Summer Veggie Rice Bowl

      In case you didn't know, summers in Southern California are hot. Like "I don't wanna eat anything kuz I'm about to melt" hot. So I've gotten a bit stuck on what to make for dinner. One night I decided to pull whatever I wanted to eat out of the fridge and figure out a meal to make out of it. Voila! Cold Veggie Rice Bowl. It's colorful, it's yummy, and it'll make you say "Wow, I'm so super healthy!"

Ingredients:
1/2 c Cooked Rice
1/2 Bell Pepper
1/4 Small Jicama
Handful of Cherry Tomatoes (or 1 regular Tomato)
3 basil Leaves
4 Sprigs of Cilantro, just the leaves
2 Tbs Goat Cheese
Drizzle of Soy Sauce

Dressing:
Apple Cider Vinegar
Garlic Olive Oil
Salt Pepper

 1. Dice all the Veggies (Bell Pepper, Jicama, Tomato) and Herbs (Cilantro and Basil) and combine in bowl

 2. Add Oil, Vinegar, Salt and Pepper. Let sit. The longer you let it sit the more water the salt will pull out and the less soggy your bowl will be. Don't understand that? Ask your high school Bio teacher!

3. Prepare Rice according to instructions.

 4. Put rice in a bowl and add a drizzle of Soy (or Soja) sauce. Top with Veggie combo. Do not dump in the extra liquid in the bottom of the Veggies! Unless you want a soggy mess...
5. Crumble Goat cheese on top.
6. Dig in!!

Other Suggestions:
Things to add to the veggie mixture. MAY NOT BE LOW FODMAP
Cucumber, Beans (black, kidney, garbanzo), cold lentils, carrots, mushrooms, any veggie you want!

Citrus Berry Crumble for One

     SO many berries, so little time. As a result I've had quite a few go bad or soft or wrinkly. So here's an easy way to use them! I've been playing with this recipe for the last week and I think I finally like this one best.

Crumble:
Half a Lemon
Handful of Berries
Sprinkle of Sugar

Topping:
1 Tbs Coconut Oil
1 Tbs Almond Flour
1 Tbs Oats
1 tps Brown Sugar


1. Place one thin slice of lemon with skin removed in the bottom of the ramekin

2. Wash blueberries and put them in the ramukin
3. Sprinkle with sugar and mix them up

4. On a seperate plate mix Coconut oil, Almond flour, Oats and Brown Sugar until well combined

5. Crumble over blueberries

6. Top with a little sprinkle of Sugar
7. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until you see purple liquid bubbling up around the sides.

8. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes and top with any yumminess!

Stacks on Stacks of Yum, thanks to Trader Joes!

I ate 3 of these plates, so watch out!

  New treat for you guys! Trader Joes has just come out with a gluten free waffle and pancake mix, and it's actually low FODMAP! It doesn't contain any soy, which apparently is remarkable, because almost all gluten free products do. Personally I'm usually not a fan of store bought gluten free products.  By the time you've mixed together 15 different flours and powders, it doesn't taste anything like the real thing.  TJs stick to a few basic ingredients and the results are great.

   And yes, I realized that I could go to the store and buy potato flower, rice flower, oat flower, almond flower, tapioca starch and mix them all together in a specific ratio, but do I really want to do that? No. (Plus tapioca starch is like 12$ for an ounce, are you kidding me?)

All you need

    Basically, they're super delicious, although a bit cakey.  I added a 1/2c water, instead of 1/4c, as suggested to make them more like "crepes", but I think you could even do 3/4.

 Add the wet ingredients, and mix in the pancake mix. And scoop them out!

Golden Goodness

   This is what the exact amount listed on the box makes, so if you've got a couple gluten free lovers, I suggest making a few servings.

Top with any lovely summer fruit or nut butters or maple syrup or powdered sugar and gobble them up! Well actually, you may want to savor them because they're pretty good.

Nice job TJs!

Pad Thai Party

There are so many Pad Thai recipes out there, but I haven't quite found one I like, so I took the best parts of each and made my own.  And I have to say, I'm pretty proud. Also, yes, it is low FODMAP, and I've been playing around with a vegetarian/ vegan version, so that'll be all the way at the bottom.

Pad Thai Ingredients:
7 oz Pad Thai Rice Noodles
8 oz boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 small Zucchini julienne
1 large Carrot julienne
1 Tbs Ginger, minced
2 Tbs garlic infused olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil

Sauce Ingredients:
2 Tbs Peanut Butter
1 Tbs Soy Sauce (gluten free if needed)
1 Tbs red Thai curry paste (often contains some garlic & onion find a recipe for a homemade version with none here)
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp Brown Sugar
1 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar
A few drops of Fish Sauce (trust me, a little goes a long way)

Toppings:
Mung Bean Sprouts
Cilantro
Chopped Peanuts
Lime
Green Onion

Hint: Get as all as of the ingredients prepared  before you turn on the stove.  Most of the time spent on this recipe is in prep, and you don't want to overcook this, or you will end up with a mushy rice ball.

1. Heat oil in skillet.  Add Chicken.
2.  Cook noodles as the box instructs.  Remove them when they are a bit undercooked.  Run under cold water and drain.
3. Add veggies, garlic olive oil and ginger to the pan with chicken. Cook until veggies are "al dente", basically when the zucchini starts to turn neon green.
   
   My sister got me this great little tool for slicing up veggies nice and thin! (find yours here, or at any cooking store)
   
   
4. In a small bowl combine sesame oil, peanut butter, soy sauce, red curry paste, brown sugar, fish sauce and vinegar. Mix well.
5. Add noodles and sauce to pan with chicken and veggies.  Turn off heat and Mix quickly. DON'T OVER COOK THE NOODLES! (sorry, but rice noodles are super gross when they get cooked too long)
6. Scoop into a bowl and garnish as you please.

Vegetarian/ Vegan hints:
Take out the chicken and double the veggies.  Don't add the fish sauce to the sauce. It's still super delicious.

Reheating:
Heat 1 tsp sesame oil in a pan, toss in your leftovers.  Remove and garnish.  Don't use the microwave, unless you're determined to find out how gross overcooked rice noodles are.


Enjoy!!