Gluten free - week 3

No huge gf epiphanies this week. Feeling like I am getting into a good pattern. Recognizing how important it is for me to carry a gf granola bar or some nut crackers in my purse/keep at my desk at work, in case my schedule changes unexpectedly and meal-time is delayed...can't just swing by a Sonic or Quiznos for my dinner anymore.

My favorite meal this week is just a twist on an old-fall back: bean burritos :)

Using white corn tortillas, organic fat-free refried black beans, gf green chile sauce, fresh spinach, and a bit of cheese, I can easily whip up two burritos and zap them in the microwave.

The twist of course, is the corn tortillas and gf green chile sauce. I have never been a huge fan of corn tortillas...but I am working on it...

I had a movie night last night with some girlfriends and while I can't eat microwaveable popcorn (and alas! I have yet to find an air-popper that isn't possessed and insists on spewing popcorn EVERYWHERE except the bowl), I CAN eat Pirate's Booty- it's puffed rice and corn! Score!

A Way with Words

I am reading this fantastic book called, A Way with Words, by Christin Ditchfield. I heard about it through Carolyn McCulley's blog after she sang it's praises.

This book discusses our speech, how women speak WAY more than men (okay, so that wasn't new information :) ), and how we need to be so very careful of how we use our words.

So far this book has been extremely convicting and practical. The author uses both real-world examples and Biblical examples to describe how we, specifically as women, can use our words to manipulate, encourage, tear down, show kindness, and alienate.

She quotes many historically famous women, some I have heard of (Sojouner Truth, Eleanor Roosevelt...) and some I haven't. My favorite quote so far that really struck a chord:

"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment" - Dorothy Neville

I highly recommend this book...and I am only on chapter 2!

Gluten free - week 2...and Dallas

Figured I would roll two posts into one, since I kinda forgot to take pictures (well, I took two...of food :)) of my trip this past 3-day weekend to Dallas (really, Granbury) to visit my friends, the Frazier family. It's so awesome to not have to fly for 22 hours to visit them :) (Houston to Dallas = 44 minutes). Anyhow, it was a great time of catching up (pretty sure Colette and I talked the entire time :)) . Good times. We baked gf dark chocolate chunk cookies, compliments of Pamela's Products mixes (substituted applesauce for the butter). They were a bit chewier than your normal chocolate chip cookies, but I liked them, and so did Colette (Brian tried one I think, not sure what he thought though...). And only 6g of sugar per cookie!

Week 2 of gluten free went well. I tried out three different restaurants (Thai Cottage, BJs, and Jason's Deli). BJs was my favorite, with some pretty phenomenal gf pizza (I topped mine with artichoke hearts and mushrooms). But the others were tasty too (veggies soft spring rolls (TC) and a sandwich with gf bread (JD)).

My biggest realization of gf this week is that calorie counting is a bit different and that gf foods have a higher fat content than I am used to eating. Now, I pay attention to how many calories I eat because I am a triathlete...that is, when I am not on the injured train ;-)...I have to make sure I eat enough to replenish what I burn off during training workouts. The habit has stuck, which I figure isn't really a bad thing...as long as counting doesn't consume me, so I'm not very exact in my counting, just giving myself a rough idea. Anyhow, I discovered the higher than expected calorie numbers when toasting some prairie bread I bought at Whole Foods. Each slice was 160 calories!!! Now, this is because most gf stuff is made with some type of nut flour- which means higher calories and fats...but it's the good fat, so that does make it better...still, that makes for a hefty sandwich if you're just looking for a light snack! It's a bit of an adjustment for me, seeing numbers like those on what I am eating. For instance, I was estatic to score some Thai-brand microwave meals for $1.80 apiece at Kroger. Sweet! Until I got home and actually read the nutrition label- 520 cal and 66% of my daily sodium! Yikes! All for some peanut thai noodles, with no veggies or really not much nutrition in general. Bad Melissa. I will say, that Amy's meals are awesome and definitely worth the extra cost- all organic ingredients and very well balanced nutritionally....definitely more "clean eating".

So, I've decided to avoid pre-made meals as much as possible (I only allow myself to buy two Amy's meals per week, just for those "I'm-so-tired-it's-a-challenge-to-even-push-Start-on-the-microwave" days). Hence why I have some spinach and mushroom gf risotto and sauteed asparagus and zuchinni on the stove right now... looking forward to lunch tomorrow :)

Airport snack- almond crackers and gf pretzel sticks

Gluten free - 1 week

Gluten free (gf) for one week...done. Even managed to make some gf chicken noodle soup for a few sick days this week (rice noodles and gf chicken broth, with some tasty toasted flax seed bread)

My meals this week consisted of some combination of the below:

Breakfast- coffee and a bowl of gf steel cut oats
Lunch- quinoa/corn pasta with gf sauce, veggies, cheese sticks, Blue Diamond Nut Thins (yum!), fruit (I've also found some tasty Amy's gf meals that work in a pinch too)
Dinner- similar to lunch, braised red cabbage and portabella mushrooms with feta, cottage cheese, eggs, gf chicken nuggets (tasty and healthy too!), chocolate soy milk, fruit, gf soups with toasted flax bread, veggies (zuchinni, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes)

At some point I plan to make mini-turkey meatloafs with the new gf breadcrumbs I bought today, but I generally don't eat a lot of meat. I do beans as well, but this week was weird due to the sick thing...I pretty much went for "no work required" for what my meals consisted of :). In general, I think this gf diet will be very doable, it hasn't been a huge change from my normal eating habits...so far :)

The biggest challenge that I have encountered so far is going to be finding sauces that I like...my recent foray into gluten free ranch salad dressing and BBQ sauce weren't very successful. And finding a good protein bar...I love my Odwalla bars, but alas, however natural they are, they still include gluten, so I am now on the hunt to find a bar that is natural, has decent protein, doesn't taste like cardboard, and is wallet friendly. I may just end up making my own bars...I've found a few recipes online that look pretty tasty.

My friend Erica came with me to Whole Foods today to point out some tasty gluten free products (like some yummy pretzels!). Between this store, two local grocery stores (Kroger and HEB), and some online ordering, I think I'm pretty well covered for groceries, with many options to choose from.

A kind co-worker, who I have never actually met, left a bag of Pamela's Products Bread mix (I have yet to try it) and the most amazing flour called "Better Batter" on my desk the other day. You can use BB mix as a cup for cup substitute for whatever you normally use in recipes. And I did. And my zucchini muffins came out just as tasty as my usual recipe :D. And probably a bit healthier due to the chia seeds I added for a protein, fiber, and Omega-3 boost.

Gf Zuchinni Muffins

Aqua shoes!

I took advantage of end of the year sales (woot!) and bought a pair of AQX aquatic shoes for my aquajogging. There are a lot of good shoes out there for aquajogging, but these are the only ones that I found that are designed to increase your drag in the water, which means a harder workout...and you all know I love a challenge :). Now, if I could just kick this cold so I can get in the pool and try them out...

Definitely increasing the nerd factor by adding these to my aquajogging getup ;-)

Tucson times

I forgot (read: was unable to locate) my camera cord before heading to AZ, so you'll have to deal with the pictures I have taken on my phone...which actually aren't too bad...yay EVO! I am having so much fun with my nephews and getting to hang out a lot with my family. I would have more pictures of Carter, but I am usually holding him. Apparently, he's quite taken with Aunt Sissa...no complaints here :) Good times!

Uncle Bobby caught in the act of beating up on John Michael


Carter chowing down and flirting at the same time. Kid has talent :)

Blowing out his number 4 candle


Apparently sitting on a just-got-woken-up-by-my-adorable-nephews-Sissa is a lot of fun


Monica and I left John Michael and Nana to make cookies and this is what we returned to...


Wearing Sissa's hat


On the "milk truck" at Shamrock Farms

Going Gluten Free

Yup, I am. Starting on Jan 1st, I am going to go gluten-free for 3 months.

Why? I've been doing a lot of research and talking with a doctor or two and studies are showing that inflammation and gluten are related. Autoimmune diseases come with lots of inflammation- a friend of mine, and a doctor, has RA and eats gluten free and has had positive results- less pain, fewer flares, etc. I don't have RA, but my disease is in the same family, so I figured, hey it doesn't hurt to try it! And if it helps, WAHOO!!!! From what I've read, you need to be gluten-free for about 3 months to see any affects, and if it works, well just call me Gluten-Free For Life Girl. :)

So I am researching away right now, finding recipes, making meal plans... If you have any good blogs, cookbooks, websites that you recommend for gluten-free please let me know. Since I don't eat a lot of meat (and NO beef), gluten-free vegetarian recipes would be even better!

I plan to do a gluten-free status post once a week to let you all know how it is going.