Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Gluten-free, Vegan Cream of Amaranth Cereal


Probably everyone has their fall-back foods.  You know, those foods or ingredients that you always have on hand.  Those products that you can rely on when you don't know what you're going to put together for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

For a lot of folks who eat from a more limited range, rice has been filling a lot of holes.  Dairy-free folks like the more hypo-allergenic nature of rice milk.  Gluten-free friends might eat rice pasta, rice crackers or bake with all-purpose flour blends that rely on rice.

And though it's kind of a 70s stereotype, vegans really do eat a lot of rice and beans.

Now, there's news that there might be issues with rice.  Arsenic issues, to be specific.  The FDA is working on guidelines for acceptable levels of arsenic in food, but they won't be ready for a while.  Consumer Reports found higher than expected levels of arsenic in all rice products that they tested.  There are tons of resources out there that can explain the situation better than I can, so I'll leave that to the experts. 

 For some ideas about how to limit the arsenic in your food, you can start with the Environmental Working Group (a source I trust) and Dr. Vikki Petersen, another strong voice in the allergy/nutrition community.

What have we been doing in our house?  We still eat rice, but we're also following the guidelines that suggest diversifying our grains.

Not only will that limit our arsenic, it will increase our consumption of other good-for-you foods.  Kinda like making lemonade out of lemons, right?  (If you're tossing those lemons into a quinoa salad!)

Our breakfast this morning highlights one of these changes.

Vegan, Gluten-free Cream of Amaranth Cereal
Cream of Amaranth Cereal Before Adding Coconut Milk



I made a Cream of Amaranth porridge instead of serving a rice-based cold cereal.  We served it up with coconut milk beverage instead of rice milk.  Easy peasy changes, and really delicious. (For more on amaranth, check out this post.)

This porridge is quite versatile.  It would work well with any of the fixin's you usually serve up with your oatmeal.  (How about Hemp Heart Oatmeal or Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal?)

Have you made changes to your diet because of the news about rice and arsenic?  

I shared this recipe with Wellness Weekend, Allergy-Free Wednesday and Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

Cream of Amaranth Cereal
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup amaranth
3 cups water
maple syrup or other sweetener to taste
sprinkle of cinnamon
coconut milk beverage to taste 

Preparation:
Combine amaranth and water in a small saucepan.
Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat.  
Simmer for approximately 20 to 25 minutes or until water is absorbed.
Let sit for a couple of minutes.
Spoon amaranth into bowls, drizzle with syrup, sprinkle with cinnamon.
Add desired amount of coconut milk beverage and stir.

Happy Cooking!
Kim

Find more tasty recipes in Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen and Gluten-free Vegan Recipes.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012





 Welcoming Kitchen is nominated as a Top Food Allergy Mom Blog at Circle of Moms, please vote daily until October 17.  Thanks so much!


Thick Smoothie for a Complete Meal - Kim's Welcoming Kitchen





Recently, I got an email from Katherine of greenthickies.comShe invited me (and you) to take part in a 7-day challenge to replace one or more meals a day for one week with a thick smoothie that she calls "green thickies."

Although I frequently drink smoothies for breakfast, I was intrigued by the idea of this kind of more substantial smoothie that is a complete meal and could easily stand in for any meal, even dinner.

So, this morning I gave it a try.  I made a heartier smoothie that uses oats and hemp seeds to make it thick, creamy and super-nutritious.

If you're interested in checking out the challenge, you can find more information here

If you want to try a tasty and filling smoothie, this is what I did. 

I shared this with Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.

Thick Green Smoothie
Makes a blenderful

Ingredients:
a large bunch of kale (I used the organic Lacinto kale from Trader Joe's.)
enough fruit juice to blend the kale into a puree
frozen mango chunks
frozen pineapple
frozen blueberries
generous sprinkle of shelled hemp seeds
large handful of rolled oats (I used Trader Joe's gluten-free oats.)
non-dairy milk

Preparation:
Blend kale with fruit juice until kale is pureed.
Add remaining ingredients and blend.

Note:  I don't give ingredient amounts, because it is flexible. 

Happy Cooking!
Kim 

Find more tasty recipes in Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen and Gluten-free Recipes.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Vegan, gluten-free vegetable soup
Our soup from the other day.  So delicious!


Today on The Balanced Platter, I write about my love of soup (and include links for several soup recipes). 

Soup can be so easy to throw together.  This week, I made a soup using up the balance of a can of pumpkin puree, diced tomatoes, onions, carrots, quinoa, Great Northern beans, kale and some bullion cubes with enough water to make it soupy. 

I threw it together, popped it on the stove, then helped my kids with their homework.  Once homework was done, so was the soup.  (An added bonus -- my house smelled great!)

How do you like to make soup?

Happy Cooking!
Kim

Monday, October 1, 2012

Vegan, Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cupcake with Chocolate Frosting


Looking for a birthday party menu that's quick to come together, but definitely tasty?

The recipes I put together for VegNews allow for stress-free party prep and stress-free party going, since all of the recipes are free of the top-8 allergens, are vegan, and are gluten-free.

Vegan Taquitos with Salsa


Check out the recipes for sweet and salty kettle corn, crispy taquitos, and chocolate chip cupcakes with a super-easy chocolate frosting over at VegNews.  

Happy Cooking!
Kim 

Find more tasty recipes in Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen and Gluten-free Recipes.