My summer is officially kicking off this weekend. Not only are my best friends in the whole wide world coming to visit me, but Memorial Day means we’re officially allowed to grill every single night, eat salads for dinner every night, drink white wine spritzers and wear dresses.

Summer livin’ is so easy.

But let’s focus on the grilling and salad part, before we get sidetracked (and boozy). We’ll save the white wine spritzer and pretty dresses for some other time. I mean this is a site focused on food after all.

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Continue reading Grilled Vegetable Quinoa Salad with Avocado

I’ve baked my fair share of gluten-free breads over the past two years. I have a gluten-free baguette recipe in my ebook, and have successfully turned that recipe into a sandwich bread as well as a crusty boule. But it’s my most recent kitchen success that has me glowing with gluten-free baking pride.

A gluten-free cinnamon swirl bread.

If you’ve attempted gluten-free bread before, you know the dough is…well, sticky to say the least. It’s more like a thick pancake batter, that you pour and spread, rather than something that can be shaped. Rollable? Doubtful.

Unless you get creative.

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Continue reading Gluten-Free Cinnamon Swirl Bread

We’re starting something new here. Today I’m introducing Foodie Fridays, which will be a weekly post consisting of four (maybe more as the posts evolve) of photos I’ve found online that are inspiring my future week.

To Bake

The bake section is a gluten-free treat that I’m dying to make. You already know how much I love to bake, so finding new gluten-free goodies is one of my favorite things to do. Today’s recipe is from the Urban Poser. She is amazing. Her recipes are creative and inspired. Her photos are gorgeous. And these Almond Flour Cinnamon Rolls are exactly what I’ve been craving for years. Ooey gooey cinnamon rolls. Her almond flour creations are simply genius and don’t be surprised if you see more the coming weeks.

To Savor

Savory bites that make me drool. These sweet potato canapes with barbecue mung bean sprouts seriously have my mouth watering. This recipe from Vegan Richa is simply sensational. It’s gluten-free, vegan and super healthy. Plus it’s packed with flavor and just looks beautiful, doesn’t it?

To Drink

It’s Friday and friday means the work week is over and most importantly it’s time to relax. To drink is our cocktail section (you may see some virgin recipes sprinkled in from time to time). Today’s Watermelon Citrus Soda is from La Fuji Mama and would make only the most sensational summertime drink. With a splash of tequila (my oh-so-favorite drink of choice), you have a simple, easy and delicious cocktail on your hands that should be enjoyed while you’re relaxing and watching the sun set.

To Remake

While I follow a gluten-free lifestyle, there are so many gluten-filled recipes that make my heart melt and my mouth water. Recipes that I dream about, that I wish I could devour. So this section is dedicated to those recipes – the recipes I’m dying to eat, that I most definitely will be recreating to be gluten-free. I want to wake up in the morning to a plateful of these Roasted Banana Bread Scones. Just imagine these drizzled in a peanut butter glaze and served with a cup of steaming tea. Are you dying like I am? Don’t worry, rest assured that I’ll be making these in the very near future.

So that’s it! My first Foodie Friday. What do you think? Do you like it? Should we continue? Want to see different things? Let me know in the comments below!

So would it be any surprise that I follow other bloggers that cook the same way? If you haven’t seen the blog Healthful Pursuit, then take a pause from reading this post and jump over there right now. Leanne is a fabulous chef that cooks sensational and delicious gluten-free foods that are focused on whole foods and natural ingredients.

And today I’m super excited to share Leanne’s new ebook, Dessert Freedom. You can guess from the title, this book is full of desserts. Each of the 20 recipes is accompanied by a gorgeous photo and there are also 20 health-promoting techniques to help you embrace your allergies, conquer your cravings and liberate your dessert dilemma.

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Continue reading Ready for Dessert Freedom?

It’s been a while. How are you? What have you been cooking lately? Tell me in the comments below, I’m dying to know! For all of you mothers out there, I hope you weren’t in your kitchen (too much) on Sunday. I hope you were served a phenomenal breakfast in bed, then pampered all day long. You totally deserve every minute of it.

My mom was hundreds of miles away from me, and I wasn’t able to cook for her, so I thought sharing one of her (new) favorite recipes would be quite fitting. My mom is an amazing cook. She is creative, experiments with healthy ingredients and is definitely not afraid of flavor. She inspires me to be in the kitchen and to not be afraid to try new things.

But it’s my dad who is the king in the breakfast department. And granola is one of their specialties. We’re total granola fiends in my house. They’re granola boasts tons of maple flavor, crunchy nut clusters and undertones of vanilla. Mom loves it.

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Continue reading Peanut Butter-Banana Quinoa Granola

I’m going to tell you a little story about myself. Well maybe not so much of a story as a little life history. Hope you’re ready…it’s super interesting {wink, wink}.

So, I’m Italian. That much you already know. What you might not know is that my Italian side of the family were (and some still are) mushroom farmers. Pennsylvania, where my mom’s side, has a large population of Italian immigrants and many of them settled into the mushroom business when they arrived. My family being some of them.

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Continue reading Porcini Mushrooms Quinoa Risotto

Have you ever had a skillet cookie? If you haven’t, I think it’s about high time that you give it a shot. I hadn’t had one before, but I’d been dreaming of chocolate chip cookie bliss for weeks and when the thought dawned on me to make it in my cast iron skillet, I dove right in.

The beauty of a skillet cookie is that you can cut it like a piece of pie and top it with ice cream. Which reminds me, chipwiches are also in my near future (and your future too), I’m just working on perfecting my homemade ice cream recipe. I’m kind of thinking I’ll do something fun with the flavors rather than just plain old vanilla.

Tell me, does Peanut Butter Cookie and Roasted Banana Ice Cream sandwiches sound good to you? They sound pretty freakin’ delicious to me!

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Continue reading Gluten-Free Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

Are you obsessed with fitness? Yeah, me neither. But fitness wear? Now you have my attention.

Although I don’t consider myself a workout fiend, I do enjoy exercise, but what I love more is the workout clothing. You see now that I’m working from home, I live in yoga pants, sports bras and tank tops. Literally. My boyfriend is lucky if he sees me in jeans.

It may be pathetic, but luckily for me there are companies (like Albion) that offer the best of both worlds. They’re super trendy, but still comfortable, wearable and totally functional.

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Continue reading Albion Fit Giveaway

Cinco de Mayo is one of my favorite holidays. It revolves around food and drinking, margaritas and guacamole being the highlights of the day.

Like so many others, fresh tortilla chips and guacamole is my total vice. If that was an acceptable meal for dinner, I’d probably have it three or four times a week. In fact, I’m currently sitting on my couch and eating chips and guacamole. (Ps – let’s talk about how the boy came home with no salt chips….ugh…but we’re still enjoying them)

There’s almost nothing better than slicing into a ripe avocado, mashing it in a bowl with a little lime juice and salt (I keep it simple around here) and scooping an obnoxiously huge bite onto a crispy tortilla chip. Crunch. Crunch. Mmm…

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Continue reading Margarita Mousse Bars

Okay so we made burgers last night. Fat, juicy turkey burgers stuffed with quinoa and cilantro, covered with all my favorite toppings. And you know what?

They were freakin’ delish.

Like one of those meals that you wish would never end. One of those meals that you wish you could eat ten of and not feel stuffed to the brim, or fall into a two day food coma, or have my belly expand with a ginormous food baby.

But cilantro-quinoa turkey burgers are totally worth it, right?

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Continue reading Cilantro-Quinoa Turkey Burgers with Garlicky Kale