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Southwestern Meatloaf Dinner
This is a low carb meal that you can serve to your family without any apologies.
You’re welcome to substitute ground beef for all or part of the ground turkey in the meatloaf. I prefer the taste of the ground turkey though as it doesn’t overwhelm the spices and herbs and I definitely appreciate the lower calorie count of the ground turkey.
You may also choose to use frozen veggies in place of fresh veggies. You could use taco or fajita seasoning in place of the chili powder, black pepper, cumin and salt if you still have them in your cupboards but I try to avoid these prepackaged seasonings as they contain so many chemicals. The prepackaged Mexican seasoning mix found in the spice section of most grocery stores is great though.
You can use instant oatmeal, whole wheat panko, whole wheat bread crumbs or crushed whole wheat crackers in place of the pork rinds, but I don’t like to mix starches with proteins as it makes food more difficult to digest and if you’re on a low carb eating plan then you’ll want to keep the recipe as is.
Southwestern Meatloaf
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 medium minced onion
- 2 small minced & seeded green chilis
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)
- 1 cup pureed roasted red peppers
- 3/4 cup finely crushed pork rinds
- 1-1/2 pounds ground turkey
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl except the ground turkey. The reason that you mix the meat in last is that if you manipulate the meat too much your meatloaf will turn out tough. You want to manipulate the meat as little as possible, so adding it last means you will only need to mix it much less than if you dumped all the ingredients in a bowl and went at it.
Pack the meatloaf mixture into a lightly oiled loaf pan. Bake uncovered about 1 hour, until a meat thermometer inserted in the center of the meatloaf reads 160-165 degrees. If you don’t have a meaat thermometer you can make a cut in the center of the meatloaf and check to see if the meat is still pink.
Once the meatloaf is fully cooked, remove from oven and let stand at least 10 minutes before slicing. This helps the meatloaf to reabsorb much of the juices and of course you end up with a juicier, more flavorful meatloaf. Slice and serve drizzled with Enchilida Cream Sauce (recipe below) or 1 carb ketchup.
Enchilida Cream Sauce
If you don’t want the extra carbs you can skip the sauce. If you’re trying to lose weight by lowering your calorie intake you can use 2 cups of broth and skip the heavy cream. However if you really want the cream sauce then don’t deprive yourself – choose where you’ll lose.
This sauce is also good with chicken or pork. Just marinate a chicken breast or a pork roast in the Enchilida Cream Sauce, then baste with the sauce during the last few minutes of cooking.
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon soy, almond or coconut flour
- 1/4 cup chili powder
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 sixteen ounce jar roasted red bell pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Dump the jar of red bell pepper into a colander and quickly rinse. Puree in a blender or food processor, then dump the puree into a coffee filter lined small colander to drain overnight.
In a medium saucepan heat oil, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 minute.
Add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds.
Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.
The sauce will thicken and smooth out.
Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Variation: Add 1 cup chopped sauteed onion and 1/2 cup minced green chilis or roasted bell pepper.
Zucchini & Pepper Saute
Ingredients:
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 chopped red pepper
- 1 minced green chili pepper (or jalapeno pepper if you like it hot)
- 3 cups sliced zucchini
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt (or 1/2 teaspoon salt and add 2 minced garlic cloves to onion mixture. If you have a head of roasted garlic you could mince 2-4 cloves and add at this point in place of the minced garlic)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Mexican seasoning (or 1/4 teaspoon each chili powder, paprika, oregeno, and cayenne pepper)
Saute onion in canola or olive oil until just soft. Add remaining ingredients and continue cooking until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
Garlic Mashed “Potatoes”
Ingredients:
- 1 head cauliflower, separated into florets or one 16 ounce bag frozen cauliflower
- 1 head garlic
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup marscapone or cream cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Steam cauliflower (or cook in microwave) until tender when pierced with a fork, about 15-20 minutes.
In a medium saucepan over low heat combine garlic cloves, (shortcut: buy refrigerated peeled whole garlic cloves) and butter. Cover & stir occasionally until garlic is tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes. Alternatively you could use roasted garlic and skip this step.
Puree all ingredients in blender or food processor. If the mixture is not thick enough add some powdered chicken or vegetable broth. Taste and add salt & pepper to taste if needed.
You can make this up to two weeks ahead & freeze in freezer quality ziplock bags. Thaw by leaving at room temperature or on top of fridge until completely thawed or at least thawed enough to remove from bag & reheat in a covered dish in the oven.
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How to Get Through Halloween Without Blowing Your Diet
It’s that time of year again – the month of the hallowed sugar rush – Halloween. The good news is that there are ways to whiz past all those piles of goodies without falling off your UnDiet, AND without feeling deprived. Note to self: these tips work for any party or tempting situation, such as the office lunchroom.
Be Prepared
Don’t rely solely on will-power to avoid the platters of home-made bat-shaped Marshmallow Rice Krispie bars and jars of pumpkin shaped candy-corn that are hanging out in every office reception area and kitchen this month. Instead, arm yourself with a purse full of UnDiet Halloween Treats. It’s much easier to leave the bowls of miniature candy bars alone when you can munch on a Caramel Chew instead.
Eat a Little
If you’re powerfully drawn to every bowl of candy-corn you pass, eat four of the little buggers, then move on. Don’t stand there staring at the bowl. Don’t analyze your craving. Don’t beat yourself up for wanting something that is coded into our genetic structure. It is. Really. Don’t try to figure out if you just gotta’ have one more. Just move on. Step away. Do it! Now!
Get Perspective
Stare at your naked or underwear clad body in the mirror. Relish the progress you’ve made losing weight, getting healthy and toning up. Ask yourself if you want to gain back any portion of your old body just for the temporary satisfaction of a handful of sugar. Remember how yukky it felt when you ate too much sugar; the sluggishness, the moodiness, the headaches … Now imagine yourself enjoying UnDiet sweet treats. Imagine enjoying guilt free Coconut-Almond Toffee Bars, indulging in Caramel Apples without gaining weight, munching on Honey Popcorn Bars without enduring that awful sugar rush and subsequent let down. Now do you still feel like snarfing miniature Snickers bars?
Treats to Munch On Instead of Candy
Put these treats out at your own gatherings right beside the expected sugar-laden treats, or bring one or two of these along to the parties you attend:
plain buttered popcorn
spiced up popcorn using some of our healthy popcorn recipes
whole wheat pretzels (Trader Joe’s sells a whole wheat and honey pretzel that’s incredible)
Sandwich Platter: stack 2 slices of whole grain bread. Using Halloween cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Tip: if your kids are resisting whole grain breads try packing these in their lunchbox. What child could resist devouring a “spooky sandwich”?.
sliced apples with a refined-sugar-free caramel sauce to dip them in
any of the treats from our Healthy Halloween Candy post
any of the treats from our Healthy Halloween Treats post
Give Unto Others What You Wouldn’t Eat Yourself
All right, this isn’t one of the Bible’s official ten, but it’s definitely one of the successful UnDieters’ tools!
After allowing your children to choose a designated amount of candy distribute the rest of their loot by filling gift bags to pass on to teachers, grandparents, hospital wards (don’t confine yourself to the children’s ward), nursing homes, aunts, uncles, elderly neighbors … It’s not the sugar that counts, it’s the thought. You could even include a cute note saying how sweet your connection to them is to tie it in with the candy theme.
Now go forth and enjoy Halloween, no longer afraid of the next bowl of candy-corn lurking behind the door.
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More Healthy Halloween Recipes
Chocolate Dipped Caramel Apples
All the flavor of caramel apples & none of the guilt!
Make Caramel Chews and when mixture tests firm remove from heat and using a fork or tongs dip apple slices into caramel. Place on wax paper or oiled aluminum foil or cookie sheet. When caramel has cooled dip in chocolate sauce from Chocolate Dipped Cherries. Place back on wax paper and until chocolate has cooled.
Candied Maple Nuts
1 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 cups walnuts and/or pecans (preferably toasted)
In a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat stir together maple syrup, cinnamon, butter and salt.
Cook and stir until syrup becomes darker and starts to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Toss syrup with walnuts until evenly coated. Pour onto waxed paper or lightly oiled baking sheet. Let cool before storing in airtight container.
Coconut-Almond Toffee Bars
No, you haven’t stumbled into another dimension – these really are sugar-free, delicious, easy to make – and yes, this is still the third rock from the sun in the year 2013. Check out the Tropical and budget Oatmeal versions.
These can be stored in an airtight container up to 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month.
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded dried coconut
1/3 cup sliced almonds
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup unrefined sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup coffee
1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar
12 ounces grain-sweetened chocolate chips
2/3 cup chopped almonds or coconut
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spread coconut and almonds on a cookie sheet and bake until golden, 5 to 7 minutes; stirring 2-3 times. Remove from oven and turn oven up to 400 degrees.
Pour coconut and almonds into a medium bowl and add the butter, sugar, vanilla, coffee and honey, stirring until well blended.
Wipe the cookie sheet with the butter wrapper or spray with cooking spray. Pour nut mixture onto buttered cookie sheet and bake about 18 minutes, until toffee is brown and bubbly. Remove from oven.
Sprinkle chocolate chips over toffee. Let stand 10 minutes until chips are melted. Using a buttered metal spatula spread chocolate evenly over toffee then sprinkle with chopped almonds.
Cool completely. Cut into squares. Store tightly covered in a cool dry place.
Tropical Toffee Bars – use fresh orange juice in place of water, (add 1 tablespoon orange curacuo to toffee mixture before baking), mix 1 tablespoon finely diced orange zest into final topping of almonds or coconut.
Oatmeal Toffee Bars – in place of almonds and coconut use 28 ounces instant oatmeal (toast first), (apple or white grape juice instead of water), 1 tablespoon vanilla instead of 1 teaspoon, add 1/2 teaspoon salt to oatmeal mix, top with any chopped nuts that you have around.
Honey Popcorn Bars
It took me five years, but finally I’ve come up with an UnDiet version of one of my favorite treats – Marshmallow Rice Krispie Bars. You won’t believe how close these taste to the snap, crackle and pop version that we all grew up with.
If you’re making these for Halloween in the final step use your hands to shape them into popcorn balls instead of bars. You can even add a few sugar-free cinnamon candies or grain-sweetened chocolate, white chocolate or peanut butter chips.
2 cups butter
1-1/2 cups honey
6-8 cups popcorn (preferably air-popped)
Bring butter and honey to a boil over medium heat in a large heavy bottomed saucepan. Stir frequently while bringing to a boil, then stop stirring while mixture continues to boil until it turns a dark golden brown about 7-10 minutes. Use your stirring spoon to drop a small glob of syrup into a glass of very cold water. If mixture forms a soft ball after hitting the water it’s ready. If it floats to the bottom of the glass in threads boil a few more minutes without stirring and test again.
Remove from heat and stir in popcorn so that it’s all well coated. Allow mixture to rest 5-10 minutes until the popcorn collapses from soaking in the syrup, then press into a buttered cookie sheet or onto a large sheet of waxed paper. Using buttered hands or the back of your stirring spoon press the mixture firmly to further collapse the popcorn.
Variations:
Cut cooled mixture into shapes with knife or cookie cutters.
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla to mixture after removing from heat and before adding popcorn.
Add 1 teaspoon flavoring extract (try peppermint, coconut, chocolate, butterscotch, rum) to mixture after removing from heat and before adding popcorn.
Add 1 cup chopped nuts, dried dates, raisins, grain-sweetened yogurt or chocolate covered raisins, or grain-sweetened chocolate (or peanut, or espresso) chips to mixture when you stir in the popcorn.
Instead of popcorn use whole grain, sugar free air puffed cereal.
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Healthy Halloween Candy Recipes
One for you, two for me! That’s what you’ll be saying to trick-or-treaters this Halloween season when you have these UnDiet treats around. So when someone says “trick or treat”, smile and hand them a Snickers bar while you reach for an UnDiet Halloween treat – or two – or three. I won’t tell.
Citrus Chews
Using a vegetable peeler, remove large pieces of peel being careful to leave the bitter white pith with the fruit. Try one or more of the following:
- oranges
- lemons
- limes
- grapefruits
Use a small sharp knife or cookie cutter to trim the peel into interesting shapes (stars, moons, bones, bats, cats …), then in a small saucepan over low heat, simmer peels and
- 1 cup honey for every 6 pieces of whole fruit
Stir frequently for 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, tongs, or collander remove peel from honey. Cool on foil or saran wrap lightly sprayed with a light coating of cooking spray, or use a large piece of wax paper and no cooking spray.
Chocolate Coated Cherries
Chocolate dipped fruit is one of the simplest, tastiest, healthiest desserts with the potential for an infinite number of variations. I use this basic recipe for many UnDiet holidays, varying it to suit the season.
2 cups grain-sweetened chocolate or carob chips
4 tablespoons butter
fresh cherries with stems, or strawberries, grapes, raisins, dried date nuggets …
In a small heavy saucepan over very low heat, stir chocolate and butter until melted and smooth then remove from heat. You can also microwave the chocolate with the butter until it is melted.
Using a fork dip cherries one at a time, into melted chocolate. Place chocolate-dipped cherries on wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to set chocolate. If the kids are bugging you for a quick snack you could place a few pieces in the freezer to speed up the process, but don’t put the whole batch in the freezer; the chocolate will develop a white film.
Liqueured Up Cherries
Soak cherries overnight and up to 4 days in your choice of liqueur. Pat dry before dipping in chocolate. Caution: don’t dip and drive
Oatmeal Candy
- 4 cups unrefined sugar
- 6 tablespoons cocoa or carob powder (use carob if you’re losing weight, cocoa if you’re maintaining)
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup cream, nondairy milk, or mix of cream & nondairy milk
- 1 cup nut butter
- 4-1/2 cups oatmeal, not instant
Mix sugar, cocoa, butter and cream in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.Remove from heat. Add nut butter and stir until smooth. Add oatmeal and stir until well blended. Drop by teaspoon or tablespoon onto wax paper or lightly oiled cookie sheet. Cool and eat!
Shaped Candies: dump the candy mixture onto a buttered cookie sheet. Use a spatula to smooth the top so it’s all level. When the cookies are cool cut them with a small sharp knife or cookie cutter into whatever shapes you like. If the knife or cookie cutter sticks to the candy, dip the cutting instrument in vegetable oil or spray with oil.
Caramel Chews
Eat these as is or use them to make many other goodies such as Chocolate Dipped Caramel Fruit.
- 1-1/3 cup honey or agave nectar
- 2 cups heavy cream (or 1/2 cup cream & 1/2 cup soy/nut/seed/rice milk)
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup heavy cream (or 1/2 cup cream & 1/2 cup nondairy milk)
- Combine honey, 1 cup heavy cream and butter in a medium-size heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Do not stir. Cook until the mixture begins to get dark and thick. Add 1 cup heavy cream, stir to combine and continue to boil without stirring.
After about 5 minutes use your stirring spoon to drop a small glob of syrup into a glass of ice-cold water. If the mixture forms a firm but not hard ball after hitting the water it’s ready. If it floats to the bottom of the glass in threads boil a few minutes more and test again. When mixture is ready, pour it into a well buttered square pan. When cool, cut into squares.
Note: sometimes a caramel recipe just doesn’t harden like you would like it to. If that happens, don’t despair, you can use this as a caramel sauce or to dip caramel apples into.
Pecan Raisin Clusters
- 1 cup grain-sweetened chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped toasted pecans and 1 cup raisins or chopped dates
In a microwave or double boiler melt chocolate chips until smooth. Dump in pecans and raisins, stirring until well blended. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper lined baking sheet. Refrigerate 30 minutes, until set. Store in airtight container in cool place, but they don’t need to be refrigerated.
Stay tuned – I have lots more Halloween recipes coming over the next few weeks.
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Healthy Popcorn Snacks
All of the recipes below have been adapted from Jolly Time Popcorn’s recipes, many of which use margarine, white sugar, corn syrup and other unfriendly ingredients. So I decided to set up a popcorn kitchen and transform their recipes into UnDiet friendly popcorn snacks. Thank you very much and you’re welcome.
Sweet Corn
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/2 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
- 3 tablespoons unrefined sugar
- sea salt
Heat coconut oil in a heavy medium-sized pan until hot. Add popcorn kernels, sprinkle with sugar and a dash of salt. Cover and shake quickly and CONTINUOUSLY until all the kernels are popped. Remove from heat immediately.
Makes about 1 quart.
Italian Popcorn
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cups popped popcorn
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregeno
- 1 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Heat oil over medium heat in large pan. Add the remaining ingredients to the hot pan and toss until well mixed and heated, about 5 minutes.
Almond Butter Crunch Popcorn
adapted from the Jolly Time popcorn site
The original recipe contained corn syrup which is an ingredient we try to avoid. I’ve substituted honey for the corn syrup with good results, probably tastes even better than the original recipe.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup unrefined sugar
- 1/4 cup honey or agave nectar
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2-1/2 quarts popped popcorn
- 1-1/2 cups whole nuts, toasted*
Preheat oven to 250°F.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in the sugar, honey and salt.
Raise the heat to medium to bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Boil for 8 minutes, stirring only once, over the lowest heat possible to maintain the boil. Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. Slowly pour the syrup over the popcorn and nuts.
Mix well. Pour onto a large, shallow baking pan or use the same cookie sheet you toasted the almonds on. Bake for 30 minutes, mixing well after 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Break apart and store in a tightly covered container.
Makes about 3 quarts.
*To toast nuts, spread them on a large cookie sheet and bake at 325°F for 15 to 20 minutes until they smell nutty and are slightly darker.
White Chocolate Pecan Corn
adapted from the Jolly Time popcorn site
For variety I’ve used grain-sweetened chocolate chips in place of the white chocolate. I’ve also used peanut butter, and espresso flavored chips with good results.
Ingredients:
- 1 (3.5 oz.) butter-flavored microwave popcorn, popped
- 10 ounces grain-sweetened white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup pecan halves, (toasted)
Dump popcorn into a large bowl.
Put white chocolate chips in a large glass measuring cup and microwave on high for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes, or until chocolate is shiny. Stir until smooth Then stir in pecans. Pour chocolate mixture over popcorn and mix well. Allow to cool completely.
Makes about 2 quarts.
Southwestern Crunch
This is a spicy popcorn snack with a just a bit of heat. You can always increase the heat though with another dash or two or three of the cayenne.
- 12 cups popped popcorn
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- Dash of cayenne pepper
Dump the popcorn into a large bowl.
In a small bowl melt the butter in a microwave. When melted stir in the remaining ingredients. Drizzle over popcorn and toss lightly.
Makes 3 quarts.
Patchwork Popcorn
Ingredients:
- 1 (3.5 oz.) butter-flavored microwave popcorn, popped
- 2 cups whole grain cereal squares
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries or dried tart cherries
- 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 teaspoon maple or vanilla extract
Place popcorn, cereal, cranberries and walnuts in a large bowl.
Melt the butter in a small pan over low heat or use a microwave safe bowl in a microwave.
Stir in maple or vanilla extract. Pour over popcorn mixture; toss to mix. Store in tightly covered container.
Makes about 3-1/2 quarts.
Cinnamon Apple Popcorn
Dried tart red cherries or dried cranberries can be substituted for the dried apple.
Ingredients
- 1 (3.5 oz.) butter-flavored microwave popcorn, popped
- 1 cup walnut pieces, toasted
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons unrefined sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup dried apple chunks
In 4-quart glass mixing bowl combine the popcorn and walnuts. Drizzle the butter over the popcorn and nuts and toss well.
Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle over popcorn mixture. Microwave on high 2 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir in dried apple chunks.
Cool. Store in tightly covered container.
Makes about 3 quarts
Popcorn S’Mores
This decadent recipe seems like the perfect finish to this post. I hesitated to put this one on here because it does require a hard to find ingredient (the marshmallow cream) which I discovered one day while browsing the baking aisle at Mother’s Market (a Southern California health food store). It isn’t always in stock and I could probably find it online, but I haven’t tried that yet.
You could always go old school and make it yourself. Cheese Slave came up with an incredibly easy recipe for marshmallow fluff using healthy ingredients. In fact it would probably take less time to make your own marshmallow fluff than it would to search for it at your local health food store.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup unrefined sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup honey or agave nectar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 10 cups freshly popped popcorn
- 8 to 10 oz. marshmallow fluff
- 2 cups mini graham cookies or whole crackers broken into bite-size pieces
- 1 cup grain-sweetened chocolate chips
Combine sugar, butter and honey in a medium saucepan. Cook over high heat for 5 minutes without stirring; remove from heat and stir in baking soda.
Combine popcorn and marshmallow fluff in a large bowl. Pour honey syrup over popcorn. Stir in graham crackers and chocolate chips. Spread mixture evenly into a lightly oiled baking pan. Let cool completely. Break or cut into pieces. Store in an airtight container.
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Fast Food For the Gluten Intolerant
The growing interest in gluten free eating has not gone unnoticed by the fast food giants. Reluctant to lose business to the gluten free crowd many fast food restaurants have added gluten free menus to their websites. Not many of them other than some pizza places which have added gluten free crusts have actually made changes to their menus to accommodate gluten intolerant guests but at least you now have easy access to their gluten free menus.
If you are simply trying to eat gluten free as a diet choice then you probably don’t need this article, choose a salad, a potato, beans, corn, the obvious choices and you’ll be fine, but for those with celiac disease you need to know if there is even a miniscule amount of gluten in a menu item and this article will help you to make the right choices.
Arby’s
Arby’s has published a list of menu items that are gluten free. Nothing surprising and it’s mostly a list of ingredients that are gluten free, although it’s nice to have a selection of gluten free salads and salad dressings. You can print out their list at Arby’s Gluten Free Menu.
Blimpies
Salads, soups, sides, desserts and a few other items make up the gluten free items at Blimpies.
Burger King
BK has developed a list of menu items that are safe for people who are gluten-intolerant. You can see their list at Burger King’s Gluten Free Menu to see a list of foods that are made without wheat, barley, oats, or rye.
Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen’s gluten free menu is pretty basic, but so is their regular menu. Get a burger, chicken patty or hotdog without the bun and you’re good to go.
Del Taco
Del Taco does not have many gluten free items, but still if the posse wants to eat there it’s helpful to know what to order – Del Taco Gluten Free Items, crinkle cut fries and hash browns anyone?
Dominoes
It’s buried deep in the Dominoes website but they do publish a selection of gluten free items. The really cool thing at Dominoes though is that they now have a gluten free crust! Yay Dominoes!
El Pollo Loco
El Pollo Loco has one of the most varied menu of gluten free foods that I’ve seen. Corn on the cob, Impressive Gluten Free Menu.
Godfather’s Pizza
Godfather’s has six gluten free pizza options and a very compassionate attitude towards celiac disease.
Jack in the Box
Jack in the Box doesn’t have many gluten free menu items and navigating their published allergen menu is impossible. Thanks to The Gluten Free Guide though we can get an idea of what to eat if we find ourselves at Jack in the Box.
Kentucky Fried Chicken
A word of warning to those with celiac disease. You may not want to stick to the drive thru at this restaurant. When you step inside you’ll find that the flour used to coat the chicken is airborn. That said you can order a salad, corn and a few other sides through the drive thru window.
Long John Silvers
LJS has some nice gluten free seafood options as well as the usual sides.
McDonalds
McDonalds no longer publishes a list of gluten free items. There has been much debate as to whether or not their fries are gluten free and for those who are truly gluten intolerant versus those who simply chose a gluten free eating plan I would avoid the fries given that they are cooked in the same friers in which the hash browns are cooked in and their hash browns are not gluten free.
Thank you to the GlutenFreeGuide.com for publishing this list of McDonalds Gluten Free Foods.
Popeyes
Click on the Gluten Free Button at the top of the Popeyes Nutition Menu and you’ll find that you can order coleslaw, beans, rice, jalapenos and applesauce for dessert.
Subway
Given that Subway is a sandwich place you’re not going to find much here other than salad, but if your dining companion is a Subway fanatic it’s good to know what you can eat. Warning – not all salad items are gluten free so be sure to check out Subway’s Gluten Free Guide before dining there.
Taco Bell
Check out Taco Bell’s Chart for Gluten Free Items. It’s a little hard to read since it doesn’t separate the gluten free items from other allergens, but if you sit down with a notepad you should be able to jot down the items that will work for you.
Wendy’s
You can eat pretty well on Wendy’s Gluten Free Menu. Salads, chili, various baked potatoes, burgers and grilled chicken …
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Quick & Easy Microwave Dessert Recipes For Kids
In our household we’re forever buying healthy cookies and baked goods and at least half the time, we take one bite, spit it out and the rest of the package sits in the cupboard until it draws ants and I throw it away. This time though I decided that we weren’t going to throw out any more food, just because we didn’t like it. So we started experimenting and came up with quite a few really quick and easy microwave dessert recipes that the kids can make on their own. In fact, once they saw what I was doing they began experimenting and came up with some of their own recipes.
Warning: these aren’t all perfect UnDiet recipes since some of them use leftover Halloween and Easter candies.
Chocolate Tapioca
3 cups non-dairy milk
1/4 cup tapioca pearls
1/8 teaspoon salt (a couple of shakes or grinds of the salt shaker will work)
1/2 cup grain-sweetened chocolate chips
1 tablespoon unrefined sugar (optional)
chocolate or peanut butter flavored baked goods that nobody likes
Place milk and tapioca in a large glass bowl or measuring cup. Microwave for 3 minutes, stir and continue microwaving and stirring in 1 minute increments until tapioca is translucent, about 3 more minutes. Stir in chocolate chips and salt. Let cool until still hot but cool enough to taste. Taste and add optional sugar if needed.
Break up baked goods and use to line the bottom of a large container. Pour pudding over baked goods. Refrigerate until cool enough to eat. Carefully tir before serving if needed to break up the tapioca but being careful not to disturb the bottom crust.
Granola Pudding Bars
Next time you have a package of granola bars that nobody will eat, make up a batch of this pudding cake and you may even buy more granola bars, just so you can make this again.
6 to 8 granola bars
one 3.4 ounce package vanilla or butterscotch sugar-free cook and serve pudding
3 cups skim or lowfat milk
Place granola bars in an 8″ x 8″ pan.
In a large bowl (or even better a large measuring cup) whisk pudding mix into the milk. A measuring cup works great for kids because it has a handle that makes is easy for them to move the pudding mixture into and out of the microwave.
Microwave about 8 minutes totial or until the mixture comes to a boil. You’ll need to take it out of the microwave every 2 minutes to stir. Once it comes to a boil, remove from the microwave, stir and pour over granola bars. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 6 hours.
Brownie in a Cup
I’m always trying different brands of instant coffee, trying to find one that I actually like. What ends up happening is that I have a cupboard full of instant coffee that is only suitable for baking or adding to smoothies. You can also use this recipe to use some of the chocolate or marshmallow candies left over from Halloween or Easter.
Be sure that the mug you’re using isn’t one of those that gets hot in the microwave. I’ve burned my fingers on many such a mug so many times that I took them from my kitchen cupboard and now use them in my bathroom to hold makeup brushes, q-tips, cotton balls and such things.
1/4 cup white whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup Splenda for baking
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
small pinch or 1 grind of sea salt
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons coffee
2 tablespoons chopped chocolate or marshmallow (optional)
In a mug, stir together the dry ingredients. Stir in the oil and coffee, then the the chopped chocolate or marshmallow, if you’re using them.
Microwave on high for one minute, but check it after 30 seconds. It’s done when it’s springy on top but still a bit gooey. Let cool until warm and then dig in.
Candy Pie
This one is so decadent and so not an UnDiet recipe, but the kids will love it and I feel good because at least half of it is a whole grain sugar free cereal.
1 to 2 cups cereal or baked goodie such as cookie or cake
1 to 2 cups chocolate candy, any type, even M&M’s will work
Lightly oil a glass pie plate or microwavable shallow dish. Spread your cereal or baked goods over the bottom of the plate. Evenly arrange the candy over the “crust”. Microwave for 1 minute. Use a spatula to gently stir the candy without disturbing the crust. Microwave for another 30 seconds to 1 minute. If needed gently stir the candy layer again. If all of the candy has melted then remove from microwave. If needed though continue microwaving in 30 second increments until the candy has melted. Remove from microwave and allow to cool until warm. Cut into slices and serve or just gather around and dig in with spoons.
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Watermelon Salad
I LOVE watermelon salad! It’s the perfect thing for lunch or dinner on a hot day. There are so many variations and they’re all fabulous. I’m going to give you this recipe without any measurements because i’s summer and we want to be casual.
Basic Watermelon Salad
- cubed watermelon
- sea salt
- crumbled feta cheese
- julienned mint leaves
Toss and serve ice cold.
You can add one or more of the following to the basic recipe:
- cucumber
- lime juice
- extra-virgin olive oil
- red onion
- jicama
- cilantro
- cumin
- flat leaf parsley
- hot pepper
- crispy bacon
- crispy pancetta
What will you add to your watermelon salad?
