Happy 4th Anniversary to KarmaFree Cooking!!!!!!

7 Nov

I can’t believe it… that 4 years ago I decided to share my vegetarian recipes with you, all over the world.

It’s soooo humbling to know that my recipes and information are useful and interesting to so many of you out there. Most of you are in the United States, but many of you visit from around the globe – United Kingdom, Canada, India, Australia, Italy (I hope that’s you Kate!!!, among others…), Malaysia, Argentina and of course, my beloved Puerto Rico.

I love to bring to you all the variety I can from a vegetarian perspective… however, I am honored to say that KarmaFree Cooking’s most popular recipes are my vegetarian adaptations of traditional Puerto Rican classics like:

Pasteles in Banana Leaves

Yucca with Cuban Mojo

Veggie Sancocho

Mami’s Tembleque

tembleque-mami

How to Peel and Eat a Mango

Fried White Sweet Potato

batatas-fritas

Cormeal Fritters/Sorullitos de Maiz

sorullitos-maiz

These were the past 12 month’s most popular recipes, believe it or not. As much as I love making those stuffed mushrooms and all those pasta dishes, you guys appreciate my take on the Puerto Rican/Hispanic foods some of you never thought would be able to enjoy again now that you want to follow a more natural, veggie-full lifestyle.

I promise I will make an even greater effort to continue to bring those Latin dishes to you… and to present them to all of you, whose background might not be Latin, so can get to know me and my culture through our delicious food.

Thanks a lot for everything and please SHARE KarmaFree Cooking with all your friends and family who will appreciate and benefit from our easy and relaxed cooking style. Non-vegetarians are also welcome…

GRACIAS

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Gluten-Free Finds –Van’s Mini Waffles

3 Nov

I mentioned you how recently I had to go on a 30-day gluten-free, corn free diet…

Whenever my natural doctor prescribes a wheat-free treatment I breathe deeply and grin. I love breads, cereals, pizzas, pastas… but I have to do as he recommends because I know it’s for my own good.

Never been much of a waffle girl… I much more prefer pancakes for breakfast. But I was looking for gluten-free alternatives for breakfast and my friend Rosani had recommended these Van’s rice-based waffles. I was skeptical when I bought them, but I was willing to try something new to report back to you.

I was impressed at how good they are… they come in regular waffle size and as mini waffles. Love the mini ones because you can eat them with your hands. I dunk them in maple syrup… mmmm!!! Just place them in a toaster oven for about 10 minutes and they’re ready…

My niece Mariana loves waffles and I am confident she would love these too.

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The Shape of Foods Help our Organs?? – BEANS

1 Nov

This is part of a series on how our food can help certain organs that resemble their same shape. I already shared with you how carrots benefit the eyes, how tomatoes and grapes benefit the heart, how walnuts are essential for brain health and how celery and other stalky veggies are great for bone health.

And now… beans. You know I am not a fan of beans. And red kidney beans least of them all. I have been able to tackle chickpeas / garbanzo beans, white beans, and lentils so far. But to me, the worst are red kidney beans. And the worst thing… the red kidney bean is considered the national bean in Puerto Rico – arroz con habichuelas colorás is the norm in every traditional Puerto Rican home.

According to this theory, beans and particularly red kidney beans are supposed to be good for kidney health. I have not been able to find ANYTHING in this cyber world we live in where it says beans are good for kidneys. The closest I found was that kidney beans are an excellent source of the trace mineral, molybdenum, which is responsible for detoxifying sulfites. Sulfites are a type of preservative commonly added to prepared foods like meats, prepared products and dried goods, like sun-dried tomatoes, dried fruits and some vinegars.

Red Kidney Beans are good sources of fiber and protein. That we do know and combined with whole grain rice, it provides all the essential amino acids a person needs to support good health.

I do not have any recipes with red-kidney beans, but here are a few recipes using other types of beans/legumes you could try today:

Chickpea Cocido

Hummus

Babaga-hummus

Lentil Soup Mom’s Style

Toasted Chickpeas and Pistachios

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KarmaFree Cooking on the Radio…

31 Oct

If you want to listen to my melodious voice…  I’ll be interviewed by Nicole Taylor in her Radio show HOT GREASE today @ 3:30PM Eastern Time. You can listen to us LIVE on www.heritageradionetwork.com.

We’ll be chatting about Halloween in Puerto Rico, Vegetarian Candy and many other interesting topics.  Hope you guys tune in and enjoy it.

 

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Gluten-Free Finds – Food for Life English Muffins

28 Oct

Recently I had to go on a wheat-free, corn-free diet and being the bread/cereal lover that I am, I was crushed. I went to my local health food store and bought a few things so I wouldn’t feel deprived, especially during breakfast.

I love fruits for breakfast… in a fruit salad or a smoothie, but it’s not enough for me. I always need to supplement my breakfast with something heartier. Something that will keep me feeling fuller longer.

Enter the Food for Life English Muffins… OMG!! I am now obsessed with these. They’re crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. They have super delicious texture, in my opinion. It has even the “nooks and crannies” of that other more popular brand.

I like to eat them with cream cheese (ahem, Tofutti’s Better than Cream Cheese if you’re vegan ) and preserves – strawberry or apricot. YUM!!! I even had a few of these for dinner a few nights.

You find them in the frozen food section of your health food store. I just take them out of the freezer and warm up in a 350F oven for about 10 minutes. To be honest I never time it, but the muffins begin to split a bit when they’re ready.

With options like these, anyone can easily go gluten-free, even if it’s just for 30 days!!!!

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