©iStockphoto.com - SharonDay

This combines the flavors of warm apple pie in a hearty, healthy breakfast cereal for chilly autumn mornings. Using certified gluten-free oats makes this appropriate for those on a gluten-free diet.

Rolled oats make a thicker, heartier cereal; however, quick-cooking oats cook up faster for a busy morning. Save a little morning prep time by chopping the apple the night before and sprinkling it with lemon juice to prevent browning in the fridge overnight. (continue reading…)

Bring on the tastes of fall! The winter squash and pecans pack this full of vitamins, minerals and healthy fats. These have a lengthy baking time, but the preparation is minimal.

2 acorn squash

2 large apples

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1/2 cup raisins

1 tablespoon oil (melted coconut, walnut or extra-virgin olive) (continue reading…)

ⓒ iStockPhoto - JKendall

Are you Gluten intolerant? You or you family might have thought that you will not enjoy the pizza, lasagna, biscotti, pasta, pretzels, cookies and many varieties of bread anymore, but there is no reason for disappointment. A whole gluten free world waits for you. Gone are the days when there were a limited choices. There are many mail-order gluten free food companies and gluten free stores out there. But, just in case you prefer to eat at home, you should stock up your pantry with the food which is gluten free and can get you all you want to eat. There is a list of things which can help you make whatever you love to eat.

Cornstarch: This is a great thickening agent for sauces and gravies. It is less prone to lumps than wheat flour.

Cornmeal: This can be used for cereals, crusts, accompaniments to roasts, soft or grilled polenta and gluten free batters. Corn bread makes an excellent addition to stuffing, meat and other ground meat dishes. It also replaces the bread crumbs in standard recipes. You will surely relish cornmeal- crusted fish or soft shell crabs sauteed in a little butter or olive oil. (continue reading…)

ⓒ iStockPhoto - kcline

This recipe evolved from huevos rancheros, a Mexican dish with a fried egg served over a tortilla with tomato-chile sauce, and sometimes beans, cheese, sour cream and whatever else Tex-Mex cooks decided to throw in.

Some healthy modifications make the vegetables an equal partner in the meal, rather than a flavor accent, and poaches the eggs in the juice from the vegetables instead of frying them. Eliminating the tortilla makes it suitable for gluten-free or low-carb diets, with a bed of lightly wilted spinach serving as a base for the eggs and sauce. Low carbers may want to reduce the number of tomatoes and increase the mushrooms, zucchini and green pepper; however, much of the poaching liquid comes from the tomatoes, so a few are necessary. (continue reading…)

©iStockphoto.com - Fertnig

Tn addition to the peas, and pods of edible-podded pea varieties, the leaves and stems of garden peas, snap peas and snow peas (but not ornamental sweet peas) are edible. If you’re looking for a unique leafy green, consider pea tendrils. The flavor is, unsurprisingly, similar to the flavor of snow pea pods.

Pea tendrils aren’t your standard supermarket fare. Some specialty Asian grocers sell them, sometimes marketed as pea shoots. You can also grow them yourself in a container. Any pea seed from the garden center will work. If you want 100% organic sprouts, use the certified organic seeds and organic potting mix. Sow the seed thickly in a pot, water and wait. When the sprouts are 3-4 inches tall, cut the leaves and tendrils and use raw in salads or cooked in stir-fries or dishes like the citrus-glazed pea shoots over rice, below. (continue reading…)

©iStockphoto.com - SharonDay

By Natalie Anne Lanoville

This recipe was created for a patient on the Gerson diet by Natalie Anne Lanoville. The Gerson Protocol limits herbs, aromatics and other concentrated flavours, but the patient really needed the extra pizzazz of the herbs, hence the relatively generous quantity of dill. The Gerson protocol also limits cooking temperature, but my time was too limited to experiment with different oven temperatures and cooking times, so I just chose the lowest temperature I knew would work.

The recipe was adapted from Ashley/Medellia12 at Vegan-Food.net, and I am very grateful to that site for the inspiration. I chose their recipe as the basis for mine because it was already fat-free and used oat flour rather than wheat flour. I added dill and changed the proportions a bit, as well as moving the cooking venue from a frying pan to the oven. Gerson doesn’t allow any salt and discourages pepper, so I eschewed those as well.

Gerson prefers unpeeled potato, but my friend was sick of potato skins, so I have used peeled potatoes in all my Gerson recipes. (continue reading…)

ⓒ iStockPhoto - Elenathewise

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is not wheat or even a grain, but a fruit seed. Whole buckwheat seeds are three-sided with a thick, hard outer hull that must be removed before eating. The inner seed, also called as groat, is light brown or light green colored, soft and easily chewable. The seed has a pleasant and rich flavor.

The high fiber content makes buckwheat a good substitute for grains. The Chinese have been growing Buckwheat as a grain crop for over 1000 years. It is used by Japanese to make soba noodles. Buckwheat flour can be used to make delicious pancakes, biscuits, muffins or breads. In some parts of Eastern Europe, the toasted groats are known as kasha. Europeans use buckwheat groats as whole in hot cereals and soups. Buckwheat can also be boiled until it become soft and fluffy and then eaten like rice. (continue reading…)