I have something to admit...
I am an iHerb.com addict....

Those of you that shop on iHerb know exactly what I mean!!!! You can get basically ANYTHING you want or need for such a great price! You can find herbs and spices, vitamins, personal care items, household care items, etc. They have a wide variety of vegan/ gluten-free/ health food items that may be hard to find in small towns or in foreign countries.

If you live in Korea, shipping is usually $4 flat rate and usually free in the US!!! It has truly been a lifesaver to us here!

Among my essentials, I have a slight obsession with buying gluten-free pasta...

I have probably tried EVERY gluten-free pasta that iHerb sells! (no exaggeration) I, of course like them all...  they all seem to taste the same.

It's easy for me to sacrifice a slight taste or texture difference on the alter of  HEALTH. I mean, it's just pasta... It gets covered in delicious sauce so who cares if it tastes like cardboard!! This was my mantra...




This gluten-free pasta tastes like your average heavily processed and chemically bleached REAL pasta! Not only does it taste amazing... it cooks super fast- just like the pasta you are used to. I'm not sure about what kind of witchery goes on at Andean Dream but, they know gluten-free pasta cookies ;) > quite well.


A few of you have been interested in some gluten-free meal ideas, or a good method to make your own sauces so I thought I'd show you a SUPER SIMPLE Gluten-Free pasta dinner I made in about 15 minutes! Once you learn this trick with the sauce, you will never be the same again!

Hungarian Black Bean Pasta

             Ingredients

• 1 Package of Andean Dream Quinoa Pasta
• 1 Can of Black Beans (drained and rinsed)*
• 1 Can of Stewed Tomatoes*
• 1 Zucchini, chopped
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1/2 Cup of Almond milk
• 3 Tablespoons of Nutritional Yeast
• 3 Tablespoons of Flax meal
• A splash of balsamic vinegar
• Seasonings (I used 1 TBSP of chili powder and 3/4 TBSP of basil)
• Black sesame seeds (with sea salt for a tad added salty flavor)

         

 Instructions    

1. Cook pasta.
2. Sauté onion and zucchini in just enough water to keep it from sticking (instead of oil).
3. When onion is clear, add in black beans and tomatoes. Mash tomatoes with your cooking utensil  and mix well with the rest of the mixture.
4. Add in almond milk, nutritional yeast, flax meal and seasonings.
5. After mixture is heated, blend half with an immersion blender or regular blender. This will give the pasta an awesome creamy texture. Then mix in with the other (unblended) sauce. 

See the difference!? From random veggies to SAUCE in 3.5 seconds. Move over corn starch and thickening agents!

   6. Mix the sauce in with the pasta. Sprinkle ample black sesame seeds on top! (Holy CALCIUM!)
       We ate it with a side of avocado. YUM! So creamy and buttery!

I tend to never cook WITH salt. If I ever eat salt in my cooking, I add it in afterward. This recipe is very basic and will not satisfy your "salt tooth" (is that even a thing?). Add some Himalayan rock salt or unbleached sea salt if you wish. Or, as I suggested above, try out the black sesame seeds with sea salt mixed in!

Just in case you are wondering... I am calling this "Hungarian Black Bean Pasta" because the texture reminds me of a dish that my grandma used to make called "Hungarian Goulash". Blending half of the sauce really adds a great dimension to all soups and sauces! Try it out!

* NOTE: I do not like advocating the use of canned foods, but I wanted to show an example of a super easy meal. If you are buying your food in cans please pay a few cents more and ensure they are organic, low sodium, and BPA FREE.

I hope all my links to ingredients are helpful above. I just wanted to show how easily and relatively inexpensive it is to find healthy ingredients- no matter where you are in the world! 

If you are new to iHerb.com, use this coupon and get a $10 discount off of your first order!!!

Have a great Friday everyone!! Drink lots of water with lemon to recover from all that candy bingeing that's been going on! Hydration is key during periods of excessive sugar intake!

Make little changes everyday that move you in a healthier direction-

Go gluten free with your pasta,

Live your life~

The Empowered Way!

Meg

PS- I know you guys are out there. I see how many people read the blog! Leave me a comment! I'd love to hear from you!! :)