Gluten Free Living and Cooking

Menu Plan Monday 4/29/13-/5/5/13

soroos.tiffani@gmail.com — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:38:05 +0000

Happy Monday to you! The week ahead will be a busy one for our family so to have a menu plan for this week is a must!

Monday-Creamy Mexican Skillet Chicken,(see recipe below) corn tortilla chips, corn tortillas, black beans & toppings
Tuesday-Crockpot Chili
Wednesday-Breakfast for Dinner..Eggs, Bacon & Fruit.
Thursday-Steak Stir Fry, rice
Friday-Pizza Night. G-Free Falafel Pizza – I cheat and use Trader Joe’s Three Layer Hummus.
Saturday-Over at friends. Bringing a fruit tray along with this dip
Sunday-Roasted Chicken, potatoes, salad or whatever vegetable I have on hand.

Mexican Skillet Chicken:

1 1/2 pounds boneless/skinless chicken thighs

4 oz cream cheese–softened

Half of Jar of your favorite salsa

1/4 cup or so of water

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt/pepper/garlic powder

Cut chicken thighs into bite size pieces. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Brown in saute pan until about half way cooked. Turn the heat to about medium-low/medium. Add your salsa and cook for about a minute. Add cream cheese a spoonful at a time allowing each spoonful to melt by stirring into the chicken and salsa. If mixture gets too thick add in water. Cook until chicken is fully cooked.

Gluten Free Living and Cooking participates in Menu Plan Monday by Organizing Junkie check out all the other great menus!

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Gluten Free and Dining Out

soroos.tiffani@gmail.com — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:45:15 +0000

Our family has begun a countdown to our summer vacation. We are excited to see family and friends back where my husband and I grew up. Along with all the plans of people and places we want to see comes the concern of how/where I will eat while we are away. Instead of waiting until we get there I have decided to be proactive and take some control of our restaurant food choices. Deciding on where to eat out can sometimes be difficult as I live the gluten-free lifestyle. So many foods come breaded or even just prepared in or in shared space as non gluten-free foods. If you have severe reactions to gluten it can turn a fun night out into anything but fun. So in planning for our vacation I have decided to see what I could research and find in healthy choices for gluten-free menus/foods.

More and more restaurants post their menus online which is great! Rather than wait until you sit down and discover you will just have water, please…you can look ahead and be an educated consumer. As always when you order, even if it the restaurant you are at states gluten-free menu ,make sure that you reiterate gluten-free. You still run the risk even after all your efforts that there may be mistakes or some cross contamination but that is a decision you need to make if you are willing to risk it. For me, I am willing to take that risk. Don’t get me wrong I have had really bad experiences after eating at some restaurants and the choice that we make is just to not go back to those restaurants again…ever.

In researching I also found some sites that list menu restaurants that have gluten-free options. I wanted to share with you as I have found them to be so helpful! Happy Friday and maybe you can find some place nice that you can enjoy a lovely night out!

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How I Got Here.

soroos.tiffani@gmail.com — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:09:07 +0000

It started about three years ago, an odd feeling in my throat. It started out feeling like there was a hair or something in my throat. I gargled, I examined, had my husband look to see if he saw anything and nothing. I then began to have this feeling as if there was something larger in my throat and would cause me to gag. That was enough for me to have me head off to the doctors. After many tests (many uncomfortable) they determined that I had reflux and that was the beginning of many different attempts at medications. None provided me with complete relief. It was an extremely frustrating feeling. I decided that I did not want to just accept that this would be the new way of feeling. I began to do research. In doing so I came across the book ” Wheat Belly”. The author, William David M.D.,explains how over the last 4 decades modern wheat has been genetically altered in such a way that acts like a appetite stimulant as well as triggers auto immune diseases such as celiac and hypothyroidism(which I have). There is a ton of much more surprising information on modern day wheat and what it has done to our bodies that I would encourage you to read the book just for what you would learn from that alone.
The lifestyle change in your diet that “Wheat Belly” encourages is a diet full of real food. Simple. Vegetables, fruit, eggs (gasp!), nuts, healthy oils, meats and fish. Cut out all grains..all grains. NO rice, corn etc.

I felt after reading the book I wanted relief and was willing to give the lifestyle change a try. The first week or so was difficult but I also started to feel better. After a couple of weeks I had decided to try and go off the medications and see how I was feeling. I felt great! I did end up loosing weight but that was not what motivated me to try this way of life. I continued to live completely grain fee and sugar light for 3 months…over the holidays mind you. I did add back rice and corn into my diet as well as started to indulge in other foods that are not apart of the Wheat Belly lifestyle. To be honest since reintroducing those food choices I have not felt as good as when they were not apart of my diet. But I have not gone back to feeling as poorly as when I first began.I have found the spring and summer months, are for me, a much easier time to cut out the grains. I do find myself often just choosing to not have the rice or other grain items that are apart of a meal. If you find yourself in the place that I found myself I would encourage you to take the time and read “Wheat Belly” and even if you don’t choose to change your diet to the suggestions in the book I know that you will come away with looking at what you consume with a much more educated view.

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Breakfast Time.

soroos.tiffani@gmail.com — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:00:19 +0000

It has been said that “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”, for many people breakfast would likely mean grabbing a bagel or having a bowl of cereal. Now there are gluten free bagels as well as gluten free cereals, but I choose to have a smoothie for my breakfast each morning. They are delicious, you can have a different type each day of the week, they can be very healthy and are filling! Here are some of my smoothie making tips:

When possible use some type frozen fruit or vegetable in your smoothies.This keeps the smoothies nice and cold. Something we do once a week is buy a bunch of bananas peel and chop each one up into thirds. We then put them into a freezer bag and keep them in the freezer so each morning all that needs to be done is choose what type of smoothie we would like, select what fruits/veggies we would like in them and much of the prep work is already done.
For liquid you can add yogurt, kefir or your favorite 100% fruit juice.
We do sometimes add a tablespoon or so of peanut butter, chia seeds, gluten free oats, or flax seeds. Quick tip regarding the chia,oats and flax. Add a bit of juice to either the chia or flax to have them get a good chop. For the oats put them dry into the blender and whir them up until they are almost like a flour & then add your liquid, etc. Both of these tips will help keep your smoothies…smooth.

Here is our recipe for PB&Strawberry smoothie..a great gluten free breakfast!

3 Tb. uncooked g-free oats (grind in blender 1st)
3/4 Cup strawberry keifer
1/4 Cup orange juice
4 frozen strawberries
1 frozen banana chopped
1 tablespoon peanut butter

Place the uncooked gfree oats in blender and grind until it is well ground. Add keifer, strawberries, frozen banana, and peanut butter and blend. Add orange juice to help keep the mixture from getting too thick. Enjoy!

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Gluten-free …what does it all mean?!

soroos.tiffani@gmail.com — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:46:37 +0000

What exactly is gluten and what do you need to be concerned about in living a gluten-free lifestyle?

A gluten-free diet or lifestyle is one that eliminates specific gluten proteins from your diet as well steering clear of products that contain gluten that you come into contact with in everyday living. Gluten is actually found in all grains however for those with Celiac Disease or have a gluten intolerance the gluten in the grains wheat, barley, rye and – for some – oats is the gluten that causes the issues.

So what type of foods,flours and beverages should you avoid in your diet as you live a lifestyle of gluten-free? Wheat, Barley,Rye, Bulgur, Kamut, Spelt, Durum flour, Farina, and Graham flour. ALWAYS read the ingredient list on any foods. You will be surprised how often and what products have wheat as an ingredient, for example I have found licorice has wheat listed as one of it’s top ingredients! It is wise to just stay away from prepackaged foods like: breads, cakes,pies,cookies, gravies, beer, pasta,salad dressings,cold cuts, soups if they do not SPECIFICALLY state on the package or menu that they are gluten-free.

There are also other items you should be careful using as you enjoy the gluten-free lifestyle. For instance: some vitamins/medications use gluten as a binder, and some people have had reactions to gluten in make-up and the famous dough that children get stuck in carpets or hair. As I said before read the ingredient list!

Now doesn’t that sound like life will be bland when you change your diet to gluten-free? Fear not! This is where I come in. I am here to help you navigate, discover and celebrate the gluten-free lifestyle. I will share, test, and pass along to you ideas, recipes, tips, news and hopefully encourage you to embrace a life-style that is anything but bland!

To get you started here is a delicious quick and easy gluten-free cookie recipe. Get cooking!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/flourless-peanut-butter-cookies/detail.aspx

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