Giveaway Contest

This could be yours! Time is ticking! There's only 1 day left to enter and win three 16oz baking mixes from Bob's Red Mill! Details here.

A Few Soba Recipes

A recent reader comment lead me to search for soba recipes. King Soba noodles are one of my favorite gluten free noodle, but like my reader, I get tired of just having them as spaghetti. Here are some ideas for more authentic Asian cuisine. 

Cold Soba Salad #1
Soba Salad #2
Simple Soba Soup


There are also various recipes on the 101 Cookbooks website. You can adjust most of these recipes to accommodate allergies or food sensitivities. I recommend researching prepared sauces (soy sauce, oyster sauce, etc...) before using them to avoid unintentionally adding an allergen. 


This is a recipe for a basic soba sauce. 
Soy dressing:
1/4 c. light soy sauce (or gf soy sauce)
1/4 c. mirin
2 Tbs. seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 garlic clove finely chopped

A Look At The Week 7/29-8/4

Here's a look at what's coming up this week:

THE BIG GIVEAWAY CONTEST ENDS WEDNESDAY!!! The winner will be announced THURSDAY!

Recipes for:

• Soba - what to do with those rice noodles
• Breakfast Skillet
• Drunken Chicken

Plus:

• New information about oral immunotherapy
• Corn cracker review

And as always:

• Tuesday's Tip
• Friendly Fridays

15 Allergy Friendly Snack Ideas

I'm gearing up for a trip in a few weeks, which has my search engines working in overdrive trying to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. I plan on bringing snacks with me to have on the plane, but what exactly? Here are some ideas for allergy free snacks that travel well!

1. Make your own bag of allergy free trail mix with your favorite allergy free cereals, dried fruits, nuts, chocolate, or yogurt drops. 
2. Fresh fruit
3. Apples or celery with peanut, almond, or sunflower butter
4. Rice crackers
5. Lentil chips
6. Potato chips
7. Jerky (be sure to read the ingredients)
8. Pumpkin seeds
9. Popcorn
10. KIND nut and fruit bars
11. Breakfast Bars (get the recipe here)
12. Rice or popcorn cakes (caramel is my personal favorite)
13. Wasabi Peas
14. Cherry tomatoes (believe it or not, they're pretty travel hardy & don't need to be kept cool)
15. Roasted Chickpeas (get the recipe here)

FRIENDLY FRIDAYS: P.F. Chang's - Gluten Free

P.F. Chang's has a fairly extensive gluten free menu and if you choose items that are vegetarian as well you can pretty much avoid all the major food allergens. They do warn, as is the case in almost all restaurants, their food is all prepared in a common kitchen where other food allergens exist. If you are highly sensitive, consider yourself warned. I ate at the P.F. Chang's in Austin, TX and I have to say, I was impressed with both how accommodating they were and how knowledgeable our waiter was! He was able to offer me suggestions and personal opinions about the dishes. I had the GF Singapore Street Noodles, which consists of shrimp, chicken, vegetables and rice noodles stir-fried in a gluten free sauce. They were delicious and filling. I even splurged and had their GF Triple Chocolate Mousse Mini, which has three layers of chocolate ganache, milk chocolate mousse and flourless chocolate cake. It wasn't completely allergy free for me, but it didn't upset my stomach too much... and it was heavenly! 

P.F. Chang's is a great option for those of us with special dietary needs. They are knowledgeable. If you have someone in your party with other special dietary concerns ask to speak with a manager or the chef, and they will try to accommodate them as best they can. 

Giveaway Contest

Do you like FREE?! Then enter the Bob's Red Mill Giveaway Contest now. It's quick, painless, and costs nothing!

Get the details here!

Get all your baking needs from Bob's Red Mill!

Breakfast Bars

These little gems can be customized to meet your allergy needs, and they travel well! Great for a quick bite on your way to work or a packable snack for your next road trip!


From WholeLiving.com

Ingredients

1 tablespoon walnut oil, plus more for pan
1 1/4 cups spelt flakes
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup sproated or ground flaxseeds
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped pistachios
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Black Bean Cakes

Adapted from Mia's Domain. This site has some WONDERFUL recipes! Check it out!

Crispy Black Bean Fritters:

3 cups black bean, cooked

1 large yellow pepper, remove seed, chop into small pieces

1 small white onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 large tomato, chopped into small pieces

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

3 tablespoons gluten free flour (see recipe here or use your favorite store bought version)

2 eggs, room temperature (1/2 cup Egg Beaters or equivalent amount egg replacement product)

Sea salt and black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil (for frying)

TUESDAY'S TIP: Malnutrition & Food Allergies

Finding the Right Balance

How do you ensure you're getting the right nutrients when you have to avoid certain, possibly nutrient-rich, foods? When you have a food allergy... or multiple allergies like me, it can be difficult to find alternatives or replacements for foods we can no longer eat. I know I can't be the only person who has looked up and down the grocery store aisles in search of an acceptable snack, lunch item, or ingredient to alter a recipe. If you're like me, you probably get frustrated too and end up saying something like, "Forget it! I'll just get a candy bar... that's got nutrients, right?" No? OK, well... maybe it's just me.

If you have to avoid certain foods for health reasons, and you don't eat enough of the right foods, you could be lacking vital nutrients. So what do you do? We need to have carbohydrates, protein, fats (yes, fats), vitamins and minerals in our diets to get everything our body needs to function properly. Let's take a look at these individually.

10 Ways to Cook Quinoa

10 New Ways to Cook Quinoa

This is a great page from Nature Moms! I've tried quinoa once and wasn't really impressed, but that was because I cooked it myself and didn't know what to do with it. There are some great recipes here that have me excited to try it all over again... the right way!