Week Two

On to the next week!  Last week went really well for not only radically changing my eating habits, but getting used to planning and cooking every night, PLUS keeping up with a running regimen.  But I did it.

My schedule with the meals from last week got a little off.  On Thursday, I forgot to thaw out my chicken for the white chili, so I had leftover Zucchini Lasagna.  Then on Friday, when I had thawed chicken, I met my sister after work and we grabbed gluten-free chocolate muffins from Mr. Natural.  It was delicious, but kind of killed my appetite, so I had a dinner of chips and guacamole when I got home.  I finally got around to making white chili yesterday, and skipped the gluten-free alfredo pasta altogether.  The white chili and the lasagna were both excellent, considering I didn't use any recipes for either.  I'll be eating leftover chili for lunch and dinner tonight, since it made a ridiculously huge pot.

The rest of my week looks like this:

Tuesday: Roasted Salmon and Asparagus (I just put a little olive oil, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar on my salmon and cook for 12-13 minutes and it's done)

Wednesday: G-F Penne Alfredo w/ Peas and Mushrooms (Finally)

Thursday: Thanksgiving dinner
My dinner will most likely include turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, G-F green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, G-F corn pudding, and G-F pumpkin pie.  The only part I will miss is the stuffing and gravy.

Friday: Leftovers.  Of course.

I promise I'll find a new topic of blogging soon

Eating gluten-free is not only not as hard as I thought it would be, it's actually kind of easy.  With a bit of planning.  My diet pitfalls in the past always had to do with poor planning.  Grocery shopping was done sporadically.  I'd be out of cereal and milk, so I'd stop for kolaches on my way to work.  Nothing to pack for a lunch to bring with me to work, so I'd run over to the BBQ place around the corner.  I'd stop by the grocery store on my home from work, starving, so I'd buy dinner food, plus snacks and dessert.  It was terrible.

This week, however, with a stocked kitchen and a plan for what to make, it's really a no-brainer.  My steak and mashed potatoes were delicious.  My homemade burrito bowl was almost as good as Chipotle's.  And my zucchini lasagna last night was great (except for the zucchini still being slightly crisp).  Now the only part of this whole thing I hate is ALL THE DISHES.

Thanksgiving will be tough.  It's my favorite holiday ever.  I typically bake two pies, homemade cornbread stuffing, sweet potatoes with streusel topping, corn pudding, and homemade yeast rolls.  NONE of that is gluten-free.  So this year, I'm not going to try to recreate everything, just the ones that will be simple.  I'll forgo the stuffing this year (so sad about that).  Skipping the rolls, because there's no way in hell a gluten-free yeast roll can really taste normal.  The sweet potatoes will be easy.  The only part that has flour is the topping.  The potatoes can stay buttery, brown sugary and delicious.  The topping will still have brown sugar and pecans.  It will be awesome.  I'm also doing a completely homemade green bean casserole.  Canned cream of mushroom soup, and the french fried onions, are very glutenous.  So I'm making a cream of mushroom with cornstarch in place of flour.  And scratch fried onions.  And finally, the corn pudding.  It's a family tradition.  No holiday is complete without it.  The original recipe calls for Jiffy Corn Muffin mix, creamed corn, butter/oil, eggs, onion and sharp cheddar.  I'm merely swapping the Jiffy for a gluten free cornbread mix.  Voila.  Oh, and I'm letting Whole Foods handle dessert with a G-F pumpkin pie. 

Also, day 2 of 10k training was so much easier than day 1. I went out last night and barely broke a sweat.  The stiffness and soreness is gone.  And I felt a lot faster and stronger, already.  This please me greatly.

Does anyone have any holiday recipes that are naturally gluten-free or could be easily adapted?

Monday, Monday

I'm pleased to report that day one if gluten free was a smashing success.  I feel good today.  It is in fact possible to go 24 hours without eating, or even craving, cake.  Who knew?

I am also pleased that today I began training for the Cap 10k, which is being held on March 27, 2011.  I already know your next question: "Who needs over four months to train for a six mile run?"  I do.  I've read 10k training plans and they're all fine and great if you are already a reasonably seasoned runner.  I'm not.  So I'm prefacing the 10k training with just regular ole' running training.  Day one is in the books.

After 10, yes 10, glorious, amazing, restful, peaceful ad lovely days of vacation, I head back to the bank tomorrow.  It helps knowing that I have two, four day work weeks in a row.  Countdown to Thanksgiving is on.

Week One

It has been over three months since I've posting anything on this blog.  Not because I don't have anything to say.  Mostly because I don't have much to say that I feel will impact my readers somehow.  That, and the fact that I only have a few readers.

But today, Sunday, November 14, 2010, I have something very important to share with my few readers and whoever stumbles across my little slice of the interwebs: I am going gluten-free.  Not halfheartedly.  100% giving up the pasta, pizza, cookies, cake and other delicious baked goods that are so prevalent in my life.  Having to pick and choose what I can and cannot eat next week at Thanksgiving dinner.  Having to plan ahead on what I can eat at a restaurant.  And prepping and cooking the majority of my meals at home, unable to rely on fast food or prepared foods from the grocery store deli.  Shopping for groceries tonight took close to two hours, as I went up and down each aisle, studying labels and reading ingredient lists.  This is my new life.

And you know what? I'm psyched. Amped. Pumped.  Jazzed. Because I have discovered that gluten is making me feel like shiz.  I'm not a full-blown celiac (that I know of...still waiting on blood tests and stuff to confirm).  But I'm one step below that.  I have a skin condition called dermatitis herpaformis.  I'll spare the nasty details, but gluten is causing me and my skin to be miserable.  Itching and inflammation 24 hours a day.  Not to mention low energy and fatigue.  And quite possibly a link to my depression.  Please let there be a link to my depression.

So for now and the foreseeable future, gluten and I are not friends.  Gluten is found in wheat, rye, barley and a few other grains.  And they are found in a lot of stuff.  So starting today, I'm planning my weekly meals and shopping for all of them on Sunday evening.  Here's what this week's dinners look like:

Monday: Broiled NY strip and mashed potatoes/carrots
My mom used to add carrots to our mashed potatoes when I was a kid and it was always so good.  It makes them a little sweeter and gives them an awesome yellowy orange color.  Just boil carrot chunks right along with your potato chunks and then mash them when they get good and tender.  I'm adding butter, half and half, and Parmesan to mine.

Tuesday: Using leftover steak to create my own version of Chipotle's burrito bowl at home. 
Boiling my rice with cilantro and lime juice, canned black beans fancied up with cayenne pepper and cumin, green tomatillo salsa, sour cream, jack cheese, guacamole and lettuce.

Wednesday: Zucchini lasagna
I'm slicing my zucchini lengthwise into thin strips to take place of the lasagna noodles.  Other than that, it will be fairly traditional lasagna fare.  HEB sells ground pork with Italian seasonings, so you don't have to spend time removing Italian sausage from the casings to brown it.  I'm mixing my meat with Arrabiata sauce, and layering it with the zucchini and a ricotta/mozzarella mixture. And possibly a Bechemel sauce thickened with cornstarch instead of flour.

Thursday: Chicken & Green Chili Stew
I won't be following a recipe. This will be my first time making it, so I hope it isn't a huge disaster.  I'll poach my chicken breasts in gluten-free chicken broth, then create a stew/soup thing by adding onion, garlic, red and green bell peppers, chopped green chilis, corn, cumin, and a bit of half and half to make it a little creamy.  Topping it off with shredded jack cheese and crushed tortilla chips. 

Friday: Gluten-free penne with Alfredo sauce, peas and mushrooms
I've had G-F pasta before and it really isn't too bad.  Doesn't quite have the bite that traditional al dente pasta does, but I can deal with that.  Basic alfredo sauce of butter, cream, and Parmesan. Sauteeing some white button mushrooms and throwing in some frozen green peas. Voila.

Does anyone else follow a G-F diet, or another special diet?  Any tips or meal ideas?