Monday

#6 Green Eggs and Ham?

How about avocado, hard boiled egg, sunflower butter, cucumber and lettuce on toasted gluten free bread?!
I say, eat fearlessly~ within your own dietary limits. The greatest part about eating at home is personal choice.  I eat the weirdest things and I love it !



If you're struggling, thinking about what you can't eat, and feeling depressed about it,  you've got to move forward to a different place. In place of thinking about what you can't eat. Make a list of the things that you can eat, the things you love to eat, that you can eat. Then begin to think about how to combine those things into meals. Afterward you can start to look for those types of meals when you go out. Keeping it simple for yourself at first is fine, but don't be afraid to ask for what you want. Ridicule is the least of our worries, let's face it.

My latest creation (besides my crazy sandwich), was a slow cooked black beans and pork, corn, potato and onion stew. Chopped garlic, (of course!) and tomato and other spices and herbs. (Keeping a close eye on the spices for the gluten contamination factor.) I also drizzled in some black strap molasses (because it contains 25% of our DV of iron.)  The place smelled amazing as it cooked!  One of the great parts about slow cooking is that you can use less expensive cuts of meat. We're on a tight budget, so this is going to be a repeat performance.

Thanks again for reading, and feel free to comment, (keep it clean LoL!) or just 'points' It helps me evaluate the blog.

#5. For my gluten free peep's: No 'knead' to starve!

Lately I've been finding plenty of gluten free foods to keep my belly happy and it's time to share some product names with you all.
I recommend you make a shopping list, and check out which local shops carry these brands and which are priced the most competitively. Do keep in mind that some places are still charging 20-30% more for the gluten free equivalents, but for now, this is how it is.

Here is my local store directory for lower priced gluten free foods:
http://www.yelp.ca/list/more-bag-for-your-grocery-buck-vancouver 

Here's my Yelp list for local shops and resto's that do serve gluten free dishes:
http://www.yelp.ca/list/gluten-free-dairy-free-eats-vancouver



Here's a list of tried and true GF products found around BC and into Washington U.S.

 <> Udi's breads, bagels, muffins. (Teff and Tapioca flours) This is the best store bought bread.
 <> Earth Balance and Becel gluten, soy and dairy free margarine. Good for  baking too. (but so is Olive oil.)
 <> Daiya 'cheese' it's really awesome!
 <> Nature's Path gf cereals.
 <> Blue Diamond Almond Breeze.  Yummy by itself, in coffee, on cereal, in sauces, soups, and baking.
 <> SO Good & Almond Fresh
 <> Pamela's Products.
 <> Trader Joes gluten free products. (They have an online list.)
 <> SanLeo corn pastas
 <> Mrs Leeper's corn pastas.
 <> Tinkyada  rice pastas. (not as good as corn or quinoa)
 <> Ancient Harvest. Quinoa and corn pasta. (high in iron).
*Nutrition Kitchen. Soybean pasta. (90% of your iron- yes you read that right!)
 <> Trader Joe's Rice Sticks. (for your Asian dishes, and soups.)
 <> ZenSoy pudding cups! (oh yeah!)
 <> Soyganic  organic tofu firm, for stir fry.
<> Silk Soy coffee creamer. This is also free of all dairy! :)
<> SO Good coconut beverages
<>Trader Joe's Tofutti 'cream cheese'. 
*SORRY ABOUT ALL THIS TOFU, it's difficult to get enough daily iron.
  <> Food For Life, Brown Rice Tortilla's.
  <> Sonoma gluten free wraps. (Teff flour).
  <> Ener-G. Wyld sesame pretzels. (Do not buy the bread, as it is dry!)
  <> Kinnikinnick Foods. Cookies and treats.  (Their bread is dry and overpriced, so I don't recommend it.)
  <> Enjoy Life Chewy -Bars and cookies.
  <> Food Should Taste Good. -Blue Corn chips.
  <> Larabar. Fruit and Energy bars for hiking and other outdoor days.
  <> Alter Eco Dark Chocolate bars are gluten and dairy free ! The quality and hard to find flavours like Mint (with real mint), and Quinoa make this brand outstanding! The 25% iron in half a bar is off the chain!
 <> Stella brand dark chocolate bars.
 <> Organic Biologique. Mesa Sunrise. Cereals with Flax means high in omegas as well as some fiber.
  <> Trader Joes gluten free tomato sauces. Or make your own using basic tomato paste. Watch out for the mysterious word "spices" -that's a trap!

  Regular meal ideas:

 Meat or Vegetable, tomato sauce spaghetti. (see above pasta recomm's)
 Veggie stir fry's with home made sauces. *Watch out for those gluten contaminated sauces!  (Make your own).
  Pork Burgers on GF buns (or with rice.) Sweet potato "fries" (Baked with olive oil on the Foreman grill) Any veggie is good on the grill.
  Salads (with tofu or meat on them, nuts, raisins, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, apple chunks, etc.) Balsamic/Olive  oil  dressings. Salads make a great meal for lunch or dinner, as do soups!
 Salmon. *oh, make it wild!* avoid farmed if possible.
  Pork chops. Goes great with coconut mashed potatoes!
  Fried rice with meat and spice dishes.
  Tacos! YES
  Soups. There's a world of soup recipes. Great to add rice noodles to bulk soups up.
  Steaks, (ha-ha $) Sausages that are gluten free.
  Shrimps and other fish dishes.

  Some lunches:
  Chicken breast or Veggie sammies with Avocado, cucumber, spinach, veggie patties, Nut Butters, Tofutti, Ajvar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajvar) high in vitamin C.
Trader Joe's Organic Tofu Veggie Burgers. (oily but tasty)
 Rice wraps and brown rice wraps with veggies or chili meat & Daiya.
Rice Vinegar/ sesame oil/ Olive oil, lemon juice, flax oil dressings.
 Chicken salad, egg salad, potato salad. (Or see blog post 20), Avocados cut in half, served with salads inside. 

 Snacks:
  Fruit, nuts, gf chips, bars, carrot sticks, sesame snaps, hummus.

When out:
 Coffee beverages that are treats like a Cappuccino, treats from local gluten free bakers. Find a local cupcake shop that has non gluten, non dairy cupcakes!
Local list of GF bakeries:
Choices, Panne Rizo, O My Goodness Gluten Free Kitchen, The Gluten Free Epicurean, Sweet Tooth Cakery, Cloud 9,  EighFold Eats.

 Have fun out there and eat well !
 *Always remember to drink lots of water, (and better if you can filter out any Fluoride first.) Drinking a lot of water helps to run toxins out of the body.
We're always going to get 'contaminated',  it's just too hard to avoid, but we can do our best to maintain our health by being aware of what constitutes a nutritional meal. Try to exercise daily, and really being aware of what our bodies are telling us. Be your own best mom. :)

 Cheers and let me know what you think of these blog excerpts by adding points to the bottom of each, or by commenting. Thanks for reading!
 I he♥rt you, all my friends. You mean everything to me.