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Gluten-Free & Heart Healthy 2013: Dark Chocolate Pecan Love Bites from The Spicy RD
Next up in our Gluten-Free & Heart Healthy series in honor of American Heart Health Month, we have E.A. from The Spicy RD.
Dark Chocolate Pecan Love Bites
Be still my beating heart!
I’m thrilled to be partnering with my fabulous 2012 Gluten-Free All Star Hosts as we celebrate American Heart Month in February with another healthy and delicious recipe round-up: Gluten-Free & Heart Healthy 2013.
Thank you so much, Beth for hosting me at Tasty Yummies today!
Before I divulge my heart healthy recipe, I thought I would share some of my favorite foods for keeping your ticker in tip-top shape!
Heart Healthy Foods
- Fruit and veggies, the more the merrier~especially citrus and apples which are high in soluble fiber to help decrease LDL cholesterol, and polyphenol packed berries, which may lower blood pressure and raise level of good {HDL} cholesterol.
- Beans, beans, the musical fruit! Like certain fruits and veggies, beans are a great source of soluble fiber, and also contain a variety of flavonoids which help prevent heart disease by lowering blood pressure, improving circulation, and preventing abnormal clotting of blood platelets.
- Seedy stuff! Flax, chia, and hemp, all provide plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which, although not as powerful as seafood omega-3’s, may also help with heart health. In addition, flaxseed contains phytoestrogens called lignans, which may also help prevent cardiovascular disease.
- Something seems a little fishy to me…Fatty fish such as salmon, mackeral, sardines, tuna, anchovies and trout all provide 1 gram of more of heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3’s provide cardiovascular protection by lowering triglycerides, decreasing inflammation, reducing blood clotting, and lowering blood pressure. To choose fish that are not only heart healthy, but are also environmentally friendly and low in contaminants such as mercury and PCB’s, bes ure and check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch website.
- Chocolate~the darker the better! Rich in flavonol, the main type of flavonoid in cocoa and chocolate, research has shown that {a little} dark chocolate {choose chocolate with at least 70 % or more cacao} can be a heart healthy choice.
- Cheers to a glass of vino! What’s even better than a square or two of dark chocolate? A glass of red wine {if you choose to drink alcohol} to go along with it. Another heart healthy polyphenol, resveratrol, makes red wine {in moderation~up to 2 drinks/day for a man or up to 1 drink/day for a woman} another heart healthy choice by helping prevent damage to blood vessels, reducing LDL cholesterol, and helping to prevent blood clots. In addition alcohol, in general, {again, in moderation}, has been shown to raise good, HDL cholesterol, thereby helping to reduce the risk of heart disease. Salud!
And now on to the recipe…
After looking through my posts from the last two months, aside from my Gluten-Free All-Star buddies’ spectacular sweets, I realized I haven’t shared a proper dessert with you in over 2 months.
Heck, I didn’t even make any holiday cookies for you this past December 🙁
So, clearly you are long overdue for something sweet and decadent.
Oh, and super heart healthy to boot.
How’s that sound?!
My inspiration for these dark chocolate chunk pecan love bites comes from these fabulous peanut butter chocolate chip cookies over at Texanerin.
If you like peanut butter, you MUST make them.
My version is equally delicious, yet features a different sort of heart healthy nut~pecans.
Oh, and there are beans and dark chocolate too
Plus a little maple syrup, and some ground flaxseed…
Yes, they are very healthy indeed, but healthy without delicious doesn’t exist in my kitchen, so I promise you they will make your heart pound with joy 🙂
Thump thump thump…
Thank so much for reading~Please head on over to my blog, The Spicy RD, for my Dark Chocolate Chunk Pecan Love Bite recipe!
Oh, and I’d love to continue sharing more of my heart healthy and delicious recipes with you! Follow my posts here, and let’s connect on Facebook, Twitter, Google +, and Pinterest. Cheers to a healthy heart!
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Photo Fun Day Friday
Hey guys, it’s a Photo Fun Day Friday from the road. We are in California until next Wednesday. We flew out here to find our new home and we gave ourselves 8 days to do it. If you can believe it, we fell in love and found a place on Day 1. It was the second place we looked at. It is perfection. I cannot wait to show more photos. So now, we get to enjoy the rest of our trip here. I think we are even going to squeeze in a trip to Disneyland on Monday! We are so excited to have some time to spend with our friends out here and get to know what is soon going to be our new home. Just three short weeks.
Here’s a few photos from the last week. Some from Buffalo and some from here in Long Beach.
Teagan helping me bake a batch of my chocolate chip cookie bars.
Seri longingly looking out the window on another snowy day. Dreaming of the park.
Went to a Sabres game in a suite on Sunday with our friends, Anjuli, Dana, JP and my sister Vicky. They may have lost but it was an awesome time. Also, FYI they have gluten-free beer at the arena. The bar at the Harbour Club for sure stocks it, not sure about anywhere else.
I stocked u on some healthy goodies for the flights and our time out here.
Succulents and sunshine. Love you California.
I went to a farmers market in February and stocked up on veggies. I cannot even believe it. Those blood oranges are to die for.
A quick snap shot of the living room and dining room area of our new house. Look at that fireplace, all the natural light, those built-ins on the right, etc. It is seriously to die for. By the way, there are a ton of fruit trees in the large yard. Orange, peach, plum, avocado, fig, banana and there are grape vines. Are you kidding me???
Oh and look at the kitchen. Newly updated, lots of storage and countertop space, etc. I am in heaven.
The front!! That deck is huge by the way!! Can’t wait to share more photos soon.
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Photo Fun Day Friday
It has been another crazy week. Time is just flying by right now, it is insane. I wish I could slow it all down. We have just been busting our bums getting everything in order for the move and our trip out to California this upcoming week, to find a place to live. On top of all of that, I have been dealing with some nasty back stuff. It has been a huge inconvenience and it could’t have come at a worse time. Which is why I am sure it came at all. It started by me picking up the dog over and over two weekends ago when she injured her paw. First it was a small muscle spasm and ache, then silly me went to yoga, over did and next thing you know I am in full on disc related pain again. Booo! I have been seeing my amazing chiropractor and massage therapist like crazy, I attended a myofascial release/yoga workshop, I am icing, stretching, rolling, etc. It just doesn’t wanna get better as quickly as I wish it would. I am trying to stay positive and not let it get me down, but missing my last few weeks at my beloved yoga studio surrounded by so many amazing people has really made it hard. I go there as an escape and as a way to find myself on my mat. I think that may be the hardest part of being injured is losing that part of my self temporarily.
At any rate, I am sure I will be back at it soon enough. In the meantime, I have been doing everything I can do make the recovery process go as smoothly as it possibly can.
I hope you have all been well and have an amazing weekend. We have a lot planned, but I am looking forward to all of it.
Our sweet little Seri falls asleep many nights, with her bed in her mouth, kneading. It is heartbreaking,
The perfect way to start the day. A hot fire, hot lemon water and a little yoga. I am still nursing this back injury from over a week ago, but taking it easy with some light yoga every day.
Got my makeup done for our Hero / Tasty Yummies photo shoot with Luke Copping on Saturday. Wish I could have someone around to do my makeup daily.
My handsome hubby!
Me on set getting some shots for Tasty Yummies. So excited to finally have some professional photos of us for both our business and for myself for this site. Can’t wait to share!
A quick iPhone snap of us at Victory Studios with Luke Copping.
Charring onions and ginger for some homemade pho.
The pho stock simmering all day long.
My beautifully vibrant lunch from Betty’s on Weds. Roasted beets, shaved fennel, goat cheese, orange sections and lots of greens with a ginger orange vinaigrette. It was incredible.
It was 65 degrees on here in Buffalo on Wednesday so Seri and I took a nice long, and much needed walk together.
Took my Seri
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Photo Fun Day Friday
Well, I am sure you’ve noticed, but it’s been a while since I’ve shared photos as part of my Photo Fun Day Friday series. It wasn’t a conscious choice, but life has just been a bit crazy and more-so just generally out of sorts. After the holidays ended, we were immediately in full-on moving mode and we have just been going non-stop ever since. Here is a just a quick abbreviated visual synopsis of the last month or so. Things are going well over here, we fly out in less than 2 weeks to California to find a place to live in Long Beach, then we fly back to Buffalo pack our car up, grab the dog and hit the road to drive across the good ‘ol US of A! We cannot wait.
Our gift to my parent’s this year. A family photo session! We had the shoot this past weekend and it was so much fun! Can’t wait to share some of the photos. Such a fun thing to do before we leave town and I will be so happy to have some really nice photos of my family throughout our new home.
One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year. A ganesha statue from my Mom and Dad. Can’t wait to find a place for it in our new home.
I love my cozy new slippers from my sister.
Seri enjoying one of the first big snows of the winter.
Me and my baby. Holding her tighter than ever after she was released from the emergency vet after ingesting xylitol.
Mmmm. Pomegranate. (and a sneaky little Seri)
At the start of the moving and packing. Surrounded by boxes! (Oh and of course, a nice tall glass of wine)
The moving truck all packed up. Sealed it with the kiss of a handstand! Our stuff is all in storage in California waiting for us.
Gonna miss my old kitchen SO much. We designed it ourselves to be exactly what we needed.
A sweet card from my lovely friend Alyssa.
My handsome boy Jpeg, posing for some pics.
Buddha and incredibly delicious chocolate at Oh Pour L’amour Du Chocolat. Two of my favs.
Our poor Seri has had a rough month. She broke a nail at the park last week and it was broken so high up they had to sedate her, remove it and wrap it up. Poor thing. She is all better now, thankfully.
My adorable parents at the family photo shoot over the weekend.
My kind of dinner. Sauteed kale, red kuri squash, white beans, onions, garlic, sliced almonds, dried cranberries and avocado. It was INCREDIBLE.
It has been WAY too cold to go to the park lately, poor Seri is sad.
Carmine, my mom’s cat (aka my little sister’s cat), was posing so sweetly for me yesterday when I was taking photos with my SLR camera. How adorable is that face?
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2012 Gluten-Free All-Star Recipes from Tasty Yummies
I hope everyone has been enjoying this series of delicious recipes from all of the amazing participating bloggers in this 2012 Gluten-Free All-Star Recipes Series. Today it’s my turn in the series, so here are the 2012 Gluten-Free All-Star Recipes from right here on Tasty Yummies.
I know this may be repetitive for many of you that already follow me here, but since I wrote up an introduction to myself for my guest posts on the other blogs, I thought I would share it on here with you guys, too! In case you are unfamiliar with my back story. I started sharing my gluten-free recipes on Tasty Yummies nearly 3 years ago when I decided to clean up my diet, cut out all processed foods and be much more mindful and aware of everything I was eating and where it was coming from. I had already been following a strict gluten-free diet for over 5 years, but I found myself falling into the trap of eating the worst, overly processed and garbage-filled foods, just because they had the label “gluten-free” on them. I was terrified to experiment with baking and creating my own recipes, beyond what I was already making that was naturally gluten-free. In turn, though I felt better and healthier in some ways as a result of following a strict gluten-free diet, I was still feeling sluggish, getting headaches and I had put on weight from all of the junk I was eating. Gluten-free or not, what I was consuming just wasn’t good for me.
After cleaning up my diet, developing a confidence in the kitchen, and being very mindful to focus on seasonal and clean foods, I quickly and very easily lost 30 pounds and haven’t looked back since. This has been the easiest lifestyle change I have ever made and I have never ever felt better.
Overall, I eat a lot of naturally vegan foods and I maintain a mostly vegetarian diet. At home we do eat some meat (all grass-fed from a wonderful local farmer named Pierre), at most, once a week, sometimes as little as once a month, so I like to consider myself a “conscientious omnivore”. In addition to eating as healthy as I possibly can for me, I also have a daily yoga practice, which I have found to be the perfect compliment to my lifestyle, mentally, emotionally and physically. For the first time ever, I have found a way of living that fits me and my body, it never feels like work or a struggle and I am constantly grateful for all of it.My Favorite From 2012
Before sharing Tasty Yummies’ 2012 Gluten-Free All-Star Recipes, I wanted to celebrate an all-star blogger whom I love and one of her recipes that I absolutely adore. This grain-free pizza crust created by the insanely creative Brittany Angell, is to die for delicious. I knew it would be good, since every recipe I have made from Brittany always is, but I honestly didn’t expect it to be that good. This crust is thick, fluffy and grainy with the perfect amount of crisp to the outside. It holds up really well to toppings and I even replaced the eggs and adapted it to be totally vegan for a cobbler topping, here is that recipe. This recipe is definitely my go-to pizza dough now!
Be sure to check out Brittany Angell for even more amazing recipes.
Tasty Yummies 2012 Gluten-Free All-Star Recipes
I hope you enjoy these most popular recipes from Tasty Yummies this past year. In looking at stats and page visits alone, I have to say, my readers love sweets and chocolate. For someone that prefers savory over sweet every time, this always makes me giggle. Sweet treats definitely get a lot more attention in the blogging world, that’s for sure. These three recipes are not only readers’ favorites, I have to say, all three are favorites in my kitchen as well, and have been made countless times in different variations.
1) Dark Chocolate Coconut Treats {Vegan, Gluten-free + Refined Sugar-Free}
These simple to make sweet chocolate treats have become a favorite in our house. We both LOVE the combination of chocolate and coconut and a refined sugar-free version of a classic candy bar, I am sure you know which one 😉 Since I have added a mini muffin pan to my kitchen, I usually make them in there now, for a smaller more bite-sized treat, plus they last longer. Here is the recipe.
Rose said: “I’ve been eyeing these up for a while. Made them for a group the other night and words out around town already with people asking about them. Yum they were so good.”
2) Kalamata Olive and Herb Socca with Roasted Vegetables {Gluten-free + Vegan}
I honestly cannot believe I hadn’t discovered socca until this year. Boy have I been missing out. Soccas are super simple to make and you can get really creative with add-ins and toppings. You could even make a sweet dessert socca by adding a little sweetness and some cocoa powder. This particular recipe was so simple, I made it for lunch one afternoon in the middle of a work day. Here is the recipe.
Johanna said: “Thank you for the recipe! That was delicious. Kids ate it too.”
3) Chocolate Peanut Butter Road Trip Energy Bars {Gluten-free, Vegan + Refined Sugar-Free}
These bars in some variation or another have become a road-trip staple around here. They are so quick to whip up and they are so sinfully delicious, it is hard to believe they are healthy. Here is the recipe.
**Bonus: I change the recipe a bit every time I make them, based on what I have on hand, here is a fun seasonal version I made recently for another road trip, Chewy Pumpkin Spice Granola Bars.
Portia said: “These are in the oven right now and I’m standing here watching the timer do it’s countdown. My younger son and I were eating the “dough” and it was DELICIOUS! The smell is making my mouth water. It’s going to be a “treat before dinner” kind of night:-) One minute to go!”
Follow Tasty Yummies
If you would like to keep up with Tasty Yummies, please check out the blog here for more gluten-free recipes that focus on clean, fresh and seasonal eating. Please also feel free to connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram to see what I am up to. You can also subscribe to my RSS feed or sign up for to receive emails whenever I post a new recipe.
Thanks so much to Lexie for organizing this wonderful all-star series and thanks to all of the lovely ladies that are participating. I am honored to be a part of such an amazing community of talented bloggers! Happy Holidays to everyone and I wish you all very tasty, healthy and happy 2013!
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Photo Fun Day Friday
Hope everyone is in the full swing of the holidays and loving and cherishing every moment of it! I have been! It has been an emotional few weeks over here. The emotions have been caused by a variety of different reasons – like this being our last holidays living in this home and in Buffalo for that matter. Of course the sad tragedy of last Friday and the loss of all of those sweet innocent babies hit me just as hard as I know it hit most everyone else. On top of all of this, our family has been dealing with a terrible accident that landed a family member in the hospital the Friday prior, he is in serious condition but very lucky to be alive. Please send if you would, your positive thoughts, prayers, healing vibes, etc. his way, he could certainly use them in his long road to recovery ahead.
It has been a lot of happiness and sadness for a short time, but it has all made me appreciate the magic of life and love that much more! Life is fragile, every moment a blessing and the only way I know how to embrace that is to live each day to it’s fullest, grateful for all that I have. I hope you are all doing the same, hugging your loved ones a little tighter this holiday season and counting your blessings whenever possible. Love and light to you all!
As you will see in the photos, this week has been spent full embracing the holidays, shipping out the last minute orders for Hero, shipping gifts to out of town friends and family, packing boxes and squeezing in as much family and friend time as humanly possible!
Our Christmas tree got an update with this custom made (and hand sewed) bull terrier tree skirt made by our friend, Joanne.
Here’s a close-up of it! So what, we are a little obsessed with our dog!
Got together with the family on Sunday and made TONS of baklava using my late Yia Yia’s recipe. I may not be able to eat it but it makes for great holiday gifts for friends!
It is a pretty labor intensive process. You place each layer of phyllo dough, one at a time, and brush with butter. There are 15 layers, then nuts and spices, 10 layers, more nuts, then 15 more layers. Layer by layer, sheet by sheet! I love making it and hanging out with my family, even without the satisfaction of ever taking a bite!
Me and my sister Vicky, spreading the nuts layer.
Pouring the syrup over top of one of the finished trays. Smells soooo good!
I started my Christmas wrapping earlier in the week! It may be my favorite part of the holiday and the gift giving.
My final giftable recipe for my series this month with Free People. Look for the recipe on Sunday.
Took a break last night from packing and organizing for the move to relax! My relaxation involved a roast chicken from our farmer, a glass of bourbon and Christmas music.
I cut up some of the delicata squash leftover from our CSA with porter farms. I tossed it with some olive oil, maple syrup and spices and added it to the chicken in the last 35 minutes.
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A Day of Silence and Remembrance for Sandy Hook
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Photo Fun Day Friday
Well here it is, another double Photo Fun Friday post. Two weeks worth of photos, since life has been a bit hectic and we were away last Friday! See my last post that explains all of the busy and crazy in my life right now. A funny thing I realized in looking at these photos from the last two weeks, I feel like I have eaten out at more restaurants in the last month than likely the whole year, with all the traveling, birthdays and trying to squeeze in hang time with friends.
It has been a really fun two weeks, a great way to finish off the year! We were in Chicago two weekends ago and then Pittsburgh this past weekend. That is it for our traveling for 2012 and now we are home for the holidays! Yay! Hope you enjoy all of the photos (there’s a lot of them), and I hope you are enjoying your holiday season. We will be at the Western New York Book Arts Center this weekend, this afternoon and all day tomorrow, for the Last Minute Panic Holiday Marketplace! Come on by if you are local, we will be selling our prints, greeting cards and other goodies. I will be there on and off, since I also need to be at home packing 😉
Do you have any fun plans this weekend?
The big tree in Downtown Chicago and the Christmas windows at Macy’s.
Billy and Mark at their live Adventures in Design podcast show at Schubas in Chicago.
Our booth at the Chicago Renegade Holiday Craft Market
Hot mulled wine…mmmm.
The sweet little Stella Maxine.
My favorites!!! Margaux and Stella. I hate how far Chicago will be from Southern California 🙁
Super amazing jellyfish installation at Renegade Craft Fair.
The crowds were crazy this year.
Some of my handprinted gift tags.
One of Margaux’s beautiful baked creations. She made these delicious looking s’mores cupcakes for Mark’s birthday. I couldn’t eat one, but I sure appreciated how yummy they looked and the smile they put on my hubby’s face 🙂
Printed t-shirts for my yoga studio, East Meets West, with their new logo I designed.
A hot Tom & Jerry, a warm fire, Christmas music and lots of great friends. Pretty amazing stuff right there!
Making truffles is messy business, but boy is it worth it.
Those holiday cups at Starbucks sure make me happy!
The beet salad I had at Habitat in Pittsburgh was so good it was gone before I could take a pic 🙂 If you are in Pittsburgh, check that restaurant out. Great seasonal, local farm to table food with a special gluten-free menu. They even have gluten-free bread for sandwiches at lunch.
Christmas tree in Market Square Pittsburgh.
The view from the convention center in Pittsburgh where we were set up for the Handmade Arcade last weekend.
It was this or french fries for me at the convention center. Yay for will power. (But oooh were those fries calling my name.)
We celebrated Mark’s birthday on Sunday with family, friends and some down home soul food from Gigi’s restaurant on the East Side. (I had take-out pho from Pho 99 Fast Food)
One more friends dinner for Tom and Jerrys. This time at the Buffalo classic, Schwabls.
Gluten-free blueberry pancakes from the Original Pancake House. The perfect fuel for a day of Christmas shopping and planning a HUGE move.
Flavored finishing sea salts. Look for the recipes on Sunday.
Amazing illustration from a vintage children’s book in our collection.
I finally made time to bake last night. I made these amazing grain-free chocolate chip cookies from Against All Grain and topped them with some vanilla sea salt.
Our cat Indie, being silly last night while laying on Mark’s lap.
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Eat It Up: Episode 47 – Buffalo Eats Podcast
I am super excited to share with you guys, my first ever podcast appearance for Tasty Yummies! I recently sat down with Donnie Burtless of Buffalo Eats for an episode of Eat it Up. We chatted for a bit about how I came to find I had a gluten intolerance and how I came to eating the way I do know, why I started Tasty Yummies, we laugh about me missing weird foods like chicken fingers and lots more. Plus, my hubby, Mark, was on the couch in the recording studio, too and you’ll occasionally hear him give his opinions on fast food (aka prostitutes), changing his diet and food guilt. He was in rare form that night, all fired up about food and eating, it was pretty amazing! {Fair warning, there is a tad bit of swearing in this episode, nothing crazy, just a couple of excited “Sh*ts” and “Fu@ks” – food and eating is some fun stuff, guys!} Really though, I had a ton of fun doing this podcast and loved that Mark was there to lighten the mood for me, since I can sometimes get nervous when being recorded.
I hope you can take a minute to take a listen to this episode (see the player below) and be sure to check out some of the other episodes of the show.
Eat It Up: Episode 47 – Beth Manos Brickey (Tasty Yummies)
[mejsaudio src=”http://buffaloeats.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/podcast-47-beth.mp3″]
If above the player doesn’t work, use this link or see the original post on Buffalo Eats.
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How To Stock The Perfect Winter Pantry
The time has come, at least where I live, when the local fresh produce has dwindled down to very little and we are hunkering down for a long and cold winter. Just because fresh local produce isn’t quite as plentiful around here as it is in the summer, doesn’t mean that I cook any less. I just find I need to get more creative with what I do have and be very smart in stocking my pantry with healthy staples to get me through. Additionally, I still make sure to buy and eat as many veggies as possible and though they may not be local, I do try to at least select organic and as seasonal as I possibly can.
Here is a quick list of some of my favorite pantry staples, I am personally gluten-free so this list reflects that. Use this list as a guide, keeping in mind your own intolerances and preferences to create your own pantry staples list and make sure you are well stocked through the entire winter and all year, for that matter.
How To Stock The Perfect Winter Pantry
Winter Pantry Staples Shopping List
- Dried and canned beans – black beans, garbanzo, lentil, sprouted mung beans, kidney, white beans, pinto etc.
- Whole grains – brown rice, quinoa, millet, amaranth, wild rice, oats, etc (couscous, barley, bulgur, etc., if you aren’t gluten-free)
- Oils – coconut oil, olive oil, sesame oil, etc.
- Soy sauce or Gluten-free tamari, coconut aminos, etc
- Spices and herbs – bay leaves, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, turmeric, curry powder, italian blend, herbs de Provence, etc.
- Dried fruit – dates, raisins, cranberries, cherries, currants, etc.
- Rice noodles and other pastas
- Sugars and other alternative sweeteners – raw sugar, coconut sugar, maple syrup, honey, coconut nectar, stevia, etc.
- Nuts and seeds – almonds, walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, etc.
- Nut and seed butters – almond butter, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.
- Vinegars – balsamic, apple cider, red and white wine vinegars, rice vinegar, etc.
- Potatoes and sweet potatoes
- Garlic
- Onions
- Winter squash