Pizza! Pizza!
Hello (blog)world– it’s me, Elizabeth. You may not remember me, as it has been almost 4 weeks since I’ve said hello.
I’m sorry for abandoning you – it’s been a long, busy month.
So since I haven’t been blogging, what have I been doing?
- Training. I’ve spent roughly 11 hours a week swimming, running, and biking. Which is a lot of time for someone who doesn’t have a whole lot to spare.
- Racing (and planning for racing).
- Eating. A lot. Turns out when you’re on the bike for 4+ hours at a time, you’re pretty hungry when you get off.
These days, I find it is common that I can go from a little hungry to ready to eat someone in approximately 3 minutes. But I’m also pretty tired and time-strapped, so meals have become far less elaborate (uh, not that you could call my meals elaborate before) and far quicker to prepare.
Enter: pizza.
More specifically, delivery pizza. As in, from a restaurant that takes your phone order and credit card info, prepares your pizza, then delivers it to you ready to eat.
Oooey, gooey cheesy pizza. I thought I would never be able to experience the joy that is ordering pizza again.
Several weeks ago, I received an email from Laurie at Picasso’s Pizza in Dallas. They are a pizza-burger-grill joint that has an extensive to-go and delivery menu. Matt orders from them frequently, but up until now, I hadn’t been able to.
Laurie emailed that her good friend is a Celiac and that their newly developed GF dough was made in a separate, GF part of the kitchen and their entire staff is well-trained on the allergy. The crust is gluten, corn, dairy, and xanthan-gum free.
GF pizza toppings:
Pepperoni
Grande Hand Sliced Pepperoni
Bacon
Canadian Bacon
Salami
Proscuitto
Freshly Ground Hamburger
Steak Fajita Meat
Shrimp
Anchovies
Artichoke Hearts
Avocado
Eggplant
Garlic
Jalapenos
Olives Black
Olives Green
Mushroom
Mushroom Portobello
Onion Red
Onion Sweet Maui
Bell Pepper Green
Bell Pepper Yellow
Bell Pepper Red
Peppers Roasted
Pepperoncini
Pineapple
Spinach
Squash Yellow
Tomato
Tomato Roma
Zucchini
Cheddar
Feta
Gouda
Monterrey Jack
Mozzarella
Muenster
Provolone
Ricotta
Swiss
And the taste? Awesome. The crust is thicker than my homemade crust, but it resembles the pizza of your youth (for me, Pizza Hut or Dominoes or Pizza Shuttle [in Norman, OK]) more closely.
Sometimes – ok, a lot of times – when I’m trudging up a hill, thinking that I might die, I make a deal with myself. Keep pedaling, and I can order pizza as soon as I get home.
It’s not a hard deal to take. If I were to stop pedaling, I’d tumble backwards down said hill and probably get run over by some rancher in his big truck (there are a plethora of those in rural Texas).
So, up the hill towards pizza it is. And ice cream, because one small pizza just ain’t going to do it after 65 miles of hills and wind. Right? 
Sweet Eats
It’s no secret that I like my desserts. As a kid, the day I was allowed to start baking (provided I clean up my mess afterwards, of course [and by mess, I mean reconstruct the kitchen from the tornado of dirty dishes and baking supplies that blew through it – I am not now nor have I ever been a clean cook!]) was one of the happiest days of my life (sorry husband). Kind of like driving, it gave me the freedom to decide what to eat and when to eat it. And often that was chocolate cake, eaten frequently.
In high school, my girlfriends and I would do dessert dates. We’d find the best dessert selection at local restaurants and dine on cheesecake or, my personal favorite, chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream.
In college, my roommate and I would eat dessert with every meal. Fortunately, I’d figured out by then how to prioritize my calories: salad with no dressing and lots of veggies + cottage cheese for dinner, 2 (um, or 3) pieces of raspberry crumb cheesecake for dessert. 
I sporadically eat dessert now. I still bake occasionally. It would probably be more frequent but since the husband doesn’t eat a lot of sweets, I end up eating the whole batch myself and as much fun as eating a whole carrot cake in one weekend is, that’s not exactly a recipe for fitting into my jeans.
But GF desserts that I didn’t have to make myself? Bring them on!
This would be a red velvet cupcake from Sprinkles. I went to a baby shower for a good friend and she ordered me 2 (she paid for them – this was not a free product… well, free to me, but someone other than the company paid for it). One I ate at the baby shower and the other I brought home to show you all. I should note that the reason the picture is dark is because I was too impatient to let our energy-saving kitchen lights power up before I snapped a pic. It’s actually a miracle I made the 30 minute drive home with this bad boy sitting next to me because he was gone within 3 minutes of arriving home.
I have to say, hands down, this was the BEST gluten-free cake-type thing I’ve ever had. It was moist, didn’t crumble too much, and didn’t taste like rice (big plus in my book). And the cream cheese frosting was thick and not too sweet. If you have a Sprinkles near you, I highly recommend it.
Adding to the sugar high was the plethora of gelato from Talenti (Disclaimer: I received this product for free).
Would you believe that I had never had gelato before? Seriously. I actually have only really become an ice cream fan since going gluten-free. Before that, ice cream was always less exciting than cookies or cake.
But now that obtaining GF cookies or cake (that I myself do not bake) is much harder, ice cream has become an acceptable substitution.
And gelato? Oh dear God. It’s like frozen pudding – no ice crystals! Smoother and creamier than ice cream.
Talenti is actually manufactured in Dallas – very cool. I’m happy to support local companies in the best state in the nation!
Talenti sent me:
- Tahitian Vanilla Bean
- Mediterranean Mint
- Double Chocolate
- Roman Raspberry
- Blood Orange
- Caribbean Coconut
My favorites were the Caribbean Coconut and Tahinian Vanilla Bean and I will definitely be purchasing some for myself once I make it through all the flavors (I think they sell them at Whole Foods).
And since I spent the weekend eating cupcakes and gelato, I now consider myself appropriately carb-loaded for my triathlon this weekend.
Garlic Breath
Glad you guys are looking forward to the cookie dough flavors of Larabar. I finished all 4 within a few days and my favorites were the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip.
We’ve had a good weekend here in hotter than hell Texas. I’m not so looking forward to the next few months where one sweats as soon as they walk outside. Each summer seems to get a little hotter. Global Warming or me getting a little more wussy each year?
Dinner tonight was courtesy of our (Matt’s) determination to learn to make delicious Asian / Middle Eastern food. There have been many failures along this journey, which is too bad, because we both really enjoy the cuisine. When we lived in Norman (before I went GF), we frequented a little Indian restaurant called Misal’s ALL THE TIME. Actually, it was after eating there that I went to the emergency room for the first time – apparently an appetizer of nan + hummus and then a meal of nan + chicken was a little more nan than my body could handle.
But since we don’t eat out at little ethnic restaurants anymore, we’ve decided to become experts at making our own.
And tonight we were.
Shawarma dajaj lettuce wraps with spicy hummus, garlic sauce, and yogurt
Shawarma dajaj (baked chicken fingers)
- 6 chicken breasts (6 oz. a piece)
- 1/2 c. + 1 T. lemon juice
- 1/2 c. vegetable oil
- 1/2 t. ground cloves
- 1/2 t. ground nutmeg
- 1/2 t. white pepper
- 1/2 t. allspice
- 1/2 t. lemon pepper
- 1/4 t. sweet paprika
- 1 drop vanilla
- tiny dash cinnamon
- 1/2 t. oregano
- 1/8 t. salt
- 3 garlic cloves, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- Dice chicken into 1 inch cubes. Mix all other ingredients in a bowl. Add chicken, mix well, cover and marinate overnight.
- Preheat oven to 400*F. Place chicken and marinade in a baking dish and bake for 20-30 minutes until tender and cooked through.
Spicy Hummus
- 1 14.5 oz. can chickpeas, drained
- 2 T. tahini
- 2 T. olive oil
- 1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 t. ground cumin
- 1 t. ground coriander
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- coarse salt, to taste
- 2 T. lemon juice
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth and dip-like. Drizzle in extra olive oil or water to thin the consistancy if necessary.
Tasty Death-Breath Sauce
- 6 peeled garlic cloves
- 1 t. kosher salt
- 1/4 c. lemon juice
- 1/4 c. olive oil
- 3 T. mayo
- Combine in blender and blend away.
To assemble:
Layer romaine lettuce leaves with hummus, diced fresh tomatoes, shawarma dajaj, garlic sauce, more hummus, and plain yogurt.
Eat with enough vigor that your husband notes you have some on your nose.
Repeat.
Then chew roughly 800 breath mints.
Matt ate his as a salad, but a wrap sounded better to me and I’m really glad I went this direction because it was fun to get a little bit of each flavor in every bite. These were fresh and filling, but not heavy. Well, not heavy enough that I didn’t feel the need for 2 servings of Strawberry Haagen-Dazs afterwards.
Hope you all had a nice weekend!
I think I just died and went to heaven
In my 4 years gluten-free, there is one item that I just can’t seem to find an adequate replacement. I’ve searched high and low, tried a gazillion different recipes, and bought a gazillion different boxed mixes. Sometimes the flavor is spot on, but the texture is just never there. Not like I remember it being as a kid, at least.
For 4 years, I have missed out on cookie dough experience. You know, when you are baking cookies and a generous scoop just happens to land in your mouth rather than on the baking sheet? Yep. I was so happy to stumble upon the flax egg trick back before my GF days which meant I could skip the baking step and move right to eating it out of the bowl without worrying about salmonella (not that that stopped me before).
I’ve found lots of good recipes for gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. My current favorite isn’t even a recipe – it’s the Betty Crocker boxed stuff (hey, don’t mess with what works!). But GF chocolate chip cookie dough just doesn’t taste nearly as good as the gluteny version. It’s gritty and often a little too sweet (to counteract the tastes of GF flours, I guess). Don’t get me wrong – I still happily eat it. But it just isn’t the same.
But that’s OK, because Larabar just came out with the coolest new flavors I could have dreamed of. It’s as if they made them just for me. I’m going to pretend that’s the case as I clutch these new flavors to my chest and scream for joy.
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
- Chocolate Chip Brownie
- Carrot Cake
These will be available for purchase in stores in July… definitely not soon enough!
I happened to have just gotten home from swimming when I opened the box from Larabar last night, and even though dinner was cooking away, I couldn’t stop myself from sampling one.
It’s probably not all that surprising that the first one I grabbed was the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. And oh my: it was fabulous. Sweet, gooey, and remarkably cookie dough-like. Pretty much heaven.
I can’t wait to dig into the other flavors – all of which I think were made with me in mind. Thanks for thinking of me, Larabar!
Summertime
Well, this has been a busy week!
Summer has ascended upon Texas like vultures on roadkill. I know plenty of people that love spring, but I am not one of them. Not because I don’t like pretty flowers, cool breezes, and sunshine, but because I know that spring is just a precursor to summer. And summer here is hot as hell.
But there are a few benefits of summer: watermelon, lots of grilled dinners, and cheap berries. Sadly, the husband thinks it’s too hot to use the grill in the summer, so I have determined that this summer, I will become a grillmaster so I am not dependent on him for burgers.
For dinner tonight, the husband whipped up something that was neither grilled nor summery, but delicious nonetheless.
(Reading over the last few posts, you can tell we are major Mexican food fans. We always have been, but Mexican is easily adaptable to my food limitations.)
The original intention was to make a stew out of an old Mexican cookbook we have, but with the amount of substitutions he made, it turned out nothing like the original… which is fine, because it was quite good.
Durango Stew
- 4 jalepeno or serrano peppers
- 2 lbs. ground turkey
- 1 T. olive oil
- pinch of saffron
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 red peppers, diced
- 42 oz. crushed tomatoes
- 1 t. oregano
- 1/2 t. thyme
- 1 t. ancho chile powder
- 1/2 – 1 c. cilantro
- 1/2 c. beef stock
- Toast jalepenos over medium heat, 1-2 min. per side, then soak in hot water for 20-25 min. Set aside.
- Brown turkey with saffron in a olive oil. Set aside.
- In same pan, sweat onions, garlic and bell peppers. Set aside
- In food processor, combine soaked jalepenos with the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth.
- In large stockpot, combine turkey, onions/garlic/bell peppers, and sauce. Simmer for an hour and serve.
We ate ours on rice with sour cream, guac, shredded cheddar, and more cilantro.
Yes, we eat white rice. I’ve never been the world’s biggest fan of brown rice and believe me, we get enough fiber from other sources.
ETA: I’ve severely limited my grain consumption but have not (and do not plan to) gone grain-free completely. I’m happy with how my body is responding to a few servings of grains a week.
Humpday already – Friday, get here soon!
Celiac Disease: It’s not all roses and sunshine
Disclaimer: Rant below.
I’ve written some about how grateful I was when I was diagnosed with Celiac disease. I went through years of tests and false diagnoses that did nothing but make my quality of life worsen and my symptoms more prolific. I spent a year and a half afraid to eat vegetables because I was told that fiber was the enemy. (I spent most of that year and a half eating french bread because I was told it was the safest, most stabilizing thing to eat. [Yikes!]) I (and my parents) spent a fortune on medical bills that, in reality, did nothing except rule out other diseases that I probably never had a chance of having in the first place.
There was a period of time where I was sleeping 16 hours a day. I was fortunate to be in college at the time, so I only had to shuffle myself to class for an hour a time and then I could come home and sleep. I was honestly terrified of how I was going to enter the full-time workforce as I couldn’t make it through 2 PM without needing a 3 hour nap.
Along the way, there had been many times that I had received a diagnosis and I thought “This is IT.” I’d gleefully tell Matt that the doctor found what my problem was and embark on whatever treatment/diet plan they happened to suggest.
And maybe immediately I’d feel a little better, maybe I’d feel a little worse. After a month or two, my symptoms would inevitably be worse than they were before I tried anything new. But instead of abandoning whatever plan I was on whenever my doctors would admit that ok, maybe you don’t have disease X after all, I’d keep on it, because well, what could it hurt? (My doctors backed this as well… probably as part of their “I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you, so I’m just going to wing it” philosophy)
And that’s how I ended up on a diet of mostly french bread, which in hindsight, was about the worst thing I could do for my body.
When I was finally diagnosed with Celiac, I honestly thought it was just Round #893 of get my hopes up, make myself feel worse. And so did Matt. I remember us talking about the research I had done about cross contamination and both of us being in disbelief that we wouldn’t be able to use the same non-stick pans for gluten-free cooking that we’d always used. We thought it was a crock of crap, honestly. But I tried it anyway, eating egg whites, apples, and well-steamed veggies on my first day GF.
And then I woke up the next morning. The 7 months pregnant bloating that I had been experiencing for the last 3 years was down to a 3 months pregnant bloat. And the throbbing stomachache? Down to a dull roar.
Fast forward a week and the bloat and pain were gone. And then other things started going away, too. The headaches that I thought were stress-related? Gone. The lower back pain I attributed to needing a new mattress? Gone. Acne? Gone. Mysterious 20 lbs. that I’d somehow packed on over 4 months? Started falling off effortlessly at 3 lbs. a week.
So naturally, I was absolutely thrilled to have Celiac and a treatment program that couldn’t be more simple: just don’t eat gluten. No pills, no acupuncture, no ridiculous homeopathic treatments.
In short, it was like a gift… for a while.
See, I was never all that angry before being diagnosed. I always had a diagnosis to look forward to. I believed that there was something out there – a pill, a treatment, whatever – that would cure me, we just hadn’t found it yet. Even after diagnosis, I figured that if I learned the ropes well enough, I would feel good all the time.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Maybe for some people, but clearly not for me.
Even when I follow all the rules to a T, I sometimes get sick for no reason. (Well, I’m sure there is a reason, but not one that I can detect.) And that’s the worst. I can’t plan for anything and we end up canceling social plans because I feel like dirt.
And that makes me ANGRY. I’m angry that I eat healthier than 99% of people – I eat my vegetables, choose foods for their nutritional benefits, get the right balances of carbs/protein/fat. I follow all of the rules, and yet sometimes, it doesn’t do me any good. I’m angry that I can’t eat at restaurants without a least a 50% likelihood of being bedridden later that day. I’m angry that we can’t travel without me bringing a suitcase full of backup food. I’m angry that Celiac disease, despite affecting a many as 1 in100 Americans, gets no recognition for fundraising efforts (for research) because it’s not (usually) fatal.
I’m not going to argue that Celiac is worse than breast cancer, or heart disease, or MS. It’s not. But it does affect quality of life and I think it takes having it to understand it.
So many times, I think people are afraid to be angry about something that happened to them that wasn’t their doing. It isn’t limited to having a food allergy (Celiac isn’t an allergy, it’s an autoimmune reaction, but you get the picture) – it could be an athlete getting injured and being forced to stop practicing their sport, etc.
BUT
Bad things happen to people everyday and everyone has problems in their lives. Be it be relationship problems, financial issues, heath, etc.
My “problem” is that sometimes my body doesn’t treat ME right. That’s not the end of the world. I have a great husband and family, good friends, a great career. If I didn’t have health issues, maybe I wouldn’t have a supportive family life, or perhaps I would be in a dead end job.
Things could always be worse.
If I had to have a disease, there are numerous afflictions that are much, much worse than having Celiac, and I’m blessed that this is really the only thing wrong with me. I could have a fatal heart condition, or schizophrenia, or be missing my right arm.
I generally set a very positive tone about being gluten-free, and I really am grateful that I discovered the gluten-free diet because despite being upset about being a Celiac, I am very happy that there is something I can do that makes me feel better most of the time. If I have to be sick, I’m happy to have something that is relatively inexpensive in terms of medical costs and can be treated simply by abstaining from eating something (that simplifies it, but you get the picture).
So rather than wallowing in what I can’t do, I’m going to focus on what I CAN do. Yesterday morning, I rode 60.3 windy miles in 4 hours. My body carried me through and I finished strong. I may not be able to always make plans far in advance, but my body CAN do lots of things that other people can’t. And that’s what I need to remember next time I’m upset about having to cancel plans because I feel like death: Things could always be worse, and I’m very lucky to have what I do have.
[/rant]
What are the biggest obstacles you have faced? What are you most proud of your body for doing?
Spaghetti & Meatballs, Texas Style
Happy Mother’s Day to all of you Moms out there! We only have kitty-babies and turtle-babies, so we don’t celebrate.
(Actually, I was at the grocery store on Friday night and the cashier told me to have a great Mother’s day, and then proceeded to complain that Mother’s Day was the only day “we” Mothers get appreciated. Sorry lady, I’m not part of the Mommy-club.)
Yesterday, we went to the Fort Worth Zoo with my parents. The zoo is ranked #5 in the nation, although I don’t know exactly how zoos are rated (offering of animals? special events?). I hadn’t been there in at least 10 years.
While all of the animals were kinda cool, I have a special place in my heart for these guys.
(Alpaca tortoise)
And these.
(Spider tortoise, I believe)
And these guys.
(No clue what kind of turtle. Funny-shell-shape turtle, maybe?)
There were a lot of turtles, but unfortunately, my battery decided to drain itself of life. It does that at the most inopportune times.
There was an entire section dedicated to Texas critters…. which, frighteningly, includes a lot of creepy scorpions, rattlesnakes, and spiders. Oh joy.
I have a lot of state pride.
One of the coolest things we saw were the elephants, two of which were clearly mates. They were nuzzling and playfully squirting water at each other. And then there was another elephant that was dancing, as if he could hear some music that was inaudible to the rest of us. Either that or his mother dropped him on his head when he was little.
Last but not least was this guy:
I’m always amazed by how similar our little cats seem to the really big cats.
All in all, a nice trip. Great time with family.
This morning, I woke up bright grey and early to get in my ride before the day flew away from me. See, I made a big mistake last week. The partnership & corporatate tax class I’m taking is about to end and I thought that the final exam was next Wednesday. So imagine my surprise when I logged onto my school email last night to work on it and realized it was due on Friday (it’s an online class). Ooops.
I went ahead and finished the exam and submitted it with a note to the professor explaining what had happened. I really, really hope he accepts my exam and doesn’t dock me many late points.
Anyway, I did 50 miles in 3:35, which is the longest distance I’ve ridden before. It had rained while I was drinking coffee and eating breakfast, so it was very cold (for May) and cloudy out – I actually wore a cycling jacket (more like a windbreaker – did you guys have one of those in elementary school, too?), which is unheard of for May in Texas.
I stopped at miles 20, 30, and 40 for fuel and water (I had raisins, then a PB&J sandwich, then more raisins) and felt pretty good except for miles 33-39 when I hit a mental roadblock. Fortunately, that quickly passed and I finished strong. I even passed some other cyclists on the road home.
After a (much needed) shower, I plopped down on the couch and worked on my exam for a couple hours while Matt cooked. Have I mentioned before how lucky I am to have a husband that likes experimenting in the kitchen? We’re a perfect match.
For dinner tonight, he whipped up a Tex-Mex version of Spaghetti & Meatballs.
Doesn’t it look like the Mario & Luigi version?
Meatballs in Almond Sauce
Meatballs
- 2 large eggs
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp Mexican oregeno
- 2-4 tblsp fresh cilantro
- 2 tsp salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 4-5 slices toasted gluten free bread
Place eggs into large mixing bowl and beat. In food processor, combine the rest.
Blend until consistency of bread crumbs. Add mixture to eggs and mix
thoroughly. Then add:
- 1 lb ground turkey (Honeysuckle White)
- 1 lb ground turkey breakfast sausage (Honeysuckle White)
Mix thoroughly with hands, then use a scooper to form mixture into meatballs. (If going for 1 inch meatballs, this will make about 50)
In a nonstick skillet, brown exterior of meatballs, 30 – 60 seconds per side over medium high heat.
Place meatballs in 9×13 baking dish and cover with Almond Sauce. Cover and place in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through.
Almond Sauce
- 2 29 oz cans tomato sauce
- 2-3 dried chiles de arbol
- 2.5 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 1/3 cup almonds (slivered or whole)
- 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1 cup water
Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Toast the chiles for 1 minute, then remove chiles, cut off stems, and let cool.
Add almonds to pan and reduce heat to medium low, then toast for 5-6 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove with a slotted spoon and allow to cool.
Add onion and cumin seeds to pan and cook until onion starts to brown, about 4-5 minutes.
Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until consistency is smooth.
———————–
We served our meatballs and sauce over Tinkyada brown rice penne with fresh cilantro on top, but rice would work, too.
————————
I also whipped up some grain-free brownies, which are cooling on the rack now. If they turn out (which is an “if”), I’ll post my makeshift recipe.
Hope you all had a nice weekend – Friday is only 5 days away!
Did someone say tofu?
It never fails to amuse me that I eat a better “vegetarian” diet now than I did when I was actually a vegetarian (from age 12 to 18). I am in no way a vegetarian now – I’m a good Texan and like my steak large and medium rare, thankyouverymuch – but I enjoy eating vegetarian cuisine and I, of course, love my veggies. However, over the last year I’ve noticed that the frequency with which I eat meat has dwindled.
So why, as an omnivore, do I choose to eat vegetarian several days a week?
Well, it’s not all choice. I find that I do better on a vegetable-based diet than on one based around meats. Most of that has to do with the typical ways most Americans eat meats: on pizza, sausage gravy biscuits, a cheeseburger ontop a bun. There are gluten-free substitutions for those, of course, and many of them have been featured here. But, and I’m sad to say, I’ve noticed that my tolerance for (gluten-free grains) is well, just that. A tolerance. There’s an acceptable level I can consume and after that, I stop feeling so good. Or maybe I should say, I start feeling bad.
The other reason I eat veggie most of the week is out of pure laziness. I’m not ashamed to admit that I wish I had a personal chef and that I’m not a happy camper cooking for myself all the time. Something about not being able to swing by a restaurant and get to-go (that was reliably safe and healthy) or order in – even if those weren’t things I did frequently before Celiac – makes forcing myself to cook all that much more painful. So for a lazy cook, what is the fastest way to throw together a meal? Let me tell you – it doesn’t usually include animal protein. (Unless we’re talking about the incredible, edible egg… and I ate those when I was a vegetarian so that doesn’t count. )
Speaking of going vegetarian, I bought the renowned Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan quite a long time ago and just got around to making something out of it (I did just say I am not a happy cooker). I like the way the meals are well balanced. Sometimes it seems like vegetarian cuisine is simply substitutions… kind of like gluten-free cooking. I’m tired of making substitutions.
Dinner tonight was all about balance.
Spicy
Blackened Tofu from ED&BV. Sadly, the theme for tonight was undercooked.
(I followed the recipe pretty closely but baked it at 350* for 30 min. instead of frying it. 35 or 40 minutes would have been a better choice.)
Sweet
Sweet Potato!!! Olive oil-ed, garlic powdered, and baked at 350* for 30 min. and 400* for 10 min., then another 10 min. after I realized it wasn’t even remotely done.
Salty
Roasted green beans, a la Emily. Love these.
All together now.
———
After a bad experience with some Rice Chex yesterday (I swear, I don’t understand what the falling out was with my body and Rice Chex but they hate each other), I think I will limit my grains for a while. This is a recurring issue. I eat a lot of grains (happiness for me is a big bowl of steamed rice with butter and salt. Or pasta. Or a large hunk of [gf] bread with butter.), start feeling not-so-good, abstain from grains, feel great, start eating grains a little at a time again, still feel great, convince myself I was wrong about grains in the first place, eat lots of grains… you get the idea.
So bear with me while I try this again. I’ve been in a horrible food rut (read: egg sandwiches and some sort of veggie for dinner every.single.night) and have been very busy tri training. But I need to find a new staple, so I’ll be trying to get myself to try some new things.
Best thing about Celiac? Since you can’t order in, you might be forced to get a little creative every once in a while.
Hello World
(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.
Pieces of Heaven
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.
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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.
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FRIDAY DANCE!!!
