Soup is good food. Especially healthy soup made with a mere five ingredients.

This quick and easy Roasted Cauliflower soup recipe is one that I found in a recent issue of Bon Appetit. Except their recipe had butter and heavy cream; I’ve de-Paula Deened this recipe so that it is the pure delicious essence of a vegetable without all kinds of unnecessary other ingredients and flavors.

Cauliflower is one of my favorite foods. A cruciferous vegetable, it is full of anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds and healthy fiber.

Here are some other healthy cauliflower recipes:

• Cauliflower Rice
• Mashed Cauliflower
• Mexican Chicken and Rice
• No Potato Salad
• Paleo Dirty Rice

Do like cauliflower? If so what are your favorite cauliflower recipes?

The post Roasted Cauliflower Soup appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

Tis the season for all things squash and pumpkin. On the menu tonight? Butternut squash apple soup spiced with sweet, warming cinnamon. If you’re looking for an easy soup recipe this one is great for beginners.

My younger son loves this soup and I do too –sometimes I even eat it with a little protein (such as eggs or turkey) for breakfast.

Here are some notes on this recipe:

• Feel free to make this soup with other types of winter squash such as pumpkin, acorn, delicata, etc.
• I used a 2 ½ pound butternut squash for this recipe (weight is prior to peeling and de-seeding)
• Experiment with other warming spices such as ginger and nutmeg
• I used Braeburn apples in this soup; feel free to experiment with other types of apples

Squash is a very healthy, hearty, nutrient dense vegetable, full of carotenoids and other beneficial antioxidants. Further, it is thought that squash is both anti-inflammatory and helpful in regulating blood sugar.

In my house we love eating squash because of its delicious, sweet flavor, and are happy to reap the secondary (health) benefits. What is your favorite winter squash recipe?

For more ideas on how to cook squash, check out these healthy recipes:
-Squash Pie
-Squash Fries
-Squash Latkes

The post Butternut Squash Apple Soup appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

Tonight is the Oscars and we’re having a nice little party over here (as usual).  I’ll be serving this super quick and easy gluten free Mushroom Soup in little shot glasses.  As you can probably tell by now, pretty much any event is an excuse for me to have people over and cook healthy gluten free food.

I frankly could not really care who wins what awards tonight.  I just like to hang with my posse and have good eats.  In case you’re wondering what else is on the menu, I’ll also be serving Salmon Dill Burgers from The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook (I make those into little balls and serve with toothpicks), as well as a huge salad and my beloved Black and White Cake, plus of course, a big crudite with dip to get the party started.

Mushroom SoupNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 pound shitake mushrooms, chopped
2 quarts chicken stock
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt

1. Heat oil in a 6-quart stock pot over medium heat
2. Add onion and saute for 20 to 30 minutes until caramelized
3. Add mushrooms and saute for another 5 to 10 minutes until tender
4. Pour chicken stock into pot, bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes
5. Transfer pot contents to a vitamix and puree on high until smooth
6. Serve

In other news, I’m giving away a copy of Shannon’s (of Nourishing Days) new ebook, The Simple Food {for winter} Cookbook: 30 Grain-Free Recipes To Get You Through The Dark Days. To enter, leave a comment below by Monday, February 28th at midnight.

Update: this giveaway is now over and the winner was Lori!

Here are more gluten free mushroom soup recipes you may enjoy:
-Creamed Mushroom Soup with Toasted Herb Croutons form Dish Towel Diaries
-Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup with Cashew Cream from Joy the Baker
-Cream of Mushroom Soup (Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free) from Nourishing Meals

The post Mushroom Soup appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

A piping hot bowl of this gluten free Broccoli Soup is the perfect dish for today.  Why?  We’re expecting a nice balmy high here in Boulder of 15 degrees, while we’re buried in snow from yesterday’s storm.

I was fortunate enough to spend yesterday, my Sunday, at a yoga class, and then hiking the gorgeous Mount Sanitas in the snow.  As you can see, thus far, the new year is treating me well.

If you’re looking for a healthy soothing recipe to help kick off your new year, this is it.  Simple (this gluten free soup is made of a mere 5 ingredients), warming, and easy to digest, it’s the perfectly healthy treat for cold winter days and nights.  Serve it with a salad and you have a quick and easy dinner that the whole family can enjoy.

Broccoli SoupNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bunch broccoli (a couple of heads), coarsely chopped
2 quarts water
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt

1. Heat oil in a large pot and saute onion over medium to low heat until soft, about 15 minutes
2. Add broccoli and saute for 5-10 minutes
3. Add water and cook until broccoli is soft about 15 minutes
4. Puree hot soup in tiny batches in a vitamix until smooth and creamy
5. Reheat soup and serve

When looking for something warm and healthy to eat, I also like to make this Butternut Squash Soup and some of these other soups as well.

Here are some delicious looking soups from groovy bloggers:
-Broccoli, Garlic and Lemon Zest Soup (SCD) from Milk for the Morning Cake
-Broccoli and Arugula Soup from GOOP
-Mixed Mushroom and Veggie Soup from Gluten Free for Good

The winner of last weeks giveaway for an All-Clad 4-Quart Saute Pan is Caitlyn! Here’s what Caitlyn said her favorite vegetable stir fry combo is:

“Juicy shitake mushrooms sauteed and simmered in sesame oil with garlic, and caramelized onions. Then add roasted red peppers, green peas, and green onion. Add a touch of agave syrup salt and pepper to taste. And serve over a steamy bed of fresh brown rice. Enjoy and Bon appétit.”

Congratulations and enjoy!

The post Broccoli Soup appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

I’m thrilled to be a part of Pacific Natural Foods’ Everyday Chef Challenge!  For the first round of the competition, $5 Dinners, Aggie’s Kitchen, Herbivoracious, A Savory Nest and I will be using a “secret” ingredient along with one of Pacific Natural Foods’ broth products *.

The secret ingredient for this round?  Mushrooms.  I used shiitake, though any type will work for the recipe below.  And I have chosen to use their Organic Vegetable Broth.

Thai Vegetable SoupNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms, trim off bottom of stems
1 quart Pacific Foods Organic Vegetable Broth
1 cup coconut milk
1 head broccoli, trimmed and chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, minced
2 tablespoons lime juice, freshly squeezed
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ cup cilantro, minced

1. Warm oil in a large saucepan over medium heat
2. Add onion, stirring frequently until softened, about 10 minutes
3. Add mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes
4. Stir in broth and coconut milk, bring to a simmer
5. Reduce heat to medium, add broccoli and ginger and cook until broccoli is bright green, 3-5 minutes
6. Stir in lime juice and salt
7. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with cilantro
8. Serve

This gluten free Thai Vegetable Soup can be made in a jiffy with all natural, easy to find ingredients. It’s a wonderful dish to prepare for dinner on a chilly night when you are pinched for time. Get the children to trim and chop the mushrooms for you to speed up the process.  Your end result could be mighty satisfying; my little guy ate 3 bowls of this last night and was lapping it up!

So, head on over to Pacific and place your vote for me (if you like my recipe), or one of my competitors’ recipes. For more information check out Pacific Foods details about the Everyday Chef Challenge.

* Disclosure: I am working with Pacific Natural Foods as a participant in this promotion and have received a stipend

The post Thai Vegetable Soup: Everyday Chef Challenge appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

It seems that Fennel Apple Soup is on everyone’s radar these days.  And what better time than now?!  It’s perfect soup weather here in Boulder –a toasty -2 outside, which begs for soup.

Gluten free Fennel Apple Soup has been popping up everywhere –on various gluten free yahoo groups and in various magazines.  Here’s my version.

Fennel Apple SoupNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion
2 (medium to large) fennel bulbs stems removed and diced
2 large apples (I used Honeycrisp), peeled, cored and diced
1 quart chicken stock
2-3 sprigs thyme

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot
2. Saute onion over low or medium heat for 10-15 minutes until soft and almost browned
3. Add fennel and apples and cook for 5-10 minutes until they start to soften or brown
4. Add chicken stock and thyme
5. Puree soup in small batches (for safety purposes) in a vitamix until smooth and creamy
6. Reheat soup and serve

Serves 4

I just received my copy of Stephanie O’Dea’s (crockpot365.blogspot.com) Make It Fast, Cook It Slow and am chomping at the bit to try some of her recipes.  The meatloaf looks especially enticing.

In book news, my gluten free cookbook, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook was listed in the latest issue of Publisher’s Weekly.  And I have several media events coming up before the holidays.  A radio interview on Epicurean Corner, a TV appearance on Good Day Colorado and another TV appearance on Daybreak on the Deuce.  I will provide air dates and times for all of the above later this week.

Finally, Greg Mowery of stovetopreadings.blogspot.com reviewed The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook, saying, “Amsterdam offers a fine group of tasty desserts such as Classic Carrot Cake, Choclate Velvet Torte, Chocolate Cranberry Biscotti, Pear Crisp and Pecan Pie.”  Thanks Greg, I hope you have a lot of fun with these recipes and all of the others in my book!

The post Fennel Apple Soup appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

Soup mania continues.  And this dairy free creamy pumpkin coconut ginger soup hits the spot.  I decided I had to make something pumpkin today after making pumpkin pies from my gluten free cookbook (The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook) and finding myself with a bunch of leftover roasted pumpkin.  Of course soup was the easiest thing to make after making one too many pumpkin pies for family and friends.

We’re having nice weather here, in the 60′s and sunny, however with a chill in the air, I can’t get enough soup.  And this one is a rich, filling and nourishing treat.

Everything has calmed down a bit since Halloween and the boys and I are settling into a good routine, other than those late night World Series games –come on Yankees, get the job done already!

In any event, I’ll be serving this warming soup to the boys for dinner tonight with salad greens from the garden (which currently exists in our cold frame).  They’ll finish their chores and then we’ll eat dinner while we listen to the game playing on the radio.

You may want to add more stevia to your soup than the recipe calls for to make it just a bit sweeter.  I sometimes add a couple of drops of stevia to the individual bowls of soup.  If you use a different type of stevia than the recipe calls for you may need to adjust your amounts, since different brands and types of stevia have different levels of sweetness.

The lovely Karina of Karina’s Kitchen also has a recipe for a yummy looking gluten free pumpkin coconut soup.  I think that’s where I first got the idea to combine pumpkin with coconut in a soup, though I know I also saw something similar on one of my gluten free yahoo groups as well.

The post Pumpkin Ginger Soup appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

When the cold weather comes I’m in the mood for soup.  This gluten free Green Soup with Ginger that I found on Heidi’s website 101cookbooks.com is quite comforting on a chilly day.  And I must confess, I often eat it for breakfast to start my day out right.

I’ve probably mangled the work of art that Heidi had on her site, however, I was in the mood for something very soothing so I decided to puree this soup.  I also used collards (my friend Patrick had just brought some over from Rachel’s farm) instead of the green chard that Heidi had used and made a few other changes as well.

All in all I was more than happy with how the soup turned out.  The combination of lemon, ginger and greens can’t be beat taste or nutrition-wise.

Green Soup with GingerNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
2 large leeks, white and green parts, sliced
1 bunch collards
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced (plus more to taste)
2 quarts chicken stock
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. Heat oil in a large pot and cook onion over low heat with salt until soft and golden, about 20 minutes
2. Add leeks to pot and cook for 10 minutes until soft, then add collards and ginger, sauteing for 5 more minutes
3. Add chicken stock, then cook for 10 minutes
4. Remove soup from heat and puree in vitamix) in batches until creamy and smooth
5. Pour back into pot, heat and add lemon juice
6. Serve

Serves 6

Come on over to my facebook page and see my sister’s (Dina Amsterdam) campaign for the yoga clothing company, Blue Canoe.  She is a yoga teacher in San Francisco and leads retreats all over the country and teaches internationally.  The campaign is lovely.

You may notice that I am now displaying my twitter feed on the sidebar of this website.  I’m on twitter every day, usually a couple of times a day.  For more twitter action join me over here.

And finally, at this point, more than 2 months after its release, my gluten free cookbook has received a nice amount of reviews on amazon.com, to take a look at them (they run the gamut) check out The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.

Enjoy the soup and stay warm!

The post Green Soup with Ginger appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

You will find this cool and creamy cucumber avocado soup refreshing on a hot summer day.  I’ve been drinking it all weekend and experimenting with it along the way.

I tried making it with raw garlic, which did not go down as smoothly as I thought it would, so I eliminated that ingredient.  However I did leave in the raw onion as it added a very sharp yet sweet flavor.

According to my first friend in the entire world, Amy Merideth (we go back to age 2) this recipe is an optimal way to use up leftover cucumbers, which apparently her mom, Beth, has a lot of.  It’s also a nice way to rehydrate yourself after a long day in the hot summer’s sun.

Cucumber Avocado GazpachoNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 small avocado
1 cucumber, peeled and de-seeded, plus additional cuke for garnish
1 tablespoon onion, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon chili powder
1 cup water
smoked paprika, to garnish

1. Throw avocado, cucumber, onion, oil, lemon juice, vinegar and water in vitamix
2. Puree on high speed until smooth
3. Blend in salt and chili powder
4. Serve, garnishing with extra cucumber cubes and smoked paprika if desired

Serves 2

Now and then I like to highlight reader’s comments that are especially captivating.  Here’s a favorite, that I just received a few days ago, from Kristin; she describes a conversation with her 5 year old daughter and it’s a real gem.

“Hey Mom, did you bake without me?”
“Sorry hon, I wanted to try a new Elana recipe.”
“Well, what’s in ‘em?”
“Almond meal, flax meal, eggs, dates, raisins.”
“Hmm. That’s all? No agave?”  “Nope.”
“Well, the dates and the raisins give them a really nice sweetness.  Mild, but good.  I love them, even if you did make them without me.”

The post Cucumber Avocado Gazpacho appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

Over the last month I have received several emails from people despondent over their dietary options, or lack thereof. The touching aspect? Each person thanks me profusely for this website, for providing them with options and offering new ways to enjoy the foods they can eat.

The heartbreaking aspect of these same emails? People express their feelings of loneliness and isolation. They ask if I can recommend a community where people share their dietary concerns. If only I knew of such a place.

Certain sites such as gluten-free girl (written by Shauna Ahern), have created amazing online neighborhoods; I often refer people to her blog. However, Shauna follows a different food plan than many of us over here. While she offers great gluten-free recipes, some people cannot eat the dairy, soy, corn, potatoes, grains and white sugar in her dishes. Looking for a book about making the most of your dietary lot? Hers is a good read.

Where can those of us on a more restricted diet go for community? Let’s form one right here.

Whether you come to this site because you have dietary dilemmas or you just like to eat good food, join in and let us all know about one of the following:

Go ahead, leave a comment; let all of us out here know what’s on your mind.

Squash Aduki Chestnut SoupNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 leek, washed and chopped
1 cup butternut or acorn squash, peeled and cubed
2 quarts chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 cup aduki beans, cooked
1 cup chestnuts, cooked
1 head kale, chopped

1. In a large soup pot, warm oil over medium-high heat
2. Sauté leek for 10 minutes until soft
3. Add squash and sauté for 5 minutes
4. Pour stock into pan and bring to a simmer
5. Add aduki beans, chestnuts and kale
6. Simmer for ½ hour to allow flavors to meld
7. Serve

Here in Colorado, it is cold and snowy yet again! Today, I will be making another big pot of this soup to warm my bones.

The post Squash Aduki Chestnut Soup appeared first on Elana's Pantry.