Author: Lisa P

Gluten Free Quesadilla (10-Minute Lunch)

Gluten Free Quesadilla (10-Minute Lunch)

This gluten-free quesadilla is made with corn tortillas that contain no flour. If you aren’t gluten-sensitive, feel free to buy the corn tortillas that have flour in them if you like them better.  The GF tortillas I buy from Trader Joe’s have only corn and lime, and as such they are somewhat prone to fall apart with too much handling.

Cutting this into four wedges makes it easier to eat without falling apart.

The photo shows the quesadillas on a paper plate served with a small side of leftover roasted potatoes.

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 Gluten Free Quesadilla Lunch Yum
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 seconds
Servings
person
Ingredients
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 seconds
Servings
person
Ingredients
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Rating: 0
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Instructions
  1. Put 2 tortillas side by side
  2. Using the back of a fork, mash the avocado onto one tortilla. Put some slivers of cheese on the other.
  3. Put the slices of lunch meat on top of the cheese. Put the one with the cheese and meat on it on a paper towel and heat in the microwave for 10 seconds.
  4. Arrange the leafy greens on top of the meat. Place the other tortilla on top, with the mashed avocado side down.
  5. Cut into four wedges with a knife or pizza cutter.
  6. Put a couple spoonfuls of salsa in a small glass dish, cover with a small piece of paper towel and heat in the microwave for just a few seconds.
  7. Dip the quesadilla wedge into the salsa and enjoy. Yum!
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Don’t Toast Your Quinoa

Posted on by Lisa P

A recent study on different ways of cooking quinoa has revealed that toasting your quinoa prior to cooking can actually decrease the nutritional value. 

You can read the publication here (if you enjoy reading scientific papers) but I’ll give you the bottom line: the best way to prepare your quinoa for maximum nutritional value is to rinse it well, don’t toast it, and cook it under pressure. 

Here’s a great recipe that uses a wonderful blend of Mexican-inspired seasonings. 

Rockin’ Red Super Smoothie

Rockin’ Red Super Smoothie

You can make this versatile super smoothie at home in less than 10 minutes.  It’s great for a light meal replacement or a post-workout recovery.

This smoothie is LOADED with super-nutrients.  I drank one after a 3-mile run and it kept me sated for about an hour.

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 Rockin’ Red Super Smoothie Yum
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Course Main Dish
Prep Time 10 minutes
Servings
smoothie
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Prep Time 10 minutes
Servings
smoothie
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Soak chia seeds in 3 T of water while you prep the smoothie.  They should soak for about 7 or 8 minutes, until they get gelatinous.
  2. Put the remaining ingredients except the ice cubes in your high-speed blender.
  3. When the chia seeds have formed a gel, add them to the blender, then add the ice cubes on top.
  4. Blend according to your blender’s instructions.
Recipe Notes
  1. If you use an apple instead of applesauce, you can use every part except the stem.  Yep, seeds and all.  Just make sure you wash the apple before using it to get rid of any remaining pesticide residue.
  2. If you use too much parsley you will taste it.  you want just enough to be beneficial (great for bad breath) so a couple of tablespoons should do it.
  3. If you have never tried spirulina, I highly recommend it.  It is a true superfood.  It doesn’t have an appealing taste all by itself, but it is perfect for smoothies.
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Fake Bread Crumbs

Posted on by Lisa P

I’ve been practicing healthy cooking and eating for years. I’m not perfect, and I do slip occasionally. I also sometimes let things slide, like eating yummy crusty Italian white bread, or stopping at Chick Fil-A because I’m starving and I can’t resist their french fries.

But today I was stopped in my tracks when I read the ingredients on the label of a package of Progresso Bread Crumbs. In fact I was left thinking “where’s the bread?”

“Ingredients: Bread Crumbs (enriched flour [wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil [soybean and/or cottonseed and/or corn and/or canola], water, salt. Contains 2% or less of: yeast, honey, molasses, sugar, wheat gluten, whey, soy flour, whole wheat flour, rye flour, corn flour, oat bran, corn meal, rice flour, potato flour, butter, dough conditioners [mono- and diglyerides, sodium and/or calcium, stearoyl lactylate, soy lecithin,, calcium carbonate], yeast nutrients [ammonium sulfate, calcium sulfate, monocalcium phosphate], vinegar, nonfat milk, buttermilk, lactic acid, calcium proponate and potassium sorbate [preservatives], sesame seeds), oat flour, salt, garlic powder, spice, dried parsley, onion powder, natural flavor, egg, sunflower seeds.”

Here are just a few interesting facts if you read carefully.

10 ingredients ending in “ate” (meaning synthetically produced)
8 preservatives
6 kinds of sugar
5 items made from corn

This is not even to mention the high fructose corn syrup or the partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, two of the top ingredients that should make you put that item back on grocery shelf like a hot potato.

What is this package of “bread crumbs that aren’t really bread crumbs” doing in my pantry? MY pantry? I’m disgusted with myself.

I used to make my own breadcrumbs.  I saved the heels of loaves of bread in the freezer and every few months made bread crumbs from them.  Just plain old unseasoned bread crumbs made from really good bread.  I kept a container in my freezer, although I don’t actually use bread crumbs much any more.  Still… I think I’ll go back to making my own.

And I don’t think I’ll buy anything made by Progresso again. Ever.

5 Films About Food That Will Astonish You

5 Films About Food That Will Astonish You

Posted on by Lisa P

The following contains a hand-picked list of films about food that expose serious problems with America’s food industry. Our food is making us sick and obese, and the only way to fix it is by one person at a time making the right choices at home.

  1. Food, Inc. is one of the most important films about food that you can watch today.Food Inc.
    This Academy Award-nominated film examines corporate farming in the United States, concluding that agribusiness produces food that is unhealthy, in a way that is environmentally harmful and abusive of both animals and employees. (Source: Wikipedia)
  2. Ingredients
    Our world is becoming a more flavorless, disconnected and dangerous place to eat. INGREDIENTS portrays the people behind the movement to bring good food back to the table and health back to our communities. (Source: IMDB)
  3. Food Matters
    With nutritionally-depleted foods, chemical additives and our tendency to rely upon pharmaceutical drugs to treat what’s wrong with our malnourished bodies, it’s no wonder that modern society is getting sicker. Food Matters sets about uncovering the trillion dollar worldwide ‘sickness industry’ and gives people some scientifically verifiable solutions for overcoming illness naturally. (Source: foodmatters.tv)
  4. Forks Over Knives
    The feature film Forks Over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods. (Source: ForksOverKnives.com)
  5. Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead
    A 2010 American documentary film which follows the 60-day journey of Australian Joe Cross across the United States as he follows a juice fast to regain his health. (Source: Wikipedia)