Noshtopia

Gluten-free and Egg-free appetizer: Crunchy Sweet Potato Crusted Parmesan Risotto Cakes

 

I love crab cakes and wanted to make a vegetarian cake. Inspired by a panko crusted risotto ball appetizer I saw at a Fresh & Easy holiday party last December, I created these crunchy gluten-free sweet potato parmesan risotto cakes.

Now, you're probably wondering how I made a gluten-free crunchy crust. My secret is the new Sweet Potato flavored Pop Chips. Awhile back, I made gluten-free and egg-free baked coconut chicken nuggets using regular flavored Pop Chips as the breading.

 

 

Not only do Pop Chips make for awesome snacks, but ground up in a food processor, the Pop Chips (in any flavor) has a texture like panko and remains crunchy when baked. Several of the Pop Chips flavors are gluten-free and vegan like the Sweet Potato flavor. Check the back label.These are exciting times for gluten-free eaters who want to enjoy a crunchy breading-like experience! 

 

Next, you're probably wondering how I got the cakes to stick together without using egg or soy as a binder. Often in vegetarian recipes, tofu is used as a binder like in veggie burgers. Since I try and eat as little soy as possible outside of organic edamame, I like to get creative.

I took frozen Stahlbush Island Farms sweet potato chunks and blended the potato in a food processor until it was in a semi-chunky paste form and mixed the paste in with the risotto. Also, I cooked the risotto with a less water to make the rice stickier kind of like sushi rice. The risotto and sweet potato paste stick pretty good together.

Ingredients (makes 16-20 cakes):

• 1 box Gluten-free Lundberg Creamy Parmesan Risotto made using less 1/4 cup less water.
• 2 cups Stahlbush Island Farms sweet potato chunks
• 36 Sweet Potato Pop Chips (ground up in a food processor)
• 1 tsp agave nectar

Cooking:

• Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Cook the Lundberg Creamy Parmesan Risotto according to the box and use 1/4 cup less water. The risotto will come out a little more on the dryer side which helps in making the cakes stick together better.
• Warm up the sweet potato chunks in the microwave for about 30 seconds so they are not frozen solid but only slightly warm. Too much heat and the potato will get mushy and the paste will not work. 
• Put the sweet potato chunks in a food processor along with the 1 tsp of agave nectar and blend until you get a semi-chunky paste. The nectar sweetens the sweet potato just a tad.

 

• Put the finished risotto in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes to cool it down and harden the risotto a bit so it's sticky. Mix in the sweet potato paste.
• Form the risotto, sweet potato mix into cakes, and then on a plate roll the cakes in the sweet potato Pop Chips breading.
• Spray non-stick cooking spray on a baking sheet, and place the sweet potato risotto cakes on the baking sheet.
• Bake the cakes on one side for 8 minutes. Turn the cakes over, and bake for another 8 minutes.

Let the cakes cool down. Place some fresh thyme on top of each cake for seasoning. The side sauce I used in the photo is Trader Joe's Sweet Chili sauce.

Enjoy! 

Farmer's Market Find: Fresh Thyme and Basil

 

I found the most aromatic fresh basil and thyme at the Phoenix Public Market farmer's market this weekend.

I love fresh herbs and am thinking of making a pesto sauce with some extra argula I have in the fridge. What dishes would you recommend making with the thyme or basil?

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Green Inspiration: Try Micro Greens Instead of Sprouts

 

Behold this beautiful bowl of organic micro greens I got at Trader Joe's for $2.49. What a deal! The micro greens include organic broccoli, purple kohlrabi, red cabbage, kale, mizuna, red mustard, tatsoi, amaranth, and celery. Talk about packed with nutrients.

And better yet, these micro greens are so tasty. You can use them on salad or as a salad in themselves, as an edible garnish, or in sandwiches. I particularly love using micro greens in sandwiches because it's something different than lettuce or alfalfa sprouts.

 

I'm not a taste fan of sprouts particularly alfalfa sprouts because the experience is grassy, and sprouts are what people most associate with vegan and raw foods - hippy food, image-wise. Not saying it's right, just saying.

Here's a great explanation of the similarities yets difference between sprouts and micro greens. If you've never tried micro greens, do try them and let us know what you think.

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Guess The Vegetable

 

Since I've been into purple vegetables lately, I was loving the color of this root vegetable, a staple food in many countries around the world.

What is this vegetable called in the U.S. and in the Philippines?

(answer after the jump)

Mix & Bake: Lemon Poppyseed Walnut Scones

 

Sticky Fingers Bakeries makes one of the best mix and bake scone mixes. To make these Lemon Poppyseed scones all you need to do is add water, mix, and bake. Simple!

To make my scones a little more interesting, instead of adding 3/4 cup of water, I use 1/2 cup rice milk with 1/4 water. The scone comes out a little moister with the rice milk.

I also added walnuts because I like nuts in scones. Sometimes, I'll add pecans. Nuts also add protein to the scone, and what a fun way to get some protein, right?

These scones also only have 7g of sugar and 150 calories per serving size which is one wedge when cut into 8ths like shown above. This scone is a healthier option than a muffin, croissant, or sticky bun for breakfast. The scone would go nice with a side of fruit like cantaloupe, strawberries, or raspberries.

 

This scone mix contains no eggs,  preservatives, artificial flavors, trans-fats or cholesterol. I didn't see any ingredients with soy either. The mix does contain wheat and milk in the form of buttermilk powder.

Sticky Fingers Bakeries has 18 other scone mix flavors, so be sure to try them out! Here's a store locator to find a retailer near you. You can also buy online from their web store.

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Snack Idea: Organic Popcorn Sprinkled With Sweet Kim Nori and Sea Salt

 

Here's one of our favorite snacks that is so easy to make. Pop a bag of organic popcorn. Sprinkle on top some sea salt and Sea's Gift Korean Seaweed Snack Sweet Kim Nori.

You can find individual packets of the Nori for around $1.50 at Whole Foods, natural food markets or an Asian Market. 

Easy and delicious!

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What Can We Make With Fridge Leftovers? Bacon Fried Rice With Sauteed Magda Squash

 

Today was one of those days where I know food is low but I don't feel like going to the store because I'm in ponytail and sweats and frankly feeling lazy.

So, I take a peek into the fridge to see what is sitting on the shelves. I had one strip of Apple Honey Bacon I got from the Whole Foods meat department. Sometimes, I wonder why I hold onto just one piece of bacon, but that's a discussion for another time.

Also from Whole Foods was a box filled with salad bar fixings including carrot shreds, cremini mushroom slices, and peas. And next to the salad box, all by its lonesome was a single magda squash. There was also a pot of leftover white rice from dinner the day when I made Sesame Ginger salmon.

I sliced up the magda squash and sauteed it with red onions, canola oil, sea salt, and garlic powder for about 2 minutes in a wok. Simple.

Here's how I made the bacon fried rice:

• Cut the bacon into bits size and fry up in a wok. Soak up some of the bacon oil so the rice won't taste too bacony.
• Add about 1/2 tbsp canola oil back in the wok with the bacon bits and toss in the carrot shreds, mushroom slices, and peas. Sautee for about 30 seconds, and then add in the rice.
• Sprinkle on about 1 tbsp of water to help soften up the rice. Add some sea salt and garlic powder or seasoning. Keep mixing rice for about 1-2 minutes until rice feels tender.

I don't use soy sauce when I make fried rice because I like my rice with less salt. Plus, in this case, the bacon will add saltiness. Enjoy!

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10 Healthy and Allergy-Friendly Super Bowl Snack Ideas Including Gluten-free and Vegan Beers

Super Bowl Sunday is one of the biggest nosh days of the year. In fact, according to a Wall Street Journal post about game day food, baby carrot sales spike 25% on Super Bowl Sunday, 71 million pounds of guacamole is expected to be consumed, and 4.4 million pizzas will be ordered.

For those who have food allergies like myself, Super Bowl noshing can be just as exciting. You don't have to go without and feel deprived. In fact, I say some of our foods are the same or better than traditional versions. Oh yes, I went there!

Here is a list of 10 healthy and allergy-friendly Super Bowl snack foods including beer. I focus mainly on gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, and in some cases corn-free if I know for sure. Corn is in almost everything and some people are highly reactive to nut cross-contamination so I recommend double checking the ingredients to any of these foods. Here's a useful list of food additives that contain corn.

Portobello mini-pizzas. Use a portobello mushroom as the pizza crust instead of traditional crust to make gluten-free and lower-calorie pizza. The size of the portobello mushroom also gives you a nice single portion-controlled amount. Here's a recipe from MyRecipes.com to make Turkey Pepperoni Portobello pizzas. Try using pesto sauce instead of tomato sauce. To make your pizzas vegan top with grilled veggies and use Daiya cheese or no cheese at all. I'm allergic to cow and goat cheese, but I can eat sheep cheese, so I'll shave some pecorino or manchego on my toppings.

Honey Sriracha Chicken Wings. Hello! How about that for an American-Asian fusion twist to a bar food classic. Sriracha sauce is gluten-free, vegan, and soy-free. Some Sriracha sauce brands use Xanthan Gum so avoid if you're allergic to corn or the gums. If you're feeling ambitious, here's a recipe to make Sriracha sauce from scratch.The Food Network has a baked Honey Sriracha Chicken Wings recipe that is gluten-free. You can make the wings dairy-free by using Earth Balance Soy-free Buttery Spread instead of regular butter. You can also cut out the soy sauce to make the wings soy-free.

Edamame and Sweet Pepperdew Hummus Dip. Every time I make this dip, vegans think I've used cheese in it. This recipe is 100% vegan, gluten-free, and corn-free. It's not soy-free because of the edamame, but you can take out the edamame. What gives this hummus dip a cheese like taste is the sweet pepperdews, and adding ground up edamame gives the hummus a soft cheese-like texture. This hummus is also great to use as a sandwich spread instead of mayo. Here is my easy-to-make recipe for this awesome hummus dip.

Guacamole. Here's how I make guacamole. My secret to making creamy guac is to get avocados that are so ripe they are on the edge of over-ripe.The avocado should be mushy to the squeeze but not so much that you can smash it in your hand. Per one avocado, mix in diced red onion, cilantro, diced heirloom or vine-on tomato, cilantro, squeeze of lime and lemon, and a couple pinches of sea salt and garlic powder. Add some diced jalapeno is you want heat. Guacamole is raw, vegan, soy-free, corn-free, and gluten-free.

Some chips I like to nosh on include:

Pop Chips which all flavors are gluten-free. Some flavors are also soy-free and vegan. Check bags. In the guacamole photo are the Natural flavor Pop Chips which are also corn-free.

 

Beanfields Bean & Rice Chips  look like tortilla chips and are gluten-free, soy-free, vegan, corn-free and all ingredients are non-GMO.

 

Food Should Taste Good makes an array of corn, and potato based chips which are all gluten-free and made from non-GMO ingredients. The Jalapeno Tortilla is my favorite chip as seen in the photo with the New Planet gluten-free beer. Most of the FSTG chips are vegan minus the ones that are cheese flavored and soy-free. The Multi-grain chips do use soy. Check the bags.

 

Beer! And speaking of beer, here is a list of vegan beers, and here's a list of gluten-free beers. My personal favorite gluten-free beer is Estrella Damm from Spain which can usually be found at Whole Foods.

 

Mango salsa is my favorite fruity version of this low carb and low fat food. Salsa is also gluten-free, soy-free, corn-free, and vegan. Here's a fast way to make mango salsa. Get a regular jar or better yet a tub of fresh made mild or medium salsa. Get mango chunks from the frozen food section of the grocery store. Thaw mango, dice into smaller chunks, and mix in with the fresh salsa.

Sweet creamy chili dip. Yes, I said creamy and we are not going to use any dairy. This dip is really simple to make. Buy or cook a pint or quart of your favorite chili. I just buy a pint of pre-cooked beef, bison, or turkey chili in the Whole Foods meat or soup department. Put the pint of chili into a bowl and mix in a 1/2 container of 170g size So Delicious Greek-style coconut milk based Vanilla yogurt and add a 1/2 tbsp of honey.

Traditional chili dips use sour cream. In my version, we use dairy-free Greek-style yogurt which has a thickness similar to sour cream. If you can eat dairy, just use regular honey flavor Greek yogurt. The sweet in the Greek yogurt is a nice complement to the salt in the chili. This sweet creamy chili dip is gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and soy-free. The So Delicious yogurt looks to be corn-free as well. Double check the ingredients.

See, noshing during the Super Bowl looks a whole lot more fun now doesn't it? What other allergy-friendly snacks will you be eating?

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