Ali Shapiro

Gluten-Free Granola

This is delicious and great to add to trail-mix or as a breakfast with some ground flax seed and almond or rice milk. A great friend provided the basics for the ingredients and then I added my own little twist.

Gluten-Free Granola

4 T butter

2 T Grade B Maple Syrup

6 cups of Gluten-free Oats

3/4 cup of dried coconut (make sure to get sugar free)

1 T vanilla extract

1/4 c. almonds

1/4 c. walnuts

3/4 c. pecans

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter

Add 2 tablespoons of Grade B Maple Syrup

mix in:

The Ultimate Smoothie

Now Carlos tells me making smoothies is no big deal. But I find it is because you want them to be SMOOTHie not a RUNnie which can happen to me when I make them. The secret is adding in a banana at the end. So simple, so wonderful!

Smoothie Recipe (this is for multiple servings)

1. Put a tray of ice cubes in the bottom of your Vita-Mixer or blender

2. Add in rice or almond milk (enough so it blends the ice)

3. Add in whatever fruits you choose (we buy frozen strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries ) and blend.

Sneak In Your Greens Smoothie

So by now, you know greens are important. Especially during Spring! Here’s a quick and easy recipe to help you get them in on the fly.

Sneak In Your Greens Smoothie

Yield: 6 servings

1 granny smith apple, washed, cored but with skin

1/2 pear, washed, with skin

4 stalks celery, ends & tips removed, use leaves

2 cups chopped romaine lettuce

1/2 large Haas avocado

1/4 bunch cilantro, stems removed

3-4 cups filtered water

One Bean Guacamole

This recipe is so wonderfully quick, simple and delicious. I adapted it from a Moosewood Cookbook. I ate it with a Sunshine burger and some broccoli for a very filling spring time lunch.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

One ripe avocado

1 can of kidney beans (15 ounces)

1/2 cup of salsa

1/4 cup of cilantro

sea salt and pepper to taste

1. Slice avocado in half. Scoop out each half and set in dish.

2. Rinse kidney beans and smash together with fork. Mix salsa, cilantro, sea salt and pepper to taste

Apple and Berry Crisp

Here’s another delicious recipe from the Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Cookbook by Susan O’Brien. I made this last weekend and plan on whenever I’m craving something sweet with some crunch. It is delicious! And to make this recipe easy, use whatever fruit you have in the house. That’s what I did. It all worked out!

Ingredients:

Fruit

4 cups apples, peeled,cored and slice

5 cups strawberries, fresh or frozen

3 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 T arrowroot (you can use cornstarch too)

Gluten-Free Gingerbread

I found one of the best cookbooks this past weekend – Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Cooking by Susan O’Brien. The recipes are easy and super tasty. I’ll probably be posting recipes from this book for weeks to come. This bread comes out amazingly well and the orange zest adds a refreshing flavor. Try this as soon as you can!

Ingredients

1/2 cup of pecans or walnuts, chopped finely

1/2 cup of agave nectar

1/4 cup of grapeseed oil (this is a change I made rather than use canola oil)

2 eggs

1/2 tsp of orange rind (I used 2 tsps)

Natural Non-Dairy Yogurt

Everyone knows I’m not a dairy fan. The occasional organic dairy indulgence with friends and wine is fabulous for the soul. But when it comes out in 50 years (or however long it takes the Dairy industry to loosen it’s grip on the FDA) and it’s common sense that dairy contributes to asthma, osteoporosis and breast cancer, I will know I wasn’t silent!

Crock Pot Hearty Veggie Soup

Winter is at the tail end of its cycle. Here’s a recipe that will give you enough servings to get you through it…while keeping you warm and nourished. It’s my Mom’s and whenever I make it, I think about her and how much I love her.

Feel free to add in other veggies and make it your own – and start some great memories of your own!

Crock Pot Hearty Vegetable Soup

Need an at-home cooking assistant? Here are two free ones

My parents are the smartest, most supportive and resourceful people I know. This has become most apparent to me over the past four years as a novice home owner who knows nothing about garbage disposals, hot water heaters and furnaces. I always call them to get the answers I need, fast.

When I asked my parents how they became ever so resourceful, instead of the answers I was expecting like “school of hard knocks” and “trial-and-error” I got “we just google the problem”. Genius!

“Creamed” Spinach

This is another great comfort food recipe for these snowy, wet and dark February days. I double this recipe and then have it available all week. It’s easy to warm up in a pan for each time you want something hot and “creamy”.

Nutritional yeast is one of the lesser known ingredients in this recipe. You can find it in the bulk food section of Whole Foods. It has lots of B vitamins and adds a cheesy flavor without any dairy.

1 1/2 lb baby spinach or 1 1/4 lb frozen spinach

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

2 Tbsp butter or oil

2 Tbsp rice flour