vegetarian

nightshade-free black bean guacamole

Posted on Apr 25, 2013

Hav­ing to give up one of my favorite cuisines, Mex­i­can food, has been ridicu­lously dif­fi­cult. I love moles and salsa, chili rel­leno and grilled pep­pers, but they don’t love me. Turns out, they don’t love my daugh­ter either. So, I … more →




mexican bowls

Posted on Mar 3, 2013

This is a per­fect lunch or din­ner with left­over pot roast. In fact, I make a pot roast just for this pur­pose. Inspired from my favorite “fast” food restau­rant, Chipo­tle, this was my once a week treat. Now that night­shades … more →




udi’s pizza crusts

Posted on Feb 16, 2013

A nice addi­tion to their array of gluten-free prod­ucts, Udi’s pizza crusts offer a quick din­ner option for those nights you really don’t feel like cook­ing. They are two to a pack­age at about $5.00, so $2.50 per unit. A fam­ily … more →




happy v-day

Posted on Feb 13, 2013

A few good­ies to make for your favorite Valen­tines on this day of splurg­ing. Valen­tine Bon­bons Choco­late Almond Bark Straw­berry Banana Cake Melissa’s Choco­late Peanut Butter Cups     




gluten-free green beans gremolata

Posted on Jan 21, 2013

I per­son­ally could eat green beans every day. Steamed, roasted, blanched and sauteed with olive oil… My hus­band finally asked for a new pre­sen­ta­tion. When I saw Ina Garten’s vaca­tion to Napa show on the Food Net­work, I knew I’d … more →




kid margarita

Posted on Oct 21, 2012

An oldie, but a goodie! This is a reprint because of a com­puter quirk. This is a refresh­ing ver­sion of lemon-limeade and a nice option for any­one who doesn’t drink alco­hol. Active time: 1 minute Yield: 1 8oz serv­ing 6 oz. … more →




greens and butternut squash salad

Posted on Oct 16, 2012

I just had this salad at Waters, our won­der­ful local cafe, where we cel­e­brated my sister-in-law Randy’s birth­day. I am dupli­cat­ing it here because it was deli­cious! This recipe calls for goat cheese — omit if you are dairy intol­er­ant. … more →




Balsamic Vinaigrette

Posted on Oct 12, 2012

This is a very sim­ple dress­ing to put together, with a nice acidic bal­ance. I use a mini proces­sor, in which case, I need to thin the dress­ing with a tea­spoon or two of water. If you sim­ply shake it … more →




gluten-free pumpkin ginger scones

Posted on Oct 12, 2012

I know…more pump­kin. But I’ve devo­tee, so I eat a lot of it in the fall. Here’s my offer­ing for a deli­cious pump­kin scone with tons of gin­ger. If you like less gin­ger, sim­ply cut back. The fla­vor here is … more →




gluten-free blueberry lemon scones II

Posted on Oct 11, 2012

I’ve been exper­i­ment­ing with scones and muffins now that the kids are back in school. The ease of pulling these from the freezer the night before for a quick break­fast is a huge help in the morn­ing. These are made … more →




gluten-free pumpkin spice cookies

Posted on Sep 29, 2012

I love fall — every­thing about it. On the west coast, we have a fairly nar­row cor­ri­dor of color com­pared to the rest of the coun­try, but as a native, I can always find a fall day in length­en­ing shad­ows … more →




gluten-free vegan almond spread

Posted on Sep 23, 2012

Good for the brain and good for the heart, almonds are also a great way to reg­u­late cho­les­terol. When I want some­thing fluffy and creamy to dip my veg­gies or rice crack­ers in, this is a great option, and a … more →




new product — best gf pasta to date!

Posted on Sep 19, 2012

We’ve tried lots of brands of gluten-free pasta, but bionaturae’s line of organic, gluten-free pasta is the one most highly favored by the two gluten addicts in my home. Made in Italy, their gf pasta comes in four forms: spaghetti, elbow, … more →




gluten-free thousand island dressing

Posted on Sep 15, 2012

I remem­ber eat­ing this as a kid over an ice­burg let­tuce salad. I never cared that the let­tuce had absolutely no fla­vor — the point was the dress­ing. This is great over a stan­dard salad, or bet­ter yet, as the … more →




Omission — hands down the best gluten-free beer

Posted on Sep 1, 2012

When I first found out I had gluten issues, I resolved to have a stiff upper lip. I could give up sour­dough bread and my favorite pasta. I could even give up pie and real choco­late chip cook­ies, but when … more →




blueberry lemon scones

Posted on May 22, 2012

Adapted from Elana’s Pantry orig­i­nal recipe of Gluten Free Cran­berry Orange Scones, I’ve com­bined two of my favorite fla­vors, with almond flour as the base. Due to my night­shade allergy, and because potato starch is such an inte­gral ingre­di­ent for … more →




mango strawberry sunrise

Posted on Apr 17, 2012

I use my lit­tle magic bul­let for this, which gives me a per­fect sin­gle serv­ing. This dou­bles eas­ily to pro­vide four lit­tle serv­ings for break­fast or an after­noon snack. Hav­ing frozen fruit in the freezer makes this a snap! On … more →




dandelion greens

Posted on Mar 28, 2012

I’ve always had a curios­ity about the greens I watched my father eat his whole life. My mother steamed or sautéd them with but­ter, salt and pep­per and I would watch him eat a plate­ful, grate­ful that I was not … more →




all fruit breakfast smoothie

Posted on Mar 1, 2012

Con­tain­ing all acid and sub-acid fruits, this smoothie is a great way to cleanse your body first thing in the morn­ing.  A com­plete food with a per­fect bal­ance of pro­tein and starches which are already bro­ken down into amino acids … more →




gluten-free raspberry bon bons

Posted on Nov 30, 2011

Choco­late and raspberries…what’s not to love? This is a fun project to do with kids. Candy molds are an inex­pen­sive pur­chase (I got mine at Michaels), and with the bon bon molds, you can fill them with any­thing you like. … more →




sweet potato casserole

Posted on Nov 13, 2011

There is no other meal I can think of, where we hold tighter to our sacro­sanct tra­di­tions than Thanks­giv­ing. For every per­son who par­takes, I find there are one or two dishes that must be on the table for the … more →




lisa’s greens and quinoa salad

Posted on Oct 23, 2011

My niece, Lisa came up with this won­der­ful salad. Bright­ened with pis­ta­chios and cran­ber­ries, the quinoa pro­vides a nice punch of pro­tein. This a won­der­ful side for a Frit­tata brunch or along­side a nour­ish­ing But­ter­nut Squash Soup. It’s great served … more →




gluten-free pumpkin bon bons

Posted on Oct 9, 2011

I love any­thing pumpkin…bread, pancakes…watch for pump­kin soup later this month. So nat­u­rally, I fig­ured it would pair well with choco­late. This is a fun project to do with kids. Candy molds are an inex­pen­sive pur­chase (I got mine at … more →




goldmine

Posted on Oct 5, 2011

One of many won­der­ful things my hus­band brought to our mar­riage was this recipe. Some­times called a “Toad in the Hole” here in the states (much to the cha­grin of the Brits who assign this name to an entirely dif­fer­ent … more →




butternut squash soup

Posted on Sep 30, 2011

I know fall is here when I find but­ter­nut squash at my local stores. I always mar­vel at how sim­ple this recipe is. Every once in a while, I try to mon­key around with it by adding green apple, or … more →




cilantro vinaigrette

Posted on Sep 25, 2011

Cilantro. An herb peo­ple are rarely ambiva­lent about. I hap­pen to love it. Being a Cal­i­forn­ian, I sup­pose I have a nat­ural predilec­tion for it. This is an adap­ta­tion of the sauce for Fish Tacos. Prep time: 5 min­utes Total … more →




gf hot dog buns

Posted on Sep 23, 2011

If you haven’t already heard, Udi’s now offers hot dog buns! My son is so happy! If you like the ham­burger buns, you’ll be really happy with the hot dog buns. Find them at a store near you. Great accom­pa­ni­ments for … more →




gluten free, dairy free ranch dressing

Posted on Sep 21, 2011

Not just a dress­ing but a condi­ment for mak­ing all sorts of veg­eta­bles palat­able for young kids. God for­bid they ever actu­ally put it on a salad! Serve this up with cucum­bers, car­rots and cel­ery for a refresh­ing snack, or … more →




mediterranean pasta

Posted on Sep 10, 2011

Enjoy this with a sim­ple green salad. If you want to make this sans dairy, I would replace the feta and parme­san with shred­ded Daiya moz­zarella. Active time: 10 min­utes Total time: 30 min­utes Yield: 4–6 serv­ings 1 lb. rice … more →




simple syrup

Posted on Aug 9, 2011

This is a won­der­ful base for any drink the requires sweet­ness, alco­holic and non. Won­der­ful for Sum­mer Lemon­ade as well as White San­gria, it comes together quickly, and the ratios are always the same. Prep time: 2 min­utes Total time: 10 … more →




floating ice ring

Posted on Aug 9, 2011

I love using these when I do a punch because it’s beau­ti­ful in it’s own right, and it keeps the punch crisp and cool. Prep time: 5–10 min­utes Total time: 8 hours Yield: 1 ice ring Spe­cial equip­ment: 1-piece bundt ring 1 … more →




tzatziki

Posted on Aug 7, 2011

A cool com­pli­ment to a Mediter­ranean meal…make it an hour ahead of time so that the fla­vors can meld together. Great with Gar­lic Rose­mary Chicken. Prep time: 10 min­utes Total time: 1 hours, 10 min­utes Yield: 3 cups or about … more →




summer lemonade

Posted on Jul 26, 2011

The best lemon­ade always start with a sim­ple syrup. It takes longer, but it’s smooth, with­out the grit­ti­ness of undis­solved sugar. When we received two laun­dry bas­kets full of lemons from a friend, we juiced them all and froze the … more →




blueberry smoothie

Posted on Jul 14, 2011

Using a Magic Bul­let makes this one serv­ing smoothie a snap. If you want to dou­ble it, use the blender. Full of antiox­i­dants, this smoothie can get you going first thing in the morn­ing or pro­vide a pick-me-up for a … more →




perfect corn

Posted on Jul 12, 2011

There’s few things bet­ter than a fresh ear of corn in sum­mer. But how many times have we suf­fered through an over-cooked ear with wilted ker­nels? Here’s a fool-proof way to make corn that pops as you bite into it. … more →




melissa’s chocolate peanut butter cups

Posted on Jun 26, 2011

A busy mother of three, Melissa devised this fin­ger lick­ing treat which mar­ries two of life’s per­fect fla­vors: choco­late and peanut but­ter. Gluten and dairy free, but chem­i­cal and preser­v­a­tive free as well, your kids will love these. Adults too, … more →




maiah’s chocolate zucchini cake

Posted on Jun 26, 2011

Maiah sub­mit­ted this as an adap­ta­tion from a fam­ily recipe. Those of you who have a veg­etable gar­den can tes­tify that there is just so much zuc­chini you can eat or give to your neigh­bors! I love that this cake … more →




pineapple upside down cake

Posted on Jun 13, 2011

I per­son­ally love these old fash­ioned desserts that remind me of my early child­hood and church potlucks. And noth­ing says sum­mer like a pair of cat-eyed sun­glasses and pineap­ple upside down cake…1960’s style. Trust me, I have pic­tures of my … more →




onion rings

Posted on Jun 9, 2011

This is a splurge. Things like french fries and onion rings are kind of a pain to pre­pare, which keeps us from doing it too often. We have these once in a blue moon. One large onion is the right … more →




coconut strawberry ice cream

Posted on Jun 1, 2011

Uber deli­cious and crazy quick. The only require­ment is an ice cream maker, which is one of those invest­ments that pays for itself the first sum­mer you use it. This coconut based ice cream is creamy and full of fla­vor. … more →




hard-boiled egg spiders

Posted on May 17, 2011

“If you fol­low a spe­cial diet, be sure to include cal­cium rich foods.  Cal­cium is an impor­tant nutri­ent, espe­cially when you or your child is on a dairy-free (casein-free) diet. Cal­cium is impor­tant for strong bones, as well as sup­port­ing … more →




lettuce wraps

Posted on May 10, 2011

Hydro­ponic let­tuce is one of my new favorites. The bonus is that the Costco near me sells a big con­tainer of it. The brand is eva pro­duced by Grupo Altex. I try to pur­chase food as locally as pos­si­ble. For … more →




chocolate puffed rice treats

Posted on May 9, 2011

A clas­sic Amer­i­can treat that is almost always gluten and dairy free! You can use tra­di­tional marsh­mal­lows or get the more health con­scious vari­ety at your local co-op or Whole Foods. My son’s 8th birth­day party is tomor­row and this … more →




dill vinaigrette

Posted on May 6, 2011

Burst­ing with the fresh­ness of lemon and the light­ness of dill, but grounded with the tart­ness of dijon mus­tard makes this a fam­ily favorite. I love it over greens with a piece of fish atop. This is also great on … more →




all fruit smoothie

Posted on May 5, 2011

It looks like a milk-shake, but there’s noth­ing in here but fruit. This is the snack my kids ask for most when they come home and drop their back packs on the floor. Impro­vise and use what­ever fruit is in … more →




banana strawberry no-milk shake

Posted on Apr 28, 2011

One more creamy gfcfsf alter­na­tive to offer your­self or your kids as a treat. I like mine around 4:00 p.m. when I start my after­noon lag. With lots of fruit and pro­tein, and so thick you can float a slice … more →




kitchen sink salad

Posted on Apr 25, 2011

We love sal­ads in our fam­ily and can’t imag­ine a meal with­out one. My kids were won over when they were tiny which makes get­ting raw veg­eta­bles into their diet easy. The point of this salad is to use up … more →




banana strawberry cake

Posted on Apr 22, 2011

I’m on kind of a berry kick at the moment. Now that spring is firmly here and I can feel the hint of sum­mer here in South­ern Cal­i­for­nia, I know per­fectly ripe berries are just around the cor­ner. That means … more →




berry port cake

Posted on Apr 22, 2011

I have those moments of rash jus­ti­fi­ca­tion when I tell myself that I HAVE to eat this to make sure it’s ready to share. My accom­plice was my 8 year old son, who like a small rodent, took a bite … more →




poached eggs

Posted on Apr 19, 2011

Often times, it’s dif­fi­cult to fig­ure out the cook­ing of eggs when one is dairy-free. Grape­seed oil and Earth Bal­ance spreads are help­ful for scram­bling or fry­ing, but if you want to truly go au nat­u­rale, poach­ing is the way … more →




margherita pizza

Posted on Apr 17, 2011

I don’t think you should have to give up pizza just because you can longer eat gluten or dairy. With Trader Joe’s Brown Rice Tor­tillas, I make these in my largest cast iron pan. If you can’t do dairy, try … more →




rice pilaf with noodles

Posted on Apr 17, 2011

When­ever we go to one of our favorite Greek restau­rants, my son and I can’t eat the rice because it has those threads of noo­dles in it. I saw Lucinda Scala Quinn demon­strate a sim­i­lar dish, so here’s my gluten-free … more →




chocolate dipped strawberries

Posted on Mar 25, 2011

There is some­thing so famil­iar, yet deca­dent about a choco­late dipped straw­berry. You can do them the night before you serve them and they are per­fect the next day. Just take them out of the refrig­er­a­tor about a half hour … more →




chocolate cupcakes

Posted on Mar 25, 2011

I love a good short cut. Sof’ella makes an excel­lent choco­late cake mix that requires the addi­tion of water, eggs and but­ter (I used grape­seed oil with no prob­lem). I made a few changes — instead of 1 1/4 cups … more →




carrot cake & pumpkin muffins

Posted on Mar 23, 2011

This is a take-off of my pump­kin banana muffins, but car­rot cake style. I love using a mini muf­fin pan for these for tiny bite-sized treats that freeze beau­ti­fully. I know…it’s a lot of ingre­di­ents, but most of them are … more →




herbed hummus

Posted on Mar 1, 2011

In my quest to develop a short-cut recipe for falafel, I instead came up with a lovely recipe for Herbed Hum­mus. There’s a few ingre­di­ents here, but the result is deli­cious and com­plex, and trust me, you’ll love hav­ing these … more →




quick pesto and pasta

Posted on Feb 28, 2011

The rich tex­ture of wal­nuts replace pine nuts and parme­san cheese in this quick and sim­ple recipe. I love to serve this over spaghetti or fusilli pasta. Any left­over pesto is great on crack­ers. For left­over pasta, sim­ply refresh it … more →




valentine bonbons

Posted on Feb 12, 2011

My friend, Simone, gave me the idea for these lit­tle nuggets. Using ready made choco­late sand­wich creme cook­ies (they look like Oreos) make these gluten-free, casein-free bon­bons a snap to make.  Add peanut but­ter to the mix and you’ve cre­ated … more →




chewy chocolate chip cookies

Posted on Feb 9, 2011

These gluten-free choco­late chip cook­ies are packed full of pro­tein, thanks to almond flour and quinoa flakes. The soft cak­i­ness of these cook­ies are great for my daugh­ter after her braces get tight­ened. Dipped in almond milk or cof­fee, they … more →




greek salad

Posted on Feb 7, 2011

This is a great side salad with din­ner along­side Chicken Sou­vlaki and Saf­fron Rice. Or have it for lunch on it’s own or with left­over Chicken Sou­vlaki on top to make it heartier. If you can with­stand dairy, creamy feta … more →




greek vinaigrette

Posted on Feb 7, 2011

This is a really nice com­bi­na­tion of fla­vors that, for me, epit­o­mize Greek food — gar­lic, lemon, fresh oregano… I love this on a typ­i­cal Greek salad, piled high with lots of veg­eta­bles, which is the per­fect foun­da­tion for left­over … more →




saffron rice

Posted on Feb 6, 2011

In the past, I kind of shied away from using a lot of saf­fron because it was so expen­sive. But I found a lit­tle bot­tle at Trader Joe’s for right around $6. Saf­fron, the sta­men of the cro­cus flower pro­duced … more →




lemon squeeze

Posted on Feb 4, 2011

The Santa Ana’s are blow­ing this week. The winds that I always asso­ciate with dry warmth now pro­duce a chilly morn­ing and evening draft that reminds me it’s still win­ter. I am drink­ing hot tea in the morn­ings to stay … more →




curried zucchini soup

Posted on Jan 19, 2011

This is a great soup when it’s cool out­side or for a light spring sup­per as well. Lemon adds a sur­pris­ing fresh­ness. Prep time: 10 min­utes Total time: 30 min­utes Yield: 4–6 serv­ings (about 5 cups) Spe­cial tool: immer­sion blender … more →




lentil soup

Posted on Jan 11, 2011

I adapted this from the Sil­ver Palate Cook­book by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins — fan­tas­tic cook­book. You can serve this as a light meal on its own or with a salad. To make it more sub­stan­tial, add sev­eral slices … more →




quinoa tabouli

Posted on Jan 8, 2011

In place of bul­gar wheat, this tabouli uti­lizes protein-rich quinoa as a base. This is a fresh side for a Chicken Wrap, or with any din­ner. Or, you can throw chicken or shrimp in and make it a main dish. … more →




chinese fried rice

Posted on Jan 4, 2011

I’ve learned to love and appre­ci­ate left­overs. In fact when I make any meal, I always con­sider how I can squeeze one more din­ner out of it. So when you make any rice dish, add another cup of dry rice … more →




celery root slaw

Posted on Jan 2, 2011

Cel­ery root is one of those under appre­ci­ated veg­eta­bles that is eas­ily over­looked because it looks like jicama’s ugly cousin. But don’t be put off by it’s appear­ance. With a sharp knife, you can cut off the stem and slice … more →




creamy avocado dressing

Posted on Dec 18, 2010

When you have to give up dairy, you feel as though you no longer get to expe­ri­ence that lux­u­ri­ous tex­ture we all love. Avo­cado is the per­fect ingre­di­ent to give you creami­ness with­out the cream. Total time: 5 min­utes Yield: scant … more →




quickest ever GFCF peppermint bark

Posted on Dec 18, 2010

Short of bit­ing into a candy cane while you’ve got a mouth­ful of choco­late chips, this recipe is the eas­i­est way to pro­duce that won­der­ful chocolate-peppermint com­bi­na­tion but GFCF style — with­out the milk. No blocks of choco­late, no lay­er­ing … more →




coleslaw

Posted on Dec 16, 2010

Often times, mod­i­fied food starch (code name “gluten”) is added to many com­mer­cial may­on­naises. It helps give the may­on­naise body and stiff­ness. Coleslaw is one of those things we are accus­tomed to buy­ing at the deli counter, but you’ll be … more →




sweet potato latkes

Posted on Dec 16, 2010

Safe for peo­ple with night­shade aller­gies, these Sweet Potato Latkes are a snap to pre­pare. If you’re cook­ing for an army and have a food proces­sor, you can grate them in sec­onds with your grater attach­ment. They are won­der­ful as … more →




cucumber salad

Posted on Dec 13, 2010

A nice change from a green salad, this is a typ­i­cal Hun­gar­ian side, with­out the sour cream. It’s light and fresh and keeps for another day. My kids love this (even the raw onion part). Prep time: 5 min­utes Total time: … more →




latkes

Posted on Dec 12, 2010

We just cel­e­brated Christ­mukkah last week. Just like it sounds, this mish-mash of Christ­mas and Chan­nukah is a time to dec­o­rate our tree with friends, play the drei­del game and cook latkes. My kids love to col­lect choco­late gelt from … more →




tartar sauce

Posted on Dec 9, 2010

My grand­mother was an amaz­ing cook, but never wrote her recipes down. Actu­ally, I never did either until I started this blog, so I shouldn’t com­plain. So when I found her tar­tar sauce recipe in our fam­ily cook book, it … more →




dad’s tart

Posted on Nov 16, 2010

Last week­end, we brought our kids and their two friends to the Veteran’s Day Parade down­town. It started with high school bands march­ing in per­fect time with their shiny instru­ments, wip­ing beads of sweat from their fore­heads. Flag twirlers fol­lowed … more →




cranberry relish

Posted on Nov 16, 2010

This is a sta­ple at any Thanks­giv­ing table, but I make it year ’round. It’s the per­fect top­ping for a slice of brie atop a rice cracker. Many peo­ple like addi­tional fruit (raisins, apples, cur­rants) or nuts (wal­nuts, pecans) in … more →




sauteed haricoverts

Posted on Nov 15, 2010

I feel like I make a thou­sand deci­sions a day. So when I’m stand­ing in front of the pro­duce aisle try­ing to fig­ure out what to pre­pare that night, I wish some­one would just TELL me what to make. It … more →




easy risotto

Posted on Nov 4, 2010

I would never have thought that risotto could be this easy. I’ve stood patiently in front of the stove, stir­ring reli­giously, after each half cup addi­tion of stock, but this recipe from Ina Garten’s new cook­book How Easy Is That? … more →




speedy black bean soup

Posted on Nov 2, 2010

This is so easy, it almost doesn’t count as cook­ing… This would be won­der­ful with Heather’s Salad as a side. Prep time: 5 min­utes Total time: 10 min­utes Yield: Serves 6 4 15-oz. cans organic black beans 1 c. water 1 … more →




holiday rice pilaf

Posted on Nov 2, 2010

This pilaf is a won­der­ful com­pli­ment to the No-Fail Roasted Chicken or the Roasted Turkey & Gravy. Stud­ded with orange-infused cran­ber­ries, toasted almonds and fresh scal­lions, it’s per­fect for the hol­i­days, but I serve it year around. The wild rice … more →




chocolate almond bark

Posted on Nov 2, 2010

These are inspired by the lit­tle can­dies I cherry pick from the box of See’s that finds its way into our home every Christ­mas. You can use solely milk choco­late or solely dark for this recipe, but I think half … more →




apple crisp

Posted on Nov 2, 2010

Like an apple pie but with­out the crust. Good for any time of year, but best in fall, I think, when the apples are per­fectly ripe. I’ve made it a cou­ple dif­fer­ent ways — with almond flour in the top­ping … more →




hard boiled eggs

Posted on Oct 25, 2010

Active time: 10 min­utes Total time: 1 1/2 hours Yield: 14 appe­tiz­ers Spe­cial tools: egg cooker optional This is stan­dard, old-fashioned fare, but they’re fill­ing and a party favorite. There are two ways to hard boil eggs. The tra­di­tional way … more →




garlic dill aioli

Posted on Oct 24, 2010

This is a tasty dip for steamed aspara­gus spears and for strips of Gar­lic Rose­mary Chicken as an appe­tizer. It’s quick and can be made with pur­chased mayo or you can splurge and whip up your own. Prep time: 5 min­utes … more →




vegetable soup

Posted on Oct 21, 2010

This is the tasti­est fat free soup! In fact, I hate even lead­ing off with that, because “fat-free” is often times flavor-free. Not the case here. This is one of those recipes where you just throw all the ingre­di­ents into … more →




chips and hummus

Posted on Oct 18, 2010

My kids like hum­mus in their lunches with car­rots and chips, so I always dou­ble this when­ever I make it. It’s won­der­ful in place of may­on­naise in sand­wiches or wraps and you can serve it with fresh, raw veg­eta­bles. But … more →




banana pumpkin muffins

Posted on Oct 13, 2010

The sweet­ness and depth of these muffins actu­ally comes from the addi­tion of a ripe banana. In fact, pump­kin and banana are an amaz­ing com­bi­na­tion that you’ll see time and again. With the cin­na­mon, these muffins have the scent of … more →




quick chocolate chip cookies

Posted on Oct 11, 2010

Not just for lit­tle kids, but for big ones too — choco­late chip cook­ies are the uni­ver­sal com­fort food, right up there with mashed pota­toes and pop­corn. Busy indi­vid­u­als and fam­i­lies take heart. Cher­ry­brook Kitchen has a won­der­ful gluten, dairy, … more →




roasted carrots

Posted on Oct 8, 2010

It’s said that we taste first with our eyes. I love the deep rich­ness of roasted car­rots, but their color adds a par­tic­u­lar beauty to any plate. Active time: 5 min­utes Total time: 25 min­utes Yield: 4–6 serv­ings 6 car­rots, cut … more →




cinnamon chocolate snack bars

Posted on Oct 7, 2010

Full of oats, puffed rice, choco­late and cin­na­mon, these bars are great not only because they’re tasty, but because you can con­trol the size. My kids rarely fin­ish one of those nutri­tion bars on their own. Last week, while in … more →




mushroom tapenade

Posted on Sep 29, 2010

I like to dou­ble this, because it goes quickly. I eat it with a spoon, but would serve it to guests on endive spears or with rice crack­ers. Prep time: 10 min­utes Total time: 15 min­utes Yield: About 2/3 cup … more →




spanish rice

Posted on Sep 28, 2010

I usu­ally make a dou­ble recipe of Bas­mati rice so that I always have extra for just this type of recipe. Prep time: 5 min­utes Total time: 20 min­utes Yield: Serves 4–6 as a side. 1 c. Bas­mati rice 1 1/2 … more →




hot quinoa cereal

Posted on Sep 28, 2010

A nice alter­na­tive to oat­meal with lots of fiber and more pro­tein that you’ll find in any other grain. Active time: 3 min­utes Yield: 1 serv­ing 1 c. water 1/3 c. quinoa flakes pinch of salt hand­ful of blue­ber­ries driz­zle of … more →




pb&b s’mores

Posted on Sep 28, 2010

Other than a per­fectly ripe straw­berry, peanut but­ter and banana on a gra­ham cracker was maybe my dad’s favorite thing to eat. S’moreables makes a gluten-free gra­ham style cracker that doesn’t taste much like a tra­di­tional gra­ham cracker, but it … more →




breakfast quesadilla

Posted on Sep 28, 2010

Cheese makes this nice and gooey, but feel free to omit it. This is great on the week­ends, with a side of Sweet Potato Hash. Prep time: 10 min­utes Total time: 15 min­utes Yield: Serves 2 2 eggs, whisked until … more →




steamed cabbage with caraway

Posted on Sep 22, 2010

There are cer­tain things that just go together. Car­away and cab­bage are one of those per­fect pairs. Prep time: 10 min­utes Total time:  18 min­utes Yield: Serves 4 1/2 green cab­bage, cut in half with stem removed 1 T car­away seeds … more →




green and yellow rice

Posted on Sep 22, 2010

I obvi­ously have a love affair with cilantro. I think peo­ple either like it or don’t. If it’s not your cup of tea, use Ital­ian pars­ley or basil instead. Prep time: 5 min­utes Total time: 20 min­utes Yield: Serves 4 … more →




organic quick oatmeal

Posted on Sep 20, 2010

Some of us can eat oat­meal and some can’t. If it’s organic, I’ve found I can tol­er­ate it really well. This is the world’s quick­est hot break­fast! Total time: 3 min­utes (seri­ously) Yield: 1 serv­ing 1/2 c. organic quick oat­meal … more →




sweet and savory dressing

Posted on Sep 20, 2010

This is my favorite and most requested dress­ing. It goes per­fectly with the Chi­nese Chicken Salad, but I use it for every salad you can imag­ine. Prep time: 5 min­utes Total time: 5 min­utes Yield: 1/2 cup 1/4 c. veg­etable oil … more →




mushroom soup

Posted on Sep 20, 2010

Nour­ish­ing and easy to make — only a hand­ful of ingre­di­ents. Prep time: 15 min­utes Total time: 40 min­utes Yield:  Serves 4–6; about 2 qts. 1 tsp. olive oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 3/4 — 2 lb. mush­rooms, brushed … more →




carrot cake muffins with cream cheese frosting

Posted on Sep 17, 2010

Remem­ber, this has a tiny amount of milk in it. Deli­cious with a cup of tea or cof­fee. Great for a grab and go break­fast on the way to work. Prep time: 20 min­utes Total time: 40 min­utes Yield: 6 muffins … more →




pb&j lunch

Posted on Sep 15, 2010

There’s a lot of sweet already going on here…jelly, fruit. Try to make send­ing a cookie a spe­cial occa­sion instead of every day. Total time: 10 min­utes YIeld: 1 sand­wich 2 slices gluten-free bread (I use Udi’s) black­berry or straw­berry jam … more →




egg salad sandwich lunch

Posted on Sep 15, 2010

Udi’s bread makes this com­fort food pos­si­ble. If you want a change from bread, my kids love dip­ping rice crack­ers into the egg salad, too. Prep time: 10 min­utes Total time: 30 min­utes Yield: 2 sand­wiches 3 hard boild eggs … more →




fruit platter

Posted on Sep 15, 2010

Never under­es­ti­mate the appeal of fresh fruit. When I bring an this to a party, fruit is always a nice con­trast to all the stan­dard heavy, creamy fare. Use what­ever is in sea­son and it makes a beau­ti­ful appe­tizer or … more →




essential roasted salsa

Posted on Sep 15, 2010

This is adapted from Rick Bay­less’ Mex­i­can Kitchen, one of my all-time favorite cook­books, which should be a sta­ple in your kitchen if you have any fond­ness at all for Mex­i­can food. Prep time: 10 min­utes Total time: 15 min­utes Yield: … more →




homemade mayonnaise

Posted on Sep 15, 2010

Before you scratch your head and won­der who would want to make may­on­naise on their own, just try it, espe­cially if you’re aller­gic to soy. It’s so easy, really, and totally addict­ing. A warn­ing about raw eggs. My research shows … more →




chocolate chip muffins

Posted on Sep 15, 2010

Using Pamela’s mix makes these muffins a snap. Remem­ber, there’s a small amount of milk in these. Prep time: 15 min­utes Total time: 35 min­utes Yield: 12 muffins 2 1/2 c. Pamela’s Bak­ing & Pan­cake Mix 1/2 c. water 1/2 c. … more →




blueberry coffee cake muffins

Posted on Sep 15, 2010

My hus­band grabs one of these from the freezer and by the time he gets to work, it’s ready to eat. Using Pamela’s mix makes these muffins a snap to throw together. Remem­ber, there’s a tiny bit of milk in here. … more →




french toast

Posted on Sep 15, 2010

There’s noth­ing like a batch of but­tery french toast drowned in maple syrup with the hint of cin­na­mon — a great week­end break­fast or brunch. Serve with Fresh Fruit and enjoy. Prep time: 10 min­utes Total time: 20 min­utes Yield: 4 … more →




chocolate chip pancakes

Posted on Sep 15, 2010

These are our Sat­ur­day morn­ing rit­ual. Remem­ber, there’s a small amount of milk in the mix. Prep time: 5 min­utes Total time: 15 min­utes Yield: Serves 2–4 1 c. Pamela’s Bak­ing & Pan­cake Mix 1 large egg 3/4 c water (but … more →




pancakes

Posted on Sep 14, 2010

I am a big fan of short-cuts and here’s one of my biggest. For those of you who can stand a small amount of milk, I’ve yet to find a mix as good as Pamela’s. My fam­ily loves her gluten-free … more →




pasta egg scramble

Posted on Sep 14, 2010

Sim­ply the best use for left­over pasta. Prep time: 10 min­utes Total time: 20 min­utes Yield: Serves 4 1–2 T olive oil about 2 cups left­over rice pasta — Fusilli (Tin­kyada brand works great) 1/8 c. water 6–8 eggs, whisked until … more →




huevos rancheros

Posted on Sep 14, 2010

This is my family’s favorite break­fast. It really need no accom­pa­ni­ment except a good cup of cof­fee. Prep time: 10 min­utes Total time: 20 min­utes Yield: Serves 2 1 15 oz. can organic black beans, rinsed until water run clear … more →




no-milk milkshake

Posted on Sep 14, 2010

This is so good that kids might for­get there’s no ice cream in here. And for adults, it’s a vel­vety, creamy indul­gence. Total time: 5 min­utes Yield: 2–3 small serv­ings 1 c. choco­late almond milk (Almond Breeze is GFCFSF) 1 … more →




pineapple fizz

Posted on Sep 14, 2010

I’m always try­ing to find sur­rep­ti­tious ways to get sugar out of my kids diet. With fruit juices so full of it, this is a good, par­tially dil­luted option. Thirst quench­ing and sim­ple, it’s also a great alter­na­tive for adults … more →




peach iced tea

Posted on Sep 14, 2010

My dad was south­ern, and iced tea was always in the fridge. Here’s a fresh way to serve it with a kiss of peach. Prep time: 5 min­utes Active time: 1 hour Yield: 15 8oz serv­ings 6 of your favorite tea … more →




old fashioned popcorn

Posted on Sep 14, 2010

Com­pared to the stuff you put in the microwave, pop­ping corn the old fash­ioned way is almost as fast, tastes so much bet­ter and is a frac­tion of the cost. Besides, it’s fun and kids love the sound it makes … more →




herbed rice

Posted on Sep 14, 2010

This is my week­day go-to rice. It’s light and fresh and pairs well with chicken and beef. Prep time: 5 min­utes Total time: 20 min­utes Yield: 6 serv­ings 2 c. white Bas­mati rice 2 1/2 c. water juice of 1 lime … more →




heather’s salad

Posted on Sep 14, 2010

A beau­ti­ful, deli­cious salad from my friend, Heather. Using bagged let­tuce saves time for this pretty side dish. Prep time: 25 min­utes Total time: 25 min­utes Yield: Serves 10–12 Spe­cial equip­ment: mini food proces­sor for dress­ing 2–3 bags salad (includ­ing but … more →




paige’s witch hats

Posted on Sep 14, 2010

Easy to make and a hit with every­one, not just kids. Prep time: 10 min­utes Total time: 25 min­utes Yield: 2 dozen cook­ies 1 c. peanut but­ter (I use organic, which pro­duces a less creamy cookie, but tastes great) 1/2 c. … more →