Foods High In Iron

I was recently served this delicious vegetarian ( and of course gluten free) casserole at my friend Melissa's house that knocked my socks off! As soon as I saw it, it screamed Thanksgiving. As soon as I tasted it, I was in love and knew it would be part of my vegetarian/vegan Thanksgiving Dinner plan for 2016! Not only was the presentation sensational, but all 8 adults at the dinner party raved about it. Thanksgiving was on my mind because I had been trying to plan my menu. Maybe it was the scattered toasted sunflower seeds neatly arranged across the top, the creamy texture of the spinach and rice on the inside, or the brown crusty edges stuck to the four corners. Regardless, I know I couldn't help myself from taking a second helping and eventually asking for the recipe! I was delighted to see how easy it was to make, and I couldn't wait to share it with you on my blog. Melissa is an amazing cook and a thoughtful gracious host. To accommodate my vegetarian and gluten free e...

Still looking for a healthy Thanksgiving side dish ? You might be interested in this low calorie- low carbohydrate delicious, easy to make, casserole for as part of your feast!  It's made from "cauliflower rice", spinach, and pecans! I think we all are a little concerned about packing on extra pounds during the holidays. With this recipe, you can indulge and enjoy all the flavor without carbs. It's quick and easy to make too, and it can be made in advance and just warmed up before eating. It never ceases to amaze me how many different ways one can use cauliflower- It certainly is the great impostor. In the past I've made cauliflower rice pizza crusts , cauliflower rice bread sticks , and cauliflower rice snow patties. This recipe is no different- the cauliflower rice gives the impression that it is actually rice!! How did it come out? Fabulous!! Same delicious flavor without the carbs-  This is a must for Thanksgiving- Author: Judee Algazi @ Gluten Free A-Z Blo...

What is it about Hungarian mushroom soup that everyone loves?  Recipes from the old country are flavorful and delicious.  They call for real food ingredients that are both healthy and tasty.  My mother's good friend Bernice used to make a her family's recipe when I was a teenager and always shared some with us. It brings back wonderful memories of warming up with a hot bowl of this flavorful soup on a cold and damp autumn evening. Since it's been raining and cool for the past five days, I've been digging up all of my soup recipes.  It's a simple easy to make recipe with a hearty mushroom flavor.  It's allergy friendly too for those who are gluten free, dairy free, egg free-   Judee Algazi@ Gluten Free A-Z Blog Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 1 Hour Serves: 6 bowls Ingredients:  2 medium yellow onions, peeled and sliced in half moons 5 cups of sliced mushrooms ( white or baby portobello)  2 stalks celery, diced 1/4 cup parsley, chopped fine 1/4 ...

I love making easy seasonal soups that are both tasty and healthy. In this recipe cauliflower and kale, two cruciferous vegetables, team up with coconut milk to make a mild creamy fall soup just in time for the cooler damper weather. I adore soup and can't think of a better way to make sure I get my fill of antioxidant rich vegetables. In addition, this vegan soup has sauteed garlic, onions and turmeric , goes a long way, and is deliciously satisfying. Despite that the four vegetables are very bold flavored vegetables, the soup actually tastes mild and pleasant . It's a great way to include more dark greens into your diet, especially for picky family members who will not actually detect the taste of the kale in the soup. This time of the year, I don't mind turning on the oven to bring a little extra warmth into the house. This recipe calls for roasting a cut up head of cauliflower, which takes about 45 minutes .  Then the roasted vegetable is added to the soup pot where the...

Sorrel is a leafy green that looks similar to spinach but has a powerful lemony flavor. It can be cooked and eaten like spinach or made into a soup. Either way, sorrel is tangy and delicious.  This recipe for homemade sorrel soup, or "Schav" as my Russian grandmother called it, is a simple family recipe that my grandmother made in the old country. I never thought that I would actually ever make Schav despite that my grandmother, mother, and father ate it regularly when I was growing up. I never even tried it as a child. My family ate two versions: a chilled schav or warm schav. Since it's fall, I sharing the hot version. Guess what I received at my CSA today ! You got it- close to a pound of  sorrel leaves! When I first noticed the sign saying sorrel leaves at my CSA, something clicked. I remembered them from my grandmother's soup.  So today, I made my own schav for the first time using my grandmother's recipe with the sorrel leaves, potatoes, and leeks from my ...

T F Got leeks and don't know what to do with them? Make these fabulous Sephardic leek patties.  If you are a reader of my blog, you may have remember that my husband is from the Middle East, and that some of their Jewish holiday customs differ from those of Jews from Eastern European descent like me. Middle Eastern Jews ( Mizrahi Jews) make a small "Seder" plate for the Rosh Hashanah ( the Jewish New Year ) dinner and use a variety of foods that take on a symbolic meaning to wish in a good new year! Leek patties are one of those symbolic foods ! They are simple to make and everyone looks forward to eating them. It is an easy gluten free vegetarian recipe that requires chopping up leeks. These chopped leeks symbolically represent  chopping up our bad habits so we can make positive changes in our lifestyle. (Ok, the original meaning was that our enemies should be chopped up and far away from us - but we have evolved.) There are as many variations for Sephardic Leek Patties ...

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...

I I'm always looking for new ways to enjoy butternut squash, especially when it's in season and plentiful in the fall. This Butternut Parmesan casserole is simple and unique. I would have never thought that cheese would pair well with the squash! But it really does! I got the idea from Trader Joe's . They sell a frozen Butternut Squash Parmesan package,  but its not gluten free. The other day when I was shopping, they were offering taste samples. Everyone was raving. So, I thought I would try to make my own gluten free version. I looked at their ingredients to get some ideas. I was happy with my final product. I'll never know if it tastes anything like the one at TJ's. Butternut squash is a low fat vegetable that is rich in Vitamin A ( good for the eyes), has more potassium than a banana per cup, provides a fair amount of fiber, Vitamin B-6 and other vitamins and minerals as well. It's a healthy vegetable to add additional nutrients to a gluten free diet. I...

 I love ethnic spices, especially in soups. This roasted carrot soup is rich in warming spices of ginger, turmeric, and cardamom with a touch of cooling coconut milk. This easy soup is low in calories, low in fat, vegan, and and naturally gluten free ( like all my recipes)  I received carrots, onions, and potatoes this week as part of my CSA farm share. I immediately started to think soup! Roasted veggies make easy and flavorful soups One of my favorite and easiest ways to make soup is to use roasted veggies as my base. I got the idea when I had a significant amount of vegetables in the refrigerator, and we were leaving for vacation. I needed to find a way to cook the veggies and freeze them. I decided to roast them all. The result was a deliciously tasty blend of incredibly flavorful veggies.  My daughter in law Wendy said, " Why don't you just blend those roasted veggies in the Vitamix with vegetable broth." That's exactly what I did and to...