Fruit

Bean and Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 Gala apple, diced into small pieces
  • 1 medium-large pear, diced into small pieces
  • 1 1/2 cups of yellow sweet corn
  • 1 (15 oz.) can of black beans, drained
  • 1/4 cup scallions, finely chopped
  • 1/6 cup cilantro, minced
  • 3 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 lime
  • 1 1/2 tsp. cumin
  • Salt to taste

Dice the apple and pear. Cut the lime in fourths. Squeeze one fourth of the lime on the cut apple and pear. Combine sweet corn, drained beans, cut apple and pear in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and stir well. Add in scallions, cilantro, and cumin. Mix throughly. Squeeze the remaining three-fourths of the lime over the salad. Stir. Taste the salad and add desired amount of salt. (We added about 1/2 tsp. of salt to taste). Enjoy the refreshing summer salad! Serve cold.

August 2015: Cheerios

Hello, it’s me.

Attempting to channel my inner Adele… anyways, it’s been awhile, hasn’t it? I do apologize for my rather lengthy hiatus. Fall of senior years is never what you expect; you never know exactly what you’re in for uni you’re in it. But I’m back and I’m back for good. I’m going to try to make up for lost time over these next few weeks… and before we know it, it’ll be the New Year!

Moving on, I don’t know if this resonates with any of you, but before I was diagnosed with Celiac, Cheerios was one of my childhood favorites. It’s a classic cereal. I can’t quite articulate why I chose that adjective but it just feels right. Originally made from whole grain oats that were contaminated by wheat, rye, and barley grains (remember, oat in and of itself is gluten-free, however is often times contaminated in production by gluten-containing ingredients), Cheerios has now officially GLUTEN-FREE having removed these contaminants. I was almost leaping with joy when I heard this news! For those of you who have been eating gluten-free Cheerios for a little awhile like me, you know why I’m raving about this. For those of you who are just learning about this, this warrants a trip to the grocery store.

My brother attests to the fact that the taste has not changed– its the same old, great Cheerios just gluten-free so we, gluten-free foodies, can enjoy too! I personally enjoy the taste of original Cheerios– it certainly beats Glutino’s Apple Cinnamon Rings and all other wannabe Cheerios. However, I do like to jazz up my Cherrios: topped with Craisins in vanilla almond milk is a delicious way to start the day. You can also top with  bananas, blueberries, strawberries, chopped pecans, walnuts, and brown sugar. Or add your Cheerios to your favorite yogurt. Or even make a trail mix with Cheerios, raisins, cashews, and chocolate pieces. Pick up a box in the local grocery store and share in the comments how you are eating your (gluten-free) Cheerios! Welcome back to your childhood!

Cheers,

Anika

Larabars: Latest and Greatest Eats

Hope everyone’s looking forward to a relaxing and rejuvenating spring break! That is, unless you’re a lucky college-folk who’s already taking advantage of the vacation. The winter months can be hard to push through with the overwhelming homework load, sports, and activities making for a hectic lifestyle. Not so long ago, I had been introduced to my new best friend: Larabars.

Until recently, I was undeniably a hard core KIND Bar and LUNA protein bar advocate. Now, don’t get me wrong. I still love my KIND Bars, especially anything with the scrumptious sweet and salty combination (Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew and Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt). And who can resist the dense, chocolately protein bar flavors that wholly satisfy your hunger?

However, Larabars are made of solely whole and natural ingredients. Each flavor contains no more than nine ingredients; it is simply just unsweetened fruits, nuts, and spices. Believe me, I know I sound like a corny ad for Larabars that’s singing its praises. But have you ever looked at the ingredients list on a typical cereal or protein bar? I bet there are ingredients on the label that you wouldn’t have ever heard of! On the contrary, in the Apple Pie Larabar, there are six simple (and understandable) ingredients: dates, almonds, unsweetened apples, walnuts, raisins, and cinnamon. So far, I have only tried the Apple Pie, Cherry Pie (btw, Happy Pi Day!), Cashew Cookie, and Chocolate Chip Brownie. But I am looking forward to my next trip to Wegman’s (my go-to grocery store for GF items) to buy some new flavors. I have been eying the Carrot Cake flavor on Larabar’s website. The last time I ate carrot cake was before I was diagnosed with celiac!

Additionally, Larabar is affiliated with offshoot brands such as ALT, Jocalot and uber. Now, I can’t vouch for ALT and Jocalat as I have not gotten around to trying these bars. Although I do have a Lemon Poundcake ALT bar in my pantry just waiting to be tasted! Having said that, I can definitely attest to the delectable uber bars. I have so far eaten five of their eight flavors. Let me warn you, they are addicting! All uber bars have that irresistible sweet and salty combo. Out of the Banana Foster, Cherry Cobbler, Coconut Macaroon, Roasted Nut Roll, and Sticky Bun, I would say the Roasted Nut Roll and Coconut Macaroon are my top two favorites. But I am dying to try the new Dark Chocolate Peanut flavor.

Now that you’re drooling all over your keyboard wanting to try some Larabars, go ahead buy one or two (or a dozen)!

Cheers,

Anika

P.S. For any of you who may be worried that these bars are just too good to be true, I took this off Larabar’s website, “GLUTEN FREE/CELIACS LÄRABAR®, über®, Jŏcalat®, and ALT® bars are Gluten Free. They have no gluten-containing ingredients, and we have manufacturing controls in place to ensure that there are no cross-contact concerns. We also periodically verify our practices using Gliadin gluten testing.”