Foods High In Iron

It's Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and my holiday menu includes both Jewish Eastern European traditional recipes and Jewish Sephardic or Mizrahi traditional recipes that I have changed to meet vegetarian and gluten free standards. My husband and I could be considered a mixed Jewish marriage; I am Ashkenzi ( of Eastern European descent)  and he is Sephardic/Mizrahi ( of Middle Eastern descent). Our Rosh Hashanah dinner menu reflects the rich traditions of both of our backgrounds. Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews ( Jews of Middle Eastern or Spanish origin)  celebrate the Jewish New Year dinner with a Rosh Hashanah ceremonial seder plate. Each food on the Seder plate has a special symbolic meaning assigned to it for the New Year. Some of these symbolic customs started as far back as 300 C.E. and were found in the writings of the Babylonian Talmud. Some of the symbolism comes from the meaning of the old Aramaic words. My husband's family ( with roots from Jerusalem, Egypt, Iraq an...

Sephardic Jews traditionally serve stuffed foods for Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)  like these delicious stuffed grape leaves. I use a simple vegan filling that is also gluten free. It seems like yesterday that I was on the picturesque coast of Greece, enjoying the scenery and the delicious food. One of my favorite Greek recipes is for  Stuffed Dolmades  or stuffed grape leaves. They are absolutely delicious but can be laborious to make until you have some practice making them. However, once you get the hang of rolling the grape leaves, you are good to go and will have one of the most delicious naturally gluten free appetizers or side dishes ever! My husband comes from a Middle Eastern/Greek/Turkish backgroun d, so stuffed grape leaves are a staple at all of our all of our holiday meals! My 91 year old mother in law ( Nona)  stuffs her grape leaves with meat and rice, my sister in law ( Danielle)  stuffs some of her grape leaves with meat and some with a vegan...

Thank you Shirley at Gluten Free Easily! I could't have asked for a more delicious, health conscious fast and easy recipe for dinner tonight. I just didn't feel like cooking, but needed something quick, yet healthy, for dinner. I found this quick bean salad that can be made in under 10 minutes on Shirley's blog. ( Another few minutes for the dressing) This recipe has everything I love- chick peas, kidney beans, and black beans, chopped tomatoes, chopped red onion, chopped red peppers, cilantro optional. In addition, there is a homemade citrus dressing that enhances the recipe. 7 Reasons I love this recipe:   1. No cooking involved 2. It's a quick and easy meal 3. Lot's of fresh summer produce 4. It's high in fiber and nutrients 5. It's vegan, gluten free, and allergy friendly 6. It can be made in advance 7. Makes a beautiful colorful presentation and tastes great No cooking - Sometimes I just don't want to cook! It's already hot outside, so why hea...

Looking for a quick but satisfying summer salad that can serve as lunch or a light dinner? My black bean salad is one of our favorites. It's light but filling and packs lots of fiber, nutrients, and taste. The best part is that it can be ready in under 10 minutes.  I use organic canned beans for convenience and simply chop up some juicy summer tomatoes, sweet red onion, fresh summer basil, and avocado. When I have left over rice, I add that in as well. Splashed with freshly squeezed lime, this salad looks pretty and tastes delicious. Just assemble and serve. This is also a great recipe to bring to a pot luck or BBQ since it is delicious at room temperature too. It travels well or can be assembled when you get to your get together. Simply make a container of beans and the rice and another container of the salad. Mix when you get there. I will be bringing this to a woman's meet up that I belong too. It's easy and economical, so it's perfect for a larger crowd. I just doub...

When I was growing up, one of my favorite dishes was cabbage and buttered noodles. I remember it being so tasty, but in retrospect perhaps not so healthy. I Love pasta but hate the empty carbohydrates and calories of even gluten free pasta. That's why I make zoodles- which are simply sculpted zucchini- made with a simple tool called a sprializer. Zoodles can be substituted for pasta in any recipe and that's what I used in my zoodles & purple cabbage in ginger sauce. In order to make the zoodles in seconds, you will need to use a spiralizer. This is the one I use and like this style the best. I've tried the cheaper ones that you hold in your hand, but they just don't work for me since I make so much. This Simple Tool is Amazing The "spiralizer"turns zucchini or any hard vegetable ( beets, cucumber, sweet potato, kohlrabi) into what looks like spaghetti. Spiralizers like the one I use run about $29.00 but they are so so so worth it. I use mine at least tw...

Grilled or roasted vegetables are the perfect gluten free side dish. I happen to love eggplant and find that fire roasting an eggplant creates a unique flavor that is absolutely delicious. If you want to get away from the SAD ( Standard American Diet) don't reach for gluten free prepared products. Think vegetables and find a variety of healthy interesting ways to make them. My favorite way to make eggplant is to grill the entire uncut eggplant over an open flame. Where do I get the open flame? Right on the burner of my gas stove in my kitchen!! Char grilled Eggplant tastes tender, smoky, and delicious.  The first time I tried this method, I have to say I was hesitant. After all, I was putting the eggplant into the flame on top of my stove without a pot??? It sounded crazy, but it worked great! I simply wrapped the eggplant in a triple layer of aluminum foil and placed it right over the flame. ( Some cooks don't even wrap it in the foil- they place the eggplant directly in the f...

If you are grain free, want to eat less carbs, or eat more healthy vegetables , then you MUST try " riced cauliflower" - You can make your own or now you can buy it frozen in Trader Joe's. It's also available in lots of other stores now- so look for it in bags fresh or frozen. Do you love " cauliflower rice" , but hate to make it?  Problem solved! Trader Joe now sells bags of organic cauliflower rice in their frozen section. Maybe I'm late getting on the band wagon, but I just discovered it, and I just can't get enough. How do I prepare it? I take a skillet , spray it with olive oil, add the package of frozen cauliflower rice and allow it to cook down until nice and hot. I then serve it as " rice" or sometimes, I sautee some onion first and then add the cauliflower rice- How else can you use it? If you are a regular reader on my blog, you know that I've posted quite a few "mock" ideas using the low carbohydrate, low calorie ...

Want a shortcut to make it easier to make a salad? This method is such a huge time saver ! Did you ever think if the salad were made, I would eat it?- but were too lazy or tired to make one. Sunday night has become salad night in my house . It is the night I not only make a big colorful salad for dinner, but while I already have all the veggies out, I  also make my salads for the entire week!  One mess 5 salads!. (yes, the salads stays very fresh for the week, and I'll tell you how). If you are like me, I love to eat healthy salads but I don't always feel like making them, especially at the end of a long day. Let's face it, it can be messy washing, peeling and cutting all the produce that goes into the salad. I usually don't want to make that mess every night, so I found a really helpful solution. I shop on the weekend and on Sunday late afternoon ( or evening) , I wash, peel, chop, etc. all the produce that I just bought. I then make a large bowl of delicious salad ...