eat your greens

Jan 8, 2013

recipe: veggie dog bites

This "no-wheat" diet has me eating some interesting things. I made corn relish a few weeks ago for "Bokkie's Boerritos". I was not impressed with the overall recipe (mango on tortilla just tasted wrong), and the corn relish isn't what I was expecting. However, I made over 1L of it so needed to find a way of eating it. Kyle mentioned that his mom used to eat it on hot dogs, and suddenly I had visions of smog dog vendors in downtown TO with their metal vats of corn relish. And I asked Kyle to buy me veggie dogs. However, no wheat + veggie dog = oops. So I invented this crazy meal one day, and I'm actually really happy with it! It's super quick, filling, and tasty.

Note: The rice crackers stay nice and crunchy despite being microwaved.

Veggie Dog Bites

Ease: 1 very easy
Time: 1 very quick
Ingredients: 2 easy
Source: my crazy imagination

Ingredients:

1 veggie dog
6 rice crackers
1 thin slice of mozzarella cheese
mustard
hot sauce
corn relish

Directions:

Cut veggie dog into 3 pieces, then slice those pieces lengthwise. Put one slice one each cracker.
Cut the thin piece of mozza into 6 pieces and put one on each veggie dog slice.
Microwave for ~40 seconds to melt the cheese.
Add a dot of mustard and hot sauce to each cracker, and top with a tsp of corn relish.
T

Jan 7, 2013

Breakfast: Grandma's grain with molasses and hemp hearts

Snack plate: pear, carrots, pecans, dates, 2 low-gluten min-muffins

Snack: grilled cabbage

Snack: veggie dog bites

Dinner: Mediterranean feast (hummus, rice crackers, tomato salad, Greek salad, rice pilaf)

Jan 2, 2013

boiled egg

Kyle's curry

stovetop stuffing

Blackberries

Sweet potato & cranberry casserole

Pretzels with yogurt-based dip

Caesar salad (bottle dressing)

Dec 29, 2012

Oatmeal with apple sauce, hemp hearts, and raisins

Bruschetta

Stovetop Stuffing + grilled cabbage

Kyle's red curry

recipe: low-gluten lemon cranberry muffins

I'm trying out a reduced wheat diet. When I stick with it, I feel better - more energy, less lethargy, and a ..uh.. calmer digestive system. Fortunately Bulk Barn has loads of gluten free flours, and my sister (wheat/gluten-intolerant) has already given me some tips. This marks my first real attempt of gluten free baking (I don't count the awful chickpea-flour pancakes I tried a couple weeks ago), and I'm sooo happy with it!! Actually... I added 1/4 cup of wheat flour, partially as a safety crutch and partially to use up the remaining flour. To make them fully gluten free, you could switch it out for 1/4 cup of your favourite gluten-free flour.

I made mini-muffins because they're the perfect size for snacking.

"Gluten-Free" Lemon Cranberry Muffins

Ease: 2 easy
Time: 4 not very quick
Ingredients: 4 not very easy
Source: I combined these two recipes and improvised a bit where I didn't have certain ingredients: Jules Speaks Lemony Cranberry Muffins and this Universal Gluten-Free Muffin Mix.

Ingredients:

5 Tbsp margarine
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp zest (lemon & orange)
2.5 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup soy flour
1/4 cup white/whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp xantham gum
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
~ 1 cup cranberries, coarsely chopped (I used the chop attachment on my hand blender)

Directions:

Cream sugar and margarine together in a large bowl (I used the wisk attachment for my hand blender).
Add eggs, yogurt, vanilla, zest, and lemon juice. Beat well (I still used my hand blender wisk here).
In a (smaller) separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
Mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until well-combined (this goes against my instinct for making muffins, but the dough was thick and gummy and needed lots of mixing to avoid dry pockets of flour).
Fold in chopped cranberries.
Spoon into lightly-greased mini muffin tray and smooth a bit.
Cook at 400 F for 10 minutes, until lightly browned on top. (Closer to 20 minutes for normal sized muffins, I think).