People talk about the gluten free “craze” and how everyone is gluten free now, and blah blah blah. I wish they would stop. To me, this takes away the credibility of a gluten free life. -And that’s exactly what it is, it’s not a diet. People don’t take it seriously, and think we are following a fad or trying to lose weight. I’ve known since I was 18 that I’m allergic to wheat, and I didn’t always live gluten free, but trust me when I say this, I don’t miss gluten, and yes, I’ve lost 50 lbs since I gave it up for good, I don’t miss that weight either, but you know what else I don’t miss? I don’t miss the stomach cramping, the nausea, the other digestive problems, the extra headaches I got on top of the chiari headaches, the fatigue, and all around feeling crumby. I would, however, love nothing more than to not be a pain in the butt every time I go out to eat, or go to a friends house, or anywhere for that matter and not get that look. I know what that look means, I get it every day in class when the chef tells me to taste something and I tell him I can’t. When I told him I was allergic to shellfish he was very understanding, but with flour, I still get an annoyed look.
So let’s get to the weight loss of going gluten free. You really don’t lose weight by giving up gluten. If anything, you can gain weight. Gluten free baked products are higher in eggs, butter and as a result, fat. Here is where I think the weight loss comes from, and Stephanie may have a different opinion, but in my view, when you give up gluten, you give up processed foods. That means no more crackers, most chips, cookies, bologna sandwiches on soft white bread, etc. Gluten is in everything. So you pay more attention to what you are eating, and in turn you lose weight.
Wanna know a secret? You can do that without giving up all gluten. You can still eat better, and still go out to eat without being labeled “one of those”. Wanna know another secret? Everything on this blog that I have made is gluten free. It all comes back to knowing where your food comes from, and knowing your vendors.
So what if you are allergic to gluten? Or Celiac? Or you have an intolerance to gluten or wheat, or any of these? Well, you watch what you put into your mouth for one, and hopefully you come here for some recipes.
After my recipes, I’ll also provide a list of some of my favorite gluten free brands.
This week, I made a gazpacho, a taco salad, a frittata, and a chicken salad in lettuce wraps. Along with a salsa and guacamole. These are all pretty easy, work well as leftovers, and travel well for lunch. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but something else I try to do, is use some of the same ingredients multiple times. This helps to be budget friendly as well.
Let’s start with the gazpacho:
Take three tomatoes. Large ones and get rid of the seeds
Put them in a blender with some olive oil, a jalapeño, and a cucumber -all without seeds.
If you think about it beforehand roast a clove of garlic or two in the oven, or if you’re like me and forget, just use some garlic powder and the juice front one lime. Blend this all up until it is well mixed.
Now, you can eat this now, and it would be perfectly tasty, or you could throw it in the fridge, let the favors marry, have a party, and really come together,and eat it the next day with one without a scoop of Greek yogurt.
It’s up to you.
And see, you didn’t even have to turn your oven or stovetop on. This is an excellent summer dish, it’s cool and refreshing, easy to make, easy to clean up, and you’re not in a sweat box making it.
Next up is the taco salad with homemade salsa and guacamole
Lay down a corn tortilla, or a layer of corn tortilla chips.
I make my own tortillas, but I’m a show off like that.
Then put down a layer of black beans and a layer of lettuce
Yes, I forgot the black beans here, but use your imagination.
Next, you will take your meat, in this case it’s a half of a grilled chicken breast (or, if you grew up in my family a chicken boob)
Top with salsa, guacamole, and a scoop of Greek yogurt. If you’ve not ever had it before, Greek yogurt tastes exactly like sour cream. I fed it to the hubs for a long time before he caught on that it was healthier. He still calls it sour cream. Even though he knows it isn’t.
You can buy salsa and guacamole already made, but where would the fun be in that?
Here is an easy way to make guacamole:
Take half an onion and dice it up, then take three avocados and mash them on top of the onions. Don’t mash them and then add the onions, have the onions in the bottom of the bowl, and mash the avocados on top. This seems to give a better texture in my opinion.
Then mash in the juice and zest of one lime
3 tsp of garlic powder
2 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of wasabi powder (you will have to trust me on this. Do it once, you will never go back
Salt to taste, and then stir in one seeded, diced tomato
Now the salsa. This one is tough.
Stir together the following:
3 diced tomatoes
1/2 onion
3 diced garlic cloves
Zest and juice of two limes
Handful of cilantro, chopped
2 tsp cumin
And salt to taste
Next up is a frittata. If you’ve never had one of these, it’s like a quiche without the crust. My husband loves them and it’s a great was to sneak in a couple veggies when he’s not looking. Or just clean out the fridge.
Take 8 eggs and whisk the heck out of them
The add six ounces of shredded cheese, I have a mixture of Colby jack and a pesto jack.
Then I added six asparagus spears sliced, and a 1/4 cup of the salsa and baked at 350 (notice this is the only recipe you’ll have to turn your oven on for this week).
Now, I’m going to tell you something and you are going to do one of two things. You will either say “Gosh, that’s stupid, what kind of idiot do you take me for?” and then you will do it anyway, or, you will say “oh, good call, I’ll watch out for that.” and again do it anyway.
If you bake this in a frying pan, do NOT grab the handle to pull it out of the oven. Put a towel on the handle once it’s out too. I do this every time. It’s habit. I pull it out ok, but once it’s out, every time, without fail, I grab the handle and burn the heck out of my hand. Every time. It’s a habit to grab that handle, and every time I swear at myself for doing it.
I saved my favorite for last:
Mix together
1/2c Greek yogurt
1/4c lite mayo
1tsp Dijon mustard
Zest of lime and juice of 1/2 lime
Then add:
one grilled chicken breast chopped
2 stalks of celery sliced
3/4c chopped grapes
Here’s a trick for slicing grapes. Put them between two lids or small plates, all standing upright or laying down, then run your knife between the lids and they will all slice at once.
Then mix it all together, salt to taste, and serve on Bibb lettuce, butter lettuce or any lettuce of your choosing.
This is a topic near and dear to both Stephanie’s and my heart. Head over to her page and check out the nutrition info, and see what she has to say about gluten as well.
Here is the list of some of my favorite GF brands:
Local Oven – if you can find this brand, get it. It’s amazing. The taste is great, but it’s also the only bread I’ve found where the texture is perfect. I just wish they made sandwich bread (hint hint)
Gluten Free Pantry
Betty Crocker – they built a new warehouse that is totally GF, knowing that they couldn’t convert an old one bc it would never be truly GF
Chex – they make several GF types of cereal
King Arthur Flour – these are really good, but pricy
Hodgson Mill
Ancient Harvet Quinoa Pasta
Pamela’s
Other brands that are decent (not all brands are exclusively GF, so be sure to check the label):
Bob’s Red Mill
Go Picnic
Glutino
Kinnikinnick
Some of these are expensive, I stopped buying Rudi’s because the bread is nearly $7 a loaf (and that loaf is small) and every one I’ve ever purchased has a giant air bubble in it.
Also, the entire produce section of your grocery store is free of gluten and processed foods. I’ve never had to ask a framer if his strawberries were contaminated with flour.
Go check out 3squarenutrition.com to see what Stephanie has to say about it all!
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