Raise your hand if you’re hungry.
Glad I’m not alone! Who wouldn’t be ravenous after all the temptingly delicious 2012 Gluten-Free All-Star Recipes that have been shared around the web this week? Kudos (gluten-free ones, of course) to Lexie
for coming up with this fabulous idea and rounding up some of the most
talented gluten-free recipe developers to be a part of it. I’m honored
to be a part of it! And big thanks to Sarah Bakes Gluten Free Treats for
featuring me today!
Something you should know about me is that I’m
not your average gluten-free blogger. Believe it or not, I can tolerate
gluten seemingly just fine, as can my husband (the only other member of
my household for now, but that will be changing in a few short months!)
And yet, just about everything I cook at home (and all of what has made
it to my blog in recent years) is gluten-free. Everyone from
gluten-eating carb-lovers to discouraged celiacs must be wondering, “Why
do that to yourself if you don’t have to?” If that is eating a
variety of clean, wholesome foods that offer myriad nutritional
benefits and never getting board, I’ll happily keep doing it. Bonus if
more people can enjoy my food because it happens to be gluten-free – and
if gluten-lovers can learn that there are good reasons to go beyond
wheat flour every now and then.
Of course, I haven’t always
embraced this philosophy. I’ve always been a food lover, which was very
evident as I was obese through early childhood and most of college.
Things turned around in my early 20’s, when I decided that someday I’d meet a wonderful guy and with that man I’d probably want to have children, not
raise them to be obese, and that I’d be so in love with said husband
and children that I’d want to live as long and active a life as possible
and soak up every minute with them. This motivation was worth a lot
more than simply wanting to fit into a pair of size 6 jeans. I adopted a
(mostly) low-carlorie diet and began exercising until I reached a
healthy weight. And how have I managed to stay there and indulge
my love of food? By learning to cook! With colorful, nutritious, and
exciting ingredients. It’s funny how many people think you must deprive
yourself to eat healthy as a food-lover; I think it’s quite the
opposite. I’m grateful to enjoy so many foods as it just opens up more
possibilities for healthy, delicious things to eat.
Cara’s Cravings 2012 Gluten Free All-Star Recipes
Now that you know me, how about getting to know some of my recipes? Here are a few that my readers really loved in 2012.
Mint Chocolate Brownie Protein Bars
My Mint Chocolate Brownie Protein Bars
were hugely popular both on the blog and in this house. In fact,
they’ve spawned a wide variety of spin-off flavors we regularly enjoy,
so much that I’ve considered putting out an e-book of all the flavors.
Would you like to see something like this? These bars are sweet and
chewy, naturally sweetened, and vegan – yet they boast 12 satisfying
grams of protein, something I see missing from most dried-fruit-and-nut
concoctions.
Salted Caramel Ice Cream
When going through this year’s top views and comments, I was psyched to see my Salted Caramel Ice Cream
right near the top! Just the other day I was telling my husband I
*need* to make this again. I could tell you about the healthy, vegan
ingredients and lack of refined sugar, but I’d rather let your mouth
water with thoughts of rich, dark caramel blended into an unthinkably
creamy base, perfect for scooping on top of a warm, gooey chocolate chip
cookie. That’s how we first fell in love with it!
Melon Mojito Fish Tacos
And since sweets aren’t for everyone, I’m happy to share some savory nosh that went over particularly well. My Melon Mojito Fish Tacos
are certainly not your average taco; but we love our tacos here and I
rarely make normal ones. This fusion of zesty mint-and-lime marinated
white fish topped off with bright purple cabbage and green honeydew
melon was as pretty to look at as it was delicious to eat, and got me
through a long-lasting summer affair with melon.
Strawberry “Cheesecake” with Almond-Macadamia Crust
Finally, I want to highlight an extremely popular recipe that I can’t take total credit for. This Strawberry “Cheesecake” with Almond-Macadamia Crust by my friend Alta of Tasty Eats at Home was the inspiration for my Vegan Blueberry Cheesecake Cupcakes – and a jumping point for me to begin incorporating cashews into more creamy dairy-free concoctions.
Once
again, thanks to Lexie’s Kitchen and Sarah Bakes Gluten Free Treats for making
this such a yummy and fun event – and proof that 2012 is going to be
hard to top!
Want to join me for a delicious 2013? Here’s how you can stay in touch:
Subscribe to Cara’s Cravings via email or your favorite reader
“Like” Cara’s Cravings on Facebook
Follow @carascravings on Twitter
Check out my favorite recipes on Pinterest
See what I’m eating on Instagram
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