Summer Quinoa Salad

It's been a gorgeous summer... Sometimes a salad is in order as your main dish!

With summer being here, my daugthers and I love to kick it to local farmer's markets! It is a win/win/win. We have fun shopping together, we support local farmers, (local economy) AND we get to eat fresh local produce!

Quinoa is a fantastic, versatile product, that is used like a grain, but is really a seed! It is nutritious, is gluten and grain free, and is considered a SUPER food! Plus, it tastes great.

I normally throw together my salads, but in case anyone asks what I did, what is the recipe, I decided to measure, and to pay attention!

Summer Quinoa Salad

2 C quinoa uncooked
1 cucumber diced
1 zucchini diced
1/2 C sweet corn
1 lg tomato diced
1 avocado diced
1 pepper diced

Dressing
1/4 C raw apple cider vinegar
1/4 C olive oil
2 garlic cloves chopped or pressed
1 tsp raw honey
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Cook quinoa as directed. I put 2 C quinoa and 4 C water in a sauce pan, brought to a boil. Then turn down and simmer for approx. 12 minutes. Allow quinoa to cool.

Put all of the ingredients of the dressing in a jar, and shake well, and put into the fridge. Alternatively, you could blend ingredients in a blender. But why clean the blender? The dressing will meld flavors, as your quinoa cools.

Dice your veg, and put into a mixing bowl. When quinoa is cool, everything goes into the mixing bowl except avocado. Mix avocado in last, as it breaks apart easily... and voila! Summer salad, using a super food, and magically healthy produce from the market!

*Today I used a 10 oz. can of diced Mexican tomatoes. We ate all of our fresh tomatoes!
*I normally would dice an onion and have that in the salad. This might the first time ever, I didn't have onion in a quinoa salad or side dish.
*You could use lemon juice in lieu of vinegar as your acid in the dressing. 1/4 C lemon juice, or 1 lemon freshly squeezed.
*You could throw in 1/4 C chopped nuts of choice.
*Omit the corn for a grain-free salad. That would make it Paleo for those who are interested!

This salad could be made with veggies of choice. I used what I had on hand!

Yours in health,
Natalie

Gluten free Oatmeal Pancakes

If you are looking for an easy, reasonable, gluten free, and dairy free pancake recipe, look no further!

I have been rotating grains for over a dozen years now... and currently rarely using grains, that are truly grains, with the exception of oats. More and more research is showing that grains are not actually healthy for us! More and more people are being diagnosed with gluten allergy, and gluten sensitivity!
Oats are gluten free, if they are processed in a facility that doesn't process wheat or gluten grains. Look for oats that are organic, and state they are gluten free, if you are avoiding gluten.
This recipe is using long cooking oats, not quick cook. Soaking the oats overnight makes the oats easier to digest, AND will allow you not to process your oats into flour first. Oats are cheap, and easy to obtain! No fancy, expensive gluten free flours, nor any special stabilizers needed here!

This recipe is loaded with super foods: organic oats, organic eggs, cinnamon, raw honey, flax milk, and coconut oil! It is a breakfast that is fun, but you can feel GOOD about!
My girls love, love, love these pancakes!

Gluten Free Oatmeal Pancakes                                                     Yield: approx 18

2 C oats
2 C flax milk (or any milk alternative)
3 eggs
2 Tbl melted organic smart balance (or coconut oil, or other cold pressed oil)
2 Tbl raw honey (or raw agave nectar)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt

coconut oil (or olive oil, or other cold pressed oils) for griddle
organic smart balance
real maple syrup


Soak your oats, in the milk alternative overnight.

Oats will look dry after soaking.

Added rest of ingredients!

Blend oat/milk mixture well, in a blender.
Add the rest of the ingredients in blender, and blend just until incorporated.


Grease your griddle or pan very well with coconut oil. Preheat until drops of water spatter on griddle.  Drop by 1/4 cup full of batter.  Cook until bubbles are all over cake, and edges are just starting to get golden. I turn down the griddle to cook the second side a bit slower.

See the loads of bubbles? Edges just crisp- ready to flip!

Serve with organic smart balance spread, and real maple syrup!

*You could mix a tsp of apple cider vinegar to flax milk, let sit a few minutes, than add to oats to soak, for a faux buttermilk.
*You can skip the honey, but we use little syrup, so it adds the right sweetness.
*This batter is very thin. It is preferable, as oats make it more difficult to cook through in pancakes or waffles.
*You can freeze the cakes, in a single layer on a plate or cookie sheet. Once frozen, you can put into a freezer bag. Easily warmed in a toaster! Using the 1/4 cup measure, insures they are large enough to be warmed in the toaster!

Have about 12 left... Time to freeze 'em!

Going, going, almost gone!

These are crispy deliciousness. They are delicious, AND nutritious.! You haven't had oatmeal like this before y'all!  YUM! YUM! YUM!

Yours in health,
Natalie