Category Archives: Gluten-Free Salads

Y is for Yellow…Color me hungry!

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Happy Memorial Day everyone! Today for “Y” day, I bring you Gigi Stewart from Gluten Free Gigi. Gigi is a relatively new GF friend and we have gotten to know each other online through the wonderful world of Twitter (you can follow Gigi @glutenfreegigi). Gigi also has a new Facebook fan page for Gluten Free Gigi that you can follow as well (please click here). What I love about Gigi’s recipes is they are not only gluten-free but soy-free and nut-free. She also shares a lot that are egg-free and dairy-free as well. With my anti-inflammation diet I am on, it is important for me to be as dairy-free as possible as dairy is probably the #1 cause of inflammation. Gigi is from the metro-Atlanta area and you can read all about Gigi and all the other fun gluten-free things she is involved in by clicking here. I really hope to meet Gigi someday soon in person, she is awesome! Please check out her blog at www.glutenfreegigi.com, you will be glad you did! I am now thrilled to bring you Gluten Free Gigi…..

Y is for Yellow…Color me hungry!

Simplicity courses through my gluten free veins.  Few ingredients, a streamlined method, and loads of vital nutrients…that’s how I roll. If I can create a dish that is vegan and raw…even better!

Summer fruits and veggies are ideal for health-conscious recipes that come together in a snap!

Sunny yellow offerings, mirroring the season, are rich in key vitamins and minerals and can help keep us on the path to optimal health.

Using seasonal produce is also another way to embrace the joy of living gluten free. Focusing on naturally gluten free foods provided by nature is always liberating, never restrictive. So take those farmer’s market finds and color your world…gluten free!

Here are a few ideas and two new recipes to brighten your table! Enjoy!

Sunny Apple Snack – Golden Delicious Apple with Sunflower seed butter…the perfect afternoon snack or breakfast on the go!


Broiled pineapple spears with Spicy Maple Syrup Glaze – Sweet pineapple meets a blend of maple syrup, chipotle, and ginger…addictive!


Rosemary Lemonade

Rosemary, a relative of mint, adds a subtle flavor to this summertime favorite, in addition to its immune-boosting and anti-inflammatory properties!

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1 large rosemary sprig (approximately 5 inches long)

3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

5 cups filtered water

Combine sugar and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add rosemary and boil for 1 minute. Carefully remove rosemary and allow mixture to cool to room temperature.

Combine cooled sugar mixture, lemon juice, and water in a clear glass pitcher or carafe. Add lemon slices and rosemary. Serve over ice.

Raw Summer Squash Picnic Salad

Makes the perfect make-ahead dish that everyone can enjoy!                                      

5 small yellow squash, washed and ends trimmed

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

4 Tablespoons fresh dill, chopped

2 Tablespoons light olive oil

1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Cut the squash in half lengthwise, then cut each piece in half again (lengthwise) so that each squash is in 4 sections.With a paring knife, carefully cut out the center (containing seeds) of each piece and discard.

Cut each squash section in half crosswise and then into matchsticks.

Place matchsticks into your serving dish, then sprinkle with salt and toss.        

After 15 minutes, drain any liquid from the squash.

Add dill, olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper. Toss and serve.

This salad is excellent served at room temperature, or may be refrigerated and served chilled.

Makes 4 – 6 side dish servings.

W is for Welcoming

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Megan and Kim

Wow, this fun A-Z countdown is Wrapping up soon. Today is “W” day and I am honored to bring you the ladies from Welcoming Kitchen, Kim Lutz and Megan Hart. I also met them at the Gluten-Free and Allergen-Free Expo last month and was thrilled to meet them because I had found their blog while doing some research online. My nephew has Autism and besides being on a gluten-free and casein-free diet, there are other foods he cannot tolerate so his diet is real limited. I liked that their recipes are free from the eight common allergens (dairy, eggs, soy, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, fish and shellfish) in addition to being gluten-free and vegan. I highly recommend you check out their site for some great recipes! (click here) I now bring you the ladies from Welcoming Kitchen, Kim and Megan….

We are very excited for the opportunity to be the W in this awesome alphabet!  When we think of W, we think of “WELCOMING.”

What does welcoming mean to us, and what does it have to do with eating gluten-free?  Lots, actually.  To us, a welcoming kitchen is a kitchen that is inviting to all of your guests.  A place where friends and family can gather to share a meal together.  Serving folks with special diets, even gluten-free diets, doesn’t preclude creating a welcoming kitchen. Continue reading →

Quite the contrary!  When a host takes the extra effort to find out what is safe for all the guests, and then prepares delicious food that can be shared by everyone, a meal is transformed from ordinary food to a true expression of caring.  How exciting it is to find out that there are endless options for your welcoming kitchen.  (You’re not limited to serving only celery sticks!)

This summer-ready salad recipe comes from our blog, welcomingkitchen.com, and we have hundreds more friendly recipes in our book, Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen and Gluten-free Vegan Recipes (available June 14; available for discounted pre-order now).


Cucumber and Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

2 cucumbers, peeled and seeded

1 tomato

1 15-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

small bunch of fresh basil

small bunch of fresh chives

olive oil

red wine vinegar

agave nectar

salt and pepper

Preparation:

Thinly slice cucumbers and tomato.

Combine vegetables with chickpeas, and minced herbs.

Toss salad with  oil, then other ingredients.

Happy Cooking!

Kim and Megan

O is NOT for “Oh No!”…It’s for Opportunity

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I really enjoyed meeting Heather from Gluten Free Cat in person at the Gluten-Free and Allergen-Free Expo after getting to know her online. I love her blog and highly recommend you all check it out at www.glutenfreecat.com. I love that she is a health food nut like I am! I am all about eating healthy lately. :)  I was recently in one of her posts “Super Cool People You Need to Know” (thanks again, Heather!) and she is super cool too! Here we are the night we first met at a VIP party during the Expo and I would now like to introduce Heather from Gluten Free Cat…

When I was first diagnosed with gluten intolerance, my first response was, “Oh no!  What in the world am I going to eat?”  All of the foods I would never eat again went flashing through my mind.  No more bagels, muffins, pancakes, cereal, or waffles for breakfast.  No cookies, crackers, brownies, or cake for dessert.  No sandwiches, burritos, spaghetti, or pizza for lunch or dinner.  My diagnosis just about took 75% of my diet away from me, and I wasn’t the slightest bit happy about it. Continue reading →

When I look back at those early days, I smile and realize that I had no idea how much of an opportunity I had to open my life the wonders of incredible food as well as good health.  I was blind to the amazing array of fruit, veggies, and other grains in the world because I was so limited by traditional wheat products.

Without my gluten intolerance I would have been happy eating bean and cheese burritos from Taco Bell for the rest of my life.  I never would have taken the opportunity to enjoy something as fresh and delicious as this Blackened Tilapia Taco.

I would have continued eating Double Stuffed Oreos because they were an easy treat.  I never would have learned that raw cookies take only minutes to make.  These Raw Double Coco Cranberry Drops, made with all natural, raw ingredients aren’t even in the same category as Oreos.

Who knew that cookies could be made grain-free?

I would have continued to make cakes from mixes, because all I had to do was add an egg, water, and vegetable oil and pop it into the oven.  I never would have dreamed of making a cake from scratch.  I never would have had the opportunity to taste something as amazing as Real Sustenance’s Extra Moist Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chip Cake.

I would have continued eating wheat bread, wheat pasta, wheat tortillas, wheat cereals, and wheat desserts just out of ignorance.  I would have never known the nuttiness of quinoa in a hot cereal, a cookie,  or Cranberry Orange Quinoa Salad

I wouldn’t have known that sweet potatoes tasted so good in a veggie burger, a raw soup, or even a taco.  Check out these amazing Black Bean Sweet Potato Tacos!

A gluten-free diet is not a limiting diet all.  It’s an opportunity to learn, to taste, to create, and to celebrate bounty and blessings.

Thank you, Andrea, for allowing me to share my passion with your readers today!