Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
2 cups ice
whipped cream

In a blender, liquefy all ingredients. Makes approximately three 8 ounce servings. Top with whipped cream and a sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice.

I remember trips to our local Farmer’s Market as a little girl.  We would always bring home a brown paper bag full of ripe pomegranate fruits.  After slicing them in half, I would marvel at the ruby red seeds that looked like jewels.  Extracting the seeds took some effort, but that was definitely part of the fun!  I can still recall the burst of tartness on my tongue and my red-stained fingers.

In the last several years when the benefits of the pretty pomegranate hit the news, I rediscovered my childhood treat.  This “superfood” is packed with antioxidants and promotes heart health.  I recenlty met Janny, a blogger for POM Wonderful.  She kindly directed me to POM Wonderful’s site and the bevy of recipes that include pomegranate juice and/or seeds.  Suddenly my glass of plain ol’ juice seemed in need of a makeover!

Armed with my trusty blender, I set out to create a healthy, tasty, and filling smoothie.  What’s fantastic about smoothies is that you can customize your frozen concoction based on your favorite fruits and flavors.

POM-tastic Fruit Smoothie

1 cup POM Wonderful juice
1 cup orange juice
1 banana
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup mixed frozen fruit (I used a combination of melon, grapes, & peaches)
1 cup fat free plain yogurt
1 tablespoon MLO Brown Rice Protein Powder

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until liquefied. If smoothie is too thick, add more POM or orange juice to thin out. Makes two 8 ounce smoothies.

Episode 5 “Happy Hour, Gluten Free!” Features:

• Discussion on what alcohols are gluten free.
• Tequila – Jose Cuervo.   All Jose Cuervo Tequilas, Authentic Cuervo Margaritas, Margarita Minis, and Golden Margaritas are gluten-free.
• Rum – Bacardi Rum.  Mojito Recipe.
• Cider – Woodchuck Draft Cider. All gluten free!
• Sake.  Know of a safe sake??
• Beer -  Bard’s Tale Beer – Dragon’s Gold, Anheuser-Busch’s Redbridge, Ramapo Valley Brewery Honey Beer, and Newgrist Beer from Lakefront Brewery.
• Wine – Kendall Jackson, Beringer, Ecco, and Copperridge.  Discussion of celiac sensitivity to other ingredients in wine (sulfites, egg, and casein).
• Vodka - Chopin, Luksusowa, Ciroc (which is actually made from grapes), and Teton Glacier
• “Off Limits” Beverages – Wine Coolers, Smirnoff Ice, Twisted Teas, and Hard Lemonade, Bacardi Mojito Coolers.
• Controversy of distillation process and grain alcohol.

Read the blog. Listen to the podcast. Educate yourself.

Rock on Celiacs!

Click the player below to listen to the show! Subscribe to the podcast using iTunes (or whatever media player you use) at http://feeds.feedburner.com/htgpodcast

Download audio file (005_HoldTheGluten-06Aug2008.mp3)

Recently, our grocery store had a coupon for a whole seedless watermelon at the low, low price of $3.99! Now realistically, how much watermelon can one family eat? But $3.99 was just too darn good a price to pass up. After purchasing my 14 pound watermelon (I made sure to get the biggest one possible), I knew I had to come up with some creative ways to ingest all of this melon before it became a hairy science project.

Eww.

In case you too were sucked in at the promise of slashed prices and freakishly large produce, I offer you my Watermelon Slushy recipe. Depending on the day you are having, you can make this slushy “au natural” or go crazy and add some (gluten free) potato vodka for a little kick.

Feel good about drinking this beverage as Watermelon is the produce front runner for containing Lycopene, is healthy for your heart, and is an excellent source of Vitamins A, B6, and C.   Blueberries are ranked Number 1 in antioxidant benefits and contain a substantial amount of fiber along with Vitamins A, C, and E.

Um, I don’t think potato vodka has any nutritional value, but it sure tastes good in a slushy

Watermelon Slushy

In a blender, add the following:

2 cups of seedless watermelon cubes
2 cups ice cubes
1 cup blueberries

Puree until smooth
Garnish with mint leaves and small blueberries

Rum is my new best friend. Please don’t e-mail me the Alcoholics Anonymous website. I do have actual real life friends, but rum is my new vodka. I’m specifically growing mint for my rum-based (gluten free!) Mojitos. Now, Mojitos are a bit tedious to make (there’s the picking of the mint leaves and the muddling of the mint leaves), but please, spare your backside and don’t buy the Bacardi Silver Mojito Drink (found in 12 oz longneck bottles, 12 oz slim-line cans, and 24 oz bottles). The pre-made Mojito Drink is a MALT flavored beverage. Malt is the evil red headed step-child of Barley (off limits to us with Celiac Disease). Just say no.

In my humble opinion, the Mojito is the perfect summer drink. It’s light, refreshing, and doesn’t knock you on your patuckus like most potato vodkas (I’ll save that dire story for another post).

As the dog days of summer start drooling down our necks, get your “herb garden” growing and treat yourself to a gluten free Mojito. Here’s the recipe (for a single serving):

Mint Mojitos

1 heaping tsp of crushed ice
10 mint leaves
1 tbsp sugar
Juice of 1/2 lime

Muddle the crushed ice, mint leaves, sugar, and lime juice in a tall, thin glass. (FYI, “muddling” is basically crushing the mint leaves in the bottom of the glass to release their oils. You can use an actual “muddler” or the back of a wooden spoon to crush the leaves.)

Add:
2 oz. Bacardi Light Rum
Ice cubes
Fill glass with club soda (lemon/lime flavored works great)
Garnish with mint leaves and slice of lime
Stir and enjoy!

Note – if you have issues drinking mint pulp, do not despair… After muddling the first four ingredients, just add the light rum, strain the drink into an ice filled glass, and then top off with club soda.