Gluten Free Nachos

Being gluten free today doesn't mean you have to miss out on the foods you love. Mexican is a great choice when making gluten free dinners and lunches. All it takes is some careful ingredient browsing on the back of the packets and you can make a variety of Mexican dishes.You can get all ingredients for my version of nachos from your local supermarket.

Since my recipe is quite quick, easy and very basic, this blog includes some product reviews of the products I choose to use. You can most definitely make your seasoning for your mince from scratch however, I was short on time so choose to use a packet mix instead. The corn chips chosen for the recipe are available in the Crisps isle at the supermarket which means they are reasonably priced.

Product Review One- Tio pablo Chipotle de Plata Spice Mix

Tio pablo Chipotle de plata spice mix

One of two spice options available at my supermarket. I choose this seasoning as it said on the packet it was a spicy mix rather than mild. It does say on the packet that is designed for fajitas and bbqs however, I think it worked perfectly well in my nachos. It has a sweet, spicy and smokey flavour.

Product Review Two- Mexicano Corn Chips Natural

Mexicano Natural Corn Chips

The crackers were nice and crisp and had a light salty flavour. There wasnt much more to the taste of these crackers. I would recommend you enjoy them with some nice dip as the are a bit plain.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 500g premium beef mince
• 400g diced tinned tomato
• 2 teaspoons Tio pablo Chipotle de Plata Spice Mix
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 400g can red kidney beans, rinsed
• Mexicano Natural corn chips
• Diced Tomato, Grated tasty cheese, avocado, jalapeno plus anything else you would like to add

Method

1. Heat oil in a saucepan and saute onion until soft

2. Add mince and stir until well browned.

3. Add diced tinned tomatoes, salt and seasoning stir to combine

4. Simmer for 10 mins or until think

5. Add Red kidney beans and stir.

6. Place corn chips in a bowl, top with mince and other toppings of your choice.

7. Place in oven or under grill if using cheese and or you want to toast toppings.

Food Product Review- Tasty Pot Co - Green Goodness Soup

Tasty Pot Co offer a range of soups and meals, in convenient one person serves that can be easily heated and eaten as a meal. This review is of their green goodness soup.

The labeling on the front displays that the soup comes with broccoli, spinach, courgette and parsley. The total percentage of the above vegetables and herbs in the soup comes to a total of 17.4% of the total soup. I did expect the percentage of these foods would be higher as they were listed on the front of the label, so was a little disappointed that that the percentage was so low. I guess a major reason for this is due to the high water content of these vegetables. Water makes up the bulk of the ingredients (which is expected since it is a soup), followed by potato and leek.

Nutrition Information from Tasty Pot Co.

The soup in low in kilojoules, fat and sugar so it is great for people watching their waist line. It contains 5.1g of dietary fibre which accounts for 17% of the recommended daily requirement. As with many packaged soups it is quite high in sodium (47% of the NZ recommended intake), however compared to other soups available this is quite a low amount.

The soup contains no detectable gluten and is suitable for vegans.

After all this nutrition information, you probably just want to know how the soup actually tastes. Well for my taste its a little tangy. It has a sour almost zingy taste which leaves an odd sensation in my mouth. The texture is great, smooth, creamy with real chunks of vegetables. I probably wouldn't buy it again due to the weird tangy sensation.

Carrot Cake Slice

The carrot is often claimed to be the perfect health food. It is crunchy, tasty and highly nutritious. Carrots are a good source of beta-carotene, vitamin a,  fiber, vitamin K, potassium and antioxidants. They are a weight loss friendly food and have been linked to lower cholesterol levels and improved eye health. The carotene antioxidants in them have also been linked to reduced risk of cancer.

This slice is gluten, dairy and refined sugar free. A great treat for the whole family.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups desiccated coconut
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 3 carrots;grated
• 12 medjool dates
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
• pinch Himalayan Salt
• 1/2 cups sultanas

Icing:

• 1 cup raw macadamias
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• zest of 1 lime
• juice of 1/2lime

Method:

Place the cake ingredients  into the food processor and pulse until completely broken down and sticking together. Press the mixture firmly into a loaf tin (or any tin you like) with baking paper overhanging the sides for easy removal. Place the icing ingredients into your food processor and pulse until smooth and creamy. You may need to scrape the mixture onto the blades and pulse a few times to achieve the desired consistency. Remove from the food processor and set aside. Spoon the icing over the cake and level the top. Place in the fridge for 3 hours to set.


Recipe Inspiration- Wholefoods Simply

Spinach, Mushroom & Tomato Fry Up

This little side dish is a nutritional jewel! Spinach is full of vitamin K (one cup of cooked spinach yields more than 150% of your daily intake requirement), vitamins A & C, manganese and plenty of flavonoids and carotenoids – all which help to protect your body against many diseases. Add to that the goodness of onion, tomatoes, mushrooms and garlic and some healthy fats from butter and olive oil (you need those to absorb all those vitamins) and you’ve got yourself a winner. It’s a very delicious way to eat spinach.  
Note: I did make this dish but have lost the photo!

Ingredients

• 1 tsp butter or ghee
• 5-6 button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tbsp virgin olive oil
• 1/2 red or brown onion, sliced
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1/2 tsp diced lemon rind
• 1 garlic clove, finely diced
• 3 large handfuls of torn spinach leaves
• about 2/3 tsp sea salt
• pinch of ground black pepper
• pinch of nutmeg (optional but nice)
• drizzle of lemon juice right at the end

Instructions

1. Heat butter in a large frying pan and sauté mushrooms for 3-4 minutes until browned and cooked through. Remove to a plate.
2. In the same frying pan, heat olive oil to medium hot (not too sizzling hot) and sauté sliced onion for 2-3 minutes until slightly translucent. Add tomatoes, lemon rind and garlic and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes and press tomatoes down with a spatula until lightly smashed.
3. Finally, add the spinach and stir through. I added spinach in two batches, letting the first batch cook off slightly to make more space for the second batch. Cook until spinach is just wilted (turned wet and reduced in size). Season with a little more salt if you like and drizzle with some lemon juice right at the end.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Number of servings: 2

Photo credit: www.eatdrinkpaleo.com.au