Several weeks ago, I attempted to do an elimination diet. I say attempted because I basically lasted two weeks before I was like, "I'm over this, give me a sandwich." I thought that maybe eliminating gluten would help with the annoying eczema on my hands because it had helped a friend of mine, and while I tend not to be a bandwagon jumper, I was desperate. In that time when I didn't eat wheat (or sugar or dairy), I remembered what it was like to be a new vegetarian. I can't eat anything! What can I eat? I don't know! This is hard! AHHH!!!!
I always tell people to focus on what they can eat, not what they can't, when they first stop eating meat, but attempting to go gluten-free for a month was a good reminder that it can be difficult to drastically change the way you eat. It disrupts your routine, it can make meal planning a nightmare--it's a lot of work! You need a little bit of guidance and you need some ideas to help get you out of your comfort zone. Going to the library and picking up some cookbooks, browsing through magazines, and reading your favorite food blogs all help. And meal delivery services like Blue Apron can help too.
Blue Apron has a vegetarian menu that's perfect for exploring new ingredients and recipe ideas. They'll send you all the ingredients you need for 3 different recipes (the menu is on their site when you order, so no surprises!) and step-by-step instructions for each one. The ingredients are pre-measured, high-quality, and super-fresh. The meals are creative and delicious too--this week, I received Roasted Vegetable Kebabs with Curried Chickpeas & Yogurt Sauce, White Bean & Escarole Chili with Sharp Cheddar, and Farro Risotto with Spinach-Basil Pesto & Sweet Potato. I made them all without a hitch--easy!
It's fun to get a big box o' food shipped right to your front door and it's nice to have 3 meals planned out without having to schlepp to the grocery store for ingredients. But guess what? All of Blue Apron's vegetarian recipes are online too! Their vegetarian cookbook has all sorts of amazing recipes that you can make yourself, like Black Bean & Quinoa Enchiladas with Salsa Verde and Cauliflower Mac & Cheese. I'm sharing the Roasted Vegetable Kebabs recipe below (and it's so good!), and some of my fellow food bloggers are sharing their experiences making Blue Apron recipes today as well:
Tortilla Soup on Cookie and Kate
Pumpkin Vegetable Potage with Toasted Farro on A Thought for Food
Ligurian Chard with Pine Nuts and Feta on Veggie Belly
Butternut Squash Mac 'n Cheese on I Heart Vegetables
If you want to give Blue Apron a try yourself, use this link to get 30% off your first order!
Ingredients
- ½ head cauliflower broken into florets
- 2 carrots cut into ½-inch thick rounds
- 6 to 7 ounces Brussels sprouts trimmed and halved
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- ½ cup plain low-fat yogurt
- 1-2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
- 3 cloves garlic pressed or minced
- 1 lime cut into 4 wedges
- 1 onion diced
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450ºF.
- Thread the cauliflower, carrots, and Brussels sprouts onto skewers. (If any vegetables don't fit on the skewers, finely chop them and add them to the chickpeas later). Place the kebabs on a lightly oiled baking sheet and drizzle with a little olive oil and season them with salt and pepper. Roast for 15-17 minutes, or until the edges of the vegetables are browned and slightly crispy.
- While the kebabs roast, in a small bowl, combine the yogurt, mint, about ⅓ of the garlic, and the juice from 1 lime wedge. Stir until blended and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a large pan, heat a little olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the onion and the remaining garlic; cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the onion is slightly softened. Season with salt and pepper. Increase the heat to high and add any remaining vegetables; cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally. Add the chickpeas to the pan, along with the turmeric, cumin, curry powder, and half the parsley; cook 1-2 minutes to toast the spices, stirring frequently. Add the juice of 1 lime wedge and 2 tablespoons of water and cook 1-2 minutes, or until everything is well-combined and heated through, stirring occasionally.
- Once the kebabs are done, remove them from the oven. Divide the curried chickpeas between 2 plates and lay the kebabs on top. Spoon the yogurt sauce over the plate and garnish with the remaining parsley and lime wedges.
Nutrition
Disclosure: I received compensation for the time spent making and photographing this recipe. Sponsored Recipes are a once-a-month feature on Oh My Veggies-–my sponsors help make this blog possible!
Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says
Oh how fun! I'd love to get boxes of stuff delivered to put together for dinners! The Mr would be all over this!
Kiersten says
It really is fun! They have a service for meat-eaters too. 🙂
Alexis @ Hummusapien says
Every part of this recipe sounds amazing...especially those Indian-spiced chickpeas! Blue Apron sounds like an awesome service. Kudos to you for trying an elimination diet! I think I'd be a huge biatch if I eliminated wheat and sugar, but I'd love to try!
Kiersten says
The sugar was actually the easiest part! I pretty much successfully eliminated that from my diet until Halloween when we had about 10 trick-or-treaters and 100 pieces of candy to hand out. 🙂 I was surprised how little I missed it. But wheat--no, I definitely can't cut that out. 🙂 Although I'm trying to cut down!
Mallory @ Because I Like Chocolate says
I love, love, love grilling cauliflower. It tastes like popcorn when you char it up!
dishing up the dirt says
This sounds delicious. And I love the idea of Blue Apron. What a great idea!
Daniela @ FoodrecipesHQ says
Beautiful and complete meal. I love that you can dip everything in that velvety yogurt sauce!
Kiersten says
I'm not a big fan of yogurt, but even I liked that sauce!
Kim @ What's That Smell? says
This looks really good and I'm inclined to wonder if my kids are more likely to eat their veggies if they are on a stick!
Blue Apron is an intriguing idea, especially for busy families.
Kiersten says
Every food is better on a stick. It's just a fact.
Kim @ What's That Smell? says
Good point.
[email protected] says
Loving those skewers, so lovely! This service seems amazing, some days I'm just over it and can't prep for a meal!
Kiersten says
Yeah, for some reason when the seasons change, I start to feel really fatigued when it comes to making dinner. 🙂 This helps!
Lindsay says
This looks awesome! But what could I use instead of either the yogurt or a dairy free yogurt? Thanks 🙂
Kiersten says
I would use a cashew cream. I'd make it with just cashews and water (or veggie broth--I like making my cashew cream with homemade broth!), then add in the lime juice, salt and pepper, garlic, and mint.
Holly says
I am contemplating going gluten free for health reasons and this delivery service might be just the way to start- thanks for sharing it! Was your skin improved by your change in diet? Hope so!
Kiersten says
No, my skin didn't get better! That was one of the reasons I quit. 🙂
Shelley @ Two Healthy Kitchens says
How cool! I've never heard of Blue Apron, but what a great idea! Such a creative recipe, and their others sound delicious, too - an excellent resource! Thanks for the really exciting info - looking forward to checking this out!!! 😀
Kiersten says
Honestly, I tried another service like Blue Apron several months ago and I was not impressed. The produce they sent was not fresh, the recipes weren't clearly written, and their calorie counts seemed really inaccurate. After that, I was kind of afraid to try something like this again, but Blue Apron completely won me over. I'm definitely planning on ordering a few boxes during the busy holiday season!
ashley - Baker by Nature says
I totally have a big fat crush on this meal!
Kiersten says
It's totally crush-worthy. 🙂
Katy says
Going gluten-free is certainly tough, it sure seems like everything these days has gluten in it! Veggie kebabs are awesome and I have never tried them with brussels sprouts, I bet they would be delicious!
Kiersten says
Yes! And with eliminating sugar and dairy too, I really felt like I couldn't eat anything!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
I love roasted veggies, these kebabs are my kind of meal!
[email protected]'s Recipes says
You are amazing! These look so inviting with minty yogurt dressing.
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
LOVE grilled veggie kebabs with yogurt sauce. So sorry about the eczema. Hopefully its temporary or under controlled.
I tried going gluten free, but find it a little too difficult after a week. Like you said, focus on what I CAN instead of CANT 🙂
Kiersten says
Yeah, it's really hard. There's a lot of hidden gluten in foods too!
ratgirl says
This recipe looks good and is so easily veganized! 🙂 I found that after about a month, dairy had very little appeal to me at all and now I don't miss it a bit, especially since it's so easy to replace in recipes and the like. Plus, just thinking about the cows kept pregnant or recovering from pregnancy until the day of their execution, and the calves yanked away from their mothers while still suckling is more than enough to keep me away from the stuff.
I honestly don't want to quit sugar (some things just make life a little bit brighter...) though I could stand to cut down, and eat more fruits instead. Honestly, I think gluteny whole grains are darn good for you unless, of course, you have celiac disease, which is a pretty small bit of the population. Though hey, whatever helps you feel better and doesn't hurt other beings is fine by me! If it works, it works.
The recipes on the Blue Apron site look yummy. I can't wait to try the noodly tofu dish and those lentils are totally calling my name! Too bad they don't offer a vegan option, but it sounded like they might be inclined to do so in the not so distant future, according to their FAQ. 🙂 Thanks for reviewing their stuff. I always enjoy your posts.
Kiersten says
Hopefully they will have a vegan option soon! Most of my meals are vegan, so I'd definitely be interested too. 🙂
I agree, I don't think there's any reason to avoid gluten unless you're intolerant! I thought it was worth a try to see if I was, but I guess not. And maybe that's a good thing, because I would be sad to give up bread!
Samantha says
I honestly think that I am a bit addicted to sugar and want to cut it out and replace ice cream with fruit or something but...ugh I love ice cream! I've wanted to try out blue apron for a long time now.
I read in a comment that your eczema didn't get any better. I have a friend who had it pretty bad on her hands as well and I believe that she started taking marshmallow root for it and it worked pretty well. I'll have to double check that though!
Kiersten says
I really believe in moderation, but I knew I could stand to eat less sugar and I was surprised at how little I missed it. It used to be impossible for me to go to Whole Foods and not drool over the bakery case (well, not literally, because: gross), but after a few weeks, I didn't even have a desire for cupcakes or brownies. And then Halloween had to go and ruin things.
I'm going to have to look into marshmallow root! My dermatologist thinks the eczema is stress-related, and of course, solving that is easier said than done. 😛
Kelly @ Texas Type A Mom says
This looks so simple but fulfilling! I'm not big on curry but could definitely be swayed based on the other flavors!
Doug says
Loved this recipe !
Skin problem recipe - Cell Salts, some call Bio plasma , you should read about what they are.
Can be found in most health food stores or ordered. May even take care of
Stress issue ! Internal repair
External relief / repair-Burt's Bees -miracle salve ( located close to you in Durham NC )
Thanks for recipe !
Kiersten Frase says
Thanks for the tips! I'm a big fan of Burt's Bees, but I don't think I've ever tried the Miracle Salve.
Candace says
I was so excited to try this! I've never eaten Brussels sprouts or cauliflower. I'm eating it right now, delicious! I think I'll try it with shrimp next time. Thanks for sharing.
http://thequirklife.com/