Hello friends! Had to share this recipe that I made the other night! It was a new twist on an old favorite of my family's. Not sure how many of you have tried lentils or know about the many health benefits of lentils? Even if you're brand new to the lentil game or an avid fan of lentils, let me know what you think!
Here's the original recipe:
2 tbsp. of olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 lb. (16 ounce bag) of lentils
1 ham bone or hock
10-12 cups of water
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 lb. of pasta
Parmesan cheese for garnish
Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan. Saute all the vegetables until partially softened. Add lentils, water, and ham, bring to boil and then lower so it simmers. Simmer for approximately 30 mins until the lentils are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook pasta in another pot until desired texture. Strain pasta. Serve pasta and lentils in a bowl, garnish with parmesan cheese.
Now here's MY GF Vegan version:
2 tbsp. of olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 lb. (16 ounce bag) of lentils
1 tbsp. of soy sauce
1 tbsp. red wine (I used marsala since that's what I had in the house)
8- 10 cups of water
Adobo with pepper
1 lb. of Tinkyada pasta
Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan. Saute all the vegetables until partially softened. Add can of crushed tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add lentils and cook with mixture. Then add water and heat to a boil again. Lower and simmer for approximately 30 mins until the lentils are tender. Add Adobo to taste. Cook pasta in another pot until desired texture. Strain pasta. Serve pasta and lentils in a bowl.
This dish really is complete in itself, but if you want to have a vegetable along with it I suggest a fresh salad! Maybe I'll add a salad recipe on here too later...hmmm...
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Sweets for My Sweettooth ;)
My family's restaurant has been looking for gluten free pastries to offer that would be similar to the "gluten" options we have. We're known for our awesome homemade pastries that everyone loves to eat with their Italian specialty coffees! My job, as the resident gluten free "expert", is to find us a company or bakery. By chance my mother happened to go to Bova Food Distributors to pick up some of our Italian espresso beans and saw a sign that there would be a gluten free food demonstration that Saturday. She called me right away. There's two things you should know about me: I like to eat and I like to eat new things. It used to be my job to go to the food shows to find new products, but after my diagnosis it didn't make any sense to send someone who couldn't eat the food!
Saturday morning I had out. My hopes weren't high. Trying gluten free products can sometimes be the equivilant of sampling cardboard, but I held on to a faint sliver of hope. The company doing the demonstration is called "Cookies...for Me?" They're a company that makes cookies (duh) and other treats that are gluten free as well as dairy free, nut free and egg free!!! Of course you hear all of that and imagine that there will be absolutely NO FLAVOR left lol! Boy was I pleasantly surprised! The first thing I tried was a brownie. Now I'm a HUGE fan of chocolate and very picky. These were very good! (Of course my homemade GF brownies are the best I've had ever...but I'm partial and these were a close behind in the deliciousness department) Next I tried the oatmeal cookies. Now even I haven't had issues with the GF oats, I don't make a habit of eating oats anymore. This was the first time I was eating an oatmeal cookies since I started my GF life. And what a very nice treat! I could have eaten the entire tray of samples...I will admit I took two, but I didn't want to be a glutton...
Each thing I tried was great, but overall my favorites were the blueberry muffins and the oatmeal cookies! Success! So hopefully in the next month we'll start carrying Cookies...for Me! Keep an eye out when you stop by the restaurant, you don't want to miss these treats! :)
Saturday morning I had out. My hopes weren't high. Trying gluten free products can sometimes be the equivilant of sampling cardboard, but I held on to a faint sliver of hope. The company doing the demonstration is called "Cookies...for Me?" They're a company that makes cookies (duh) and other treats that are gluten free as well as dairy free, nut free and egg free!!! Of course you hear all of that and imagine that there will be absolutely NO FLAVOR left lol! Boy was I pleasantly surprised! The first thing I tried was a brownie. Now I'm a HUGE fan of chocolate and very picky. These were very good! (Of course my homemade GF brownies are the best I've had ever...but I'm partial and these were a close behind in the deliciousness department) Next I tried the oatmeal cookies. Now even I haven't had issues with the GF oats, I don't make a habit of eating oats anymore. This was the first time I was eating an oatmeal cookies since I started my GF life. And what a very nice treat! I could have eaten the entire tray of samples...I will admit I took two, but I didn't want to be a glutton...
Each thing I tried was great, but overall my favorites were the blueberry muffins and the oatmeal cookies! Success! So hopefully in the next month we'll start carrying Cookies...for Me! Keep an eye out when you stop by the restaurant, you don't want to miss these treats! :)
Friday, August 12, 2011
Dinner for a King!
The last two weeks have felt like a whirlwind! Xavier cut 2 teeth, meaning in short he's been UNBELIEVABLY miserable! I would too if I had 2 teeth come through in the same week! My poor baby... We had a bat in our house for 3 days which always lends for a little extra chaos (because apparently mine doesn't have enough already). And then as if things weren't crazy enough, my office is moving locations so we're in "trying to work out of boxes" stage with T-minus 5 days until launch! Sometimes I would slap my 7 year old self if I could for asking God to give me an exciting life... *shakes head* In the midst of all of this, I'm trying to keep clean clothes on our backs, warm food in our tummies and get as much sleep as I can in the hours that are left. Teething doesn't equal a lot of sleep for mommy and daddy! Though I must give a shout out to my wonderful husband who is very good at taking over with Xavier to give me a "shift" to sleep.
Backing up a little in the story, my son developed his "pincher" grasp around 7 months but it's been difficult to find him foods that he can eat and practice feeding himself without him choking. The gluten free cheerios didn't go so well since they don't dissolve as fast as the regular ones I guess. That whole experience ended with Aunt Maria turning Xavier on his belly which brought the cheerio flying back out (thankfully) of his throat! This made Mama put a NO CHEERIOS UNTIL HE HAS teeth clause in affect! (He had to practice with scrambled eggs and pasta, not as easy but still good) Fast forward to Xavier now having teeth. I decided to give him some of the Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice cereal
I have here. (Which btw is delicious and "snap and crackles" just like the gluten filled Rice Crispies much to my delight!) Not sure why I didn't think of it earlier? He loved it! I should have gotten a video because it was hilarious to watch him. First he put his whole hand on them, making them stick to his fingers. Next he banged his hands against the tray because they would "dance" and he thought that was great fun. Finally he tried one, decided they were awesome and began shoving fistfuls into his mouth!
It was so funny, but I will tell you to expect a MESS! I'll probably be finding crispy brown rice until we move. Alas the joys of having a baby :) These are the moments you'll remember for the rest of your life. Plus anything that will keep him busy, content and out of the stuff he's not supposed to get into while I'm working is a blessing! I'm very grateful to be able to work from home occasionally, but having a crawler presents new challenges. Even trying to make dinner is a new fiasco. If I can't have dinner done or at least together and "cooking" in 15 mins, Xavier's having a meltdown. That's about as long as any activity, even his favorites like playing in his bouncy car, will last. Finding recipes that fit that timing is the latest challenge. Considering the rave review dinner got tonight, I thought I'd share the recipe with you! As you know I'm lousy at measuring, but here's my best "guess" lol.
Coconut-crusted white fish
4 - 4 oz. pieces of fish (I used tilapia this time, but any mild fish should work)
2/3 cup of GF flour (I used Arrowhead Mills All Purpose
)
1 cup of Coconut
1/2 tsp. of Goya Adobo with Black Pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. of Trappey's Red Devil Cayenne Pepper Sauce
Oil for frying (unless you want to bake it, but frying fit my "time schedule")
Blend the flour, coconut, Adobo together in a bowl. Blend the egg and the hot sauce in another bowl. You can add more hot sauce if you want a little extra bite. I just wanted an "accent" flavor. Heat your oil in a pan on medium until it "pops" lightly when you flick water in the pan. Take some flour and coat the fish. Then dip in the egg mixture. Then roll in the coconut mixture. Put the fish in the pan and cook both sides. The fish will "flake" meaning fall apart easily when it's done.
While the fish was cooking, I took a bag of salad and put some in two bowls. Then I cut up a tomato and added some Bhuja cracker mix
. This stuff is great! Especially since croutons in most cases are a no no for us gluten free people. The words on the bag sum it up well "a crispy-crunchy blend of spicy snack nibbles". *Love* My cousin turned me on to it and I've been hooked ever since. Giant Supermarkets by me also has all the gluten free stuff mentioned in this post! Just add your Bhuja to any salad and it tastes exotic. I'm not kidding!
My husband and I sat on our floor with Xavier in his Bumbo
chair and pigged out on our dinner. The food tasted like we should be handed a bill for $75 after we were done eating! It was really THAT good! Don't take my word for it, try it yourself...you will not be disappointed! I don't know what my favorite part about the whole thing was - the fact that it only took approx. 15 mins to prepare or that it was inexpensive to make or that it tasted so good we fought over the last piece of fish! *We shared, don't worry :) So let me know what you think when you try it!
I have here. (Which btw is delicious and "snap and crackles" just like the gluten filled Rice Crispies much to my delight!) Not sure why I didn't think of it earlier? He loved it! I should have gotten a video because it was hilarious to watch him. First he put his whole hand on them, making them stick to his fingers. Next he banged his hands against the tray because they would "dance" and he thought that was great fun. Finally he tried one, decided they were awesome and began shoving fistfuls into his mouth! 
Coconut-crusted white fish
2/3 cup of GF flour (I used Arrowhead Mills All Purpose
)1 cup of Coconut
1/2 tsp. of Goya Adobo with Black Pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. of Trappey's Red Devil Cayenne Pepper Sauce
Oil for frying (unless you want to bake it, but frying fit my "time schedule")
Blend the flour, coconut, Adobo together in a bowl. Blend the egg and the hot sauce in another bowl. You can add more hot sauce if you want a little extra bite. I just wanted an "accent" flavor. Heat your oil in a pan on medium until it "pops" lightly when you flick water in the pan. Take some flour and coat the fish. Then dip in the egg mixture. Then roll in the coconut mixture. Put the fish in the pan and cook both sides. The fish will "flake" meaning fall apart easily when it's done.
. This stuff is great! Especially since croutons in most cases are a no no for us gluten free people. The words on the bag sum it up well "a crispy-crunchy blend of spicy snack nibbles". *Love* My cousin turned me on to it and I've been hooked ever since. Giant Supermarkets by me also has all the gluten free stuff mentioned in this post! Just add your Bhuja to any salad and it tastes exotic. I'm not kidding!My husband and I sat on our floor with Xavier in his Bumbo
chair and pigged out on our dinner. The food tasted like we should be handed a bill for $75 after we were done eating! It was really THAT good! Don't take my word for it, try it yourself...you will not be disappointed! I don't know what my favorite part about the whole thing was - the fact that it only took approx. 15 mins to prepare or that it was inexpensive to make or that it tasted so good we fought over the last piece of fish! *We shared, don't worry :) So let me know what you think when you try it!
Friday, July 22, 2011
Year 2 – We’re still in the Honeymoon Years :)
Sorry everyone for taking a brief hiatus from Social Media Land, but I have been overwhelmed as of late with interacting via SM for work and personally. Normally, me being a social butterfly and all, I enjoy this immensely! Not saying I haven’t enjoyed it; just needed a break to interact with my family and friends in person. You see sometimes my wonderful husband likes to see me w/o my nose in the computer and I like to see him w/o his hands on the xbox controller. Since our anniversary was coming up – July 25th – we were trying to figure out what to do to celebrate. He has to work the actual day of our anniversary. Instead we decided to celebrate the weekend before and my son went to Nonna’s (Grandma’s) house for his very first sleepover!
We thought it prudent to stay fairly close to home since our son is only 8 months and there could be a potential meltdown that would call us home early. We started researching shows, events, etc that were going on in Philly for the weekend at Visit Philly and stumbled upon a show playing at the Wilma Theater entitled “Life in a Marital Institution: 20 years of monogamy in one terrifying hour”. It’s a comedic one man show by James Braly based on his life. We love comedy and it’s our anniversary – perfect! Then I saw that the Bastille Day Re-enactment was on the same day! It was settled, a day in Philly followed by a night of sleep with no baby crying. Sounds like a party to me! Only issue was we were going to be down in Philly for dinner and I wasn’t sure of where we could go to eat that was gluten free friendly.
Enter my twitter friend Michael who has a blog called GFPhilly. His site is a great compilation of all things gluten free in the southeastern PA region. I went on the Eastern State Penitentiary site and then the Wilma Theater site to see which restaurants they listed that were close by. I wrote them all down and then did a comparison with GFPhilly’s restaurants list. I narrowed it down to 4 choices, 2 at each location. We were all set! Let the fun begin!
After dropping our son, Xavier off to his Nonna, I drove home to meet my husband, Ricky. We were supposed to go get his hair cut down in the Northeast, but were running behind schedule. I was a mess…I didn’t have anything completely ready…I looked a sight because I spent all my time getting Xavier ready and not myself! Needless to say, Ricky had to cancel his hair appointment due to a meltdown by yours truly. Finally we got everything together and hit the road. We arrived with 30 mins to spare before the re-enactment started at the Eastern State Penitentiary. We wandered around the “French themed” market they had set up, looking at all the different things people were wearing, selling and more. About 2 blocks up we saw a restaurant called Fare. This was one of the restaurants I had on my list! We asked for a takeout menu so we could see what they had and if there was anything we liked or not. We headed back to claim a space in front of the entrance and stood there reading the menu which started our mouths watering.Having never attended a re-enactment of Bastille Day in all of the 16 years that’s it’s been in existence, we had no idea what to expect. But we weren’t disappointed! Who wouldn’t love a storming of the garrison ala Monty Python complete with super soakers, a working guillotine and a hail storm of TastyKakes thrown over the wall as Marie Antoinette hollers “Let them eat TastyKake”?! Ricky, being rather tall, caught quite a few but gave them away since only he could eat them. When are you getting some gluten free options TastyKake? Hmmm?
Apparently standing in the hot sun watching a re-enactment makes you hungry…or maybe it was just reading the menu, but Fare won in our restaurant choices! We headed there directly after and it did NOT disappoint! The food was delicious, the service was great and there was only 1 item on the menu that they couldn’t make gluten free!!! Here’s the menu so you can take a gander yourself. We had a salad with mixed greens and veggies, white miso dressing, pepitas and currants for an appetizer. Then for our entrees, we had grilled cumin crusted pork tenderloin and duck confit. I felt like a complete glutton like Marie Antoinette by the time we were done J Note: next year – I’ll dressing up and I’ll be eating at Fare again!
Once we finished we headed over to the Wilma Theater for the show. I’m not a huge fan of one man shows, not knocking them, just not my favorite generally…James Braly caught your attention from the first word and didn’t let go until the very last! It was brilliant and disturbing and hilarious…and surprisingly profound… We enjoyed ourselves and if you’re ever wondering whether Ricky liked a show, movie or whatnot…just wait and if he quotes lines the next few days, he enjoyed it J This time we were both quoting lines lol! It’s a shame it only ran for 5 days here in Philly because I definitely know of some people who would’ve enjoyed it. If you get the chance and it plays near you, go see it! You won’t be disappointed.
Finally the day did come to an end and we were looking forward to sleeping through the night for the first time in 8 months! Alas this was not meant to be…at least for mommy…she had a dream about her baby and had to get up and pump at 3:30 am! Oh well…a few miles north apparently a certain baby boy was awake and refusing to sleep at the same time! Overall Xavier did really well for his first sleepover, but by morning he went on hunger strike and refused to eat until we got there and I finally nursed him at noon. *Shaking my head* Boy is he stubborn…wonder where he gets that from? Hmmm… It was a great anniversary and I didn’t faint this year! Yay me!
(For those of you who did not follow my pregnancy blog, I passed out in a diner last year when we went out for breakfast J)
Saturday, June 25, 2011
The Antithesis of Martha Stewart = ME
Trying something different...let me know what you think :)
A side note...when I talk about putting your feet up and getting a good night's sleep, I mean around 5 hours :) When you have small children 5 hours in a row is A RARITY!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
It's so yummy, I'm gonna die!!!
Okay maybe not die, but boy oh boy is this good! Yes, my friends, you all have been waiting and now is the big reveal!
Wait...maybe I should preface with a little backstory...
This dessert was a favorite of mine before I went gluten free :) After transitioning to gluten free living it went on the back burner as I discovered new things to try. THEN I made the mistake of buying Corn Flake crumbs to use as bread crumbs...Kellogs Corn Flakes are NOT gluten free! (Malt is a big No No!) So I have a perfectly good box of crumbs sitting on my counter if anyone wants it? (Those of you who are not GF of course!) Anyway, on the back was the long forgotten recipe! I wanted to try it SO bad, but I didn't know where to find gluten free corn flakes...enter Erewhon (and dairy free and organic WIN!) corn flakes which my Twitter friend Annelies at Attune Foods introduced me to! Woohoo! It was on!
Into the food processor the corn flakes went...til I had some nice crumbs... Then I add some melted margarine and sugar, mixed and pressed them into a pan to make a crust.
It was painful to wait for them to cool... just saying... I finally caved and cut into them while they were still warm! But I would recommend to let it chill or set over night for the best results when cutting it into bars. I didn't need it to be pretty to shove EVERY last crumb of the crumbling piece I cut into my awaiting mouth : D I did leave the rest in the pan to chill over night, hense the pretty picture!
Trust me, they taste as good as they look! Now that you're dying to try these bad boys, here is the recipe for my GF/DF version of the 5 Layer Bars:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees :)
1 1/2 cups Erewhon GF corn flakes, crushed into crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted margarine
1 cup Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, Gluten, Dairy & Soy Free, 10-Ounce Bags (Pack of 6)
1 1/3 cups coconut flakes
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
1 can of coconut milk
Stir together the corn flakes, sugar and margarine, press into a crust in a 9 x 13 pan. (I would slightly grease the pan to make sure that none of it sticks even though you're using margarine for the crust. I didn't and mine stuck on one side slightly!) Layer the chocolate chips, coconut and walnuts evenly. I layered them twice to make sure it came out nicely blended at the end! Pour the coconut milk over the top, covering it evenly. Bake for 25 minutes or until browned on the edges. Cool, cut into bars and serve! Just a thought, freezing these would be an awesome summer dessert for after the bbq! ;) The best part, you can get creative. Add/subtract, etc whatever your little heart desires! Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear from you.
Wait...maybe I should preface with a little backstory...
This dessert was a favorite of mine before I went gluten free :) After transitioning to gluten free living it went on the back burner as I discovered new things to try. THEN I made the mistake of buying Corn Flake crumbs to use as bread crumbs...Kellogs Corn Flakes are NOT gluten free! (Malt is a big No No!) So I have a perfectly good box of crumbs sitting on my counter if anyone wants it? (Those of you who are not GF of course!) Anyway, on the back was the long forgotten recipe! I wanted to try it SO bad, but I didn't know where to find gluten free corn flakes...enter Erewhon (and dairy free and organic WIN!) corn flakes which my Twitter friend Annelies at Attune Foods introduced me to! Woohoo! It was on!
Now it's important to note - The original recipe was NOT gluten free and NOT dairy free...so I had a bit of a challenge in front of me. In particular the recipe called for condensed milk. I was at a loss for a minute as to what to substitute, but then came up with the bright idea to try canned coconut milk! Canned coconut milk has guar gum added to it that makes it a similar consistency to condensed milk.
After the crust was pressed in...I added more good stuff :) Chocolate chips, shredded coconut, crushed walnuts (the recipe also called for butterscotch chips but I never used them before because I found it to be TOO much!) Finally after layering up the goodness, I topped it all off with the coconut milk.
Now it doesn't look that good before it goes in the oven, but trust me ;) By the way, I always get to this point and realize that I haven't pre-heated the oven...this is why I will never have my own cooking show! Or maybe I will, "The Accidental Chef" tm (Haha)! Once the oven reached 350 degrees, in the goopy stuff went! The recipe called for 25 mins, but it took about 3-5 mins longer because of the coconut milk. I pulled them out when they were golden brown around the edges.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees :)
1 1/2 cups Erewhon GF corn flakes, crushed into crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted margarine
1 cup Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, Gluten, Dairy & Soy Free, 10-Ounce Bags (Pack of 6)
1 1/3 cups coconut flakes
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
1 can of coconut milk
Stir together the corn flakes, sugar and margarine, press into a crust in a 9 x 13 pan. (I would slightly grease the pan to make sure that none of it sticks even though you're using margarine for the crust. I didn't and mine stuck on one side slightly!) Layer the chocolate chips, coconut and walnuts evenly. I layered them twice to make sure it came out nicely blended at the end! Pour the coconut milk over the top, covering it evenly. Bake for 25 minutes or until browned on the edges. Cool, cut into bars and serve! Just a thought, freezing these would be an awesome summer dessert for after the bbq! ;) The best part, you can get creative. Add/subtract, etc whatever your little heart desires! Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear from you.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
To Mum Mum or not to Mum Mum...
That my friends is the question... We got the Mum Mum baby teething bisquits/crackers to try and review for you all. Since this product was for my baby and not for me, I decided to give him the first say in this review.After many trips to various stores in search of a gluten free, milk free, organic baby teething biscuit, my cousin finally found Mum Mum teething biscuits online at Amazon for me. The ingredients are japonica rice, sugar, potato starch, salt, all USDA certified organic! When they arrived I read over the box and saw that they did list "may contain traces of milk" in the allergen warning, but this didn't concern me due to the fact that my son has eaten other things with this type of warning (by mistake) without having any incidences. Generally "may contain traces of milk" means that the company processes milk in the same plant where something is made and they put a warning so you "eat at your own risk" type of thing. IF your child is severely allergic to milk, I would NOT recommend risking them eating the biscuits even if it's only "made in the same plant". *Please see my note at the end after talking with a company representative My son has eaten them for the last 4 days and has had no issues or allergic reactions. (Again, if he had a SEVERE allergy I would NOT have risked it!!! Your child's health is very important!)
As you can see in the video, he was a little confused by them at first :) He was content just to use them as a drumstick on his highchair tray. Food that doubles as a toy is ALWAYS fun! I had to help him out a bit so he would taste it before I ran out of video space lol! His initial reation was better than most foods when he tries them for the first time! Usually he pulls a really yucky face like he's tasting a lemon, but not this time. He tried to "bite" a piece off. The texture of the biscuits/crackers doesn't allow for them to break pieces off easily which I was very happy about! The biscuit seemed to dissolve quickly. My son made a royal mess once he managed to gnaw down a good portion of it! He also tried to put the whole thing in his mouth. This can't be done simply <- very good thing, but I would still recommend that you are ALWAYS in the room watching your child whenever they're eating solid food, especially for the first time!
After videotaping his trial, I decided I needed to try one to give an objective opinion. I used my lips to try to mimic a baby's gumming action (NO I did not videotape myself doing this lol). The only way I could get it to break while "gumming" was to bend it down or up with force. This is great since most babies will not be able to break off big dangerous pieces! The taste was very good, sort of like a rice cake but a smoother texture and slightly sweeter. There is 1 gram of sugar in these teething crackers. It dissolved quickly and was easy to swallow! If your child is a normal eater, you probably won't have much of a mess. My son likes to try to swallow his food whole because it can't get in his stomach fast enough! This creates a bit of a mess, but still nothing major or out of the ordinary. I only got one bite before my son was reaching and grabbing for MY bisquit! I decided to let him finish it since they're technically his anyway :)
One of the nicest things about this product is the crackers are individually wrapped in packs of two for easy transport in a diaper bag, purse, etc! Now I have something simple to bring on outings! My son is very aware of food at this point and wants to eat whenever I'm eating. He also wants to gnaw on things constantly since he's officially teething. This spares me having to keep him off of shopping carts, restaurant tables, etc that he thinks are better teething toys then the ones I give him! Thankfully he likes these crackers more!
My only complaints:
1. No stores around me carry these teething crackers! At least I have not been able to find them in any!
Here's the list on their website
2. They do make a HUGE mess if you have a messy eater like mine! But come off clothes if you use HOT water.
Ultimately, you know your child. If I ever have any doubts about a product, I will not give them to my child. The fact that they are USDA certified makes me feel more confident that this product has gone through at least slightly more strigent testing. I have an email into the company requesting information on the milk statement so I can give you a better answer. This will also tell us how long it takes to get a customer service response ;) *Note Added: 6/15/11 - Spoke with a gentleman from Mum Mum! The crackers are produced on the same equipment as milk containing products, BUT they completely clean equipment in between to avoid cross contamination. Due to the potential risk of missing something, they add the "may contain traces of milk" statement. :)
If you’ve already tried them or decide to try them, let me know what your thoughts are!
Hot Kid Organic Baby Mum-Mum Original Flavor Rice Biscuit, 24-Count (Pack of 6)
Friday, June 3, 2011
Celiac Awareness - Year Round!
The idea of having a Celiac Awareness Year was posed by some friends on Twitter. While that might be a little difficult to get going, I came up with an alternative that could have a big impact if we work together! From now on, starting in July, I'm going to celebrate the 1st day of every month as Celiac Awareness Day. In my phone calendar I have reminders set up for the rest of the year. If each of you decide to follow and tell one person who tells one person...it just might go viral! Heaven knows things a lot less important go "viral" every day! : P PLEASE JOIN ME!!!
In other GF news, my family's restaurant has a new gluten free menu that will be unveiled next week! Stay tuned if you live anywhere near the Lansdale, PA area or take Septa's Lansdale/Doylestown train line up or down town (or just want to take a trip to visit for the heck of it!) I've been enjoying the food for years, but had to stop eating a lot of it once I was diagnosed. Thankfully, my family has allowed me to work with them to offer the delicious sandwiches and Italian coffees that I love so much in gluten free versions! :)
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
You might be Celiac, if...
Over the last two years living gluten free, I've come across emails, forums, etc that have a list of "You might be Celiac, if..." same concept of the Jeff Foxworthy redneck jokes except celiac themed. They always make me chuckle and the longer I live gluten free the more I come to appreciate and relate to them! One of my favorites is "You might be Celiac, if you brown-bag it to a black tie affair!" About 3 1/2 months into my gluten free existence, my brand new husband and I were freshly back from our honeymoon. The stars were shining bright in our eyes and our heads were way above in the clouds! We were invited to the wedding of a co-worker and friend of my husband's. The biggest concern that ever crossed my mind was what in heavens was I going to wear!
The idea that I may not be able to eat anything served at this wedding never even crossed my mind until my butt was firmly planted on a chair on the lawn of a fancy country club watching the beautiful bride make her way down the aisle. That's when I had my @#$% moment <- (generally when I realize I've done something stupid, my thoughts are hardly mommy friendly...I'm working on it, but at least they don't come out my mouth lol!) How could I miss something this important! Okay, well chances are there will be something non-breaded like roast beef or something they slice pieces off of with a big knife that hopefully didn't touch anything gluten or have any seasonings that have gluten... Honestly I was horribly distracted the rest of the ceremony, but I can tell you it was very nice and everyone looked great!
Once everyone filed into the reception hall, I looked over the buffet table and thought, "Okay there's some stuff that's a possibility...maybe..." The last thing I wanted to do was ask the bride and groom if they knew about the contents of their wedding feast! That was definitely NOT something they should be concerned with right then! I waited until everyone was seated and snuck out to the "bathroom" by way of the kitchen lol :) The kitchen staff were a little confused by my presence, but I quickly located the guy who seemed to be in charge. I proceeded to explain the situation to him and asked if there was anything plain or something they had in the back that could be prepared separately or if ANYTHING on the buffet table was safe?! I figured, at who knows what unGodly price a plate these places charge for me to be sitting there, they would be able to work some magic! I'll never forget what this man told me. He said, "I'm very sorry, but everything is cooked in the same pans and work space. I really don't want you to eat anything and I'm not going to risk making you anything. That's a liability to our establishment!" I was floored. I stood there mouth gaping. He ushered me out of the kitchen all the while apologizing profusely! Sometimes I wish I had let him have it, but I wasn't about to make things awkward for our friends! This was their day; my drama WASN'T going to spoil it!!!
I slunked back to the table. My husband could tell by my expression that it didn't go well. He refused to eat if I couldn't eat anything so we decided to "cut class" and sneak out of the wedding! Our goal was to leave, get food and be back before the bride and groom realized we were gone :) Thankfully there was a Wendy's fairly close by so this didn't seem like an impossible task! We giggled to ourselves as we exited, running to our car as if on some great secret mission. We must have looked a sight walking into that Wendy's, me in a floor length asian themed strapless, him in a three piece suit! People visiably gaped... The guy at the counter barely made eye contact as he asked, "Can I take your order?" But when I started to describe how I needed my food prepared, he finally caught a glimpse of our clothing and did a double take!
Sitting at one of the small tables, enjoying our contraband, my husband started talking about going to another fast food joint after except this time when we walked in I should slap him and say, "THIS is where you're taking me on our first date you jerk!" :) We had a good laugh coming up with a whole bunch of scenarios of things we could do in our dress clothes to mess with people's minds! It turned into so much fun by the time we got back to the wedding and told the rest of the people at our table, we were even talking about adding it to our monthly "date night" just for giggles! The best part was we were successful, the bride and groom never even knew we left and we didn't miss out on any of the wedding fun!
I learned my lesson after that wedding, now I try to bring some type of food in my purse or a cooler bag in the car that I can easily sneak in to places if need be! Most places won't give you a hard time though if you explain that you have a food allergy and need to eat your own food. Actually one time I packed up a bowl of soup to bring to the diner just so I could hang out with some friends who were eating there. I bought a glass of OJ so I wasn't using their napkins for nothing lol, but they were happy to let me do what I had to do. Now with everything I have to remember for my baby, I've find myself forgetting to pack ME a lunch yet again. Still, things are so much easier these days with people's awareness of food allergies growing and gluten free options in many places! Even my family's restaurant is adding a gluten free menu in the next couple weeks! Hang in there, my gluten free friends, you never know what adventure you might have on this gluten free journey!
 |
| The cake topper from my wedding :) |
Once everyone filed into the reception hall, I looked over the buffet table and thought, "Okay there's some stuff that's a possibility...maybe..." The last thing I wanted to do was ask the bride and groom if they knew about the contents of their wedding feast! That was definitely NOT something they should be concerned with right then! I waited until everyone was seated and snuck out to the "bathroom" by way of the kitchen lol :) The kitchen staff were a little confused by my presence, but I quickly located the guy who seemed to be in charge. I proceeded to explain the situation to him and asked if there was anything plain or something they had in the back that could be prepared separately or if ANYTHING on the buffet table was safe?! I figured, at who knows what unGodly price a plate these places charge for me to be sitting there, they would be able to work some magic! I'll never forget what this man told me. He said, "I'm very sorry, but everything is cooked in the same pans and work space. I really don't want you to eat anything and I'm not going to risk making you anything. That's a liability to our establishment!" I was floored. I stood there mouth gaping. He ushered me out of the kitchen all the while apologizing profusely! Sometimes I wish I had let him have it, but I wasn't about to make things awkward for our friends! This was their day; my drama WASN'T going to spoil it!!!
I slunked back to the table. My husband could tell by my expression that it didn't go well. He refused to eat if I couldn't eat anything so we decided to "cut class" and sneak out of the wedding! Our goal was to leave, get food and be back before the bride and groom realized we were gone :) Thankfully there was a Wendy's fairly close by so this didn't seem like an impossible task! We giggled to ourselves as we exited, running to our car as if on some great secret mission. We must have looked a sight walking into that Wendy's, me in a floor length asian themed strapless, him in a three piece suit! People visiably gaped... The guy at the counter barely made eye contact as he asked, "Can I take your order?" But when I started to describe how I needed my food prepared, he finally caught a glimpse of our clothing and did a double take!
Sitting at one of the small tables, enjoying our contraband, my husband started talking about going to another fast food joint after except this time when we walked in I should slap him and say, "THIS is where you're taking me on our first date you jerk!" :) We had a good laugh coming up with a whole bunch of scenarios of things we could do in our dress clothes to mess with people's minds! It turned into so much fun by the time we got back to the wedding and told the rest of the people at our table, we were even talking about adding it to our monthly "date night" just for giggles! The best part was we were successful, the bride and groom never even knew we left and we didn't miss out on any of the wedding fun!
I learned my lesson after that wedding, now I try to bring some type of food in my purse or a cooler bag in the car that I can easily sneak in to places if need be! Most places won't give you a hard time though if you explain that you have a food allergy and need to eat your own food. Actually one time I packed up a bowl of soup to bring to the diner just so I could hang out with some friends who were eating there. I bought a glass of OJ so I wasn't using their napkins for nothing lol, but they were happy to let me do what I had to do. Now with everything I have to remember for my baby, I've find myself forgetting to pack ME a lunch yet again. Still, things are so much easier these days with people's awareness of food allergies growing and gluten free options in many places! Even my family's restaurant is adding a gluten free menu in the next couple weeks! Hang in there, my gluten free friends, you never know what adventure you might have on this gluten free journey!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Are you hungry yet?
We tend to eat a lot of chicken and fish when we eat meat; beef used to break things up occasionally but now that we're "cow-free" beef is OUT. Trust me you start to run out of variety after a while especially when it comes to chicken. One of the things I like to do on the weekends is roast a whole chicken that I can cut up and use for other meals or send with my husband for lunch. The typical Italian way to make it is with Italian seasonings (ie: parsley, oregano, basil, etc), garlic, onions and olive oil inside and poked into the meat itself.
Then we went to Bonefish Grill (a great GF option!) and had their chimicurri sauce. I fell in love and decided to look up a recipe. Well, like always I decided to make my own version :) SO I'm sharing my version with you...of course I never measure anything, it's all to taste but I did the best I could to write it down. My suggestion, dip your finger in a sample once it's all assembled BEFORE you put this on the chicken and defile it with raw chicken bacteria! I don't want anyone going to the hospital!
Normally chimicurri is known for parsley and olive oil as the base, but when I made it I only had a little parsley and not the 1 cup of parsley they asked for leaving me to get creative. What I did have was cilantro! Below is what I came up with:
1 cup parsley -> substitute 1 cup cilantro and add in a few shakes of the dried parsley
3/4 extra virgin olive oil
3 tbs. red wine (or red wine vinegar, I use a combo of 6 tbs. red wine and marsala wine)
2 tbs. oregano (fresh is always better but I used dry this time)
2 tsp. Goya Adobo (I added more to taste after everything was mixed)
3 cloves chopped garlic (I added way more than this actually!)
1 small onion chopped
1/2 tbs. GF hot sauce
Here's the original recipe that I "doctored. I chopped the "solids" in a food processor before blending the liquids and solids all together in a bowl.
Once everything is together and stirred well, I take a taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. As I said before, I start out with measurements and quickly walk off the paper with additions lol! Now here's the really important part: I used a 5 pound chicken, if you are using a bigger chicken you will probably need more ingredients so you have enough of the sauce to use as "gravy" or for other recipes later on in the week. Now that everything's together poke a bunch of holes in the chicken and make sure the inside is empty of the guts. Then take the chimicurri sauce and spread with your hands over the chicken, making sure you poke garlic and onions into the holes you made along with the sauce. Add some sauce inside the chicken as well. The secret to a juicy chicken is to bake it for the first 15-20 mins on 450 degrees and then lower to 325 degrees for the rest of the time it need to bake. This "shocks" the outside locking in the flavor! Mine took about 2 hours to cook, but it really depends on your oven!
In the pan with the chicken I roasted carrots, they tasted great but you don't have to cook anything with it (made it a little difficult to scoop out just the sauce to put over stuff). I also made mashed potatoes to go along with this, the chimicurri sauce is AMAZING over the mashed potatoes! You can make whatever veggie you want. Chicken goes with anything. Do yourself a favor and cut up the chicken for leftovers when it's still warm not cold from the refrigerator. (I've done both and learned the hard way!) It's a lot easier, plus you can separate different portion sizes for the rest of the week.
There's another chicken sitting in my refrigerator waiting to be turned into yummy goodness, alas a birthday party calls me away from the kitchen! It will have it's day though :) Enjoy everyone, let me know what you think!
Then we went to Bonefish Grill (a great GF option!) and had their chimicurri sauce. I fell in love and decided to look up a recipe. Well, like always I decided to make my own version :) SO I'm sharing my version with you...of course I never measure anything, it's all to taste but I did the best I could to write it down. My suggestion, dip your finger in a sample once it's all assembled BEFORE you put this on the chicken and defile it with raw chicken bacteria! I don't want anyone going to the hospital!
Normally chimicurri is known for parsley and olive oil as the base, but when I made it I only had a little parsley and not the 1 cup of parsley they asked for leaving me to get creative. What I did have was cilantro! Below is what I came up with:
1 cup parsley -> substitute 1 cup cilantro and add in a few shakes of the dried parsley
3/4 extra virgin olive oil
3 tbs. red wine (or red wine vinegar, I use a combo of 6 tbs. red wine and marsala wine)
2 tbs. oregano (fresh is always better but I used dry this time)
2 tsp. Goya Adobo (I added more to taste after everything was mixed)
3 cloves chopped garlic (I added way more than this actually!)
1 small onion chopped
1/2 tbs. GF hot sauce
Here's the original recipe that I "doctored. I chopped the "solids" in a food processor before blending the liquids and solids all together in a bowl.
Once everything is together and stirred well, I take a taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. As I said before, I start out with measurements and quickly walk off the paper with additions lol! Now here's the really important part: I used a 5 pound chicken, if you are using a bigger chicken you will probably need more ingredients so you have enough of the sauce to use as "gravy" or for other recipes later on in the week. Now that everything's together poke a bunch of holes in the chicken and make sure the inside is empty of the guts. Then take the chimicurri sauce and spread with your hands over the chicken, making sure you poke garlic and onions into the holes you made along with the sauce. Add some sauce inside the chicken as well. The secret to a juicy chicken is to bake it for the first 15-20 mins on 450 degrees and then lower to 325 degrees for the rest of the time it need to bake. This "shocks" the outside locking in the flavor! Mine took about 2 hours to cook, but it really depends on your oven!
In the pan with the chicken I roasted carrots, they tasted great but you don't have to cook anything with it (made it a little difficult to scoop out just the sauce to put over stuff). I also made mashed potatoes to go along with this, the chimicurri sauce is AMAZING over the mashed potatoes! You can make whatever veggie you want. Chicken goes with anything. Do yourself a favor and cut up the chicken for leftovers when it's still warm not cold from the refrigerator. (I've done both and learned the hard way!) It's a lot easier, plus you can separate different portion sizes for the rest of the week.
There's another chicken sitting in my refrigerator waiting to be turned into yummy goodness, alas a birthday party calls me away from the kitchen! It will have it's day though :) Enjoy everyone, let me know what you think!
Friday, May 20, 2011
My journey to Gluten Free'dom
For those of you who live gluten free I think you will agree with me that you're life is divided into two very unique periods - your Pre-GF life and your Post-GF life. For our friends and relatives it may be hard to grasp and understand exactly how drastically our lives change with a celiac diagnosis. Don't get me wrong, for us the physical changes far outweigh the challenging sacrifices, but others on the outside looking in may not be able to fully comprehend what we have gone through. This post is for them, our friends and family. In honor of Celiac Awareness Month, I share with you my journey to what I like to call Gluten Free'dom.
As long as I can remember I was a little slip of a thing, didn't grow very tall, couldn't gain weight. My family called me "magra" meaning "skinny" in Italian as a nickname. My dad would sing the song "Skinny Lena" to me. People envied the fact that I could eat anything and not gain an ounce. But around 13/14 years old, my energy would lag, I would get dizzy, I bruised terribly from the smallest bump, I caught EVERY cold, flu, etc around me and it kept getting worse. By 18, I was hospitalized because I got the flu so bad that I couldn't keep anything down; my sugar and blood pressure dropped dangerously low. They wanted to send me to a psychologist! They insisted that I was hiding an anorexia issue.
It seemed like each year brought new symptoms, my hands and feet tingled but I was told it was just bad circulation. My period was horribly irregular and every method they tried just made me feel worse. Every morning I woke up sick to my stomach and the nausea would come back off and on through out the day. Finally 3 years ago, it got so bad I was embarrassed to go in public. Not to be vulgar, but I didn't know when an attack of diarrhea or gas would hit me! I hated to eat; I would have stabbing knife-like pains in my intestines for hours. To be honest, no one wanted to use the bathroom after me and that's about the nicest way I can put it! My hair, skin, and nails were dry, dull and brittle. I had pain in my joints and back. I felt like I was 80 years old instead of my 20's!
I kept going to the doctor. My iron was low...I was calcium deficient...the list went on, but adding vitamins, eating healthy and exercising weren't helping... Then one visit the doctor wasn't available, instead I saw the physician's assistant. At this point I was sure they were going to tell me I was terminal - I felt that awful! She was young, fresh out of college which in my case was my saving grace. As soon as she heard my list of symptoms she asked if I had been tested for celiac disease. In my head I'm thinking "Yup, this is it! I'd better start writing my will!" She briefly explained what celiac disease is and I thought, "Okay it's not terminal, we can deal with this!" - At this point I wanted to feel better and as long as it wasn't fatal, I didn't care what it was going to take! That was until I got home and decided to google "Celiac Disease". Then the reality of what this would mean to my life started to sink in. But I held out hope, maybe this was all just a coincidence. Nah, it couldn't be little ol'gluten making me this sick, could it?!
Then the results were in and I had to face the reality that I would have to be gluten free from this point on. *Cue meltdown* I went from relief to finally knowing what the problem was to complete basket case in 2.5 seconds... As far as I was concerned my life was over. I would never be able to eat out again, never be able to eat the fresh Italian bread that would come into the restaurant in the early morning delivery, never be able to eat cake and cookies and...I just kept going, everywhere I looked there was something I couldn't eat! By day 2, I was in a funk so deep I could barely crack a smile. Not to mention my wedding was in 3 months and now all I could think was, "I can't even eat the food at my wedding!!!" By day 3, my fiance had had enough! He decided to make it his personal mission to find EVERYTHING on earth that I still COULD eat. By the end of the week, it became contagious! I "devoured" anything and everything I could find on the internet about celiac and gluten free living. At the time I was back living with my parents temporarily until our wedding so I printed off tons of material on cross contamination and passed it out to my family. To this day, the cross contamination checklist I printed off for the refrigerator hangs on my fridge.
My family was truly supportive (and continue to be) which made my transition that much easier. My fiance and I got married 3 months later; our wedding was catered by our fathers who worked tirelessly to make food for 200+ people and make sure I had GF versions of everything! My now husband took it upon himself to agree to eat 100% GF while in our home to prevent the risk of cross contamination. On our honeymoon he ate gluten free with me and if we couldn't find something GF right away, he waited to eat until I could eat. That's when you know you have a great man :) He's been my inspiration through all of this new chapter in my life.
It's only been 2 years this past April for me, but I feel like an entire lifetime has passed by in that time. I've relearned how to eat, cook, shop, eat-out, travel...and so much more. I feel like a million bucks and last February I got the best gift ever, I got pregnant with my precious little boy! My hope is he'll outgrow his milk allergy and won't have to live with a permanent food allergy. I know in a lot of ways gluten free and dairy free are a better choice health wise, but I'd like him to be able to experience food without reservations first before he makes his own lifestyle choices. Would I ever go back? Do I ever miss gluten foods? Sometimes I imagine my favorite gluten foods...Cheez Its are one that I miss a lot...but then I remember how sick I felt all the time and how good I feel now! Sure, living GF has it's challenges; finally having a healthy body full of energy and life far outweighs any of them! So the next time you think about asking your GF friend "Can't you just have a little taste?", remember even a little bit of poison can kill you! We make this choice so we can live and live well. This Celiac Awareness Month take the time to go out and try something gluten free with your celiac friend, you might just be surprised! :)
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| Me right before my diagnosis, I was 94 pnds |
It seemed like each year brought new symptoms, my hands and feet tingled but I was told it was just bad circulation. My period was horribly irregular and every method they tried just made me feel worse. Every morning I woke up sick to my stomach and the nausea would come back off and on through out the day. Finally 3 years ago, it got so bad I was embarrassed to go in public. Not to be vulgar, but I didn't know when an attack of diarrhea or gas would hit me! I hated to eat; I would have stabbing knife-like pains in my intestines for hours. To be honest, no one wanted to use the bathroom after me and that's about the nicest way I can put it! My hair, skin, and nails were dry, dull and brittle. I had pain in my joints and back. I felt like I was 80 years old instead of my 20's!
I kept going to the doctor. My iron was low...I was calcium deficient...the list went on, but adding vitamins, eating healthy and exercising weren't helping... Then one visit the doctor wasn't available, instead I saw the physician's assistant. At this point I was sure they were going to tell me I was terminal - I felt that awful! She was young, fresh out of college which in my case was my saving grace. As soon as she heard my list of symptoms she asked if I had been tested for celiac disease. In my head I'm thinking "Yup, this is it! I'd better start writing my will!" She briefly explained what celiac disease is and I thought, "Okay it's not terminal, we can deal with this!" - At this point I wanted to feel better and as long as it wasn't fatal, I didn't care what it was going to take! That was until I got home and decided to google "Celiac Disease". Then the reality of what this would mean to my life started to sink in. But I held out hope, maybe this was all just a coincidence. Nah, it couldn't be little ol'gluten making me this sick, could it?!
Then the results were in and I had to face the reality that I would have to be gluten free from this point on. *Cue meltdown* I went from relief to finally knowing what the problem was to complete basket case in 2.5 seconds... As far as I was concerned my life was over. I would never be able to eat out again, never be able to eat the fresh Italian bread that would come into the restaurant in the early morning delivery, never be able to eat cake and cookies and...I just kept going, everywhere I looked there was something I couldn't eat! By day 2, I was in a funk so deep I could barely crack a smile. Not to mention my wedding was in 3 months and now all I could think was, "I can't even eat the food at my wedding!!!" By day 3, my fiance had had enough! He decided to make it his personal mission to find EVERYTHING on earth that I still COULD eat. By the end of the week, it became contagious! I "devoured" anything and everything I could find on the internet about celiac and gluten free living. At the time I was back living with my parents temporarily until our wedding so I printed off tons of material on cross contamination and passed it out to my family. To this day, the cross contamination checklist I printed off for the refrigerator hangs on my fridge.
My family was truly supportive (and continue to be) which made my transition that much easier. My fiance and I got married 3 months later; our wedding was catered by our fathers who worked tirelessly to make food for 200+ people and make sure I had GF versions of everything! My now husband took it upon himself to agree to eat 100% GF while in our home to prevent the risk of cross contamination. On our honeymoon he ate gluten free with me and if we couldn't find something GF right away, he waited to eat until I could eat. That's when you know you have a great man :) He's been my inspiration through all of this new chapter in my life.
 |
| My son and I when he was 3 months old |
Monday, May 16, 2011
What homework?
Yeah, yeah, I'm supposed to be doing homework. At the moment I don't feel like it. The idea of wrapping my head around statistical equations makes my eyes cross at the moment. I had planned to make a really nice dinner tonight of gf fried eggplant sandwiches, but a cranky baby left my husband unable to finish the pile of dishes in the sink. Add to this getting out of work late and my idea went south with the birds. Thankfully we both aren't picky eaters. You learn to roll with the punches when you live a crazy life. It's pretty standard to have your idea of a gourmet gf/df eggplant parm turn into fried eggs and bacon...one pan, two plates...done.
For those of you who do want to know my recipe for gf/df eggplant parm, here's the basics:
Ingredients
1 eggplant
1 egg
GF bread crumbs (I use Choice Batter, absorbs less grease)
Parsley
Garlic Powder
Vegetable oil
Frying pan
Tomato sauce
(I make a big pot and freeze small portions to pull out later, but you can use whatever you prefer)
Daiya mozzarella
Preparation
Beat egg in a bowl. Fill a second shallow bowl with bread crumbs, add parsley and garlic powder for some extra flavor. Slice your egg plant into thin discs. (the thin slices fry up quickly and absorb less grease) Dip eggplant slices into egg and than into bread crumbs. Set aside onto a dish. Fill frying pan with vegetable oil until there's a shallow pool for the eggplant to fry in. Heat oil on medium high heat. Lower to medium when oil is heated up. Fry eggplant slices until golden brown. Place cooked eggplant on dish covered with papertowel to cool and drain.
Normally I fry the eggplant up the day before and put the parm together when they're cold from the fridge the next night. (The night I fry the eggplant, we make "fried eggplant sandwiches". All this means is you take the hot fresh eggplant and put it on your gf roll of choice, add some sauce and eat it up :) So to finish this recipe, take the cold fried eggplant from your fridge and line a 9x13 pan with a single layer. Then coat with tomato sauce. Finish that layer off with a generous sprinkle of vegan mozzarella cheese. Repeat the layers of eggplant, sauce and cheese. Once you're out of eggplant or room in your pan, pop in the oven at 350 degrees until the parm is hot all the way through and the cheese is melted. For those of you who don't like a crispy top, you can cover the top with aluminum foil - But I personally think not having a crispy top is a waste!
Tomorrow's another day...I have all the ingredients and now a dirty dishless kitchen...here's to a delicious hot gf fried eggplant sandwich to be! Don't forget - May is Celiac Awareness Month! I want to dedicate this year's celiac awareness month to my uncle who was just diagnosed with celiac a few months ago. Welcome to the gluten free family Uncle Louie!
For those of you who do want to know my recipe for gf/df eggplant parm, here's the basics:
Ingredients
1 eggplant
1 egg
GF bread crumbs (I use Choice Batter, absorbs less grease)
Parsley
Garlic Powder
Vegetable oil
Frying pan
Tomato sauce
(I make a big pot and freeze small portions to pull out later, but you can use whatever you prefer)
Daiya mozzarella
Preparation
Beat egg in a bowl. Fill a second shallow bowl with bread crumbs, add parsley and garlic powder for some extra flavor. Slice your egg plant into thin discs. (the thin slices fry up quickly and absorb less grease) Dip eggplant slices into egg and than into bread crumbs. Set aside onto a dish. Fill frying pan with vegetable oil until there's a shallow pool for the eggplant to fry in. Heat oil on medium high heat. Lower to medium when oil is heated up. Fry eggplant slices until golden brown. Place cooked eggplant on dish covered with papertowel to cool and drain.
Normally I fry the eggplant up the day before and put the parm together when they're cold from the fridge the next night. (The night I fry the eggplant, we make "fried eggplant sandwiches". All this means is you take the hot fresh eggplant and put it on your gf roll of choice, add some sauce and eat it up :) So to finish this recipe, take the cold fried eggplant from your fridge and line a 9x13 pan with a single layer. Then coat with tomato sauce. Finish that layer off with a generous sprinkle of vegan mozzarella cheese. Repeat the layers of eggplant, sauce and cheese. Once you're out of eggplant or room in your pan, pop in the oven at 350 degrees until the parm is hot all the way through and the cheese is melted. For those of you who don't like a crispy top, you can cover the top with aluminum foil - But I personally think not having a crispy top is a waste!
Tomorrow's another day...I have all the ingredients and now a dirty dishless kitchen...here's to a delicious hot gf fried eggplant sandwich to be! Don't forget - May is Celiac Awareness Month! I want to dedicate this year's celiac awareness month to my uncle who was just diagnosed with celiac a few months ago. Welcome to the gluten free family Uncle Louie!
And then my life got complicated...
My first personal blog http://thestoryofmylittlecaramellatte.blogspot.com/ was my therapy during the wonderful journey to becoming a gluten free mommy. After the birth of my son, I contemplated returning to this blog. The blog felt finished in a way though. I may continue the story following my son as he grows, but for now I decided to start a new chapter.
Anyone who has kids in their lives knows that your life goes from busy to plain insane with the addition of a baby! Add to this going back to work, being gluten-free, a part-time student and you'll think it couldn't get any harder...but it can! At 4 months old, my son was diagnosed as milk allergic which for those of you who are not familiar means mommy can't even LOOK at a cow without junior reacting! My life went from crazy to "please tell me the men in the white coats are outside to pick me up!"
Anyone who lives gluten free understands the challenges inherent in this lifestyle. When you're working full time, you have the additional challenge of finding a place to eat out or having to pack lunch, snacks etc for the day. Now I have to follow a dairy free diet as well. There went my ThinkThin bars...there went my Amy's mac & cheese...there went my yogurt and string cheese and ice cream and... Well you get the point. Right after I found out I had to be gluten free for the rest of my life I had a meltdown. A "I can't eat anything, my life is over" meltdown to which my (now husband) fiance spent 2 weeks pouring over the Internet finding EVERYTHING I still could eat to prove me wrong and get me out of my funk. The meltdown this time was darn near catastrophic! It took a good month to finally come to terms with the fact that I would have to give up my love affair with ice cream for the safety of my child. And don't get me wrong, I was 100% commited to the safety of my child from day one, but my selfish side that needs a mommy ice cream fix occasionally was not. Now, techically I'll only have to be dairy free while feeding my son, but considering the fact that he'll still have to be dairy free after he's weaned, it's only fair to stay dairy free in our home for his safety.
The new phase after meltdown is the "Fix it" phase. This is where I pick myself up, learn to live with the hand I've been dealt and find little pleasures in the journey along the way. I decided to share this journey with all of you so you won't feel alone in this gluten free dairy free life. Plus it's more fun when you share any journey with someone else :) Thanks for joining me!
Anyone who has kids in their lives knows that your life goes from busy to plain insane with the addition of a baby! Add to this going back to work, being gluten-free, a part-time student and you'll think it couldn't get any harder...but it can! At 4 months old, my son was diagnosed as milk allergic which for those of you who are not familiar means mommy can't even LOOK at a cow without junior reacting! My life went from crazy to "please tell me the men in the white coats are outside to pick me up!"
Anyone who lives gluten free understands the challenges inherent in this lifestyle. When you're working full time, you have the additional challenge of finding a place to eat out or having to pack lunch, snacks etc for the day. Now I have to follow a dairy free diet as well. There went my ThinkThin bars...there went my Amy's mac & cheese...there went my yogurt and string cheese and ice cream and... Well you get the point. Right after I found out I had to be gluten free for the rest of my life I had a meltdown. A "I can't eat anything, my life is over" meltdown to which my (now husband) fiance spent 2 weeks pouring over the Internet finding EVERYTHING I still could eat to prove me wrong and get me out of my funk. The meltdown this time was darn near catastrophic! It took a good month to finally come to terms with the fact that I would have to give up my love affair with ice cream for the safety of my child. And don't get me wrong, I was 100% commited to the safety of my child from day one, but my selfish side that needs a mommy ice cream fix occasionally was not. Now, techically I'll only have to be dairy free while feeding my son, but considering the fact that he'll still have to be dairy free after he's weaned, it's only fair to stay dairy free in our home for his safety.
The new phase after meltdown is the "Fix it" phase. This is where I pick myself up, learn to live with the hand I've been dealt and find little pleasures in the journey along the way. I decided to share this journey with all of you so you won't feel alone in this gluten free dairy free life. Plus it's more fun when you share any journey with someone else :) Thanks for joining me!
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