Eating GDSWYP-free in San Diego

Hubby and I headed down to San Diego last week. It was his father's 50th birthday and we went to help him celebrate! We mostly ate at home (and his parents were very accommodating to my new lifestyle!), but we did go out a few times.

When we first arrived, Hubby HAD to have In-N-Out (which I have spoken of before). Although it is a fast food joint, they make things with fresh, natural ingredients so it's pretty easy to eat there. The fries are whole potatoes, cut straight in the store and fried in vegetable oil (so while safe for those avoiding only the soy protein, it is not safe for those avoiding all soy products). The burgers are made with 100% all beef with no preservatives, additives or fillers. They are topped with lettuce, tomato, onions (raw, fried or without) and their special spread. To order the burger without a bun you just order it "protein style" and it comes wrapped in lettuce as I have pictured below! YUM!

The other day we ate out, we went down to Little Italy. We started lunch with some DELISH gelato at Pappalecco - so good that I dug in and forgot to take a picture! Life's short, why not start with desert once in a while? ;) Most of the time, with gelato, all the fruit flavors are dairy free. But, I always ask to be sure. Anyway, then we went to a local restaurant called Cafe Zucchero and I ordered ... well, not this:

hahaha!! As much as I wanted to, I resisted the fabulous looking pizza. Hubby didn't help and ordered probably the most GDSYWP-filled thing on the menu! ;) Instead, I ordered this:

A spinach salad topped with carrots, tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, avocado and peppercorn-coated ahi tuna. Yum. The dressing was an orange vinaigrette. I just asked for it on the side and removed it. I'm not much for fruity dressings. Instead, I used the oil and vinegar that they brought to the table at the begining of the meal with the bread (which I also of course avoided). The salad was quite large, very satisfying and significantly healthier than what Hubby ordered. Who would have guessed that you could eat safely gluten and dairy free in Little Italy of all places? Just another example that living intolerant free doesn't have to be difficult!

Crockpot Salsa Chicken



I don't know about you, but I am always on the look-out for new crockpot recipes. I LOVE using my crockpot, but it's hard because between my workday and commute, I am gone from home for a minimum of 10 hours every day! Most crockpot recipes are for much less than that, even if I cook them on low instead of high. So far, I have only found 1 dish and 2 soups that are able to hold up to this timeframe. But then, I came across this recipe and saw that it could go 6-9 hours. I figured, I bet it could hold up a lot longer if it had just a bit more liquid and I tried it! Of course, I also had to tweak it! Here is my version:

Crockpot Salsa Chicken
from Clara Ogren, Six Food Intolerance Living
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts or thighs (can even use frozen)
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 can diced tomatoes, NOT drained
1 jar salsa (chose the spiciness level that is right for your family)
2-3 tbsp lime juice
1-2 tsp of adobo powder
Half of a bunch of cilantro, chopped
Tortilla chips or soft corn tortillas

Directions:
Place chicken, salsa, corn, beans, tomatoes (with juice), lime juice and adobo powder into crockpot, mix.
Cook on low for 10-12 hours.
Just before serving, sprinkle in the cilantro, mix in.
To eat, shred chicken (this can be done in the crockpot with a spoon) and serve with tortilla chips, over rice or inside soft corn tortillas.

Tips:
A nice lettuce side salad is the perfect accompaniment to this meal or instead top the salad with the chicken mixture for a fiesta salad
Top with sliced avocado or with a dollop of guacamole
If you are able to have dairy, this dish would be great topped with sour cream and/or shredded cheese


And wouldn't you know it, it held up beautifully for 12 hours. I mixed it around a bit to evenly distribute the liquids and it was perfect as it stayed nice and moist! I took my lid off and on a lot the last 2 hours or so doing a lot of mixing. If yours is too liquidy, just take the lid off, turn the crockpot on high, watch it and mix occasionally. That'll help boil out the liquid. I don't know about you, but I'd rather it be too liquidy and moist than dry and hard! ;)

I ate this rolled up in soft corn tortillas with a side salad. Hubby ate it with tortilla chips and was plenty happy without the cheese (though I'm sure he would have prefered it!).

This dish was super easy - effortless, really and was quite tasty. And, it's pantry-friendly! What more could you ask for? :D

An Announcement

I have a big announcement to make!

You ready?

No, we aren't moving.

No, I didn't win the lottery.

No, I don't have a book deal (yet! anyone wanna give me one? ;) )

No, I'm not pregnant! Why does everyone always ask me that when I say I have an announcement? You trying to tell me I'm fat? ;)


I am the new Baltimore Gluten Free Examiner!

Woo hoo! I'm seriously excited about this. I will be posting 3-4 articles a week dealing not only with gluten intolerance, but other intolerances/allergies too! There will be some subject overlap in posts here and articles there, but the content will be different. I was actually accepted for the position a couple weeks ago, but I wanted to get the page all set up and a few articles published before sending you all over there. It's all set up now so feel free to head over there and check out some nice GDSYWP-free information! Also, be sure to subscribe so you will get an email notification when I upload new articles! :D


Disclaimer

The opinions and thoughts expressed here are purely my own and are not coerced, swayed or influenced by a company, organization or other person. The information contained here is to the best of my knowledge at the date posted. I am NOT an expert and am NOT responsible for anything that you do with this information. Please do your own research, seek out professionals and read all ingredients yourself in order to ensure that the choices you make are right for your lifestyle.

Comments on this website may not represent the views of the blog owner and their claims, advice, etc. are the sole responsibility of their original writers, NOT the blog owner.

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