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!