When I first started letting chocolate back into my diet, I was thrilled to have it, but I was so missing my milk chocolate. I have never been a fan of dark chocolate and was not adapting well. It was so bitter, strong and harsh to me. It took a while to find some that I actually liked that were also GF/DF/SF! So, today I'm going to share with you my 2 favorite chocolate bars! Personally, I don't think they taste at all like dark chocolate, but they are so you get all those good antioxidants and flavonoids, and of course, get to avoid the dairy!
This stuff isn't always easy to find, but when you do, it's so worth it! It is completely GF/DF/SF but it is DELISH! I think it's light on the tongue and melts beautifully. It's really creamy and just a bit nutty - so good! I couldn't believe this was dark chocolate when I first had it. I kept checking the package!
I have always been a fan of the chocolate and mint flavors together and this bar just takes it to another level! The mint is crisp and bright! I love that the mint is in chips, crackling just a bit under your teeth and tongue. The chocolate is mellow, a bit creamy and "levels out" the sharpness of the mint. It's not at all bitter to me! I just LOVE this bar. And, even the packaging is appealing! Doesn't it just draw you in and make your mouth water?
This is SO how I do things!
I am such an amateur baker (as in only started when I went GDSYWP-free and still only do it when I must), so I always very closely follow the directions. I am so scared to mess something up! I just don't know what I'm doing or the science behind baking enough to tweak anything! I'm a wuss with baking. I always check with my Gluten Free Recipes Yahoo Group before I even try to convert a "regular" recipe to GF!
However, when I cook, I feel so much more comfortable! I have no problems adding this or leaving out that or whatever. I totally cook by taste! I really love to get creative with a dish! It's fun for me and I love when I come up with a yummy result! :D
I was quite happy when I found this in the store! It's GF/DF/SF! Woo hoo! Of course, it was also $5.00! Boo hoo! ;)
I kept it in the freezer for in-case-of-emergency-only. Well, I didn't have a lunch on hand the other day, so I grabbed it! The flavor is actually not bad. It was a little bland for my tastes, so I sprinkled a bit of Cajun spice on it and it was better. The only other thing that I have to complain about is the size. Maybe I'm a piggo, but I was still hungry afterwords. It just wasn't enough for me. Luckily, I had brought along some tortilla chips, so I ate some of those too.
All-in-all, this is a good in-case-of-emergency meal, but for the price, I would only keep 1 on hand at a time and still mostly try to use my bulk cooked meals, for economical reasons!
Soon after my Hubby and I were married, we bought a Vita-Mix. We were roped into the sales pitch at our local Costco and we gave in. I love soup, Hubby and I both love smoothies, I could make various dips (like hummus! yum!), Hubby wanted to try making his own ice cream ... this machine seemed like a good investment! So, we plopped down nearly $400 on the Vita-Mix 5000. Yes. You read it right. $400. Probably not the best idea for our poor, newlywed, my-student-loans-are-about-kick-in budget.
But ya know, I have yet to read a bad review of the machine and in all honesty, it really does kick-ass in the blending department ... uh .... when I use actually it! So, this is what this is all about. I really need to start using this baby more. At least once a week. So, I am going to start Vita-Mix Fridays. Every Friday, I will post a new Vita-Mix recipe, some will be my own, some will be from various cookbooks or websites (always cited, of course! ;) ).
So, today, I will share my latest smoothie recipe, something I threw together based on what was in my fridge. My Hubby aptly dubbed it the "Strawberry You-Won't-Taste-the-Spinach Smoothie," which says a lot considering that he is not a fan of veggies ... especially spinach!
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Strawberry You-Won't-Taste-the-Spinach Smoothie
2 cups frozen strawberries
2 loose handfuls spinach
1 cup mango juice (I used this one)
2 tbsp vanilla rice protein powder (I used this one)
1 banana
Throw all the ingredients into the Vita-Mix, slowly speed up to variable 10, then to high and continue blending until smooth.
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I took this in to work for breakfast. It was good, but there are two changes that I would make. 1) I thought it had a tad too much protein powder in it (I could feel the powder on my tongue), so I would probably only use 1 tbsp next time, but the flavor was great. And the fact that Hubby even enjoyed it proved to me that it was yummy! 2) Ice! How could I forget the ice! I like my smoothies to be icy, chilly and cold. But, since I'm out of Vita-Mix practice, I totally forgot about ice! Oops! *Sigh* There's always next time! ;)
Oh, and if you're wondering about the container it's in, it's a Blender Bottle. It's awesome. I have a purple one and Hubby has a blue one. There is a metal wisk ball in there that shakes up all ingredients to make sure everything is all evenly dispersed and good. It's the best thing for smoothies!
Another yummy find!
The other day, I had some chicken breasts that needed to be used up, but could just not figure out what to make! I wanted something different! So, I searched the 'net and found the recipe here on All Recipes.com.
Here is the original recipe, as is:
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Chicken Piccata with Artichoke Hearts
Originally from "JAMMINMARTIN" on All Recipes
Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pounded 1/2 inch thick and cut into thirds
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 (13.75 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped, liquid reserved
1/4 cup capers, with liquid
2 tablespoons butter
Directions:
1. Mix together the flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning on a plate. One by one, dredge the chicken pieces lightly in the prepared flour mixture.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken pieces for 2 minutes per side, or until nicely browned. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
3. Using the same skillet, cook and stir the garlic and onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour the white wine into the skillet, turn the heat to high, and cook until the wine reduces by half, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, artichoke hearts, reserved artichoke liquid, and browned chicken to the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Stir in the capers and butter.
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The only substitutions I made were:
I used a GF mix instead of the all purpose flour
I didn't have any white wine on hand, so I used an extra 1/2 cup of chicken stock
I had about a handful mushrooms that were on their last legs, so I sliced them up and threw them in too!
All I can say is YUM-O! Even Hubby, who doesn't like artichokes liked this! Granted, he picked out most of them, but ate a few of the solitary leaves. He said that we can add this to our rotation, so I'm super happy about that because this dish was VERY good! It did take a bit of prep, but so worth it! The dish was just bursting with flavor! I served this with a side of brown rice, but I can totally see it next to white rice or plain or with a slice of bread or steamed broccoli ...
I've never been a patient person ... uh ... ever. But, I'm trying to be patient with my Celiac Gene test. I'm trying to fill my days and not think about it ... and it's everlasting affects on both my life ... and the future of my family ... and future kids. No, I'm not thinking about it at all! ;) I'm being wonderfully, calmly patient!
Oh, and if you believe that, I have some ocean front property in Arizona to sell ya! ;)
I love, love, LOVE sushi! And, Sushi is actually pretty safe to eat GFCF. Of course, SF is a whole 'nother thing, but it's possible, I promise! I still eat it all the time! Seriously! It is one of the easiest things to eat out since it is prepared fresh and to-order, so you can easily customize it!
Sushi rice, nori (seaweed paper that sushi is wrapped in) and of course the raw rish are all naturally GFCFSF.
Here are some things you have to watch for:
Dairy:
- The only dairy stuff that I can think of off the top of my head that is usually in sushi is cream cheese - so, if a roll I want comes with it, I just ask that they replace it with avocado or cucumber or something, it's usually not a problem.
- If only GF: Anything "tempura," fried, or labeled as "crunchy" - those all are done with wheat flakes
- If only GF: Avoid crabsticks. They almost always have wheat in them. You can ask if they use real crab or imitation. Real crab is fine. Imitation is not. They should be able to tell you if it is real crab or not - it's a fairly common question.
- If GF and/or SF: Soy sauce with wheat in it - so if you are both GF/SF, you'll have to deal with no sauce whatsoever or bring a bit of fish sauce. If you are only GF, not SF, bring your own wheat free soy sauce but still ask that they do not put ANY sauce on any of your sushi. I cannot emphasize this enough the waiter/waitress! Just so you know, some rolls don't say that they have sauce on them on the menu, but it arrives with a sauce on them! So, be very, very clear. This might get you a weird look - "No sauce?" "No sweet sauce?" "No soy sauce?" Just keep nodding - yes, NO sauce of ANY kind. They all most likely have soy in them and could have wheat in them.
- If GF and/or SF: Anything with eel because it almost always comes with soy on it or was marinated in soy
Here are some other words to watch for - most will not show up in your sushi menu, but they may be in entrees (if your sushi place offers other entrees) or in the appetizers:
- GF only: ramen, soba, udon, gyoza, panko, tempura, miso (this is soy based and can have wheat added in sometimes), dashi, salad dressing and marinades (of course all sauces can have wheat in them), tamago (an omelet that has soy sauce in it), flavored roe, fish cake, soy sauce, teriyaki, sweet soy, sweet sauce
- SF only: gyoza, miso, dashi, salad dressing and marinades (of course all sauces can have wheat in them), tamago (an omelet that has soy sauce in it), flavored roe, soy sauce, teriyaki, sweet soy, sweet sauce
Some safe options:
- Sashimi: all it is - literally - is slices of raw fish. So, you'd get a plate full of little pieces of raw fish. You could ask for a bowl of rice to come with it, but it won't have the "sushi" flavor because sushi rice has vinegar and some other stuff in it. You could ask for a bowl of sushi rice, but it depends on the place if they'll do that.
- If you can eat soy, a good appetizer is Edamame (salted and steamed soybeans)
- California Roll or Rainbow Roll - if GF: replace crabstick with shrimp
- Alaskan or Philadelphia Roll - if DF: replace cream cheese with avocado
- Any Nigri sushi (this is just a pillow of sushi rice, sometimes with a dab of wasabi and then the fish on top - no sauce, no veggies, nothing to worry about here - just don't order the eel one or tamgo if your GF or SF!)
Enjoy!
Okay, so Hubby and I tried a new sushi restaurant the other day. We usually go to this one, but we decided to try this one to switch things up a bit!
I noticed an avocado salad on the menu. I love avocados, so I asked the lady what was in it. She said it had iceberg lettuce, avocado, sesame seeds, miso dressing and topped with tempura flakes. So, it was soy and wheat filled! :( I politely declined but thought, ooooo, that sounds super good and I bet I can make a safe version at home!
So, this is what I came up with:
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Clara's Avocado Sesame Salad
Ingredients:
3 romaine lettuce leaves
1/2 avocado, thinly sliced the long way and mediumly sliced the short way (hope that makes sense! Basically, you want bite size pieces)
1 slice of red onion (Cut vertically so you'll get several little skinny pieces, not a ring)
2-3 heavy sprinkles of toasted black sesame seeds
1 light sprinkle of toasted white sesame seeds
4-5 tsp of My Favorite Dressing
1/2 handful or so of Rice Chex (check to make sure it's GF)
Directions:
Roughly chop the lettuce leaves, place them on the plate
Place the avocado randomly on top of the lettuce
Spread the onion pieces around on top of the avocado and lettuce
Sprinkle both the sesame seeds on top
Drizzle on the dressing
Crush the Rice Chex in your hands and sprinkle over the whole salad
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Oh! So this is SO good! Really, very, super good! Try this ... TODAY!!! I mean, not only is it amazingly good, but avocados are so good for you!
The black sesame seeds really give the salad a deep flavor that is also a bit nutty, the dressing lends that vinegary/sour flavor, the avocado is creamy and also a bit nutty and then the lettuce, sesame seeds and Rice Chex give you that crunch! It's a flavor explosion and a textural sensation!
Oh my!! Yum yum! And, completely GDSYWP-free! :D Life is good.
Enjoy!
