There's nothing like a refreshing salad on a hot summer's day; this gluten free Arugula Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette hits the spot.  Finding gluten free salad is easy (arugula and raspberries don't contain gluten).  Finding gluten free salad dressing is another story altogether.

Gluten lurks in the strangest places.  And salad dressing can contain various binders and flavorings (such as soy sauce) that are not gluten free.  That's why I like to make my salad dressings from scratch --it's a lot cheaper as well.

You can make this Raspberry Vinaigrette ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for up to a week.  And feel free to mix and match the dressing with other greens from your garden.

The flavors in this salad complement each other nicely --the sweet raspberries offset the sharp flavor of the savory (spicy) arugula.  This festive looking crowd pleaser is a great dish for potlucks, barbecues, or a simple everyday treat.  Adding fruit to a green salad is a little trick that I use to get my boys to eat more veggies.  This makes your salads visually appealing and just a bit more enticing as well.

Here are some of my other gluten free salads and vegetable based dishes that have a sweet element to them to lure your little ones into getting more greens:

I'm slightly obsessed with coleslaw these days, especially any coleslaw made with purple cabbage which I find to be delectably sweet and crunchy.  I'm always craving a good crunch in my food.

I like to serve this spicy slaw with my Turkey Burgers from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook or my Grilled Chipotle Orange Chicken.

Spicy SlawNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
½ head purple cabbage, shredded
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 limes, juiced
2 tablespoons olive oil
7 drops stevia
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt

1. Place the cabbage, cilantro, carrot, jalapeño and ginger in a large bowl
2. Toss veggies with lime, olive oil and stevia, then sprinkle with salt
3. Serve

Don't forget the giveaway for a Ball Canning Discovery Kit ends this Wednesday. To be entered simply leave a comment on the Cherry Strawberry Ice Cream Post and let us know what kind of food you would be preserving, or if you're not the preserving type, let us know what you would store in them.

UPDATE: this giveaway has ended and the winner was Tracy.

This super healthy Asparagus Basil Salad is a not just nutritious, it's a treat for the palate.  Trust me, it's delectable, especially right now using wonderfully ripe vegetables at peak season. I found this recipe in Sunset Magazine.  Actually, I didn't find it, our family friend Mrs. Rose found it and made it for Mr. Rose's 75th birthday, a fabulous little gathering that the boys and I attended when we were in Davis, California visiting my folks a couple of weeks ago.

For those of you that commented on my last post, The Gluten Free Diet, about family and friends that don't understand, accommodate or respect your dietary restrictions (or eating plan, as I prefer to say) Mrs. Rose made tons of gluten free food for us!  And so, a yummy dinner was enjoyed by all.

However, IMHO, it really is up to us to maintain our boundaries and not eat food that makes us feel awful, just to spare someone else's feelings.  I would rather hurt their feelings than hurt my body; has anybody else been in a situation like that?

In any event, here's a yummy salad that pretty much anyone can enjoy.  If you don't do nightshades, it's still delicious without the tomatoes!

Asparagus Basil SaladNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and halved
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 ripe avocado, cut into cubes
1 cup sliced basil leaves
¼ cup olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon pepper

1. Steam asparagus for 5-7 minutes until fork tender
2. Place asparagus, tomatoes, avocado and basil in a large bowl
3. Stir in olive oil, lemon juice and mustard
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
5. Serve

I actually made a huge batch of this last weekend and ate it for breakfast and then had the rest for dinner with Turkey Burgers from my book, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.

I am LOVING Mark Sisson's book The Primal Blueprint, the guy is a genius.  And I am waiting for his next book to come out, which is the called, The Primal Blueprint Cookbook. If you haven't had a chance to look at Mark's site, marksdailyapple.com, head on over there and check it out.  It is primal galore.

The name of this cucumber salad really could be Bubby's Cucumber Salad.  I learned to make it from my father's mother, an immigrant to this country, and an amazing woman.  She helped my Dad's father run their butcher shop and was quite the business woman from what I can gather.

She also was an amazing cook.  Her Matzo Ball Soup was incredible, as were so many of her other dishes.

We make Bubby's Cucumber Salad in my home all the time, and when I say we, I am being literal, the boys can whip this salad up in a jiffy, it's so easy.  We like it best in the summertime, when its impact is extra refreshing.  Go ahead, try some for yourself!

Cucumber SaladNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
2 cucumbers, peeled
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt

1. Cut the cucumber into ¼ inch slices
2. Place in a medium bowl
3. Cover with vinegar and sprinkle with salt
4. Serve

I'm really looking forward to my upcoming webinar with the editor of Allergic Living Magazine, Shelley Case, which will be on July 8th at 11am.  More details to come. Hope you can tune in.

Finally, I've been thinking lately about discussing the reasons I went gluten free and why that eating plan has helped me in my healing process.  I also may share some other strategies that I have used to rebuild my health.  Is there anything that would be of particular interest to you?  If so, leave a comment and I just might do a health related post in response to your question.

I am on a coleslaw roll.  In fact, my children are so tired of coleslaw that they have begged me to stop making it; I made coleslaw with dinner every night last week and just can't get enough crunchy cabbage.

One afternoon last week, I put out a query on Twitter (my favorite e-venue to hang out these days, I'm over there quite a bit chatting with people real time) to find out people's favorite coleslaw recipes.  Jenn Cuisine responded with this recipe and I was hooked from the moment I saw it.  My recipe is based on Jenn Cuisine's.  In fact, I hadn't thought about making a "peanut" style sauce for my coleslaw and I have to say, this really hits the spot --and again, no agave and hopefully, healthy enough for all you health nuts out there!

Asian SlawNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
Slaw:
½ head Napa cabbage, chiffonade
2 large carrots, grated
Dressing:
¼ cup creamy roasted almond butter
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ume plum vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
¼ teaspoon fresh ginger, zested (I used a microplane]
7 drops stevia
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds (2 tablespoons for dressing and 2 tablespoons for garnishing)

1. Place chopped cabbage and grated carrots in a large bowl (will be about 5-7 cups of veggies)
2. In a separate bowl, combine almond butter, vinegars, oil, lime juice, ginger and stevia, mixing thoroughly
3. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the sesame seeds
4. Stir dressing into bowl with veggies
5. Serve, topping with remaining sesame seeds

As I mentioned, I am having a lot of fun with Twitter.  What's your favorite form of social networking these days?  Twitter?  Facebook?  Or something else that I haven't even heard of yet?

The other night I had the privilege of eating this amazing gluten free salad at Frasca, a fabulous restaurant in downtown Boulder. Their salad however, had salami, while mine, for a little hit of protein, contains walnuts.

I served this salad with dinner Sunday night while my 3 boys (2 children and husband) watched the NFL playoffs.  Dinner (and this salad) were a hit (even though the Jets lost).

Radicchio Salad with Frisée and ApplesNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 head radicchio, thinly sliced
½ head frisee, sliced
1 apple, cut into matchsticks (I used Braeburn)
olive oil , to taste
balsamic vinegar, to taste
½ cup walnuts, toasted

1. In a large salad bowl, combine radicchio frisee and apple
2. Drizzle salad with olive oil and vinegar and toss
3. Toss walnuts over salad
4. Serve

Valentine's Day is coming up and I will be teaching a Valentine's Day gluten free, dairy free cooking class at Bauman College on Wednesday, February 10th in Boulder --hope to see you there!

I want to give a special thanks to those participating in the forums and a special shout out to forums member Lisa Stafford, who actively answers the questions of so many other community members.  She is the winner of the Forums Activist of the Month Giveaway --and will receive a signed copy of my gluten free cookbook, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.  Congrats and thank you Lisa!

My garden is overflowing with kale so I am looking for creative ways to serve it to the boys.  Of course, their favorite kale dish is the Kale Salad with Cranberries, however, we can't have that every night so I came up with this delicious gluten free Kaleslaw.  The boys liked it and ate some, I myself had about 4 bowls of it --addictive I'd say.

You can use regular mayonnaise for this dish or stay tuned for my gluten free Marcona Almond Mayonnaise later this week month.

Stephanie O'Dea from A Year of Slow Cooking was on Good Morning America today to discuss her book Make It Fast, Cook It Slow and she was absolutely fabulous on the show.  All of the recipes in the book are made using a crock-pot and the food looks comforting, nourishing and delicious.  Check out her gluten free cookbook on amazon.com, it drops today and is going to be a winner!

My husband and I guzzled this summer squash salad last night at dinner.  We had a massive feast of vegetables and salmon (the boys picked at dinner, though did just fine all in all).  Along with the salad, we grilled the salmon, eggplant, red peppers and broccoli.  Fresh fruit for dessert --cherries, apricots and strawberries.

It was a lot of fun.  Making it even better was the fact that my husband and I went grocery shopping together in the afternoon (love doing that with him) while the boys were over at Josh's house running through the sprinkler.

Summer Squash SaladNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
2 small yellow summer squash, thinly sliced
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons basil, sliced into strips
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ cup Marcona almonds, chopped

1. In medium bowl, combine squash, zucchini, basil, olive oil, lemon juice and salt
2. Toss ingredients together
3. Allow to marinate for 20 minutes to 1 hour (time permitting, I have also served mine immediately and it was fine)
4. Sprinkle with almonds
5. Serve

I had a great live interview today with Dr. Alvin Jones on WCBQ-AM 1340/WHNC-AM 890.  He was just a total sweetheart.  Said he was going to come over to my house and knock on the door for some cookies.  A really great guy!

Listen to my interview with Dr. Alvin Jones.

The other night I went to a fabulous event in Boulder hosted by Bauman College. During this evening one of the graduates from Bauman's chef program did a great cooking demo for a raw kale salad with shiitake mushrooms (it had a number of other ingredients as well).

The next day, I was determined to make my a version of my own. Before that evening, I had not thought of eating raw mushrooms, however, after tasting the Bauman salad, I was sold. So, I picked kale from our garden in the blistering heat --it's growing so wildly I am having a challenging time keeping up with it-- and began to concoct the dish above.

Raw Shiitake Kale SaladNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
4-6 cups kale, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons ume plum vinegar
dash toasted sesame oil
dash celtic sea salt
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

1. In a large bowl, combine kale and olive oil
2. Massage the kale for a couple of minutes until it looks slightly wilted
3. Add mushrooms, vinegar and sesame oil
4. Sprinkle with salt and sesame seeds
5. Serve

Serves 4

The evening with Bauman was filled with good food and information and I was very impressed with both the College and Dr. Bauman. He discussed food politics in America and so much more. His philosophy that "one size does not fit all" when it comes to eating is something with which I heartily agree.

Bauman College has an army of nutritionists, teachers and advisers and teaches classes in California (3 schools there), Boulder and also remotely. They also provide consultations with nutritionists and nutrition educators to people all over the world.

Recently, I've had quite a few people asking me for personalized dietary advice and consultations. This isn't something I would feel comfortable doing over the internet. I can however, recommend the services of the people over at Bauman College. They are a highly qualified and sensitive group of people and I hope to be teaching community classes there in the near future.

My children love to have fruit salad as an after school snack.  I often serve it to them with organic yogurt, adding a bit of vanilla and agave nectar to the yogurt.

It's just about fruit season here in Colorado and everything is starting to look luscious.  We have strawberries ripening on the plants in the front yard and peaches (still green) on our peach tree in the back.  Right now however, even though I'm harvesting mountains of kale and various salad greens from our front and back yard, I am still relegated to purchasing my fruit at the grocery store.  We're not quite there yet.  As in, summer.

To make your fruit salad more glamorous, splurge on fancy, expensive fruit, and use pineapple in place of the peaches for the recipe below.  You also might like to add a bit of unsweetened shredded coconut, if you go tropical with your fruit salad.

I like to keep my fruit salads simple with 3 or 4 different fruits so that I can really taste each of the distinct flavors.  Here's one (well actually two) of my favorite fruit combos.

When I put together my post for a Mother's Day Brunch, it was absolutely amazing to me, how dire the offerings were on the internet for a simple fruit salad.  First, it was terribly difficult to find a fruit salad that did not have sugar added to it.  I don't know about you, however, I don't actually eat a lot of fruit because it has so much sugar in it in the first place.  Adding more sugar to all that sugar?  Not a happy day for my body.

During my dissatisfying quest to find a simple fruit salad, I did find this simple fruit salad post on one of my favorite blogs, Mark's Daily Apple.  Funny, he discussed the exact issue that I was running into.  It was nice to know I was not alone.