The Dallas Celiac

(I’ve missed you guys!)

One of the few things that can strike fear into my (cold) heart is a seated dinner… where I’m expected to eat… where the person preparing the food is not a Celiac themselves.

Really, there are two options:  eat or don’t eat.  I don’t have a hard and fast rule about what I will do each time.  It depends on a lot of things – whether I can speak to the person preparing my food, whether I can make a quick exit if I start feeling badly, whether I have something planned the next day, etc.  Sometimes I make a decision before going that I will eat and when I get there, I decide that I can’t.   Or vice versa.  (Which is why having a backup plan is always a good idea!)

Friday night, we attended an Energy Gala at the Omni in Fort Worth.  I had decided that I was not going to eat, as it was a black tie optional, kinda fancy deal (there were several people in tuxes and floor length gowns) and I assumed I wouldn’t have an opportunity to speak to a chef.  So I brought snacks to sneak away to the bathroom to eat, but ended up eating them in the car on the way there (oops!).  I was hungry again when we were seated for dinner and decided to ask to speak to someone about the meal, thinking that they would probably give me a nebulous answer and that I’d just get  tipsy and not care that I was hungry until we got home.  (TWSS)

Lucky me, some wonderful lady came out to speak to me about what they could prepare for me.  Dessert was already on the table (cheesecake), so she took it and brought me a plate of fresh fruit.  The salads were already plated, which was ironically already GF, but she said they would make me a vinaigrette, which they brought out a few minutes later.  Most of the dinner was already GF (again, it’s as if they knew I was coming) and there were very few substitutions that had to be made.  I was incredibly impressed.

So to start, the salad:

Mixed greens, lightly grilled asparagus, sliced almonds, dried apricots, and a thin slice of brie. 

I had mine with the balsamic vinaigrette they made me, but I think ranch was served to the rest of the guests (this is Texas – we eat ranch on everything, even at a black tie optional event).

Then came the entree, with the orange starchy thing we thought was sweet potato until we ate it.  And then we could tell it wasn’t sweet potato but still couldn’t tell what it was.  Steamed carrots blended with white potato, maybe?

Broccolini and a carrot wrapped with a boatneck squash, that tasty unidentifiable orange thing, chicken stuffed with something else unidentifiable (but apparently GF!), and filet.

Even though I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was what, it was a very tasty meal.  Matt and I have been to a LOT of formal dinners over the years (we met in politics) and the food at Friday’s event was one of the best we’ve had.  Icing on the cake is that it was pretty much all GF without adaptation.

And dessert?

I think my dessert was better than the cheesecake everyone else got. 

But even better?  The fact that I didn’t get sick at all.  Having corn + xanthan gum intolerances along with the whole gluten thing means that I often get sick even when there isn’t any gluten involved.  That I didn’t get sick at all is a big deal.

I’m not always this lucky eating out, and there have been many times when I’ve eaten much more simply and still gotten sick.  But it is nice to have a good experience – it means that sometimes it’s worth taking informed, calculated risks.

Last night, I went on a 25 mile ride.  I have a couple triathlons this summer that I would like to do – starting with one on June 12th.  I’ve done duathlons before, but this is my first time tri-ing. Anyway, I really enjoy long rides or runs over short & speedy sessions because I can somewhat zone out and clear my mind – I don’t have to keep an eye on a watch.  Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point did a really nice post about long rides/runs/swims/whatever being relative and more mental than physical and I definitely agree. 

I was zapped afterwards and mustered up just enough energy to cram an egg sandwich and a Larabar into my (gluten-free) pie hole before I fell asleep on Matt’s shoulder on the couch.  Post exercise exhaustion is the best kind. 

Today was slow at the office and I decided to skip a run and stretch instead.  Since I had a teeny tiny bit more time than usual, I made one of my favorites for dinner:  kale chips.

I’m so so grateful to the person that invented kale chips.  I mean, who would have thought to put a green in the oven?  And who would have thought it actually tasted like a (healthy) potato chip?

I simply washed a head of kale, tore it into bite size pieces, and salad spun it until it was dry.  Then I spread it in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with kosher salt.  Popped into the oven at 350* for about 15 minutes, until crispy.

To go with my little green pieces of heaven (not to be confused with the gift from God:  brussels sprouts), I sliced up a couple zucchini to make zucchini chips.

I don’t know why I call these ‘chips’ – they really are just baked zucchini rounds.  I’m sure other people have gotten them to be chip like, but I can’t get them to be anything other than rounds.  Good rounds, though. 

To make, I simply sliced, olive oil sprayed, salt + peppered, and baked 350* for 35 minutes.

And my new food boyfriend?

The egg sandwich.

Kinnikinnick Tapioca Rice bread + 2 eggies + slice of cheddar + a little mayo.

O-M-G.  So freaking good.

——

I have another hour or two of work before I can pull out the wine + chocolate chips and zone out to TV. 

Between work + long workouts, I don’t have as much time to cook and then blog.  Which is why my meals are getting more and more “thrown together”.  I’m never going to be one of those people who spends a lot of time cooking at night, but lately I’ve been feeling as if the only time I have is to zap something frozen in the microwave and I would rather eat something worthy than eat a frozen meal every night just so I have time to blog it.  (And I wouldn’t want to read anyone’s blog who ate frozen meals every night!)

So, I’m sorry that I’m not as consistent as I used to be or would like to be.  I’m sure there will be a time in my life in the near future that I won’t be running around like a chicken with my head cut off all the time.  

—–

FRIDAY DANCE!!!

Geeesh.  I am getting way too old to stay out til 2AM partying at a rock concert. 

We had a blast, though.  House of Blues Dallas is the best concert venue I’ve ever been to – and I’ve been to a lot of concerts over the last 10 years.  It was stadium seating and where our seats were, we could see the stage perfectly.  That’s a big deal – I have only ever had a perfect view of the stage from the pit, and at 25, I doubt I’ll be buying pit tickets ever again. My only complaint is that the seats were roughly the size of sardine cans and everyone was practically sitting on each others laps.

I think I’ll compile a list of all the bands I’ve seen.  Last night, I was talking to the guy sitting next to me about good concerts and I realized that I have seen a lot of bands play live.

Hello, gray overcast day.

The lineup was The Veer Union

Burn Halo

Saliva (who I saw TEN years ago this summer)

You might recognize the lead singer, Josey Scott, from the TNT show Wanted… or you may not if you’re not a crazy cop-drama show addict like I am.  I met him the last time I saw them play and he’s a really nice guy and was totally not a creeper to a 15 year old girl.  Always a nice thing. 

And the headliners:  Puddle of Mudd

(Yeah, I know there is more to the band than the lead singer, but I’ve had a little itty bitty crush on Wes Scantlin for about 15 years. )

Overall, we had a blast.  The acoustics were great and the setlist for all of the bands was great.  They interacted a lot with the crowd and it was awesome.

Awesome enough that I didn’t mind getting home at 2AM and getting about 4 hours of sleep. 

Pretty easy day at the office today (which I needed, after my late night) and a really fabulous 2k swim after work, during which all I could think about was sweet potatoes for dinner.  Funny that in a month, I’ve gone from being a sweet potato hater to a sweet potato lover. 

So, on the plate for tonight was most definitely a sweet ‘tater.

1 huge sweet potato, olive oiled and garlic powdered and plopped in the oven at 350* for 30 min. and 400* for 9 min. (because I got impatient).  Plus ketchup for dippage.

And a completely unrelated ‘main’ dish:  fake baked ziti.

Simple + easy (as if I would do much of anything else)

Veggies:

• asparagus
• red bell pepper
• yellow squash
• snap peas
• carrots

Plus:

• Classico Fire Roasted Garlic + Tomato sauce
• 1/4 c. cottage cheese
• Prudhomme’s Pizza & Pasta Magic

And then:

• a healthy handful of part-skim mozzarella

Feast!

—–

I’m tuckered out – late night, little sleep, big workout – and my sweet potato is calling.

Happy Humpday!

We have some major sibling appreciation in this house.

It is so hard to be a cat. 

Hope you guys had a good weekend!  Ours was pretty uneventful.  We both had rough weeks, so we kept things super low key.

Saturday, we ran errands, did yardwork, and I gave the house a good scrubbing. 

And today, we’ve done little besides watch Spartacus episodes and work.  I got quite a bit done, actually.  I did go for a 4 mile run this afternoon and am currently icing my legs on and off for the rest of the night.

For dinner last night, I made pizza with the Chebe crust mix.  It didn’t turn out well, so we scrapped it and started over with the tried and true recipe I always use.  It’s probably not Chebe’s fault that the crust bombed.  I hate trying to roll out dough – it’s always a sticky, clingy mess – so I add more water to my recipes than they call for and more or less pour it onto a pan and use a spatula to “spread”.  Way, way easier and far less messy than a traditional roll-and-spread method. 

With Ragu (don’t knock it til you try it) pizza sauce, Prudhomme’s Pizza Magic, part-skim mozzarella, green bell pepper rings, and Hormel turkey pepperoni. 

Tonight, I resorted to the freezer for dinner, along with a few things from the fridge.  I *do* try to make more interesting meals when I have time, but sometimes hunger wins out.  One of my New Years Resolutions (of sort) was to eat more meals and less cheese stick + Larabar dinners, so even if I happen to pull out a frozen meal from time to time (um, once a week…), it’s likely more balanced than what I happen to grab as I’m standing in front of the fridge, trying to find something to eat that will take me 0.3 seconds to “cook”.

Speaking of cooking, I fully intended to make a batch of soup for the freezer for lunches as I am completely out.  I even chopped up most of the veggies… I just never got around to throwing it all together.  Guess that’s on the list for next weekend.

Anyway…

At the grocery store yesterday, we saw a huge bag of Mandarins for a couple bucks.  I’ve seen them for years and could never understand why anyone would put the effort into peeling such a tiny little piece of fruit.  You get way more bang for your buck when you spend time peeling an orange or a grapefruit.

But I figured I’d give it a try since they were so cheap.

Um, why didn’t anyone tell me that these are so easy to peel that the peels come off in practically one piece?  SO easy to peel and SO good!  I’ve eaten at least 4 of these today. 

Next up was the easiest easy meal:  mac + cheese + peas + applesauce.

SOMEONE ate all but about 1/3 of a cup of the frozen peas, which is why it looks like I ate mac + cheese + ONE pea for dinner.   We are undergoing a serious pea shortage in this house.  I need to buy more peas and hoard them – my go-to easy meal isn’t so easy when someone eats part of it!

And applesauce with cinnamon and a drop of stevia.  (Did anyone else’s Mom buy the cinnamon applesauce cups for your lunches?)

And the last part of my multi-stage easy dinner:

baby carrots + apple (pink lady) + dark chocolate dreams PB packet

I swear, that stuff tastes like chocolate frosting.  SO, SO good.  And the best part?  Perfect portion control (and the magical words “Gluten Free” on the back).  A jar doesn’t last 10 seconds in my house, but these packets will.

——–

Matt asked me today if I could remember a time – pre GF, of course – that we could kiss each other without doing a gluten check first.  There are so many things that go along with the whole not eating gluten thing that no one knows about unless you are GF.  Kissing your spouse is one of them (unless your spouse is kind enough to go GF with you… I haven’t broken Matt yet). 

What thing – could be a disease, could be a lifestyle change – has changed in your life recently?

——–

I’m going to ice my lower legs again and settle in to watch my favorite night of TV.  Tomorrow, I’m going to the Puddle of Mudd / Saliva / Veer Union / Burn Halo concert (at House of Blues), so I won’t be posting.   I feel very old when I think about the last time I saw Saliva – TEN years ago!

Hope you had a nice weekend!

Friday Friday Friday!

I thought this week would never end.  It was an awful one and I’m happy to say it is over.

I came home from work and plopped myself on the couch.  I’m truly worn out.  The go-go-go thing can only continue on for so long before you crash.  I’m aiming to be in bed quite early to get in a good 10 or so hours and will probably fall asleep on the couch in the near future.

Today is a very special day for me. 

4 years ago this evening, I was desperately searching the web for anything that might help me feel better.  I had been sick for years and I had no hope that I would ever get better.  Through pure luck, I stumbled upon some information on Celiac and furiously read everything I could get my hands on.  It wasn’t a perfect fit – I didn’t have the most common symptoms and I wasn’t aware (at that time) that I had any genetic predisposition to it – but I was at the end of my rope.  I would have tried anything in the hopes that it would have made me feel even 5% better.

So I decided to give it a try because I really didn’t have anything to lose and at least it would have given me one more thing to check off the list that I didn’t have, thus narrowing the list of the things I could possibly have.

April 16, 2006 just so happened to be a Sunday.  I’m not big on starting things on Mondays or the 1st of the month or the 1st of the year, but… I didn’t actually think it would work.  I thought it would be another thing that I tried that I got my hopes up over that didn’t pan out to anything.

So 4 years ago today, I ate my last morsel of  gluten as a gluten-eating member of society.  And 4 years ago Sunday morning, I woke up feeling better than I had in years.  It is hard for me to comprehend how I could feel so much better after ONE day GF, but I did.  And after a week?  I felt like a new person. (It doesn’t work that way for me anymore – I’m flat on my back for 5-6 days after a glutening.)

The first couple of weeks were incredibly difficult – I didn’t know what to make myself to eat and I was completely terrified of my own kitchen (and this was before I really understood cross contamination!).  I wandered the aisles at the grocery store, picking items up only to put them back down because I couldn’t verify they were GF.  But it got easier and easier and after a while, it wasn’t hard anymore.  And now, here I am 4 years later, thanking God that I was inspired for some reason to spend a couple hours on Google.

Dinner tonight was an $11.04 Whole Foods (Whole Wallet) salad.

• romaine / spinach base
• kale
• red cabbage
• red / green / yellow bell pepper strips
• shredded carrot
• zucchini
• yellow squash
• blueberries
• cantaloupe
• pineapple
• dried cranberries
• walnuts
• olive oil / balsamic

You know, I love a good salad.  But $11 for basically some raw veggies and fruit?  Meh.

I also had a slice of Kinnikinnick Tapioca Rice bread with Smuckers PB + Crofter’s Europe Superfruit Spread (which looks fine by the ingredient list, but I can’t find that it claims to be GF anywhere).

And I’m planning on some wine + chocolate chip stress therapy in 3… 2… 1..

Nite!

Ah, Thursdays.  One more day till freedom…  close enough I can taste it!

Busy day today (as always), but I made time to meet my Dad for coffee around lunchtime.  We  got our wires crossed and ended up being different Starbucks after we were both already seated waiting for the other one to arrive.  Oops.  But once we finally met up, we sat outside and sipped our coffees in the gorgeous weather.  I tend to be meh about spring because I’m not a huge fan of the ridiculously hot summers we have here, but this spring has been a nice transition and I’ve really enjoyed spending time outside.  (Remind me of that when I’m complaining that it is 150* outside)

4 mile run tonight, then…

Egg sandwich!

I love eggs.  I ate eggs every single day after I first went GF because it was safe.  Now I am more hit or miss on how often I make egg-centered dishes, but you can’t beat the egg for cheap, quick protein.

I’m not a huge mayonnaise consumer, but a shmear on some good Kinnikinnick Tapioca Rice bread with a slice of sharp cheddar and two “fried” eggs is one of the best sandwiches ever.

Seriously, try that bread.  It’s a little slice of heaven.  (Ha ha)

And then…

*drooooool*

No description necessary.  Best vegetable on earth.

I’m still a little hungry, so I might grab an apple with PB later.  I wasn’t too hungry after my ride yesterday, but I’ve been pretty hungry today.

Gotta get back to work or I’ll be up til midnight.

G’night!

I’m pretty sure that there aren’t but a handful of people that grew up in the 80’s and 90’s in the US that didn’t play this game.   Did you?  We played it in computer class or whatever they called that class where you screwed around with games on the 10 year old Apple-donated Macs and pretended to not know how to type so you could stay in the class longer.  Didn’t everyone do that? 

Anyway, we know where Carmen has been.  Where have I been?

Well, there has been a lot of work,  a lot of homework and exams, and a little of this:

Yeah. 

I was so happy to be out of the office that I decided to fling my body onto the pavement A car turned suddenly in front of me and one of the cons of wearing clip-in shoes is that when you have to stop imminently, unclipping your shoes just doesn’t always happen.  So I kissed the pavement.  And then got up, brushed myself off, and tackled the biggest hill of the bunch.

It was a fabulous ride, actually – I did 21 miles in about an hour and a half, right against the wind.  I felt like I could go forever, but I ran out of water and then shortly after that, I bit the dust.  So I took that as a sign I should head home.

Dinner tonight was quick and easy (aren’t all my meals?).

Ever seen those “steam in the bag” veggies Target sells?  I bought this asparagus so long ago I can’t remember.  I’m not a huge fan of veggies steamed over other cooking methods (roasted or grilled impart more flavor, IMO), which is why I hadn’t eaten this package yet.

But drizzled with a little olive oil and sprinkled with some salt, it was pretty tasty.  And quick.  And easy.

And the main part?  An egg white veggie frittata!

• 6 egg whites
• 1/4 c. cottage cheese
• spinach
• bell pepper strips
• ancho chile powder, ground cumin, cayenne pepper

Cook on the stove like an omelet for a couple minutes until slightly set, then throw into a 350* oven for 8 minutes.   It’ll puff up and the cottage cheese will melt.  Yum.

I also had a big smoothie.

Recovery shake at it’s best:

• 1 c. soymilk
• 1/2 c. POM juice (from the dwindling POMWonderful stash – this stuff is so good!)
• 1 scoop Acai
• 1 t. maca
• 1 scoop protein powder (GNC unflavored)
• SPINACH
• (frozen) mango, berries, pineapple

——

Thursday tomorrow which means Friday is coming SOON!

How is your week going?

I had a meeting in Plano (north of Dallas) on Friday afternoon and headed north on I-35 to Oklahoma City after the meeting was done around 3 to spend the weekend with my best friend Kara.

Kara is an attorney in Oklahoma City with a fabulous job and a new house.  She’s been down to see me a couple times since she moved in before Thanksgiving, but I hadn’t made it up there yet (December through mid-March is my busiest time at work). 

So north on I-35 it was.

Not the world’s most scenic drive, but it’s a straight shot 3 hours up, which means a lot of zoning out and listening to old CDs.  I have Sirius satellite radio which I listen to 99% of the time I’m in the car on a day to day basis, but I love the opportunity to listen to old CDs on road trips.

I did have to pull over in Gainesville TX around 4 PM and whip out my laptop at a Starbucks for a work “emergency” that turned out to not even be an emergency in the slightest, which added about a half hour to my trip and put me right in the middle of rush hour traffic once I hit OKC. 

[Oh, and speaking of that laptop, I found my battery charger happily coiled up underneath the couch when I got home.  It’s a miracle I manage to make it out of the house with my purse most days.]

For dinner, we decided to go to PF Changs since it is right around the corner from her new house.  I’m a big fan, but for some reason, Matt and I don’t tend to go very often (need to correct that).  Our waiter was either high or a slimebucket, as he greeted us with a “Hey, how YOU doin’” (a la Joey from Friends) and then proceeded to forget that one of the most important parts of his job is to keep our Diet Cokes full. 

But the food was good.

PF Changs introduced 5 new entrees to their GF menu a while back:

• Mongolian Beef
• Hong Kong Beef with Snow Peas
• Beef a la Sichuan
• Pepper Steak
• Beef with Broccoli

Pretty much the only beef I eat is steak, but after talking to our high-as-a-kite waiter for a bit, I decided to try the Beef a la Sichuan.

(This was one of their “logo” plates, which I have learned is very important to pay attention to at PF Changs.  If the plate doesn’t have their logo on it and the ramekins for the sauces aren’t red, it probably isn’t GF.)

Word to the wise:  this is a VERY spicy dish.  I like spice, so I was OK with it but I’m not going to lie – my lips burned a little for the rest of the night. 

And I might have had that fabulous GF chocolate dome that escaped the camera.  But rest assured – it was a little dome of heaven. 

The rest of the night was spent chatting and drinking wine.  I miss our frequent girls nights!

On Saturday, we slept in a little and then went shopping.  Before we left, I heated up some of the tomatillo casserole that Matt made last week.  (I packed a few servings of it along with some fruit and nuts in a cooler before I left on Friday.)

I also had some watermelon and a vanilla Chobani. 

Kara is one of those master shoppers – she can sniff out a sale from miles away.  She managed to MAKE money this shopping trip by returning some items because they’d just gone on sale and then snapping them back up plus 3 more for a net gain.  I didn’t make money but I did score a fun dress and some cardigans from JCrew. 

Kara, the boy that she is friends with, and I went to a service at her church on Saturday night and then to Outback for dinner.  We’d planned on making dinner at her house but were late getting back from shopping (what a surprise) and, well, I wasn’t going to turn down a chance at the Thunder from Down Under. 

A captain + diet coke to start while we waited at the bar for a table.

Then one of my favorite things about Outback – their salads.

It must be quality of ingredients because their dinner salads are fabulous.  Greens, cukes, sliced grape tomatoes, red onion, and mixed cheese that I topped with a little oil and vinegar.

For dinner:  sirloin with dry steamed veggies and a dry sweet potato.

This is the 4th sweet potato I have had in a month, which is 4 more sweet potatoes than I had eaten in the past 4 years. 

I never hated sweet potatoes, but I was never a big fan of them when they were doctored up with other sweet ingredients (like sweet potato casserole at Thanksgiving).  Since I’d never really tried them plain or savory, I had no idea how GOOD they are.  (Apologies to the husband who thinks the smell of sweet potatoes alone is enough to make him vomit – I will be eating a lot of them going forward!)

Aaaaand there was definitely some Thunder from Down Under (but we took it to go and ate it while watching The Blind Side).

This morning, I met my sister for coffee before heading out of town. 

Before I packed up, I heated up another serving of the tomatillo casserole, and some cantaloupe.

When I got home this afternoon, I threw together my favorite yogurt combo:

Kabocha + plain lowfat yogurt + cinnamon + stevia + flaxseed

Plus an unpictured apple.

I’m sure dinner will be the last of the casserole stuff (which really is very good, but I’m ready to eat something else) and a bunch of the black grapes I bought yesterday.

I need to make plans to get to OKC more often – I miss Kara and my sister and, ironically, I miss Oklahoma (a little bit).   I drove past our old house as I always do – not that it’ll change drastically, but it’s neat to see it since we lived there for so long – and I’m feeling a little nostalgic. 

When was the last time you felt nostalgic?  What about?

Hope you all had a nice weekend!

On Friday, I’m driving to Oklahoma City to see my BFF for the weekend, so I’ve been pretty conscious of everything I’ve been eating this week (nothing worse than getting sick before a trip).   Typically, I go into tummy conservation mode within a week or two of a special event, which means I don’t eat out, don’t try any new foods, and drink a lot of fennel and peppermint teas.

I had a lunch meeting at a steakhouse today.  Usually, I would have sipped coffee and eaten my lunch when we got back but not only was I starving and would have been pretty bitter about watching others eat, but I had a doctors appointment after the meeting

When eating out at restaurants, I think of risk levels along the same lines as Homeland Security. 

5 levels of restaurant threats:

• Severe:  sauce-based dishes and marinades (when the ingredients aren’t crystal clear)
• High:  french fries (the fryer may or may not also be used to fry breaded items)
• Elevated:  salad dressings and seasonings
• Guarded:  grilled meats with no marinades or seasonings, vegetable side dishes
• Low:  simple salads (lettuce and raw veggies), plain baked white/sweet potatoes, fresh fruit

It changes from restaurant to restaurant, but in general, the best (albeit boring) bet when eating out is to eat whole foods.   I waited tables for a couple years and I know that there seems to be some mysterious black hole where instructions told to the server gets lost between the server and the kitchen.  Anything that could possibly be seasoned will probably come out seasoned.   I also tend to avoid meat at restaurants because I don’t trust that it is unmarinated, unseasoned, and that they bothered to clean off the grill before throwing my food on it.  The exception is good steakhouses, because there shouldn’t be any marinade on a good steak.

So anyway, I had a steak and plain baked sweet potato along with a very plain jane side salad – just lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers with oil + vinegar.  And while it wasn’t the most exciting thing in the world, it was filling, healthy, and I don’t feel like I got run over by a Mack truck.

———-

Dinner tonight was courtesy of Matt.

Tomatillo casserole:  Tomatillo sauce, tomatillo salsa, chicken, and rice with cilantro and mexican-blend cheese.  Yum.

——

Busy day tomorrow – and I’m bound and determined to get to bed early tonight. 

Nite!