Best Week Ever!

At my co-op there is a brand of frozen chicken nuggets and patties called Bell and Evans . They are a super clean company (no hormones, antibiotics, etc.) and their chicken is SUPER good. It was one of my pre-Celiac diagnosis faves.

So imagine my surprise yesterday when the Meat Buyer at my co-op told me she was getting in Bell and Evans gluten-free chicken nuggets! At first I was skeptical. I have tried the Ian's GF nuggets and they were pitiful. I also had tried other "full of gluten" Bell and Evans products...so I was on the fence.

They are DELISH! Really really good! The cafe at my work baked some for me today for lunch. (Which was really handy because I didn't wake up in enough time to prepare my lunch today) I don't even think that a non-gluten free diet person could tell that these are gluten-free. They come not cooked, so you have to bake them. But my cafe keeps them in the fridge so I had to nuke them. And the integrity of the product was not lost!

This week is going great! First gluten free mac and cheese and now nuggets! But I will def have to get on the dreadmill (my treadmill) tonight! I was losing a ton of weight because I was basically just eating veggies BUT now I keep finding great substitutes that I like!

Gluten Free Macaroni...Seconds Please!

Yum! Tonight I had another homerun! It's funny, lately my dinners have either been out of the ball park or three strikes. I'm beginning to think it may take longer than I thought to readjust to Having Celiac's Disease.

I keep lunches pretty simple. I only have a 30 minute break, so there's not much room for error. I usually pack my lunch and it will consist of a sandwich on gluten free bread or stir fry. Even though I work at a place that has a cafe, there aren't always options for me....and let's just say one day I ended up having ice cream for lunch... SO anyway, I pack my lunch but dinner time is for trying out new dishes.
YUM! This pasta was great. The rice pasta was perfect! The cheese sauce great! Totally beyond edible into the realm of delish! I ate it with a cold bottle of Redbridge beer and felt stress melt away! I used Organic milk and Organic butter and even sprinkled in some extra cheese. Too good! I wish they made a family size box! (Just for me!)

Fondue Fondue!

My mom and sister are officially here! Last night after seafood we were all so stuffed from crab legs that we just went home and went to sleep. Friday during the day we went to lunch at Flaming Amys Burrito Barn . They are totally awesome, totally local, and their tortilla chips are 100% corn. We ate lunch super early because we were having a very special dinner and we wanted to be sure we were super hungry.

For dinner we went to my most favorite restaurant in Wilmington. If you ever visit this area, you have to go to.... The Little Dipper Fondue Restaurant . It is where we go for every birthday, holiday....and Friday night!



I hadn't been there since starting my gluten free diet, but I was in for a pleasant surprise. They have a GLUTEN FREE MENU!!! I was so happy! And not really surprised. One of the fabulous owners told me that they have a separate menu for every type of allergy. How awesome is that?

My cheese was the Swiss with fresh fruit. Then I enjoyed a Caesar salad with fresh homemade dressing, and my entree was filet mignon and sashimi tuna! With homemade dipping sauces to boot! Then we finished it off our full tummies with Dark Chocolate and fresh strawberries and pineapple!

Also it should be said that the decor at the Little Dipper is to die for, the service is phenomenal, and the food is delish! All of the tables and chairs are handmade! They take Ambiance to the next level, without being pretentious! Totally casual or a dressy night on the town, whichever you decide to make it! Visit the website for more details and pics, but I had to post a few of my favorite!

The Little Dipper - Fondue on Front

The main dining room


The Garden Room - Each table seats 8 (Where we sat)

Live Jellyfish between the lobby and the bar

Crab legs....Gluten Free!

So my Mom and Sister are visiting me this weekend and I am so excited! They go in to town last night and were starving. Neither one has really had to go out to dinner with me since I became gluten free, so they had no idea that my options were so limited. After much discussion, we decided to go to a Local Seafood restaurant called Hieronymus here in town.

They have the best seafood in town! And they serve garlic cheese biscuits..which I can't wat, but my family enjoyed. There were tons of options on the menu, as long as I didn't get it battered. Plus I let the waiter know right away about my food "allergy". (I find it easier to just say allergy instead going in to the long speal of Celiac's and gluten)


I ordered Crab legs. Delicious Alaskan Snow Crab Legs. Steamed and piping hot. SO GOOD! Two other folks at the table also ordered them. By the end of the meal we were covered in watery crab juice but it was worth it. I'm hoping to find a place in town that serves All You Can Eat!

Pizza Night! Take 2

So after the really disappointing Glutino pizza crust, I still had a hankering for pizza all day yesterday. I shopped the shelf at the co-op and thought about buying the Namaste pizza crust. Namaste has gotten some great reviews and I loved their pancake mix. But then I remembered that I had also bought an Amy's Rice Crust pizza a few days ago. Knowing it couldn't be as bad as those Glutino crusts, I drove home ready for the challenge.


YUMMMM! This pizza was great. It is a bit smaller inside the box than most frozen pizzas. I didn't add any additional cheese, but I did add some pepperoni. It was really good! My first four slices were great. Hot, crispy, and cheesy. The crust does have a bit of a sweetness to it, but not enough to deter tastebuds. My last four pieces were okay. I'm finding that with gluten free substitutes, heat is very important. So I should have reheated the last half of the pizza before finishing it off. But all in all, it was a great pizza. Next time I think I'll dress it up with more cheese, some fresh garlic, and spinach!

Hot dogs and Hamburgers

Last night I went to a dinner at Emily and Jeff's house. (My boyfriend's Mom and Stepdad) I always love going to dinner at their house. There is always good conversation, lots of laughing, and great food! The great food would usually consist of a pasta dish, but last night Jeff's son and girlfriend were in town so they decided to prepare hot dogs and hamburgers.

Emily is so sweet that she actually went to the co-op and bought Ener G tapioca dinner rolls for me to use as a hamburger bun!

Now I will admit that this particular brand of food usually turned me off. The packaging seemed a little out of the 70's era. The product looked okay...but I am a package queen. I love pretty, shiny packaging.

But since they were bought for me, I gave them a try. They smell a bit different than typical buns, but that's normal. Thankfully, I read the directions and Ener G suggests that you either toast or microwave them for 20-30 seconds. So Jeff zapped it for me for 20.

They were great! Totally soft. Good taste. Delish! No real discernable difference for me. Towards the last two bites of my burger however, the bun did get cold and they were a little more tough.
SO heat'em and eat'em Quick!

UGH

This meal was so bad that I couldn't possibly wait to post it. UGH UGH UGH

Glutino Pizza Crust. GROSS

Dry. Dry beyond words. Tasteless and dry.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Fried Green Tomatoes are one of my most favorite summer foods. Each Spring I nearly count down the days at the Farmers Market, anxoiusly awaiting these lime green goodies!

Before I was Gluten Free, I ate these often. Egg and Flour batter. Simple and quick. But now that I'm no longer eating gluten...I was curious as to how I was going to pull this off.

First my boyfriend tried making them for me with a cornmeal and Sami's breadcrumb crust. These were OK, but not nearly as good as pre-gluten ones.

Well Saturday morning I figured it out! Thanks again to my sweet Auntie and her gifts of gluten-free mixes, I was able to make a delish fried green tomato with ease.

Gluten Free Pantry makes an all purpose flour and it worked great. You cut the tomatoes however thick you like them. (The thicker they are, the longer they cook) Coat the tomatoes with GF flour, then dip in a beaten egg, then back into the flour for a final coat. Fill a skillet with enough oil to almost cover the tomatoes (about 3/4 of the way up). Get the oil nice and hot and then fry them up! Cook on each side until golden brown. Let cool before enjoying!

Cream Cheese Danish or Cream Cheese Cookie

So when I woke up at 7:30 this morning...on a Sunday.... I felt ready for a challenge. And lately I pretty much find most of my challenges in the kitchen.

My sweet Auntie gave me a Gluten-Free gift package of mixes and flours that she had used over the years and loved. One of the mixes is called Quick Mix . It's made by Gluten Free Pantry. This mix boasts danishes, quiche, and buttermilk biscuits with ease. So I thought I would try out the danish.

The recipe is pretty simple. Milk, mix, and sugar for the dough. The you scoop out an inch dough ball, and create a well in the center. This recipe called to fill the well with a fruit jam, but since I didn't have any in the fridge, I filled it with cream cheese.

10 minutes later, they came out of the oven. Now typical danishes have flaky golden crusts. My GF danishes looked more like sugar cookies, but still delish. I drizzled with a quick glaze (just powdered sugar, water, and vanilla) and let them cool.

They are DELICIOUS. I really can't stress that enough. However, they are not danishes. They are sweet, and doughy, and creamy....but they are sugar cookies. Sugar cookies for sure. But hey, I love sugar cookies!

Hunger Pains

Much like earlier this week when I found myself eating sushi, last night my hunger pains were astronomical! Ever since I started my gluten free diet it seems that my body is digesting quicker than before. (Or maybe I'm spending more time walking around than in the bathroom)

Quick on the go meals are the hardest for me. I'm also on a low sugar diet, so I can't just snack on an apple or blueberries like before. So I've started keeping an arsenal of veggies in the fridge so I can whip up something quick.

Last night I chopped some baby bok choy, garlic, onion, squash, and mushroom; threw it in the pan and cooked until hot. I squirted on some BBQ sauce and dug in. An hour later I was hungry again! Now that my stomach can actually digest what I'm eating, it's insatiable!

Sesame Chicken

Last night my friend and I made Sesame Chicken. It was a recipe from my sister and she said that I had to make it because not only was it gluten free but it was totally delicious.

I had received advice from my aunt who also has Celiac's that going to a Chinese restaurant was pretty much out of the question. Even items that she would be assured were gluten free would end up making her sick and it was best not to chance it. So I had pretty much written off Sesame Chicken...until now! This dish was SO tasty and SO easy that it will def become part of a regular rotation.


1 cup uncooked rice
2 tbsp. sesame seeds
2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup honey
3 tbsp. tamari (I used a low sodium)
2 tbsp. grated fresh ginger (I only used 1 tbsp)
2 green onions, chopped

1.Cook rice according to package directions and keep warm.

2. Place a large skillet over medium high heat until hot. Add sesame seeds and toast until brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from skillet.

3.Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces. Sprinkle with cornstarch and turn over to coat well.

4. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium high heat, and add chicken when pan is hot. Cook chicken pieces about 5 minutes per side until done. (I ended up adding around 2 tbsp. more olive oil because I was using a pretty large pan)

5. Reduce heat to medium and add pineapple juice, honey, soy sauce, and ginger. Bring to a boil and cook about 1-2 minutes or until thick. (When my sister prepared this recipe her sauce did not thicken so she dissolved a little more cornstarch in pineapple juice and added it until it became thick; I didn't have to do that)

6. Serve over rice with sesame seeds and green onions.

The cornstarch made a really nice crisp batter on the outside of the chicken. I'm thinking the next time I make this I might add a little bit of orange juice instead of pineapple juice and see how that tastes. I also thought of buying some Pineapple Salsa from a local restaurant and serving that on top.

I love Sushi

On Wednesday nights my boyfriend plays soccer in a 7 VS 7 league. Lately I have been riding with him to the fields to watch him play. It's so much fun for both of us. However, it does mean that we leave our house at 5:30 to make it to the fields for warm-ups and I get off work between 4:30 and 5. So when I got home last night I was STARVING! My steak salad had left me content all afternoon but by 4:45 I could feel the hunger pains starting.

Being gluten-free pretty much rules out any fast food. So then we start going down the list of quick take out. But every restaurant would pretty much just have either grilled chicken or a salad to offer me. Except for Nikki's Gourmet in Downtown. I quickly called in my order and we stopped by on the way.

Philadelphia Roll. Yum Yum Yum. I love Crab, Cream Cheese, and Scallion. No soy sauce, but with cream cheese who cares!

Delish Lunch hold the Bun!

So today at my co-op, our chef offered to make me her new sandwich sans bun. Which is too sweet because I was her biggest cheerleader when it came to her inventive sandwiches before I found out I had Celiac's. Man oh Man. I knew it was going to be good because everything our chef makes is good, but this lunch literally made my week! Who knew a salad would ever truly be able to satiate this Southern Girl!
Sirloin, Roasted Tomatoes, Spinach...Garlic Aioli....mmmmm...
All served with a side of Corn Chowder. This will def hold me until supper!

Anyone ever tried this beer? I'm hopefully picking up a pack today and am excited by the prospects of a delicious beer that I can actually drink! I'm a little "wined" out...

Popcorn?

So popcorn is a weakness of mine. While it may seem like a healthy snack to most, for some reason, popcorn leaves me feeling totally sick like 45 minutes later. I'm not sure if it's the air that comes from the popping process or if my popcorn has some hidden gluten?! I am most hoping that I do not also have an allergy to corn. So I emailed the popcorn company just to be sure there's no hidden gluten, so we'll see what their response is. Until then, I'm going to have to really practice some willpower. I love the taste of popcorn but I hate the after effects!

This cake mix is SO good. My sister even liked it and she can eat gluten. I went to my cousin's wedding and my aunt (who also has Celiac's) gave to mix to the wedding cake baker. So we had our own little Gluten Free cake! It was awesome! I have a handful of family members who have Celiac's so that has helps in coping but it was so nice to be taken into consideration.

I Got Glutened

Ugh. I got glutened. I ordered a bowl of soup and asked if it contained any wheat or gluten, the cook said "No." BUT IT DID! This is so frustrating. I mean I guess I'm just going to learn where I can eat out and who I can trust to know their ingredients. I think I'm going to stop asking, "Does it contain any wheat or gluten?" and say "I am highly allergic to any wheat or grain, does this item contain any?"

I love Sami's Bread

So Sami's Bakery makes a bread that is made with millet and flax flour instead of wheat flours. Their bakery is not exclusively gluten free, so they can't put the label on their packaging BUT this bread totally works for me! The Ingredients: Organic Millet Flour, Brown Rice Flour, Water, Aluminum Free Baking Powder, Sea Salt, Organic Grounded Flax Seed. Really yummy! Our co-op sells out every week so I'm thinking of sticking a loaf in my freezer.

Butterfinger!

Just found out that Butterfingers are Gluten Free!! Yes!

Really? Soy Sauce?

It seems that everyday there is something new that I can't eat. Today, soy sauce. I do realize that I'm still new to the whole gluten-free things but I really should know these things. Not only do I work at a health food store, but I created the store signs to signify Gluten-Free items in our store! Yeah, I know. I guess I wasn't paying attention to what I was marking!