Sometimes you don’t.

Okay, now that I got that out of my system…  Just try and get that song out of your head – go ahead, I dare ya!

I had some very ripe bananas, one request for banana bread with chocolate chips and one for banana bread with walnuts.  The walnut dude didn’t want chocolate chips and the chocolate chip dude didn’t want walnuts (or so I thought).  What is a girl to do?  Well, I gave you a hint yesterday on my “Wordless Wednesday” post.

I had  a new gluten-free all purpose flour mix to try out, so I decide to use that as my flour.  The flour, made by Toosie’s, contains a blend of gluten-free flours and xanthan gum, but no leavening agents.  I modified my Chocolate Chip Banana Bread recipe and got one of the best versions I have ever tried!

Banana Bread (picky style)

1 3/4 cups Toosie’s gluten-free all purpose flour (or any gluten-free flour blend without leavening agents)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
5 TBSP butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips sprinkled on top (I thought these would sink, as they did another time.  Clearly, they didn’t)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat 9×5 inch loaf pan with Pam, set aside

2. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder in medium bowl; stir to mix well.

3. Place butter in large bowl; beat at medium speed until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugars; beat in egg
and egg whites. Reduce speed to low; beat in bananas. Beat in vanilla. Beat in flour mixture in 2
additions alternately with heavy cream.

4. Spoon batter into prepared pan; sprinkle with chocolate chips and walnuts.  Bake 55 to 60 minutes
or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes on wire rack; remove
from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

When Jon got home from school, he came into the kitchen and immediately wanted to dig into the bread.  He asked about the reason for the chocolate chip/walnut division and I explained that he wanted chocolate chips, but Aaron wanted walnuts and no chocolate chips.  Jon says “I love walnuts!”, to which I replied “Since when?”.  Sigh.  Whatever doesn’t get hoovered by the boys will be mine.  Jon even had the guts to ask for Aaron’s part of the bread.  No dice, honey.

Earlier this month I shared the news that Gluten Freely was introducing the new “Ask-a-Doc” series.  Questions were taken up until January 20, 2012 and now the answers  to many of the questions have be posted here.

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A little more about Dr. Guandalini:

Dr. Guandalini, a world-renowned pediatric gastroenterologist and celiac disease expert. He is the Founder and Medical Director of The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center, who works to raise awareness and diagnosis rates in the quest for a cure.

The questions that were answered are:

Could a gluten-free diet lead to other health conditions?

Are there varying degrees of gluten sensitivity?

Is there a correlation between celiac disease and lactose intolerance?

When do you recommend introducing gluten to a baby?

Can skin contact with gluten-containing flour cause harm?

Will my child get celiac if I have it?

How do you feel about the FDA’s proposed regulation of 20ppm for gluten-free?

What if I cheat and eat gluten?

What can I do about DH (dermatitis herpetiformis)?

What on-going tests do you recommend after diagnosis?

Can harmful effects exist without external symptoms?

What triggers Celiac Disease?

What’s being done to find a cure?

What if the Celiac blood test was negative?

Can anything be done to alleviate my symptoms?

While I have not had time to watch all of these, I think that these are all great questions and should help a lot of people get some much-needed answers.  I hope that Gluten Freely continues this series so that follow-up questions can be asked and then answered.

Kim

***Make sure to check to see if you were the lucky winner of the Katz $30 gift certificate here.

So, who is ready for spring?  I am!  We got some ice this week that ended up causing a bunch of cancellations and driving many runners to the dreadmill.  I don’t think MIT has ever cancelled since I have been a member (1 year), but they did Saturday in the best interests of the runners.  I respect that – I am sure the trails were in no shape for a safe run with the combination of ice and snow.  Snow is one thing, ice can ruin you.  I thought about running in my neighborhood, as we didn’t get as much ice here, but opted to meet a friend at the gym and run our miles together on the dreadmill, which made for a super-fun way to get our miles in!

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Girl Scout cookie selling is in full swing here in our house.  I am so bummed that they haven’t added a gluten-free version yet.  I did find a drool-worthy recipe for Samoas that I hope to make this coming week.  Are they not just gorgeous? 

This week I am working on going through the freezer.  We have frozen chicken, pork, ground turkey, bison burgers and more that needs to be eaten, so my menu will hopefully incorporate it all. 

Sunday – Rotisserie chicken or Chipotle

Monday – Baked chicken fingers, sweet potato puffs, broccoli & salad

Tuesday – Jon’s turkey tacos on soft corn tortillas, refried beans and corn

Wednesday – Italian pork stuffed baked potatoes, roasted asparagus and salad (kids will probably eat the pork on the side as they don’t like their food to touch)

Thursday – Burgers on Udi’s gluten-free buns, steak fries, roasted zucchini and salad

Friday – Make your own pizza and salad

Saturday – Grilled chicken dinner salads

Week in Review

Win a $30 gift certificate to Katz Gluten free. 

Staying Balanced & Healthy

NFCA Webinar: Gluten-free Heart & Health

Udi’s debuting new products soon – be on the lookout!

Are Keurig K-Cups gluten-free?

Review: Bold Organics Pizzas

Red Robin’s gluten-free buns 

Stay safe & warm!  Have a great week!

Kim

Strength training is an important part of my workout regimen.  It should be a part of your life, too, especially if you are a woman.  Why?  It helps keep our bones strong as we grow older.  My biggest struggle with strength training has always been not knowing what to do, when to do it or how to go about it.  Last spring I had seen many bloggers mention the The New Rules of Lifting for Women, so I decided to check it out.

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More about the book:

In The New Rules of Lifting for Women, authors Lou Schuler, Cassandra Forsythe, and Alwyn Cosgrove present a comprehensive strength, conditioning, and nutrition plan destined to revolutionize the way women work out. All the latest studies prove that strength training, not aerobics, provides the key to losing fat and building a fit, strong body.

This book refutes the misconception that women will “bulk up” if they lift heavy weights. Nonsense! It’s tough enough for men to pack on muscle, and they have much more of the hormone necessary to build muscle: natural testosterone. Muscles need to be strengthened to achieve a lean, healthy look. Properly conditioned muscles increase metabolism and promote weight loss—it’s that simple.

The program demands that women put down the “Barbie” weights, step away from the treadmill, and begin a strength and conditioning regime for the natural athlete in every woman.

I have to admit that I was very intimidated by some of the exercises in this book.  I am not sure if that was due to my being afraid that I wouldn’t be able to do them, or not wanting to call attention to myself in the gym.  Whatever the reason, I got past it and made a plan.  I made copies of the pages where the exercises for the stage I was in were demonstrated.  I had my workout log printed & labeled.  I really had no excuse.

There are 7 stages in this book that will take the better part of 6-8 months, depending on how many times per week you do the workouts.  I chose to do them twice a week, as that fit best in my training program, but you can do them up to three times per week, but not on consecutive days.

I have now completed 5 stages of the 7.  The 6th is optional and the 7th stage I opted out of because I am starting The New Rules of Lifting for Abs this week (more on that later).  As much as I complained about some of the exercises in some of the stages, I can see and feel a definite increase in the strength & tone of my body.  After adding this plan to my repertoire, I was finally able to PR the half marathon on my 5th attempt, smashing my previous best time by almost 4 minutes.  I truly believe that increased leg strength is the reason behind this.  A couple of the stages, I believe 3 & 5 (I leant my book to a friend), call for a “body weight matrix” at the end of the workout, that is brutal.  It consists of doing the following twice:

25 squats
12 lunges each side
25 jumping squats (I omitted jumping in the best interests of my IT band)
12 lunge jumps each leg (again, no jumping, just walking lunges)

I did incorporate the jumping part of the last 2 exercises last fall and those are no joke. Prepare to cry.  LOL!  Complain as much as you like, but there is just no better workout, in my opinion, for your glutes, hips, and legs than squats & lunges.  When I was sentenced to physical therapy in the past for hip flexor & IT band injuries, these were some of the exercises I was given to strengthen those areas.  Runners, women in particular, tend to have weak hips and glutes, so this is a great compliment to running.

The best part about this plan is that you can cater it to your needs.  If you don’t have some of the equipment available, there are alternative exercises listed. I did not follow the nutrition plan in this book because I feel that my diet is adequate to fuel my body.  The New Rules of Lifting for Women can be purchased on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, etc for $12.00 – $18.00 in hardcover, paperback or digital versions.

Now, onto my next adventure in training.  A friend recommended the newest book in the “New Rules” series – “The New Rules of Lifting for Abs”.  In lieu of completing stage 7 in The New Rules of Lifting for Women, I have opted to start the new program.  The program is structured a little differently and focus on crunch-free workouts, which are best for avoiding back pain, which I have been suffering from lately.  I will make sure to share my thoughts on this book once I get through it.

***Don’t forget to enter the Katz Gluten Free giveaway here!

I was driving the other day when I realized that I completely missed my 6-year gluten-free anniversary!  I didn’t just miss it by a day, either.  I missed it by several.  Today is January 20th and the day of the anniversary is January 12th.  Ooops!  I have learned so much over the past 6 years and feel much more comfortable with my lifestyle than I did in the beginning.

Some of the most important things I have learned are:

• There are way more things that I can eat, than can’t.
• Even after 6 years, I still make mistakes.
• There is life after being diagnosed with Celiac Disease and starting the gluten-free diet.
• The selection of gluten-free foods in grocery stores is much better now than it was 6 years ago.
• Even with all of the publicity the gluten-free diet has been getting, some people still look at me like I have 2 heads when I ask if they have a gluten-free menu.
• The gluten-free diet isn’t necessarily a healthy or an unhealthy diet; your diet is what you make it.  There are plenty of healthy & unhealthy gluten-free foods out there, just like every other diet.
• Focusing on friends and family at gatherings is way more productive & feels better than focusing on the food, whether I can eat it or not.

One of the foods I have missed most since going gluten-free was not one that I ate on a regular basis before, but it was a nice treat – Jelly Donuts.  Up until recently, there were really no replacements out there.  Katz Gluten-Free has changed that!  I was able to sample & review their new doughnuts and was very pleased!  You can read my full review here.  Katz is once again holding a Grand Raffle where the winner will receive a “Box of Each Item” box. In order to enter to win, fill out the form here and watch for the winner to be drawn on February 20, 2012.

For my readers, Katz Gluten Free has offered to give one lucky reader a $30 gift certificate to use on their website.  What do you have to do to win?

***Samples & prize are free of charge for review & giveaway purposes.

Read below:

Continue reading →

Staying balanced & healthy isn’t always easy.  Life happens.  Meetings pop up or one of the kids always seems to need something last minute for a project, yet they neglect to share that until I am in my jammies.  Staying balanced & healthy to me means eating right 80 percent of the time and hitting the gym/running 5-6 times per week.  Even if I don’t have time for a 60 minute workout, anything works.  Yoga, a walk, stretching.  Sometimes there is an added challenge having to follow the gluten-free diet, but I have learned over the past 6 years what foods to keep on hand for quick, healthy meals.

When I write a weekly menu plan, it is with the best intentions.  There are many times I make what is listed, but don’t end up eating it myself for whatever reason.  Sometimes it is simply due to the fact that I am feeding the kids early so they can get to their respective activities. When this happens, I will take 20 minutes to put together a healthy combination of foods that are usually naturally gluten-free.

Foods I keep on hand for busy nights:

• Brown rice (I either cook over the weekend & freeze or buy the pre-cooked frozen – I like Trader Joe’s.)
• Canned beans – black, garbanzo, kidney
• Fresh vegetables for salads or roasting
• Corn tortillas for mini wraps or bake for homemade tortilla chips
• Tuna
• Chicken breast – I slice and freeze for fast cooking on busy nights.
• Quinoa – Cooks in 10-15 minutes and is a nutritional powerhouse.
• Burgers – I form ground turkey, bison or beef into patties & freeze so they are ready to go.
• Nuts – Walnuts are my current favorite.
• Avocado – I love to spread avocado on gluten-free toast & sprinkle sea salt on top.

I always have a large salad with dinner.  My salad usually consists of 2-3 large handfuls of organic mixed greens, chopped tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, walnuts, goat or feta cheese, raisins or berries and a drizzle of pomegranate or balsamic vinaigrette.  Here is an example of a large salad that I usually eat with my dinner.

If I have some extra time on the weekend, another thing I do to trim time off of my weeknight meals is to roast some veggies.  I take what I have on hand – carrots, zucchini, okra, beets, etc and toss them with a little extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.  Roasting then takes roughly 20-30 min in a 400 – 425 degree oven.  I flip them half way through and remove from the oven once they are soft, but not mushy.  Once you have the veggies roasted, they can be stored in the fridge and used in rice bowls, salads or wraps.

One of my favorite quick meals is a rice bowl.  I use cooked brown rice, a protein of sorts – this night I used black beans -roasted or sauteed veggies and then warm everything up in a frying pan.  The combo of choice for this bowl was brown rice, black beans, okra, snow peas and lite soy sauce (La Choy is gluten-free).

You can really create any combination you want using brown rice or quinoa (or get crazy with millet, buckwheat or amaranth), a protein and then veggies of choice.  Since I used cooked rice and protein, this took me less than 10 minutes to put together.  Much healthier than the drive thru, for sure.

This post is part of “Balanced, Healthy & Gluten-Free” that will be going on all month over at The Balanced Platter.  Make sure to check out the new site, founded by Amy Green (Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free) & Maggie Savage (She Let Them Eat Cake).

The Balanced Platter is on Facebook, as well as Twitter, so make sure to follow them so you don’t miss any of the posts this month!

BRR!  Thank goodness it is supposed to warm up this week because these single-digit temperatures are for the birds!  Well, not really, because most of them are smart enough to head south, which seems like a good idea to me right about now.  On the other hand, if we have to deal with a day or 2 of temperatures that are below freezing to get the other 70-80% above freezing, well, I think I can handle that.  Not that we can do anything about it, right?

Confession:  Last week I didn’t follow my menu plan at all.  I had good intentions, I really did.  Those intentions went out the window when my back strain flared up.  The muscle I pulled the week before had been improving nicely until I was a little lax with the Advil and tweaked it.  It seems that the Advil may not have been doing much for the pain, but was for the inflammation.  I have since switched to Naprosyn and am feeling much better.  Hoping this trend continues and I can get back on track this week with laundry, cooking, baking & such.

Sunday – Dinner out with family – Red Robin

Monday – Spaghetti with marinutta sauce, steamed broccoli and salad

Tuesday – Turkey tacos with black beans, corn & salad

Wednesday – Bourbon chicken, brown rice, green beans & salad

Thursday – Breakfast for dinner with fruit salad

Friday – Make your own pizza and salad

Saturday – Take out or leftovers

Week in Review

GFDF chocolate peanut butter pudding

Chick-fil-A adds grilled chicken nuggets

Birthday Celebration complete with gluten (response from Executive Chef in the comments)

Kim

A few weeks back we were the lucky recipients of samples of products from the Toosie’s gluten-free line.  You can view my thoughts about the blueberry muffins over on Celiac-Disease.com.  The weekends usually mean that Jon is asking for one of us to make him pancakes or waffles.  Lately it has been waffles.  Aaron is the go-to waffle iron guru, as I am usually stuffing my face after my long run on Saturday mornings.  I asked him to use the Toosie’s Pancake & Waffle Mix last week so we could give it a try. 

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The ingredients in the mix are:

Whole grain brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, dry milk, pure cane sugar, baking powder (sodium pyrophospate, bicarbonate soda, cornstarch, monocalcium phosphate), xanthan gum, natural vanilla powder (natural flavor, sugar, cornstarch), salt.

The recipe is the same for the pancakes or waffles, but the waffle batter should be a touch thicker than the pancake batter, so cutting back on the liquid just a touch (at least at first) is probably best way to start.  To 1 cup of mix Aaron added 3/4 cup of milk, 1 egg and 1 TBSP oil.  The proportions above yielded one large Belgian waffle and a half of another.  The whole one was demolished by one hungry teen boy; the half was left over for the taking.

These waffles were so good and had such a great texture that I could have eaten them without any toppings.  Jon of course smothered his in chocolate chips & syrup because that is what teen boys do, right?  He oohed and aahed his way through, which is his way of putting his stamp of approval on them. 

Toosie’s goes to great lengths to ensure that their products are gluten-free.  In addition to sourcing only naturally gluten-free ingredients, they also test each batch they make with the Gluten ELISA assay test.  Toosie’s products can be purchased right from their website. 

Make sure to check back for reviews on some of the other products we sampled from Toosie’s.  I hope to see their products become available in stores across the country! 

Kim

***The products reviewed in this blog were sent to us free of charge.  The opinions stated here are mine and have not been influenced by anyone or anything.

Have you ever had one of those meals where you just threw something together and it ended up being spectacular?  I had one of these last week.  I was trying to finish up a bunch of half-completed tasks and needed to feed myself & Hannah.  I had picked up some grass fed beef from Whole Foods earlier in the day, so I settled on burgers and baked steak fries. 

What was supposed to be simply a meal to “get the job done”, turned out to be one of the best I had eaten in a long time.  The burger was a perfect medium-rare, the bun was toasted to perfection and the fries completed the dish. 

To make the burgers I seasoned the ground beef with sea salt & pepper and cooked in a frying pan over medium heat.  In a separate pan I sauteed some sliced mushrooms in a touch of olive oil and cabernet.  The burger was then sandwiched on an Udi’s gluten-free whole grain bun with spring mix & ketchup. 

To make the fries I sliced a large baking potato and coated them with olive oil cooking spray.  Then I seasoned them with sea salt & pepper and baked at 400 – 425 for roughly 25 minutes, flipping half way through.  A little crispy on the outside and potato-y on the inside. 

Simple.  Delicious.  Gluten-free. 

Kim