Tag Archives: gluten free

New Plant-Based Pastas from Explore Cuisine!

Explore Cuisine Packages Display
All Photos By Gail

There is no denying that Pasta is a popular go-to ingredient for creating quick, versatile and delicious meals to please any palate. For Pasta Lovers who may have had to eliminate this tasty staple from their diets due to a gluten intolerance, there are now many gluten-free pasta options on the market that make it possible for everyone to indulge. Explore Cuisine has a line of organic pastas made from beans and other plants that are a great place to start when you want to prepare a tasty, healthy meal for yourself or your family. Take a  look at a few of the super quick and easy dinners that I’ve recently prepared for myself with Explore Cuisine Pastas and absolutely no advanced planning!

Edamame Spaghetti Package

I bet that you had no idea that Edamame, familiar to most as the little green soybeans that everyone likes to nosh on before the meal at Japanese restaurants, can be use to make some of the most delicious pasta you will ever taste. Explore Cuisine makes a few different varieties of Edamame pasta, including everyone’s favorite; spaghetti.

Edamame Spaghetti Package

Edamame Spaghetti can be used in all of your favorite recipes as a substitute for wheat-based pasta. You might find that you like it even better, and it’s good to know that Explore Cuisine’s Edamame Spaghetti contains nearly half of your daily protein and fiber requirements in just one serving!

Edamame Spaghetti Serving Suggestion

I made an easy and scrumptious Primavera by adding frozen mixed vegetables that I had on hand, and tossing the pasta in butter, salt and pepper to taste.

Edamame Spaghetti Serving Suggestion

Then I covered it with cheese, which is how I like my pasta!

Chickpea Fusillii Package

Explore Cuisine also specializes in a line of Pulse Pastas; a term that may be unfamiliar to you. Pulses are part of the legume family, and the term ‘pulse’ refers to the dried seed. Dried peas, dried beans, lentils and chickpeas are the most common varieties of pulses. Pulses are very high in protein and fiber, antioxidants, and low in fat! This where Explore Cuisine’s Organic Chickpea Fusilli comes in.

Chickpea Fusilli

Chickpea Fusilli is a healthy and delicious mealtime choice that contains only four organic, whole food ingredients. This pasta also contains 11g of protein and nearly 20% of your daily dietary fiber requirement per serving. With its soft and supple texture, and mild taste, Chickpea fans will be in Heaven!

Chickpea Fusilli Serving Suggestion

Since this pasta is a bit more sturdy than the spaghetti, I topped it with Trader Joe’s frozen meatballs and jarred sauce. Delicious and satisfying!

Red Lentil Penne Package

Red Lentil Penne is also a pulse pasta. With the smooth texture of flour pasta and the benefits of lentils, the Red Lentil Penne is a fantastic choice for any penne based pasta dish. Comprised of only two ingredients, Red Lentil Penne pasta is  protein rich  and a good source of fiber. Organic, gluten-free and free of GMOs, it’s pasta reinvented!

Red Penne Pasta Serving Suggestion

Here is the penne topped with a light tomato vodka sauce and a dollop of creamy cottage cheese (you could also use Ricotta, if you had that on hand). Out of this world delish!

Explore Cuisine Packages Display

Explore Cuisine’s Italian style pastas were created in the Apulia region of Italy, which is famed for being the home of pasta. Explore Cuisine worked side by side with pasta masters and professional chefs to deliver the authentic taste and texture of the best Italian pasta but made with the goodness of chickpeas and lentils.

Learn more about Explore Cuisine foods, and get recipes, at This Link!

Product Review: Explore Cuisine Pasta

Explore Cuisine Pasta Boxes
All Photos By Gail

Do you like pasta? I sure do. One exciting thing about being a pasta fan is how innovative foodies and culinary experts alike are continually coming up with new recipes to make pasta a healthier, better-for-you meal choice, especially if you happen to be on a gluten free diet. At the recent Summer Fancy Food Show, I was introduced to Explore Cuisine pastas, which are made from variety of different kinds of organic beans. The folks at Explore Cuisine were kind enough to send me a couple of varieties to try at home, and happy to say that these pastas are fantastic!offs

Red Lentil Penne Pasta Box

Founded by Joe Spronz, Explore Cuisine products are vegan, organic, gluten-free, and kosher, ensuring your health and igniting your taste buds! These delicious bean pastas contain nearly 20-25 grams of protein per serving and are low in carbs and sodium while simultaneously containing a high fiber content. With Explore Cuisine, you’ll experience the incomparable taste of pasta with all the benefits of nutritious beans! I tried the Red Lentil Penne for dinner earlier this week, and it exceeded my expectations.

Red Lentil Penne Drained

A friend of mine who is an excellent Italian chef once advised me that pasta cannot be held to strict boiling times when cooking, and experience has shown her advice to be right on. But with this pasta, the suggested cooking time (8-10 minutes) on the back of the box is a pretty accurate if you don’t want the pasta to get overdone (and I like my pasta on the tender side). Just keep an eye on the clock, is all I’m saying.

Red Lentil Penne with Sauce

Here it is, all plated and topped with Trader Joe’s Bolognese Sauce and a grating of cheddar cheese, which I love on my pasta as a change-up from the traditional hard Italian cheeses. Explore Cuisine Red Lentil Pasta has a distinctive and very satisfying flavor of lentils.  And, unlike many gluten free pastas I’ve tasted, it maintains an appealing bite and mouth feel. This pasta is an excellent quality product that anyone should be proud and excited to serve to their family.

Red Lentil Penne with Sauce

Here is close-up of my quick and delicious meal! So yummy!

Learn more about Explore Cuisine foods (they also make rice-based pasta, and soups, among other items) and get recipes at This Link!

Snack Review: Good Natured Vegetable Crisps

Good Natured Vegetable Crisps
Photos By Gail

Do you like Chips? I sure do, and I am always looking for new varieties of Chips to snack on that are not only made with natural ingredients but are also prepared in an alternate way to deep frying. At a recent food trade show, I was turned on to a new chip snack that not only tastes amazing, but is a healthier snacking choice: Good Natured Selects Baked Vegetable Crisps! Aside from the fact that each one ounce bag contains one-half serving of vegetables, these Chips are awesome on so many levels.

Good Natured Selects (a Herr Foods company) has recently introduced two new varieties of their Baked Vegetable Crisps: Regular and Ranch. The Ranch flavor, which are lightly dusted with a tangy Ranch dressing seasoning, reminds me of a Sour Cream and Onion Dip flavored chip, which goes great with light meals such as burgers and sandwiches. Both varieties of these light and crispy chips have a wonderful vegetable taste with the appealing texture of a Ridged Potato Chip — which makes them sturdy and ideal for dipping!

Good Natured Vegetable Crisps in a Bowl

Vegetable Crisps are made with Carrots, Red Bell Pepper and Spinach, and the carrots give the chip a flavor comparable to Sweet Potato Chips, which are delicious! You can actually see the bits of vegetable baked right into the chip! Another appealing quality of Good Natured snacks is that that are gluten-free. Since I had receive multiple bags of Vegetable Crisps to review, I brought them in to my office to share. One of my co-workers, who is gluten free due to Celiac Disease, was familiar with the Crisps and raved about their delicious taste, which had already made him a fan!

All Good Natured Selects products are made with no artificial ingredients or added preservatives and contain zero grams of fat. But what’s most important is that they taste great! Find out more about Good Natured Selects Baked Vegetable Crisps and other products at This Link!

Yes, It Exists: Bitchin’ Sauce

Chipotle Bitchen Sauce
All Photos By Sue Simone

Would you eat something called Bitchin’ Sauce? I sure would. Recently, my pal Sue spotted the Bitchin’ Sauce at a farmer’s market in San Diego and here is what I found out about it from their Website:
Continue reading Yes, It Exists: Bitchin’ Sauce →

Editor Showcase Presents: Cooking and Entertaining, 2014!

Editor Showcase Bar
Food Bloggers and Journos Enjoyed a Cocktail or Two while Sampling New Foods at This Season’s Editor Showcase! (All Photos By Gail. Click on Any Image to Enlarge for Detail.)

It’s never too early to start planning for your holiday celebrations, and Editor Showcase kicked off this season with their hotly–anticipated Cooking and Entertaining showcase at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. Let’s take a look at a few of the standout new and favorite products from the show! Continue reading Editor Showcase Presents: Cooking and Entertaining, 2014! →