Tag Archives: Dairy free

BOLD Organics Pizza- a gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free frozen pizza

The-sliceSince having my beautiful daughter pizza has been off the menu. As it turns out, she is lactose intolerant. Her pediatrician says this is common, and that she should outgrow it by the time she is one. All of this is well and good, but it doesn’t change the fact that I love pizza and miss it tremendously. For me it is a limitation, but for many, living dairy-free is a choice. There are a few options out there that are both gluten-free and dairy-free, and Bold Organics is one of them. the-box

I had never heard of Bold Organics until I was contacted by them and asked to try their pizza. Their pizza can be found in most Whole Foods stores and at Rainbow Grocery, in San Francisco. Since Rainbow does not sell any meat products, they only sell the vegetarian version. That is the one I chose. Never having had a non-dairy cheese I was a little nervous about what to expect. Nevertheless, I tried the pizza desperate to have an old favorite food of mine. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. The crust was possibly the best gluten-free frozen pizza crust I have ever had. I do not know if it had anything to do with cooking it on a pizza stone, but it was crispy. Many frozen pizzas, non-gluten-free included, have a doughy bit in the middle even when they are heated through. This pizza did not. The vegetables were a good consistency, not soggy, and the mushrooms were nice big pieces. The sauce for the pizza was also pretty darn tasty. The only part of the pizza I did not really enjoy was the cheese. It was gooey, the texture was right on the money, but it wasn’t very flavourful. I am not sure if this is consistent with all dairy-free cheese, or that I prefer cheeses with strong flavors and a bite rather then American cheese or shredded mozzarella in a bag. I suspect it as being the latter, since the rest of the pizza was very good.

the-pie

If I was going to be living dairy-free the rest of my life, it is a pizza I would put in to my rotation. For now though, Bold Organics definitely goes in to the category of going to try again. This time however it will be the one with meat.

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Gluten-free chicken thighs, one of my go to meals

thighs-and-salad

Now that I have a new baby I simply do not have time to cook. I cut up lettuce and other salad makings when I have a free minute and I try to figure out easy veggies to serve with the protein of the night. My husband and I often cook on the weekends and freeze meals, but that doesn’t always cut it. For a nice hot meal that I can quickly make I turn to chicken thighs. From start to finish it takes me 30 minutes to make and they are just about impossible to screw up, because of how juicy thighs are.

Recipe
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 tsp. kosher salt
black pepper (from the grinder to your taste)
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. sumac
1/2 tsp. seasoning powder/salt of your choice

Directions
Wash & dry chicken thighs thoroughly. Season both sides of chicken. Heat pan over medium heat until pan is hot, but not smoking. Spray with cooking spray then add chicken. When you add the chicken the pan should sizzle. Cook chicken for 5 1/2 minutes and flip. Cook for another 5 minutes then remove from the pan. The chicken should be a beautiful brown color when you remove from the pan.

I serve my thighs with a nice big salad, because like I said, that is always cut up and in the fridge. Mashed sweet potatoes are a nice side dish as well.

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Filed under Recipes, Salad

Kettle Cuisine Soup Review- Chicken Soup with Rice Noodles

As much as I love to cook I don’t always have the time. When I’m grocery shopping I’m also on the lookout for gluten-free products that are quick, easy, reasonably healthy, and hopefully taste good. As luck would have it a gluten-free company with products matching those requirements came and found me!
A few weeks ago Kettle Cuisine, a soup company founded over 20 years ago, contacted me. After visiting my blog and reading my product reviews they asked if I would like to review their soups. Given my love of soups, who was I say no? I accepted right away and arranged to have them shipped to me the following week. Since Kettle Cuisine soups are sold frozen someone had to accept the delivery of the six soups and put them in the freezer.

The first soup I decided to try was good old-fashioned chicken noodle soup. I use chicken noodle as my baseline for prepared soups. If you can live up to my expectations here then I have high hopes for your other soups. I pulled the box from the freezer and my first reaction was great bowl, good serving size, and decent fat and calorie count (140 calories 3 grams fat). I put the bowl in the microwave and heated it for 4 minutes. The soup was piping hot and I was ready. I took my first bite and found the broth to be bland, but I’m a salt person so I seasoned it. After adding salt and pepper I could taste the flavor and I thought it was good. I also liked that the chicken was not rubbery and the size and consistency of the carrots. The noodles were decent, but not as firm as I like. I’m wondering if microwaving the soup less time would change that? All in all this was a pretty good chicken noodle soup. Next time I’ll heat it 3:30 instead.

Check back in a few days for another Kettle Cuisine soup review!

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Curried Cauliflower Soup

When the days get shorter and the nights longer soup makes its way on to my menu as often as possible. I always keep cans in the cabinet, but there is nothing better than a homemade soup. I always thought that soup would be difficult and have tons of steps, but that is not the case. This recipe for Curried Cauliflower Soup is an adaptation from Jeanelle Mitchell’s “for the love of SOUP” and it is quick, easy and unbelievably good. This will be a staple in my house all winter long.

Ingredients
1 Tbsp Canola oil
1 onion, 1/2″ dice
2 stalks celery, 1/2″ diced
1 carrot, 1/2″, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. Indian curry paste (Patak’s Original is gluten-free)
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 tsp. freshly grated ginger (fresh is far superior to the jar)
1/4 cup long grain rice
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock (low sodium)
2 cups water
1 head cauliflower, chopped in to 1″ pieces (bite size)
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
Fresh herbs to garnish, chives, parsley or cilantro

Directions
In a stock pot heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and saute for 10 minutes, until the carrots begin to soften. Stir in ginger, cumin, curry and rice and cook another 4 minutes.
Add the cauliflower, stock and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove soup from heat and allow to cool slightly.
In the pot puree most of the soup with a handheld immersion blender leaving a few chunks for texture. If you do not have an immersion blender, puree soup in blender or food processor in batches and then pour back in to pot and simmer. While soup is simmering season with salt and pepper. Once soup is ready ladle in to bowls and garnish with herbs.

*It is important to cut the vegetables the same size so they cook at the same rate.

Serves 6-8

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Filed under Recipes, Vegan