It seems like we may just skip over Spring this May, so in honor of the impending summer, I decided to make homemade lemonade! I like to make my lemonade “fair style,” so it’s quick, sweet, clean and delicious. Here is my simple homemade lemonade recipe!
Ingredients for Homemade Lemonade
5-6 lemons
Simple Syrup (1 C of sugar+ 1 C water)
3-4 C Water
The great thing about homemade lemonade is that you can adjust the sugar and lemons to create your personal perfect lemonade–whether that’s sweet or tart!
How to Make Homemade Lemonade
1. Make your simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a saucepan.
2. Juice 4-5 lemons while you wait for the sugar to dissolve.
3. Combine the simple syrup and lemon juice in a pitcher over ice.
4. Add 3 to 4 cups of additional cold water and more sugar or lemon juice to taste (if desired).
The unsung heroes of many a delicious dish are it’s sides.
Here’s one of my favorite, healthy, paleo, gluten-free sides: (Garlic) Sauteed Spinach and Mushrooms. It only takes about 10 minutes to make and goes great with chicken!
Ingredients for Sauteed Spinach and Mushrooms:
baby spinach (10 oz package)
1/2 lb sliced mushrooms
2-4 garlic cloves (to taste–I love garlic, so I go on the heavy side)
olive oil
salt & pepper
How to Make Sauteed Spinach and Mushroom Side Dish (2-4 servings)
1. Heat olive oil in a medium/large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add mushrooms to oil and cook for approximately 5 minutes.
3. Add minced garlic, salt and fresh pepper to the mushrooms and let cook for two minutes before adding the spinach.
4. Add spinach and sauté, stirring until wilted.
This year, I decided to invite my extended family to participate in the Naperville Turkey Trot, an annual 5k race the morning of Thanksgiving!
Bright and early, I rallied with 4 of my favorite family members and headed to the starting line. Two of my siblings, Daniel and Kirsten, breezed through the race, which also happened to be their first! **Proud sister moment**
You might be wondering, what are good pre-/post-race snacks for someone following a gluten-free diet! I mean, aren’t you supposed to carbo-load?!
Well I’m happy to share a few yummy, GF, options!
Naturally Gluten Free
1) Banana with peanut butter
2) Low-fat Greek yogurt and berries
3) Strawberry-Banana smoothie
4) Cottage cheese and fruit
Show me the CARBS! (pictured above)
I can’t say it enough! There are tons of gluten free breads, pastas, muffins, etc. out there! Here are four great options to start or end a race:
This year, Udi’s (one of my favorite, go-to gluten free brands) decided to try out a virtual gluten-free Friendsgiving!
“Friendsgiving” is a quirky twist on the traditional Turkey Day feast. You gorge your face and celebrate what you’re thankful for, but not on Thanksgiving and not with your family. Instead, you spend this sudo-holiday with your closest, rag-tag group of friends.
Being gluten-free can be difficult and definitely requires the support of family and friends. I’m truly thankful to have a network of loved ones who have helped me to get used to my food restrictions and adjusted their menus to accommodate my needs! (Especially my mother, who did everything she could to eliminate gluten my old, favorite recipes!)
I’m also thankful to have found a group of friends here in Cleveland who I absolutely adore… And THRILLED to have been able to celebrate my Friendsgiving with them!
I was given the daunting task of preparing the TURKEY, yikes! Luckily the hostess with the mostest (Meghan) was willing to help me out. We used Urban Accent’s Gourmet Gobbler Brine Kit, and it turned out great! The kit included a brine mix, which I bathed the turkey in over night, and a spice rub for roasting!
The turkey was just over 11 pounds, so it was about a three and a half hour bake. We used the baster every half hour to keep the meat nice and juicy! By the time we were done, the bird had crisped to a beautiful golden brown… I could barely contain myself. I plated my turkey on mixed greens with apples, lemon and pomegranate seeds.
The gluten-free brine kit, cookies and other goodies were provided by, Udi’s!
I was excited to put my Udi’s Friendsgiving package to use. And I have to say that I loved everything they sent! I’m looking forward to bringing some of their products out to Chicago and sharing my favorites with my gluten-free cousin! Happy #Friendsgiving, everyone!
Yesterday may have been the perfect Autumn day. The sun was peaking through fluffy clouds, the air had just the perfect chill, and the trees seemed to have reached their colorful peak of red, orange and yellow.
A friend and I ventured to the east side of Cleveland to Patterson Fruit Farms to take a walk through the ripe orchards and snag some local fruit. (Because really, what else can you do on the perfect fall afternoon?) As soon as we entered the shop, the sweet aroma of bubbling cider and tart, apple treats met our noses. From that moment, I was ready to start baking myself.
Here’s the recipe for our gluten-free apple crumble.
Ingredients:
¾ cup crushed almonds
1 cup gluten-free oats
1 cup brown sugar
⅔ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
8 tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced
4½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup granulated sugar
Optional: fresh yogurt, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
How to Make Apple Crumble: 1. Heat oven to 375°F.
2. Mix crushed almonds, gluten free oats (I used a maple flavored variety), brown sugar and a dash of cinnamon in a bowl. Cut in the butter. Use enough butter to so the mixture holds loosely together.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, combine apples, lemon juice, granulated sugar, vanilla, and of cinnamon. Toss to combine.
4. Layer sliced apples in a 9 x 12-inch (or approximately the same size) baking pan. You can also use large ramekins.
5. Sprinkle crumble mixture over apples.
6. Bake 35 minutes or until the mixture is bubbling and apples are tender. (Check after 20-25 minutes.)
Honestly, it wasn’t too long ago that I turned my nose up at leafy greens, but now I’ve started craving them. This salad is one of my favorites. It falls very low on the effort scale, but very high on the flavor scale. Here’s my smoked salmon salad!
Ingredients
2 cups of fresh “spring mix” greens
1 serving of cherry tomatoes (around 10)
1 hard boiled egg
1 fillet of seasoned smoked salmon
Oil & Vinegar
Pepper
How to Make This Smoked Salmon Salad
Easy! Wash your spring mix, halve the cherry tomatoes, chop up the hard boiled egg and throw it all together with your salmon on top! Sprinkle some oil, vinegar and pepper to taste, and voila! You’re done!
The salad ends up at just around 300 calories, so I usually serve this will some wild rice or quinoa. Hope you enjoy!
Earlier this summer, the FDA issued new rules and regulations on gluten-free food labeling. Prior to this, there wasn’t a real, industry-wide standard to define what “gluten free” meant. When you saw those labels above, it was hard to tell exactly what you were getting…
Now, under the federal definition, a food product can only contain 20 parts per million (or fewer) of gluten to carry a “gluten-free” label. The FDA has been working on these regulations since 2007, and it’s a real win for the gluten free-community!
Check out the article that I found on USA Today:
‘Gluten-free’ food labeling finally has some teeth
By Jane Lerner, The (Westchester County, N.Y.) Journal News
New law makes it easier for those with celiac disease to shop, cope.
Sometimes Maria Roglieri feels like a sleuth when she sets out to shop.
She carefully analyzes labels, looking for any sign that a food is not as gluten-free as it appears.
Barley? Forbidden. Rye? Forget about it. Soy sauce? Maybe.
“You have to be very, very careful,” said Roglieri, who, along with her teenage daughter, has celiac disease, a serious digestive disorder triggered by gluten. “Even the smallest amount can make you sick.”
The explosive rise in people who eat gluten-free food as a dietary preference has been a mixed blessing for those who suffer from celiac disease, which can only be treated through total abstinence from gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and other grains.
The popularity of such a diet added more and more products to the market labeled “gluten-free.” But it also created uncertainty about what “gluten-free” really meant, since there was no uniform standard applied to the term.
That’s why patients like Roglieri are pleased with long-awaited Food and Drug Administration regulations announced earlier this month that now require foods labeled “gluten free” to have only trace amounts of the protein. For them, the new regulations will make buying food safer and less complicated.
“It allows us to breathe a little easier,” said Gabrielle Simon, founder of a support group at Nyack Hospital for families of children with celiac disease.
For those with the condition, gluten triggers an autoimmune reaction that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients.
As more people follow a gluten-free diet by choice or necessity, food manufacturers are adding more products to meet the demand. Last year, sales of gluten-free products hit $4.2 billion, nearly triple what they were in 2008. Sales are expected to rise to $6.2 billion by 2018, according to industry predictions.
“A lot more foods are available, but you have no idea if they are really safe or not,” said Chris Spreitzer of Croton-on-Hudson, who leads the Westchester Celiac Sprue support group. “If you have celiac, you really need to know.”
The new FDA regulation has been in the works for a long time, starting with a proposal sponsored by U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., in 1999.
The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act became law in 2004.
It required food packaging to clearly list the top eight ingredients that cause allergic reactions, including milk, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. It also required the FDA to issue standards for the term “gluten-free” — a task that took nearly 10 years to accomplish.
Under the new guidelines, only foods containing 20 parts per million of gluten or less can be labeled and marketed as gluten-free. Experts generally agree that it is not possible to remove all trace of gluten and the standard is small enough not to provoke a reaction in most people.
Food manufacturers have a year to comply.
“It’s been a long time in the making,” said Roglieri, an Italian professor at St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill and the author of travel guides for people who avoid gluten.
Alternative Eating | Lo Martinez
exploring gluten-free, paleo & clean eating
I had seen a lot of use of chia seeds on health blogs recently, but I was unfamiliar with the taste or texture hemp seeds and what they could be used in/what health benefits they possessed. I was pretty excited to try them!
Hemp hearts are the inner kernel of the hemp seed (sans the hard outer shell). They have add an interesting texture and a distinctly nutty flavor to whatever they are added to.
The hearts are rich in omegas, protein & fiber. Nuts.com even refers to hemp hears as “one of the world’s most nutritious seeds.” The bag suggests to “Sprinkle hemp hearts on salads, or add to cereal, yogurt, in baking or even into smoothies!” I loved mixing it into my Greek yogurt for breakfast.
Alternative Eating | Lo Martinez
exploring gluten-free, paleo & clean eating
This is, without a doubt, one of my favorite dishes in the frozen food isle. It’s gluten-free, certified kosher, includes 0g trans fat, and is free of MSG and preservatives. Did I mention it’s also absolutely delicious?!
The noodles are made of organic rice, and the sauce is about as home-made as you can get (without actually home-making it, of course). Just check out the nutritional information below, it’s pretty bare bones. If you are craving some soul food, but don’t want the fuss or clean up, this is it. Enjoy! Amy’s Rice Mac & Cheese
Alternative Eating 