Greek Yogurt

When embarking on a gluten-free diet, test-driving a whole foods diet, or just trying to eat before heading out the door, breakfast can be a tricky meal to change. When sugary cereal, toast and coffee, or bagels are no longer viable options, plain greek yogurt with some berries, nuts or seeds, and virtually any fruit is a convenient, tasty and simple solution. Yogurt is a good source of protein, something that we all need to start our day and to keep up with the day to day demands of our stressful lives. It is convenient to eat in the comfort of your own kitchen, on your commute to school, and to pack to eat at work.

You may dress up your morning yogurt any way you like - with fresh or frozen berries, raw honey or black strap molasses, nut or seed butter. If you are feeling particularly adventurous, feel free to add powdered greens, probiotic powder, and ground flax seeds. I buy seasonal produce from the local farmer's market - so blood orange slices are going into my yogurt concoction, along with frozen organic blueberries, raspberries, ground flax seeds and pecans.

Garlicky Black Bean Soup

This black bean soup was super easy to prepare and super tasty!

Ingredients:

1/2 yellow onion, finely diced

4 stalks of celery, finely diced

1 large bunch of garlic greens, chopped

1 large bunch of cilantro leaves and stalks, chopped

3 medium potatoes, diced

2 12oz cans or equivalent of black beans, with cooking fluid

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/2 Tbsp cumin

1/2 Tbsp paprika

1/2 Tbsp achiote (optional)

juice of 1/2 lemon

4-6 cups of water or vegetable broth

olive oil

salt

pepper

{Garlic greens in my home garden}

Directions:

Coat the bottom of a stainless steel or ceramic soup pot with olive oil

Add cayenne, cumin, paprika, and achiote and let cook on medium-low for 2 minutes

Add onion and saute until golden brown

Add celery and saute until it wilts and softens, about 3-5 minutes

Add potatoes, cilantro, and most of the garlic greens (reserve a little bit for garnish) and saute about 3-5 more minutes

De-glaze with 1 cup of broth or water, scraping the brown bits at the bottom of the pot

Add black beans with cooking fluid

Add the rest of the broth or water

Let simmer covered on low heat for 45-60 minutes

Before serving add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with chopped garlic greens

Enjoy!

Indian Spinach Curry

Ingredients:

• 2 medium yellow or red onions, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 14-oz can of coconut milk or light coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon of indian curry
• 1 inch of fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
• 16 oz bag of frozen organic spinach
• 3 tablespoons of coconut oil
• juice of 1 small lemon
• salt
• pepper
• optional ingredients: 1 12oz can of garbanzo beans or 3 small boiled and diced potatoes, or 12oz of diced paneer.

Directions:

• Saute the onions in a heavy cast iron or stainless steel pot in coconut oil. Cover with a lid.
• When the onions turn golden and translucent, add garlic, ginger and indian curry.
• Continue to saute until the onions, garlic and curry begins to stick to the bottom of the pot
• Deglaze with a 1/2 of the 14 oz can of coconut milk. This means that you pour the coconut oil into the pot and, using a wooden spatula, scrape the bottom of the pot.
• Add the entire bag of frozen or thawed spinach. Cover and cook on low fire for 20 minutes or until the spinach is soft.
• Add lemon juice, as well as salt and pepper to taste.
• Using an immersion blender, puree the spinach mixture.
• Now you can add garbanzo beans for a saag chana, or cubed poiled potatos for a saag aloo, or diced indian cheese for a saag paneer.
• Enjoy over brown basmati rice!

Mushroom Polenta "Muffins"

When I recommend taking a gluten holiday to my patients, I am often asked, "but what will I eat without bread and pasta? " While there are lots of gluten-free bread and pasta alternatives on the market these days, there are also LOTS of foods that are naturally gluten-free, really tasty and very inexpensive. Polenta is a great example - it is made from corn meal, tastes yummy, and costs pennies to make.

Gluten is a protein found in grains that some individuals can develop sensitivity to. Gluten containing grains include wheat, barley, rye, spelt, oats, triticale, and kamut. Why are some people sensitive to gluten in wheat? In the last 50 years, wheat has been bred to contain 50% more gluten protein. Farming and agriculture has been around for only 10,000 years which is nothing compared to human genome. Our genetics, which haven't changed as much, are not used to this large protein content in grain causing some individuals to develop sensitivities.

Ingredients:

1 cup of course corn gritts or corn meal (Bob's Red Mill brand works well)

3-4 cups water

2 medium portobello mushrooms finely diced

1/2 yellow onion finely diced (can also use shallots or leek)

olive oil

1-2 Tablespoons of butter (optional)

1-2 Feta cheese (optional)

salt

pepper

Directions:

Saute mushrooms and onions in olive oil in a medium size sauce pan with cover until they are golden brown

Add 3 cups of water and bring to boil

Add corn meal, cover, and turn hear on low

Stir occasionally to avoid burning the bottom

You may need to add another cup of water

When the corn meal reaches soft and slightly runny consistency, turn off the heat

Add salt and pepper to taste

Add butter and feta cheese. This is completely optional. I've made polenta completely vegan and with butter/feta and both versions tasted really good.

Ladle the mixture into a muffin pan that's been sprayed with olive oil. I use ceramic muffin pans in lieu of teflon or aluminum ones and have had no "sticking" issues. One cup of corn meal yields about 12 polenta muffins.

Let the polenta cool in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

Heat in the oven before serving.

Serve with garlicky spinach and tomato sauce.

Enjoy!