Category Archives: gluten-free food

Whole Food Plant-Based foods that are gluten-free

Substituting Eggs

This is the time of year when I start thinking seriously about desserts. I mean, what is Thanksgiving without Pumpkin Pie or Christmas without cookies ?

Those of us who eat a whole food plant-based diet making desserts is really a challenge. There is a lot of substituting that has to be done. For most things it is relatively easy to substitute For example you can substitute:

  • Milk = Nut milk
  • Gluten based flours = gluten-free baking mix or brown rice flour
  • Sugar = honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar or stevia
  • Butter = Coconut Oil (more…)
by Genene Cote Posted on November 5, 2012
Posted in baking, dessert, diary-free food, Eggs, gluten-free food, sugar-free food, vegan, vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Luxury Problems

weightlossI have a big-time luxury problem! You see instead of “spring cleaning”, we do “fall cleaning”. Most of the spring is devoted to getting the garden in shape. If the house suffers, it’s not like we spend much time inside between March and October. We are, however indoor, a lot, between November and February. So it is either clean up or sit and look at clutter all winter. I, personally, hate clutter!

One of my life “rules” is about changing closets with the season. Each spring and fall I sort and discard clothes:  if I haven’t worn it, it goes! This year I added the caveat that if it didn’t fit it had to go as well. Recently, David and I spend a lot of time looking like we are wearing someone else’s clothes. They are way big and don’t come close to fitting. A lot of them were marginal last year but this year they are just flat out ridiculous! So out with all the XL and a lot of the L size clothes. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on October 25, 2012
Posted in additive-free food, Cote Home Grown Fare, diary-free food, Food Additives, gluten-free food, plant based diet, processed food, vegan, vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

No Hassle Tomato Soup

tomatoe soupWe are starting to get a chill in the evening air. For me chill and soup always go together. My all time favorite soup is tomato; probably a link to my childhood.

Over the last couple of years, I have been on a mission to find good tomato soup. I checked dozens of labels and finally reached the conclusion that there is not a canned/packaged tomato soup that doesn’t contain sugar, preservatives or some other strange chemicals.

So, if I want good tomato soup I am going to have to make it myself. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on October 21, 2012
Posted in additive-free food, gluten-free food, soup, tomatoes, vegan, vegetarian, Whole Food Plant-Based recipes | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Quick and Simple — Stuffed Baked Potato Dinner

imageI had the distinct pleasure of going to the dentist last week. Every time I go, I am shocked to find out that I STILL have my dentist phobia. I keep thinking it is going to magically disappear. So far; no luck!

This time by the time I got home and just wanted to curl up in a ball and have the world go away. Unfortunately I was also hungry. Hungry and nauseated. Great combination! What to eat? Something soothing, tasty, filling and comforting.

A baked potato! (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on October 6, 2012
Posted in gluten-free food, vegan, vegetarian, Whole Food Plant-Based recipes | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Left-over Peppers

S6300927After the salsa making extravaganza there were still a bunch of peppers left over. We had Anaheim’s, Banana, Racoco and Jalapenos just sitting here. I stood in the kitchen contemplating alternatives. I knew I wanted to use them while they were still fresh, but how?

The obvious place to start was sautéing everything. Sautéed peppers and onions make a great side dish, but then what?? I stood in front of the pantry hoping for inspiration. And then it happened – my eyes landed on a can of garbanzos. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on October 2, 2012
Posted in Beans, entrée, gluten-free food, vegan, vegetarian | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Home Again! And Tacos in a Hurry!

imageWe had a great time in New Orleans, but were very glad to get home. No place like it!

We got in late, tired and very hungry – bad combination! The fridge was bare and all the frozen entrees would take at least 20 minutes to thaw.  Fortunately we have canned food in the pantry and a garden to raid. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on September 17, 2012
Posted in Beans, Cote Home Grown Fare, fresh veggies, gluten-free food, Mexican, Protein, vegan, vegetarian | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Gluten-Free, Sugarless, Vegan Oatmeal-Zucchini (and more) Muffins

Muffins are my latest science project. While some of them have been good, they still were not “perfect”. The main problem was that they were consistently too dry.  Adding oil just made them greasy and heavy and adding water, fruit juice or nut milk made them gooey. Most of them would taste ok on first bite, but would soon turn to sawdust in the back of the mouth.  It seemed that part of the problem was that the batter was too smooth. Which lead me to experiment with Gluten-Free oats.

All the experiments were getting me confused, so I finally sat down and made a spread sheet (Yes, I know how funny that is)! (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on August 29, 2012
Posted in Breakfast, gluten-free food, sugar-free food, vegan, vegetarian, weigh loss | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Edible Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free Vegan Muffin

zuc muffinsWhen you harvest something like 10 BIG zucchini a week you either waste the food or get creative. This has been a real challenge to my creativity. I have tried everything I can think of, read about, or heard! One of my favorites is the muffins.

I like muffins. They are a neat little snack package stuffed full of good flavors. If you do them right, they are full of good nutrition.

Up till now,  I have been able to make great sugar-free muffins. I have made tasty gluten-free muffins. I have even made passable vegan muffins. But all three at one time has been a lot of trial and error!  Over the last week I have done a series of experiments trying to create an edible sugar-free, gluten-free vegan muffin! (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on August 19, 2012
Posted in additive-free food, Breakfast, diary-free food, gluten-free food, sugar-free food, vegan, vegetarian, Whole Food Plant-Based recipes | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Gluten-Free Tabbouleh

gluten free tabboulehBecause Pasadena, CA (where I used to live) has a large Armenian population, there are several excellent Middle Eastern restaurants within a 5 mile radius.  I ate at a couple of them regularly. Since moving away from Pasadena, the things I have missed most (and been unable to find) are even passable falafel, tabbouleh, hummus, baba ghannouj and baklava.

The absence of good middle eastern cuisine forced me to learn how to make my own. Part of the learning process has been trying out healthier versions of these standards.  I have actually gotten pretty good at it, even if I do say so. I now make oven baked falafel, oil-free hummus and baba ghannouj and gluten-free tabbouleh. The only thing I haven’t bothered with is baklava for obvious reasons. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on July 30, 2012
Posted in fresh veggies, gluten-free food, Middle Eastern Food, salad, tomatoes, vegan, vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Meal Replacements – Larabars

audreyRemember the plant in Little Shop of Horrors?   Audrey II whose loudest cry was “Feed Me!”  When I get hungry, my blood sugar drops and the only thing I can say is:  FEED ME!!! I know exactly how Audrey felt!

Which is why I eat “early and often.” I hate turning an irrational and distinctly un-nice person!   The antidote is eating 4-5 times a day.  If I do my blood sugar stays even and my disposition sunny. As and added bonus I feel good and effortlessly maintain my weight since my metabolism is more efficient and I don’t get strange cravings. In the end I actually consume less calories per day. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on July 22, 2012
Posted in additive-free food, gluten-free food, snacks, sugar-free food, weigh loss, Whole Food Plant-Based nutrition | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment