Category Archives: Recipes

Dairy Free Ranch Dressing

Dairy Free Ranch Dressing

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For those of us who are dairy free, there are a lot of missed foods. Luckily the industry has quite a few milks (almond milk, oat milk) and yogurts (almond, cashew, coconut yogurt). You can find a dairy free ranch dressing but they usually have a ton of preservatives in it and don’t taste all that great. I was playing around in the kitchen and this ranch dressing tastes pretty good! And is free of preservatives (except whatever is found in the yogurt and mayo). I hope you enjoy it!

Dairy Free Ranch Dressing Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup avocado oil mayonnaise*
  • 1/3 cup almond yogurt (plain)
  • 1/2 tsp dill
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp mustard
  • 1/4 tsp dried oregano

    • Directions:

    Blend in a blender until smooth.

    *You can also omit the mayo and you will have a less thick, slightly more sour (due to yogurt flavor) ranch. It is still yummy ranch flavored and is lighter.

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Taco Seasoning

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Tacos are a weekly meal in our house. At first I used any old “taco spice” envelope. Tasted good, and who knows what is in it. Then I looked at the ingredients and was horrified at all the sugar and chemicals. So I switched to a spice envelope from Whole foods. Still a little sugar but improvement nonetheless. Then one day I learned I am yeast sensitive. I can’t eat yeast, and that’s an ingredient in the envelope. So now I make my own. It is cheaper and healthier. Plus, it is kid approved, despite having no sugar.

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2  tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp corn starch

Brown 1.5 pounds of grass fed ground beef. Add the powder and 2 tablespoons of water and mix.

Gazpacho Perfection

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img_2752I love gazpacho. So does my husband and my son. But it is hard to find one that has the right amount of the right ingredients (and isn’t too spicy or too bland). I experimented a bunch and voila, here is the result. My 8 year old son will eat a bowl a day!

I also used tomato juice to make this as easy as possible on the chef.

 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of tomato juice

1 green pepper

1 english cucumber

a handful of cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup red onion

2 scallions

2 tsp of garlic

1/4 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper

1/8 cup + 1 tbs olive oil

1 lime

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Chop the vegetables into tiny pieces and put them into a bowl. Add the tomato juice. Add all the other ingredient. Stir and enjoy!

Carrot Cookies

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fullsizerenderThese ‘cookies’ have nuts, carrots and coconut…all healthful foods. If your kids like this, you can feel good about feeding it to them.

Ingredients:

3 carrots

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 cup walnuts (crushed)

2 tablespoons cashew butter

2/3 cups oats

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tablespoon coconut flakes

Directions:

Peel the carrots and put them in the food processor until they are processed into small flakes. Mix the carrots and all the other ingredients together in a bowl. Mix thoroughly, then spoon out into golf ball shaped servings. No baking. Enjoy!

This recipe was inspired by a post on Super Healthy Kids. But I substituted several of their ingredients for others that I like better, rearranged the proportions, and I added coconut (yum).

Simple, Delicious, Nutritious…Chicken soup

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Those of us with digestive issues know that sometimes you can’t find anything to eat that is appealing and also easy to digest. And if you do know of such a meal, it usually takes effort to make. There needs to be something that fits into all those three categories. Here’s my easy-on-the-gut, easy-to-prepare, yummy meal. Gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, low fat, low carb, processed-food-free, chicken soup.

To make it an EASY meal to prepare, we start with organic chicken broth, and go from there. (If you want, you can always make your own bone broth. You can find numerous recipes online)

Ingredients:

16 ounces of organic chicken broth

3 carrots

1/4 cup of parsley

2 celery stalks

1/3 of an onion

1/2 cup of water

1/2 of a chicken breast (I use whole foods rotisserie chicken-another step made easier)

Directions:

Put the chicken broth and water into a pot, and turn on stove on medium heat.

Chop the onion, parsley, carrots and celery and put them into the pot.

Cut up the chicken into bite sized pieces and put into the soup.

Let simmer for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

 

 

Finally! The best potato salad

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I love potato salad, but I am very picky. I really can’t stand the taste or texture of most store bought or restaurant potato salads. I would study the labels (of the store bought ones) and wonder what on earth they are doing wrong (after all, the ingredients looked good).

I’ve been working on making my own for a while and finally hit the jackpot! It’s delicious.

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

6 medium red bliss potatoes

1/3 cup of chopped scallions

1/4 cup of chopped italian parsley

1/4 cup of dill

1/2 cup of mayonnaise

1/4 cup of red wine vinegar

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons of dijon mustard

Directions:

Wash the potatoes (leave skin on for maximum nutrition). Put them in a pot. Fill the pot with water (enough to cover the potatoes). Boil the water and potatoes for 30 minutes. Then let potatoes cool (or soak in very cold water).

Chop and combine the dill, parsley, and scallions in a big bowl.

Mix the mayo, vinegar, mustard and oil in another bowl.

Once potatoes have cooked and cooled, chop them into bite sized pieces and combine with the parsley, dill, and scallions. Pour the dressing over the potatoes and mix thoroughly.

Enjoy!

Asparagus Potato Soup

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I was hungry for lunch the other day, and no food in the house. I threw together what I had left in the fridge and voila, a delicious healthy soup! It is gluten free and can be altered to be dairy free (use oil instead of butter).

Ingredients:

1 bunch of asparagus

1 white potato

3 scallions

3 tbs butter

1 clove of garlic

3 cups of chicken broth

Directions:

Melt the butter in a big pot on the stove. Peel and cut the potato into small bite size pieces and add to the pot. Cut the scallions and add them to the pot. Peel and mince the garlic and add it to the pot. Let those ingredients sizzle for 10 minutes. Wash asparagus and break off ends. Then chop the stalks into bite sized pieces. Add the asparagus and the chicken broth to the pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 30 minutes. Blend the soup (you might have to blend one scoop at a time if your blender is small like mine).

Enjoy!

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

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I have been gluten free for over two years and hadn’t, until now, gotten into almond flour. I spent all Saturday morning experimenting with almond flour, eggs and different combinations of flavors. These yummy muffins are the result of that Saturday morning. They are DELICIOUS. My kids took to them as well. All I heard while the crumbs were falling from their mouths was, “Mommy, these are so good!” They ate so many I had to make another batch for myself.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of almond flour

1 tsp of baking soda

1 tsp of baking powder

1/4 tsp of salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup of 100% maple syrup

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

3 eggs

3 tablespoons of melted butter (you could use melted coconut oil instead)

raspberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all the ingredients (except raspberries) together. Scoop into muffin cups. (makes about 11 muffins) Add a raspberry or two to each muffin top. Bake for 20 minutes. Take them out of the oven and let them cool.

Enjoy!

The Best Smoothie

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Rishkoff Smoothie 3

Every single ingredient in this smoothie is a superfood. This smoothie is gluten-free, dairy-free, low in FODMAPs, and contains gut-healing ingredients. And with ingredients like strawberries, bananas and pineapple juice, and coconut oil, it is delicious and nutritious (for anyone). I developed this recipe for me, as a way to heal and seal my gut after all my struggles. It’s a rare and useful drink to fill my gut with everything it needs (and nothing it doesn’t!).

Pineapples contain bromelain, an anti-inflammatory compound. Coconut oil is easy to digest and it’s fatty acid structure causes it to be utilized for energy and not stored in our fat cells. But the heavy hitters in this smoothie are the L-glutamine and gelatin. Both of which can help repair leaky gut.

Recipe:

3-4 strawberries, cut up
2/3 of a whole banana, sliced up
organic fresh pressed pineapple juice
1 tb of coconut oil
1 teaspoon of gelatin (Knox brand)
1 teaspoon of L-glutamine powder (pharmaceutical grade)

Directions:

Put the cut up pieces of fruit in the blender.

Add pineapple juice just enough to cover the empty spaces between the fruit.

Put the coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl and heat it for 30 seconds to turn it liquid. Then add it to the blender.

Add the gelatin and L-glutamine

Blend and enjoy!!!

If you want a full meal-add a little of your favorite protein powder too!

PS: While the sugars in this smoothie are ALL natural (no added sugar), it is not a low carb drink and may be too high in sugar for some people.

(My recipe also appeared on Further Food Photos courtesy of Further Food as well! Rishkoff Smoothie 2)

Share this delicious drink with your friends using the social media buttons below!

Chanukah Fun with Food Pt 2

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In honor of the first night of Chanukah tonight, here are some more ideas for fun with food that kids will love (adult love ’em too). Be sure to check out Part 1, if you missed it!

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A menorah made from bananas, pomegranate seeds and clementines. My kids were so excited they couldn’t decide what to eat first.

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Dreidels made out of pretzel sticks, marshmallows and Hershey’s kisses. Glued together with frosting, and Hebrew letters written in frosting as well.

Fig newtons cut to the shape of a dreidel with a pretzel stick and frosting for the letters.

Check out more on my Jewish Food Pinterest board.

Use those nifty buttons below to share on social media-I bet you have some Jewish friends who would love this.