Introducing healthy fast food! Gluten free,  paleo, sugar free, non-GMO, and the dietician mom that made it happen. 

For as long as I can remember I have been telling anyone who would listen about my vision for healthy fast food. A place of tasty wellness that rounds out the perfect road trip or a quick and easy option for working families.

Imagine a vibrant colorful storefront beckoning you in the doors. Now envision being greeted by happy people and endless amounts of prepared dishes just waiting for you to take home and gobble up. And the dream doesn’t end there! Suddenly the story gets even better because this beautifully prepared food is not only delicious it is healing. As you enthusiastically explore you find gluten free, paleo, non-GMO, vegan, refined sugar free, dairy free, and so much more. Lasagna! Pancakes! Enchiladas! Oh my goodness!!! Don’t pinch me I may wake up.

Paleo, Gluten Free, Non-GMO, dairy free! Lasagna! Pancakes! Enchiladas! Oh my goodness! Don’t pinch me, I may wake up.

Guess what? Such utopia does exist and not just in our dreams. Welcome to Snap Kitchen and the lovely woman that helps make this dream a reality. Introducing Ms. Andrea Hinsdale, dietician, mom, and the first member of the Snap Kitchen team. 

Snap Kitchen was founded by Martin Berson. Martins’s inspiration came from his desire to help his diabetic wife with wellness food options. His goal of no white sugar or flour, healthy, and convenient options was a revolutionary new concept. .

Andrea is part of the Snap Kitchen dietician and chef led foodie-duo. Partnering with Executive Chef Matt Reinhart, Andrea and Matt together create a menu that will forever change your concept of fast food. Recall that enchilada I spoke to you about? Not only is it gluten free, paleo, and dairy free, it is delicious!! The dynamic duo created a cashew vegan cream that will make your taste buds giggle. Do you love meatballs or salmon? How about pancakes or a fruit tart? Cold pressed juice? A stunning quinoa salad? Snap Kitchen has it all! Every item is meticulously selected for its optimal ingredients and as Andrea says, “we keep working until the dishes are perfect”. And perfect they are. No GMO’s. Organic. Bright seasonal ingredients. YUM!

The dynamic duo created a cashew vegan cream that will make your taste buds giggle.

Because she walks her talk, kale was one of the first things Andrea fed to her two young children. She knew that her food wisdom had been heard when her young daughter came home from school and suggested better options for the school lunch menu. Andrea desires this knowledge for all children. She knows that we must teach our kids about healthy food and make nutrition accessible to everyone.

I asked Andrea what makes her heart sing. She spoke of never feeling like she has worked a day in her life because everyday is a contribution. “Food makes us happy”, she tells me. Yes it does!

Can’t wait a moment longer? We have a Snap Kitchen gluten free veggie lasagna recipe just for you! Enjoy and happy LoveSelf day!

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Dear LoveSelf’ers!

May your Holidays be filled with unconditional love and healing food. Offer a gift of joy, nominate those you adore for a LoveSelf feature.

Need more ideas? Sign up your favorite person for a FREE membership to our Secret Recipe Club. Imagine amazing access to decadent wellness!

Blessings,

Rachel and the LoveSelf Team

The post Happy Holidays! appeared first on LoveSelf.

Chef Daniel at the Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain creates a gluten free wellness feast that will inspire your next dinner party. And he gave us the recipes!

If you ever thought losing the gluten would mean sacrifice, you are about to be forever changed. Welcome to true farm to table decadence with a focus on organic wellness.

Recall our dear Farmer Starkey? The loving abundance from his farm is the spark that ignited this meal. 

For our first course, I was served a Tepary bean soup with a slow cooked organic egg, Oregon truffle, pork belly, and tuscan kale. 

Tepary beans are native to the Southwest. These protein packed beans adore the Dove Mountain desert! Chef Daniel’s soup is not only gluten free it is also vegan. Without the heaviness of a traditional bean soup and just a touch of heat from the Ancho and Guajillo peppers you will be perfectly comforted in your desert oasis.

Chef and his team pureed the soup to create a perfect foundation for the sous-vide pork belly. (Sous-vide means to seal in an airtight bag and cooked in water bath at low temperatures for an extended period of time). After 36 hours of a love bath for the pork belly it was served with beautifully prepared kale and the most decadent egg you will imagine. Curious about what made the egg so wildly amazing? A truffle! Truffles are an incredible delicacy and simply stated, are similar to an earthy mushroom yet they grow underground. They nourish the forest ecosystem and ultimately us! That is, of course, if we are lucky enough to be served such mama earth riches.

LoveSelf food trivia of the day…. When Ancho chilis are fresh they are called Poblanos. Would you like to make the bean soup at home? Chef provided us the recipe!

Our second course was as beautiful as it was fresh and delicious. Chef and his staff served an artistic salad. Complete with pickled radishes, candy striped beets, pomegranate seeds, goat cheese, and pecans. The overall result was the best kind of raw joy. All of this delicious wellness was served on a ‘red rock soil’ canvas. Imagine homage to the red rocks of the Sedona desert. The team created such wonder by dehydrating tomato skins and red bell peppers. Stunning! 

Are you curious about the dressing created by Chef Daniel? We have that recipe for you too!

Our third course was a baked rainbow trout, served whole, with a smoked fava bean puree, citrus coriander bloom, white asparagus, and a green garlic vierge.

Watch Chef Daniel and Chef Devin Create the Beautiful Presentation

What is a citrus coriander bloom you ask? It is the beautiful herb flower you saw Chef Daniel and Chef Devin adding to the baked trout. The herb adds that perfect citrus punch of lemon and cilantro. 

More LoveSelf trivia! Asparagus that is grown without sunlight stays white. The flavor is a bit more mild than its green partner.

The vierge is a combination of garlic, shallots, basil, tomato and parsley. And yes we have the recipe!

Now ask your tongue to imagine such perfection on a plate. Perfectly flakey fish with citrus note. Smokiness from the puree. Subtle nuances from the asparagus and the perfect blend of spice and layered herbs from the vierge. In other words, every aspect of your palate sings joyously together.

Our fourth course was an eleven spice encrusted pork leg, complete with sweet oranges, and smoked paprika. Before continuing this mouth watering journey of food love, I want to talk about gratitude and honor. (No I am not switching the subject!)

When I received the itinerary for the amazing two days with the Ritz Carlton team I was told I would be participating in the breaking down of the pig from Farmer Starkey’s ranch. Considering I am the lady that carefully carries spiders outside and prays for the animals, I was very nervous. Instead of realizing my fear I discovered something beautiful. Farmer Starkey follows the ancestral traditions of not transporting or causing fear in his animals. He raises them with healthy non-GMO food, tons of love, and personally honors his animals for their sacrifice. The Ritz Carlton continues this respect by using every part of the pig to nourish our bodies. Absolutely nothing was wasted. I witnessed the devotion and was moved to tears. The treatment of that pig was honoring to its life. Truly. I was changed. It is up to you whether you choose to be vegan or paleo. We are all on a journey. Whatever choice you make, please do so with respect, gratitude, and honor. We are energy and every choice we make affects the earth, one another, and all of life.

The meal was complimented with beautiful gluten free bread. It actually had air pockets like the real thing!!! Whoohooo!

We ended with lemon meringue cheesecake. The lemons were from Farmer Starkey’s trees and the graham crust (once again!) will make you wonder why you ever cared about gluten to begin with.

Here’s to your decadent wellness!!! Cheers!

The post Ritz Carlton Inspired Gluten Free Feast appeared first on LoveSelf.

On this journey of love and food, some moments are so incredible that I want to shout from the rooftops, giggle, dance, and spin.

Two days ago I arrived in Arizona. In that time the beauty of the human spirit has expressed itself in countless seconds of inspiration.

How do you find it? Stay open. Pay attention. Look. Smile. Listen.

Open your heart to your journey and you never know what you will find. A stranger, learning of the LoveSelf travels, offered her home. Now two hearts are open.

A graying couple spoke of their Vietnam days and how the pain inspired a journey of organic food and healing. I paid attention. Every word. Even when the sentences were long.

In the most unexpected of places I decided to look. Really look. And what did I see? A man running through a garden to bring me organic greens and an orange straight from the tree.

At the gluten free expo, I smiled (at everyone!). The returned smiles were countless. People began speaking to me of trust and of faith.

I listened. Not just with my ears, but with my open heart. In listening I heard the story of a father who changed his life to heal his autistic daughter…truly hearing the words of those devoting their lives to bring us healthy food.

Dear LoveSelfers. We all have a story to tell and each one of us a spark of love. What do you adore? Tell me. It is time to love ourselves and each other.

The post How to find love in each other. Five simple steps on the journey of love and food. appeared first on LoveSelf.