Tag Archives: gluten-free

Reading Lables: Quinoa Pasta

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As I have mentioned before, I love pasta and being pregnant, I really love it even more. The thing is, pasta is not a health food. Grains treated with high heat to make cute shapes does nothing nutritional-wise, except make things worse. My husband doesn’t eat grains (he follows a mostly primal diet) and I mostly only eat sprouted grains (more Weston A Price diet). Maybe if I bought my own sprouted grain and made fresh pasta I would feel less guilty about eating it.

Anyways, we never buy pasta, but the other day when I went grocery shopping I found myself in the pasta aisle and I starting comparing different brands of pasta and came across Ancient Harvest gluten-free quinoa pasta.

Quinoa pasta sounds like a good substitute for regular pasta right?

One side panel (I know, too small to read, the only pictures I could find, from GFR Grocery) gives the protein content of different grains (quinoa is technically a seed, however). And what does the box outline? That quinoa has more protein per serving than the other grains listed.

More protein is a good thing. If you only read this side panel, things would seem pretty good!

Unfortunately, When you take a look at the nutrition facts, this “quinoa pasta” has almost half the amount of protein as regular pasta (regular pasta has 7 grams). And how can that be, when quinoa has so much more protein?

Because the main ingredient in this pasta is corn flour (not quinoa!), and corn has less protein than many other grains! So I guess Ancient Harvest was hoping you would only read one side-panel and not compare it to regular pasta?

The quinoa pasta has 2 more grams of fiber and more sodium as well.

At least the corn flour is non-gmo and organic.

 

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Grain-free and Sugar-free Waffle Review

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I love waffles, but the traditional variety is really just a step down from cakes or cookies. My husband also aims at eating grain-free (a non-pregnant me usually does as well). I was thinking that waffles for Saturday morning breakfast would be delightful, if only I could try out a grain-free, sugar-free variety. I came across Health, Home and Happiness’ waffle recipe and decided to give it a try!

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Spinach, Pepper, and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts and Dessert

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We had a pretty low-key Valentine’s Day; we ate a lovely dinner and splurged with homemade lava cakes and cookie dough ice cream. We exchanged some notes and treats and called it good.

I decided to experiment with pepper stuffed chicken breasts and I’m so glad I did! They tasted great even for leftovers. We paired the chicken with some asparagus grilled with butter, lemon juice, lemon pepper, and a little bit of garlic (my favorite).

Wish I had a better photo, but I was too hungry to try!

Spinach, Pepper, and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts
I made about 5 servings, but ingredients can be easily altered to make more or less
Bake at 425 degrees

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Grain-Free Crumbly Cinnamon Muffins

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I love muffins and I love cinnamon, so of course I am going to love cinnamon muffins! I’ve been craving some muffins and I finally found the muffin recipe I made some months back and I altered the recipe a little bit with what I had in the house already. The base of this recipe comes from Comfy Belly’s Cinnamon Bun Muffins; I just used some slightly different ingredients and measurements. These muffins are dense and moist and really hit the spot!

Crumbly Cinnamon Muffins

Moist and Crumbly Muffins (they taste good with some butter too!)

Makes approx. 10 muffins
Preheat oven to 325 degrees

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Recipe Review: Santa Fe Chicken Chili

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While looking for warm and filling dinner recipes (that wouldn’t break the bank) I came across Gluten-Free Goddess’ Santa Fe Chicken Chili. The ingredients are all items we use on a regular basis and I love a bowl of warm chili (especially in the winter).

I used leftover chicken from the day before and homemade broth that I made from the chicken as well. I added a little more spice than what was called for and added in some chili powder and paprika too. We served it with some pepper jack cheese and avocado and it was delicious! The chili was very filling and it made way more than 4 servings; probably more around 8 servings.

I will definitely make this dish again. The hardest part of the whole dish was dicing the sweet potato!

The recipe:

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Grocery Savings Challenge Week 1

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Week 1 of budget grocery shopping/savings challenge has commenced! I went grocery shopping yesterday and I was a little unsure of how much I would actually save, but after all was said and done, I’m happy with the results and I am sure I will learn more along the way. In our small(ish) town there are a few places to get groceries, but only one store (Raleys) sells the dairy products we like. I was willing to go to other stores if the prices were substantially different, but if not, I was just going to stick to Raleys.

The Game Plan
The Menu
The Grocery List
The Cost

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Easy Breakfast Casserole

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My husband wakes up quite early to get ready for work and sometimes he gets tired of eating eggs and bacon every morning (and since being pregnant, I am not a fan of the smell of bacon lingering in our home, either).

Last night he prepped and cooked a simple, grain-free breakfast casserole (inspired by this recipe) and had it ready to go the next morning. It was a quick, easy, and healthy solution to breakfast!

Grain-free Spicy Breakfast Casserole

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Pulled Pork Recipe

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I think I may have had pulled pork twice in my life, but I have really been craving it! I finally bought a pork butt at the store with the plan to make it in the slow-cooker. It ended up being super easy (definitely hit the spot with a toasted buttered roll) and I will definitely cook it again.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Yummy pork goodness

Ingredients:

  • 4-5 pound pork butt
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup ketchup or tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Paprika
  • Garlic Powder
  • Onion Powder
  • 1 bottle BBQ sauce

Directions:

  • Mix in the slow-cooker, all the wet ingredients except the BBQ sauce
  • In a small bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients, enough to rub over all of the pork
  • After rubbing down the pork, place it in the crock-pot on low for 5-8 hours, turning over once, half-way through
  • After it has cooked, drain the liquid out and place the pork back in the slow-cooker (still on low)
  • With two forks, shred the pork then add a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
  • Stir thoroughly and serve on toasted buns, make lettuce wraps, tacos, nachos, or eat it by itself or as a salad topper

This was great the next day too. We have already eaten 5 sandwiches from the batch and we still have plenty left!

Treat Yourself Giveaway: Closed

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Lots of great desserts that are grain-free and sugar-free!

I had the pleasure to review Modern Alternative Mama’s newest book, Treat Yourself. This books is full of great dessert recipes with real food ingredients. You won’t find any processed flour or sugar in this book!

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12 Days Until Christmas: Grain-free Appetizers

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I have two holiday celebrations before Christmas and everyone is to bring an appetizer. Since I am sure there will be plenty of indulgences, I am dedicated to bringing something healthy that is grain-free and sugar-free.

Here are a few finger foods/appetizers that I have either made with success, or I plan to give a try:

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