Tag: gluten free

Instant Meals In A Jar: Italian Beef
Clean Living · Prepping · Recipes

Instant Meals In A Jar: Italian Beef

Sarah

It has been a while since I did “instant meals in a jar.”With it being winter, it’s a perfect time for it.

A high-protein/lower-carb recipe, made to take on the go for an “instant” meal or to pack away for long-term storage. It works great in power outages or winter storms.

Italian Beef

Ingredients:

Directions:

Pack ingredients in a pint mason jar or a “MRE” style mylar bag. For longer-term storage, add a desiccant or oxygen absorber and seal. (Discard the packet before cooking.)

To prepare:

Add 1 cup of boiled water, seal, and sit for 15 minutes. Stir well. If it is cold where you are, insulate the jar/bag with a clean kitchen towel.

It can be prepared in a small pot. Bring water to a boil, add dry ingredients, cover tightly, and remove from burner.

Add a pinch of sea salt if desired.

Serves 1.

~Sarah

Handcrafted Condensed Cream Of Mushroom Soup
Bioengineered Foods · Clean Living · Recipes

Handcrafted Condensed Cream Of Mushroom Soup

Sarah

Thanksgiving and Christmas are troubling holidays—not for what most might think of. For me, it is the food. Every corner of the grocery store is a minefield of highly preserved “food” that most of America serves without blinking. Canned cream of mushroom soup is easy to grab. Just scrape out the can, add a can worth of milk, and in a few minutes, you have green bean casserole ready for the holiday oven.

But what is in that can? There are many ingredients we could avoid. Cheap GMO/BE seed oils, soy protein concentrate, MSG, and yeast. For me, yeast (think nutritional yeast) often causes me to get a niacin flush across my face. It is why I cannot use many ready-to-use chicken broths. I don’t enjoy flushing, for sure.

Ingredients (Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup, 10.5-ounce can)
Water, Mushrooms, Vegetable Oil (Corn, Canola, And/Or Soybean), Modified Cornstarch, Wheat Flour, Salt, Cream, Whey, Soy Protein Concentrate, Monosodium Glutamate, Yeast Extract, Dried Garlic, Natural Flavoring.

The thing is, we can replicate that added MSG with fresh mushrooms, giving the savory flavor – but naturally. Instead of a few tiny dice of mystery black fungi, this soup is full of tasty bits! Enjoy it. And no protein concentrates needed, nor wanted.

If you need dairy-free, use your favorite unsweetened and unflavored non-dairy milk. I wouldn’t suggest coconut though, as it tends to be naturally sweet.

Handcrafted Condensed Cream Of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 8 ounces button mushrooms, chopped finely
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot powder
  • 1 tsp low sodium vegetable bouillon powder*
  • ¼ tsp fine sea salt and ground black pepper

Directions:

In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the oil over medium. Add the mushrooms and saute, stirring often, until they are fully cooked and have let out all their moisture.

Add in the milk, cornstarch, broth powder, salt, and pepper, mixing well with a whisk.

Continue whisking as it thickens – it will become very thick.

Take off the stove, transfer to a storage container, and chill.

Use in place of one can condensed soup as called for in recipes. To use in a green bean casserole, stir in 10 ounces of milk, then proceed as normal.

Notes:

*Making your own low-sodium vegetable broth powder is easy. Here is one recipe for it.

~Sarah

Chickpea Spring Salad
Recipes

Chickpea Spring Salad

Sarah

I was craving fresh flavors, and this recipe satisfied that.

I took a couple of recipes I had seen online and made my version. The avocado takes it over the top: crunchy peppers and onions, creamy smooth chickpeas, and avocadoes.

A simple dressing is all it needs to pull it together.

Chickpea Spring Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) (14.5 to 15.5 ounces)
  • 1 can sweet corn (15.5 to 15.5 ounces)
  • 1 small red bell pepper
  • 1 small sweet or red onion
  • 1 avocado (medium size)
  • 2 small lemons (about a ¼ cup squeezed)
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ tsp fine sea salt, or to taste
  • Ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Rinse and drain the chickpeas in a strainer and place in a mixing bowl.

Drain the corn and add to the chickpeas.

Seed the red pepper, then finely chop and add to the salad. (Used about ¾ cup)

Peel the onion and finely chop it. (Use ¼ to ½ cup)

Cut the avocado and remove the pit. Scoop out each half, slice, and then chop. Add to the salad.

Mix the lemon juice, oil, and seasonings in a mason jar, seal and shake well, then pour over the salad. Gently stir to coat the salad.

Transfer to a glass storage container and chill.

For the best taste, eat within a day or two.

~Sarah

Protein Cottage Cheese and Oatmeal Pancakes
Recipes

Protein Cottage Cheese and Oatmeal Pancakes

Sarah

Looking for inspiration, I picked up a copy of Clean & Delicious: Eat Healthy and Get Healthy With 100 Whiile-Ingredient Recipes. It came out in 2023.

I was flipping through when I saw her recipe for protein pancakes, which are gluten-free and based on oats and cottage cheese. They have no leavening, so the pancakes are nicely moist and not heavy in taste, but still dense. The recipe doesn’t make many pancakes, just 8, but they fill you up if you have extra proteins. It was a good and easy recipe.

There’s a few more recipes I am marking to try, as I am always looking for ways to boost our protein and fiber intake.

Protein Cottage Cheese and Oatmeal Pancakes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup rolled oats (gluten-free if needed)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup cottage cheese
  • 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • Pinch of sea salt

Directions:

Add all the ingredients to a high-speed blender—process until smooth, tamping as needed.

Scrape into a bowl.

Heat a griddle over medium-low heat (we have a gas stove; if using an electric griddle, use medium heat).

Lightly rub a bitter stick over the griddle and drop by ¼ cup scoops.

Let cook until the bottom is golden, then flip and cook the other side.

I served with sun butter, maple syrup, bacon, and eggs for a full breakfast feast.

Makes eight pancakes. Served 4 with sides.

~Sarah

Instant Mug Meals: No Cook Chicken Salad
Recipes

Instant Mug Meals: No Cook Chicken Salad

Sarah

A new recipe to join our “Instant Mug Meals” collection.

With a couple freeze-dried ingredients you can have a quick no-cook lunch, snack or even dinner for the trail. The recipe itself is gluten-free, but as always read the labels on mayo packets to be sure. I served it on street taco sized tortillas, Mission makes keto friendly ones now, called Zero Net Carbs Tortillas – but be forewarned, 1 tortilla is 25% of your daily fiber, so don’t go crazy on them. They taste great though!

If you opt to eat the chicken salad alone, I might suggest you double the recipe if you are a hungry person. Especially if you eat mostly carnivore.

Chicken Salad

In a snack size zip top bag:

Also Take:

Directions:

Add ¼ cup cool water to the bag, seal tightly, and let rest for 15 minutes, gently shaking periodically.

Add mayo to taste (1 packet is light, and if you like your chicken salad to be creamy, add both packets).

Eat as is, or spread on crackers or street taco-size tortillas (makes enough for 2 wraps).

Serves 1.

Notes:

The base weight for the dried ingredients is 0.6 ounces/18 grams.

If you ask nicely, you can often get the mayo packets at grocery store delis or c-stores. If you eat this at home use half to one Tablespoon of mayo, or to taste.

This recipe also would work well with a ranch dip tub or a dressing packet instead.

When prepping recipes using freeze-dried ingredients (versus dehydrated) you want to ensure the bag is well sealed. Particularly with freeze-dried meat. If you are making the meal to use that weekend, a plastic bag will work great. If longer, I highly suggest using a FoodVac sealer and precut quart size bags.

For long-term storage of this meal (months out), seal the chicken separately from the vegetables. For the short term, it is fine to seal it with dehydrated vegetables.

~Sarah