Gluten Free Noodle Soup for a Cold Day

I was introduced to the noodle products from Gluten Free Meister at the Nourished Festival earlier this month. I was given a package of Tonkotsu Ramen Pork Bone Broth Flavor to use in a recipe and share. The weather has been soup weather, chilly and damp! Therefore I decided to make soup as it not only satisfies the appetite but also warms the body!

I added 4 small/medium size bok choy (diced into small pieces to fill two cups) and a two cups of diced cooked pork (sauteed with onion and garlic) to the package ingredients and created a healthy meal for two in less than 30 minutes.

Have a few packages of Gluten Free Meister soups on hand to create a healthy and gluten free meal when time is short and stomachs are growling!

Homestyle Ancient Grain Sandwich Bread

At the Nourished Festival in Del Mar earlier this month I had the opportunity to try Gluten Free Homestyle Ancient Grain Bread from Rotella's Italian Bakery.

The loaf I tried toasted up well with a crisp on the outside that held up to any toppings that were layered on it!

Enjoy Rotella's gluten free bread with your choice of protein or just with some butter to go with a warm bowl of soup during the winter months. My favorite sandwiches were tofu and hummus and roasted veggie as the textures along with the bread was satisfying.

A Breakfast Classic Reimagined

Oatmeal is a breakfast classic. Enjoy Life Foods has re-imagined the classic into a portable oval bar you can eat on the go!

Multiple Flavors

Oatmeal is known for being a blank slate that can take on the flavor of the toppings added. Enjoy Life has brought to the market several flavor combinations for our enjoyment:

• Maple Fig
• Apple Cinnamon
• Mixed Berry
• Chocolate Chip Banana

A Healthy Breakfast On-The-Go

Breakfast ovals TASTE GREAT and provide you with 20g of whole grains (12% of your daily fiber) and all natural fruit. These SOFT BAKED OVALS are free from:

• Gluten
• Wheat
• Dairy
• Soy
• Sulfites
• Lupin
• Fish
• Crustaceans
• Peanuts
• Tree Nuts
• Casein
• Egg
• Sesame
• Mustard
• Shellfish

Variety of Uses

I enjoy Breakfast Ovals on their own with some fruit and crumbled in my yogurt or chia pudding.

Sesame Milk Chia Pudding

Plant Based Milk Alternatives

I have been drinking almond milk for years and have been happy with the taste of the product. What concerns me about almond milk is that it takes ONE GALLON OF WATER to produce JUST ONE NUT. Living in California and experiencing droughts, water restrictions, and fires, I wish to find another plant based milk source that is more sustainable.

Hope & Sesame

A new product, Sesame Milk,  entered the marketplace last year and I just had an opportunity to try it. Hope & Sesame has brought to the marketplace delicious sesame milk in original, original unsweetend, vanilla, chocolate, and chocolate hazelnut flavors. The creamy milk is wonderful. Each flavor is great. I can find a way to use each one...I cannot decide which is my favorite!

Hope & Sesame sesamemilks contain Sesamein, their very own plant-based protein concentrate. An 8 ounce glass of sesame milk contains 8 grams of protein (as much as dairy milk) with less sugar, more Vitamin D, no dairy, and no lactose.

Sesame has many nutritional benefits:

• high in protein
• high in magnesium
• reduces blood pressure
• reduces cholesterol
• boosts heart health
• boosts respiratory health
• prevents cancer
• good for digestion
• good for healthy skin
• relieves arthritis
• protects the liver from alcohol
• prevents wrinkles
• encourages bone health

Sesame Milk provides nutrients including:

• Plant-protein
• Heart- healthy fatty acids
• Calcium
• Iron
• Phosphorus
• Selenium
• Manganese
• Magnesium
• Copper
• B-complex vitamins
• Zinc

Sesame Milk Uses

Drink sesamemilk on its own or use it in recipes. Today I used Chocolate Hazelnut Sesamemilk as my blank canvas and created Chocolate Hazelnut Chia Pudding. Today we ate this is a dessert.

Ingredients:
1 cup Chocolate Hazelnut Sesamemilk
1/8 cup chia seeds (organic if possible)
VARIATIONS: Fresh fruit, seeds, nuts, or granola as a topping (if desired)




Instructions

• Stir the chia seeds in the milk until fully covered with liquid
• Let set in the refrigerator for at least an hour
• Stir to desired consistency ... NOTE: I wanted my chia pudding a bit thicker so I added an additional 1 TBSP of chia seeds at this point, stirred, and let the pudding set for another 30 minutes
• Serve when set or wait a day
• I served both plain and with bananas and coconut ... top based on your flavor/texture preferences

NOTE: This can be served for breakfast or dessert based on presentation/toppings.

Raspberry Infused Muffins

I was looking to create a heart healthy meal and a red inspired dish for Valentine's Day. I decided to use as my blank canvas a packaged muffin mix and add heart healthy red raspberries.

I used as my blank canvas Duinerken Foods Muffin Mix. I substituted plant based products for animal products; I used flax eggs for the eggs the recipe called for and almond milk instead of cow's milk.

To create the red raspberry infusion I filled a muffin tin half full then added raspberries. I covered the layer of raspberries with more muffin mix and topped the mix with a raspberry.

The result was a muffin mix with a crunchy top and a moist interior. The muffins are just the right amount of sweet. Serve them with a raspberry yogurt parfait for a heart healthy Valentine's Day breakfast.

I am a fan of Duinkerken Foods products. They are great blank canvasses that can be customized to create a masterpiece!

Raspberries for Heart Health

February is HEART HEALTH MONTH

Many social media posts cover the many heart health benefits of exercise. There are many foods that are heart healthy too. This month we will look into heart healthy foods.

Heart Healthy Foods

According to WebMD, top heart healthy foods include:

• Raspberries
• Salmon
• Walnuts
• Fat Free or Low Fat Milk/Yogurt
• Chickpeas
• Oatmeal
• Olive Oil
• Dark Chocolate
• Avocados
• Unsalted almond butter
• Red grapes

 Raspberries

Raspberries are high in heart healthy fiber (8 grams/cup) and provide 25% of your recommended intake for vitamin C and manganese. They are low in fat and have high levels of polyphenols, which help reduce heart disease risk as well as treat digestion issues, diabetes, and
neurodegenerative disease. 

Keep aware of the Environmental Working Group's Dirty Dozen List which includes produce that has the most contamination. People should try to find organic options for items on this list when possible.  Raspberries are not on this list, but other berries like strawberries and blueberries are. 

Raspberry Recipes

I have been a fan of raspberries since my mother took me raspberry picking as a child! Looking back on it, I am not sure how many berries I ate compared to the berries that made it to the container to take home. There is nothing like fresh picked fruit! Other than eating raspberries on their own, I enjoy using them in recipes. One way I enjoy using raspberries to make their flavor the highlight of the dish is to add them to greek yogurt for breakfast. Read my recipe for raspberries, Greek yogurt, and Beet Powder at Beet Powder...ADD THE RED. Below is pictured Greek Yogurt and Raspberries without anything else. You can use plain or vanilla yogurt. Adding a few sprinkles of cinnamon is a great option as it also can reduce heart disease risk.