Seven Weeks Later....

I've had a lot of people ask me about my diet. They have lots of questions. So I will just save time and answer them all here.

• Do you enjoy the new diet?
  

  Yes, I'm really liking the new diet. I know where all my foods started from. That's really a bonus as I cannot eat most processed foods. So now I get to see what they were before I eat them.
  

• Does this mean you can't eat Oreos, Chips Ahoy, McDonald's, etc. anymore? What about dining out?

  Yes, but those things weren't good for me anyway. I have found a few fast food options that I can go to in a pinch if I'm out without food. I've also discovered that most Chinese food places are mostly gluten free. They have steamed rice and rice noodles with veggies. Sauces are thickened with corn starch. I just have to steer clear of the soy sauce because it's made with wheat. No sweet and sour combos or won tons either. I have plenty of food to eat. I just have to figure out what's on the menus. Some places are starting to offer allergen menus. Sadly most aren't up to par yet.
  
  

• How do you feel?
  I feel great. For the first time in years actually. I no longer have heartburn daily. I don't have a lot of headaches or muscle aches. The one thing that I do not miss are the constant yeast infections. It was so bad that I had a prescription on file. I could call it in myself. I used to always feel bloated after eating. Oftentimes I couldn't swallow. I had lots of gastronomic complaints. I don't have any of those anymore. Heck, even my skin isn't as dry and itchy as it was. It's winter and my skin is less dry than it was in the summer. I'm not even having panic attacks anymore. OK, I have those whenever I try to convince myself that just one bite of cookie or one taste of something else won't hurt. It always comes back to haunt me.
  

  I can go on and on but it just upsets me and that's not where I want to be. I'm just happy to be feeling good. I haven't felt this good in years. I can't see myself going back to my 'old diet'. It just goes to show that doctors don't always know what they're talking about. If I had followed the original plan, I would have had stomach surgery, still have been taking tons of pills, and despite every effort on my part.....gaining weight or at least not losing any.
  

• How about weight? Have you lost any?
  I sure have. All those years of yo-yo dieting. All that money spent on diet foods, pills, potions, plans, etc. They didn't work. I had to change me and my basic diet. I've lost 5 pounds in the past week and I've eaten ice cream every day. Yes, real ice cream. Yes, every day. I've even tried the vegan variety, the recipe is in this blog somewhere in the last 7 weeks. I made it with coconut milk and carob. It was awesome.
  

• What's available in the stores?
  Lots of stuff. There's gluten free stuff out there but the best bet is to 'Shop the walls'. Do this by sticking to the outer walls of the store. That's where the fresh stuff is. The produce, meat, and dairy are on the walls. The less processing that happens to a food, the less likely that wheat was added to it.
  

• What results does your doctor/s see?
  Well, I got some test results back the other day. I've been taking vitamin supplements for years and they're finally working. I'm not fighting their efforts with my diet. I just wasn't absorbing some of those minerals so the supplements were only staving off the end result. My vitamin D and B12 levels are higher now than they've been in a very long time. This means my bone density will improve. Which just might mean that I can walk longer without pain. My muscles will not feel weak and exercise will finally help me. Also that I will stop, hopefully, breaking my bones all the time. This is really getting old.
  

• Will this work for me?
  Only you can decide that. I have to eat this way or go back to feeling the way I was. I might miss the old food but I really don't miss the results. You can still have the old foods so it'll be harder to stick with the plan.
  

Smoothies

Well I'm off my feet for a few weeks, at least in the kitchen. So I'm trying some foods that are in the freezer section of the local grocery store. Today I tried the new Yoplait Smoothies. In their recipe, you use the whole bag of smoothie blend. I tried the blueberry pomegranate pack. It has whole blueberries and nuggets of pomegranate juice blended with yogurt. You add your own skim milk and blend. Since it's just me eating this way, I used half the bag. I also added the other smoothie ingredients I keep on hand. I have flax meal which is ground up flax seeds. You can buy it ground or grind them in your coffee grinder. I also have chia seeds. Yes, these are the same seeds you used to spread onto a pottery animal that you soaked overnight in water. As it turns out, these are really good at adding fiber to your diet. They have no flavor but they bulk up nice in water and helps keep you full longer. I added a full cup of milk to mine. It makes them a little thinner but the cold doesn't bother my teeth so much and the extra vitamin D is really good for you. Here's my version of the Yoplait Smoothie.

Altered Yoplait Smoothie
Makes 1 serving

1/2 bag Yoplait Smoothie Blend
1 cup milk. Their recipe calls for skim, I used 1%
1 tablespoon flax meal
1 teaspoon chia seeds
1-2 ice cubes (optional)

Throw all ingredients into your blender and blend until you are happy with the results. The ice will make it a little thicker if you like.

New Favorite Appliance

For a long time I've used a coffee grinder to grind my own spices. It allows them to stay fresher and also allows me to pick how course or fine I want them to be. The grinder was always in the garage but now I keep it close at hand. I am grinding my own flours. I've been grinding my own brown rice. It's so much cheaper than buying it. I have also ground almond meal and cashews. I just put in a small amount and push to grind.

Yesterday I baked a chicken and cooked a few veggies with it. The rest I boiled in a saucepan with some chicken stock. Then I added brown rice flour and some of the cooked chicken to the veggies. It made a nice stew. This gluten free diet isn't bad. I'm feeling a lot better and I've even lost some weight too. Plus I still get to eat ice cream on occasions without feeling too guilty.

I definitely broke my ankle so it's going to be a little while before I get back to full cooking and recipes every day. I will try my best to keep the tips up and share great recipes and ideas here as well.

Biscuits and Gravy

I have to admit. I was missing bread. I missed having something to spread jam on, spoon gravy over, or just have with a little butter. I tried some of the store bought GF breads and wasn't impressed. The tapioca flour bread was tasteless. The rice bread shot my sugar up to over 200. Not good. So I went back to the gluten free Bisquick. They offered a biscuit recipe but it was basically bland. I want to follow this diet and feel good but I don't want to give up taste. At the same time, I don't want high sugar levels either. So I went to Google and looked up some baking mix recipes. I tried a couple but there were the same problems. White rice flour is no good for my blood glucose levels. So since I've been playing with some other G/F flours, I thought I'd take one of the recipes I found and change things around a bit. What I came up with is a very nice drop biscuit recipe. It has some body but isn't a brick. It's a bit fluffy but not too crumbly. I used brown rice flour and almond meal. It has some baking soda and a bit of xanthan gum. The taste? I ate every crumb from my plate. I even ate it with some sausage gravy. I made that by browning the sausage and adding some tapioca flour and made a roux (fat and flour to make a paste). Then i added seasonings, water and some milk. I'll share that recipe another day. I know you're dying for bread too. The serving size is 1 biscuit but they were so good, I ate 2. I'll eat 1 at a time from now on though. I won't be able to lose any weight if I keep eating the way I was but with no gluten.

Gluten Free Biscuits
Makes 6 biscuits

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1 cup almond meal (or almond flour- same thing)
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup milk

1. Mix together all dry ingredients.
2. Add shortening and blend with pastry blender, fork, or fingers until mixture is crumbly.
3. Mix in egg. Then add the milk and mix until mix forms a soft dough. It shouldn't be too sticky.
4. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
5. Bake at 375 for 12-15 or until tops are lightly browned. Check to make sure center is cooked and not doughy.
6. Try not to burn your hands when you eat them.

Caveman Diet

I've been trying some different things with this diet to see what I can do to make things interesting. I recently tried some recipes I have found on boxes of GF flour or from other gluten free websites and such. I have to say that Bisquick GF mix is so so and I prefer mixing my own blend. They offer a few recipes for those who are not interested or unsure about blending their own flours. The pancakes were fluffy and not too bad. Mostly I've been eating meat, potatoes and veggies. I twisted my ankle but I should be back up soon, making new recipes to share

Cream of .....

Broccoli soup. In the past I've made some different variations of cream soup. I've tried everything from chicken to onion and in between too. The basic-ness of the recipe lends itself to lots of variety. It's really simple to make and the taste is wonderful. It's great on a cold day and on a warm day you can change up the ingredients. Years ago, I bought one of those hand held blenders that turns everything in its path to mush. The original idea was to make my own baby food. It did the job nicely. Well my baby is not a baby anymore. She eats everything right along with the rest of us. So the hand mixer has changed careers. It has gone on to make smoothies, milk shakes, bread crumbs (they are really nice), and a whole bunch of other things. It's also really wonderful to put into a pan of hot soup and turn it into a nice pulverized blend of good flavors. I really like that because I don't have to pour a hot soup into the blender and risk burning myself or spilling any and wasting that lovely soup. Today's recipe is broccoli but you could use cauliflower, asparagus, carrot or whatever you'd like. I used chicken stock but you can use any stock you prefer. Also, get fresh or good quality frozen vegetables. Use the flowers and not the stems. Stems are fibrous and don't mush well.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Serves 4
1/2 cup servings

2 cups broccoli florets

1 cup water

3 cups chicken stock, check the label to be sure it contains no wheat.

1 tsp each of the following: onion powder, granulated garlic, sea salt and ground black pepper

1/2 tsp tapioca flour


1. Add liquids and spices to saucepan. Then add florets.
2. Cook over medium heat until fork tender and liquid is reduced (about 1/3 less).
3. Add tapioca flour and stir, cooking 1 minute more.
4.Using your hand blender, pulverize the broccoli until smooth.
5. If you want more creaminess, you can add a touch of cream, almond milk, cashew cream, or sour cream at the end and just stir it in.

If it's Vegan........

.....can you really call it ice cream? I know, I'm just supposed to be going gluten free and sugar free and less eggs. So I really don't have to be giving up everything but it's always nice to try something else. Besides I told my family that it was vegan and I didn't have to share. My husband tried 1 bite. He said it wasn't bad tasting which might even be a compliment. I thought it was wonderful. It was even better when I went back on the 4th day and found that there was still some left. It didn't make it to a 5th day. I will make more very soon. This one started out as vanilla and then I decided to go decadent. So I added chocolate, well carob, and then I added carob chips. I have got to work on making caramels with agave syrup. Then I can really have decadence. Perhaps on a snow day when I can't drive anywhere. I know how pioneers did all that cooking. They drove to church once a week and most of the rest of life revolved around home. You can leave the stove on if you're only out in the yard or in the other room doing chores. So back to this century. I've been playing with all these great foods and today I'm sharing the carob frozen concoction but to keep it simple and easily searchable I will just call it....

Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream

1/2 cup servings
Serves 4-5 depending on how much you 'taste test' before it's done


13-`14 oz can Coconut Milk (Use full fat for this)
1/2 cup carob chips
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (pick one that's smooth without grassy flavors)
1/3 cup agave syrup
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
dash of salt

1/4 cup carob chips


1. In large saucepan over medium heat mix together the coconut milk, olive oil and agave syrup. Bring to a simmer. Look for bubbles on the edge but not boiling. Add carob chips and stir until melted. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and salt. Stir. Pour into container and chill in fridge. Add to ice cream maker. When about halfway frozen, add carob chips.

Don't have an ice cream maker? Don't panic. You can use a glass or stainless steel container and make do. Pour the mixture into your container and put it in the freezer. Every 2 hours, remove and scrape down the sides of the container and stir together. It will freeze and start to look grainy. Once it's mostly frozen, you can use a hand mixer to break up the bigger chunks and make it smoother. It's not going to look like commercial ice cream. Even when you use an ice cream maker, it's not going to be that smooth. Once you like the consistency, you can freeze overnight or for at least 4 hours. This will improve the flavor. I really thought it tasted best on the 3rd or 4th day but I couldn't wait that long. Maybe you can but probably only if you don't taste test it along the way.

My New Favorite Thickener

I love Tapioca Flour. It's a big mess because it's thinner than cornstarch. Yes, that is possible. It flies everywhere when scooped but I still love it. It adds no taste, cooks up nicely, and looks good when done. I like cornstarch too but tapioca flour is nicer for gravy, fruit filling and sauces. I used tapioca flour yesterday on my Rosemary Chicken. It thickened the sauce nicely and without the clumps you sometimes get with cornstarch. Unlike cornstarch, you can add tapioca flour to a liquid that is already warmed. In the recipe I used it as a light dusting so my chicken would brown. It did and very nicely too.

Yes, You can have nicely browned chicken

I was thinking that I'd never be able to enjoy some of my favorite recipes anymore. I tried one today with a little twist and the result? Awesome! Who needs wheat anyway? Speaking of my wheat allergy, I'm not surprised. I've been reading labels on everything for a month. I'm surprised I'm not allergic to a bunch of other stuff too. Wheat is in tons of stuff, not just breads and breading and things you'd think of. They put it in chicken broth, it's in some ice creams, Starbucks has it in some of the coffee drinks. It's everywhere. Sometimes they come right out and say wheat. Other times they try to hide it by calling it 'modified food starch' or 'hydrolyzed wheat protein'. If you don't know semolina flour is also known as durum wheat flour. That's the main ingredient in pasta. Another thing I have seen on tons of food labels is high fructose corn syrup aka super sugar made from corn. Somewhere somebody decided that 3 things make food taste good. Those are sugar, salt, and fat. If you take out one, they put in more of another. So reduced sugar and sugar- free foods are higher in fat and sodium. Low fat and fat-free foods are higher in sugar, etc. I've been eating whole foods for just a short time and, already, my taste buds are coming back to life. So I was able to reduce the salt in today's recipe. I'm really starting to enjoy food. I'm sorry I missed out on a lot of really good food over the years while I ate that stuff that most of this country continues to eat.

Gluten Free Rosemary Chicken

4- 6 oz boneless chicken breasts
1 Teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon olive oil (the original recipe called for all butter but olive oil is better for your heart)
2 Tablespoons Tapioca Flour
1 large Spanish onion; halved and sliced (about the thickness of a drinking straw)
1/2 medium red bell pepper, diced
1/2 tsp sea salt; divided
1/2 cup water plus 1/4 cup additional water
1/4 cup good stock (I like Kitchen Basics if I can't make my own)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp rosemary leaves, crumbled
1 tsp sage


1. Melt butter over medium heat in large deep frying pan. Add olive oil and stir.
2. Season chicken with a pinch of the salt on each side. You should have a little left to season the sauce. Coat in the tapioca flour. Brown in the butter/oil mixture. Cook on each side 3-4 minutes. Remove from pan.
3. Add onions and red bell pepper to pan. Stirring occasionally, cook the onions until translucent and just starting to brown.
4. Add the spices to the onion mix. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the water and the stock. Let it cook down slightly. Then return the chicken to the pan. Stir to coat the chicken with the onion mix. Add the additional water and stir. Cook for 4-5 minutes while sauce thickens. If you'd like thinner sauce, add more stock or water.
5. Remove bay leaf and throw away before serving. You might notice that I took a picture of mine with the bay leaf intact. Bay leaves are not edible.

I served mine with a nice jasmine rice and steamed green beans tossed with a little olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.

My new favorite grain, Quinoa

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah)is a grain. It's brown and it cooks up just like rice. you use one cup of grain to 2 cups of liquid. So far I've eaten it plain (that was okay), as a pilaf (that was really good), and as an ingredient in a soup (that was also really good). It looks really cool after it's cooked. The germ (the outer layer of the grain) gets little lighter in color. So it looks like a tan dot with a lighter tan circle around it. The flavor is a little nutty but not strong. It's nice enough for adults and yet my picky 10 year old will eat it. It will go well in a lot of recipes. The grain is about half the size of long grain rice. Today's recipe is the pilaf I have now made twice. The first time I didn't have slivered almonds so I used whole. The second time I just chopped the whole almonds. That was much nicer so I suggest that. This photo also has baked salmon and steamed snow peas.

Quinoa Pilaf
Serving size 1/2 cup
Serves 4

2 cups cooked quinoa; I used stock to cook it
1 medium carrot, diced
1/2 medium red bell pepper, cut into strips. Then cut the strips in half so they are shorter.
1-2 stalks celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil, I prefer Extra Virgin. Buy something nice from a Greek or Italian store
1/4 cup raw almonds, chopped
2 Tablespoons stock, veggie or chicken
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil in a saute or frying pan over medium heat until warm.
2. Add the veggies and cook until the onions are almost see-through.
3. Add the almonds. Cook 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the cooked quinoa and the stock.
5. Cook for 2-3 minutes and season to taste.

Leave me a comment on what you ate with it.

Berry Nice Fruit Salad

Wednesday January 5, 2011. I went to a lovely restaurant in Chicago called Cousins. They are a Vegan raw food restaurant. They had loads of options for lots of diets, including gluten free. They offer sampler plates of their appetizer selections. I went with the 3 choices option. You can get up to 6 choices. I chose Fakin' Bacon Poppers, Spinach Frittata, and a Tropical Fruit Salad. The fake bacon was made with eggplant and was stuffed with a salad made of kale. It was pretty good but not my favorite of the 3. The top picture is of one of the poppers. The Spinach Frittata looked so amazing that I ate it first and took a picture later. I ordered a fresh squeezed lemonade and they made it with agave syrup instead of sugar. I just love when restaurants are willing to take the next step to accommodate people. The Tropical Fruit salad was also amazing. I knew what fruits were in it so I went yesterday and bought the ingredients that I didn't have on hand. I played with the flavors and came up with a wonderful rendition of a tropical fruit salad with berries. That's the recipe I will share today.

Berry Nice Fruit Salad
Approx 4
1/2 cup servings

2 medium apples, chopped into bite sized pieces. I used 2 varieties; Gala and Fuji but you can use whatever you like.
1 tangerine; peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut (flakes or shredded)
1/4 cup pineapple. I used fresh and cut it up into small pieces.
2 oz assorted berries. I used a blend of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon agave (optional if you want extra sweetness)


Mix all ingredients together. Chill for 1 hour to let the flavors meld. Enjoy!

The bottom picture is of my fruit salad :)

Cheesecake Bites

I wanted to make a quick and easy cheesecake so I went looking for recipes. Lots of gluten free ones, lots of sugar free ones but nothing that was both. So I went into the kitchen and created my own. These are awseome. I made chocolate cheesecake bites with agave syrup and carob chips. I used reduced fat cream cheese too. It was pretty quick and easy. Total time to make: Approx 30 minutes. I used a mini muffin pan too. Here's the recipe:

Gluten Free Chocolate Cheesecake Bites

2 8 oz packages Neufchatel Cheese

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup Dutch Process Cocoa

1/4 cup Agave syrup

1/3 cup carob chips



1. Set oven to 350. Make sure cheese and eggs are room temp.

2. Beat cheese until soft and smooth.

3. Add eggs 1 at a time and beat until smooth

4. Stir cocoa into agave syrup until blended.

5. Mix into cheese mixture.

6. Spoon into mini muffin cups. You can line the pan with mini cupcake papers or not.

7. Tap pan until mixture settles. Put a small portion of chips on top of each mini.

8. Bake at 350 for 15- 20 minutes. They should look a little poufy and not wet.

9. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the pan.

10. Try not to eat them all at once