Incredible! From Chakra 4 Restaurant in Phoenix, their Noritos are made from raw Nori seaweed smothered in a sunflower seed “nacho cheese” served with creamy guacamole and piquant sunflower sprout pico de gallo.
Party Nosh
Snackage: Trader Joe's Vegetable Pakoras
Trying new foods at Trader Joe's is always a fun thing for me. I found these pre-made Vegetable Pakoras in the frozen food section.
These Pakoras are vegan, and from the looks of the ingredients list are soy and gluten-free. I say looks only because the box was not specifically labeled gluten-free. Pakoras are made with potatoes, onions, sweet potato, spinach, cilantro, chickpea flour, garlic and spices.
Pakoras are a popular Indian snack served at tea time. A serving of four of these TJ Pakoras is 150 calories which in my book makes for a nice snack. The Pakoras are lightly fried with 5g of fat per serving. There's zero trans fat.
I likedit!
I coupled my Pakoras snack with slices of avocado, and the Trader Joe's sweet chile sauce for a dip. The Pakoras come with a tamarind sauce, but I didn't like it at all. Plus, the Pakoras have a medium spicy heat to them, and so did the tamarind sauce which put together was too much heat for me. The sweet chile sauce mellows things out with cool sweetness.
Have you tried the Trader Joe's Pakoras? What did you think?
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!
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?
Brilliant Easiness: Trader Joe's Guacamole Kit
I saw this Guacamole Kit the other day at Trader Joe's and really the first thought I had was why didn't anyone think of this sooner? What a brilliant idea!
The Guacamole kit here in Phoenix cost about $3.25 and it contains two medium avocados, a tomato, a lime, a jalapeno pepper, some garlic cloves, and a small shallot. On the cover, there is a quick guacamole recipe, and literally in 5 minutes, you can have yourself a big bowl of 2 cups of fresh guacamole.
How delicious does this guacamole look? I'll tell you it was insanely delish! To make the experience even better, instead of dipping in tortilla chips which can make me feel heavyish, I got these baked lentil chips which are vegan and gluten free...an all around healthy snack indeed.
10 Last Minute Thanksgiving Noshy Ideas
Okay, Thanksgiving is on Thursday and you still need some side dish ideas. Not to worry because like you I am a last minute planner or I should say a fly by the seat of my pants planner.
You gotta give us some credit for creativity under pressure...which ironically is how I work better, in the pressure cooker.
To start off the food gluttony day, try my healthy breakfast nosh in the photo above which is a protein packed Pumpkin Yogurt Parfait with Bananas and Gingersnap Granola. The parfait is seriously yum, easy to make, and healthy!
From some fabulous foodies around the blogosphere, here are 5 and then some noshy ideas for Thanksgiving dishes including mouth-watering photos which if you can't make the dish, you can at least drool over the picture.
- Simple side from yours truly: Soft Golden Beets With Shaved Manchego And Toasted Pecans [Noshtopia]
- The Well Blog has about 52 recipes of all vegetable dishes good for sides or for vegetarian and vegan options. The pictures alone in the gallery will make you drool like Maple-roasted Brussels sprouts, Couscous Salad With Dried Cranberries and Pecans, and Endive and Radicchio Salad With Caramelized Pear, Walnut-Ice Wine Vinegar Dressing and Blue Cheese Fritters. [NY Times]
- Tropical Twist: Orange-Pineapple Ambrosia Salad [Babble]
- My kind of taters: Boozed-up vegan sweet potatoes [What Would Cathy Eat]
- Straight up: Wild Rice and Cranberry Salad with Sugared Walnuts and Tarragon served in martini glasses [Satisfied]
- Sauce Twist: Cranberry Sauce with Pear & Pomegranate [Family Fresh Cooking]
- Get Your Green-on: Kale Salad with Mango, Red Banana, White Truffle Olive Oil, and Pepitas [Seven Cloves]
- Protein packed grain: Spinach and Feta Quinoa Salad [Closet Cooking]
- Oh stuff me: Chestnut Stuffing with Leeks & Apples [The Parsley Thief]
- Snackage for watching football: Crimson Corn Bacon Popcorn [Simply Scratch]
If you have any yummy quick Thanksgiving side dish ideas, please share the link in comments!
Snack Idea: Wild Jungle Peanuts And Crystallized Ginger
This combo of Wild Jungle Peanuts and Crystallized Ginger is another one of those weird combinations I created while going nuts in the bulk food section at Whole Foods.
The idea of sugared ginger really didn't sound appetizing at all because I associate ginger with Asian dishes like Ginger Beef. Why eat ginger like candy...says my inner skeptic. Well, believe it or not, the sugared ginger really is fun. You can even find chocolate covered ginger.
I love these Wild Jungle Peanuts because they are more fleshy and less oily than your traditional peanut. Also, major healthiness bonus, these peanuts contain 26% protein- more than virtually any other nut or seed, including flax or hemp!
Here I tried the Wild Jungle Peanuts with dried cherries and figs which are also tasty as well. To me, the peanuts taste better with the crystallized ginger because you get this fascinating combination of sweet, meaty and zesty.
I've been taking this peanut/ginger combo with me on airplane rides as a healthy snack....and goes well too with Bloody Mary mix!
Sweet Creamy Goat Cheese Dip With Pepperdews and Walnuts
I love pepperdews because they add a nice sweet peppery flavor to sandwiches and in dips they can add a cheese like flavor like in this Edamame and Sweet Pepperdew Hummus Dip.
This sweet creamy goat cheese dip with pepperdews and walnuts takes about 5 minutes to make and is great for an afternoon snack with crackers or for a party dip with pita and wine. I came up with the idea while at looking at a bunch of cheeses at the Whole Foods deli, so I thought it would be cool for this week's "I tried something new."
In this recipe, I used some creamy goat cheese I got at Trader Joe's that was packaged in a convenient 4.5oz tub. You can use whatever creamy goat cheese favorites at your local grocery store.
Ingredients (makes about 1/2 cup):
- 1-4.5oz tub Trader Joe's creamy goat cheese
- 4 pepperdews
- 3 tbsps walnut pieces
- 1 tbsp light agave nectar
Let's get cooking:
- In a small 3-cup food processor, grind the pepperdews until they are in small chunks. Took me about 30 seconds.
- In a small bowl, mix together the goat cheese, walnuts, agave nectar, and ground pepperdews until all ingredients are blended together.
Place in nice serving dish and you're ready to nosh!
My First Catering Gig: 9 Person Book Club
Since 2002, thoughts of catering float in and out of my brain. Instead of continuing to imagine what it would be like to cater an event, I decided it’s time to actually do it. Wishing something is great but nothing really happens until you take some action, so I had an opportunity to get my chops wet and cater pal @halfacat’s book club meeting for 9 people at his house. Seven people showed, so it was a nice turnout.
The opportunity to cater this event is also made possible by Viva Paper Towels who is sponsoring this post. The folks at the book club thought it was cool that their meeting was sponsored by a major corporation. This is one of the beauties of being friends with a food blogger. For some fun, fork-free recipes including videos and snappy entertaining ideas, check out the VIVA® Diva Café.
The menu theme
I based the menu around the theme of the book which was Bonk by Mary Roach. It’s a fascinating book about the Science of Sex. I enjoyed how Roach took not only a matter-of-fact take but she added a whole lot of humor and ease. To me, the tone was very much like if Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat, Pray, Love were to write the book.
For the attendees of the book club, I also had to consider vegan and food allergies to dairy and eggs. I also made mostly finger foods to add some sensual flair. The menu contained 4 appetizer type dishes and one dessert:
Turkey and shiitake mushroom meatballs with panko, sautéed garlic and onion in an organic marinara sauce. I used no egg or dairy in the meatballs.
Edamame and Sweet Pepperdew hummus with sesame pita chips.
A bread plate with Rosemary garlic bread, St. Andre’s cheese, prosciutto, fig spread, red grapes, ground pistachios, and some Dave’s Honey Habanero mustard. I love to top cheese with fig spread, and ground pistachios.
Scharffen Berger dark chocolate dipped organic raspberries and blackberries. I thought it would be decadent to eat fruit dipped chocolate with the fingers couple with the red wine.
I will follow up this post with the recipes for the meatballs, mushroom caps, and hummus. All the noshy food by the way was pretty simple to make.
Everyone brought some wine, and Roger had this very sexy decanter which is believe it or not $10 at IKEA. Yes, cool holiday gift idea, I’m thinking.
The book club was so much fun! We drank red wine, noshed on tasty sexy food, and discussed the book along with everything from Cougars to Roger’s how-to tips to communicate to a guy about what you want in bed, very enlightening to get the male point of view. Plus, Roger is such a sweet and modern guy, so I find his take very refreshing.
The best part of book
club
Everyone enjoyed the food which was a huge relief for me. Now that I catered my first event, I can say that I really enjoyed coming up with the menu, that by far was the best part for me as I got to really use my creativity. I didn’t enjoy so much all the shopping, prep, and clean up. The jury is still out on whether I will get into catering or not. Perhaps, I will do it just for small parties because I do like the 10 and under number.
Overall, the best part of the book club was all the new friends I made. Being a Phoenix resident now for 2 months, I have to say that I’ve met so many wonderful and friendly people. Moving here was one of the best things I have ever done.
For next month, the book we’re reading is Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. Now, that book will be a fun read for us noshers!
10 Ideas for Non-Bread Goodies to Eat with Hummus or Spinach Dip
No doubt that Hummus and Spinach Dip will be appetizers available on Thanksgiving day because everyone loves it, it's easy to make, and every grocery store carries pre-made dips for those of us who like fast & convenient. I really dig the Whole Foods pre-packaged spinach dip as seen above.
Typically, bread or pita is served to eat with the dip as are chips and crackers, as well as the typical baby carrots which I'm personally tired of seeing because it reminds me too much of "diet" food. {No offense baby carrot}
To mix it up and offer something to those who are carb conscious, gluten-free or conscious, or just want to try something new, here are 10 non-bread ideas to use with the hummus or spinach dip.
- Sugar snap peas. This is my personal favorite
- Zucchini or cucumber cut into slices
- Sliced pears like Bartlett and Anjou, or for something more global Asian Pear
- Jicama
- Daikon radish. The Daikon is long, thick, and tubular so you can cut it like cucumber slices or like fries. It has a mild flavor and high water content.
- Spelt pretzels. Spelt is not gluten free but it is a wheat alternative. Whole Foods 365 brand and Newman's have tasty spelt pretzels. Ener-G brand has a nice selection of gluten-free pretzels.
- Mini rice cakes
- Brazil nuts. The Brazils are big nuts so you can scoop a decent amount of dip plus you get beneficial MUFA's.
- These are fried but Terra Chips brand makes some pretty cool non-potato chips like taro, yucca, kambucha squash, parsnip, and beets.
- These are fried too, but Plantain chips. Plantains are not as sweet as your regular Chiquita and there are flavored Plantain chips like Chili Garlic, Jalapeno, and Cajun so with the spinach dip it is something definitely different.
