Thursday, February 1, 2018

No Boil No Thanks!

I decided to try those no boil gluten free lasagna noodles again. I ha some leftover from before, along with some cooked chickpeas and marinara that needed to be used. Budget, clean out your pantry lasagna it is! I made a cashew cheese and a tofu ricotta, and I stirred the chickpeas with some of the olive tapenade from Trader Joe's. I really recommend chickpeas and olive tapenade. They love each other! I added some tahini and miso paste to both the tofu ricotta and cashew cheese and it made a HUGE difference. I now consider tahini an essential ingredient in vegan cheese!
Here is my lasagna fresh out of the oven. It tasted amazing. Between the olive tapenade and the miso in the cheeses it was rich and savory. But those noodles really are a problem. They curl and twist and break and don't really stay lasagna noodles. I followed the instructions on the box too.
Here's my bowl. Like I said the really good news is that it tasted good. I was thinking maybe boiling the noodles for just a minute or two might help them keep their shape, but then they will be really overcooked. I don't know what the answer is other than staying away from no boil lasagna noodles, at least gluten free noodles!
Just say no!

This is the brand I used. I actually haven't seen a lot of gluten free lasagna noodles. Tinkyada makes them but I rarely see them. I think they are regular boil before baking. Maybe sometime I'll try that version and see how they are.
My smoothie from yesterday looks so anemic compared to my smoothies from last week. Last week I was using frozen cherries and blueberries, this week strawberries. This was just flaxmeal,frozen strawberries, banana, spinach and maca powder. I also had two small organic Russet potatoes that I baked and had with a little coconut oil, nooch and salt and pepper for kind of a light lunch that I didn't photograph. I eat so many potatoes but I rarely eat them baked which is a shame, they are so tasty!
I had one of these delicious cream pops for dessert. They're made with coconut cream and they are so rich and decadent! They have other flavors I need to try, but I can't seem to stop buying the sea salt caramel, it's so good!!!




10 comments:

  1. Yep, sounds like those noodles are the problem! But I bet it was tasty anyway. Sounds amazing. I'll have to look for those cream pops!

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    1. Yes, luckily it still tastes like a great pasta ish, just not lasagna!
      The cream pops are AMAZING!!!!

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  2. I've never tried gluten-free no boil lasagna noodles, but years ago (in my pre-gan days) I used regular no boil noodles with no trouble. I haven't made lasagna in years, so I have no idea if the noodles were vegan, although I assume they were. So my takeaway is that it must have something to do with them being made from rice, maybe?

    Still looks gooey and delish, though.

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    1. I've use no boil lasagna noodles too, but they had gluten in them. I definitely think it's because they are gluten free.
      It really still tasted great!

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  3. I've used gluten-full no boil noodles with no problems before, but never gluten free. I wonder if it is because they are rice based? There are some gf ones available here, that I don't think are rice based. Perhaps they would be a bit sturdier? At least the finished product tasted good!

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    1. I think some things just can't be done without gluten and no boil lasagna noodles might be one of those things! But I am happy that it was still tasty!

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  4. I'm sorry that the noodles were an issue but so glad it was delicious anyway! It still looks amazing and hopefully the noodles will get a little better over time? The pops sound so good and your model is gorgeous!

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    1. At least I know to avoid no boil at all costs! An at least it was edible!
      The pops are so freaking amazing! My little glamour gal!!

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  5. Well i’m glad the silly noodles didn’t totally ruin your lasagna and that it was still tasty! I’ve seen recipes for a skillet lasagna using just regular pasta or you could always make lasagna with some cooked noodles- although maybe then its just baked pasta....?
    Those frozen pops sound soooo good! I’ll have to look for them at my whole foods
    Ttrockwood

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  6. All that matters is that it was tasty! Lord knows - I have had some pretty weird looking food but it turned out tasty and totally made it worth it!

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