Archive for Great Grains

Vanilla Walnut Raisin Granola (Sugar Free!)

October 10, 2012 A New You, Fertility Foods, Great Grains, Raising Healthy Kids, Recipes, Recipes & Articles, Super Snacks, Weight Loss, Workout Fuel 8 comments

Granola is crunchy and delicious; a favorite indulgence of kids and adults alike. But granola can be seriously not good for you! High in added sugar and processed fats, makes purchasing granola a bit tricky. In fact, I’ve never found a granola that doesn’t contain any added sugar; so I made my own. Granola still packs a punch of calories, but in this recipe they are all “good calories”; the kind of calories that work for you, not against you. Partner this granola with a bowl of berries or diced fruit and few spoons of plain yogurt and you’ve got a filling breakfast or snack.

Granola is surprisingly easy to make yourself. Not only is granola expensive nutritionally, it’s also hard on the pocketbook. Make your own to save some cals and some cash.

I saw a recipe online that made a paste from dates to naturally sweeten the granola, which I thought was a great idea, but I didn’t have dates. I made mine with raisins because I didn’t have any dates.

*Note: Ingredients with an asterisk need to be confirmed gluten-free for those with celiac.

Vanilla Walnut Raisin Granola

  • 1/4 cup raisins*
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts*
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut*
  • 2 cups rolled oats*
  • 1/2 cup raisins*
  • 1/2 cup canola oil (non-GMO)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup water, if needed
  • Canola oil (non-GMO) to oil the baking pan
  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a small saucepan, simmer 1/4 cup raisins and water. Once plump and softened, puree in a blender to make a paste.
  3. Mix the walnuts, coconut, oats, 1/2 cup raisins, canola oil, vanilla, cloves and cinnamon with the raisin puree.
  4. Add a bit of water to moisten the granola.
  5. Prepare an 8″x11″ baking dish with canola oil or cooking spray
  6. Spread the granola into the pan and bake for 30 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes or if the edges get brown.
  7. Store in an airtight container.

Here it is in the baking dish ready to bake.

Nutrition Details:

Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan

Makes about 16 servings; per 1/4 cup serving:

70 calories, 7 grams fat, 13 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams fiber, 5 grams natural sugar, 0 grams added sugar, 3 grams protein

Update

Simplified Granola

Keep in mind that granola can be super simple. This weekend I didn’t have a lot of time, or ingredients, but I really didn’t want to spend $6 on another puny bag of gluten-free granola. Rather than stressing over the specialty dried fruit and sunflower seeds I didn’t have, I used the oats and pecans that I did have. First, I simmered a large handful of raisins in about 1/2 cup water until they were plump, almost falling apart. I just set that on the back burner of the stove while I was doing other things around the house.

Once the raisins were nice and soft, I let them cool a bit while I mixed up the oats, pecans and cinnamon. I like to put a lot of nuts in my granola so that it is filling and satifying. Without the healthy fats from the nuts, the carbohydrate from the oats and fruit just is sustaining. Don’t worry about how much nuts or oats, just do what seems like a mix you’d like to eat.

Next, blend the raisins and water into a puree and pour the raisin puree over the oats and pecans. Add extra flavor with cinnamon and vanilla. I finished my granola off with a drizzle of non-GMO canola oil and threw it in the oven. Simple and delish!

Resource: Wine & Gluten for those with Celiac

October 10, 2012 Great Grains, Recipes & Articles No comments

Wine is made from grapes and so it is naturally gluten-free. However, some varieties of red wine may be aged in oak barrels that are sealed with a wheat paste.

Should this matter to those with celiac?

Here’s a resource for those of you with celiac disease: Click here for Tricia Thompson’s recent investigation into the gluten content of wine aged in oak barrels that were sealed with wheat paste.

This is new and reliable information that you’ll want to read up on.

Curried Quinoa Salad & Fast Lentil Salad

October 8, 2012 Anti-Inflammatory Life, Beans and Lentils, Eat Your Veggies!, Fertility Foods, Great Grains, Raising Healthy Kids, Recipes, Recipes & Articles, Super Snacks, Weight Loss, Workout Fuel 4 comments

For those of you that follow my blog, you may have been wondering “where is Hana?” Without realizing it, I haven’t posted anything new and exciting for almost 4 weeks! There has been a lot going on. I have taken on a new volunteer position with the Southern Arizona Celiac Support Group. I am now serving as the President of the Medical Advisory Board. With this position I will be working to improve awareness of celiac disease and enhance access to good medical care for those with celiac in Tucson. At the UA, I have been vigorously organizing the UA Food Day Fair. Mark October 24th on your calendar and make your way to the UA Mall to celebrate healthy and sustainable foods!

And on the home-front, my sister got married! Her wedding was beautiful and lots and lots of fun. We got to enjoy family that came for the wedding weekend and we were lucky to have our Oregon fam stay through last week! Yay cousins!!

We have been busy on all fronts, and then our fridge broke! For some reason it’s just freezing everything.

So last week when I had a presentation on the Anti-Inflammatory Diet, I sort freaked out and almost threw in the towel on doing a food demo and taste testing. But, I prevailed by modifying a couple anti-inflammatory salads that I have made in the past. A few short cuts and viola! Two delicious and anti-inflammatory salads to share with you. So no excuses! If I could pull this off, you can too. Trust me, healthy food is within your reach!

A plant-based diet that is high in antioxidants and fiber is the foundation of an anti-inflammatory diet. That’s why these two salads incorporate color, crunch, spice, intact grains and legumes. These can be side salads or main dishes, depending on your nutritional needs and the ratios of each ingredient.

Curried Quinoa Salad

  • 1 1/2 cups quinoa*
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1/2 tablespoon ginger
  • Chopped walnuts, about 3/4 cup*
  • Chopped cilantro, about 1/2 bunch, optional
  • Apples, organic, about 2, diced
  • Frozen shelled edamame, organic, about 3/4 cup
  • Extra virgin olive oil, about 2 tablespoons
  • Apple cider vinegar, about 2 tablespoons
  1. Bring the water to a boil. When boiling, add quinoa and spices. This will make more than you need for this recipe. Save half in a glass container and freeze for future use.
  2. While the quinoa cooks, chop the walnuts and cilantro and dice the apples.
  3. Use about half of the the cooked quinoa, and mix with walnuts, cilantro, apple and edamame in a large mixing bowl.
  4. Drizzle the salad with olive oil and vinegar. Taste and season appropriately.

Use more or less of each of the ingredients to meet your own tastes and needs. Every ingredient in this salad will have an anti-inflammatory affect, and that makes this dish pretty amazing and super delicious! The combination of the spicy curry and sweet apples is surprising; when a coworker tasted it, she said, “whoa, there’s a lot happening in my mouth right now!” She’d never tried quinoa before and she loved this dish.

Fast Lentil Salad

Lentils are a great source of plant-based protein. Frozen veggies and store-bought vinaigrette means this can be done quickly and easily.

  • 1 block extra firm tofu, organic
  • Brianna’s French Vinaigrette
  • 1 can lentils
  • 1 small bag frozen peas and carrots
  • 1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
  • Oregano, garlic powder and thyme
  1. Cube the extra firm tofu and place in an air-tight container. Cover with vinaigrette and store in the fridge. Marinate at least 4 hours.
  2. Drain and rinse the lentils.
  3. Mix the lentils, frozen peas and carrots, and chopped parsley in a large mixing bowl.
  4. Add the marinated tofu and vinaigrette.
  5. Season with dried herbs and garlic powder.

Make ahead tips: On the weekend before my Friday presentation, I cooked the quinoa and marinated the tofu. On Wednesday night I made the quinoa salad and on Friday morning I put together the lentils.

NOTE: For those that follow my blog, to better meet the needs of those with celiac and gluten-sensitivity, I am changing the format of how I indicate which ingredients need to be gluten-free. I will be identifying the ingredients that need to be confirmed gluten-free for those with celiac with an asterisk.

*For those with celiac, ensure that this ingredient is gluten-free and from a gluten-free facility or is certified gluten-free.

Maple-Soy Marinade Pulls Meal Together

August 30, 2012 Great Grains, Nutrition Notes, Recipes, Recipes & Articles 2 comments

I pulled a recipe from Cooking Light for Maple-Soy Chicken Thighs and centered the entire meal around the marinade. This is a great strategy to weave the flavors of one dish into other components of your meal without complicating meal preparation.

Maple-Soy Chicken Thighs, Millet Tabouli, Carrots and Green Beans

Marinade:

  • 1/2 cup 100% maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce or gluten-free tamari sauce
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger or 1 inch piece of ginger root, minced
  • 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

Chicken (or any protein):

  • 6 skinless organic or antibiotic free bone-in chicken thighs, or 1 block extra firm organic tofu or 6 3-oz filets of salmon

Vegetables:

  • 4 carrots
  • 1 organic red bell pepper
  • 1 cup frozen green beans

Millet Tabouli:

  • 1/2 cup millet
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 organic red bell pepper
  • 1 zucchini
  • 3 green onions
  • 1/2 bunch parsley
  • 1/2 bunch cilantro
  • Soy sauce or gluten-free tamarin sauce
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Orange juice
  • Ground ginger

Directions:

The day before you want to serve this meal, marinate the chicken and cook millet.

  1. Make the millet by boiling 2 cups water, and then adding 1/2 cup millet and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and simmer until water is absorbed and millet is cooked.
  2. While the millet cooks, mix the marinade ingredients together in a glass storage container. Add the chicken (or other protein-rich food) and store in the refrigerator.

The day that you are serving this meal, bake the chicken and vegetables in the marinade and make the millet tabouli.

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Cut up the vegetables and place in a glass baking dish. Pour the marinade from the chicken over the vegetables. Leave just a little bit of the marinade with the chicken so that the chicken doesn’t stick to the baking dish. It is acceptable to reuse the marinade that has come in contact with raw chicken because you are going to cook the vegetables. If you would rather not use the marinade from the raw chicken, double the marinade recipe and keep some for the vegetables.
  3. Place the glass storage container with the chicken and the baking dish with the vegetables into the oven. Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes.
  4. While the chicken and vegetables are baking, make millet tabouli.
  5. Place cooked millet in a large glass bowl.
  6. Dice red bell pepper, green onions and zucchini and add to bowl.
  7. Chop parsley and cilantro and add to bowl.
  8. Season with soy sauce/tamari, orange juice, extra virgin olive oil and ground ginger. I add a little splash of each, taste it and then add more until it tastes good.
  9. Serve it up!

Using the same cooking method and same marinade gets Baked Chicken and Vegetables on the table in a timely manner.

Nutrition Details

Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian or vegan if you want it to be

Makes 4 servings; per serving:

420 calories, 13 grams fat, 3 grams saturated fat, 666 mg sodium, 36 grams carbohydrate, 7 grams fiber, 10 grams sugar, 38 grams protein

Another Quickie: Quinoa with Wild Salmon and Oregano Zucchini

August 27, 2012 A New You, Anti-Inflammatory Life, Beans and Lentils, Eat Your Veggies!, Fantastic Fish, Fertility Foods, Great Grains, Raising Healthy Kids, Recipes, Recipes & Articles, Weigh Loss, Workout Fuel No comments

That’s right, a salmon and quinoa dinner made in under 20 minutes. And with just 6 ingredients! Three power foods, prepared fast, tasty and easy; This meal is also easily adjusted to your own personal needs.

  • 2 zucchini
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, cold-pressed
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • Earthly Choice Easy Quinoa
  • Canned wild salmon, boneless and skinless
  • 1/2 can white beans
  1. Boil water and quinoa according to package directions.
  2. While quinoa cooks, dice and sauté zucchini in olive oil.
  3. Sprinkle zucchini with oregano.
  4. Drain canned white beans and canned wild salmon.
  5. When quinoa is cooked, mix quinoa, zucchini, salmon and beans together.
  6. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
  7. Serve 1 1/2 cups with a colorful salad.

Balance Your Own Plate

One of my favorite concepts for healthy eating is to balance your plate. Fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables and the other half with high-fiber carbohydrate and healthy protein or fat.

To balance my plate I served this Quinoa, Salmon and Oregano Zucchini with an arugula and tomato salad because this recipe is a bit light on veggies. If you’d like this to be a stand alone meal or if you are trying to eat more vegetables or if you are trying to lose weight, use 3 zucchinis and add 2 bell peppers. If you are eating a higher protein and lower carbohydrate diet, use more vegetables and 2 cans of salmon. If you are active and eating a higher carbohydrate diet, use the whole can of white beans. By increasing and decreasing the different components of this meal, you can adjust it to meet your own nutritional needs.

Nutrition Details

Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan (use tofu cubes instead of salmon)

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