 Chopped salad from a bag, black beans, and this dressing I grew up watching commercials for cereals touting their fortified nutrition benefits, like this Special K commercial. I didn't know what all of those vitamins were supposed to do, but I figured I must need them.
Fast forward 40 years and I'm a vegetarian with celiac disease. As you likely know, fortified breads and cereals are a primary source of B vitamins in the standard American diet, with meat and dairy products rounding out the top sources. This means that I and anyone on a gluten-free diet (especially vegetarians or vegans) need to bring extra intention to getting B vitamins. B vitamins as a group -- there are eight with names like thiamine, niacin and riboflavin -- serve to aid digestion, metabolism and convert foods to energy production. B vitamins are water soluble and not readily stored in the body, meaning we need to be eating them regularly to stay on top of that dietary need. My answer? Nutritional yeast. It's got that umami thing going on -- umami being loosely translated from Japanese as "pleasant savory taste." I've developed a pretty tasty marinade and salad dressing. In one 30 calorie serving, it really boosts the B's.
And even though I started using nutritional yeast for the health benefits, it really does have a pleasant savory taste. Jenn and my 11-year-old son likes my special sauce on sauteed veggies and tofu. Ingredients: 1 Tablespoon Nutritional Yeast 1 Teaspoon yellow mustard 1/2 Teaspoon tamari sauce pinch of garlic salt sprinkle of chipotle chili pepper to taste Directions: Combine the ingredients. Use as a marinade for tofu before pan-frying or sauteing with broccoli, Brussels sprouts, or cauliflower. Or just put it on your food -- Use it just mixed as a salad dressing or veggie dip, or toss with sauteed or roasted veggies immediately before serving.  I am a mom to two boys, 11 and 13-years-old. They may want to make something that I'll like but that they'll like too in honor of Mother's Day. I decided to shop the recipes that were offered at Cindy Gordon's www.VegetarianMamma.com Gluten-Free Fridays link ups from the last couple of weeks to assemble a nice Mother's Day dinner menu that my kids could make and that I (and they) would want to eat.
My criteria:
Spinach Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing. Now that the farm share is starting to roll in again, we are awash in spinach and other greens. Not sure both boys would be into this as a salad, but I fully expect it could served in a deconstructed format with ranch dressing (for at least one boy) optional. The other one would totally eat this. Homemade Creamy Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese. I don't often eat Mac and Cheese because... well, you know. But if my kids made me this for Mother's Day? I totally would. Easy Sauteed Brussels Sprouts. I love Brussels sprouts. My partner loves Brussels spouts. I would fill my plate with 3/4's of this, telling the boys that I want to leave more Mac and Cheese for them. I'm thoughtful and generous that way. Frosty Peach Shake. Dessert! I would encourage the freezer pop option so that a reasonable amount of time could pass between Mac N Cheese and this. I'd point the boys to the 1% milk instead of the almond milk -- I've read that other "milks" might not set up well. Though I guess if it's frozen it would. Whatever. Cinnamon Sugar Chickpeas. I have a savory version in my ecookbook, but it's nice to have a little sweet thing to have on hand as an evening snack. Enjoy the day! May is Celiac Awareness Month. I offer these two resources to share, pin, like, etc. If you have celiac disease, the slide is for you to use to help educate others, and the video is to support you in having the conversation with your family about the need for them to get tested. There are additional excellent resources from the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness at www.SeriouslyCeliac.org. Oh, and the background pic on the slide is my poor flattened villi from 5 years ago. They are much happier now!  |
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