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Gluten-Free Vegetarian or Vegan

Gluten free vegetarian diet
Photo: Whole Foods, http://wholefoods.com

It can be challenging enough on gluten-free diet, but what if you eat a vegetarian or vegan diet?

It’s well established that there are health benefits to reducing the amount of meat in the diets of most Americans, and the lifestyle has appeal for some people based on ethical and/or environmental reasons.  Fortunately, with extra planning, a well-rounded and delicious gluten-free vegetarian diet is possible.

The good news is that many vegetarian staples, like beans, lentils, tofu, dairy, nuts, seeds and eggs are already naturally gluten-free.  And some of the best sources of vegetarian and vegan protein are gluten-free pseudo-grains, such as quinoa, buckwheat and amaranth. Also, grains, such as millet, teff and sorghum are very nutritious.  In addition to protein and fiber, they all have other vital nutrients, like

Healthy Gluten-Free Tuna Salad Recipe

This recipe is full of nutrients that are important to anyone living gluten-free. Tuna is a great source of iodine and iron, and avacado provides fiber, potassium, vitamin E, B-vitamins, and folic acid. The tomato is full of Vitamins A and C, the onions add sulfur, and the cilantro contains Vitamin K and gives the salad it’s zesty taste. I hope you enjoy!

 

Gluten Free Halloween Rice Krispy Treats

My family will be making these classic treats for many occasions.  The kids LOVE helping to make these sweet treats and they couldn’t be any easier.  4 ingredients and you are done. 5 Tablespoons butter… 

Probiotics and altered gut flora – Winning the war on terrorism in your gut

probiotics celiac glutenProteins produced from partial breakdown of microorganisms are often recognized by the body’s immune system as foreign antigens triggering production of antibodies that may be detected in the blood.

Such antibodies include proteins from the cell walls (outer membranes) or flagella of the bacteria Escherichia coli and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Baker’s or Brewer’s yeast) that are found in Crohn’s disease. Stimulation of the immune system by these proteins can also confuse the body into thinking that it needs to continue fighting an ongoing battle against an invader.

Easy Tamale Pie: Gluten-free and Dairy-free

A few years ago, I made a version of tamale pie where I made tamale dough and put something in the middle (honest, I can’t remember; it might have been chili inside). I’m not sure why that went out of my rotation. More recently, I made a tamale pie as more of an experiment with black beans and salsa on the bottom and tamale dough on top. That was a huge hit.

Easy Gluten Free Halloween Sandwich Cookies

gluten-free-halloween-cookies
Halloween Sandwich Cookies by Jen Cafferty

Looking for the perfect easy-to-prepare treat to take to a Halloween party? Or maybe you want to send something special in your children’s lunch?  These cookies are perfect because you can make them as you need them and you don’t even need to bake!  There is no need to make an entire batch.  Just keep the ingredients on hand and prepare a few cookies for whenever you need something cute, creative and delicious to take with you!

My baking life changed for the better when I realized that some of the canned frostings were gluten free (I use Betty Crocker). When they go on sale, I buy a few cans of various colors and flavors and keep them in my pantry.  Most versions are gluten and dairy free but make sure to read the labels carefully before making your purchase.  Of course, it is very easy to make your own frosting, but something about the ease of the can makes it even so much less daunting to make a baked good.  Or in the case of these cookies, assemble a baked good (you don’t even need to bake!).

Gluten-Free Gnocchi With Mini Chicken Sausage Meatballs

Are you ready to rock your taste-buds’ world? If you answered that question with a big fat “YES” then I have the recipe for you!

First step, make sure you have some gluten-free gnocchi on hand. Whether you make it yourself, or buy it premade, either will work. I used Cappello’s fresh gluten-free gnocchi for this dish.

Second step – make sure you have the rest of the ingredients for this amazeballs dish (literally, it’s amazeballs because it has two types of balls in it – gnocchi and chicken sausage meatballs).

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Gluten-Free Gnocchi with Mini Chicken Sausage Meatballs

Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray of the Food Network

Recipe: Gluten-free Brookies from McCormick

brookies

 

Do you know what a brookie is? I didn’t before I received a recipe from McCormick. A brookie is a combination of brownie batter and cookie dough, which creates a half chocolate chip and half brownie cookie, or the best of both worlds. I don’t usually post recipes, but when I find one that ‘speaks’ to me like this one, then I feel compelled to share it.

After getting permission from the lovely folks at McCormick, I give you the recipe (makes five dozen) for the brookie:

Can Medicine Make You Sicker? Common Drugs that Deplete Nutrients

medications that cause nutrient deficienciesWhether due to malabsorption from an undiagnosed syndrome like celiac disease, poor diet or defective activation of nutrients, many people are not receiving or utilizing the nutrients their bodies need to thrive.

The human body is tough. You can operate at sub-optimal levels for years or decades before a clinical symptom becomes apparent or is recognized as resulting from a deficiency.

Unfortunately, this recognition frequently comes only after symptoms have become so severe as to significantly impact your health.  Until that point, medications and surgeries are more likely to be used as treatments, neither of which correct the underlying cause of the deficiency.

In fact, many drugs exacerbate nutrient depletion.  So, while they may improve your symptoms in the short term, they can cause more harm than good in the long term.

Many prescription and non-prescription medications can deplete nutrients by any of these ways:

1. Preventing normal digestion and/or absorption, so nutrients cannot get into the body.

2. Interfering with nutrient transport and/or use in the body, so nutrients cannot