Last night we went to Uno’s Chicago Grill to celebrate Jon’s 13th birthday with my Dad, Step Mom ~ Christy & Regan.  Jon picked the place, of course, he loves the gluten-free pizza they have.  I wasn’t going to argue!  I called ahead to make sure they had some made up (they do all the prep for the gluten-free pizzas in the AM so that they can avoid cross-contamination….they get this whole GF thing!).  They did.  They have a new printed GF menu and they now have Red Bridge, a gluten-free beer!!  WOOHOO!!!  Pizza & beer, it doesn’t get better than that!  Of course I ordered a glass of Merlot…LOL!  I am such a woman. 

Jon & I ordered the gluten-free pepperoni pizza.  I would have preferred the veggie, but I caved since it was his birthday celebration.  I also ordered a house salad & steamed broccoli (a girl has to get her veggies somewhere!).  Jon had the Caesar salad and he didn’t care for it.  Normally he likes Caesar salads, but he said it tasted “too fishy”.  Well, they probably made the dressing with anchovy paste, you think?  LOL!  Aaron took it off of his hands for him.  🙂 

Below, I present, Gluten-Free Heaven:

The girls (Hannah & Regan) ordered Make-Your-Own-Pizzas.  It was cute.  The waitress brought them out pizza dough with the sauce for them to spread & cheese for them to add.  They had fun, though Hannah had Daddy spread her sauce.

Now she is ready to do the cheese!

Regan making her pizza:

Jon getting his b-day present.  What more could a 13-year old boy want?  GF Pizza & Best Buy Gift Cards!  He is set!

The group, from left, Aaron, Me, Christy, & my Dad. 

We had a wonderful time!!  Thanks Dad, Christy & Regan for an awesome dinner!  Thanks Uno’s for catering to those of us who have to follow a gluten-free diet to stay healthy.  We will be going back. 

This Swine Flu stuff really has got me freaked out?  How about you?  I know there is not a whole lot that one can do, and I think that is the scariest part.  I am already an obsessive hand washer, mostly due to the fact that my kitchen is not completely gluten-free, how many times in a day can I wash my hands?  Not only that, but I watch a little girl who is still in diapers, so I wash my hands each time I change her, wipe her nose, etc.  Maybe I should count tomorrow.  That certainly would be interesting, huh? 

I got a tweet (Is that what you call it?  This Twitter stuff is deep.  I can’t wrap my brain around it.  Just when I got Facebook down, everybody now Twitters too) that talks about the gluten-free status of the drugs that can treat the Swine Flu.  I wanted to share it here so that the gluten is the least of your concerns should you or a loved one be infected with the Swine Flu.  See here for the gluten-free status of Tamiflu & Relenza.  Additionally here are some Swine Flu FAQ.

I live in Ohio and there is one confirmed case in Northern Ohio, a 9-year old boy, who I believe had traveled to Mexico.  On the Noon news today they announced that there is now a “probable” case in Franklin County (Columbus), the county next to ours.  Can I move my family into a bubble now? 

So, I am going to end this post with some tips on how to avoid the Swine Flu:

~wash hands after contact with the outside world

~wash hands before you eat, touch your face (eyes, nose, mouth)

~see illustration below, definitely avoid this:

I have been on a bar kick lately.  I am training to run a half marathon in October and have been trying to find a bar that agrees with me that has decent nutritional stats too.  That isn’t always easy.  On top of gluten, I really can’t do seeds (like sesame seeds).  I really liked the Boomi bars, but the seeds and I just can’t get along.  Also, sometimes I have issues with fruit.  So, on top of reviewing these bars for taste/texture, I am seeing how my body does with them.  I won’t bore you or gross you out with the latter details.  😉  I just want to make sure that if I am bringing a bar along on a long run that it won’t be causing me grief before I am done, if you know what I mean. 

These bars, made by Nature’s Path, were very good.  Very close to Lara Bar.  The first thing I noticed on my first bite was a strong taste of vanilla, which is odd because it is the last ingredient on the list.  I didn’t notice it after the first bite.  This bar has great texture and nice chunks of nuts.  I was very satisfied by this bar and it held me overly nicely to lunch (about 3 hours). 

Nutritional Stats:

Ingredients:

Made with love and …

Organic dates, organic almonds, organic dried unsweetened coconut, organic walnuts, organic natural cocoa, organic vanilla extract.

Simple & gluten free.  Also vegan!  I would like to see a little more protein in the bar, but without dairy or soy, that is hard to do.  I prefer to stay away from soy (doesn’t always agree with me) and dairy while exercising as I am lactose intolerant. 

I think that these would be great to take along on a long run.  I am excited to give some of the other flavors a try! 

I happened upon La Tortilla Factory’s  Dark Teff Tortillas today at my local health food store.  I had some leftover grilled chicken that I had been planning to put on top of a salad for lunch, but thought that a wrap sounded much better.  I got home and made a fabulous wrap from these tortillas.  First, the feel & texture of these tortillas is the closest thing to what a “normal” flour tortilla feels like.  I haven’t felt that since before I went GF over 3 years ago.   I had high hopes for this baby.  I heated it, as directed on the package, for 15 seconds in the microwave.  I then made my wrap with a bunch of fresh spinach, cut up grilled chicken breast, provolone cheese, tomato & Frank’s Red Hot.  I wrapped it up (IT DIDN’T CRACK OR CRUMBLE!) and sliced in half.  I was amazed.  I was so stinkin’ excited that I didn’t get a picture, I sat down to taste my new love.  WOW!  I was so, so, so pleasantly surprised!  I honestly can’t really tell you that this tastes much different from what I remember a “normal” flour tortilla tasting like.  The tortilla remained the same texture the entire time I was eating (about 30 minutes….it didn’t get hard or stale-like after heating).  If you have heated a brown rice tortilla and then made a wrap before, you know what I mean about the texture changing.  These were so pliable!  I could gush about these for hours!  I have all kinds of things planned for these.  Tomorrow?  Another wrap, but this one on the panini press.  🙂  Then, burritos and maybe chimichangas or chicken enchiladas!  Yes, I like corn tortillas, a lot, but there is just something about a good flour tortilla. 

Now the details…kinda pricey.  $4.31 for 6.  OUCH!  So, you can see why these may not be a regular purchase.  Facts:

Definitely want to try the Ivory Teff ones too.  These were awesome & I can’t wait to make another wrap tomorrow! 

I know it seems like I am neglecting my challenge, but, really, I am not.  I have been eating 2 salads a day.  I love my salads!  They have been relatively similar to the ones I have been posting, with a change of an ingredient here & there.  I did add some snow peas today at dinner time.  They went well with my ingredients.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by these English Muffins from Kinnikinnick.  I ordered them when I had place my order with Kinnikinnick.  They have a great deal where shipping is only $10, no matter how much you order!  So, load up! 

These English muffins toasted up wonderfully!  They don’t taste like I remember English muffins tasting, but they are a very good roll/muffin.  There are several ways that I like to eat them:  toasted w/butter, as mini pizzas, as a base for my tuna melts, as a base for my open-face fried egg sammies (with spinach or arugula & cheddar cheese), with cream cheese….I could go on & on. 

The nutritional stats:

Amount Per Serving

Calories : 170

Total Fat: 3.5g

Sodium: 260mg

Total Carbohydrates: 41g

Fiber: 2g

Protein: 3g

These English muffins get a thumbs up from me.  I will be purchasing them again.  As a matter of fact, I think I have seen these at my local health food store!  Bonus!

I ordered this bread a week or so ago when I placed an order for some surprise treats for Jon.  I have been looking for a good rye-like bread, and while I like Trader Joe’s, it isn’t sandwich-worthy (pieces are way too small).  Yesterday for lunch I decided to make a yummy sandwich out of it.  I toasted up 2 pieces of bread and put some roast chicken, provolone, Frank’s Red Hot & lettuce between the pieces.  I was very impressed by the taste & texture of this bread.  While it didn’t have a rye-like taste, it did have a very nice multi-grain flavor.  There was no crumbling or grittiness that you get from lots of rice breads.  The texture was very close to that I remember of gluten-filled breads that were toasted.  I have not tried packing this bread for lunch and then eating it later yet, so I am not sure how that would work out.  This bread is a definite order again on my list. 

The nutritional content is decent per slice in this bread as well:

Calories:  90

Total Fat:  3.5g

Sodium: 120mg

Total Carbohydrates: 18g

Fiber : 3g

Sugars: 2g

Protein: 2g

It is finally warm, really warm, here in Ohio.  Yesterday the temp was in the mid-high 80s.  Can’t argue with that!  It was actually too hot in our house!  I am not complaining one bit.  I am so tired of being cold! LOL!  From looking at the forecast, I believe that the temps are supposed to stay at 70 or above all week!  Sure, some rain is involved, but it’s all good. 

Sunday ~ Grilled Chicken (balsamic marinade), rosemary roasted potatoes, fresh green beans & salad

Monday ~ Filet mignon, baked sweet potatoes (or reg. potatoes), sugar snap peas & salad

Tuesday ~ Dinner out at Uno’s Chicago Grill for GF Pizza!  YAY!!!

Wednesday ~ Bourbon chicken, brown rice (or quinoa), broccoli & salad

Thursday ~ Soft Tacos, refried beans, corn & salad

Friday ~ Homemade Pizza (trying Bob’s Red Mill Pizza Crust mix) & salad

Saturday ~ leftovers or breakfast for dinner

Baked Goods for the Week

Brownies

Bread

PB Cookies

Don’t forget to check out Orgjunkie for lots more meal plans!  Cheryl, at GF Goodness is hosting this week’s GF Menu Swap!  Thanks Cheryl!

I found these Clif Nectar Bars on sale the other day at Whole Foods for $.99, so I decided it was time to try one.  I double checked to make sure that it was GF, and it was.  I chose the Dark Chocolate Walnut flavor and was not disappointed.  This bar kind of reminded me of a Lara Bar, but honestly, I think I liked it better!  Awesome flavor in every bite and chunks of walnuts.  YUM!  The nutritional stats are great, too:

160 calories, 6 grams fat, 6 grams fiber and 3 grams protein.  The bar counts as 2 servings of fruit and only has 5 ingredients: Organic Dates, Organic walnuts, Organic Unsweetened Chocolate, Organic Cocoa & Organic Vanilla. 

I definitely see more of these bars in my future! 

The salads just keep getting more & more yummy!  Last night for dinner I had another fabu salad! 

~ 2 cups of arugula & mixed baby greens

~ 1 Roma Tomato

~ 1/2 zucchini

~ 1/4 cucumber

~ small handful of blackberries

~ 1 chopped steamed beet

~ 1 TBSP Goat Cheese

~ 1 TBSP Pine Nuts

~ Drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette

I am really digging the addition of the beets & fruit to my salads.  This has really opened a new door for me with food.  I find myself waking up thinking of cool new additions for my salad!