The Happy Gluten Free Vegan

We love making soups in the winter. They’re warm, hearty, and help us feel better on a cold evening, especially at the end of a long day. If you’re under the weather, a good soup can nourish you like nothing else on the planet. We recently discovered this black bean tortilla soup at a friend’s holiday party and were so wowed that we begged her for the recipe. She was delighted to share it, and so are we. The concoction only takes about 45 minutes to prepare, so it’s a great dish if you’re on the run.

SOUP INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups vegetable broth
1 28-ounce can, stewed tomatoes (check label, make sure no chemicals are added).
2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon sea salt (not iodized!)
2 cans black beans (or 3 cups boiled black beans, if you have time)
1 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen)

GARNISHES
3 small corn tortillas
1 avocado, sliced
1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges

Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil into a large pan and add chopped onions and garlic. Fry on medium heat until onions and garlic are slightly brown. Your kitchen will smell terrific, and you’re just getting started! Add vegetable broth, stewed tomatoes, both chili powders, salt, and cumin. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until tomatoes are cooked through.

Add black beans and corn and continue simmering for 10 minutes until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Meanwhile, cut tortillas into thin strips. Place strips in olive oil in a medium-sized frying pan (cast iron is great!) Fry strips on both sides until brown and crispy, then remove from pan. Place them on paper towel to absorb excess olive oil.

Serve soup in festive bowls with avocado slices, a squeeze or two of lime juice, a liberal dash of cilantro, and as many tortilla strips as your heart desires. We love tortilla strips and find that it’s hard to put too many into this soup. But eat fast, because they do get soggy.

Serves 4-6 hungry guests. This soup is especially good with vegan, gluten-free cornbread and/or beer. If you do end up with leftovers, you can freeze them, or devour them in the next couple of days. You will be utterly delighted by this simple, inexpensive, and satisfying meal. Stay warm and enjoy!

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Some folks persist in thinking that folks who follow a vegan, gluten-free diet eat nothing but nuts and seeds. If you have a friend or relative who harbors this belief, slice a couple of pieces of banana bread from this rich, moist loaf and place them in front of her/him. Then sit back and smile. S/he will be singing a different tune after the first bite and might even beg you for the recipe. You’ll be amazed by how easy it is to make this bread, and how delicious it tastes. Here’s how:

INGREDIENTS
1 3/4 cups gluten free flour blend (Bob’s 1/1 is still our absolute favorite for baking).
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder (check label to make sure it’s aluminum-free)
½ teaspoon sea salt
7/8 cup organic turbinado sugar or coconut sugar (these sugars are always vegan, unlike
commercial sugar, and they taste much better, as well)
1/3 cup coconut oil or organic canola oil (coconut oil is our favorite—naturally sweet).
2 very ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
½ cup water

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
¼ cup vegan, gluten-free chocolate chips (be sure to check ingredients on package)
¼ cup poppyseeds

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
If you choose coconut oil, heat in pan on stove top or for 15-20 seconds in microwave until
liquefied. In large bowl, mash bananas with fork until all lumps are gone. Pour coconut or canola
oil into bowl and combine with banana mixture. Add apple cider vinegar, water, and vanilla
extract and beat to a nice froth. A large spoon will do well for this task. Blend in the dry ingredients, starting with baking soda, baking powder, and salt, then add the sugar and flour. When all ingredients are thoroughly combined, grease a small bread pan with coconut oil and pour mixture inside. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a fork or toothpick placed in the center comes out clean. Meanwhile, your entire kitchen will be filled with the most delectable aroma!

Serve as is, or with maple syrup, Earth Balance, vegan butter, almond butter, or any other topping of your choice. It’s great for breakfast, dessert, or a late night snack. Serves 4-6, but two people can gobble down this bread in a matter of hours, if not sooner. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

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Now that pumpkin spice season is officially here, you might be feeling great despair, thinking you won’t be able to partake of any delicious goodies. Fear not, because when you try these amazing vegan, gluten-free muffins, you’ll wonder why you put up with the conventional kind for as long as you did.

Beware, however – once you bake a pan of them, your family won’t stop begging you for more. If you don’t mind opening that Pandora’s box, here’s the recipe:

10 oz pumpkin puree (that’s about ¾ of a small can)
½ cup olive oil
½ cup unsweetened almond milk
¾ cup real maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup!)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups gluten-free flour (there are many varieties, but Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 flour is our favorite)
2 teaspoons baking powder (make sure it’s aluminum-free)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger (for a treat, try fresh ginger, and use a fine grater)
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon sea salt

Optional ingredients:
1 cup walnuts and/or pecans
1 cup vegan chocolate chips
½ cup poppy seeds

Mix together the wet ingredients in one large bowl and the dry ingredients in another. Beat wet ingredients to a thick froth and combine with dry ingredients. Grease muffin tin with olive oil or natural, organic vegan margarine. Pour batter directly into compartments, filling almost to the top. Place the entire concoction into a 395 degree, pre-heated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. If you can stand additional bliss, brush the tops of the muffins with maple syrup about five minutes prior to removing them from the oven. Your house will smell so divine that you won’t want to leave for hours!

Makes one dozen muffins. You can eat them as is or slice them open and put a bit of natural margarine (like Earth Balance) in the center. Or try it with some vegan cream cheese (Kite Hill is the absolute bomb). The possibilities are endless, really. We don’t recommend that you devour all twelve of these muffins at once, but we won’t try to stop you, either. They’re great for breakfast, snacks, or even for dessert. You’d better invite all your friends over, if the aroma emanating from the windows isn’t enough to lure them to your door. Be aware: this is not a diet food. Bon Appetit, and happy autumn!

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Natural Foods Expo West has come and gone in the city of Anaheim, and it did not disappoint. This yearly conference is a who’s who of natural foods and it did not disappoint this year. From cashew ice cream, to coconut fake bacon, to the finest organic and vegan juice cleanses, the offerings were delicious and bountiful. One product that stood out is the gluten-free, vegan meat called Neat.

Neat meat replacement is made from a blend of beans, nuts and seasonings that are all vegan and gluten free. They offer 3 different varieties: Original, Italian Mix and Mexican Mix.

Original is a blend of garbanzo beans, pecans, oats, cornmeal, garlic, onion and sea salt.

Italian blend contains Italian seasonings, garbanzo beans, pecans, oats, cornmeal, garlic, onion and sea salt.

Mexican blend is a mix of Mexican seasonings, garbanzo beans, pecans, oats, cornmeal, garlic, onion and sea salt.

Neat meat is a bagged mix that is reconstituted with water and your favorite egg replacement, such as Vegg vegan egg replacement, or flax seed oil. With the ease of preparation and the delicious taste, Neat meat is quickly amassing a large fanbase, with glowing reviews:

“We ate them hot and plain out of the oven and they tasted like a fried meatball. Even those who normally eat meat really liked them.”

“Neat is so much better than veggie crumbles or other soy based products.”

“Quick family meal without the artificial ingredients and the kids loved it! Tasted just like meat tacos.”

You can get Neat vegan ground meat mix at Amazon here

And for those who are already fans, Neat is soon releasing a breakfast sausage product very soon. To stay abreast of their product releases, and purchase their products, visit their website.

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I’ve been getting into brown rice lately, a lot. Ever since I learned to prepare rice in the following method in my rice cooker, I have a big batch of it ready cooked and ready to use, in the fridge. It’s wonderful. I love brown rice, warm with sesame seeds and sea salt sprinkled over it, cold tossed into salads, and for breakfast. The following is a very easy way to eat brown rice as a warm cereal in the morning. It’s delicious, and has no added sugar!

Here’s how I prepare my brown rice:

Rinse the dry rice at least twice.

Soak the rice for at least 3 hours in filtered water. (You can soak it for as many as 20 hours or more!)

Put the soaked rice in your rice cooker or pot, and measure in the correct amount of water, using the water in which you soaked the rice.

Cook it.

That’s it! The rinsing and soaking will yield the most amazingly fluffy, unsticky brown rice you have ever had!

Now, on to the cereal:

Super Easy Brown Rice Hot Cereal

1 – 2 tablespoons raw almond butter (I always keep a jar of this on hand)

1/2 to 1 cup precooked brown rice

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Put the almond butter in a microwave-proof bowl, and mix in a little bit of water at a time until the consistency of almond milk (which is what it basically is at this point).

Stir in the brown rice and cinnamon.

Heat.

Eat.

Yum!

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