often get sick and have to be pumped full of antibiotics, which then end up in our food. This is no bueno for the cows or for us.

That’s why we want to buy grass-fed beef whenever possible.

To take it to the next level, grass-FINISHED beef is the gold standard because it means that in the last stage of their life, the cows were still fed grass rather than being fed grains to quickly fatten them up.

A few brands of grass-fed jerky to check out:

  • Epic bars & jerky (Bill loves these and we find them at Wegmans, Whole Foods & MOMs)
  • The New Primal jerky (cows are grass-fed AND grass-finished). You can find these at REI.

Move over coconut water. Maple water is the new kid in town.

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With a lower sugar content and price point than many coconut waters, maple water is a new trend.

I first found out about them when we were in Lake Placid this summer volunteering at the Ironman triathlon. Drink Maple had a team competing there, and we ended up being at the same cafe as them the day after the race.

Maple water has a subtle maple flavor and naturally occurring electrolytes, so for people who can’t stand the taste of coconut but want an option aside from plain water, this is definitely worth trying!

…But coconut is still in LOTS of products and is being reinvented.

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Hemp is the new flax.

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Hemp is an excellent source of easily digestible, plant-based protein and is a great source of healthy fats and minerals.

CBD is also becoming a popular cannabis-based ingredient in edible and consumable products that one could purchase from a cbd distributor. CBD businesses have become extremely popular over the years as the demand for hemp/marijuana-based products is soaring in the market. With a wide range of potential benefits from pain relief to anxiety management to help with insomnia, it’s no wonder that sites like Gold Bee (you can view the products they have to offer on the company website here) are becoming more and more popular. This is also why great care and attention need to happen on all ends when it comes to these businesses, including when it comes to financials. There are banks that accept cbd business for those that are looking, they just need to do some research in their business based area to find the right ones.

Here are a few hemp-based brands to try:

Turmeric, the ultimate anti-inflammatory, is taking center stage.

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The key component of turmeric that makes it such an anti-inflammatory and protective powerhouse is curcumin. Research suggests that curcumin’s protective properties play a key role in the prevention and treatment of chronic disease and inflammation.

An inflamed body is a sick and angry body, so we want to do anything we can to cool inflammation, and curcumin that can be ingested via brands like CuraMed, is definitely one of the best ways to do this. But this is just one company to consider, so to find the best one for you, make sure to give these products a taste too…

This final trend excites me the most!

There’s a focus on taking a step back to traditionally nourishing, gut-friendly foods like bone broths and sauerkraut.

Since 70% of our immune system lies in and around our digestive tract, eating foods that make our digestive system happy make our whole body look and feel its best!

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And, that’s a wrap!

For a gluten-free, dairy-free foodie who is focused on prioritizing whole, real food made with integrity by people who care, those were some of my favorite finds at Expo East 🙂

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