Food Lush

Gogo Quinoa Pasta

by Sarah Anne

I have a bit of a love/hate kind of thing going with pasta. I LOVE the delicate bite of a fresh pasta. The chew. The way the sauce clings to it. However, when I'm really trying to watch what I eat, a pasta dinner really takes up a good portion of my intake for the day. For a girl who loves to eat, this is super frustrating. 

Last night I had pasta planned and thought I'd peruse the natural foods store for any alternatives that might be worth trying. I'm SO glad I did, because I discovered something that I think I love more than regular, dry white pasta. 

Quinoa pasta!

Less calories and more protein than conventional pasta, and a far better texture than whole wheat spaghetti, this was certainly a winner in this house.  I tossed it with a simple fresh tomato and garlic sauce which clung nicely to each strand like I would expect with regular wheat pasta. I've tried rice pasta, kamut pasta and corn pasta - none of which stood up to my stringent pasta standards. This quinoa version by Gogo, had a nice bite to it, sauce held and it was easy to prepare. Word to the wise, however? Do NOT overcook it, or it will go to mush very, very quickly. 

I'm anxious to try Gogo's other varieties. Perhaps macaroni and cheese or a baked pasta dish next? I bet a fusili variety would make a great greek pasta salad as Elsha helped us out with a week or two ago. While a bit more pricey, this product will definitely become a staple in my house!

Have you ever tried quinoa pasta or any other 'alternative' flour product and been pleasantly surprised? 


 

Soy Sauce Substitute: Coconut Aminos

By Caitlin

How is my crazy diet going, you (don't) ask? It's going great! As of yesterday I am....officially....halfway THRROO-OUGGHHH my...WHOOOLE THIRRTAYYYY! (Oprah voice) 

It's...going well. I feel pretty great (except for what I expect is HA HAAA another sinus infection), I have more energy, I am getting more sleep and better sleep and am just more clear-headed in general. I am beginning to tire of the relentless cooking and meal planning, yet it is also becoming easier in the sense that it's more routine now. Zach and I have found things we like, and some great new foods we'd probably never have tried otherwise. I think ghee (clarified butter) is going to be a routine part of my diet now. All the delicious butter with out all the mucus-causing dairy component! Delightful!

One problem you have when eliminating all soy, sugars, legumes, and the like is that it can be hard to find a product that lends umami to your cooking. Soy sauce, worcestershire, and most other sauces and seasonings are out. Enter coconut aminos. This soy, nut, dairy, gluten, everything free, raw, vegan liquid gold is shockingly good inspite what all those hippie adjectives might imply, and tastes like a sweet soy sauce. It has been a delightful addition to our diet. Use in stir fries, dressings, marinades, soups, or for dipping sashimi; basically anywhere you'd use soy sauce.  

Photo from http://www.vitacost.com

I've read about coconut aminos before on paleo and healthy living blogs but as I have a rather large cabinet chock full of seasonings, sauces, and spices (such is the fate of being married to a chef), I had little impetus to actually try it. Until now. I scavenged my local Whole Foods, missed the first time, and found it the second. It was in the asian section, near the mirin and soy sauces. (You can also find it on Amazon.) When I got it home Zach opened it up to taste it and it fizzed everywhere. We were disappointed and were going to take it back to exchange it for a fresh one when I had an epiphany: I think it's fermented? A few google searches later and we learned that it's normal for it to fizz when you open it: It's made from the fermented sap of the coconut tree. It sounds like I made that up, but I sure didn't.

Have you tried coconut aminos? And tell me, how is candy? Is candy still as good as I remember? Tell it I said hi.

Gluten-Free Corner: Pre-Workout Snacks

by Slynnro

After years of having an internal debate about when to eat relative to my workout schedule, I've finally adopted a later dinner time. This was a HARD FOUGHT battle.I'm finally able to wait until 8:00pm, after my classes are done, to eat dinner. But at around 5:00pm, when I start to get a little hunger pang going, I'm always looking for something to take the edge off, but that won't make me feel overly full. I've found a few good gluten-free options (which I also often eat for breakfast) that make for great snacks. Also, I try to have a few good gluten-free items in my bag when I travel, or in my desk at work for harried trial days when I don't have time for a real meal.

My newest find is Orgain Energy Drinks:

I like these because they are not particularly thick in texture (more like skim milk) so they don't feel heavy, and they taste chocolatey but not too chocolately so that you don't feel like you've had a milkshake or something.

My hair lady was very concerned the other day when I told her I would be headed straight to the gym without eating anything and insisted I eat one of her Kind Bars. I mentioned Kind granola a while back, but I had not tried the bars because I typically don't like bars that are heavily nutty. These are great though, and the almond coconut is my favorite (and I don't even like coconut!):

Unlike those pesky regular Luna bars (MISS YOU GUYS!), Luna Protien bars are gluten-free and delicious! My favorite is the chocolate peanut butter, but they are all delicious. And they are relatively low in calories for a bar, 190 calories compared to 250 for my beloved Think! Thin bars:

So what are you guys (gluten-free or otherwise) eating as a pre-workout snack? This is always a conundrum for me because I don't want to eat more calories than I would burn in the workout, but I also don't want to PASS OUT.

In other gluten-free news, I posted my recipe for the perfect gluten-free pizza english muffin on my blog. Check it out!

Orange Poppyseed Dressing: Vegan, Paleo, Whole30 Approved!

by Caitlin

Have you heard of the Whole30? In a nutshell (mmm, nuts, Whole30 approved!) it's 30 days of clean eating and whole foods; essentially just produce, meat, seafood, and certain nuts, oils, seeds, and fats. No wheat, no dairy, no legumes, no grains, no alcohol, no added sugar -- not even natural sugars like maple syrup. Fruit and sweet potatoes are okay, but no white potatoes. Zach and I are doing it January 2 - February 2, along with half the internet. 

At first glance you'd think the focus would be restriction, but there's just so much delicious food you can eat. And having done a strict allergy elimination diet earlier in the year, this seems easier in some ways. It's certainly a bit healthier (I miiiiiiiiight have turned to sugar to cope with that diet). Grassfed pot roast, smoothies, salads, shepherd's pie, grilled salmon, crab cakes, avocado on everything, lots of green vegetables, sliced pears with cashew butter: All things my body is thrilled to see after the past two months Zach and I have had of holiday indulging and stress, long hours, surgery, and too many convenience foods. It has actually been fun for me not to have an excuse to take shortcuts as it's forcing me to come up with things I've been meaning to try for a while. Like this orange poppyseed dressing.

I first made this for New Year's Eve (pre-Whole30), wherein I tossed it with mesclun/baby greens and added red grapes, toasted pecans, feta, and dried sour cherries. For Whole30 I think this would be delightful tossed with mixed greens, grilled chicken, avocado, and some grapes or fresh orange segments. Maybe cucumber and red bell pepper, too. It came together quickly and was fun and different from my normal default of olive oil & balsamic vinvegar.

Whole30 Orange Poppyseed Dressing

Juice & zest of an orange
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra light olive oil
small-medium shallot. (I had a huge one and used a quarter of it.)
1 T good mustard. (If doing Whole30 it should be free of sugar and wine.)
salt & pepper to taste
1-2 teaspoons poppyseeds. (I added a little at a time until it looked right.)

Wizz everything but the poppyseeds in the blender or food processor. When it's emulsified, add the poppyseeds and pulse once, just to mix. Taste it, add more salt and pepper and poppy seeds if necessary. If it needs more brightness or acidity, add a sploosh more red wine vinegar. With natural ingedients, your mileage may vary.

Gluten Free Corner: Late July Green Mojo, and a Bonus Snack Idea.

by Slynnro

I've waxed poetically before on my blog about my obsession with Late July chips, and Caitlin has blogged about their ranch chips on Food Lush as well (confession: I'm the only sorority girl on earth that hates Ranch things). I have quietly been inhaling bag after bag of Sea Salt by the Sea Shore chips. And, lo, they are delicious. But then....I bought a bag of Mild Green Mojo and my life totally changed.  

I've been trying to come up with a way to describe the flavor of these chips, but honestly I cannot. Except to say my obsession with them is such that I have to MEASURE OUT SERVINGS and put them in bags so that I don't accidentally eat the entire bag in one sitting. We are in serious love, Mild Green Mojo and Me, and will be personally offended if you don't go buy some of these chips posthaste. I usually get mine at Whole Foods, but I actually did see them recently at Albertson's, so hopefully they will be available at more average grocery stores at a more reasonable price. Regular price is around $4.99 for a bag, but I am having good luck spotting them on sale for $2.99. Not only are these chips perfect on their own, I have been enjoying scooping up my Chipotle salad with them lately as well.

Beyond my obsession with these chips, I have a new dirty little snacking secret. I have always loved Annie's Graham Bunnies, and there is always a box in my bag when I travel. My favorite of the lot is most definitely the Ginger Snap variety:

Now, I AM a sorority girl in that I am always trying to find myself some kind of low cal sweet snack, and I have eaten an embarrassing number of tubs of Cool Whip with a spoon. I spotted some Tru Whip at Whole Foods and decided to give it a try. This stuff is leaps and bounds better that Cool Whip -- it has a very ice-creamy consistency. And in a moment of inspiration, I combined my Annie's Bunnies with my Tru Whip and my own little low calorie McFlurry was born. After discovering the deliciousness of this combination, I took my snack ambitions a step further and stirred a (large) amount of Bunnies into a Tru Whip container and put it back in the freezer.  

OH WOW.

This snack is not something to tell your nutritionist about, but its something to enjoy on occasion without any guilt. It's addictive. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Gluten-Free (And Diet-Friendly!) Corner: Seasons 52

by Slynnro

Last night, I dined at a Seasons 52 for the first time. For those of you unfamiliar with their dining concept, all dishes on the menu have fewer than 475 calories. Seasons 52 refers to itself as a "Fresh Grill," and they do so with serious conviction when your waiter comes to the table. They say "fresh grill" as though it were a commonly accepted thing, which gave me a small chuckle. ("It's not a thing!" was my rant). But the concept is something I can get behind--fresh foods, cooked in a healthy preparation. BUT WOULD THE PORTIONS BE ENOUGH? That was the big question I had, and the answer is a resounding yes!

To start, we shared the chicken skewers and a pork carnitas flat bread:

I only nibbled a bite of the flatbread because, uh, bread. But it was quite tasty, and rather large for 470 calories. The chicken skewers were also excellent:

The chicken was flavorful and juicy.

For my entree, I had the pork medallions, which are on the Seasons 52 gluten-free menu (there is also dairy-free, lactose-free, low-sodium, vegetarian, vegan, and, ultimate sadness, garlic-free menu options):

This was delicious! And as you can see, the portion was generous. This dish came in at 470 calories, and it was perfectly filling.  Aaron had a grilled chicken dish:

which was also filling (for a 6'3" boy!), and quite tasty as well.  

When we finished our entrees, we both had a sense of being perfectly full--not overly so, as is often the case when eating a multi-course dinner. In addition to our appetizers and entrees, we both had salads, which were fresh and perfectly lightly dressed. After years of ordering my salads with the dressing on the side, I recently decided to be brave and not request the dressing on the side. The salad was so overly dressed it was inedible. But these salads were dressed just enough to flavor the greens, but lightly enough that you could still taste the vegetable goodness. This was the feeling on all of our dishes--we didn't feel overly full because our entrees weren't covered in butter and oil, and you could really taste the ingredients. It was a refreshing change.

We both agreed that, for once, we were truly excited to have a nibble of dessert, without dreading the painfully full feeling we often get when indulging (but which for some reason, we cannot avoid subjecting ourselves to). I forgot to photograph them, but we shared two mini-indulgences, which are desserts in shot glasses, peanut butter & chocolate mousse, and a pecan pie indulgence. Neither were gluten-free, so I just had a little nibble and both were delicious!

After a four-course meal, I did a calorie tally, and my huge dinner was a mere 950 calories. Seasons 52, you'll be seeing me again!

Trial by Pancake: Fluffy Coconut & Pumpkin Protein

by Sarah Anne

I love breakfast.

It is no secret that brunch is the best meal of the day and I wish every restaurant served it every day. It is probably also no surprise that I too fall prey to the age old question "Sweet or Savory"? Do I have the eggs benedict with chipotle hollandaise over black bean puree with aged gouda, or do I go with the stuffed pumpkin french toast with bruleed pecans and lemon scented whipped coconut milk? (And uhm, who is going to make me both of those right now?) I often wish I could have half of one dish and half of another, sweet and savory, so at home we do scrambled eggs with a side of sweet sometimes. I'd say 75% of the time, savory wins out, but I always have that hankering for delicious pancakes or maple syrup doused french toast.

Once I've decided that sweet is the way to go, I have another conundrum: How do I avoid the white-flour-and-sugar spike? Pancakes and french toast never seem to really stick with me like eggs and toast do, which is frustrating when you're trying to eat healthy. I have searched the web high and low for a good option and I never seem to make the same recipe twice, until now.

I've tried SO many kinds of protein pancakes, banana flourless pancakes, and everything in between. You name it. I've tried it. In my search of finding the right pancake recipe, I discovered two recipes that are high protein, white flour free and have proven to keep me satisfied for far longer than your usual pancake breakfast does! You'll have to pardon a lack of personal photos, these happen in the morning and I'm sure you all understand my normal morning 'state'.

Jamie Eason's Pumpkin Protein Pancakes (more alliteration!) have been in rotation for a few months now. They're high in fiber and vitamin A due to the pumpkin and if you use gluten-free oats, they are a great option for the Celiac in your family. I know you all may be sick of pumpkin spice by this point, but trust me and give these a try.

Source

More recently (read last week), these delicious, Fluffy Coconut Pancakes thanks to Nourishing Days have been the go-to. They are lighter and definitely more like your average pancake I think. They have great ingredients, delicious light flavour and pack a punch of protein thanks to the egg whites. These beauties are also grain free, and dairy free for those with allergies or intolerances. 

Source

They are both pretty easy recipes, and quick, which let's face it is important in the morning. I love mine topped with coconut oil and syrup, or even smothered with a bit of your favourite nut butter. For those of you that haven't tried many paleo-style recipes, please be aware that the coconut pancakes are a little eggy, but the author has updated her recipe with a few tip and tricks to try.

I'm not sure which is my favourite to be honest, but these recipes have certainly increased the 'sweet' breakfast options in my house. I have substituted banana for the pumpkin in the first recipe, but it just wasn't as tasty as the original. Lesson learned: Sarah, stick to the recipe.

Do you have a 'go-to' recipe for french toast, waffles or pancakes? What is your normal breakfast? Is weekend brunch your thing? I'd love to have some new recipes for my repetoire!

Oh, and folks? Please, do yourself and me a favour and use real maple syrup. It's the only way.

Source: My Dad's homemade, Maine maple syrup.

Gluten-Free Corner: Kind Granola

by Slynnro

Even prior to going GF, I generally avoided granola (not granola bars, I love those, but Granola GRANOLA) because holy crap, one second you're enjoying a delicious healthy snack and then two minutes later, you have just inhaled 750 calories and 50 grams of fat. However, over Thanksgiving I was at a recently GF relative's house (she's GF because of migraines and has had great success, if that's something you're dealing with now!) and I was advising her on various gluten-free goodies. She was showing me what was in her pantry and one of the things she had tried and liked was Kind Healthy Grains in Dark Chocolate and Cranberry cluster. Now, as a fruit hater (yes, I hate all fruit, and yes, even strawberries) I don't normally taste such things, but I was starving and downed a handful. And my lord, was this stuff delicious. Not fruity-tasting at all.

 

It comes in a variety of flavors, and the nutrition facts are surprisingly reasonable. There are 130 calories and 3 grams of fat in 1/3 cup. Much to my shock, I was actually able to consume a reasonable serving and be satisfied. Which is good, because at around $5/bag, this stuff isn't cheap. I picked mine up at Whole Foods, but I have seen it at regular chain grocery stores as well.  

Kind makes a variety of other bars and granola flavors, and I eager to get to tasting!

Fried Egg over Quinoa

by Jess M

As a stay-at-home mom, and the one in charge of feeding 5 people three meals a day, I usually slack off when it comes to putting effort into my own lunches. With my husband at work, and my older two children at school, it’s just the toddler and me here for lunch. So I usually default to some form of melting cheese on a carb: grilled cheese, quesadilla, nachos, etc. And while tasty, this isn’t the healthiest of lunchtime habits and I’m usually sleepy and hungry again by the time the toddler settles in her room for quiet time and then I have free reign of the snack foods.

So, I’ve been trying to think of something delicious and healthy to eat for lunch. I do not want to go to any trouble. I will go so far as to dirty one plate or bowl, maybe a cooking vessel, but that’s it. 

 

I cooked up some quinoa and put it in a bowl with some soy sauce. Then I fried an egg, set it on top and drizzled some sriracha sauce over it. It was delicious and I was full all afternoon. And I’m so excited about it I can’t wait to eat it again for lunch today. 

(Photo from: me)

Gluten Free Corner: Plentils Lentil Chips

by Slynnro

Well, after a brief work-induced hiatus, I'm back and from now on I will be bringing you my favorite gluten-free finds (and anything I find that is NOT worth the investment). Hopefully, the finds I bring here will be delicious enough for the non-gluten intolerant amongst us, as well!  

So this week's featured product is Plentils, delicious lentil chips!

 

These chips are made by Enjoy Life, and well, I haven't always enjoyed their wares. But these chips are awesome. They have a lightness in texture that for some reason reminds me of FunYuns (do those still exist? Are they gluten free? FunYuns taste like my childhood), without the horrific onion breath after.

I've had a lot of luck with products that are lentil-based when gluten-free goodies hunting, and these were no exception. They'd make a great sandwich side, and I've also crushed them into tomato soup and put them on top of a salad in lieu of croutons. These are also definitely yummy enough that I'd serve them to someone without gluten issues without my typical "gluten-free good" warning -- gluten-free good meaning, they're good . . . for being gluten free. These are just straight-up good. I picked them up at my local Whole Foods. They are also available through the Enjoy Life website for $3.74/bag, which is about what I paid in store. They also sell a small indiviudal serving bag online, and I haven't been able to find that in store.

31 chips has 130 calories, and 6 grams of fat, which is a bonus -- gluten-free chips and especially pretzels tend to have pretty high calorie and fat content. They are also dairy free.