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Anna Vocino,
Owner of Eat Happy Kitchen
Thank you for learning more about my story beyond the bite.
Meet Anna Vocino
Anna Vocino is a wonderfully talented chef, food writer, entrepreneur, media personality, comic, and actor. She’s also a former dancer and ballerina.
GLUTEN FREE CHICKEN PARMESAN
Italian Classics Made Gluten and Grain Free — Without Sacrificing Taste!
Anna Vocino is a wonderfully talented chef, food writer, entrepreneur, media personality, comic, and actor. She’s also a former dancer and ballerina.
Anna is the founder of Eat Happy Kitchen, a website where you can shop for all of her amazing sauces, spices, and cookbooks.
Anna prides herself as being half Italian and half “Southern girl.” She began her gluten-free cooking journey over 20 years ago when she was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.
(In case you weren’t aware, Celiac Disease is an immune reaction to eating gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, and rye … basically the foundations of her beloved Italian food such as pasta and pizza dough — as well as many Southern comfort foods!)
Anna’s medical diagnosis prompted her to recreate some of her favorite dishes that she grew up eating into tasty gluten-free, grain-free meals that anyone can love.
Watch Anna transform a Classic Chicken Parmesan recipe into an amazing gluten-free, grain-free meal.
A Podcast, Two Cookbooks, and a Sauce Company!
In 2012, Anna founded a podcast called Fitness Confidential with her friend and celebrity fitness trainer, Vinnie Tortorich. Anna was the original producer of the podcast and Vinnie’s co-host.
It was during this time that Anna transformed the way she cooks from gluten free to also being low carb, grain free, and sugar free. She made her favorite recipes with “NSNG” in mind — also known as: “No Sugar, No Grains,” a term that is trademarked by Vinnie.
In 2016, Anna wrote and published her first cookbook, Eat Happy and followed up with her second cookbook, Eat Happy Too in 2019.
New Versions of Old Favorites: Living with Celiac Disease When You Love Italian Food
The last thing Anna wanted (given her Celiac disease) was a lifetime sentence of eating bland, boring foods she didn’t enjoy.
Anna wasn’t interested in constantly counting calories.
One of her favorite sayings is “Diets Suck!”
We couldn’t agree more!
One day in 2020 on her podcast, a man called in and was thrilled to report to Anna that he’d lost over 85 lbs. — simply by cooking and eating the recipes out of her cookbooks!
He suggested that he be the manufacturer for her sauce company — and they have been working together ever since.
Anna realized that in her quest to make her favorite recipes in a way she could still enjoy them, she had also written a powerful book on how to lose weight!
This was a pivotal moment for Anna, and one that catapulted her culinary career to a whole new level.
Introducing Anna’s “Chicken Parm” … With a Purpose!
The team at Public Market was fortunate enough to visit Anna at her lovely house in the Santa Ynez Valley. The minute we walked into her kitchen, we felt at home.
Anna’s kitchen has a light, airy, and cheery feel — we wanted to pull up chairs, listen to her stories, and watch her cook all day long!
Even though it was very early in the morning, Anna was completely energized and ready to cook for us.
Anna began with her Chicken Parmesan aka “Chicken Parm” …
Admittedly we were wondering how a delicious Italian classic favorite dish like breaded Chicken Parmesan could be transformed into a gluten-free, grain-free version that was “just as good.”
But to our amazement, it far exceeded our expectations and was outstanding!
Anna shares her recipe for Chicken Parm on her website AnnaVocino.com, We’ve also included it here for your easy reference.
INGREDIENTS
- Marinara
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- Bunch of basil leaves, 7-10 leaves-chopped
- 2 14 oz. cans of tomatoes, puréed
- 1/2 can tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
- Pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Chicken
- 1-pound boneless chicken breasts, trimmed and pounded to a 1/2-inch thickness
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup almond flour for breading
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil to medium high heat and sauté garlic and basil for 2-3 minutes. Add in pureed tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 teaspoon of salt, and a twist of fresh pepper. Bring the tomatoes to a boil while stirring in butter with a wooden spoon. Turn the heat down low, and let the sauce simmer while prepping the chicken, seasoning with a little extra salt and pepper every 10 minutes.
- Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. In a shallow bowl, spread out almond flour. Dredge the chicken breasts in the almond flour to coat. Heat olive oil on medium high heat in a sauté pan until it shimmers. Cook the coated chicken breasts for 6-7 minutes per side. Transfer to a casserole pan.
- Sprinkle half of the mozzarella on the chicken breasts. Ladle sauce over the chicken, covering it, but reserving some for serving. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese and parmesan over sauce and chicken. Bake in oven for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve with additional reserved sauce, if desired.
NOTES
If you want to save a step, use a jar of Eat Happy Kitchen Tomato Basil Marinara in place of the two cans of tomatoes and tomato paste.
Ready to Eat!
As we mentioned earlier, you can find Anna’s tasty sauces, high-quality spices, and wide array of cookbooks at her e-commerce website, Eat Happy Kitchen.
While we were at Anna’s house, she also made one of her seasonal sauces, Pumpkin Marinara — it’s soooo good! This sauce is especially delicious atop cheese ravioli or tortellini. If you’re looking for a yummy meal packed with the flavors of fall that’s impressive, yet easy to prepare, this is it!
A Deliciously Rewarding Career
It seems as if there is no end to Anna’s talents or energy. She clearly loves what she does and revels in making people happy with her amazing gluten-free, grain-free cooking, hilarious personality, and warm hospitality.
We can’t wait to go back to Anna’s house!
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“When I was diagnosed with celiac, I had to find a way to make my favorite chicken parm gluten free because you don't find gluten free Italian out in the wild.”
– ANNA Vocino, EAT HAPPY KITCHEN
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