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.