Rosemary Olive Oil Crackers (GF)

I started making these crackers after coming across this recipe for vegan gluten-free crackers. So many crackers in stores nowadays are full of enriched flour and ingredients that I can't pronounce, so I wanted to make my own. I like knowing what I'm putting into my body.



 I adapted this recipe according to what I had at home. They're a huge hit here, I make them every week or two and keep them in an airtight container.

Feel free to get creative with them. You can sprinkle garlic granules or onion powder for extra flavor. Personally, I like the rosemary-olive oil combination best.


Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup gf oat flour
3 tablespoons ground chia seeds (measured after grinding)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup filtered water


Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl combine all the ingredients. Mix well and let sit for a minute or two. It will appear to be too wet but as it sits the ground chia seeds will start to absorb the liquid. Remove from bowl and knead until it forms a nice dough.

Split the dough in two even rounds and roll each one out between to pieces of parchment paper. You want the dough to be very thin, like a cracker, but not so thin that it would rip. Cut the dough into any shape you want, I've done squares, rectangles, diamonds, and circles (with a small biscuit cutter). Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet making sure to leave about a centimeter of space between each one. You may have to bake in two rounds if you can't fit them all on one sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly golden, making sure to check half way through. Sprinkle with sea salt once you remove from the oven and enjoy!

Peanut Butter-Banana Green Smoothie

This smoothie is so incredibly easy and so delicious. The peanut butter flavor over powers all of the veggie flavor, and it's super creamy and sweet from the bananas and dates. I love to have this smoothie for breakfast, or even as a post-workout meal. It holds you over for hours.



I use an organic, non-GMO powered peanut butter because it's lower in fat and calories spoonful for spoonful than regular peanut butter, but you can use any type of nut butter you like. The great thing about this smoothie is that it's super versatile, you can throw in pretty much any veggies you like, given that the flavor is not too over-powering. Some great add-in's are kale, spinach, avocado, zucchini, or any mild tasting vegetable or fruit. However, using banana is key in this recipe as it allows for the smoothie to be creamy.




Ingredients: 1 serving

1 chopped frozen banana
1 date (optional)
1 cup almond milk
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1 tablespoon peanut butter powder (or regular peanut butter)
sweetener to taste (stevia, honey, maple syrup, agave, etc)

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy.

Cauliflower Crust Pizza Revisited

I posted a cauliflower crust pizza recipe last year, but since then I'm come to perfect my recipe. With the addition of coconut flour instead of almond flour, I've discovered that the pizza gets much more sturdy after baking. I also added some mozzarella cheese in with the cauliflower 'dough' to help hold it together and give it a bit more crunch. This one definitely holds up, no silverware needed!
Give it a try!

Due to the fact that my husband gets home so late from work, I only have horrible lighting to work with. Hopefully I'll be able to take better photos soon!

Ingredients: Serves 2 people (you can easily double the recipe if you'd like)

1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into florets

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon coconut flour

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1 clove of minced garlic)

1/8 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon psyllium seed husks (will work without it)

1 egg

In a steaming pot steam the cauliflower florets until soft and set aside to cool.

In a bowl mash or rice the cauliflower florets until they resemble white rice. Place the riced cauliflower in a mesh cloth or rag and squeeze excess water out over a bowl or into your kitchen sink. You really want to squeeze the crap out of it and get as much water out as possible, thus allowing your crust to get nice and crispy. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Return riced cauliflower to a bowl, it should resemble a dry puree or dough. Add in all the remaining ingredients, mixing and kneading well until completely combined. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (that has been sprayed with cooking spray or oil) mold the cauliflower dough into a rectangular shape. I find the rectangle shape allows the dough to crisp up the best, but you can also do two round personal pizza's instead.

Bake pizza for 20-25 minutes or until it just starts to brown on the top. Remove from oven and carefully add pizza toppings of choice. I did kale and mozzarella with truffle oil for me and pepperoni for my husband. Bake for another 10 minutes or so.

Meal Planning and Sample Grocery List

I've had a few people ask me about meal planning each week, so I decided to post my grocery list and meals I have planned for this week. This can give you an idea of exactly how easy meal planning can be, and it also helps to make your grocery trip a lot easier and quicker. Brett and I also never eat lunch out, unless we have a day off together, so I also included lunch meals/ingredients into the grocery list. We often eat leftovers for lunch, however.

Almost all of these meals are gluten free, however I do use some soy sauce that contains gluten. I choose to eat gluten when we eat out, in moderation, because it doesn't bother me all that much. I also firmly believe in EVERYTHING IN MODERATION. No foods are completely off limits, unless they're horrible for you. Like soda, in which case, I have zero desire to drink.

Meals this Week:

Monday: Spring Rolls with Quinoa and Peanut Dipping Sauce
Tuesday: Chicken Sausage and Lentil Veggie Soup
Wednesday: Cauliflower Crust Pizza and Salad
Thursday: Pho
Friday: (Eat Out, Parent's in Town)
Saturday: Mexican Black Bean Pizzas
Sunday: (Eat Out)
Monday: Chicken with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Veggies

Lunches For Bree: Miso Soup with Veggies, Black Bean Patties and Salad, Zucchini/Cucumber Salad w/ Peanut Sauce, Tempeh and Veggies, Leftovers)

Lunches for Brett: Caprese Quinoa Salad, Leftover Soup, Leftover Cauliflower Pizza, Veggie Sandwich, Tomato Soup)

Breakfasts: Yogurt and Granola, Sweet Potato Muffins, Oatmeal and Almond Milk, Green Smoothies, Hard Boiled Eggs


This weeks menu is a bit different as I am having a flare up of silent reflux, and in order to get my acid back under control, I am having to cut back on all citrus, tomatoes, garlic, and onions. And sadly, coffee and wine, which is so hard for me. Anyways, back to this weeks grocery list. I put the meals that each ingredient will be used in in parentheses.

I go to two grocery stores because I know that some things are cheaper at certain places than others. And Whole Foods has certain ingredients that I can't get at Trader Joe's.


Trader Joes:

1 Pack Organic Zucchini       (Sausage Lentil Soup, Lunches)

1 Bag Organic Broccoli Florets    (Pho, Miso Soup, Tempeh and Veggies)

1 Bag Organic Baby Romaine    (Pho, Salads)

1 Bag Organic Spinach       (Pho, Salads, Green Smoothies)

1 Bag Organic Sweet Potatoes   (Chicken w/ Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Veggies, Muffins)

1 Cauliflower head      (Cauliflower Pizza Crust, Chicken and Roasted Veggies)

1 Organic Cucumber     (Spring Rolls, Zucchini/Cucumber Salad, Miso Soup)

5 Bananas           (For my reflux and Smoothies)

1 Bag of Organic Quinoa      (Spring Rolls, Caprese Quinoa Salad)

1 Box Organic Tomato Soup     (Brett's Lunches)

1 Dozen Eggs   (Breakfasts)

1 Box Ginger Miso Soup Broth      (Pho)

1 Box Low Sodium Organic Chicken Broth     (Sausage Lentil Soup)

1 Package Organic Free Range Chicken Tenders      (Chicken and Roasted Veggies)

1 Bottle of Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon   (MY FAVORITE)




Whole Foods:

1 Bunch Organic Asparagus  (Sausage Lentil/Veggie Soup, Chicken and Roasted Veggies)

2 Bunches Organic Kale   (Salads, Green Smoothies, Sausage Lentil/Veggie Soup)

1 Cantelope   (For my reflux)

1 Container Greek Yogurt   (Breakfasts)

1 Liter Almond Milk      (Breakfasts)

1 Bag of Dried Organic Black Beans  (Mexican Black Bean Pizza)

Aloe Juice   (For my reflux)

1 Package Raw Cheddar Cheese    (Mexican Black Bean Pizza, Snacks)

1 Bag Organic Brown Rice      (Just to have on hand)

1 Bag Organic Popcorn Kernels      (Snacks, Just to have on hand)

2 Perfect Bars    (Snacks)



Things I Already Had at Home:

Mozzarella Cheese   (Cauliflower Pizza, Caprese Quinoa Salad)

Condiments for Dressings/Dipping Sauces  

Brown Rice Thai Noodles     (Pho)

Dry Lentils     (Chicken Sausage Lentil/Veggie Soup)

Chicken Sausage    (Saved from last week and frozen for Soup this week)

Brown Rice Tortillas  (Mexican Black Bean Pizza)

Brown Rice Paper Wrappers  (Spring Rolls)

Coffee

Creamer    (So bad for us, but I can't live without my International Delight)

Tomatoes   (Caprese Quinoa Salad, Mexican Black Bean Pizza)

Garlic

Onions, Both Green and Red

Bread  (Gluten Free and Regular Crusty Table Loaf,  kept in freezer)

Organic Vegan Frozen Black Bean Patties       (Bree's Lunches)




There it is, I hope that's not confusing. Just an example of how I try to use ingredients all week so that as little food as possible goes bad. You don't have to buy all organic, I just try to.

As I've been doing research on Silent Reflux lately, I discovered that a lot of packaged foods have acid added to them to increase their shelf life. While this is much more convenient for me, it isn't great for someone with excess acid. In fact, it's probably not great for anyone. So as a result, I've been looking more closely at ingredients list on the labels and discovered that SO many things have absorbic acid, lactic acid, or citric acid added to them. Even organic products. That is why for this week, and probably from now on, I bought dried beans and zero canned ingredients. We will see how that goes.

Grilled Zucchini and Squash Salad (GF)

Who says you can't pretend it's summer in the middle of winter?

Well, it feels somewhat like summer here in Los Angeles right now, which is why I decided this salad was such a good idea. Grilled zucchini and squash on top of fresh baby romaine lettuce, with a sprinkle of feta, basil, and marcona almonds.  For the dressing I just squeezed a bit of lemon juice along side a drizzle of really good olive oil. This salad is so amazing.

So if you're in need of a little taste of summer this winter, go ahead and try this. You won't regret it.




Ingredients: (serves two)

1 large zucchini
1 large yellow squash
4 cups of baby romaine (roughly)
1/4 cup marcona almonds
1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil
crumbled feta
2 slices of lemon
2 tablespoons good olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Thinly slice zucchini and squash and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill on an indoor (or outdoor) grill, only about 30 seconds on each side (you don't want the veggies to be soggy, just have nice grill marks).

Once grilled, set aside to cool.

Meanwhile put romaine in a bowl along with feta, basil, and marcona almonds. Squeeze lemons on top of romaine, along with olive oil, seasoning with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add grilled veggies and toss everything together. Serve immediately.

Guilt Free Banana Muffins (GF)

I needed to use up an avocado one day before it went bad, and came across a banana bread recipe that uses avocado in place of butter! Yes, avocado. Sounds disgusting you might say, but honestly you cannot even taste the avocado. In fact, when combined with coconut palm sugar, it tastes like butter.

These muffins are absolutely delicious and taste like they are chalk-full of butter, when really, they're guilt free! I also used a technique I came across to help the muffins get more of a 'rise', which is often hard to find in gluten free baked goods. The trick is to bake the muffins at 400 degrees, which allows them to have more of a dome look.


These muffins are absolutely delicious and taste like they are chalk-full of butter, when really, they're guilt free!




I apologize for the horribly lit images, I made these one evening and my wonderful daylight was gone. On top of that, these muffins were practically gone by morning and I didn't have a chance to re-shoot.




Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup mashed/pureed avocado
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 eggs (room temp)
1 cup coconut palm sugar
6 tablespoons room temp almond milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, mash/mix together bananas, honey, vanilla, avocado, and coconut oil until mixed well. Whisk in eggs, coconut palm sugar, and almond milk and set aside.

In a separate bowl combine brown rice flour, almond meal, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.

Pour wet ingredients over dry and mix until just combined, do not over mix.

Pour into greased muffin tins and bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick once inserted comes out clean.

Creamy Cauliflower and Veggie Soup (GF)

So I know it's the middle of the summer...



But the other day, I was in the mood for creamy soup.



I didn't want anything with cream in it. So I came up with this recipe.

I might be the only person in Los Angeles that's okay with eating hot soup while it's 90 degrees outside.



I could honestly eat soup every day, it doesn't matter how hot it is.

But back to the soup...

I pretty much just threw in whatever veggies I had in the fridge. Luckily, I had zucchini and asparagus, and they worked perfectly.



We also had some spicy chicken sausage in the fridge, so I grilled it, chopped it up and threw it into the soup too.

The result was a hearty, healthy, deliciously creamy soup without all the guilt. Honestly, I was full for hours.



Ingredients: Serves 4

1 large head of cauliflower
1 1/2-2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 cup almond milk
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 bunch of asparagus, chopped into 1 inch strips
1 large or two small zucchini's, chopped
2 links of sausage (optional)

Cut the cauliflower head up and steam in it in a pot of simmering water, drain and set aside.

In a sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté veggies in medium heat with salt and pepper, until they are al dente. Make sure avoid over cooking. Set veggies aside.

When the cauliflower has cooled, add it to a blender or food processor along with the 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, 1 cup milk, and parmesan cheese. Process until the mixture has a smooth, soup-like texture, adding more chicken broth if needed.

In a pot on medium-low heat, sauté the garlic with the olive oil and carefully add cauliflower puree. Stir in veggies, and chicken sausage, if you like. Add salt and pepper to taste, as well as more broth if the soup is too thick. Stir soup until just hot, you do not want to cook the veggies too much more.

Serve with grate parmesan cheese and basil on top.

Heathy Italian Chopped Salad

One of the easiest ways to save money and eat healthy meals at home is to buy a rotisserie chicken. If you work long hours, but you're tired of eating out all the time, you could easily pick up a rotisserie chicken from a grocery store and use it all week. You could make your own roast chicken at home, of course, but for time sake, rotisserie is the way to go.



One of my favorite salads of all time is an italian chopped salad. Salami has held a special place in my heart ever since I was a kid. Some people are grossed out by it, but I love it.



So I decided to make one at home and try and spruce it up a bit--make it healthier. I used organic baby romaine lettuce and organic spinach, and chopped the greens up. In addition, I made my own vinaigrette with fresh basil, lemon juice, olive oil and red wine vinegar. I used part-skim mozzarella and good quality salami, free of nitrates and chemicals.



The thing with italian chopped salad is that you can pretty much throw in whatever you want, that's what makes it so great. You can obviously omit any of these ingredients and change the salad to your liking. I had to throw in some cheesy garlic bread with mine (Brett's request). But with these simple ingredients, I assure you, this will be one of the best salads you've ever had.




Ingredients: (serves 2)

2 cups chopped organic spinach
3 cups chopped organic baby romaine
1 cup chickpeas (drained)
1/2 cup julienne cut salami
1 cup chopped chicken
5-7 leaves of basil, chopped
1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup shredded light mozzarella

For the Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
juice of half a lemon
1/4 teaspoon whole grain mustard
1 tablespoon of chopped basil
1 tablespoon fresh parmesan cheese
pinch of salt and pepper (to taste)

In a large bowl mix the greens together. Top with chickpeas, salami, chopped chicken, cheese, tomatoes, and fresh basil. In a small bowl (I prefer mason jar) whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, basil, and parmesan cheese until it emulsifies. Add salt and pepper to taste. Dress salad with vinaigrette right before serving.

Zucchini Bread Donut Waffles

Zucchini Bread Donut Waffles. That's a mouthful.



But that's exactly what they are. The flavors of zucchini bread, but with a dense, donut-cake texture, cooked in a waffle iron instead of fried. It's the best of all worlds! Actually, if I'm being honest, they would be even better fried...but I'm trying to be healthier.

Nonetheless, these little breakfast treats were delicious. I served them with powdered sugar on top, and a side of maple-vanilla bean-cinnamon glaze.



They're best straight out of the waffle iron, they lost their crispiness and texture the next day. I also allowed the batter to sit in the fridge for 12 hours (after making a first batch immediately). Both batches were delicious, however the batch that rested for 12 hours was more dense, so it's up to you!

These treats are a great way to sneak in some veggies without sacrificing flavor. I mean, who doesn't like zucchini bread??? They're also filling and gluten-free!



Ingredients: (makes 10-12 small 'waffles')

1 cup all-purpose gf flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup finely grated zucchini, with juices squeezed out
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or just vanilla extract)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup greek yogurt mixed with 1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons melted butter

Maple-Cinnamon Glaze:

1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

In a bowl mix together flours, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk zucchini, egg, vanilla, maple syrup, brown sugar, greek yogurt, and melted butter.

Gradually add dry ingredients to wet, whisking until there are no more lumps. If you like a more dense, cake-like donut, allow batter to sit in fridge for several hours. If not, prepare waffle iron on medium-high setting. Spray with non-stick spray and add batter 1 hefty tablespoon at a time.

Serve with powdered sugar or maple-cinnamon glaze.

Chewy Granola Bars with Peanut Butter, Nuts, and Cranberries

Last week (as soon as we had a working stove and proper ingredients) I made home made granola bars. I was inspired by the some that my boss had made before we moved from San Diego. They were delicious, and chewy, yet just a bit crunchy; the best combination.



My boss had told me she followed the Smitten Kitchen recipe and I decided I wanted to try it out.

However, when I looked at the ingredients, I decided I wanted to tweak it a bit - go figure. It seems that I never want to follow a recipe completely.

These granola bars are a bit healthier than the Smitten Kitchen Granola Bars. I used gluten free oats, and didn't use any flour. I also opted out of the corn syrup and added coconut sugar, which I find has a very caramelized flavor. I used egg whites to bind the ingredients together and it turned out great.



You can really add which ever ingredients you want to make these your own; chocolate chips, raisins, hazelnuts.




These granola bars are a great snack to have on the go. I even had one for breakfast this morning, topped off with extra peanut butter and I was full for hours.




Ingredients:

2 cups gluten free oats
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons flax seeds
3/4 cup dried cranberries
2 egg whites
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
3 tablespoons grape seed oil

Preheat oven to 325 and line an 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly grease parchment paper however you wish.

In a bowl, mix together oats, sugar, salt, cinnamon, almonds, sunflower seeds, flax, and cranberries. In a separate bowl, mix egg whites, vanilla, honey, and oil until blended. Mix dry ingredients into wet until everything is evenly coated.

Transfer mixture to 8 x 8 baking dish and flatten out as evenly in the pan as possible, pushing down a bit to make sure it all sticks together while baking. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the bars have browned around the edges. Allow to completely cool before cutting.

 

Japanese Grilled Chicken Salad

Ingredients: (for marinade)

4 tablespoons gf soy sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons honey
1/8 teaspoon grated ginger
juice of 1/2 a lime
sriracha to taste (optional)
1 teaspoon chili paste (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
6 chicken breast tenders
3 cups mixed greens
1 cup chopped raw broccoli
1/2 cup julienne cut carrots
1/4 cup chopped scallions
2 tablespoons roasted shelled sunflower seeds or almonds

For Salad Dressing:
1/4 of above marinade
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil

In a bowl, mix marinade ingredients well (except chicken!). Reserve 1/4 of marinade in a separate bowl and set aside for salad dressing. Add add chicken and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

On medium heat, add chicken to a grill pan coated with olive oil. Grill 3-4 minutes on each side, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from grill pan and cover with foil while you make your salad. Toss together greens of choice, chopped broccoli, carrots, scallions, cucumbers, and sunflower seeds.
Mix olive oil and vinegar into reserved (chicken-less) marinade and whisk well.

Serve salad with grilled chicken and dressing.