Day 25 - Gluten free pizza

Monday was my son's first day of Kindergarten!  He LOVES it, I cried like a baby after I left him in his new class room.  For the first three days, he will attend only half days.  So, to celebrate his first day in school, we took him out for a special lunch.  He chose pizza!
I recently heard of a restaurant nearby, called Palio's Pizza, they offer gluten and diary free pizzas!  I thought I would try it out.  To be honest, I didn't have very high expectations, but the pizza was quite good.  If I ever find myself needing a pizza, I'd definitely go there again!  I opted for a delicious chicken, spinach, and artichoke pizza.  They call it the Marcella.  The gluten free crust was thin, and basically tasted a lot like a whole wheat crust.   My kids and husband enjoyed their "normal" pizza too.  They offer delivery and dine -in, but currently only have locations in the DFW area.  Here is a link: Palio's PIzza Cafe.

It's Smoking Saturday!

We are lucky enough to have a lot of family, on both sides, that live near us.  This Saturday, we decided we would smoke a brisket and invite my husband's family over for dinner.  Smoking a brisket is relatively simple, but very time consuming.  I smoke using my gas grill.  To do this, you need a smoke box for wood chips, hickory wood chips, a full tank of propane, a grill thermometer, a drip pan, and your grill.  Get a whole brisket, (I get mine from Costco) 10 lbs will take about 12 hours to cook.  The night before, trim a good portion of the fat off the top, I like to leave about 1/4 of an inch, to keep the meat nice and moist during the long cooking process.  Then season it liberally with salt and pepper.  It should look sandy, and feel kind of like sand paper.  Then let the brisket sit overnight.
When you wake up (before the sun) take the brisket out, and let it sit at room temp for about an hour.  While it is sitting on your counter, you can begin soaking your wood chips (they need to soak for at least 30 minutes, but not longer than overnight).  I soak about a cup of wood chips at a time, in a small bowl with water.  Then, start preparing your grill.  Position your drip pan under the grates that you'll be using for your brisket.  You should only use one burner of your grill, and try to keep the internal temperature of your grill close to 225 degrees.  Your smoke box should be placed over the burner that is lit.  When your grill is hot, simply place the brisket over the burners that are not on, and let it smoke.  The fat side should be facing up, so that the fat can drizzle down the meat as it cooks.  I check and rotate mine every 2 hours, when you check the meat, check the temperature of the grill, and also replenish your wood chips as needed.  After 12 hours, you'll be done, and it'll be delicious! The internal temperature should be between 195 and 205. This is what mine looks like before the cooking begins.  I got busy with company and forgot to take a pic when it was done.

Day 22 - Back to real food

I've spent the last couple of posts talking about a lot of gluten free products I've found.  I was excited to find these, not so that I can use them everyday, but for when I feel myself having a craving for some wheat filled product.  I am sure you are all very well aware of this, but I feel like I should put it out there anyways.  A gluten free cookie, is still a cookie.  A processed food, is still a processed food, even if it doesn't contain gluten.  Real food is always better, it is always healthier.  I wish I had the time and discipline to only eat real food all of the time, but I haven't figured that out quite yet.  I will keep trying, but every once and a while, I find myself slipping into poor habits and need to rededicate myself back to that goal.  So, with that being said.  Today's post will focus again on real foods!

And, to honor a sweet and dear friend's request, I tried to keep these recipes fairly simple.  I'm going to include the recipes for a complete meal, the meal we had for dinner.  We had sweet and spicy mahi mahi, pesto smashed potatoes, and grilled asparagus.

Sweet and Spicy Mahi-Mahi
For the sweet and spicy mahi mahi, you'll only need three ingredients.  Colorado spice mixture for sweet and spicy salmon rub, 4 mahi mahi fillets, and a lemon.  I used frozen fish, you can find some high quality frozen fish that is almost as good as fresh, but a lot cheaper.  If you buy frozen, look for individually wrapped fillets.  I got mine at Costco.  You can use salmon, or another firm flesh fish for this recipe also.

Rub the spice mixture on both sides of your fish.  If your fish still has skin, only place the spice mixture on the top of the portion.

 After you rub the fish with spice, place the fillets in a gallon sized ziploc bag and place in the fridge for 15-30 minutes.  (While the fish is sitting, I began working on the potatoes and asparagus. Those recipes are below)

Start warming up your grill to med-high heat, or preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

After the fish has set for around thirty minutes, spray both sides of the fish with Pam, or brush with  olive oil.  And place them all on the grill.  I always face them the same direction so that I can make those pretty hash marks.  Let cook for about 2 minutes.

If you want pretty hash marks, turn the fish 90 degrees and cook for another two minutes.  A total of 4 minutes on each side. 

Then flip the fish over and repeat, turning after 2 minutes.  The fish should reach an internal temperature of about 145.

Once the fish is finished, remove from the grill and tent with foil.  Try to serve immediately. 

Pesto Smashed Potatoes

For the pesto potatoes, you'l need about a pound of potatoes.  I like to use the golden potatoes, because I'm lazy and I don't like to peel potatoes, but you can use any variety.  You will also need a bunch of basil, two cloves of garlic, a small handful of nuts, (I used pecan, but you can use pine nuts, almonds, walnuts, etc), olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, and salt.  

Wash the potatoes and place them in a large sauce pot, cover with cold water.  It is important that the water not be hot, so that the potatoes cook evenly.

Begin simmering the potatoes, simmering is when the water reaches around 180 degrees, and you can see a small bubble surfacing every once in a while, it is NOT boiling.  Boiling can create uneven cooking and destroy the tender flesh of the potato. 

While the potatoes are simmering, you can create the pesto.   Put the basil, nuts, garlic cloves, and a couple tablespoons of olive oil into a food processor and chop until you get a semi-smooth puree like the picture below.  If the mixture looks too dry, you can add extra oil. 

The potatoes should simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until you can poke a butter knife or fork through the potato without any resistance. Drain the potatoes, mash them, then add two large spoonfuls of the pesto to the potatoes, you can also add a little butter and milk if desired.  I used about a tablespoon of smart balance with flax oil (dairy free), and almond milk.  Mix them all together and season to taste with salt and white pepper.  

Grilled Asparagus

For this recipe, you only need asparagus, pam or olive oil, and garlic salt. 

Some people like to cut the bottoms off their asparagus, but since each stalk is a little different from the other, I've found the best way to get rid of the really coarse ends is to simply snap the bottoms off.  They will generally break, exactly where you need them to. 

Spray the asparagus with pam, or brush with olive oil and place on the grill, when the fish is cooked about halfway through. 

Let grill for about 1-2 minutes, turn the asparagus over and grill the other side for about 1-2 minutes or until the asparagus is still slightly crisp to the bite.   Remove from the grill and sprinkle with garlic salt.

Arrange your finished dishes on your plate and serve!  I included a slice of lemon to squeeze on the fish. Everyone loved these potatoes and my kids ate everything on their plate!

Changes to the blog

I am working on trying to make this blog a little more user friendly.  My goal is to make it a great source for gluten free recipes, product reviews, and to store links for helpful information I've found regarding wheat intolerance and inflammation.  I have started working on the tabs at the top of the blog.  You should see one that says "Home" and another that says "Recipe Links".  I've added links for all the recipes I've mentioned on the blog.  Check it out!  If you have any suggestions, let me know!  I'm all ears.

Day 21 Gluten Free shopping and Product Review

My husband had planned a date for us to ride bikes together the day after my run.  He had arranged for his mom to watch the kids.  Unfortunately, I had such a sharp pain in my right foot, that I thought maybe I had developed a stress fracture. So, we decided it might not be a great idea to ride bikes.  (The pain has gotten a lot better so I'm doubtful its a stress fracture, phew!)  But, the cancelled plans left us in that uncomfortable, "What do you want to do? I don't know what do you want to do?" stage.  A new whole foods had opened close to my Mother-in-law's house, so we decided to get a snack and then stop there to explore their gluten free products.  Whole Foods is a cool store, we don't have one close enough for us to shop there regularly at this time, but even if we did, I'm not sure it would be my favorite store.  We are lucky enough to have a couple of Whole Foods alternatives in our area, such as Central Market.  Central Market is quite a bit cheaper for most of the same product lines.  Whole Foods does seem to have a wider selection of the specialty products though.

I was excited to find some dairy free dark chocolate chunks, and gluten free all purpose flour.  We bought some wasabi rice crackers, and another gluten free cereal for me to try.  I was searching for gluten free flour like tortillas, or flat bread.  I wanted to make wraps for lunches, and was looking for something I could use.  My search has come up very short though, so I might just try to make my own with the flour I bought.  If any of you know where I could find this product, please let me know!

The following product I actually found at Costco!  But, they carry the single pouches in a wider selection at Whole Foods.  I believe the boxes at Costco are $7, or $8 with four pouches in a box.  The brand Tasty Bite packages their products in these neat little pouches.  The pouches are a single serving and so incredibly simple.  You just cut the top and microwave for 1 min.  All their products have great labels too, you can just look on the box or pouch and it says, Vegan, No GMOs, Gluten Free, etc. I've tried two of their products.  The first one I ate was the Mardras Lentils, and it is delicious!  Unfortunately, it has some dairy in it though, so I'm no longer eating that one.  I was excited that Costco started carrying another variation, called Channa Masala.  I simply made some rice, heated the Channa Masala in the microwave, added a veggie for a side, and we had lunch.  My daughter loved it, and I loved it.  It is slightly sweet and has that great masala flavor.  The chick-peas make it really filling and delicious.  I bought a couple of their other variations at Whole Foods, so stay tuned, I will review those products soon too!

Days 20 Fitness fight

Maybe it was a runner's high, maybe it was optimistic delusions, or possibly it was just the natural ups and downs of a flare, but I felt great!  It all started with an early morning run.  I haven't been able to run much more than 4 or 5 miles since my flare started, so my half marathon training has been stuck at 9 miles.  My last outdoor run felt so terrible that I convinced myself that I would have to start my training over.  But, I had been feeling better and spending a lot of time on the elliptical machines at the gym without much trouble.  So, my goal for the day was to run at least a 10K, or about 6.34 miles.  My hope was to be able to run 9 miles, I thought it would give me an emotional victory and I'd at least get back on track with my training. My run felt great through about mile 4, then there was a moment that I thought I was going to have to stop at 5, but I found some more inspiration and made the 10K.  It wasn't a personal best or anything, but it was a much better run than any I'd had recently.  When I stopped for a drink at 10K, a fellow runner stopped to ask about my training.  She is a Type 1 diabetic and gave me some great ideas for future races to sign up for.  This conversation gave me some motivation to keep running.  So I kept it up, I had some trouble through mile 7, but once I got to 8, I knew I could do it from there.  I did it!  I was thrilled with myself.  I felt like I'd won, I'd beat the arthritis at least for the day.

Unfortunately, the arthritis fought back, I have had an increase in my achiness since.  I had a hard time pushing the stroller at the zoo due to pains in my shoulders.  It is disappointing that I've felt so terrible since the run.  I went back to the gym for my next scheduled workout, but I lowered the intensity some. I'm hoping the resurgence is very short lived.  I'm not going to stop fighting!

Days 18 & 19 Gluten free product review

We usually eat leftovers on the weekend, so I thought I'd take a moment to fill you in on a couple of gluten free products I've tried.

I found this product when I was grocery shopping with my children at Central Market.  My son was begging and begging for cocoa puffs.  I don't generally like to buy sugary cereals, so I told him we could try to find a healthier version.  I glanced up and down the cereal isle and came upon a gluten free cereal, Barbara's Puffin honey rice puffs. I looked at the box suspiciously, but grabbed it and thought I would be adventurous and give it a try.  I have always heard these types of gluten free products are a little disappointing, so I wasn't super anxious to try the cereal.  The box sat on my counter for a couple of days before I finally tried some.  OH MY GOSH, this cereal is delicious!  It is sweet and crunchy and made with all natural products, I think I'm in love.  

My husband surprised me with this next product.  He said he read about it on the internet and wanted to get me a box to try.  (He is such a sweet guy.)  He found these cookies at Trader Joe's.  They are gluten free oreo-like cookies.  If you bite into them expecting them to taste just like an oreo, you will probably be a little disappointed.  They can certainly satisfy a craving, but they aren't an oreo.  The first bite is pretty tasty, however as you continue chewing the texture gets a little strange.  It is a little like they cookie part is made of highly compressed crumbs.  My children ate them, and didn't complain at all, in fact they asked for more!  Overall, they were good, but definitely not exceptional. 

Day 17 - Healthy cooking for Kids

Like a lot of moms, when either one of my children were born and starting to eat solid foods, I put a lot of effort and thought into making sure they were eating healthy foods and healthy diets.  I bought all the baby food cookbooks and toddler cookbooks and they sit prominently in my kitchen, where I can grab them easily.  And they have the bonus side effect of showing everyone how I'm such an awesome mom, right?  Well, I'm a fraud!  I've used those cookbooks 3 or 4 times!  HA!  It is unfortunate, because they are great books.  But, they seem to be books written for different parts of the world, using ingredients that are hard to find her in the southern United States.  I, instead, usually just fed them what we were eating anyways, with maybe some modifications to accommodate their gummy little mouths.  But, while I was planning our menu this week, I remembered that those books had unique items in them, and decided to thumb through for some wheat free recipes that we could dine on and that the kids would love.
I found a recipe for "Mashed Potato and Hamburger Casserole."  It is very similar to a Shepard's pie. The top was a mixture of a mash made from one baking potato and one sweet potato.  The recipe called for ground lamb, but I didn't have any on hand, so I used ground turkey instead.  I also added a little bit of tomato paste, and added some seasoning.  Everyone enjoyed the meal.  (I will post the recipe below)

I served with roasted corn on the cob.  Yes, friends, I know corn isn't a vegetable!  But, when we were at the market, my son saw these amazing looking corn on the cobs and begged me to get them.  And who am I to tell him no?  ;)  We have corn on the cob only a couple times a year, but the kids love it, the devour it and then ask for more.  It is pretty cute. I wish it were healthier!

Mashed Potato and Hamburger Casserole
(from Healthy Cooking for Your Kids, by: Sarah Banbery)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 lb 10 oz lean fresh ground lamb or beef  (I used about 1.25 lbs of ground turkey instead)
1 leek, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped (I used extra because my kids love carrots)
1 celery stalk, chopped
3.5 oz mushrooms, chopped
14 oz canned tomatoes
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1/2 Cup water
1 lb 2 oz potato, boiled and mashed
14 oz sweet potato boiled and mashed
4 Tbsp whole milk (I used almond milk)
unsalted butter (I used smart balance w/flax seed)
sea salt and pepper

1. Heat half the oil in a nonstick skillet and cook the ground lamb over high heat, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until well browned.  Remove the ground lamb from the skillet with slotted spoon and pour away any fat, and wipe the skillet with paper towels. 
2. Add the remaining oil to the skillet and cook the leek, onion, carrots, and celery for 15 minutes (I found it didn't need this long) until soft.  Return the meat to the pan and add the mushrooms, tomatoes, thyme, and water.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and let simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350.  Mix the 2 mashes of potatoes with half the milk and half the butter in a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.  
4. Spoon the meat sauce into a baking dish and top with the potato mixture.  Brush with the remaining milk and dot with the remaining butter.  Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes until the top is brown and crisp.

Day 16 - Squash in place of spaghetti?

When I was deep in mourning over the loss of one of my favorite foods, pasta, some friends had some really great and creative suggestions for me.  I love getting suggestions from friends, it gives me something new to try.  If you have any suggestions, please feel free to leave them in the comments!

One of them, I hadn't tried before, so I decided to experiment last night.  I made a fairly traditional tomato sauce and added some extra bell peppers.  One of the great things about tomato sauce is that you can add almost any kind of vegetable you have on hand.  It adds extra nutritional value and flavor too!  I also used some chicken Italian sausage.  I threw the sausage and the sauce in the crock pot and let it cook all day. Then, a few minutes before dinner time I cut up some zucchini, and yellow squash.  I used the squash instead of pasta.  My kids didn't seem to mind much at all.  Although, I think they probably would have eaten a little more if it were actually pasta.  My husband said it was "good" which really meant he wasn't going to complain about it but it wasn't his favorite.  I think the squash worked pretty well.  I think the biggest downfall of the recipe was actually the sausage.  It ended up being really dry.  So, I will probably try again, and use regular sausage.

Another suggestion I received was to use spaghetti squash instead of spaghetti.  I've done this before and it is always delicious!  I also found some brown rice pasta at the store that I look forward to trying.  I will share both experiences here in the next couple of weeks! 

Keep those suggestions coming friends!  XOXO

Days 14 & 15 - HALF WAY POINT!!!

I cannot believe I have reached 15 days already.  It has gone by a lot quicker than I would have thought.  It hasn't always been easy, but it hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be either. Reaching a milestone like halfway, causes me to stop and reflect on how things are doing, to take stock in how I am now.

My arthritis is better.  I'm not yet back to 90 or 95%, but I'm not nearly as miserable as when I started this diet.  I don't think I have enough information to say that my improvement is due to my dietary changes, but it is at least promising.  Promising enough in fact, that I might extend the wheat free diet to 60 days.  My skin is still pretty bad, but at least I have had tangible improvement when it comes to my joints.
On Tuesday, I made one of my simple go to meals.  I keep the ingredients in the freezer, always..  And, then when life gets busy, I can just grab them and make this meal in under 30 minutes.  It is a simple chicken stir fry.  I use frozen grilled chicken strips.  You can buy these in the freezer section, or make them yourself and put them in the freezer.  I also use frozen veggies.  I found a stir fry veggie combination at Costco, and use that.  I start the rice first get it simmering, Then, in a separate skillet or wok, I stir fry the chicken in some sesame oil or peanut oil.  If neither of those are available, vegetable oil will work.  Once the chicken is heated through, I add a bit of soy sauce, heat that and then add the vegetables, I also add about a spoonful of Hoisen sauce.  It is pretty tasty and really easy and fast.

We have been a busy family recently (who isn't, right?), with our normal day-to day activities, my son has also been in swimming lessons.  My daughter watches and asks when her turn will be.  So, of course, we "have" to take her to open swim later in the evening!  When we do this, it makes dinner time difficult to plan.  Last night we opted to eat a quick bite out.  We thought about where we could go that has a few gluten free options.  Thank god for Mexican food! Or at least corn tortillas!  Have you ever been to a Fuzzy's Tacos?  Yum!  If you don't want dairy, just ask, they can make their tacos dairy free too!  We love the fish tacos.  If you haven't already, try it! 

Day 13 - A case of the Mondays

It was nearly 2:00 p.m. when it happened.  It hit me and it hit me hard.  There is this Italian joint near where we live, and they serve the most delicious bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  I had a craving for that yesterday like you wouldn't believe.  All I could think of was that bread and how delicious it sounded.  I fought back, and distracted myself with the mundane Monday tasks, like laundry and dishes as my daughter napped quietly.  Eventually the craving went away, and we continued on with our day.
Then around 10:00 p.m., I was struck again!  This time, not with a craving for delicious bread, but for the pieces of leftover pizza sitting in our fridge.  We brought this devil's food into our house for our kids the night my husband and I went out for sushi with some friends.  And those slices of gluten smothered in dairy and pepperoni sounded so delicious last night.  I begged my husband to eat them, so they would be gone and I wouldn't have to think about them anymore.  But, he just cruelly laughed at me.  I sent myself to bed so that I wouldn't cave.  I thought that I'd be passed the cravings by day 13, but they hit me with a vengeance!
Every once in a while, I will cook something that when I taste, I think to myself.  "Damn!  That is GOO-OOOD.  Tonight was one of those nights.  I grilled Spice rubbed pork chops.  The only thing I did differently from the recipe is that I put it in a simple brine (salt and water) for about 8 hours before I rubbed it down with the spice mixture.  I like to brine my pork and chicken before grilling because it has a tendency to get dry.  The other trick to delicious pork is to not over cook it.  I try not to go to far over 145 degrees Fahrenheit.   Along with the pork, we had one of the most delicious and simple potato salad's I've ever had.  It is called Baby potato salad, and man is it yummy!  I also grilled some asparagus.

Days 9 & 10 - more lunch troubles

I am still struggling with lunch ideas.  I keep finding myself making one entree for me and a different one for my children.  I don't want to do that!  I'm far too lazy for that!  One of my friends who eats according to the Paleo diet, told me she usually eats salads for lunch with a meat on the salad.  This would work great for me, and possibly my 5 year old son, but my 20 month old, hasn't quite figured out how to chew up salads well yet.  On Thursday for lunch, I thought I would make Tuna salad for me and eat it on a salad, then I made fish sticks for the kids, because I had them in the freezer and it was easy.  I reheated some left over veggies and cut up some fruit for them.  My daughter ignored her fish sticks and kept asking for bites of my tuna salad...go figure!

Friday came with Taquito trouble!  I read on a gluten free blog, that there was a certain brand of taquitos that are gluten free and I thought, ah ha!  That's an easy lunch idea that I can use on the days that I'm in a rush.  So, I went to the store, bought that brand, took it home and stuck it in the oven.  As I was waiting for them to finish cooking, I took a look at the ingredients, and that's when I saw it...FLOUR!  Ugh!  Lesson learned: don't believe everything you read on blogs!!!  I made a huge batch of guacamole and that was at least wheat free and delicious!  I ate it with baked corn tortilla chips from guiltless gourmet, which WERE certified gluten free!  

Friday night I made one of my favorite easy go to meals.  I love to cook it because it requires very little prep work.  As you're heating up a large braising pan, you cut up some potatoes.  I always use golden potatoes so that I don't have to peel them.  Then add olive oil to the pan, after it is heated, add the potatoes.  While the potatoes start cooking, slice an onion, add that to the pan.  Let those cook for a while, but as they are cooking, slice up a kalbalsa style sausage (I usually use sausage), and slice some bell peppers.  I usually use two of whatever color I have on hand.  Once the potatoes are mostly cooked through, I add the sausage and bell peppers, then continue cooking until they are heated and everything is cooked through.  And you're done.  The kids love it, and it is easy, and luckily it is also gluten free! 

Days 7 & 8 - Kitchen Nightmares

I must admit I am frightened to take any pictures in my kitchen right now!  It is a MESS!  It is beyond a mess, it is a disaster zone!  Our nice beautiful slightly over 2 year old Bosch dishwasher broke, at least we thought it did.  (You can read about that saga below if you're interested).  I also did a terrible job of sticking to my menu plan so far this week.  We have been so busy.  My son is taking swim lessons again.  And they are at 5:30, so its been making dinner time a little difficult.
I did find a good gluten free sort of fast food option though.  The only problem is that you have to be careful because they have a lot of terrible for you food too!  Panda Express, they have some grilled meat option, and also some pure veggie options, you can pair with brown rice, and its probably better for you than a double bacon cheeseburger!
We made a gluten free mexican meatloaf last night.  My kids LOVED it!  I adapted a Weight Watcher's recipe, and instead of using corn bread stuffing mix, I used gluten free corn flakes, and an extra egg white.  I also only use ground turkey, and I replaced canned green chilis with roasted hatch chilis because they are in season right now and ohh so yummy!!!

Dishwasher Drama

I know, this has nothing to do with wheat, but I didn't stick to my meal plan this week as much as I had hoped in part because I hate cooking in a messy kitchen, and I hate even more to wash dishes!

The water wasn't draining out of the bottom of our not very old dishwasher, we cleaned out all the filters.  It still wasn't draining out of the bottom.  We cursed the dishwasher. Then, my husband started taking out all the drainage pipes and making sure they weren't clog.  The bad news was it didn't appear to be a clog.  Which meant, we had to spend money on a new drainage motor.  We cursed the dishwasher again.  My sweet husband shipped it overnight so that the kitchen wouldn't be a huge mess for too long.  The parts arrived, and he promptly went to work taking the dishwasher apart, putting in the new motor, and trying it again.  It still didn't drain!  We, again, cursed the dishwasher while staring it and scratching our heads wondering what on earth could be wrong with with it.  He watched the water drain through some of the pipes and sat staring at the cold silver machine willing it to start working.  In a last ditch effort, he started troubleshooting all over from the beginning.  Just as my husband had nearly given up, he found a piece of pipe under the sink where the water moves up, makes an exchange and then moves back down.  It was slightly clogged.  I don't think I've ever seen a man excited about a pipe clog before!  There was a piece of plastic.  More specifically, it was a plastic cover for a 9 vault battery.  How the heck it got in there, I have no clue, but it did.  This, tiny piece of plastic was the cause of hours and hours or dishwasher work.  And finally after all my husband's hard work and money spent it is fixed!  The good news is that we can send the new motor back, we didn't need it.  And all those nights I spent silently and not so silently cursing Bosch were wasted.  I'm sorry pretty Bosch dishwasher, it wasn't your fault!

Day 6 - Menu Planning Mania

Monday started off as any other day, got up, got the kids breakfast ready(leftover sausage and fruit), got my coffee and settled down with my lap top to plan the week's menu.  I'd learned from last week that I'm too new to this wheat free diet to fly by the seat of my pants for lunches, so I thought I'd plan those as well.  I sat with a blank mind pondering what can I make for lunches that my kids will also eat.  Hmm...google!  I quickly googled "wheat free lunch ideas" or something similar.  I skimmed through the first result, not good suggestions, at all...so I went to the next.  These suggestions were clearly written with kids in mind.  "Score!" I thought to myself.  But, as I read further I realized almost every suggestion contained a highly processed alternative to a wheat substance.  Now, I'm not against using gluten free products made to replace wheat every once in a while, but I don't want to do it everyday.  I just don't like to fill our bodies with processed food, whether its gluten free or not.  Most of these suggestions were things like peanut butter and jelly on gluten free bread, homemade lunchables with gluten free crackers, sandwich wraps on gluten free tortillas, quesadillas on corn tortillas, etc.  I rolled my eyes and tried to come up with some other options.  At this point, I got frustrated with the available lists and vowed to myself to make a better one!  So, stay tuned, when I figure out how to add a link with lists of menu ideas, it will be here!
After I ambitiously planned out a week's worth of meals, we ventured off to Central Market, my favorite grocery store to buy the supplies.  The kids got balloons, I got high quality produce and yummy foods.  It was a pretty good grocery shopping experience.  At least about as good as you can expect with two small children.  But, by the time we left, my son was in the backseat complaining hungry he was, and how he needs to eat, NOW!  I looked around and quickly thought of my options.  It was already noon, and I needed to get them fed so I could start nap time with my youngest.  But, we didn't eat very healthfully over the weekend, so I decided we would find something quick at home, even if it wasn't what I had planned.  Yep, that's right, the first meal of the week and I've already ventured off the meal plan!  Life never  goes as planned.  I had a few pieces of leftover homemade pizza in the fridge still, so I quickly warmed that up with some green beans for the kids.  I ate other leftovers and we made it through lunch.
I had leftover goat cheese from the tomato soup I made last week.  Which made me think about an old recipe I had from Ina Garten for Chicken with Herbed Goat Cheese.  Its delicious and so simple.  I love to roast part of a menu because you can pretty much put something in the oven, set the timer, and forget about it while you prepare the rest of the meal.  We added simply steamed broccoli and carrots and called it dinner.  My son, who has gotten a little picky, at everything on his plate, without even bargaining for fewer bites.

Day 4 & 5 - Weekend blues

I got up early to go for my Saturday morning run.  Saturday is usually my long distance day, since it's usually the only day I get to run without a stroller.  I have been running 9 miles recently.  I knew when I woke up that my body wasn't going to be able to go that far.  I thought, I'd take it easy and hopefully allow my body to get over this flare.  My goal was to run 5 miles for the day.  While my run felt better than it did on last Tuesday, I couldn't make it 5 miles.  I was starting to limp from ankle pain and I hate to run with a limp, it just causes everything else to get out of alignment and then causes further injury.  The pain is so strange.  I was trying to describe it to my husband.  My body muscles just feel exhausted and weak, while my joints feel achy, its a lot like when you have the flu, but I don't feel sick.  During my last major flare I had to stop running, and I'm terrified that will happen again, but in the meantime, I will keep trying even if it feels harder and more painful than normal!  I truly believe that continuing to exercise is a major key in keeping my arthritis under control.  But, it is much harder for me mentally and physically to get out there and continue exercising when I feel awful.  I completely understand why so many people stop when they feel like this.

In an attempt to salvage my weekend workouts, I thought I'd get up early Sunday to ride my road bike.  My thoughts were that it would at least be a lot easier on my body, but I'd still get a decent cardio workout. I woke up Sunday with such a sore back and neck that I couldn't really imagine riding my bike.  I settled for walking the dogs and doing yoga.  Yoga is amazing when I'm flaring.  If you haven't tried it, you should.  It really makes me feel a lot better, at least for the rest of the day that I do it.  My good friend and I recently did her Yoga DVD together, "Power Yoga" by Ryan Kest.  It left me feeling so much better that I ordered it of Amazon the next day.  Ryan Kest is a little goofy and looks like he should be in an 80's boys band, but the workout is fabulous!

Saturday for lunch we ate out because we were out running around. I got to eat tostados from one of my favorite Mexican food places we have here.  It's called El Paisa.  I ordered the beef tostado without sour cream and cheese.  They are so delicious!

We went to a kid's birthday party Saturday night, they served pizza, so I didn't eat and waited until we left.  We had to grab something on the way home (it was almost 9), so we stopped at Chick-fil-a.  I ended up ordering grilled chicken nuggets and a fruit cup off the kids meal!  Someone please tell my why they didn't add some sort of grilled chicken strips to the adult menu when they made it "healthier" recently!  

Sunday morning, I made a big breakfast for my family.  Hashbrowns, sausage, and scrambled eggs with Smart balance light in place of butter (it uses flax oil and doesn't contain cow's milk), and almond milk in place of milk.  It was delicious!  I wish I could tell you we also had nice big bowls of healthy fruit, but we didn't.  We should have!  But we didn't.  I wish I could tell you I added healthy veggies to the eggs, but I didn't.  

The rest of the weekend, we just ate leftovers.  I usually try to use the weekend to clean the leftovers out of the fridge.  Now, I need to start menu planning for this week! 

Day 3: Temptation Everywhere!

I woke up this morning so incredibly hungry!  I was starving.  The kind of hungry that actually hurts! I had to get my youngest to her gym class in about an hour, so I had little time left after getting everyone dressed and ready.  I was a little disappointed but all I got to eat was one of those gluten free granola bars that I made!  It is so nice to have those on hand.  I can grab one for a snack or for breakfast if I'm in a rush.  Since I've found them so useful, I thought I would share the recipe here:
5 ingredient gluten free granola bars 

I'm not going to lie, after my daughter's gym class, she asked in her sweet little 20 month old voice, "sausage peees" I'm a sucker for good manners.  I bought her a sausage biscuit from the McDonald's next door one time, and now she remembers!  I'm in trouble.  But, I was guilt stricken for not providing her with a hearty breakfast, so I grabbed her one.  Ohhh the temptation! That delicious buttery biscuit was all I could smell on the drive.  Luckily those granola bars kept me from being too hungry, so I was able to abstain.

Lunch presented another challenge, it was a classic "busy mom on the go" situation.  Immediately after my daughter's class, I had to run my son to get his allergy shots.  By the time we got back home it was lunch time, and everyone was grumpy because they were so hungry!  I have realized that I need to start menu planning for lunches too (normally I just menu plan dinner, but the diet restrictions make everything a little more challenging since I can't use my standard go-to's).  In a pinch, I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kids and warmed up some leftover roasted poblano chicken and rice with veggies for me.  Funny thing is, I thought the kids would love their sandwiches, and their cucumber tomato salad, but instead they were reaching for my broccoli and rice! Why do kids always prefer what is on their mother's plate?

For dinner I made some smoked salmon and summer tomato and bell pepper soup, I've been wanting to make smoked salmon for a really long time (recipes are linked in the text).  My favorite way to eat smoked salmon is on a slice of baguette with some creme fresh, dill, and capers!  Instead of using a baguette, I used crackers made from brown rice that I found in Costco.  I happened to have a baguette in the freezer, so I sliced that up for my husband and kids.  Let me just say, it was a tad tempting staring at that soft bread all through dinner.  But, those crackers were pretty good with the salmon.  Instead of creme fresh, I used some goat's milk yogurt that I had on hand.  The soup was delicious, it is a cold soup, which isn't for everyone, but I really enjoyed it.  And the round of herbed goat's cheese in the middle gave me that creaminess that I'd been missing.

Day 2: Eating Out!

I feel like a bit of a doofus.  I realized today that I started my 30 day challenge on the wrong day!  The idea was to start on the first of August, I actually started on the 31st.  I cheated myself out of an extra day of bread and ice cream!  Now that I've cleared the air about that, and simultaneously kicked myself in the rear we can get back to the nitty gritty of the challenge.

I had the distinct pleasure of enduring dental work this morning, so I skipped breakfast. By, lunchtime I was starving!  We stopped on Corner Bakery on the way to taking the kids to the Aquarium for the day.  I was a little nervous about whether or not I would be able to find anything to eat.  I opted for the Soup/Salad combo with Tomato Soup and the chopped salad minus the cheese.  I begrudgingly gave my bread and to the kids and chowed down.

After a long day at the Aquarium we headed back home.  My plans were for everyone to eat leftovers, but I think my husband felt bad for me and went to the store to get some take home sushi!  MMMMM  no dairy or wheat in those!  And it was delicious!  Besides, what can you eat after a whole day of staring at fish?  The kids taunted me with leftover homemade pizza, but miraculously I stuck to my guns. 

I spent a good portion of today thinking about pasta.  Ohhh, how I wanted some pasta.  Google saved the day though!  I found out that Whole foods carries some gluten free pasta made from brown rice.  I may give that a whirl if I get desperate enough.  I try to avoid too much processed food as a rule, but man oh man do I love some pasta!  Stay tuned for a review of the pasta!   I think I'll put that on the menu for next week.  

All the time I spent fantasizing about fettucini and ravioli led me to wonder about whether or not Wheat is addictive.  If found this information on on Mark's Daily Apple very interesting.  Is Wheat Addictive?