Falafels- Paris

Falafels are a vegans best friend. They are quick, cheap, and a lot of non-veggies like them as well.  While a falafel sandwich is best enjoyed in its original pita form, for the gluten-intolerant, you can often ask for a falafel platter. It's basically a deconstructed falafel sandwich- all the elements laid out on the plate.

I am no expert, but I have had my share of falafels, and I can confidently say that the best I have ever tasted have been in the Marais district of Paris. Falafel houses line the streets, and all have a decent sized line running out the door. Don't let the lines deter you though, it's definitely worth the wait. 

On our recent trip to Paris, we tried three different falafels places and tried to determine once and for all which was the best.

We got take out, and therefore didn't get a platter. I just picked out the insides and let my husband finish my pita.

 

King Falafel Palace: Best toppings 

26, Rue des Rosiers

 

Mi Va Mi: First falafel I had in Paris five years ago, and still fantastic. They had the best falafel balls, bright green and soft on the inside.

27, rue des Ecouffes

Chez Hanna: Really great all around flavor.
54 Rue des Rosiers

L'As Du Falafel: Often rated the best falafel place in Paris, unfortunately it was closed when we went. So I guess I'll never know if it lived up to its hype.
34, rue des Rosiers

Bob's Kitchen- Paris

On a recent day trip to Paris, we stopped for breakfast at a cute little restaurant called Bob's Kitchen. I would definitely add this to your list of Paris eateries.

First, the staff were extremely friendly, and even accommodated us 30 minutes before they actually opened. And as a bonus, they spoke impeccable English.

I ordered a mango and avocado sushi roll, and Dan had the gluten-free buckwheat pancakes.
 

Pancakes!

Sorry for the long hiatus. But in good news, I've decided to get this blog up and running again, so be on the lookout for more posts. We've done some traveling, and I'll be posting about how to find free from food in Paris, Italy, Wales, and of course here in London. Today though, I am sharing our favorite weekend treat- Free From Pancakes. 

With pancakes, I usually use a store bought mix. It's not the cheapest way to go, but it's definitely the most convenient. I really like the Hale & Hearty 4 Grain mix. The recipe calls for an egg and milk, but you can easily adjust the recipe to be vegan. Here's how!

For an egg replacement in pancakes, one mashed banana is a good substitute and it adds a great flavor. My favorite though is 1tbs. of ground flax mixed with 2.5 tbs of warm water. This adds a bit of protein and nice nutty flavor.

 

Thoroughly mix the flax before adding the rest of the ingredients or mix it separately, then add.


The milk replacement is just a simple one to one switch with a non-dairy milk. I like coconut milk a lot, but using soy is definitely the cheaper option- just make sure you use organic.

Note: I like my pancakes really thin, so I doubled, maybe even triple the amount of milk

Now on to the fun part, toppings. I really like Hale & Hearty's Agave maple syrup. It has a great flavor, has a lower GI, and is cheaper, than the all authentic counterpart, but I'm not going to lie- nothing beats Grade A Vermont maple syrup.

As you can see, we were running low on maple topping, so we used jam and powdered sugar.

freefrom: waste

Don't throw out your glass jars, don't even recycle them- reuse them!

Another UK find!

Breakfast is the least enjoyable meal for me. I don't know why it is, but I will often actually eat lunch food for breakfast. Anywho, I recently found a great freefrom yogurt here in London that is currently proving to be the cure to my anti-breakfastness.

Yogurt is great because it has probiotics, is rich in protein, and low in carbs, but unfortunately, most freefrom yogurts are full of sugar. Alpro Soya; however, makes a plain yogurt that only has 2g of sugar per serving and still has a fantastic tangy flavor.

My only gripe is that it isn't organic. I typically try to stay away from non-organic soy products as it is one of the most heavily genetically-modified crops, but I would like to think that the UK has stricter regulations on that sort of thing. Here's to hoping!

snacks- oatcakes

Since moving to the UK I have been hard pressed to find freefrom snacks that are both affordable and healthy. You can find lots of chips (french fries) and crisps (chips)- but healthy freefrom snacks are harder to come by. So imagine my excitement when I discovered Nairn's oatcakes. Imagine thin flaky Scottish oat crackers that aren't too heavy but are perfectly filling.

I like to enjoy my Nairn's with hummus & olives, or pb & honey.

 

Now, oats in and of themselves don't have gluten, but because of growing practices oats can become contaminated with wheat gluten. So if you have celiacs or a severe wheat allergy then you should opt for their gluten-free line.



 

Eating Out- Thai

Thai is another cuisine that almost always uses rice over wheat, thus making it a great option for gluten-freers. On top of that, you can usually sub tofu for meat. And if that's not an option on the menu, the curries are just as flavorful sans meat or tofu. One thing to note however, is many "vegetarian" dishes may still contain fish sauce, so either ask if it can be made without it or ask for something that isn't made with fish sauce.


My favorite dishes include:

Appetizers
Som Tam: green papaya salad
Tom Kha: coconut soup
Spring Rolls: raw veggies in rice paper and dipping sauce

Entrees
Pad Ke Mao: a wide rice noodle in a brown sauce
Pad Se Ew: similar to Pad Ke Mao, but different flavor
Green Curry
Red Curry
Panang Curry
'Fancy Eggplant'

Dessert
Mango & Sticky Rice
Thai Iced Tea sub coconut milk