The Happy Gluten Free Vegan

Archive for the ‘Premade Gluten Free Vegan Products’ Category

For vegan foodies who still love to play with the texture of alternative meats, Beyond Meat chicken alternative is the newest player in the alternative meat game, and they are promising to become a top contender. Creating a product that is both vegan and gluten-free, Beyond Meat claims that their fake chicken will blow the competition out of the water in both taste, and price.

The Maryland-based company gave an interview with NPR today in which founder Ethan Brown, a vegan, spoke of growing up on his family’s farm and developing a concern for the welfare of farm animals. After becoming vegan, Brown discovered that the meat alternatives on the market were less than appealing and decided to strike out on his own and reinvent the world of meat alternatives; from there, Beyond Meats was born.

The guardian to 6 rescued slaughterhouse pigs and chickens who lay “happy eggs,” Brown set up shop just a few miles from his own home and went to work concocting his new fake chicken from soy, pea powder, carrot fiber and gluten-free flour. Brown calls it his “modern farm,” and there are no food animals on site, just his production facilities complete with a customized machine to produce his chicken alternative. The faux meat mixture is poured into the machine, cooled, and then extruded in a way that results in a product that, Brown claims, mimics the look and texture of real chicken.

While the launch date for Beyond Meat faux chicken strips has not been announced, the company has announced that it will launch sometime within the next month, and start at Whole Foods in Northern California (something that delighted us since some of our staff is based in Northern California, which means we will be able to bring you an exclusive product review!). Brown states that he wants his product to be a game-changer, launching the company from just another health food brand, to mainstream product for the masses. With that goal, he aims to eventually roll out fake beef and pork products as well.

While we have seen faux meat products, such as Kellogg’s Morningstar Farms, dominate the mainstream market, none have offered the promise of being vegan, gluten-free and chemical free, all at once. There is no doubt that meat alternatives are growing at a nice pace, as even those who eat meat are opting for occasional fake meat meals for health reasons. The practice of “Meatless Monday” has quickly grown into a concept that commands many food blogs and has crept onto the menus of restaurants throughout the United States. If Beyond Meats delivers as promised, we could see a new onslaught of fake meat consumers and the demand for these foods begin to rise.

Brown boldly states that production for his fake meats are by far cheaper than the average production costs of real meats, and says that he is hopeful that, as the trend of fake meat becomes more popular, that the negative implications of animal farming on the environment, economy and animal welfare will see a positive impact. We couldn’t hope for that more.

To sign-up for the Beyond Meat newsletter that will include announcements such as their grand unveiling, as well as their national distribution plans, visit their website.

It is day two of our celebration of both National Celiac Awareness Month and Cinco de Mayo week! To keep the celebration going we are featuring delicious vegan, gluten-free tempeh soft tacos with lime crema from Vegan Celebrations (affiliate link). We are huge fans of lime crema, so gleefully made this dish solely thinking about the lime crema. The recipe calls for soy yogurt, but we prefer almond yogurt and used that instead. We also snuck in a little extra lime because we are huge lime fans. The lime crema offsets the spicy chipotle pepper in adobo sauce beautifully, and the delicious garlic adds an extra layer to the flavor bouquet. This is sure to leave dinner guests begging for more!

Soft Tempeh Tacos with Lime Crema

MAKES 10 TACOS

LIME CREMA

• 1 cup plain soy yogurt (or almond or coconut — whatever your favorite plain yogurt alternative is)
• Juice of 1 large lime

TEMPEH SOFT TACOS

• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• ½ small white onion, sliced thin
• ½ bell pepper, any color, sliced thin
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
• One 8-ounce package tempeh, any variety, sliced thin
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons of your favorite vegan, gluten-free taco seasoning (we like Spicely vegan, gluten-free taco seasoning)
• ½ cup vegetable stock
• 10 corn tortillas (make sure they are organic so as to be sure that they are not GMO)

TO MAKE THE LIME CREMA:

Whisk together the yogurt and lime juice in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the tacos.

TO MAKE THE TACOS:

Warm 2 tablespoons of the canola oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil and the tempeh and sauté for 5 minutes or until the tempeh is lightly browned on both sides. Stir in the chipotle, oregano, taco seasoning, and stock and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Warm the tortillas, 3 at a time, in the microwave for 30 seconds*. Fill with the tempeh mixture, then top with Lime Crema. Repeat until all the tortillas and tempeh are used.

*If you prefer to not use the microwave to  to warm your tortillas, simply preheat the oven to 250 degrees, wrap a damp dishtowel around a stack of tortillas, place them in a baking dish and cover.  Warm in oven for 20 minutes.

Pair this delicious dish with your favorite vegan, gluten-free beer for a filling and refreshing dinner!

It’s Cinco de Mayo week here at the Happy Gluten Free Vegan and we are so excited to start making some delicious vegan, gluten-free Mexican food! Mexican fare is often the staple of those who are newly vegan and/or gluten-free because it is one of the easiest cuisines to eat when following this dietary lifestyle. With a base of corn, rather than flour, and plenty of delicious veggies and spices as the mainstay of their dishes, it is the perfect option for the conscious consumer.

Today’s recipe comes from one of our favorite cookbooks, Quick & Easy Vegan Celebrations by Alicia C. Simpson. Alicia has an entire mouth-watering section devoted to Cinco de Mayo and does not disappoint! Remember that these are strictly vegan, so in a few recipes, you have to get creative and substitute gluten-free ingredients. Luckily, in this first recipe, it was happily gluten-free, so we are offering the recipe as is. This vegan, gluten free huevos rancheros alternative is full of delicous ingredients such as chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, garlic, black beans and zesty salsa. We went a bit further and topped it off with some melted Daiya cheese, sliced avocado and vegan sour cream. It was unbelievably good, but trust us, if you want to remain true to the recipe, it will be still taste amazing.

Vegan, Gluten-Free Huevos Rancheros

Yields: 4 SERVINGS

HUEVOS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup diced green bell pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup diced onion
• Two 12.3-ounce packages firm silken tofu
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1⅓ cups plain rice or soy milk
• 2 to 4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced

RANCHERO SAUCE

• One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ cup diced white onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Twelve 6-inch corn tortillas (use organic to ensure that you are not consuming GMO corn)
• 2 cups cooked black beans

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-cup cupcake tin.

TO MAKE THE HUEVOS:

Warm the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the bell pepper, garlic, and onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Purée the tofu, turmeric, salt, and milk in a blender or food processor until smooth. Transfer the tofu mixture to a medium bowl and stir in the bell pepper mixture and the chipotles. Divide the egg mixture evenly among the cupcake cups and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, then remove the “egg” from each cup with a soup spoon.

TO MAKE THE RANCHERO SAUCE:

Purée the tomatoes in a blender or food processor. Warm the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, oregano, salt, and red pepper flakes, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes while your “egg” is baking.

TO ASSEMBLE THE HUEVOS RANCHEROS:

Arrange the corn tortillas on serving plates and evenly distribute the cooked black beans among them. Top each tortilla with one “egg” and top each, evenly, with sauce.

Accompany this with some delicious orange juice or coffee, and this is a truly satisfying breakfast!

This week is kid’s week, and while we are aiming to bring you delicious vegan and gluten-free recipes, we are not completely oblivious to the fact that, while many of you may wish you did, you don’t have a ton of time to cook up recipes from scratch AND be mommies and daddies. Between classes, after school lessons and play dates, there isn’t always a ton of time to channel your inner Food Network chef. Here are a few of our favorite vegan, gluten free companies and their products that will help you produce a delicious meal in minutes!

Sophie’s Kitchen is our favorite, go-to company for delicious vegan, gluten free mock seafood. Yes, you read that right, mock seafood. Sophie’s Kitchen proves that fake can be absolutely delicious. While we don’t use microwaves in our kitchen, the products are all microwavable, and don’t take long to heat-up in the conventional oven for fellow non-microwave users. Our favorite gluten-free, vegan products from Sophie’s kitchen are crab cakes, breaded vegan scallops and prawns. For a delicious addition to each, mix up a little vegenaise and gluten-free sweet relish to make a vegan, gluten-free tartar sauce. Sophie’s Kitchen products are available at Whole Foods, online and various natural foods stores across the nation. To learn more, visit their website.

Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flakes are a great oatmeal alternative and cook up just as fast! Because most commercial oatmeal either contains gluten, or is processed in plants that also process gluten foods, it doesn’t work for those with a gluten sensitivity. Quinoa flakes just need hot water and your favorite toppings to dish up a delicious and healthy breakfast to your children. Add a little coconut milk for a creamed oatmeal treat, and added nutritional benefits. Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flakes can be found at Whole Foods, most natural foods co-ops, and in the natural foods section of many traditional food supermarkets. You can also order them online through their website.

Amy’s Kitchen is well known among the natural foods and vegetarian/vegan community for their organic vegetarian and vegan foods. Lately, though, they have stepped-up their game in offering gluten-free, vegan foods and they are one of our favorite go-to brands for a quick meal. If you take advantage of the product search feature on the Amy’s Kitchen website, you will find 70 products that are both vegan and gluten-free, and most notably, two kid-specific meals called “Not Just for Kids Meals,” a line geared for kids, that adults will love as well. Their vegan and gluten-free “Kids Baked Ziti Meal” consists of organic rice noodles, dairy-free cheese and pasta sauce. On the side is broccoli, rice-based focaccia bread, and apple crisp as dessert. Their vegan and gluten-free “Kids Rice Mac n’ Cheese meal” includes delicious rice macaroni and organic broccoli, topped with vegan cheese sauce, and apple crisp on the side. Amy’s is available at most traditional and natural foods markets, and can also be ordered through online retailers, such as Amazon.com.

Missing the experience of making Rice Krispie treats with your kids? Well Chicago Vegan Food’s “Dandies” vegan and gluten-free marshmallows are the answer to restoring your happy childhood memories! These vegan, gluten-free marshmallows are not only free of animal products, such as gelatin, but they are made in cooking equipment that is dedicated to vegan food preparation. Chicago Vegan Foods also makes a delicious vegan, gluten-free cheese alternative that melts and stretches, just like real cheese. A perfect alternative for those who experience stomach upset from Daiya vegan cheese. Chicago Vegan foods are sold at both natural foods supermarkets and online retailers, visit their website to find the closes retailer to you!

We’d love to hear from you! Let us know what your favorite vegan, gluten-free quick meal products?

We hit up one of our favorite vegan cookbooks, Quick & Easy Vegan Celebrations because we were in the mood for some comfort food. We noticed that macaroni and cheeze was one of the most popular recipes in the books by customer rating, and the only thing that needed to be tweaked in the recipe was substituting the macaroni and bread crumbs with gluten free options.

Classic Macaroni and Cheeze

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

• 1 pound gluten free macaroni
• 2 medium yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
• ⅔ cup diced white or yellow onions
• 2½ cups water
• ⅔ cup canola oil
• ⅓ cup raw cashews
• ⅓ cup raw macadamia nuts
• 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• ¼ teaspoon dry mustard
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ cup unseasoned gluten free bread crumbs, optional

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside. While the pasta is cooking, combine the potatoes, carrot, onions, and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. (The smaller you cut them, the less time it will take.)

Put the canola oil, cashews, macadamia nuts, salt, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, black pepper, cayenne, and the vegetables and their cooking water into a blender and process until completely smooth. Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce until completely coated. Transfer to a lightly oiled 3-quart casserole dish or place 6 lightly oiled 6-ounce ramekins on a baking sheet and divide the mixture evenly among them. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs, if using. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbling.

This dish will take you back to those childhood days where you ate warm mac and cheese on those cold winter days!

We could barely contain ourselves when we started to hear the buzz about gluten free, vegan Shirataki noodles. Not only do they meet our dietary restrictions, but they can help us lose weight? This sounded too good to be true. The key to Shirataki noodles is their main ingredient, Glucomannan fiber.

We first heard of Glucomannan fiber on the Dr. Oz show when he touted it as a great way to assist in a healthy weight loss plan.  Glucomannan is a fiber that comes from the konjac plant, a plant grown largely in Japan. Because it is such a hearty, easily soluble fiber, it is used for treatment of, among other things, constipation, high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes and weight loss.

Not long after we saw this episode of Dr. Oz, the popular website Hungry Girl (link) started touting glucomannan-based noodles, Shirataki noodles, as a great alternative to pasta. Traditional Shirataki noodles are made solely from the konjac plant fiber and contain zero calories, zero carbs, zero gluten or animal products, and are high on soluble fibers. The Shirataki noodles we tried are from a brand called House Foods and have tofu added to the noodles to offer more texture. Unlike the traditional noodles, these Shirataki noodles pack a whopping 20 calories per serving. If you are looking for a variety of noodles, House Foods offers macaroni Shirataki, Fettucine Shirataki and angel hair Shirataki. We tried the spaghetti-shaped Shirataki noodle.

Since the noodles are already soft, we only had to par-boil them for 2-3 minutes to get rid of, as the package put it, the “natural aroma.” Just a word of warning, this “natural aroma” smells like dead fish. But after some rinsing and par-boiling it was not noticeable, and once we dropped the noodles into our homemade “chicken” noodle soup, they immediately took on the flavor of all the seasonings in the soup. They made an excellent addition to the soup and truly did fill us up! The spaghetti noodles are also ramen-like, so would be great for making homemade ramen noodles.

To learn more about the Shirataki noodle, visit the Shirataki Noodle website!

St. Patrick’s Day is upon us and green beer will be flowing! Just because you are vegan and gluten free does not mean that you can’t partake in the festivities! We have assembled the perfect gluten free, vegan beer and gluten free, vegan food color combination for you.

First the beer!

While there are many gluten-free beers on the market, we focused on Green’s Beer pretty fast. Despite the fact that they are based in Belgium, their fun, green beer bottles with old-fashioned font just scream “St. Patrick’s Day”. What we love about Green’s gluten-free beer is that they are proud of the fact that they are vegan. They state right up front on their website that, “Green’s Beers are suitable for both Vegetarian and Vegan diets,” and, “Green’s Beers DO NOT contain any of the following allergens or products thereof: Gluten, Crustaceans, Eggs, Fish, Peanuts, Soybeans, Milk, Lactose, Nuts, Celery, Mustard, Sesame seeds, Sulfur dioxide nor Sulfites.”

Many don’t realize that there are both vegan and gluten free beers. When you are a beer-lover, perhaps the worse diagnosis you can receive is that of celiac disease. But that did not stop the founder, who became determined to create a beer that is not only safe for those with gluten sensitivities to consume, but that actually tastes good. With so many gluten-free beers having tried, and failed, to deliver a full-flavored product, this was no easy feat! Green’s has now come up with 3, full-flavored options.

First up is their Discovery Amber Ale vegan and gluten free beer. It is made without any wheat or barley and has carmel and nut flavors. Plan to pair this with Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies or Red Potato Cakes with Tomato and Wilted Spinach.

Next up is their Endeavour Dubbel Ale. The unique thing about this particular ale is that it is the world’s first version of this style ale that is made without barley. The flavor in this vegan, gluten free beer is toffee and dark-sugar, and it would make a great pairing with gluten free, vegan risotto-stuffed portobello caps with vegan cheese crisps or some pucker-up potato salad.

Finally, Green’s vegan, gluten free beer brewery offers the Quest Tripel Ale. Like the Endeavour Dubbel Ale, this beer is notable because it is a tripel ale that is made without barley, which is quite uncommon. This ale is a light-bodied beer and has lovely flavors of candied fruit. This ale would taste delicious with crock-pot carrot potato soup or vegan, gluten-free cheeze cracker soup.

Now the green!

If you are looking for green beer, fear not! We tracked down a food coloring company that proudly sells vegan, gluten-free food coloring. AmeriColor food color offers a huge array of vegan, gluten free food colorings. They are also kosher certified, if that is also important to you. With five gorgeous green colors from which to choose, you are sure to find the perfect St. Patrick’s Day shade! Who would have thought that gluten free, vegan green beer was still a possibility?

Sometimes you just don’t have the time (or the energy) to make something from scratch. And sometimes you just want pizza – but gluten-free, vegan pizza. Now, we’re lucky that here in Boulder, Colorado, there are quite a few pizza places that offer both gluten-free and vegan pizza. But what if you’re not in Boulder or somewhere else that has these options? Or what if you are in Boulder, but you just want to eat at home – food from home? Here is our perfect, 15-minute solution for a scrumptious, gluten-free, vegan pizza at home.

First, we’re going to cop to it right up front – this starts with a pre-made frozen gluten-free vegan pizza from the store. We happen to like Amy’s frozen pizzas – the gluten-free one has a rice flour crust – because they use organic ingredients whenever possible, and they are yummy. But you could also use the Tofurky brand of gluten-free pizza with Daiya cheese, or any other favorite vegan, gluten-free pizza.

So, here you go:

Incredibly Easy Scrumptious Vegan Gluten-Free Pizza

1 frozen vegan, gluten-free pizza
1 can organic diced tomatos, well drained
1 teaspoon chopped garlic (we keep a jar of organic pre-chopped garlic in the fridge – see how easy this is?)
1/2 teaspoon oregano

Preheat your oven according to the pizza directions, and get your pizza ready to go into the oven.

Mix the other three ingredients well – make sure the tomatos are well drained or they will weep all over your pizza and make it soggy! – and spread them on the pizza, leaving an inch margin around the edge.

Cook according to the pizza directions.

Enjoy! This takes any frozen pizza, and brings it to a whole new level, and so easily!

Nothing makes me a happier gluten-free vegan than some fresh-from-the-toaster cinnamon raisin toast slathered with buttery vegan margarine. If you live near a Whole Foods, you’ll be happy to know that some Whole Foods bakeries are now making their own wheat-free raisin bread, and while for some reason they don’t advertise it as such, it is vegan, as well.

Now, if you are Celiac and have to worry about cross-contamination, then this isn’t for you, as they do bake it in a bakery that also bakes wheat-based items, but if you can handle that, your tummy and taste buds are going to be happy campers – or is that happy chompers?

The Whole Foods wheat-free raisin bread is without question the best that we’ve had, hands-down!

Pop it in the toaster, and then top it with some Earth Balance vegan margarine (either the stick or the spread), and yum, yum, yum!

For extra yum points, top with cinnamon (vegan) sugar!

(Why yes, I do like my toast on the dark side!)

A new company serving the gluten-free vegan market has opened in Boulder, Colorado. Zest Brands makes some of the most delicious gluten-free vegan cookes I’ve had. And they are completely gluten free and vegan! Intentionally!

Zest is a relatively new company, but they have already made inroads to being carried in several shops around the Boulder area, and while this is not a Boulder-only website, right now your best bet to taste these yummy treats is to either be in Boulder, or to have a friend in Boulder pick them up and mail them to you.

Currently you can enjoy a shortbread sandie cookie, a chocolate ginger cookie, or a lemon coconut cookie. Of the three, our favourite (and the favourite of everyone who sampled them) was the lemon coconut, followed by the shortbread sandie. Surprisingly, while I had thought I’d like the ginger chocolate the best, it was my least favourite – which isn’t to say that I didn’t like it! What’s not to like about anything that’s chocolate, gluten-free and vegan?!

Here is the gluten-free vegan lemon coconut cookie:

And here are its ingredients:

You can read more about Zest Brands gluten-free vegan cookies, and other products (all of which are gluten-free although not all are vegan (although all are vegetarian)) at the Zest Brands website.