T minus 17 days until Thanksgiving and the short-list of potential side dishes is already being negotiated in our family.  This year, my submission for healthy, gluten-free stuffing substitute comes from, of all unlikely places, the Executive Chef at the hospital where I work.  Now, while I’ll admit that hospital food rarely inspires much beyond a general sense of dread, the day that Chef George whipped up this delicious and autumnal Wild Rice Salad for a catering event, I found myself inspired to have seconds… and ply him for the recipe.

Wild rice is a whole grain variety of rice that’s even more nutritious than brown rice. It’s super high in protein– a standard serving (1/4 cup dry) has 6g of protein—ranking it right up there with king quinoa as far as protein content goes. Most people don’t like to bother with it once they learn of its 50-minute cooking time, but it’s not like you have to stand there and stir it while it cooks.  Just bring the water and rice to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and go bake a Thanksgiving pie or something.  Or watch someone else bake a Thanksgiving pie on the Food Network.   Of course, if you feel like being productive during that 50-minute cooking time, get going on this addictive recipe for Koshari for dinner and put that wild rice to good use.

Since Chef George never did get around to detailing the exact quantities of the ingredients in his recipe for me, I was forced to play around with the inputs a bit until I landed on the proportions that suited my tastes.  By all means, add more or less of any ingredient to your liking.  However you put them together, the recipe is a cinch.

A Thanksgiving-worthy side dish that's a little bit chewy, a little bit sweet and a little bit tangy.

Recipe: Chef George’s Wild Rice Salad (serves 6)

1 cup wild rice/wild rice blend  (I used Lundberg’s Wild Blend)

2 scallions, thinly sliced (~1/3 to 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

1/2 cup chopped pecans (if you have the time or inclination to toast the pecans before chopping, all the better)

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup raspberry vinegar

2 TBSP olive oil

1. Prepare the wild rice according to package instructions (probably 2 cups water to 1 cup rice).  When finished, set cooked rice aside to cool.
2. Add the remaining ingredients to the cooked rice and mix until well-blended.
3. Salt to taste.
4. Serve warm, room temperature or cold.

Note: You can make the rice up to a day in advance and keep refrigerated in a sealed container.  Don’t mix in the rest of the ingredients until just before serving.

Nutrition info per serving: 225 calories, 29g carbohydrate (of which 3g are fiber), 5g protein, 11g (healthy, mostly monounsaturated) fat.

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Thai-inspired Black Rice Pudding with Mango

After last year’s unfortunate Halloween candy bender (guess who methodically worked her way through an entire 200-count econo-size bag of mini York Peppermint Patties when not a single Trick-or-Treater showed up?), I vowed not to let a single “fun-sized” candy anything pass through the doorway into my home this year.  And if the costumed neighborhood kids show up this year begging for treats, I will do what any self-respecting candyless nutritonist would do: dim the lights, ignore the doorbell, and be prepared to clean the eggs and toilet paper off my house in the morning.

Of course, this necessary act of self-preservation doesn’t mean that I won’t be treating myself to anything sweet, sticky and seasonably black-and-orange this week.  It’s just that my sweet treat of choice this year will be made from ingredients decidedly more wholesome than high-fructose corn syrup and partially-hydrogenated oils: I’m making a Thai-inspired dessert that’s part Black Rice Pudding, part Mango Sticky Rice.

Traditionally, Black Rice Pudding is made with Thai Black Rice (which is sort of more purple-brown than black); however, Chinese Black “Forbidden” Rice is easier to come by in mainstream supermarkets, so I used that.  (Bonus: it’s non-GMO and an heirloom rice variety to boot.)  Purists will argue that Forbidden Rice isn’t sticky enough to produce the proper effect, but my experience created a perfectly rice-puddingy texture just fine.  Black rice pudding is usually served with a savory-sweet coconut cream and toasted sesame seed topping, which is fine if you’re not going for a Halloween motif.  Which I am.  So I decided to take some liberties and borrow some taste (and color) inspiration from another popular Thai dessert, Mango Sticky Rice.  I also reduced the amount of sugar typically found in this recipe and swapped Lite Coconut Milk for regular.  The result is a delicious, sweet-enough treat that I will enjoy thoroughly as I sit in my darkened house with the blinds drawn on October 31st hoping the Trick-or-Treaters pass me by.

And if I may be so bold to suggest a pairing: since rice is the main event in this carb-centric dessert, I think it makes an excellent and satisfying finish to a light meal that’s more protein-and-vegetable-centric. Like an entree-sized bowl of soup.  How about: a tangy Thai Tom Yum soup, Rick Bayless’ Classic Tortilla Soup (swap the chicken out with baked tofu cubes and add a heap of baby spinach leaves to make it vegetarian), or a classic Miso soup with Tofu?

Recipe: Thai Black Rice Pudding with Mango (serves 6)

1 cup black rice

3 cups water

Salt

1/3 cup sugar

1 can unsweetened Light Coconut Milk (shaken before use to blend)

2 cups fresh mango, cut into cubes (Fresh papaya makes a fine substitute if you can’t find a ripe mango this time of year)

1. In a large saucepan (3-4 qts), mix black rice, 3 cups water and 1/4 tsp salt.  Bring to boil, then simmer covered for 45 minutes until rice is cooked.  There will still be some liquid in the pot.
2. Stir in the sugar, another 1/4 tsp salt and 1 1/2 cups of the coconut milk.  Increase heat to bring mixture to a boil again, then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer uncovered for 30 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Mixture should be thick and gooey and chewy
3. Remove pudding from heat and let cool for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally during cooling.
4. Serve in small dessert bowls drizzled with the remaining Light Coconut Milk (stirred to ensure well blended) and topped with 1/4 cup fresh mango cubes.

Approximate nutrition information per serving: 220 calories, 43g carbohydrate (of which ~2g are fiber), 3.5g protein and 4.5g fat.

…which is the caloric equivalent of 4 mini York Peppermint Patties, with decidedly more nutritional merit.  The black color of Forbidden Rice derives from phytochemicals called anthocyanins, which are natural plant pigments with strong antioxidant properties. In fact, there’s a bunch of research out of Asia investigating the promising cancer-quashing effects of these black rice-derived anthocyanins.  Which sadly, my beloved York Peppermint Patties can’t claim.  Sigh.  Not even the Pink ones.

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A soup worthy of my wedding china: It looks and tastes like Mushroom Barley soup, but it's gluten free!

Nothing heralds soup season like an early Noreaster, and the cold, rainy assault of ghastly unpleasantness it brings with it.

In weather like last week’s, I miss barley.  More specifically, I miss me a bowl of warming, filling and comforting mushroom barley soup in all of its earthy, satisfying glory.  I’ve come to terms with the fact that wheat has gluten, but et tu, barley?

As fate would have it, I was walking through a health food store last weekend and I spotted an unusual vaccuum-packed bag of some strangely named grain-looking product called “Job’s Tears.”  Immediately, I notice this grain looks exactly like pearled barley. I read the label.  It reveals frustratingly little about this unusually-named food, except to confirm that it is, indeed a grain.  From Japan.  And it is best used to add some heft to slow-cooking soups.  Cautiously optimistic (I’ve been hurt by grains before), I buy these so-called Job’s Tears and promptly return home to start the research.

My own eyes welled up with tears when the grain list on the Celiac Sprue Foundation website confirmed what I had been hoping: the grain called “Job’s Tears”  (aka: Coix seed, Hato Mugi, or Adlay) is not only gluten-free, but it serves as a perfect substitute for pearled barley in recipes.

What are Job’s Tears?

Job’s Tears, like other cereal grains, is a grass. In this case, it is a tropical grass native to parts of Asia (but since transplanted to some parts of the U.S.) that got its nickname from the tear-like shape of the grain it produces.  The ones I bought are white, meaning that they have already been hulled.  Apparently, however, one can readily find the brown (unhulled) version sold in Japan.

From what limited information I could gather,  Job’s Tears are not nearly as high in fiber as an equivalent

Pearled barley (top left) cooks up to look just like Job's Tears (bottom right)

amount of pearled barley, but are significantly higher in protein and iron for roughly the same number of calories and net carbohydrates. They also contain an equivalent amount of B-vitamins.  According to my analysis of an unpublished report posted on the website of Purdue University’s Center for New Crops & Plants products, a 50g portion (1/3 cup) of uncooked Job’s Tears contains 190 calories, 33g of carbohydrate (of which a negligible amount is fiber), 7.5g protein, 2.5 mg iron.  Compare that to an equivalent 50g portion of pearled barley (1/4 cup; its grains are smaller than Job’s Tears), which would contain 175 calories, 39g of carbohydrate (of which 8 huge grams are fiber, leaving 31g of actual energy-producing carbohydrate), 5g protein and 1.25g iron.

As I continued my research into Job’s Tears, I learned that its extract is used as a dietary supplement in Chinese Medicine to treat inflammatory conditions, like rheumatoid arthritis.   I further noted that several sources warn that women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should avoid taking Job’s Tears supplements. I dug deeper into this warning and found some studies in pregnant rats fed extracts of Job’s Tears which showed an increased rate of miscarriages.  Apparently, there are some compounds in the grain that increase uterine contractility, and these compounds appear to be much more biologically active in the hull (and, by definition, any extracts made from the hull) than the de-hulled seed.  (Most Job’s Tears sold in the US will be de-hulled; hence the flashy white color and low fiber content.)  Of course, the doses in these studies tend to be significantly higher than in any amount you’d reasonably ingest from eating a physiologically normal food serving, but I thought I’d mention it in case any pregnant celiac readers of mine decide go on a pickles/ice cream/Job’s Tears bender and start devouring it 3 meals a day in copious amounts. My advice, based on this albeit limited research, would be not to do that.

Where to buy Job’s Tears

Your best bet is online.  The cheapest one I could find was from an online store called Simply Natural for $4.50/lb.  (If my math serves me correctly, that’s the equivalent of about nine 1/4 cup raw servings, or nine 1 cup cooked servings.)

Recipe: Mushroom Barley/J.T. Soup for all (Ok, well for four.  Double the recipe if you wish).

Of course, the beauty of pairing Job’s Tears with mushrooms in a soup is that the high-fiber mushrooms will help make up for JT’s  fiber shortfall.  If you can eat barley, then this soup is a major-league fiber powerhouse, which explains why a bowl at lunchtime will keep you set until dinner, easily.  This recipe is only slightly adapted from a near-perfect old favorite from my dog-eared copy of the Daily Soup Cookbook.

2 TBSP olive oil

1 1/4 lbs mixed mushrooms of your choice, stems removed and reserved and caps sliced (For reasons of economy, I use mostly cremini or button and then top them off with a few exotic species for sex appeal.  Adding some reconstituted dried shiitakes adds nice texture, too.)

5 cups cold water if using barley, 6 cups if using Job’s Tears

1/4 cup white wine

1 onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

1 bay leaf

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

3/4 cup Job’s Tears (gluten-free) OR 1/2 cup pearled barley (gluten-full)

2 tsp balsamic or red wine vinegar

1 tsp minced fresh garlic

1. Heat 1 TBSP oil in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add mushroom stems and sweat 5 minutes until soft and releasing liquid.
2. Add water and wine and bring mixture to boil.  Reduce heat, cover, simmer for 20 minutes.  Fish out the stems with a slotted spoon and set the stock aside in a separate pot.
3. Using the original soup pot, heat remaining 1 TBSP oil.  Add onion, celery and carrot and sweat until soft, 4 minutes or so.
4. Add thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper.  Stir to coat veggies.
5. Add sliced mushroom caps and saute 5 minutes until soft and releasing liquid.
6. Add the stock and the Job’s Tears OR barley.  Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer for 1 hour until the grain is tender.
7. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar and garlic.
8. Fish out the bay leaf and serve!

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Whether you’re avoiding wheat flour by necessity or are just looking for some variety in a stale diet, bean flours in general–and chickpea flour in particular– are a nutritious alternative to some of the most common flours in our lives.

The most commonly-used gluten-free flours and starches (like rice flour and tapioca starch) offer little by way of protein or fiber.  In fact, the starchy qualities of these flours–which tend to comprise most GF breads, pizza crusts and other commercially-prepared baked goods– help account for the fact that gluten-free baked goods often have up to twice the calories and up to 50% more carbohydrate compared to their conventional counterparts.

In contrast, bean flours offer a delicious and nutritious (gluten-free) alternative to these starchy staples, and are versatile enough to star as center-of-plate foods… or play a supporting role in a meal as bread’s gluten-free understudy.   Take chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour for example: 1/4 cup contains 110 calories, 6g protein, 18g of carbohydrate (of which a hefty 5g is fiber) and an impressive 10% of the daily value for iron. Compare that to 1/4 cup of (whole) brown rice flour, which contains 140 calories, 3g of protein, 31g of carbohydrate (of which only 1g is fiber) and 4% of the daily value for iron.

Humble chickpea flour even edges out whole wheat flour in a nutritional tête à tête:  it has 2g more protein and 1g more fiber in that same 110 calorie, 1/4 cup serving. Which makes it a lovely stand-in for plain wheat flour in recipes for breaded fish or chicken that call for a bit of a flour-and-egg dredging.

Contributing to the high total fiber content in raw bean flours–particularly white bean, lentil and chickpea flours–is a unique type of fiber called “resistant starch.” And lest you fixate on the word “starch” and worry that bean flours will spike your blood sugar like white potatoes or refined flours, I draw your attention to the “resistant” part, instead.  This unique type of starch resists digestion in your small intestine, and therefore it can’t be absorbed for energy like a normal “starch.” As a result, it does not produce a glycemic (blood sugar) response;  in fact, research shows that eating the type of resistant starch found in beans will actually blunt the blood sugar and insulin response after a meal.   Since it is not digested and absorbed, resistant starch travels on to your colon, intact, where the resident bacteria break it down (ferment it) to meet their own energy needs.  One of the byproducts of this fermentation process is a family of very beneficial (to you) compounds called short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which, among their many contributions to your health, help prevent colon cancer by reducing the absorption of certain dietary carcinogens. Whole grains and beans are the primary sources of resistant starch in our diets, and raw bean flours are an excellent source of this beneficial type of fiber.

So now that you’re standing on line at the grocery store with a bag of chickpea flour in hand, what to do with it?  Here are two ideas road-tested in my kitchen this past week:

Idea #1: Make “Chickpea-zza”

I’ve spent a lot of time trying to find acceptable GF pizza-crust substitutes.  Most frozen varieties fall somewhere along the scale of cardboard to passable, but certainly not objectively “good.”   Of the mixes, I’ve found the Bob’s Red Mill GF Pizza Crust mix to be the best

Chickpea skillet bread with thyme, here served as an accompaniment to a homemade Soupe au Pistou (vegetable soup with pesto)

from both a taste, texture and nutritional perspective, but even it has its drawbacks: waiting for the dough to rise, dealing with the sticky batter and–especially in the summer–having to turn on the oven to bake it.

For all of these reasons, I was more than delighted to discover the world of chickpea-flour pizzas, inspired by the crepe-like “Socca” from Nice and a similar Italian dish called “Farinata.” You can make these pizza crusts from scratch from chickpea flour, water and salt; they don’t require any yeast; they cook very fast; and they’re made in a non-stick frying pan, so when they’re done, they slide right out onto your serving plate.  They are SO very easy.  And tasty!

According to Madhur Jaffrey in her cookbook entitled “World Vegetarian” (Clarkson Potter, 1999), these chickpea breads are traditionally made like pizzas in a brick oven and eaten by workmen as a morning snack.  I’m guessing that this was the inspiration behind actually topping it with some fresh vegetables and cheese to turn them into bona-fide pizzas.  Jaffrey’s super-simple batter and clever stovetop-to-broiler method made for the easiest and pizza-iest version of the several recipes I consulted.  You can click here to get her original recipe for Chickpea Pizza with Tomato and Parmesan; don’t worry about the broiler part, as most countertop toaster oven/broilers will accommodate a 12″ frying pan (just leave the oven door open for the few minutes while the pizza cooks and turn the pan as necessary during cooking to make sure its cooking evenly), so you need not turn on the kitchen oven and heat up the whole house.   Once you make this pizza for the first time, you’ll no doubt realize how flexible the recipe can be to accommodate the herbs, vegetables and cheeses of your choosing.  (Fresh thyme leaves are lovely in the crust, too; and thinly-sliced zucchini is a delicious topping as well…)  Alternatively, you can just prepare the batter plain–no herbs and no toppings–and make it into a simple gluten-free skillet bread for breakfast or lunch.  Also note that when you make this batter for the first time, it will seem too thin and liquidy.  Just trust the recipe; it firms up perfectly in the frying pan, and will proceed to become nice and brown under the broiler.

When life hands you chickpea flour, make falafel tacos.

Idea #2: Make Falafel

Let’s debunk some myths about falafel, shall we?  It need not be made only from cooked beans, and it need not be deep-fried.   You can whip up a fantastic, authentic version of falafel at home, making a fast batter out of chickpea flour and a few other dry pantry staples, which can then be fried in a non-stick pan using a modest amount (2 TBSP) of olive oil.  This terrific recipe for falafel from Bob’s Red Mill produces a creamy batter that resembles hummus and results in a delicious batch of 12 lovely falafel balls with just 60 calories a pop.  I served my falafel balls (pucks?) taco-style, in gluten-free organic corn tortillas lined with my favorite cilantro chutney, a romaine lettuce leaf for crunch and drizzled with a touch of hot sauce.  Two such tacos (pictured) served with a simple chopped salad of cucumber or red peppers makes for a fast and healthy 400-calorie lunch.

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I've been dreaming about eating an egg salad sandwich on soft, squishy bread for over two years now.

I’ve come to regard my gluten intolerance as a blessing in disguise.  After all, it forced me to diversify my diet in ways that have been both healthful and delicious and led me to fabulous new foods that may never have crossed my radar otherwise.  My friendships with Teff, Mochi, Millet, Polenta,  Buckwheat, Quinoa and Amaranth have flourished since I broke up with wheat, and we’ve spent countless happy meals together over the years.   Plus, gluten intolerance keeps the bread basket from spoiling my appetite when I go out to eat… and in so doing, leaves me a couple hundred calories in my budget for a few bites of dessert.  (I’d take a bite or three of Flourless Chocolate Cake or Creme Brulee over a half-stale baguette any day…)  With the ever-increasing number of gluten-free products available these days–and the ever-improving quality of these products–what’s to miss?

Still, I will admit to having the *occasional* wistful moment, where a glutinous vestige of my previous life comes back to haunt me.  Catching a whiff of the aroma as I pass by a pizza parlor… encountering a brunch platter of heaving, hot NYC bagels… and, much to my own surprise, encountering something as simple as an egg salad sandwich with lettuce and tomato on two pieces of squishy sandwich bread.

It turns out that I’ve really missed squishy sandwich bread.  While my freezer is always stocked with acceptable gluten-free bread options (most recently, Whole Foods’ Gluten Free Bakehouse Prairie Bread and Kinnikinnick Many Wonder Multigrain Rice Bread, these breads have two major drawbacks.  

1. If you want them to taste good, they absolutely have to be toasted. 
2. They can be quite dense, and results in their having twice the number of calories per slice as a ‘normal’ piece of wheat bread.  Case in point: one slice of the Gluten Free Bakehouse Prairie Bread has 150 calories, 23g of carbohydrate and 5g of fat, compared with a standard piece of wheat bread, which has about 80 calories, 15g of carbohydrate and 0-1g of fat.  That’s an extra 140 calories per day if you’re having a 2-slice sandwich every day.   Furthermore, the carbohydrate difference is significant if you have diabetes and are following a carbohydrate-controlled diet.  (The Kinnikinnick product only has 90 calories per slice, but it still really needs to be toasted in order to taste good.)

But I dared not complain about these drawbacks for fear of being accused of wanting to have my bread… and eat it, too.  So I just took sandwiches out of my regular rotation, saving that frozen bread for the very occasional grilled cheese or tuna sandwich where its toastiness would be an asset.  

Then along came a man named Udi.  And I am happy to report that his tasty, squishy, airy, gluten-free sandwich bread is on its way to a supermarket near you.  How do I know this?  Because I had the chance to sample my very own piece this past weekend at the New York Fancy Food Show, where Udi’s, previously known outside their home state of Colorado only for their best-selling (but not yet gluten-free, hint, hint…) granola, was launching a whole new line of gluten-free baked goods.

The new Udi’s GF Sandwich bread comes in two varieties: white and whole-grain.  The white variety is made with tapioca starch, brown rice flour and potato starch; the whole grain version has those same flours/starches with additional teff flour and flax seed meal.  Like most other GF baked goods, the breads are not particularly good sources of fiber (0.5g per slice).   Nonetheless, having tasted both varieties, read the

Sinking my teeth into a squishy piece of sandwich bread with Udi's CEO (shown here hawking the company's new GF pizza crusts)

 nutrition label and spoken to the company’s CEO, I think these breads have a few things going for them:  

1. Taste and Texture.  The Udi’s GF breads are the first ones I’m aware of that don’t need to be toasted for best flavor/texture.  In fact, they suggest that you just thaw it and eat it soft.  Because Udi’s has its roots as a conventional bread bakery, their standards as far as acceptable taste and texture are based on conventional, wheat breads.  The breads aren’t designed to be “good enough”; they’re designed to be just plain good.  As a result, the slices are airy, soft and spongy when thawed… not dense or heavy like many other GF breads.
2. Calories.  Each slice has a much more reasonable 70-80 calories and 11-12g of carbohydrate (depending on the variety), which is the same  (or less) than a standard 1 oz slice of wheat bread.   To compensate for the relatively low fiber, serve your sandwich with a side of jicama sticks or baby carrots or chase it with a cup of fresh berries.

You can check the company’s website to see where the breads are distributed; apparently, they are expected to be in wide distribution on the East Coast by the end of this year.  If you live in Denver, please stop by their GF bakery to pester them to get their products distributed Jersey City, NJ as soon as possible.  I’ve had a hankering for an egg salad sandwich for about 2 years now…

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Designing your own cereal online is way more fun than internet dating. And it has more fiber, too.

Cereal has always held a special place in my life.  Growing up, my father established “The Empty Bowl Club” to which my sisters and I could only gain admittance if we finished our cereal.  Our pantry always held multiple varieties, which I loved to mix and match in the same bowl.  And during our courtship, my husband tracked down a beloved cereal from my childhood– a hard-to-find box of Quaker Corn Bran– and presented it to me as a gift.  Swoon.

As a nutritionist, I think cereal is a very easy way for most people to get a bunch of nutrients into their daily diets that they often have a hard time fitting in otherwise.  I’m especially referring to fiber here, as the average American only eats 13g of it per day: that’s about 50% of the average woman’s daily requirement and a paltry 30% of the average man’s.  Shame on us! Fiber is key to lowering cholesterol, helping protect our beloved colons from developing cancer, and keeping us feeling full until lunchtime.  Cereal is also an important dietary source of B-vitamins (most cereals are fortified with them, and whole grain cereals contain them naturally) and iron (most cereal is also fortified). For women of childbearing age, breakfast cereal is often an important dietary source of folic acid and iron, both of which are needed to maintain healthy pregnancies; and for strict vegetarians, some cereals can be an important source of iron and vitamins B12–both of which are needed to prevent anemia. As you can see, I’m a big fan of cereal, and will be the first to admit to eating it for dinner when life gets hectic and I don’t have time to cook.  

But the cereal aisle is packed with choices, each box touting its ability to improve our health with whole grains, heart disease, soy protein or fiber.  For those of us with gluten intolerance, our choices are disappointingly few and often lacking in the basics: fiber and vitamins.  (You can read about my favorite supermarket wheat and gluten-free cereal picks here). Despite the multitude of choices, it’s rare that I find a “perfect” cereal that meets my criteria of having at least 5g of fiber per serving and less than 10g of sugar.  Those that have enough fiber often don’t have a very interesting flavor or texture.  Most gluten-free ones lack fiber altogether.  Most all cereals have too much sugar.  

Am I dreaming?  I can really design my own cereal from scratch?

As it turns out, in this age of customized internet everything, we now have the opportunity to build our own organic breakfast cereals and granolas.  The democratization of breakfast cereal has arrived courtesy of a nifty website called Me & Goji.  I will allow you the pleasure of exploring the site on your own, but will point out some of the features I liked the best:

1. Choices!  7 cereal “bases”, 18 base “enhancers”, 15 dried fruits and 15 nut/seed selections from which to choose.
2. The nutrition information panel updates in real-time as you build your own cereal so you can see how each ingredient impacts your cereal’s calories, fat, fiber and more.  This may seem corny to you, but to a nutritionist, it’s more uproarious fun than playing Guitar Hero.  
3. A shout-out to the gluten-free crowd: they have one GF cereal base (which looks to me to be Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise cereal–one of my top GF cereal picks, as it turns out!), and all of the fruits, nuts and seeds are GF as well.
4. A blog that shares the 5 best cereal names each week.  Which is way more entertaining than reading the back of a Wheaties box.

One cylindrical container (called a “cereal capsule”), contains almost twice as much cereal as a standard cereal box, or about 15 standard servings.  Your cost will depend on what you put into it, but the cereal I just designed for my mom as a Mother’s Day gift cost me about $10, not including shipping.  (Hope you’re not reading this, mom.)  True, it’s steep compared to a box of Kashi, but each bowl still comes out to less than the cost of an average daily Starbuck’s habit.  Plus, the container is reusable.  I think of it as a gift-with-purchase.  Am I saying these things to make myself feel better about spending $10 on a box of cereal? Absolutely.  But it doesn’t make them less true.

Food for thought: some morning cereal prescriptions

The fun part about designing your own cereal is letting your tastes guide you.  But if the choices leave you bewildered–or if you’re designing a gift for someone else– here’s some nutrition inspiration for you to consider…

• Cereal Rx to promote heart-health: Start with the whole grain, high fiber base of your choice (the Samurai wheat, perchance?) and enhance it with oat bran to help keep cholesterol in check.  Add some cacao nibs, whose flavonoids help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and top with antioxidant-rich blueberries.
• Cereal Rx for breakfasters with diabetes:   Start with a whole grain cereal base (like the Artisanal one) and spike it with some oat bran: the soluble fiber will help slow the carbohydrates passing through your digestive system and prevent your blood sugar from spiking dramatically.  Enhance the base with two or three servings of cinnamon: in larger doses, it’s been shown in studies to help improve blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.  Stay away from the dried fruits, as they are a concentrated source of sugar (the cereal itself is enough carbohydrate, since presumably we need to leave room for the carbs in your milk, yes?), and opt instead  for a nut or seed selection that’s rich in anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats, like walnuts, flax or chia seeds.  If you have room in your carb budget to top this masterpiece with a small portion of fresh (not dried), high-fiber berries, though, I’d go for it.
• Cereal Rx for vegans: Aim to include ingredients that can be elusive in a fully plant-based diet: To the base of your choice, add quinoa flakes to provide a complete source of protein, iron-rich pumpkin seeds and some Vitamin C-rich strawberries to help you absorb the iron.  Finish with a sprinkle of walnuts to get in your daily dose of omega-3 fatty acids from a vegetarian source.
• Cereal Rx for sugary-cereal addicted kids: Let them have at the site and make whatever they want.  Between the fun of dragging and dropping (healthy, whole grain) ingredients into a virtual cereal bowl and getting to name their own cereal, there’s no way they won’t partake of their masterful creation when it arrives at your doorstep.  They’ll hardly notice that there’s no option to add sugar or red food coloring to the base. 

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Is it just me, or is this airport-quality salad incredibly unappetizing to you, too?

At the risk of being kicked out of nutrition school, I’ve decided to come clean and admit a shameful thing: I don’t particularly like to eat salad.  I look across my classroom night after night at my fellow future dietitians grazing away on their salad dinners, and I am overcome with envy.  What kind of nutritionist doesn’t like salad?!?

Well, I guess I should qualify my statement.  I love vegetables, and I have no trouble getting my daily servings in.  And I’ve had salads that I still dream about to this day: there was that one arugula salad with roasted beets, toasted hazelnuts and shaved parmesan drenched in a tart and tangy lemon dressing I once had at a restaurant and am still rhapsodizing over.  And I’ve paid $10 for a plateful of plain old buttery bibb lettuce drizzled in a champagne vinaigrette without even batting an eyelash.  But I find that these swoon-worthy salads are the exception, not the rule.  Most salads I encounter on a day-to-day basis consist of a pile of iceberg or romaine lettuce dotted with a few huge wedges of an anemic, tasteless winter tomato and garnished with some sad, industrial carrot-shavings. And to add insult to injury, they come with a packet of generic Italian dressing that may or may not contain wheat gluten in it as a thickener.  Can you blame me for not embracing these afterthoughts of salads?

Still, I recognize that when two people (or, one person and a bowl full of vegetables) want a relationship to work out, they sometimes need to work at it a little.  So I decided to find some solutions to my biggest beef with generic salads: the lettuce.

With so many lettuces… why so little variety?

There’s no better time to reconcile with lettuce than right now, when the lettuces planted in the cool early spring air (mid March) are just starting to be harvested. To find these in-season leaves, you’ll probably have to look beyond your supermarket.

Clockwise from left: Tatsoi, Ruby Red Chard, Mizuna, Tuscan Kale, Wild Kale

Most supermarkets carry the requisite iceberg lettuce and romaines.  And thanks to the bagged salad revolution, it’s pretty easy to find baby spinach, arugula and some sort of “spring mix” or “mesculun,” which is typically some blend of baby lettuces, endive, radicchio and  frisee, year-round.  If you’re lucky and you have a Whole Foods nearby, you may even have access to more luxurious and exotic leafy greens like sharp, peppery watercress; outrageously expensive but admittedly delightful heads of velvety, hydroponically-grown Boston Lettuce; and even the occasional bag of Mizuna (Japanese mustard greens).  But my visit to the Union Square Greenmarket this afternoon put even this relative bounty to shame.  Here in New York, local farmers are harvesting a cornucopia of interesting and flavorful greens right now: wild arugula, wild kale, tuscan kale, tatsoi, mizuna, mache, ruby red spring chard, mustard greens, and dandelion greens.

Once upon a time, access to this diversity of lettuces was the rule, not the exception.  In fact, there were loads of lovely lettuce varieties with charming names like “Amish Deer Tongue,” “Forelleneschluss,” and “Tom Thumb” roaming the earth. But with the advent of cross-country refrigerated transportation, Iceberg lettuce from California managed to muscle regional varieties of lettuce out of the diverse American salad-bowl NOT on the basis of its taste (it has none) or nutritional value (it has very little), but rather because it was cheap and could survive the long trip.

Well, the tyrranny of iceberg is over as far as I’m concerned.  Last month’s issue of Eating Well magazine had a great feature on different salad greens to try out, and it gave me the inspiration (and advice) I needed to get out there and meet some new lettuces, as well as to try growing some of them on my own in a container garden.  (We urbanites aren’t blessed with backyards, but balcony space will do just fine for a modest garden of herbs and baby lettuce).  I’m a little late on lettuce planting season, as Spring and Fall are apparently the best times to plant, but no matter: I’ve decided I’ll keep my containers in a shady part of the balcony that only gets morning sun.  The fun part is picking out which varieties to grow. A visit to seedsavers.org was my first stop.  Seed Savers is a non-profit organization whose members save and share seeds of heirloom varieties of all sorts of vegetables so that these rare foods that once comprised America’s more diverse diet will not be lost to humankind. Thanks to these dedicated seed savers, I’ll grow my own darn Amish Deer Tongue, thank you very much.  Take THAT, iceberg!

While it’s germinating, however, I will make do with some of those new species I picked up at the farmer’s market.

Nutritional benefits that make Iceberg Lettuce green with envy

Whereas iceberg lettuce is almost a nutritional blank slate (it has some Vitamin K and a little bit of Vitamin A, but not much else) , these other species of lettuce bring a lot to the table.  For starters, most all leafy greens with any color to them will be good sources of Vitamin A (immunity, vision), Vitamin C (wound healing, collagen production for healthy skin), Vitamin K (for blood clotting and bone health), and folate (heart health, proper DNA replication for healthy new cells).  But additionally, Arugula, Mizuna (Japanese mustard), Wild Kale and Tatsoi are all members of the Brassica family, which make them relatives of cabbage and broccoli.  That means they share the same cancer-fighting properties as broccoli, and are respectable non-dairy sources of calcium as well. A ~1.5 cup serving (about 1 oz) of raw mizuna leaves will have about 70g of relatively bioavailable calcium (7% of the daily value), that same serving of arugula and tatsoi will have about 5% of the daily value for calcium (hey–that’s nothing to sneeze at… it all adds up!) Alas, I could not find any specific information on their cousin, wild kale.  Mizuna is way milder-tasting than mustard greens or arugula (which can be quite peppery), and wild kale tastes quite like broccoli to me.  Both look very similar to arugula (see photo).  Tatsoi grows in pretty little rosette shapes, and is recognizable by its rounded leaves.  It has a very fresh, pronounced grassy flavor to me, although I’ve seen others describe it as more cabbagey, similar to bok choy.  And like all leafy greens, these varieties clock in at less than 10 calories per ounce.  Most importantly, these leafy greens are all bursting with flavor, which means they can hold their own as a side dish when accented with a simple dressing. Unlike iceberg, they need not be relegated to “filler” for a heavily-dressed, kitchen-sink salad.

As an aside, If you’re taking the anticoagulant medication warfarin (coumadin) and are not in the habit of eating lots of green vegetables, just be sure to check in with your doctor before going on a major salad bender, as she may need to adjust your medication dose so that it stays in balance with the additional Vitamin K in your diet. (Your dose was probably determined based on your “usual” intake, so a significant increase in dietary vitamin K might make your meds less effective.

Recipe: Quickie lunch of Wild Kale salad with Grilled Cheese & Peppadew Panino

Grilled cheese seems way more respectable when it's served alongside a pile of wild kale.

To celebrate my newfound love affair with salad, I made this tasty, high-calcium lunch for myself in 7 minutes, flat.  Make the dressing while the panino is grilling.

1.5 cups wild kale (you can substitute mizuna or arugula if you can’t find the kale), rinsed and patted dry

2 pieces of bread (I used a gluten-free frozen one)

1.5 oz of a good, melty cheese, like fontina

4-6 peppadew peppers (from a jar)

Canola oil spray

For the dressing:

Blend together the following ingredients

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 TBSP lemon juice

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp minced red onion or shallot

Make a sandwich out of the cheese, peppadew peppers and bread.  Spray the grill surface of your countertop panini grill/George Foreman grill with non-stick canola oil spray. (Alternatively, spray a small frying pan).  Heat it until ready, and grill sandwich until cheese has melted and the bread is nice and brown and crispy.  (Alternatively, fry the sandwich in your frying pan, pressing down occasionally to flatten the sandwich and help brown the bread; flip and cook on the second side until cheese is melty and bread is nice and golden and crisp.)   Drizzle the salad leaves with your dressing and serve!

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This is what authentic South-of-the-Border alegria looks like

I first encountered Alegria--which means ‘happiness’– when I was visiting Puebla, Mexico. It sort of looks like a thick rice cake, only it’s much denser and sweeter.  The fact that it’s mostly sold in confectionary shops belies the subversive nutritional value of this beloved treat, which is made of puffed, whole-grain, gluten-free amaranth bound together by honey, sugarcane syrup or molasses.  Some versions are studded with nuts and seeds (as pictured above), while others are pure cakes of uninterrupted amaranthness.

What’s that?  You’ve never heard of amaranth?

Well, I hadn’t either before I was forced to start exploring gluten-free grains to replace the couscous, pasta, bread and bulgur in my life .  And it’s a crying shame, since amaranth is one of the most nutritious ‘grains’ on the planet--second only to quinoa and teff in my book.  Like quinoa, amaranth hails from South America, is a seed that behaves like a cereal grain, and is very high in protein and fiber. It  also has a more complete protein profile than most other grains, containing certain essential amino acids that are not commonly found in other grains.  Amaranth has twice the iron as wheat does; though vegetarian sources of iron are generally difficult to absorb.  (But eating iron-rich plant foods like amaranth with vitamin-C rich foods, like fruit, can help with absorption.)

1/4 cup of raw amaranth, which will pop up to 1 cup “puffed” in the recipe below, contains 179 calories, 31g of carbohydrate (of which 3.2g is fiber), 77 mg of calcium (a non-trivial 8% of the daily value), 10% of the daily value of folate, and a surprising 3.7 mg of iron!  (That’s almost 50% of the daily value for men, but remember it’s not likely to be very well absorbed unless you eat it along with some vitamin C.

Cooked amaranth is delicious and nutritious as well, but be warned that the texture will be gooey/gummy and pasty rather than fluffy and grainy; in fact, it is often used as thickening agent for soups and stews.  I’d think about using cooked amaranth as a more nutritious substitute for savory grits or polenta rather than as a substitute for rice.  Perhaps I’ll even come up with a recipe that features it in the not-too-distant future.

Finally, amaranth leaves are also edible and ridiculously nutritious.  If you live in a neighborhood with a large Jamaican population, you may have seen them sold as callaloo, but they’re also used widely in East Asian, Southeast Asian and African cuisines under different names.  (Other Caribbean cultures call Taro leaves–rather than amaranth leaves– “callaloo,” so it may be hard to know which plant your callaloo really comes from unless you know what amaranth leaves look like.)   But I digress: if you happen to find it in your neck of the woods, don’t be afraid to give it a try!  You can use it in place of spinach in any recipe. 1 cup of cooked amaranth leaves/callaloo contains only 30 calories and almost a full day’s worth of Vitamin C and Vitamin A, 20% of the daily value for folate, and 30% of the daily value for calcium, making it an excellent non-dairy source of that elusive bone-building mineral.

Making alegria

The trick to making alegria at home is in puffing your own amaranth.  And the trick to puffing your own amaranth is a super-hot non-stick wok with a tight-fitting lid.  (Of course, if you live near a well-stocked health food store that actually sells puffed amaranth cereal, then this recipe will be an absolute breeze.)  It took me a few attempts to get this right, which is why I’d recommend having a little extra amaranth on hand in case the first few batches don’t quite puff as you want them to.

Raw amaranth (left) and popped (right)

Basically, get the wok nice and piping hot.  And then get it even hotter.  When you think the wok is hot enough, try adding 1 TBSP of the amaranth and close the lid immediately.  If it doesn’t start popping like crazy, your wok wasn’t hot enough.  (It took me a few failed TBSPs before my wok was hot enough, which is why I’d recommend having about 1/4 cup extra, just in case.) Within a minute of adding the amaranth, your crazy popping will slow down; using oven mitts if necessary, swirl the covered wok around a little as if you were popping popcorn; this should give the popping action a brief second wind before it grinds to a halt.  Once the popping dies down for good, remove the puffed amaranth from heat and repeat this process until all of your amaranth is puffed.  With each progressive batch, your puffing will improve since the wok will be hotter and hotter.  But don’t be tempted to add more than 1 TBSP at a time to speed things up, or you’ll end up with too many unpopped kernels.

Recipe: North of the Border Alegria

North of the border alegria: Maple-y and muy delicioso!

1/2 cup raw amaranth grain, puffed to about 2 cups per the instructions above (or, if you’re lucky enough to find puffed amaranth cereal in your area, you can just use 2 cups of it)

1/2 cup pure maple syrup (this is the part that makes it North of the Border.  Don’t use an adulterated “pancake syrup” like Aunt Jemima for these!)

1/4 cup dried fruit pieces (I used Vitamin C-rich dried cranberries)

1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

Directions: In a saucepan, bring the maple syrup to a boil, and boil for at least 7 minutes to cook off some of the water so that your alegria bars won’t be too moist and fall apart.  (Ideally, if you have a candy thermometer, boil the syrup to about 240 degrees).  Then, add the amaranth and stir with a spatula to combine.  Add the dried fruit and pumpkin seeds and stir until well combined.  Pour mixture into a 9″x9″ baking dish lined with parchment paper and let cool.  Cut into 8 bars.

Nutrition info per bar (assumes recipe above makes 8 bars): 145 calories, 25g carbohydrate (of which 1g is fiber), 4g protein, 4g fat and 2 mg (25% of the daily value) of iron.

Take that, Rice Krispie treats!

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Oh, fancy minted Quinoa pilaf... if they only knew how easy you were to make...

I resisted writing about quinoa for some time.  Not because I don’t think it’s awesome (I do!), but because it seems like the mainstream media has finally picked up on its awesomeness and has been writing about it ad infinitum… designating it a “superfood”(whatever that means) and tutoring us all on how to properly pronounce this exotically-named seed/grain.  I suspected that to my savvy readers, quiona would seem like yesterday’s news, and I didn’t want to write about it unless I could bring something new to the table.

Still, what self-respecting nutrition blogger could ignore the most nutritious of all grains…and a gluten-free one at that?  So I decided to take the plunge and add two of my cents on the topic.  Hopefully at least one of them will be newsworthy…

What you’ve heard is true

Although it’s only been available in the US since as recently as about 1980, quinoa has been well-known (and eaten) in the Andean regions of South America for thousands of years.  It’s a seed of a plant that’s related to beets and spinach, but it cooks up just like a cereal grain.  Its claim to fame is the fact that its’ one of the very few plant foods that contains all 9 essential amino acids, which makes it a vegetarian source of complete protein.  (In other words, quinoa is different than most vegetarian foods, which need to be strategically paired up to provide all of the amino acids we need… like beans with rice.)  Like other whole grains, it has multiple benefits for cardiovascular health, and it also contains high levels of antioxidant minerals like manganese to help protect against cell damage in your red blood and other cells.  Lastly, a single modest serving of quinoa has about 10% of your daily needs for magnesium (Mg), a mineral that plays a role in keeping your blood vessels nice and dilated.  Now while that may not sound like it’s relevant to you, if you get migraines or have high blood pressure, it certainly is.  The average Americans falls short on their daily Mg intake by at least 25%, so adding more Mg-rich foods like quinoa can help close the gap.

But here’s what I find most compelling about quinoa: It’s a whole grain whose cooking time is about the same as–if not quicker than– white rice, making it one of the most nutritious go-to grains you can choose for those quick weekday dinners.  Furthermore, it has the same amount of calories as brown rice, but it’s slightly higher fiber/less starchy and takes 30 minutes less to cook.

1 cup of cooked quinoa has 222 calories, 39g carbohydrate (of which 5g is fiber) and 8g of (complete!) protein. Compare that to 1 cup of brown rice, which has 218 calories, 46g of carbohydrate (of which 3.5g is fiber) and 4.5g of (incomplete) protein.

How to jump on the quinoa bandwagon:

1. Cook up some whole quinoa grains.  They come in all sorts of colors, but red and white are the most widely available in these here parts.   They look mighty festive when blended together, as I did in the pilaf recipe pictured above and linked to below.  If you’ve tasted quinoa before and were put off by a slightly bitter flavor, it’s probably because the raw grains weren’t rinsed before cooking.  If you’re cooking them at home, it really does make a difference to take the time and give them a good rinse  to remove a naturally-occurring resin called saponin. (Yes, that’s why they make suds as you rinse.) Quinoa cooks exactly like rice, and uses 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa.   I made this easy recipe for Minted Quinoa with Pine Nuts for Passover this year and it was a hit.  It’s a nice, springy dish that pairs *perfectly* with some easy, home-made, casing-free lamb sausages that my husband made after seeing a recipe for them in the New York Times.  Consider it a modern spin on the favorite Easter flavor combination of lamb and mint. I also like to use quinoa-based pilafs to stuff vegetables.  I’ve made this recipe for Quinoa Stuffed Peppers countless times, and love it because it’s a substantial vegetarian dish that can be served as the ‘entree’ alongside the vegetables of your choice–especially if you melt some cheese on top of it before serving.  And as serendipity would have it, one of my favorite gluten-free bloggers has just posted her version of this recipe: Quinoa-stuffed portobello mushrooms.

2. Drink your quinoa? When browsing at a not-at-all fancy local supermarket, I came across a ready-to-drink quinoa beverage called Quinoa Gold.  It appears as if they’re aiming to compete in the protein-drink market, which although it sounds odd at first, makes sense: a quinoa beverage would be a clever soy-free alternative to the other protein drinks on the market for people who are allergic/intolerant to soy. Since quinoa (like soy) is a complete source of protein, it’s a perfect source supplemental source of vegetarian protein for people whose diets may not be adequate.  As far as the Quinoa Gold-brand drinks themselves, I was a little disappointed to discover that each bottle (2 servings, 320 calories) only contains 4g of protein…. which is not much of a supplement… and 52g of sugar! (That’s the equivalent of 13 teaspoons, my friends.)   So to be honest, I like this idea in principle more than in practice.  And I’d love to see the scientific evidence behind some of their marketing claims, including that the product “helps manage stress-related hunger.”  For the same calories, you could make yourself a protein-rich quinoa smoothie that *will* manage your hunger by actually providing you with some fiber  (and lots of vitamins/minerals): in a blender, combine 1/2 cup cooked quinoa flakes (sorta like oatmeal) with  1 cup low-fat milk or coconut water, 1 banana, 1/2 cup frozen berries and 1 TBSP ground flax seeds.  Voila!

3. Bake with quinoa flour.  There are plenty of ways to use quinoa flour.  As a rule, you can substitute up to half of the white all-purpose flour in any recipe with quinoa flour, or all of the whole-wheat flour.  Alternatively, if you just want to take your quinoa flour out for a quick spin, try this simple recipe for Quinoa pancakes from Bob’s Red Mill.

4. Use Quinoa flakes in any recipe that calls for rolled oats as a gluten-free alternative in the event that you can’t get your hands on certified GF oats.  While most people with celiac disease can tolerate oats just fine, many brands are heavily cross-contaminated with gluten from shared growing and processing facilities.  If you’re wary about having a reaction from rolled oats, play it safe and try out quinoa flakes instead.  Quinoa flakes also make a nice oatmeal-esque hot breakfast cereal, a killer gluten-free Matzoh ball, and  are sold in the oatmeal/hot cereal section of your grocery store.

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Look, mom! A healthy, gluten-free matzoh ball to kvell over.

Nothing says Passover like matzoh ball soup, the original Jewish comfort food. Feeling under the weather? Have some matzoh ball soup.  Depressed?  Have some matzoh ball soup. Homesick? Defrost some of mom’s matzoh ball soup.   Matzoh ball soup devotees tend to fall into one of two camps: those who prefer a feather-light “floater,” and those who prefer a firm, dense “sinker.”

Of course, for those of us who can no longer partake in matzoh or its glutinous derivatives such as the matzoh meal used to make matzoh balls, the soup course of the Passover Seder–which falls on April 8-9th this year– is a sad, sad time.  What’s more depressing than spending two hours recalling your ancestors’ persecution and suffering, only to be served a steaming bowl of plain, matzohball-less broth? While I’ve tolerated this indignity in years past, I decided that this year, it was time to MMODGFMB.  That’s Hebrew for: make my own damn gluten-free matzoh balls. Enough was enough.

I discovered two main approaches to GF matzoh ball-making online.  One called for only potato starch in lieu of the matzoh meal, and the other called for a combination of potato starch and almond meal.  Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if there might be a third option.  After all, almond meal is significantly more caloric than the matzoh meal it replaces owing to the natural fat in the nut oils; and since the soup is just the first of many, many courses at the traditional Seder dinner, I’d prefer to pace myself.  As for a matzoh ball made entirely of potato starch?  It seemed like more of a (heavy, heavy) potato dumpling than a matzoh ball to me. Besides, Passover desserts deliver their own fair share of potato starch, and a nice, Jewish gluten-free girl cannot live on potato starch alone.

I decided to see if I could find a gluten-free flour that was also kosher for Passover with which to fashion my GF matzoh balls.  I even consulted the family Rabbi, who confirmed what I had hoped: quinoa is considered by most authorities to be kosher for Passover.  Now, without delving into theological intricacies, I will mention that quinoa flakes may or may not be processed in a facility that is free of all off-limits-for-Passover grains, so if you’re on the more religiously observant side, you may want to err on the side of caution here.  And that’s all I’ll say on that topic.

Can you tell which is the "control" matzoh ball and which is the gluten-free one?

I decided to use the recipe on the back of a standard matzoh meal box as a foundation off which to riff on several matzoh ball experiments, and prepared a control batch of matzoh-meal matzoh balls against which my gluten-eating husband could judge the experiments.  There were several variables to consider: quinoa flour or quinoa flakes?  Alone or mixed with potato starch?  Water, seltzer or no liquid at all?  Xanthan gum to bind the batter and promote sponginess or no xanthan gum?   It took two days and 8 different experiments, but I am happy to report that the following recipe produced a matzoh-less quinoa “matzoh ball” that is firm but not dense, fluffy but not overly feathery. It tastes like a matzoh ball is supposed to taste, and it’s made with whole grain, high-protein, quinoa flakes instead of starchy or heavy alternatives.

Recipe: Tamara’s Gluten-free Quinoa “Matzoh” Balls

Makes 10-12 quinoa balls

1 cup quinoa flakes*

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

2 large eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 tsp salt (use regular iodized salt, not kosher salt)

A sprinkle of ground black pepper to your liking

* look for quinoa flakes in the hot cereal/oatmeal section of your grocery store, or order online from the gluten-free mall or your favorite site.  Ancient Harvest is the most well-known manufacturer.

Directions:

1. Measure out quinoa flakes and xanthan gum and combine in a small bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the two eggs.  Add oil, salt and pepper and beat again until combined.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix well until combined.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  (You don’t want the matzoh balls to be crowded).
5. Remove batter from refrigerator and wet hands.  With wet hands, fashion a SMALL amount of batter into a smooth ball shape and drop into the boiling water.  (For reference, the batter should be enough to make 10-12 matzoh balls, so portion each one accordingly.  Each uncooked ball should be no larger than the size of a ping-pong ball… they will expand when cooking, and if they’re too big, the middle may not cook through sufficiently.)
6. Cover pot and cook the quinoa balls, maintaining a rolling boil, for 25 minutes.
7. After 25 minutes, remove the balls from boiling water with a slotted spoon and let sit to cool for a few minutes.  Then, refrigerate the balls until ready to serve.
8. Before serving, place quinoa balls in pot of soup to warm them through.  Serve, and accept heaping praise from your gluten-intolerant guests at what a considerate host you are.

Approximate nutrition info per ball (assumes recipe makes 10 balls): 150 calories, 7g carbohydrate, of which 0.5g is fiber, 2.5g protein, 13g fat.

So now that you’ve got the renegade GF matzoh ball recipe all squared away, check out this recipe for a newfangled lemongrass matzoh ball soup broth to float them in from NPR!

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