Tag Archives: allergen free

Sunday

22

April 2012

Earth Bowls with Curried Quinoa Tabouli

Happy Earth Day to all!

I recently came across a great recipe for Earth bowls with Freekah, and instantly wanted to try my hand at an adapted recipe (since I can’t have Freekah..aka ‘green wheat’). I adapted my own recipe based on this one, but used Curried Quinoa Tabouli, crisp green onions and green cabbage for the bowl. We go meatless probably 4 days a week on average and this is a perfect substitute for animal protein. This recipe is gluten free and free of the top 8 allergens…just omit the slivered almonds if you’re allergic to tree nuts.

Looks like a mini green planet.

To make the Curried Quinoa Tabouli filling, cook quinoa as usual and add 1 medium red onion, 2 garlic cloves, 2 roma tomatoes (diced), sea salt, ground black pepper, white pepper, and curry powder to taste. Put the mixture in a large leaf of lettuce, green cabbage or red cabbage. Top with slivered almonds. I was planning to drizzle a bit of chili pepper sauce on top, but ran out of time and ingredients to make it.

Did you celebrate Earth Day today?

Let’s make a habit of celebrating it every day.

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Saturday

21

April 2012

Earth Day: Herbed Organic Carrot Soup

Since Earth Hour came around on the 31st of March, we’ve been inspired to try for an Earth Hour at least once every week. This is in combination with cutting down on water consumption, fuel consumption, and eating organically whenever possible.

Tomorrow, April 22, is Earth Day. In celebration, I’ll be switching off appliances and lights and heading outside for a large part of the day. I think it’s a perfect time to reconnect with our natural roots and bask in the new fresh spring that’s arrived. Keeping it simple and earthy, I made an Herbed Organic Carrot Soup that was smooth and energizing. (This is an allergen free recipe–free of the top 8 allergens and gluten).

Herbed Organic Carrot Soup (allergen free).

  • 7-8 Organic carrots
  • 1 medium white or yellow onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • Olive Oil
  • 3 or 3 1/2  cups water or vegetable stock (depending on if you like the soup to have a thicker or thinner consistency).
  • Salt, Pepper
  • Mixed Italian Herbs, dried or fresh. I used dried Parsley, Basil, Oregano, Thyme, and Rosemary.

Chop and saute the onion and garlic with olive oil over medium heat in a sauce or soup pot. Add the chopped carrots, water/vegetable stock, spices, and herbs. (You could make a curried version by adding some curry paste or curry powder). Bring the water to a medium high temperature, but not quite boiling. Then lower the heat to a simmer and cover. Let the soup simmer for 20-30 minutes. After the carrots are cooked through, pour the soup in a blender or use an immersion blender to blend the soup to the desired consistency. I like mine mostly smooth, but with a fair bit of fine texture left.

Wishing everyone a Happy Earth Day!

How do you plan to celebrate our planet not only on Earth Day, but everyday?

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Friday

30

March 2012

Review: Enjoy Life Chewy Bars

Gluten free, and allergen free? You know exactly how difficult it can be to find good on-the-go snacks and bites for long days or when traveling. Convenience stores and fast food chains hold next to nothing for those like us, which can be frustrating at times. I’m always looking for good energy boosters to throw in my bag…along with what seems to be the rest of my life. (Everything I need always finds it’s way to the bottom of the bag. Ladies, I know you can sympathize).

Enjoy Life Chewy Bars are a good item to toss in your purse or bag for on-the-run snacks, and they’re free of the top 8 allergens and gluten free. Enjoy Life was nice enough to send me a sample of all four flavors of the Chewy Bars–Sunbutter Crunch, Caramel Apple, Very Berry, and Cocoa Loco. (I was not compensated in any way for my opinion of the products, I only received them from the company).

The first thing I have to say honestly, is that the taste of texture of these products has increased ten-fold since the first time I tried them a few years back while I was first getting the hang of being gluten free. Before, they seemed a little too dense for me. But now, all the bars are bursting with flavor and a soft, chewy texture which is anything but dense.

They also updated the look of the packaging, complete with adorable bar codes! Super unique! Ok, yes I’m seriously talking about bar code designs right now, but I feel like it’s the littlest details that can make something that much more special. Or maybe it’s just the design obsessed junkie in me. I may or may not have rearranged my room on a monthly basis for years in the past. Don’t judge =)

The only thing I would say is a downfall of sorts when it comes to these Chewy Bars is their size. I remember them being a little bigger in the past, which I felt was the perfect size. With such an awesome recipe and taste, I find myself wanting to eat more for my snack. If the reason for the smaller size is regarding portion control, I feel it may be more beneficial to cut back just a tad on the sugar in the product instead of cutting back on the overall size in my opinion. The ingredients themselves are considered healthy and wholesome in general, such as sunflower seed butter and dried fruits. They are also loaded with vitamins and minerals that really pick me up.

I put in some long hours this week working from home, and these were an awesome counterpart.

Click here to see my favorite flavor!

Do you have any favorite allergen free on-the-go snacks?

Enjoy Life has a lot of great things in this category!

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Thursday

23

February 2012

A Chocolate Affair

Recently, I received two new chocolate products from Enjoy Life Foods:

Double Chocolate Chunk Granola, and Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mega Chunks!

They are both fabulous, pure chocolate goodness on their own, and were equally as delicious when I incorporated them into some of my own original concoctions. While I received these products to try from Enjoy Life, I was not compensated in any way for these recipes or this post. This is my true opinion of these products, and my opinion is that Enjoy Life rocked it yet again for all of us allergen free folks! Enjoy Life makes products free of the top 8 allergens and gluten free. They consistently make my allergic life easier (I have Celiac Disease/gluten intolerance, and I’m highly allergic to Soy, Peanuts, and all Legumes [peas, beans, lentils, etc]). Thanks Enjoy Life!

My recipes that used the new products are as follows:

Double Chocolate Chunk Fruit & Coconut Yogurt Parfait

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup So Delicious Plain Coconut Yogurt
  • 1/4 cup Organic Blueberries & Organic Strawberries
  • 1/2 cup Enjoy Life Double Chocolate Chunk Granola

Assemble ingredients in layers starting with the yogurt at the bottom of a decorative glass. Layer granola, fruit, more yogurt, and top with the rest of the crunchy yummy granola. Looks and tastes gourmet in less than 5 minutes!

I received these new chocolate products from Enjoy Life Foods.

My second recipe features the new Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mega Chunks:

Cacao and Mega Chocolate Chunk Pancakes

Ingredients:

Combine ingredients and follow the recipe for the Pancake Mix on the Namaste Package. Add the raw cacao powder, cinnamon, and chocolate mega chunks. Fry each pancake in a bit of extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil until slightly crispy edges form. Top with fresh organic strawberries and use raw local honey for a light syrup.

What are your favorite ways to enjoy allergy free chocolate?

These have to be some of my favorite ways so far.

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Saturday

18

February 2012

Sweet Tooth

From time to time, it’s nice to indulge–in moderation of course. Most of these sweet allergen free treats can be found in my pantry on a rotating basis. Many of them are actually lower in sugar or organic sweeteners than normal sweets found in the grocery store. So you can satisfy that occasional craving while not setting your health back. Agave nectar, stevia, and organic fruit juices are some of the sweeteners that can be found in some of my favorite yums…I support a health conscious, and very moderate sweet tooth. The following items are gluten, soy, wheat, peanut, fish, shellfish, egg, and dairy free.

  1. Navitas Naturals Cacao powder–I add this to my Brown Rice protein shakes for a healthy boost of flavor with no added sugar. Just pure antioxidants.
  2. Navitas Naturals Raw Cacao Nibs–A strong source of healthy antioxidants. Add them to daily shakes, trail mixes flax cereals, gluten free oatmeal, and more. Read about the benefits of Cacao here, at the bottom of the page.
  3. Yummy Earth Organic Gummy Bears–All organic and natural gummies. NO artificial colors or anything! Some are even colored with beet juice–but trust me, they taste better than the super sugar laden versions you’d usually find in the candy aisle. Made in an allergen free facility.
  4. Enjoy life Crunchy Double Chocolate Cookies–Delectable! I compared the sugar content to Chips Ahoy (a popular “regular” allergy laden standard cookie brand) and found it to be about 2 times less sugar per serving size.
  5. Glee Gum, Bubblegum Flavor–I am so happy to finally find allergen free chewing gum! About to feel like a 5th grader again in 5..4…3..2…1…
  6. Surf Sweets Jelly Beans–Made in a facility free of the top 8 allergens.
  7. Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss Ice Cream in Dark Chocolate–They have so many awesome flavors to choose from, and what I especially love is that they use Agave nectar instead of processed sugar. They also refrain from using legumes like Locust bean gum and Carob bean gum (which I react to having soy and legume allergies). I LOVE this brand.
  8. and 9. VerMints, in Peppermint, Chai, and many other flavors–Free of the top 8 allergens, and made in a dedicated allergen free facility.

10.  Surf Sweets Gummy Fruity Hearts–Such a cute gift for your allergen free sweetie. No hints here at all.

11. Navitas Naturals Organic Goji Berries–Just raw goji berries and nothing else. A naturally sweet and healthy treat.

12. Enjoy Life Snickdoodle Cookies–Soft baked, chewy, cinnaminny goodness! My personal favorite of the moment.

Remember to indulge responsibly and moderately with all sweet treats.

Wishing you a naturally sweet and magical weekend.

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