If you are trying to avoid products that have any kind of dairy, reading labels may be a little more tricky than just looking for the word "milk." Dairy includes animal milks (cow, goat, sheep), creams, creme fraiche, butter, yogurt, kephir, custard, puddings, nougat, cheese, ice cream, gelato, sherbert, ice milk, milkshakes, and some margarine.
To note, just because a food package says, "No dairy" does not mean it is also egg free. Eggs may or may not be considered dairy depending on the culture or region you are in, so if you are also trying to avoid eggs, still be sure to check the label or look for "No eggs" on the packaging along side the "No dairy" verbage.
Here are some other items on ingredients labels to look for that contain dairy:
The Gardenburger is a popular favorite for those who love to nosh non-meat burger alternatives. The California Burger is one of my personal favorites. But did you know that Gardenburger also has a Gourmet line that features "Steaks" in four flavors: Baja Garden Steaks, Fire Dragon Garden Steaks, Hula Garden Steaks, and Tuscany Garden Steaks.
When I was at Whole Foods the other day, I saw the Fire Dragon Garden Steaks and decided to try them out, and boy was it delicious as you can see above. I cooked the Fire Dragon Steak in a skillet with some garlic infused olive oil. I ate it burger style on Ezekiel Sesame Sprouted Grain Bread, and then added sliced heirloom tomato, spring salad mix with arugula, avocado, ketchup, and my favorite Brianna's Poppyseed dressing which is a fabulous mayo alternative.
I didn't really get the "steak" feeling. To me, the Gourmet products taste and look like bigger, fancier veggie burger patties. Perhaps, they could change the name to "Garden Steakburgers" or nix the word "Steak" all together and just market them as upscale, fancier Gardenburgers. Okay, the marketer in me is coming out.
I still heartily enjoyed myself, and would definitely try the other flavors. Two patties come in each box, so perhaps for the second patty I'll try the "steak dish" approach, and eat it with some mashed potatoes, and grilled onions and do a Salisbury steak kind of meal. Although, I think mentally, I will probably end up seeing the dish as a burger with potatoes instead of a bun.
What I like most about the Gardenburger products is that they use very little soy, and sometimes none all together. If you look at the ingredient label the most prominent ingredient tends to be a (brown, jasmine) rice, cous cous, or oats as opposed to soy protein as many veggie burgers tend to use.
What's unique about the Gourmet line of Gardenburgers is that you will see ingredients like Nori, Daikon, Jicama, Cous Cous, and Coconut Cream. I totally dig the use of more global ingredients.
The Gourmet Gardenburgers are pretty big in size in my opinion which again probably goes back to their attempt to get a "steak" feel, and come in around 170-280 calories for one patty depending on which flavor you get. I ate half a patty for dinner and felt quite satisfied. I saved the other half of my burger for lunch the next day, and it was equally dee-lish.
Try out the Gourmet Gardenburgers and let me know what you think.
I'm finding it utterly fascinating that the two youngest contestants on Next Food Network Star, Kelsey, fresh out of culinary school, and Shane, fresh out of puberty, are kicking ass in this competition.
Theories on why the youngest ones are doing better
I'm wondering if the kiddos are doing better simply because they are less caught up with what other people think. As any of us get older, we can start developing more hang-ups and fear simply because we've experienced more. For example, Aaron keeps losing his personality as soon as he goes on camera because I think he's getting too hung up on trying to "impress" the audience which ends up with him coming off as more boring than Vanilla. Aaron totally should have used that "Changing a Hooptey into a Deville" line to the Bon Appetit staff. That was hilarious and very entertaining.
Good for the Dynamic Duo, Kelsey and Shane for their Bon Appetit "No Nightmare Wellington" win. Kelsey is still a bit too Stepford Cotton Candy for me but at least she's getting less sugary. That Wellington dish looked like a fancy dish that you could easily whip up on a Thursday night for a dinner party at home for friends. I loved their idea of stacking the dough, beef, and mushroom sauce on top of each other versus having to do all that wrapping that traditional Beef Wellington requires. I also like the idea of smaller controlled portion sizes so that your guests won't overeat and feel stuffed before dessert.
What up with Lisa and her Veloute? The Veloute, Veloute! It sounded like she was talking about some decorative vellum paper for plating. And yeah, Aaron, you should have put tighter reigns on Adam at the very beginning when he first saw him put those honking huge pieces of chicken on the grill.
Describing "the senses" on camera
When everyone had to describe a dish on camera, Shane was clearly the winner. I loved how Shane described his dish as a Mediterranean delight he'd enjoy eating outdoors. He made me feel like going on a Greek vacation. I did find it interesting that when Chef Cat Cora mentioned "describe the senses" that no one but Shane did that. Watching a food writer do that task would have been like watching a maestro with his symphony....Okay, I'm working the descriptive thing too much like an overly sappy Hallmark card.
And speaking of bad Hallmark cards, yup, uh-huh, we had crying again. Lisa cried but I'm not going to be too tough on girlfriend this week because it was frustration tears resulting from her teammate Jennifer completely hosing their dish with that "what were you thinking" glass breaking incident. In fact, I thought it great composure on Lisa's part that she didn't go off on Jen at all because I probably would have. I have no idea what Jennifer was thinking banging that jar of juice on the counter near the grilling squash. Lisa put her overbearing Perfectionist side in hibernation like the judges asked, and she did a good job of it, so I'll give her slack.
Who is the least bad of the worst two
Jennifer and Adam both really, really, blew it this week. In fact, when it came down to the two of them standing at the judge's table, I couldn't decide who was worst, but if I had to pick someone to go on, I'd pick Adam because as poor as his cooking skills have been so far, he is entertaining and more confident in himself. Jennifer just can't stop apologizing, and Food Network stars need to at least appear like they know what they are doing if they don't. So, bye bey this week to Jennifer, and honestly, I was surprised that she didn't hug anyone goodbye or stop and say thanks for the memories to any of the cast. Guess Jen just wanted the hell out of Dodge and back to her little girl. I'd be homesick too.
If you can't afford to buy all your fruits and vegetables organic, try and buy organic versions of fruits and vegetables that are known to be the most pesticide exposed. Here is a list of some of the most pesticide contaminated fruits and vegetables at your average supermarket.
Apples
Bell Peppers
Celery
Nectarines
Strawberries
Cherries
Lettuce
Grapes
Pears
As you can see, the majority on this list are things that people eat every day. Fruits I usually don't worry about buying organic include bananas, oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit because you peel the skin any way before eating.
We all have favorite spices and seasonings we use for every day cooking, and one of mine is the Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute which contains: Onion, Black Pepper, Celery Seed, Cayenne Pepper, Parsley, Basil, Marjoram, Bay Leaf, Oregano, Thyme, Savory, Rosemary, Cumin, Mustard, Coriander, Garlic, Carrot, Orange Peel, Tomato Granules, Lemon Juice Powder, Oil of Lemon, and Citric Acid.
Whew! That's a taste-ful. It's like a seasoning buffet in a jar. The 21 Seasoning Salute is also salt free, non-irradiated, and all natural. Plus it's under $5.
I use the TJ 21 when cooking or grilling meats. I sprinkle it on top of green salads. I use it on pasta and baked potatoes. I'll even sprinkle some on rice when making vegan mock salmon pate rolls, or veggie Noshbox rolls. Because of the variety in the TJ 21 Salute, it's multi-purpose and is like a cross trainer shoe of spices.
Owen McKibbin is a former Pro volleyball player who ended up becoming a top men's model and one of the most sought after cover boys for Men's Health magazine. In fact, he's been on the cover 15 times more than anyone else in the history of the magazine. Owen is also the author of, "The Men's Health Cover Model Workout."
Since, his body is his business, it's interesting to see what he eats to keep that chiseled body of his. In this clip, Owen makes for us the kind of sandwich he would eat. See what he uses instead of mayonnaise. It's a great tip because sometimes people get too attached to the idea that a sandwich has to have a condiment like mayo or miracle whip in order to be tasty.
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes (or more if you like tomatoes)
1-1/2 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Salt to taste (or garlic salt if you don't have garlic infused olive oil)
Let's start creating:
Butter Beans are also known as Petite Lima Beans, so if you like Lima Beans you can use those too. I think this bean salad is best served chilled, so I put the can of butter beans in the fridge the day before making the dish.
Open the can and give the beans a quick rinse. In the can, some beans can get mushed up and then create a "gooiness" on the other beans, so I like to give the beans a quick rinse just so they can be shiny as possible.
Slice the red onion pretty thin, and cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
Pour onto the butter beans the garlic infused olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt and toss everything around with a spoon. I have this garlic infused olive oil that I like to use in all my salads, but if you don't have any, you can use plain evoo and add in some garlic salt or powder. Also, I like to use olive oil and vinegar on the low side. If you like more vinegary punch or oil, add more to your taste. Instead of regular salt, sometimes I'll use seasoning salt just to do something different.
Throw in the cherry tomatoes, and give the beans another good mix. It's good to stir in the tomatoes last just so that they don't get beat up too much in the stirring process.
Voila! The butter bean salad is now ready to serve.
Now this is something you don't see every day here in the US. Let me introduce you to dried Yacon slices. Yacon is native to the Andes in Peru and is a perennial plant known for its crisp, sweet tasting tubers (roots). Sounds like we're going water sliding.
The Yacon has been around for a long time, in fact, some say the plant goes back to 1200 BCE. In some parts, the Yacon is also referred to as the "Apple of the Earth", and has a taste that is a cross between an apple and a watermelon.
In its dried form, I'd say that the Yacon slices taste like a dried apple that has had most of its sugar pulled out. To the typical American palatte, that is so used to overly sugary tastes, the dried Yacon is going to taste on the bland side. Personally, I kind of liked the fact that there was only a tad of sweetness. Sometimes, I feel like biting into dried fruit in general is like biting into a piece of sugar with some fruit flavoring.
The dried Yacon is a great snack for those wanting to cut back on sugar or are diabetic because the Yacon is known for its low calorie and low sugar count due to the fact that the sugar in the Yacon contains high levels of
oligofructose (inulin), a form of sugar that is not metabolized readily
by the human body. Oligofructose is known to aid digestion and promote beneficial bacteria in the colon. Yacon also is high in fiber, which is also a digestion bonus.
Yacon has zero fat, and about a handful of the dried fruit will only set you back 90 calories. I tried eating half of that serving, and couldn't. I was satisfied with a small amount along with the pecans like in the picture above. I think the dried Yacon is a cool thing to add to trail mix. I'm always looking for new ideas, and the Yacon sure fits the bill. I got these dried Organic and Raw Yacon slices from Navitas Naturals which also carries a Yacon powder and syrup.
Try out the dried Yacon and let me know what you think.
Normally, you think of cucumber as a cold ingredient, but there are dishes were the cucumber is served warm like in this Cucumber salad with sesame and pine nuts. Just looking at the pictures makes my mouth water. [A Life (Time) of Cooking]
We're still in the midst of cherry season. To continue the cherry
goodness all year long, here is a nice and simple recipe to make cherry
jam along with some beautiful photos. I love cherry jam on PB&J
sandwiches. [Cavier and Codfish]
I want to make this for my next dinner party: Panko-Crusted Egg With Cherry Smoked Asparagus, Smoked Paprika, And Sherry Gastrique. I've never seen a hard boiled egg with panko before so I give an Olympic score of 10.0 for creativity. [Herbivoracious]
Ever wanted an idea to make with left over beef brisket? Try these Cowboy Nachos made by a mother of four who lives on a ranch and calls her hubbie "The Marlboro Man." For reals. This is really a hearty nacho dish, so it's one of those things that you eat on a "Free" day or on Super Bowl Sunday. There are lots of pictures if you like to cook via visuals. [The Pioneer Woman Cooks]
This Mango Salsa Pasta a simple refreshing dish to take on a picnic. [Noob Cook]
I love Tuscan cantaloupe because it is a bit sweeter than regular cantaloupe, and it is absolutely the best when chilled. The juice of this divine fruit reminds me of a relaxing day at the spa. As a summer treat, one of my favorite desserts is a scoop of organic Vanilla Bean ice cream topped with some chilled Tuscan cantaloupe, pecans, and a dab of agave nectar. My current favorite brand of organic ice cream is Green & Blacks Vanilla Ice Cream made with fresh cream and real vanilla bean. This ice cream rocks!
Instead of cutting the cantaloupe in chunks, I use a zester tool to create spaghetti like strings of cantaloupe to put on the ice cream. The zester tool is easier than using a mandolin because the cantaloupe is curved and it's hard to scrape the soft fruit on a straight surface, plus the hand tool allows you to get longer strands.
When you scrape the cantaloupe be sure to capture all the juices that run off because that juice can be used as a syrup for the ice cream. Even though the Tuscan cantaloupe is sweet on its own, I like to add a wee but of agave nectar just to give the cantaloupe juice an ice cream syrup type feel. I really love eating ice cream with this cantaloupe!
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