Pete Bronski, founder with wife Kelli of the blog No Gluten No Problem, is an endurance athlete, friend, colleague, and co-author of our new book (May release date), The Gluten-Free Edge: A Nutrition and Training Guide for Peak Athletic Performance and an Active Gluten-Free Life. Check here for pre-order details. And when we say, an Active Gluten-Free Life, we mean everyone on the planet, not just super-heros.

After long hours (days, weeks, months) of researching, writing, rewriting, and interviewing gluten-free athletes and athletes who choose to be gluten-free, Pete is back logging long hours trail running and I’m back at Mary Jane telemark skiing. I’m also in the process of losing the 5 pounds I gained while writing and creating high-octane recipes for the book. Aahh, the irony of writing a book on sports nutrition (weight gain and a slide in fitness).

It was worth it and I’m incredibly grateful for the experience, but now I’m on a mission to revive myself. My eating habits weren’t bad while writing the book, but I sat on my bum for way too many hours and my exercise routine, active lifestyle, and yoga practice suffered. That’s not something I want to make a habit of.

I’ve found that the best way to kick-start my day and boost my energy levels is to eat a power-packed breakfast. That means a combination of high-quality carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be sharing healthy, gluten-free breakfast ideas for an active lifestyle. All will be vegetarian, nutrient-dense, and delicious.

First up: gluten-free power porridge with whole-grain oats and teff—perfect before heading out for a day of skiing or hiking (or in Pete’s case, mega-distance trail running).

But before I get to the recipe, I’d be remiss if I didn’t do a little “compare and contrast” of oats. Oats are not all the same, as fast-food, mega-giant McDonald’s demonstrated last year with the unveiling of their “Oats with the Most” fruit and maple oatmeal bowl. After reading the ingredient label and nutrition information, I’m thinking the tag line should read, “Oats with the Most additional and unnecessary low-quality, junk-food additives.”

McDonald’s Oatmeal Bowl contains the following ingredients: Oatmeal—whole grain rolled oats, brown sugar, modified food starch, salt, natural flavor (plant source), barley malt extract, caramel color; Diced Apples—apples, calcium ascorbate; Cranberry Raisin Blend—Sweetened dried cranberries (sugar, cranberries), California rasins, golden raisins, sunflower oil, sulfur dioxide as a preservative (contains sulfites); Light Cream—milk, cream, sodium phosphate, datem, sodium stearoyl lactylate, sodium citrate, carrageenan.

What the heck is datem?

I’m so glad you asked.

DATEM (directly from Wikipedia): Diacetyl Tartaric Acid Ester of Mono- and Diglycerides is an emulsifier used to strengthen dough by building a strong gluten network. It is also known as E472e and is often derived from genetically modified soya bean oil.

First off, if it’s called E472e, it’s not food (not to mention its other name). Really? We need a dough strengthener in our oatmeal?

Aside from the fact that this oatmeal is contaminated with gluten, it’s filled with a boat-load of unhealthy ingredients. Leave it to McDonald’s to completely ruin what should be a healthy breakfast.

Now, let’s take a look at the ingredient list on my bag of Montana Gluten-Free Oatmeal. Ingredients: whole grain rolled oats. Period. Wow, the oats are the ingredient. It’s the same thing with my bag of teff. Ingredients: whole grain teff. What a concept. The food is also the ingredient.

To be fair, the McDonald’s ingredient label included everything in the pre-made bowl of oatmeal. Yes it comes with the apples, cranberry raisin blend, and light cream infused into the oatmeal (don’t even ask). Unfortunately, you can’t pull through the drive-up window, order the Oatmeal Bowl and say, “Hold the E472e, the barley malt extract, the caramel color, the multiple sugars, the modified food starch, the calcium ascorbate, the sulfur dioxide, the sodium stearoyl lactylate, sodium citrate, and the carrageenan.”

To insure that my “compare and contrast” playing field is level, I’ll include the same detailed nutrition information on my porridge at the end of the recipe.

Gluten-free oatmeal and teff power porridge
(photo above–Montana GF Processor’s raw oats and Bob’s Red Mill raw teff)
what you need
1 and 1/4 cup water
dash of salt
1/2 cup certified gluten-free whole grain rolled oats
2 tablespoons whole grain teff
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 small apple, cored and chopped
1 tablespoon raisins (or a mix of raisins and dried cranberries)
honey or maple syrup (to make it vegan, used maple syrup)
coconut milk or other milk

what you do
1. Bring water and salt to a boil.
2. Slowly add oats and teff, stir well, and turn heat to low. Add vanilla, cinnamon, apples, raisins, and cranberries (if using).
3. Cook on low for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat when liquid is absorbed and serve with a drizzle of honey (or maple syrup) and milk of choice. I like light coconut milk with it, but any nut milk will do.

PER SERVING (Oatmeal Teff Porridge): 3.2 g fat; 78 g carbohydrate; 11 g protein; 10 g fiber
Nutrition Bonus: excellent source of iron

PER SERVING (McDonald’s Oatmeal): 4.5 g fat; 57 g carbohydrate; 5 g protein; 5 g fiber
Nutrition Time Bomb: additives, preservatives, dyes

Note: Some people with gluten intolerance have an immune response to oats, even certified gluten-free oats. If you choose to try oats, start slowly (1/3 cup) to see if you react. Oats also contain a lot of fiber, which is a good thing, but may cause gastrointestinal stress if you’re not used to it. Check with your healthcare provider if you’re unsure about adding oats to your diet.

Peace, love, and power porridge. Stay tuned for more healthy breakfast ideas for an active gluten-free life!

Melissa

It’s Valentine’s Day and I’m guessing you were expecting dark chocolate, candy hearts, and frilly cupcakes—not shiitake mushrooms, leeks, and spinach. I’m compelled to skip the sugar-laden Valentine goodies this year and go the medicinal mushroom route instead. It seems half the people I know are sniffling, sneezing, and coughing and although it’s hard to avoid being exposed, nourishing food gives your body the ammunition it needs to stay healthy in the midst of cold and flu season.

You want to be able to share the LOVE, not the flu cooties, right? That takes a powerful immune system. Shiitake mushrooms will help you boost your endurance in that department. I’m lucky to have a local source in Hazel Dell’s fresh organic mushrooms.

Shiitake mushrooms have a long and colorful history as cold and flu fighters. They’re a symbol of longevity in Asian cultures and there’s research to back up the claim. What is interesting about these mushrooms is the unique way they work in contrast. Let thy food be thy medicine. These little gems stimulate the immune system in a magical way, enhancing the beneficial aspects of immunity while suppressing the negative aspects. Perfect for those of us with misdirected immunity (think celiac disease).

Having said all that, I’m not a fan of the texture of mushrooms, but love the taste. I don’t like slimy foods like mushrooms or oysters. I can watch open heart surgery up close and personal, but can’t tolerate a runny nose. Mushrooms are plant boogers and they give me the willies. So, in order to take advantage of the medicinal attributes and wonderful earthy flavor of shiitake mushrooms, I cook them up and blend them with broth and a small amount of organic tomato sauce to make the most divine soup base you can imagine. I use this base for all kinds of soups and stews. It’s a cooking/health trick worth adding to your arsenal of radiant living tips.

Immune boosting shiitake mushroom soup

What you need (see fresh ingredients above)
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, washed and chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 eight-ounce can organic tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 leek, sliced in rounds (into the green section)
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 celery stalks, about 1 cup chopped (leaves included)
2 carrots, about 1 cup chopped
1 tomato, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon Simply Organic All-Purpose Seasoning
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh spinach, chopped
1 cup cooked chicken (option)

* Note that the total amount of broth should be 8 cups. You can substitute vegetable broth to make this a vegetarian soup.

What you do
1. Place chopped mushrooms in a medium saucepan. Add 2 cups chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat when finished cooking so it can cool slightly.
2. While mushrooms are cooking, heat the olive oil in a large soup pot on low-medium. Add leeks and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often.
3. Add 4 cups broth to large soup pot with the leeks and garlic mixture. Add celery, carrots, chopped tomato, chicken if using, and seasonings. Turn heat to low.
4. In the meantime, pour mushroom and chicken broth mixture into a blender. Be careful—hot liquids can blow the top off your blender. Let the mixture cool before blending. Add the tomato sauce and 2 cups of room-temperature chicken broth to the blender. Blend all ingredients until smooth. Pour into stock pot.
5. Simmer soup over low heat until vegetables are cooked, but still crisp (about 1 to 2 hours).
6. Add a handful of fresh, raw spinach to the bottom of a large soup mug or bowl. Ladle soup over spinach and give it a stir. The heat of the soup will wilt the spinach to perfection without overcooking it.

Options: add cooked brown rice, quinoa, or Tinkyada brown rice noodles.

For sweet treats to go with your immune boosting soup, check out these recipes.

Double chocolate, double walnut, double heart cookies from Gluten Free Easily
Mexican chocolate brownies from The Book of Yum
Chocolate souffle from Celiacs in the House
How to choose gluten-free chocolate for baking (part 1) from No Gluten No Problem
Pecan and chocolate pie from The WHOLE Gang
Chocolate fondue from Cook It Allergy Free
No bake cookies and creme cheesecakes from Simply Gluten-Free

Peace, joy, and immune-boosting love!
Melissa

I’ve been detained for the past several weeks. In fact, I almost forgot I had a blog. If it hadn’t been for the occasional spam updates, this blogging thing might have completely slipped my mind. My absence has been for good reason though. I’m involved in an exciting book writing project with friend, colleague, writing guru, endurance athlete, and fellow blogger Pete Bronski from No Gluten No Problem. Although it’s been a wild ride (sprinting a marathon as Pete says), I’m grateful and thrilled to be involved. We’ll keep you posted.

And now — back to blogging.

Have you ever wondered if you’re getting a hit of iron when you cook in a cast iron skillet and then eat the food? Doesn’t that sound like more fun than buying and taking iron supplements?

I’m not suggesting giving up your iron supplements if you’re truly deficient, but why not let some of that free iron migrate from the pan to your red blood cells? A 2007 study published in the Ecology of Food and Nutrition Journal found that iron nutrition status among vegetarians can be improved by using cast iron skillets in meal preparation. The iron transferred from the skillet to the food and was absorbed by the subjects. The use of cast iron pans decreased the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in the population studied.

That’s great if you’re absorbing your iron to begin with. People with unmanaged, undiagnosed (or newly diagnosed) gluten intolerance are often iron deficient. The area of the small intestine where iron is absorbed can become inflamed and damaged, so even if you’re eating a healthy diet you might not be absorbing or assimilating the nutrients.

You’ve heard the old saying, you are what you eat.

Uh, well, not always.

It’s more like, you are what you’re able to digest (breakdown), absorb into circulation, and ship out to your anxiously-awaiting cells. If you aren’t absorbing your iron, you should find out why. If you don’t get enough iron in your diet, which can be the case with vegetarians, cooking with cast iron will boost your intake.

I have a small cast iron skillet from my grandmother that I use on a regular basis. It’s my personal breakfast skillet. I roast veggies in it and top the mixture with a poached egg or two. It makes for a delicious, iron-rich meal. It also makes for quick cleanup since I’m cooking and eating out of the same pan.

Heavy Metal Skillet Breakfast

Broccoli stalks (amazingly good roasted)
Cauliflower
Onions
Tomatoes
Spinach
Pastured eggs
Simply Organic All-Purpose Seasoning
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease skillet. Trim broccoli stalks by getting rid of the funky stuff on the outside. Cut in 1-inch wide by 2- to 3-inch long chunks (see photo). Cut cauliflower chunks in half. Cut onions in 2- to 3-inch chunks. The vegetable pieces should be cut to similar sizes so they roast evenly.

Place vegetables in a small bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil. Add some Simply Organic All-Purpose Seasoning (my absolute favorite multi-purpose seasoning), sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to cover vegetables. Put the broccoli chunks, cauliflower, and onions in the skillet and place on center rack of oven. Set timer for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, add the tomatoes and spinach, stirring to blend the newly added vegetables with the others. Roast for another 10 minutes.

In the meantime, poach two eggs. Once the vegetables are roasted, top with the eggs and enjoy.

Note: Broccoli stalks are awesome roasted. Don’t throw them away. They taste tender and slightly sweet when roasted. They’re delicious!

You might also like:
Carol’s version of Eggs Florentine baked in a cast iron skillet (from the wonderful blog Simply Gluten Free).

Peace, love, and cast iron.
Melissa

* Update: I’m happy to hear your comments, but the contest deadline is over and the winners will be announced soon! Thanks everyone. I appreciate the massive turnout!

I’m unfurling my Home For The Holidays banner and joining the wild party over at Gluten Free Easily. Shirley (founder of GFE) has organized this amazing holiday blogging event which started November 28th and will run through December 23rd. Close to 90 prizes will be given away during the celebration—at least 3 each day. The grand prize at the end will be a VitaMix professional blender 5200 lifestyle package! Yes, you read that right. A high end VitaMix professional blender. Included with that is a 32 ounce dry grains container so you can grind your own gluten-free flours. Wouldn’t you love to win that?!

I thought so.

Please join me, Shirley, and 23 other gluten-free bloggers as we share recipes that mean both home and holidays to us. You know the kind. One whiff as you open the front door, one bite, one sip, one hug, and you know you’re home. Food is such an important part of the holiday spirit and switching to gluten-free can throw a wrench in your holiday plans. It doesn’t have to be that way. We want to share our traditions with you and how we’ve adapted them to be gluten-free. We also want to hear what your favorites are.

Here’s the deal. Each day, with each new blogger, you will have an opportunity to win a prize, so follow along closely. There’s a short window of time (only 48 hours) to win the prize, so act fast and comment often. Check out Shirley’s post here for all the details you need to stay on track. Each time you comment, you are entered to win the daily prize at that blog and you’re also entered to win the grand prize. If you don’t win the VitaMix, you might win the 2nd grand prize, which is a $150 spending spree from Free From Gluten, your one-stop online shopping center for all things gluten-free, or the 3rd prize, a Caveman Cookies giveaway package worth $89.

Today’s prizes are one copy of Artisanal Gluten Free Cooking by Kelli and Peter Bronski, founders of the blog No Gluten No Problem and 2 copies of Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis. Although Pete is a friend and colleague, Artisanal GF is hands-down one of my favorite cookbooks (GF or not). It’s filled with delicious recipes made from scratch. It’s also sprinkled with entertaining tidbits about living gluten-free. You’ll love it. Wheat Belly is a GF book of a different kind. Dr. Davis is a cardiologist who believes wheat is one of the main factors in the dramatic rise in obesity and disease. For details, check out this interview I did with Dr. Davis and my review of Wheat Belly. The book is definitely worth reading.

To be entered to win, leave a comment on this blog post. If you’d like to be entered more than once, “Like” Gluten-Free For Good on Facebook and comment separately HERE letting me know you did that. You can also Follow Me on Twitter and comment separately HERE letting me know you did that. Don’t leave one comment summarizing everything, comment each time. That way you have more chances to win one of today’s prizes and also more chances to win the grand prize. And remember, make it fast as you only have 48 hours to win. The contest on this blog will close at midnight on Wednesday, December 7th.

Sound good?

Okay, back to the food.

Red chile enchiladas are a holiday tradition at our house. Stacked, rolled, or made into a casserole, these enchiladas are an all-time favorite. During the holidays our house is brimming with family, friends, laughter, warmth, great smells, and lots of love. Back when I lived in Taos Ski Valley, NM and my days were filled with work at the Hotel St. Bernard and skiing every day, I made my red chile from local dried chile pods. Now, 4 kids and various additions to the family later, I use frozen Bueno Red Chile puree. It’s still from New Mexico, still pure and simple (no additives, preservatives, etc.), still packed with vitamin A, but WAY easier than starting from scratch. See photo above, that’s starting from scratch. This is more of a “launching pad” recipe. Adjust it to your liking by topping the final meal with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, scallions, black olives or sour cream. We like the individual stacked enchiladas topped with a poached egg. When I make it as a casserole, I skip the eggs.

Festive Red Chile Enchiladas (Casserole Style)
2 tablespoons olive oil, extra for frying the corn tortillas
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons brown rice flour or another mild GF flour
2 14-ounce containers of Bueno Red Chile Puree or Bueno Special Reserve Puree, thawed *
2 14-ounce containers of water, added slowly to make sure you have the consistency you like *
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon salt
12 corn tortillas, make sure they are gluten-free
1 to 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken or turkey
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Heat oil in medium-sized stock pot over medium heat.
2. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, for about 6 to 8 minutes or until onions are soft.
3. Add flour and whisk well, making a roux. Whisk for about 2 minutes until well blended.
4. Add red chile and water, whisking to eliminate lumps.
5. Add Mexican oregano and salt, bring mixture to a low simmer and cook uncovered for about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
6. Heat extra oil over medium heat in a small skillet. Quickly fry one tortilla at a time in hot oil. Drain on paper towels.
7. Put a small amount of red chile in a large shallow casserole dish to lightly coat the bottom. Alternately layer fried tortillas dipped in heated red chile sauce, shredded cooked chicken or turkey, and cheese until all ingredients are used. Drizzle with more red chile and top with cheese.
8. Bake uncovered in preheated 350 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes until cheese is melted and lightly browned on top.

* I like using 1 hot and 1 mild container of Bueno red chile. That makes for a spicy blend, but not overwhelmingly hot.
* Mixture should have a gravy-like consistency. Adjust so it’s not too watery or too thick. If it’s too watery, let it cook longer; too thick, slowly add more water.

Check here for yesterday’s Home For The Holiday’s post by one of my favorite bloggers, Maggie at She Let Them Eat Cake. No cake this time, but she came up with some amazing candy cane ice cream, dairy-free no less! And don’t forget to check out Kim’s addition tomorrow over at Cook It Allergy Free. She’s another one of my favorite allergy friendly bloggers.

Remember, share the love and leave your comments HERE. You might win one of these books, or you might win the grand prize. Oh, I’m so envious.

Peace, love, and happy holidays!
Melissa

I’m a bit of an odd duck.

I ate these roasted Brussels sprouts and cipollini onions over a mix of creamy sweet brown rice and oats—for breakfast this morning. Yes, for breakfast. And trust me, it was off-the-charts delicious.

Monday is my organic food delivery day. I belong to Grant Family Farms CSA and I’m the grateful recipient of 26 week’s worth of organic veggies, fruit and pastured eggs. I’ve been a member of Grant Farm’s CSA program for 5 years now and I’ve gotten very good at using up my bounty. BUT, it’s not easy unless you shift your thinking and eat vegetables for breakfast as well as lunch and dinner. I’m more than happy to do that as I’m a plant girl at heart.

If you prefer keeping Brussels sprouts at arm’s length, try them for breakfast. They’re ridiculously healthy and taste wonderful if you cook them right. Here’s how. Adjust ingredient amounts according to how much you want to make. The above photo was a single portion made in my grandmother’s small, cast iron skillet. Okay, it might have been a double portion, but I made it a single serving.

Cipollini (pronounced chip-oh-lee-nee) onions are small, mild and very sweet. Perfect for breakfast. The pinch of brown sugar and the natural sweetness of the onions carmelizes and sweetens the Brussels sprouts. They’re a delightful pair.

roasted Brussels sprouts and cipollini onions

10–12 Brussels sprouts
2–4 cipollini onions
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus a drizzle for the skillet
fresh ground black pepper
sea salt
brown sugar

Wash and trim Brussels sprouts, cut in half. Peel onions and cut in quarters. Place sprouts and onions in a small bowl. Add olive oil and mix well. Grind pepper over bowl (several grinds), sprinkle with salt (I like a good amount) and brown sugar (about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon). Mix well. Pour veggies into lightly oiled cast iron skillet and place on center rack of pre-heated 400 degree oven. Roast for 20 minutes. Pull skillet out of the oven and mix veggies to insure all sides get roasted. I usually add another pinch or two of sea salt, another grind of pepper and a pinch of brown sugar. Place back in the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown.

Eat before 6 AM and fly through your morning.

Peace, love and breakfast veggies!
Melissa

Update: The winner of a package of this awesome bread mix is Sherri. Lucky girl!

Who loves the golden-brown, crusty edges of a freshly baked loaf of bread?

That would be me.

Who prefers the soft, warm, sweet smelling center?

That part is good, but nothing like the crumbly texture and delicate taste of the crust.

Which do you crave? The crust or center? I’m curious, so let’s take a vote.

Leave your answer in the comment section below. You might be the lucky winner of a package of Montana Gluten-Free PrOatina Toasted Oat Bread Mix. There’s no right or wrong answer, although people do seem to have a definite preference for one or the other. I have a serious weakness for the crust, but I know others who are hopelessly addicted to the center. The winner will be randomly chosen by my 5 year old neighbor. It’s worth a comment; this bread is awesome.

Before I launch into this post, I have a disclosure to make. While I love my Montana Gluten-Free farmer friends, I don’t get paid to say nice things about them. I order my toasted oat bread mix online (check here) and pay full price like everyone else. The package I’ll be sending the winner was part of my recently purchased half-case of bread mix. My intention is simply to support the farmers who are doing it right. We get to vote with our forks (or bread pans in this case) and I vote for healthy, sustainable, gluten-free food choices. This is literally a “grass roots” movement and the more we know about what’s in our food supply and where it comes from, the better off we are.

Yes, I love this bread. Yes, I love these farmers. But here’s the deal. I have to be mindful about how much bread I eat. Baked goods are an occasional treat, so if I’m going to eat bread, I don’t want to waste my time, money, or my calories on the low grade stuff. Aside from being the best loaf of gluten-free (or not gluten-free) bread EVER, this toasted oat flour is a good source of protein and fiber and even contains some calcium and iron.

And here’s the kicker about the crust, which is absolutely divine on this bread. Check out that photo above. I made this loaf yesterday. Does that crust look incredible or what? My weakness is the end piece—still warm from the oven, slathered with real butter. Enough so that it drips down my chin with the first bite. Slurp.

Excuse me. I need to do a taste test. I’ll be back shortly. I have to make sure I’m not exaggerating. You know, for the sake of accurate reporting.

Okay, just as I thought. No exaggeration. It’s that good.

Back to the science behind the crust. I’m not sure how this translates to gluten-free oat bread, but a group of researchers in Germany found that the crust of a conventional bread mixture contained a unique, crust-only antioxidant that didn’t exist in the original flour. This health-promoting compound was eight times more abundant in the crust than in the rest of the bread. Pronyl-lysine is the high-powered antioxidant. It magically appears during the baking process. Magically as in a chemical reaction between certain amino acids and sugar in the presence of heat. A Maillard style love affair. An auspicious pairing that several studies have found increases the level of specific enzymes that are protective against cancer. How cool is that? Cancer fighting bread crust!

Luckily I’m already smitten with the crust. No need to force myself to increase my pronyl-lysine intake.

So, what is it? Crust or center? Be honest. Leave your answer below. Who knows? You might be eating your own loaf of this bread soon.

Peace, love and toasted oat bread crusts!
Melissa
Cook’s Notes: I made the above loaf in the oven. No kneading necessary. This is my favorite way to make this bread. It’s easy and not terribly time-consuming. The crust comes out perfect. I’ve also made it in my old bread machine, which does NOT have a GF setting. GF bread doesn’t need to be kneaded and I can’t avoid that setting on my old machine, so it goes through the kneading cycle. The bread still comes out tasting great, it just doesn’t have this beautiful crust on it. My advice–make it in the oven or in a bread machine with a no knead setting. No matter how you do it, it’s a dynamite loaf of bread.

I have a thing for farm-fresh food.

I was in San Diego last weekend, attending the Celiac Sprue Association’s national conference. These conferences usually feature one or two celiac rock stars from the medical community. This year was no different as Dr. Peter Green from Columbia University was the keynote speaker. Yes, he’s brilliant, charming, knows his way around intestinal micro-villi, and is one of the top celiac researchers in the world. Plus, he has an Australian accent. Total swoon-potential, if you’re into that kind of thing.

Me?

I’m into farmers.

No disrespect to the docs, but it’s the farmers who rock my world. Good nutrition is about good agriculture. Our health and the health of the environment depends on what happens out in the field. It’s all linked. We can talk about medical advances, pathology, and pharmaceuticals until the cows come home (sticking with my farm theme), but it’s the quality of the food we eat that holds the promise to better health.

While in San Diego, I reconnected with some farmer friends (I admit, I’m an ag groupie) from Montana and bought some Toasted Oat Bread Mix to experiment with. Yesterday I baked a loaf of whole grain, toasted oat bread and, I’m not kidding, the smell drifting from my kitchen window was intoxicating. The UPS guy asked me to marry him.

I used pastured eggs from Grant Family Farms, the toasted oat mix from the Montana farmers, and local Madhava honey to make the bread. Once cooled, I used fresh, organic pears from my Grant Farms fruit share and smoked gouda cheese. I ended up with the most amazing grilled cheese sandwich ever. In fact, this is the best loaf of bread I’ve ever made and that includes the whole wheat bread (little did I know) I made from scratch back in my hippie-girl days.

gluten-free grilled cheese sandwich (gourmet comfort food)
2 slices toasted oat bread (I made the mix in my breadmaker)
sliced pear (not-quite-ripe is best)
thin slices of smoked gouda cheese
butter

Melt butter in a sauté pan on low-medium heat. Make sure it doesn’t burn. Assemble sandwich and grill in sizzling butter on both sides. You might have to put a lid (askew so it doesn’t get moist) on the pan to fully melt the cheese. Sniff, slice and drool.

Other gluten-free grilled cheese ideas—
• Peaches, raw cheddar, thinly sliced almonds
• Goat cheese, figs, sliced pears
• Roasted green chiles, tomatoes, colby cheese

For more on Montana Gluten-Free Products, check here.

For more information on oats and to be included in a focus group on oats, please read on.

If you have celiac disease and are unsure about adding oats to your diet, take part in the nationwide focus group on oats (check with your doctor first to make sure this is appropriate for you). Click here for details. If you fit the criteria, you’ll get a free (yes, free) bag of Montana GF PrOatina oats to try. Deb from the blog NotEvenACrumb has joined forces with the Montana farmers to help conduct a survey determining the gluten-free community’s tolerance to PrOatina, the farmers’ trademark oat product. I have no problem with oats and, as a nutritionist, feel they are a wonderful addition to the gluten-free diet. If you want to experiment with GF oats, start slowly so you don’t confuse too much fiber with a sensitivity to the oats. Montana GF products are certified gluten-free and processed in a dedicated facility. Their products are also free of dairy, corn, soy, nuts, and are GMO-free. Check here for details.

Disclosure: I’m thankful for farmers and appreciate and respect their hard work. I like knowing where my food comes from and I support the farmers who are doing it right. This is about passion and the future of our food supply, it’s not about money. I get nothing if you click any of these links, not even a free pear or a loaf of bread. This is not about that, it’s about supporting the people who are growing our food. We need to do that. They deserve it.

If you want to try a loaf of toasted oat bread, you can get the mix here. This is my new favorite bread mix. It’s wonderful. Seriously. Go, try it now and be prepared to be flirted with if your windows are open.

Peace, love and grilled cheese sandwiches on toasted oat bread. What’s your favorite?
Melissa

I have a new favorite pizza topping. Actually, two new favorites, although one of them is hard to come by. Remember the quinoa greens? This is a pizza I made with quinoa greens, scallions (my new favorite pizza topping), garlic and tomatoes. If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you’ll know I like thin crust, gluten-free pizza, but I like it with fresh, wholesome vegetables and I don’t like tomato sauce.

The thinner the crust, the better. Less “bready” calories and I like the crunchy texture of cracker-thin crusts. But you must try pizza with scallions cut the long way and spread out on the crust. They’re over-the-top delicious. Seriously good. The quinoa greens are wonderful as well, but after two deliveries to my local organic market, they’ve disappeared.

Half of the ingredients in these before photos came from my Grant Family Farms CSA veggie share. I’ve been getting the most amazing organic scallions, broccoli, spinach, beets and fresh garlic lately (along with a lot of other nutrient-dense goodies). I used Udi’s Gluten-Free Pizza Crusts, brushed them lightly with olive oil and spread a bunch of chopped garlic over that. Organic, farm-fresh garlic is incredible, especially topped with fresh, sliced tomatoes. I washed the scallions, trimmed the ends (but left them fairly long) and then sliced them the long way. After spreading them over the crust, I topped that with the quinoa greens and a light sprinkling of raw cheddar cheese. I did exactly the same preparation with the other pizza crust (olive oil and fresh garlic), but topped it with broccoli, spinach, beet greens and a sprinkling of cheese.

I baked them in a 375 degree oven for about 12 minutes. Divine!

You might also like some of my other strange pizza combinations.
radicchio and squash pizza (with some extras)
beet pizza, red chile enchilada pizza, BBQ chicken and onion ring pizza, etc.

Or, great ideas from other gluten-free bloggers
flourless pizza with pears, candied bacon and caramelized onions at Simply Gluten Free
To learn to make your own crust, check out Gluten Free Girl (and the chef) for directions and a video

Peace, love and scallions on pizza!
Melissa
P.S. Do you call them scallions or green onions?

This post has been updated with the answer to the mystery greens question. See below.

This is an impromptu blog post that just might morph into a contest. It started on my Gluten Free For Good Facebook page and has taken a sudden hairpin turn directly onto my blog.

I made a pizza yesterday with these mystery greens and decided to post a photo on Facebook and ask people what they were. Innocent enough, right? Well, just asking the question brought a stream of comments.

Dandelion greens?

Nope.

Lamb’s quarters?

Ummm, no. But, what are lamb’s quarters and why are they named that? Very interesting. And a bit strange.

Radish tops?

No, but good guess.

Watercress?

Not sure what watercress looks like, but this isn’t it.

If you want to see the growing list of guesses, go here and check out the thread. You might even want to click “Like” while you’re there. I post lots of good information on Facebook that you won’t find here.

Back to the greens. The photo was taken at the spur of the moment while I was washing the greens. Not exactly award-winning photography, but you get a good look at the plant. It’s pretty, isn’t it?

Now, what is it?

The first person to correctly name this plant will either win a virtual high-five, a blow-kiss or a real prize. What that prize will be (if indeed there is one) is unknown at this moment. Like I said, this post spontaneously materialized from Facebook. If you know what the greens are and you know how lamb’s quarters got their name, you just might win a high-five, plus a blow-kiss. Or, maybe two real prizes. Or, maybe two people will each win one prize. I haven’t put a lot of thought into this, but go for it anyway.

Peace, love and leave your guess in the comment section below. You might win something for real. Unless you live in another country, then you default to the virtual high-five.
Melissa
P.S. You get a blow-kiss just for participating.

UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE: After lots of good guesses, Nadya won the contest. She not only identified the greens on my Gluten Free For Good Facebook page, she also weighed in with all kinds of wonderful information about plants and health. Thank you, Nadya. For her efforts she won a copy of Elana Amsterdam’s wonderful new gluten free cupcake cookbook. Check Elana’s Pantry for more gluten-free goodness. Congratulations, Nadya!

To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art. – Duc Fransois de La Rochefoucauld

Duc Fransois de La Rochedfoucauld, aka Prince de Marcillac, was a writer of mildly cynical and somewhat pithy maxims. He was born in Paris in 1613, hung around the royal court and spent most of his time making snippy comments about what he saw as the disturbing state of human affairs. Considered an intellectual harbinger of the Enlightenment – I imagine him as a 17th century Dennis Miller with an over-the-top, hoity-toity name. Much more uppity and not as funny as Dennis, but concise, satirical and witty nonetheless.

While I don’t always eat intelligently, I like this general maxim. It’s a good reminder and is there a better way to eat intelligently than to choose nutrient-dense, vibrant, unprocessed, living plants? Like the ones featured above. Look at the colors. You can literally see the phytonutrients, enzymes, vitamins, minerals and chlorophyll.

Okay, maybe seeing vitamins and enzymes is a stretch, but you can guess by looking at these greens that they’re full of nourishing goodness. Plus, they’re low in calories and alkalizing to the body. This is perfect food.

Now compare that to a donut or a plastic-wrapped sweet-roll from a gas station vending machine.

Which one is the artfully intelligent choice?

This photo is of the 3 cups of mixed greens I used to make power smoothies this morning, wonder woman and super man food. It’s a smart way to start the day, even if it doesn’t match up with the new USDA MyPlate thing the government designed to help us figure out how to feed ourselves?

Really?

We’ve “evolved” to the point that we need a plate icon with food on it to show us what to eat?

I’ll bite my tongue, keep my snippy, food irony comments to myself and offer you a power greens guide to ease your transition into the world of nutrient-dense green food.

Power Greens Flavor & Nutrition Guide
This is the abridged version. If I included every green I could think of and all the nutrient goodness, this post would be a mile long. What’s your favorite power green and how do you like to serve it? Add it to the list in the comment section.

Swiss chard
Chard has a slightly bitter taste, so when I use it raw in smoothies I add something sweet like a Fuji apple to counterbalance the bitterness. It also has a very salty taste to me when pulverized in my VitaMix, so I like cinnamon mixed in. One cup of chard is off-the-charts high in vitamin K, A and C, along with a host of other botanical wonders. All for a measly 35 calories.

Spinach
Spinach is mild, slightly bitter and versatile. It’s a good power green to add to kid-friendly smoothies as it’s fairly easy to hide if you add a pear or ripe banana and a little goat yogurt into the mix. Speaking of vitamins K and A, one cup of spinach has 1110% (K) and 377% (A) of the recommended daily values. Add in the high concentration of folate, iron, vitamin C, potassium, etc. and there’s a lot of bang for your 41-calorie-buck in a cup of spinach.

Kale
Kale is a little confusing. It has a mildly bitter taste, but it can also taste slightly sweet. It’s hearty (and hardy) and full of volume, if that makes sense. The power green nutrition profiles just keep getting better. One 36-calorie cup of kale gives you almost 200% of the daily value of vitamin A, close to 100% of vitamin C and a whopping 1328% of vitamin K. It even contains a jolt of omega 3 fatty acids.

Mustard Greens
Swiss chard tastes salty and mustard greens have a strong, peppery taste. If you use these in a smoothie, mix a small amount in with some lighter greens like romaine lettuce or spinach. Warning: don’t use raw arugula and mustard greens together! Whoa, that makes for an intense smoothie with a peppery kick. You get the idea on the nutrition part. Most leafy greens are ridiculously high in all kinds of powerful nutrients and mustard greens are no exception.

Turnip Greens
I’ll admit, not my favorite. Especially raw, turnip greens have a intense and bitter taste. They’re very high in plant-based calcium, which may account for the bitter bite. Only 26 calories per cup, they’re worth adding to your arsenal of power greens, but go easy on them and mix them in with some milder vegetables and sweeter fruits to mask the bitterness. Turnip greens are great sautéed lightly in a little broth.

Collard Greens
Aside from the “rubber glove” texture of collard greens, I like these greens for their mild and somewhat smoky flavor. They’re absolutely wonderful blanched quickly, cooled, dried and used as a wrap for chicken salad. You can also add some chopped collard greens to smoothies, but do it in small doses to see how you like them.

Romaine Lettuce
Mild, crisp and somewhat sweet. I love Romaine. This is a perfect “beginner” green and blends in well with other veggies and fruit for a nice mellow smoothie. It’s perfect raw, but I’ve also lightly sautéed lettuce before and it tastes great. Romaine is the low calorie winner at 15 calories for 2 cups and while it’s not the power-house that kale or Swiss chard is, it’s a rich source of plant nutrients.

Arugula
Arugula, also called rocket or Italian cress, is a touch spicy with a hint of mustard. It’s best mixed in with some milder greens for a salad as it tastes bitter by itself. It can also be used in small doses in smoothies and is wonderful sautéed or thrown into a soup at the last minute. I like it on pizza with olives and sliced tomatoes. Like the rest of these greens, arugula is very low in calories, high in antioxidants, is low glycemic, anti-inflammatory and even has a little protein, calcium and iron.

Tatsoi
Tatsoi is part of the bok choy family and although it’s slightly bitter (not bad), it’s excellent in a tossed salad, lightly sautéed or as part of a green smoothie mix. Because of it’s dark green leaves, like the rest of these, it’s rich in antioxidants and is even a good source of calcium and iron. Sauté it with some onions and garlic and serve it with brown rice. It makes for a wonderful “Buddha bowl.”

Frisée
Frisée is that curly, lighter green lettuce that is often added to mixed salad greens. It’s not as hardy as kale, spinach and the other more intense greens. It will even wilt if you put vinegar on it, so wait until the last minute to dress your salads if frisée is part of the mix. It has a mild, very slight peppery taste with a nutty hint to it. It pairs well with bananas and berries in a smoothie (I’m sounding like a leaf sommelier). For a delicious summer salad, try a bed of frisée topped with roasted and sliced beets, pecans, crumbled goat cheese and a drizzle of vinaigrette. Divine.

Here’s a great resource for greens and herbs, complete with pictures so you’ll know which green is which.

You might also like
Green Lemonade from Elana’s Pantry
Spicy Kale Salad with tomatoes and chiles from Tasty Eats At Home
Raw Super Green Salad from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen

Peace, love and power greens!
Melissa