Cookbook Review: Gluten-Free & Vegan for the Whole Family

I received a review copy of Jennifer Katzinger's new cookbook, Gluten-Free & Vegan for the Whole Family: Nutritious Plant-Based Meals and Snacks Everyone Will Love. As I browsed through it, I bookmarked several recipes that I wanted to try.

First, Walnut Almond Milk. Making homemade nut milks is easy and, depending on the price of nuts in your area, probably cheaper than buying cartons at the store. I made a double batch and stored it in an old kombucha jug. The milk is creamy with a touch of maple sweetness, perfect to use in recipes and on your morning cereal.

I used the milk in this Quinoa Porridge. Quite a tasty breakfast. Gently sweetened quinoa is topped with fresh fruit, nuts, and coconut. As usual, quinoa didn't keep me full and I was hungry again two hours later. But that's quinoa's fault, not Katzinger's.

I made Nut Butter Energy Bars for Jackson and Olivia's breakfast and after-school snacks. They're no-bake and I wondered if they'd fall apart, but they held together quite well after spending an hour firming up in the fridge. They're chock full of healthy stuff like flax meal, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds, but sweet and craveable thanks to almond butter and maple syrup.

The nut milk also went into this Blueberry Parsley Smoothie. Katzinger is a genius to throw parsley into this recipe. She calls for a good amount, but you don't taste it at all. Parsley, typically used as a garnish in this country, is such a nutritional powerhouse! It's full of vitamins K and C.

To break in my new popsicle mold, a Mother's Day gift, I made the World's Healthiest Popsicles. I can see how they would earn that title, as they're made from avocado, spinach, blueberries, banana, cocoa, and maple syrup. That's about it. Yet they taste like fruity/chocolaty indulgence. I may or may not have let the kids have these for breakfast one morning. I noticed that all of Katzinger's dessert recipes are naturally sweetened with either maple syrup or dates. I like that.

The Kale Chips were addictively good. Olivia and I ate the whole recipe -- which uses two big bunches of kale -- in a day. The flavorful coating is made from pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, and seasonings. I love how Katzinger throws all different seeds and nuts into her recipes. Such a good nutritional profile.

Finally, the Raw Kale Salad. I wanted to keep this one all for myself! But I shared with Tony and he gave it an enthusiastic thumbs-up, as well. Big, bold flavors from shallots, avocado, red bell pepper, and an Asian-inspired dressing with ginger and sesame oil.

Overall, I love this book. Even though we're not gluten-free, I was pleased with the big flavors and the consistent theme of using whole foods and natural sweeteners. Family-themed cookbooks are interesting to me because, you know, all families are different. Who's to say my family will like what your family likes? For example, many of Katzinger's recipes called for mushrooms. Apparently her family likes them. My kids think they are Satan's fungus. But I was able to pick out many recipes my own family would enjoy, and the rest are sure to please as well, with a little twerk here and there.

I helped sell yearbooks after school this week, so Olivia got to hang out in the parents' resource room, with its little kitchen play area. 

Saltado and Sillies

A hippie coworker of Tony's passed this Ayurvedic Roast herbal coffee along to me because she found the taste too savory. I like it, and I think it does promote a chill, zen feeling.

Olivia and I made another batch of classic Glo Bars from the Oh She Glows cookbook, for weekday breakfasts. This time we subbed pecans for the hemp seeds.

For dinner I made the Seitan Saltado from Viva Vegan. Using frozen Alexia sweet potato fries saved me a little time.

Just chillin' in brother's shirt, what what?

She is super silly. 

Vegan MoFo Day 14: Ballerina

Along with Jackson playing soccer this year, Olivia has started a new combination ballet/tap class. 

Being busy and active, I want to make sure they are eating the right kinds of foods. Children their age need snacks, but I don't want them filling up on empty calories. That's why I'm thrilled to have finally found a granola bar they both love, that doesn't come from Costco or contain a bunch of unnatural ingredients: Oh She Glows' Classic Glo Bars. Unlike a lot of bar recipes we've tried, these are chewy, rather than hard or crumbly. And they're filled with healthy stuff like chia seeds and pepitas.

 Olivia's lunch. Black beans, peanut butter "quesadilla," banana and grapes.

She was so excited to attend her first class.

A little nervous in new surroundings.

But when it was all over, she was doing poses for me and didn't want to take her leotard off.

For dinner we had Falafel Tacos with Sriracha Tahini Sauce, a Pinterest find from one of my favorite cooking blogs, Keepin' It Kind. In my opinion there is no wrong way to eat falafel, so I loved this fusion-style recipe.

Also, oven-baked pickle chips. I looooove to order fried pickles at the movies, but these are slightly healthier and every bit as good!

Ready for Soccer

Jackson has had soccer fundamentals in the past, but this fall he will be playing on an actual league with games and everything. I'm not sure how I feel about him learning to be competitive, but hopefully the other parents are relaxed about it and realize these are just little kids out on the field. 

Practice doesn't start until next week, but his cleats and shin guards arrived in the mail today and he wanted to break them in. Olivia was eager to join in.

Afterwards, lunch. Carrot sticks and hummus, strawberries, sun chips, and lemonade.

We also snacked on some homemade granola bars. I am determined to find a version my kids will love. We tried Chocolate-Covered Katie's recipe. Mine turned out a little more dry and cakey than her pictures would suggest. They are good but we will have to make some other recipes and compare.

Dinner was Thai Peanut Empowered Noodle Bowl from the Oh She Glows cookbook. I topped it with wasabi sesame seeds that I found at Central Market. See those bright green little specks? They're not spicy (bummer) but they do add a slight wasabi flavor. 

Are you tired of me making stuff from this cookbook yet? Haha. Actually, I'm debating ordering Salad Samurai, so that might be the next book I binge-cook from. But for now we're sticking with OSG.

Baking Blitz

I've been doing a fair amount of baking lately. The Apple "Waldorf" Bread from 1000 Vegan Recipes is studded with walnuts, raisins, and apple slices, and goes perfectly with pumpkin butter.

 

Another way to use up extra apples would be these Apple Crisp Muffins from the Happy Herbivore cookbook. I slather a couple of warmed muffins with melted butter for a breakfast that makes waking up a little easier. 

Here are two recipes I made from Let Them Eat Vegan!  I've become a big fan of Dreena Burton's cookbooks because she uses wholesome ingredients, rarely using white flour or sugar. These Krispie Chip Cookies were a little dry, but my measurements may have been off or something.

Tony requested that I make him some breakfast bars to grab on the way to work, so I turned to Dreena's Proper Healthy Granola Bars recipe. I have made it three times now and I love how versatile it is. She calls for sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, raisins and chocolate chips, but I've found you can sub in pretty much anything. Tony really liked a version I made with peanuts, almonds, cashews, coconut and raisins.

My mom and dad sent the kids some dot markers, tons of fun for little budding artists!

Graduation Day

Jackson's off school for a few weeks before his summer session starts. Before school let out, we attended the pre-K graduation ceremony. Jackson is not in pre-K yet, but the younger children were included in the ceremony. They learned a couple of songs to sing for the graduating class.

Jackson was uncharacteristically shy about previewing the songs for us at home, so I was excited to see him sing.

OK, well, I don't know how much he actually sang. He mouthed at least some of the words, I know that much. And I know that next year, when it's Jackson's turn to march in his cap and gown (yes, they had tiny caps and gowns!) and receive his diploma, I better remember to bring my Kleenex.

Pinterest is making it really easy for me to keep track of recipes I find online and want to try. Here's one recent find -- Chewy Cherry Almond Granola Bars from Iowa Girl Eats. I subbed agave syrup for the honey, walnuts for the pecans, and chia seeds for the sesame seeds. Fantastic! I love the rich cherry almond flavor.

If you'd like to follow me on Pinterest, here I am.

I recently purchased some Groupon-type deal that offered a super-cheap subscription to Vegetarian Times. I feel such nostalgia while looking through this magazine. Years ago, when Tony and I first moved in together, I had a subscription. Up until then, I had pretty much lived on Subway and Taco Bell. Cooking seemed daunting because I didn't keep a stocked pantry. So when I would look at a recipe, I wouldn't have a single ingredient on hand.  I'd think, "I don't have enough money to buy all those things, just to make this one meal!" But little by little, I stocked my kitchen. Once a week, I would make my grocery list and go shopping. Then, each weeknight, I'd come home from my first full-time job out of college, and I would cook dinner for us. I felt like such a grown-up, haha! I swear, if it wasn't for Vegetarian Times and 30-Minute Meals, I never would have learned how to cook! 

From the June issue, I made the Za'atar and Goat Cheese Tartines, topped with tomato and arugula. I love spicy arugula!

I also made the Roasted Cauliflower with Ras El Hanout. Ras el hanout is a Moroccan spice blend. I had high hopes as I prepared the spice blend. The cauliflower smelled wonderful as it baked. But then the end result was totally bland. I don't know what happened. Oh well -- at least the tartines were winners!

Do you subscribe to any cooking magazines?

Friday Randomness

We had a busy Friday. I woke up early and did my weekly housecleaning, and then ran a couple of errands with Jackson and Olivia.

First we checked out a store by our house called Natural Grocers. I had driven past it several times and was under the impression that it was a vitamin shop. I needed to restock my B-12 supplements so I thought I would check it out. I was surprised to find that, while it is half vitamins, the other half is a well-stocked health food store. No bulk bins or deli, but the prices are low. So, it looks like I've discovered another alternative to Whole Foods when I need special ingredients I can't get at my regular supermarket. That's cool because the Whole Foods by me is laid out like a maze and I can never find anything. (Is that a white whine or what? Haha!)

We got some garlic, soy flour, Braggs, buckwheat groats (for dehydrator experimentation purposes), and vegan cheese spread.

I'd seen We Can't Say It's Cheese spreads on other food blogs, but never in stores, so I had to to pick up a tub. I love the hickory smoked flavor, and there's no funky, off-putting smell like with certain other vegan cheeses I've sampled in the past. What a nice find.

Next we made a quick stop to vote. Jackson loves going to vote because he always gets a cool sticker. He was excited about this sticker because he is really into flags right now for some reason. He points them out every time he sees one waving in the breeze.

After returning home and putting our groceries away, we made some granola bars.

I veganized this recipe from Pursuit of Healthfulness by using brown rice syrup in place of honey. Also, out of laziness, I didn't boil the wet ingredients before adding to the oats.

Yum. They have a buttery, rich flavor, but are actually pretty healthy. And I love that they contain flax meal. I keep a bag of flax meal in my freezer and add a spoonful to my oats in the morning for the omega 3's, but I am always looking for other ways to use it.

For dinner, I made two dishes from Appetite for Reduction -- 40 Clove Chickpeas and Broccoli, and Scarlet Barley.

I've made the chickpeas before, they are a favorite. Don't worry, they don't really contain 40 cloves of garlic! Just one bulb of lovely, roasted garlic goodness. Olivia loves them, too.

The Scarlet Barley is a sight to behold, isn't it? Beets are grated into the barley, dyeing it a bright purplish hue. Nature is pretty cool sometimes, giving such lovely vivid colors to the simplest of vegetables, like the beet. Be careful though -- the juice will stain!

Oh well, I guess cooking stains are the mark of a much-loved cookbook. Which AfR totally is!

Enjoy your Saturday!