KISS

You know, KISS.... Keep It Simple St.... um.... Sweety. ;o)

Yep, as much as I'm hankerin' to explore and experiment, I just love to keep it basic and simple. Here's my fave lunch, which I post for those who may not have tried something like this.

Raw veges dipped in homemade hummus... yum. :) Hummus
1 can organic chic peas
1 tablespoon... maybe a bit more, of tahini or sunflower seed butter
fresh dill weed, basil and parsley... to taste
lemon juice... about 3 tbsp.
clove of garlic
sea salt and pepper to taste
water, as needed

Place all ingredients in food processor and spin, adding water as needed (don't overdo) to make the mixture smooth. Blend until it's creamy, not lumpy. This is the recipe for lemon/dill dip. I also like roasted red pepper hummus. To make this, just roast 1 whole red pepper, remove skin, seeds, etc. Leave out the dill weed and use only 2 tbsp. lemon juice. You won't need to add as much water either, as the red pepper adds moisture. Also very yum!

The pasta/chic pea salad on the plate is made with gluten-free brown rice macaroni. I just cook 1/4 to 1/3 cup of this and strain it over a handful (1/4 cup?) of canned chic peas. Then I put this back in the emptied pot and add chopped veges ~ onion, celery, red pepper, broccoli ~ and herbs, fresh or dried, with a little sea salt and pepper to taste. Then either dried cranberries or black olives, depending on my preference for that day. I dress it all with a little g-free dijon mustard and a tbsp. of garlic olive oil. Blend and serve.

Ok, it takes about 30 minutes to make myself this yummy lunch, but I'm totally worth the investment in time and effort. :) Hehehehehe.... I sure hope you try this for a meal and enjoy it as much as I do.

Resources Are So Important!

Look to the right and you'll see that my resources link have swelled. The Gluten-Free Celiac Guide group on Facebook provided many of these links, and credit where credit is due. Sure saved me some casting around! I've added the links that worked for me only. The others I will explore further and add links as I review them.

INFORMATION is so important when dealing with a big change in diet. I remember after learning there were dietary restrictions I'd have to follow when I was diagnosed with colitis, I felt I was having to give up so many foods I liked. But time and experience soon demonstrated that I gained more than I gave up, especially in learning more about fibre and its role in our health. But also in good food. Turned out the food I was satisfied with before wasn't really all that good, in terms of enjoyment as well as health. When forced to explore the matter, I discovered all sorts of other foods that are delicious and special.

The same thing happened when I realized I was intolerant of gluten. Ok, I won't lie. I miss bread. I had switched to only whole grains and was really enjoying my bread. There's so much more flavour in some of those peasant, speciality loaves we can get now. Gluten-free rice bread is icky, in my humble estimation. I would toast some to go with a fried egg and put up with it, but there is so much good food in our world, I figure we really shouldn't have to "put up with" something that we eat. This is where discovery, experimentation, and resources come in. And these explorations are not only helpful to our health, they can be fun!

I still miss bread sometimes, but I no longer use it. I do like the g-free waffles I can get and enjoy them toasted from time to time, with a couple scoops of soy ice cream and some fresh fruit, such as banana and berries. Sooooo good, and yes, perfectly healthy. :)

There are mixes available, as well as alternative "flours," and there is a g-free section in most large grocery chain stores. Explore. I mean, give yourself at least a half day to just explore the possibilities, read labels, etc. And another to check out these and other resources and formulate a menu that suits YOU! Cut yourself a break and find the joy in your journey. Leave the food behind that hurts you, and enter a world where many have gone before and paved our way.

My daughter found Shawna Ahern James' book, gluten free girl, at the library ~ so useful and informative. I sprinkled granulated garlic on some of my food early on, and it hurt. Now, to my mind, granulated garlic should just be... um.... garlic. But clearly it isn't . I love garlic and it goes in most of my food. But the granulated garlic does not, because clearly it has gluten in it... somehow. The gluten-free girl explained some unusual sources of gluten that helped clarify for me what I should be looking for in condiments, and of course, much, much more.

Once again there came a point where I am enjoying this new diet so much that I wonder why I was ever satisfied with ordinary food ~ why I ever settled for the foods many regard as a "normal" diet. I like raw veges dipped in my homemade hummus. I like brown rice pasta. I need to find more ways to express this food, but for now, simple does the trick. It's not such a difficult journey after all.

Fettucine La Wendakai

I get the feeling that some people really shy away from brown rice pasta, but while I have had some "glumphy" experiences with rice pasta, I have had some good luck and yummy results with Rizopia Brown Rice pastas. I don't know where all this is available, but I can say that this company continues to tweek their product and I have had little trouble with it in the past several years.

I didn't really use the fettucine that much though, because it was a little gloppy in the past. But I had a yen for some fettucine lately and bought some new stuff. All I can say is that they've been busy in the Rizopia food test lab, because this package of fettucine was fine, light and cooked quickly. I discovered this last week when I cooked a bunch of it for both hubby and me. With mine, I made a dressing of garlic olive oil, gluten-free dijon mustard, my own dried tomatoes, a little sea salt, fresh ground pepper and some dried herbs. I also added black olives, finely chopped onion, celery, red pepper and little broccoli florets.

(With Hubby's share, I made up a package of Alfredo mix using alternative milk, with some chopped up Black Forest ham. He loved it.) But I have to be gluten-free vegan, hence the different expressions of a fettucine dinner. So, what you see here is about ... oooohhh.. up to 400 calories worth of brown rice fettucine, 100 or so of garlic olive oil dressing, and some veges. So perhaps between 500 and 600 calorie gluten-free, vegan pasta dinner. It was yum. :)

*Now I want to point out something here for folks who may not realize this: brown rice pasta is complex carbohydrates. This metabolizes in a slower, much healthier way than white rice, in any form. IN FACT, almost all WHITE FOOD is simple carbohydrates. This includes white rice, white wheat flour (white breads, rolls, pitas, etc.), white wheat pasta, etc. White food enters the blood stream as simple sugar. This causes a spike in blood sugar, as well as cheap energy. (But what goes up must come down. The energy spikes in the other direction shortly after.) A continual diet that includes white food will result in high blood sugar, as well as digestive problems. So anyone with blood sugar issues should avoid ALL white food. (Yes, alas, this includes potatoes, despite it's other nutritional value.) Complex carbohydrates: good, at least for most people. Simple carbs: bad. Yep. Sorry. But if you care about your health, avoid white food.

Gentle Herbal Tea Cleanse

Here's a cleansing tea that will help clean out that digestion system.... sort of a spring-cleaning for the bawd.

I always start with a green tea bag of some sort... Earl Grey, blueberry, ginger, or even decaf is fine. (Decaf is preferable if you're having it in the evening.)

Then I add at least a tsp. each of dandelion root and milk thistle seed (dandelion root cleanses the bile ducts/gall bladder; milk thistle restores the liver), then a few rosehips (vit C), some red clover blossoms (good ...for us girls), a slice of ginger root (digestion aid and lowers cholesterol), and top it off with dried cranberries or blueberries (mostly for flavour, but crans cleanse the urinary tract and blueberries are healthy a few ways). You can also add dried cherries if you have 'em. They help lower uric acid, an overabundance of which can cause gout. Dried cherries are just a little pricey, but sometimes you can get them on special, if you watch. Another nice flavour that aids in digestion is fennel seeds.

Put the tea bag, herbs, ginger and flavour enhancer of choice into a an old-fashioned teapot and add 3 cups boiling water. Allow to steep for 10 minutes. (If I'm needing an anti-inflammatory, I may even sprinkle in a bit of turmeric.) I will often have 2 cups hot, then let the rest cool. Later, or even the next day, I'll put ice cubes in a glass and finish tea cleanse as an iced tea.

This is a delicious (add honey if you like things sweetened), and excellent tea for when you're trying to cleanse your system gently. Enjoy. :)

Quick, Easy Side Dish (Can be G-free)

When I cook chicken pieces, for instance, I cook extra for another, easier meal after shopping, or just a light night in the kitchen. But for the second dinner, I need a new side dish to crank it up. Here's a fave:

I don't use very many convenience foods. They're usually far too loaded with with sugars, sodium and preservatives for me to consider them for my family. But ~ confession: I can't cook brown rice. White rice always turns out great, but whenever I've tried to cook brown rice: disaster. So I don't. Uncle Ben does. The Bistro Express plain whole grain rice has no preservatives. It's just water, brown rice and vege oil. I can totally live with that. But the fam doesn't want it plain, and I won't buy the flavours for the reasons above. So I use it to make a quick batch of vege-fried rice. Works great. Here's what you need:

1 pkg. brown rice
1 egg
some chopped onion (green onions are nicest, but use what you have on the go)
Mushrooms and other veges (the mushrooms and something green.. above I used asparagus, but I've also used broccoli or peas, and I like to put in some red pepper for colour)
3 tbsp. soy (or tamari sauce for gluten free). Read labels and choose a lower-sodium brand of sauce without a lot of unnecessary additives.


Beat the egg with just a little water and pour it into an oiled pan, just until it's set. Take it out and put it back into the bowl you beat it in. It's ok... you'll be cooking it some more later. Now re-oil the pan and saute the mushrooms and chopped veges. Nuke the rice according to pkg. directions. (You don't have to, but it's a little quicker and it's something to do while the veges soften.) Then dump the rice into the pan and stir. Put the egg back in and chop it up, then add the soy sauce. Stir to thoroughly mix. Cover and let rest over minimum heat while you get the rest of the dinner on and set the table. Serve. This takes no more than 15 mins. to prepare, less if you aren't taking pics! Easy, healthy, delish!

Gluten-free Ravioli

Ok then, another gluten-free baked pasta dish... an experiment! I'd been putting this off for awhile, but the daughter asked me to make her homemade ravioli. I've been wanting to cut down on her gluten as well, so even though I'm content for the moment with my brown rice pasta, I decided to go gluten-free for hers.

She can have eggs, so I decided to make egg pasta using quinoa flour. 1 cup quinoa flour, 2 eggs and just a little water, then a bit more flour to work it in. I put it through my pasta maker, but I couldn't get it any thinner than the #5 setting, so you don't really need one. Just roll it out as thin as you can. I cut it with a tart cutter.

I filled each one, dampened the edges just with water, folded and sealed. I made the filling with sauted mushrooms, peppers, garlic, basil and a little already cooked natural beef. Make your filling of whatever you like!

Then I smothered the little raviolis in tomato sauce, again, your choice, and baked in a 350 oven for half an hour. The "cheese" on top is actually Galaxy vegan cheese. I'm told that all Galaxy "cheese" products are gluten-free, and of course, dairy-free.
My daughter had it for supper. Yes, she liked it. :) Still, on brain-storming with a friend who's also trying to make some gluten-free pasta, I think next time I'll add some almond "flour" to the mix to improve the taste of the pasta itself. I think I'll also make the stuffing finer and use a spicier sauce. Tweek, tweek. ;o)

Gluten and Dairy Free "Lasagna"

Ok, in the baked pasta mood. Daughter has been wanting some lasagna, even though she can't have dairy, including cassein. Here's what I did:

1 bottle of Classico Roasted Garlic and Onion tomato sauce
Rizopia oven-ready brown rice lasagna noodles
1 lb. ground elk (locally raised and marketed)
1 pkg. Galaxy Foods vegan rice-based Italian flavour "cheese"
mushrooms and herbs to taste

I browned up the elk, then added most of the tomato sauce, some fresh thyme, and blended. I used the sauce I held back to layer the bottom of the baking dish. This helps the oven-ready pasta to soften. I laid the noodles on the sauce, then a layer of meat and sauce, then a layer of mushrooms and a layer of grated "cheese." Repeat. Bake, covered, for 45 mins in a pre-heated 350 degree oven.
Even though the Classico sauce doesn't state that it's gluten-free, I haven't had any problem with the Roasted Garlic and Onion sauce, but of course, to be on the safe side, buy whichever gluten-free sauce you like for this baked "lasagna." Since posting this on my other blog, I've been told that the Galaxy products are all gluten-free. :)

Blueberry~Peach Buckle, Gluten~Free

Here's a gluten-free recipe that worked... at least my fam thinks it's good. :) It's that time of year for fresh peaches and wild blueberries, so that's what I used. Here's what I did:

Fruit mixture:

5 or 6 fresh peaches, peeled and cut up
1 and 1/2 cups blueberries
about 1/4 cup brown sugar, or to taste (or sub honey or maple syrup to taste)
3 tbsp. tapioca starch
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 lemon, squeezed (about 2 tbsp. juice) [Reserve other half of lemon for crust.]
Stir it up to blend everything.

Crust:

1 cup almond flour
3/4 cup whole bean flour
3/4 cup sourghum flour
2 tbsp. sugar (any kind, to help it rise, or a bit of honey,but cut down a bit on fat)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup milk alternative (or real milk if you can have it)
1/2 lemon squeezed (or 2 tbsp. juice)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Stir the flours to blend. Add sugar, salt, soda, cinnamon and stir. Now, I recommend vegetable shortening cut into the flour mixture, but I used safflour oil because I just spring-cleaned my kitchen (better late than never) and couldn't find where I now keep that shortening (I know I have some. I'll no doubt find it when I'm looking for something else.) Anyway, you need 1/3 cup neutral fat cut into the flour mixture till it's crumbly. Pour 1/2 cup milk alternative (I used soy, but almond would go great with this, rice is fine, etc.) Add lemon juice to the milk to sour. Leave it sit a few minutes, then stir. Add it all at once to the crumbled flour mixture and stir until milk is absorbed. Do not overwork. Drop by spoonfuls into greased baking pan to coat bottom of pan. Spoon fruit mixture evenly on top. Bake in 425 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Serve with a little ice cream or whipped cream of some kind if you like. :)

This is a healthy, hearty, fruity, yummy dessert or breakfast food ~ also gluten-free with all the best of the season. Of course, you can substitute apples or other fruit as your family likes. I just like to enjoy peaches and blueberries in season. :) I may even try a fall version of this with pumpkin, instead of pie. ;o)