Giuseppepaolo

Back in the day, before we thought too much about what we put in our bodies and what we fed our families. Back in the day when we were inundated with commercials boasting convenience, sophistication, new and improved and, in an ignorant (maybe?) manner.... good taste and nutrition, complete with (wait for it.....wait for it.....) THREE vitamins! We sure have come a long way in the past several decades. Especially in the most recent 10 yrs. Consumers voices and dietary needs are being heard and responded to. Which is great! But do you ever miss some of your childhood favorites? Even though you knooooow they weren't and still aren't good for you? Well guess what.... Van's Simply Delicious must've read our minds! They've just added two new whole-grain, gluten-free cereals to their already wonderful line-up, Van's has given us adults a guilt-free way to enjoy the flavors from our childhood with Blissfully Berry and Cocoa Sensation cereals. Oh sure, you can also f...

Whether you're gluten-free by choice or by necessity, I'm sure you're thankful for the progress GF products have made. Both in quality and versatility. There has never been a larger selection than there is today. Van's Simply Delicious has just widened that selection with a few more products added to their already delicious line-up. I'm talking about Van's Soft-Baked Whole Grain Granola Clusters and a variety of Van's Whole Grain Pastas Sides . And I'm here to tell you a little about them and how I used them. First...the Soft-Baked Granola.....omg...YUM! Like seriously. There are two varieties: Blueberry Walnut and Cranberry Almond. Both are equally delish and only lasted 2 days in my house. They're soft, chewy and crunchy with hints of cinnamon. I made a delicious Mixed Berry Parfait with with Blueberry Walnut granola. The next day the bag was empty. So I grabbed the unopened Cranberry Almond bag and took it to work (to guarantee that I'd get s...

Only one other time in my whooooole life have I liked something with beets. It was about a year about when I made a Quinoa and Roasted Beet Salad . I don't enjoy the earthiness of them. I love the color though. My girls love beets and it's because of them that I found this recipe. I won't proclaim to be a beet lover. But I love this particular recipe. I recently signed up to have fresh, organic produce delivered to my home...straight from local farms. It's pretty cool. I'm just giving it a test run to see how it goes. Anyway...my first delivery was the other day I got beets. I knew they were coming. I could've put them on the 'no-no' list but since my girls love them, I went ahead and let them come. In my Google search for beet recipes, I came across a Huffpost link that claimed to turn any beet hater into a lover. (They weren't kidding!) A little tweaking from the original recipe and we have here a vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free recipe. So delici...

It's almost Valentine's Day and everywhere you look, there's chocolates and candies. Which are cute and tasty but not what my girls would want to eat. I needed to come up with an alternative plan (something other than the cute little socks covered in hearts that I got them). Chocolate is always good...especially dark chocolate. Good quality chocolate. Ok, wait...let me back up a minute. Van's Natural Foods recently sent me some boxes of new snacks they've recently launched.... PB&J Sandwich Bars. Gluten-free PB&J Sandwich Bars to be exact. They're goal? To help us stick to that 'I'm going to eat healthier this year' resolution. They couldn't have come at a better time, cuz to be honest, it won't be long before summer is here (and you know what that means). If you fell off the wagon...get back on. It's ok. We won't tell. So, I got these boxes of PB&J Sandwich Bars...two flavors: blueberry and strawberry. They were really g...

This recipe wasn't originally gluten-free. To be honest, I've had this recipe long before I knew that Celiac existed. Long before I knew what "gluten" was. In fact, I've had this recipe since I first started to learn how to bake. Let me "date" myself....this recipe sheet was not printed from a computer, or copied on a photocopy machine. It was printed from a ditto machine. And yes, the ink is purple. And if you know what I'm talking about....you can probably almost smell the ink. Way back when....(think...That 70's Show) I took a cooking class in middle school as part of the home ec "wheel". And we baked Pumpkin Bread. I kept the recipe (and the quiz that's on the bottom half of the paper) all these years but had not baked it since. Although it looks like I've used it numerous times. I did bake it for Thanksgiving that year and apparently at the tender age of 12? 13? I was an extremely messing little baker. Fast forward to the p...

When my Food & Wine magazine arrived, boasting 25 vegetable dishes, my daughter was on it like bees on honey. "Mom, we should go through this magazine and make all of the recipes!" Thank God she didn't mean, all of them on the same day. I mean, I like my vegetables and all, but for some reason they're kinda high maintenance. Lots of prep work. All that washing, drying, cutting. I know...I am  can be very lazy sometimes. I try not to be. But I can't help it . This recipe does have quite a bit of prep work. Of course I did increase that a little by grilling the corn before using it. I figured since there was so much corn in these cakes, that the flavor would be a plus. Which it was. And I can say that the added step was worth it. I didn't fire up the grill or anything. I just took a gas grill grate that I bought from the hardware store and plopped it on the stove top, over the flame...and grilled away. (works great for grilling peppers and such indoors as we...

This is the second time in my adult life that beets have found their way into my kitchen. The last time these purple-ish red veggies crossed my threshold was back a few years ago when I was baking my way through Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day and I decided to give beets a break (from my childhood memory of having to gag them down) and made some beautify Red Beet Buns . Loved how they looked but hated how they tasted. Well, I was faced with them again a couple of nights ago that all started with a phone call that went something like this: me: "Hello?" caller: "Hi, this is Nicole from Whole Foods Market and I'm calling to remind you about the cooking class that you signed up for." me: "Cooking class?" (First of all I had no idea they HAD cooking classes. Second of all, I couldn't remember the last time I'd been to Whole Foods) caller: "Yes, you've signed up for our Transition to a Gluten Free Diet cooking class" me: "Ooooh...

One of my daughters has decided to go gluten-free. It's not a medical necessity. Just a choice. In respect of her choice, I am trying to find recipes for her that she will enjoy (and because gluten free breads and desserts are so expensive at the stores) Pinterest can be an amazing thing. Easy to categorize and share and search. Anyways....I saw a recipe for Gluten Free Pumpkin Bars and that's what inspired my version. Btw, if you dont have a banana and a persimmon on hand....use all pumpkin as the original recipes uses. I did it the first time I made these bars and it is amazingly good. These bars are moist and flavorful. If someone gave me one of these bars and didn't tell me, I'd have no idea that it's gluten free. Gluten Free Pumpkin, Persimmon, Banana Bars Printable Version 4 eggs, room temperature 1 1/2 cups sugar 3/4 cup vegetable oil (or a flavorless oil of your choice) 15 oz mashed very ripe banana, pureed persimmon and canned pumpkin combined (I found tha...