Category Archives: Recipes

As someone who eats mostly meat and vegetables, certain ethnic cuisines are perfect for my diet.  I love Asian food, and can always count on finding a few options at an Asian restaurant (minus the soy sauce!).  So, tonight I made my own Coconut Curry Chicken… and with a new kitchen tool I got!  Although it needs to be used very carefully, a mandolin is a necessary kitchen tool for someone who eats a lot of veggies.  It can slice veggies into very slim slivers, and my new mandolin also cuts veggies into small matchstick slices.  Oooooo!

Coconut Curry Chicken

In a deep pan, saute 3 tsp. minced shallots with some olive oil for a few minutes.

Add three chicken breasts (or tenders) and sear the chicken on both sides.

Add one can of lite coconut milk, a sprinkle of salt, several shakes of curry powder, a few shakes of ginger, and one tsp. of chili garlic sauce.  The chili garlic sauce is very spicy (and I have a thick tongue for spice), so use according to your spice level.

While the chicken is cooking a little, chop one green pepper and two yellow peppers lengthwise.  Or whatever your favorite colored peppers are.

After a few minute of the chicken simmering, add the chopped peppers, one box of cherry tomatoes, and one can of drained bamboo shoots.

Cover and let simmer over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through.

When serving, sprinkle more curry powder on top of chicken, for added flavor.

For garnish, cut some green pepper into matchsticks using the mandolin!  Sprinkle on top of chicken for extra crunch.

You can also serve this dish over rice, which will sop up all the extra saucy flavors.

Happy Allergy Free Eating!

Spoiled again!  I had dinner last night at a close friend’s family house.  They were kind enough to invite me to their family dinner while all the grown up kids were home, but even kinder to take my allergies into consideration!

While dinner was cooking and our mouths were watering from the delicious smells, we munched on veggies, crackers and hummus.  Gluten free crackers!  Actually, this family eats these nut crackers on a regular basis.

For dinner, we had chicken wings, steak tips, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and salad.  Did I say dinner?  I meant feast.  There were special chicken wings and steak tips for me, referred to as “Lauren’s meat.”  And they were delicious!

For “Lauren’s” chicken wings, the meat was marinated in olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, chive dijon mustard, ginger, salt, and pepper.

For “Lauren’s” steak tips, the meat was marinated in olive oil, red wine, and rosemary.

The other chicken wings and steak tips had a soy sauce based marinade.  The second ingredient in soy sauce is wheat, but I really wanted to try this other marinade.  So I made my own this afternoon, just altering a few ingredients to be allergy friendly.  I marinated my steak tips in olive oil, wheat-free soy sauce, red wine, agave nectar, lemon juice, garlic, sea salt, and rosemary.  The sweet and salt make a perfect combination!

I am so thrilled by everyone’s interest and investment in my allergies.  It is so nice to know that the people close to me don’t see my allergies as a bother, and are so willing to try something new!  Thanks 🙂

I love Thai food because it is often dairy and wheat free.  Tonight, I was in the mood for some Thai flavors, but wanted to try something other than my usual Pad Thai.  So, I made Thai Salmon and Cole Slaw.  The salmon had great flavor to it, and was different than just baked salmon.  I was particularly pleased with the cole slaw.  Again, the flavors were fantastic!

Here is the salmon: 

And the cole slaw, which just looks like regular cole slaw, but tastes so different! 

And, finally, the recipe… happy allergy free eating!

Thai Salmon

Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and place 2 salmon steaks on it.

Combine 2 tbsp. sesame oil, 2 tbsp. honey, 2 tbsp. tamari (wheat free soy sauce), 1 tsp. garlic, one half tsp. red pepper flakes, and 2 tsp. ginger and mix well with a fork.

Smother the sauce on the salmon so that the steaks are covered with sauce.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until center is cooked.

Thai Cole Slaw

Combine one quarter c. mayo, one quarter c. rice vinegar, one eighth c. tamari (wheat free soy sauce), 1 tsp sugar or agave nectar, 1 tsp lemon juice, one half tsp pepper and mix well with a fork.

Chop one red pepper and one yellow pepper into small bite sized strips, if you want some extra crunch.

In a large bowl, mix one bag of cole slaw and chopped peppers.

Pour sauce over slaw mixture and toss to combine.  Let sit for a few minutes before serving, so the flavors can combine.

Finely cut scallions to sprinkle on top and serve.

The weather this week in Boston is that soft whisper of spring that makes us think summer actually might arrive sometime this year.  We are supposed to get into the 60s this week… break out the flip flops!

With the nice weather, I made the switch from hearty roasted vegetables to spring fruits.  Tonight, I made a seriously flavorful fruit salsa to top off my dinner, a recipe that my mom and I created and talked out over the phone.  She tried her version of it over white fish; I added a few zingers and put it over chicken.

Here are the grocery ingredients:

Into small cubes, I chopped up one red pepper, one can of pineapple rings, one half of a red onion, one mango, and one half of a bunch of scallions.  The chopped pieces should all be around the same size.  I then added the juice of one orange and two limes, a few shakes of garlic salt, lemon pepper, and ginger.  Toss, and then let sit for an hour before serving.  Here is the final product:

The mango was a new adventure for me.  I have never really bought or cut up a mango, and it was a great new experience.  Did you know what the inside looks like?

I am definitely going to keep this recipe.  It can be put over chicken, fish, pork, rice, salad, beans… the possibilities are endless. Welcome, summer!

This past week, I went over a friend’s house to catch up and spend time with her family.  She used to teach with me, and we became fast friends.  Now, she is a wonderful mother to two children and a brand new baby.  I couldn’t wait to meet the new cherub and catch up over a home cooked meal!

While I was drooling over the beautiful new baby, my friend was cooking a delicious meal.  An allergy friendly meal!  It takes a thoughtful and wonderful friend to make such a special dish.  She cooked her favorite Giada recipe, Roman Chicken.

It was deeeee-licious!  It was a very fancy version of Chicken Cacciatore, with prosciutto and white wine.  You can see how great it looks, but I wish I could somehow link the flavorful smell to my post, too!  And, she even bought gluten-free pasta to go with it!  I brought a side of Raspberry Walnut Chicken Salad, without the chicken on top.

If I didn’t think I was spoiled enough, she bought coconut milk ice cream for dessert!  I have tried the SoDelicious brand before, namely their yogurts and coffee creamers.  Their products are made with coconut milk instead of cow’s milk, which makes them really rich and delicious.  The ice cream was especially tasty… the kids didn’t even notice the difference and had chocolate mustaches just like I did!  I am sure I would eat it even if I wasn’t dairy free.

What a great night…the Roman Chicken was savory, the ice cream was decadent, the company was perfect, and I was spoiled!!