Lunch

I am always looking for a way to make my current meal choices healthier. This not only helps my body, but it helps me to get out of a rut that I sometimes seem to fall in with foods.  I find something that I like and I like to eat it a lot.  Sometimes daily.  Tuna melts are one of those favorites.  In addition to limiting tuna to 2-3 times per week, I don’t know that I need melted cheese & mayo on a regular basis.

Avocados were on sale this week when I went grocery shopping – 5 for $5.00.  They were the big ones, too, not the tiny ones.  I wanted to incorporate avocado into my lunch, but knew I needed more protein, so the avocado tuna salad was born.

Read More »

istockphoto

There are lots of ways to pack a healthy gluten-free school lunch. Start by including your gluten-free child in the weekly menu planning process- this will increase the odds that he or she will actually eat what you pack for them!

It’s blueberry season!!!  Blueberries always make me think of my Aunt Pat, and I just returned from California where she and I enjoyed several fistfuls of blueberries together.  I was jumping for joy when I found out that the key ingredient for this month’s SOS Kitchen Challenge was blueberries!  If you haven’t heard of this event, it’s a monthly challenge hosted by Ricki of Diet, Dessert and Dogs and Kim of Affairs of Living.

But back to this SOS Kitchen Challenge. Blueberries!! Read More »

This is the other pizza that my husband made for our dinner tonight.  This is my personal favorite.  There is something very comforting about the italian sausage and roasted veggies.  The other pizza he made was a Spinach, Pancetta and Goat Cheese Pizza.  We use Udi’s frozen GF pizza crust, but any GF crust will work.

Ingredients:

3 mild Italian sausage links,  casing removed
1 1/2 cups fire roasted peppers and onions (I use the frozen Trader Joe’s version)* Read More »

Gluten Free Pad Thai Photo: Amy Fothergill

Eating pad thai in a restaurant might be hard if cross contamination is a concern.

Most pad thai sauces contain soy sauce and more likely than not, that soy sauce contains gluten.

If you live in the bay area, access to rice Read More »

Do you ever put certain foods together that other people would cringe at? I used to have all kind of interesting combos when I was a kid: my Grandmas meat loaf, mashed potatoes, gravy & peas all mixed up and chili and mashed potatoes topped with cheese are just a couple that stand out in my head. My sister still eats one of her childhood favorite combinations – Doritos and applesauce. I don’t think I have ever tried that, or not that I recall. I may have blocked it out. LOL! Anyway, I don’t judge, as to each his own.

The other day I was craving a tuna melt. I meandered into the kitchen and started to pull out the ingredients to create my meal and realized I had no base for the melt. I had run out of my Food for Life English Muffins and Trader Joe’s French Rolls. Clearly I was slacking in the gluten-free grocery department or eating too many carbs – maybe a little of both. I began to brainstorm about what I could use for the base. Did I want to bake? Not really. I just wanted to eat. I spotted my corn tortillas in the refrigerator and a light bulb went on – tuna melt tostadas! This turned out so good that I may be using this as a new standby in my lunch line up!

This turned out even better than I thought it would! I would absolutely Read More »

When this Examiner saw a recipe for Cucumber Chickpea Bruschetta last week it was very intriguing.  We were celebrating the 4th with friends and I wanted to make something special as an appetizer.

Bruschetta made with cucumber as the based seemed easy and since there is no gluten-free bread needed it is pretty cheap to prepare.  Then a friend gave me two cucumbers from her garden and we had local salsa fresh from the farmer’s market in the refrigerator, so the plan came together.  This bruschetta is incredibly easy to make, customizable, refreshing and layered with flavor and texture.  Read More »

Its meat free Monday today and I’m making tacos tonight for dinner. I’ve been experimenting with tofu a lot lately, sometimes succeeding and other times not so much.

I’ve found that the crucial detail to remember is that it important to cook the tofu in very flavorful sauces and seasonings. Tofu absorbs whatever flavor you cook it in.

Tacos are one of my favorites foods that can be made gluten free and vegetarian very easily. I use corn tortillas over the gluten free ones you can find because I find they taste better and always make sure your sauces are gluten free. Read More »

Pica Pica Maize Kitchen in Napa is a wonderful destination. The icing on the proverbial cake is that it’s all gluten-free. If you want to learn more about them, read the full article here.

Adriana López Vermut was kind enough to share her recipe for the arepa, a Venezuelan corn bread. Look for a recipe for the pepeada filling, chicken salad with creamy avocado, in a subsequent article. Gather your ingredients, invite your friends over and make a great meal! Read More »