Healthy Easy Italian "Non-Parmigiana" - Gluten Free, Dairy Free

Sometimes I'm in the mood for some hearty Italian and my raw zucchini and marinara will just not cut it.  This is my alternative "Eggplant Parmigiana"  It's very filling and pretty simple to make.  You can add parmesan if you'd like, but this is the dairy free version.  I serve it with my raw "zucchini noodles" topped with a red wine vinaigrette.

Serves 2-3 People

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant
1-2 Eggs
1 Cup Almond Meal
3/4 Cup Gluten Free "Bread Crumbs" (see pic above for a good brand)
1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tbs Italian Seasoning

2 Tbs Olive Oil

1/2 Jar of a high quality Organic Spaghetti Sauce
(Feel free to make your own, but this is the "simple" version)


Preheat oven to 350

Wash and slice the eggplants into "discs" about 1/4 - 1/2 thick.

Crack one of the eggs into a small bowl and stir it with a fork really well. Keep the extra egg handy in case you need more later on.  In a medium size bowl mix the almond meal, "bread crumbs", garlic powder and Italian Seasoning.

In a non-stick skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat.

Also get a cookie sheet covered in foil ready.

First dip the eggplants (1-2 at a time) into the eggs and coat them well.  Then mix them around in the almond meal mixture until well covered.  Place the discs in the skillet.  Once they are lightly browned, flip them over until the other side is lightly browned.

Place the eggplant discs on the cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 7-10 minutes.

While the eggplant is baking heat the spaghetti sauce in a small saucepan. Set aside. Easy:>

While the eggplants are cooking in the oven, I like to make "crumbles"  Take the leftover beaten egg and almond meal mixture and mash them together. Then put them into the skillet and stir them around until browned.  Set aside.

When the eggplant is done serve them on a plate covered in the spaghetti sauce and garnished with the crumbles.

Mmmm... So satisfying.

Quinoa Tabouleh

For some reason we always have leftover Quinoa.  However, it's not such a bad thing because I use the next day for lunch salads like this gluten free version of Tabouleh. It's so delicious that I cannot stop eating it. I constantly find myself at the fridge taking "just one more bite".  I never actually measure out all of the ingredients because I generally just use what I have in the fridge, so feel free to mess around with the amounts.

In a large bowl mix:

1 1/2 Cups Quinoa - cooled

1 Cucumber finely chopped

2 Small tomatoes finely chopped

1 Small Onion (Any kind, but red is so pretty!)

1 Green Bell Pepper finely chopped

3 Stalks of Celery finely chopped

1/2 Cup Crumbled Feta

1 Handful of Parsley finely chopped

For the dressing add

The juice of 1 lime

1 Tbs Red Wine Vinegar

Garlic Salt and Pepper to Taste

We like to eat it with Mary's Gone Crackers - my favorite gluten free crackers and some fresh hummus!  

Slow-cooker Butternut Squash Tempeh Chili - Vegan, GF

Simple chili loaded with veggies and tempeh.  This recipes serves 4.

I soak the beans over night in the un-plugged crock pot.  If you didn't do this, you can use canned beans but make sure you rinse them.

8 oz dried black beans (soaked overnight, see above) 

1 medium sized butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed

1 medium zucchini shredded

1 medium onion finely chopped

1 large can of chopped stewed tomatoes (20 oz?)

6oz Tempeh Crumbled

2 garlic cloves pressed

3 Tbs Chili powder (I use Frontier Organics)

1 Tbs Cumin powder

Hot Sauce (I use Crystal) to taste

Salt and Pepper 

After rinsing the beans that you soaked overnight return them to the crockpot and add about 24 oz of water.  Next add all of the veggies, the tempeh, freshly pressed garlic, cumin and chili powder and stir it up well. Turn the crock pot on high and let cook for at least 5 hours.  If you are going to be gone all day use the low or medium setting, make sure you do it first thing in the morning then!  

When it's almost time to eat salt and pepper it to taste. Use the hot sauce liberally :>

We like to eat ours with shredded cheddar, sour cream, chopped onions and fresh cilantro.

I know I shouldn't use canned tomatoes, but I haven't figured out a way to omit them yet. They are so easy! Maybe I could use fresh tomatoes and extra water... I'll have to get back to you on that.

Ginger Garlic Slaw w/ smoked tofu - Gluten Free, Vegan, low carb

This is a slight adaptation of a recipe that my aunt created. She makes great salads and this is one of my favorites! All I did differently is add the smoked tofu because to me it makes that salad heartier for a satisfying dinner - but you could omit this and still have a great salad.

1/2 head of red cabbage (or green, but red is so pretty)
1 red bell pepper
1 small onion
1 cup slivered almonds
1-2 cups raw kelp noodles
6 oz smoked tofu chopped into small cubes

Dressing
1 Tablespoon Fresh ginger grated
1-3 cloves of fresh garlic, pressed
2 -3 Tablespoons Braggs Amino
2- 3 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar


Finely slice and then chop all of the veggies as if you were making a traditional cole slaw.  Mix them in a large bowl.    Rinse and chop up the kelp noodles, add to salad.  Add the almonds and smoked tofu.

Next mix all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Adjust to suit your taste.  Toss into the salad.

Fish Taco Slaw - Low Carb, GF

This recipe needs a better title.  I realize it doesn't sound to good, but believe me it's delicious.

 Mmmmmm.....  I'm in love. I literally just finished eating and I immediately headed over the computer so I wouldn't forget this recipe.


For 2 people

3-4 Tilapia Fillets
1 Tbs Butter (or olive oil, but butter is so good on fish)
1 Tbs Lemon Juice
Trader Joe's Everday Seasoning and Garlic Salt to taste


For the Slaw:
1/2 Head of Green cabbage finely chopped "cole-slaw" style
1/2 Cup of Onion finely sliced and chopped
1 Large tomato finely sliced and chopped
1-2 Cloves of Fresh Garlic Pressed
1 Tbs of Fresh Cilantro or Freeze-dried
Pickled Jalepenos sliced (use to your preference)
1 Lime Juiced (or lemon)
Salt to taste

Shredded Aged Cheddar Cheese for a topping.


I pan-fried the tilapia on top of the stove in the butter, but you could also grill it on some foil.  Cook until well done and slightly brown on the edges appx 7-10 minutes over medium to medium-high heat. Season with the lemon and the seasonings as you cook the fish.

Let the fish sit in the pan off the heat while you prepare the slaw.  Mix all of the slaw ingredients in a medium bowl.  Make sure they are all finely sliced as you would for a traditional cole-slaw.  You could use a food processor for this (except for the tomatoes) , but I find it easier to just slice things myself.

Divide the slaw into bowls. Break up the fish into bite size pieces and serve warm on top of the slaw.   Sprinkle aged cheddar cheese on top.

Moussaka Lasagna - Vegetarian

The other night I was making a big greek salad dinner.  Then I found out my aunt and uncle were coming over for dinner so I needed to find something "heartier" to go with the greek salad and decided to make my first ever Moussaka.  I don't know how traditional this will taste, but everyone loved it!  I used tempeh because I had no meat in the house, but if you are a carnivore you could substitute the tempeh with a ground meat of your choice (turkey, beef, bison..)

If you want this to be low carb, double the eggplant and skip the potatoes.  Make sure you do a layer of eggplant on the bottom of the pan in place of the potatoes.

2 Organic Potatoes
2 small eggplants (or 1 large)
1/2 lb of tempeh in chunks or slices
1 red onion sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbs Oregano
1 Jar of Trader Joe's Bruschetta
1 sprig fresh rosemary finely chopped
1 tsp Tumeric
1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Tbs Butter (or dairy free equivalent)
Fresh Goat Chevre Cheese (I got some raw stuff at the farmer's market - LOVE it)
Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 425

First wash and then slice your eggplants into circles about 1/4 inch thick, then do the same with your potatoes.

Toss the eggplant slices in a small bowl of olive oil (use about 3 Tbs) with the garlic powder, oregano and a dash of salt.  Place on a cookie sheet and bake for about 7- 10 minutes or until lightly brown, turning them over once.

WHILE the eggplant is cooking boil the potato slices AND the tempeh in medium size put until tender (appx 7 minutes).

Set the eggplant and potatoes aside.

In a large skillet add about 1 Tbs of olive oil.  Saute the tempeh and break into chunks (like ground beef) add the onion slices, rosemary, garlic (pressed or finely chopped) and salt and pepper to taste.

NOW it's time to assemble the "Lasagna"

Rub the bottom of a medium sized casserole dish with some butter.  Layer to potato slices on the bottom.  Next add the tempeh mixture and spread evenly.  Then spread the bruschetta over the tempeh evenly.  Next layer the eggplant slices over the bruschetta.  Finally sprinkle the top of the lasagna with the goat cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 15-25 minutes (depending on the temperature of the ingredients when you put it in the oven, just make sure it's heated through).  Uncover and bake until just lightly browned.

Harvey's Protein Muffins

My son Harvey is an extremely picky eater.  I used to to judge parent's with picky eaters and think "just make them eat".  Harvey's eating habits is karma.  No matter what I try, he's just picky and will throw up if the texture/ taste is wrong.

All that said, I'm always trying to get protein in him because he does not eat meat.  This is a modification of a recipe that I found on a greek yogurt website.  Greek yogurt has lots of protein so it's a big part of Harvey's diet.  The great thing about this recipe is that you can mix up and play around with flour, flax, oat bran, almond meal etc.  I've even used dehydrated coconut flakes in the past, but Harvey didn't like the texture.  Also if you are a soaked grain enthusiast, you can soak the flour in the greek yogurt overnight.

1 C of Sweet Potato puree (you can also use pumpkin/ butternut squash. Sweet Pot. has the most protein)

2 Large Organic/ Free Range Eggs

1/2 C Organic Plain GREEK Yogurt

1/2 C Apple Sauce No Sugar Added (I'm going to try unsweetened fig preserves next time)

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 C Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour 

1/2 C Almond Meal

1/2 C Ground Flax Meal

1/2 C Succant 

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tumeric (super healthy, but you could also omit this)

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400 F. Place Rack in middle of oven. Line the 12 muffin cups with paper liners. In a medium bowl mix together the puree, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, almond meal, flax, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, tumeric and salt.  Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Do not over-mix the batter or the muffins will be tough when baked. 

Fill the muffin cups about 2/3 full with batter. Place in oven and bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until firm to the touch.