Basil Polenta

Here's an easy throw-together gluten free, vegan, nut free dish with generous portions of fresh foods!

Ingredients:

1 18-oz package of polenta (I used Ancient Harvest Quinoa Polenta - Heirloom red and black), cut into 1/3" rounds

2 shallots, sliced

2 tomatoes, diced

3 gloves of garlic, minced

1 handful of basil, cut into strips with kitchen shears

Pam cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line cookie sheet with tin foil. Spray with cooking spray. Place polenta on foil. Bake for 15 minutes.

Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray. Add shallots and garlic, cook until tender. Add tomatoes and cook for another two or three minutes. Add the basil on top. Cook for another two or three minutes.

Place the shallot/tomato/garlic/basil mixture on top of the polenta from the oven. Serve!

This made a fantastic grab and go lunch for me. One of my coworkers never tried polenta before (shh...I didn't either before going gluten free), so I gave her a spoonful and this recipe was awarded her seal of approval! So what exactly is polenta? The variety I buy is yellow corn meal with quinoa - yum! There are loads of recipes to try with it! For my super super easy pan-cooking polenta recipe, check out this post. Now is the BEST time to expand your culinary repertoire and try new foods! (If not now, then when?)

Tofu Stir Fry

Mise en plas.

That's the secret to eating your veggies when stir-frying. The idea is to prepare all your ingredients ahead of time. Notice how recipes say "1 onion - diced" rather than saying "1 onion" and then step 1 is to dice your onion? It's because you're supposed to be ready to go before the stove is turned on. And if all your ingredients are chopped and neatly prepped in their respective bowls awaiting their orderly turn to enter the wok, you'll be able to quickly tell that your rainbow of vegetables is rather white. With my herbs standing only 1/16" tall in my windowsill garden, I couldn't even have the final splash of greens to the finished product.

Here's a delicious (even if rather white), oil free, gluten free, vegan stir fry:

Tofu with Rice Noodles and a Splash of Color

Marinade:

2 T gluten free soy sauce (I use San-J)

1 T brown sugar

1/2 t (or more to taste) Bragg's Liquid Aminos

2 cloves garlic, minced

Other ingredients:

1 package of extra firm tofu

2 bell peppers, diced

2 shallots, sliced

Pam cooking spray

1/2 T grated ginger

Rice flour noodles

Cut the tofu into equal sized cubes. Place in a medium sized non-metal bowl.

Whisk the marinade ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour over the tofu. Marinate in the fridge for about half an hour.

Prepare rice flour noodles according to the directions.

Heat the wok. Spray with cooking spray. Add the bell peppers. Cook for 3 minutes while stirring. Add the shallots while stirring. Cook for another 2 minutes. Add the ginger, tofu, and drained rice noodles while (you guessed it) stirring until everything is evenly heated. Serve!

For more ideas of how to maximize tofu, check out some of the dishes my friends and I created during our vegetarian and tree nut/dairy/gluten free dinner party when I was fully introduced to the chameleon qualities of tofu!

Here's a kitchen tool that normally doesn't get a lot of mention: my bamboo spoons. Aside from the eco-friendly, green-ness of the product, they are super cheap. When I went gluten free, I got rid of two things in my kitchen: my toaster and my wooden spoons. Since wooden spoons are often used for things like wheat pasta, gluten is allegedly absorbed in the cracks. Um, no thank you. I recently bought a set of three spoons and since I live with a completely gluten free kitchen, I have no worries of cross-contamination. Meanwhile, my family knows to switch to the plastic spoon whenever cooking something I will eat while at their house. Wooden cutting boards are off limits. Being gluten intolerant means I have to pay attention to not only the food, but the utensils used to create it! Stir frying with bamboo spoons is so easy! These spoons remain in perfect condition after I'm done, unlike my plastic spoons which tend to chip away during the stir fry process! Gross!

Sorghum Bread

The Engine 2 Healthy Eating challenge goes beyond just a plant-strong vegan diet. No carbonated beverages or oils. Two staples in my standard gluten and cow's milk free diet. With the hope of saving money and trying new bread recipes, I decided from the start that I was going to bake one vegan gluten free bread a week.

Quickly, I ran into two problems:

• Most recipes call for millet flour - which I do not have and the dreary Chicago weather was preventing me from wanting to leave my studio
• Almost everything contains oil

Where was I going to compromise my standards a little? The bread. Making gluten free vegan bread and trying new recipes that have the potential to become staples in my lifelong repertoire is much more important to me than bending the rules a smidge with 1/4 cup of oil during a 28 day challenge.

I found this sorghum bread recipe from Book of Yum - a gluten free vegetarian website and it had some of the most accessible list of flours (translation: I had everything but teff or buckwheat flour already, so easily substituted garbanzo bean flour.) Instead of hemp milk, I used rice milk.

Making it was pretty easy. I used my handheld mixer with great results. I never worked with ground flax and water as an egg substitute before and I'm glad to say that it was an easy hands-off process thanks to my 3-cup food processor!

How did it taste? I should have taken better before and after pictures. I ate about several large slices within the hour it came out of the oven. I miss homemade, fresh tasting bread. Tomorrow, I plan on making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a spinach salad for lunch just so I can delight in the flavors again!

Breakfast

As part of my challenge, I'm eating breakfast. Weekdays, that means I have to get up the first time my alarm clock sounds - not after the third time hitting snooze. So far, I've been eating Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (certified gluten free from Bob's Red Mill), toast with peanut butter, or fruit. This morning, I wasn't under any time pressure, so I made myself a proper breakfast.

With spinach.

One of the benefits of doing this challenge is access to related events. On Thursday evening, I went on a Health Starts Here tour of Whole Foods (actually, you can always go on a tour of the store - just ask an employee - I've always been too shy to do it before). Our first stop was the mangos in the entryway. Becky showed us how to choose a ripe mango and I asked what would go in a mango smoothie. (After all, the Mega Mango from Jamba Juice is my go to drink. Maybe I could make a similar product myself...) She and Mary from asmallloss suggested anything...but add spinach! (Mary also suggested some frozen berries, which I bought but haven't used yet.) I bought two mangos and took them home. It seemed like a crazy idea, but maybe they were on to something...

I mixed my smoothie and had some toast with peanut butter and a side of grapes. Bread is the only way I am cheating or bending the rules with going vegan. I found some egg-free bread, but have loads of gluten and dairy free bread in the freezer that needs to be eaten to make some room for the vegan bread. I'm currently loving Glutino's flax seed bread - a find in the clearance frozen section at Jewel a few months ago! Apparently no one was buying it? It was a ridiculously low price, I want to say $2.00 or so. Don't worry - the bread is almost gone and I'll be making some gluten free, oil free, vegan bread tomorrow!

My Mega Spinach Mango Banana Smoothie

1 banana

2 mangos

1 handful of spinach, washed

1/4 c rice milk

Mix all ingredients together in a blender. Add ice cubes and straw.

Makes: 1 generous serving

This shake was a far cry from my delicious chocolate one that I totally did not eat for dinner that night (in case my mom is reading). Was it good? Were Becky and Mary on to something delicious? Yes. Couldn't even taste the spinach and I've been on a spinach kick lately!

Healthy Eating Challenge - Day 2

My first day vegan and soda free went off without a hitch. So of course, Day 2 was going to present some unusual situations.

I went to my first ever conference for work through The Day Job. They advertised one of the perks of going as a free contential breakfast. Oh goodie! Bagels and cream cheese. The registration form included a spot for special needs, so I wrote in gluten and lactose intolerant and saw what would happen. I stopped a Jamba Juice and had an all-fruit Mega Mango (all their smoothies can be made non-dairy and only one of their smoothies and a handful of boosts contain gluten). At the conference, there were bagels, cream cheese, coffee and dougnuts galore. Thankfully, there was some fresh fruit and water also available. In the afternoon, there as a refreshment break: they served cookies, hot soft pretzels, soda, juice and some fruit. I went with the juice. The only thing I had to choose differently from my standard gluten/dairy free diet was passing over the soda. I'm more tired than usual - I didn't realize how much I depended on my lunchtime soda for a mid-day pick me up!

For lunch, my co-worker and I went over to foodlife at Water Tower Place - great for tourists, shoppers, and conference attendees. foodlife is organized so you can order what you like and pay at the end - they swipe a credit card style card. I'm always a fan of these cafeteria-like settings - I can be as difficult or indecisive as I need to without slowing down a coworker and we all have loads of choices. I asked the host if he had any recommendations for gluten free foods. And then I got a sheet. Nine different stands had gluten free food! Win! But then I noticed the heavy mention of meat. The salmon and sushi sounded so good - so did the hamburger on the homemade gluten free bun! For ease, I went to the salad vendor and marvelled at all their gluten free choices, marked with a green g. I identified myself as gluten intolerant and ordered tofu for my protien and choose some other toppings. I told the man wild rice (clearly labeled gluten free) and he put the ingredient next to it on it. I asked what that was but he didn't understand. I asked someone else and she told me: bulgar.

I had them make me a new salad.

I've never done that before. I felt like a royal pain since it was the last ingredient to go on the salad, but of all things, why did gluten end up on my salad! I'm all for gluten free ingredients in salads, but there were a lot of gluten containing items surrounding it that made me nervous. Labeled gluten free goodies were next to wheat containing items. One unsteady move with a spoon could easily contiminate my food.

Thankfully, I made it through my salad (take 2) with spinach, tofu, corn, endame, guac and wild rice with a basic vingerate without any other incident. (Grand total of my salad lunch with water: $9.81. Got to love city lunches!)

foodlife has loads of choices for people on a gluten free diet. I'd be interested to compare a gluten free list with a dairy free list (if one was available) and truly see all of my available options. That homemade gluten free hamburger bun is teasing me...I'd love to go back after the 28 Day Challenge and give it a taste!

Healthy Eating Challenge - Day 1

I'm going on a diet.

Correction - on a lifestyle.

For 28 days, I am participating in a Healthy Eating Challenge through Whole Foods. This is a plant-strong way of eating from the book The Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn.

My biggest challenge? I can't lose any weight.

Today, I weigh 88.4 pounds. I stand only 4' 11 1/4" tall and have always been tiny. When I first went dairy free over two years ago, I lost about three pounds. After going gluten free 11 months ago, I lost an average of 8 pounds. At my skinniest only about two months ago, I was 85 pounds.

So why go plant-strong and say no to all animal products (including meats, fish, and eggs)?

My plates have been very white lately. My diet was turning into white rice with meat. Maybe some veggies or fruit. The pictures I posted on the blog were the best-of's. Not every meal had a vegetable. I am also scared to get into a diet rut. With a limited number of gluten and dairy free packaged goods available, I was finding myself eating the same products over and over again. As I heard from the Gluten Free Expo, we eat the same foods over and over - just in different combinations. A white plate is devoid of nutrients - I need to eat a rainbow!

So for the next 28 days, my diet and blog will be:

• Vegetarian and vegan
• Oil free
• Carbonated beverage free
• Dairy free
• Egg free
• Fish and shell-fish free
• Gluten free
• White rice light
• Devoid of (or very light on) packaged and unnecessarily processed foods (translation: I need to be able to pronounce all the ingredients)
• Focused on healthy eating and maximizing nutrients readily available in fruits and vegetables
• Recipe testing - one gluten free vegan bread a week!

The only three of the top 8 allergens that will be represented will be soy, peanuts and tree nuts.

And here are my obstacles:

• I have had a soda a day since college. The caffeine in Coke and Pepsi helps my chronic headaches.
• I will also be exercising - 20-30 minutes 5 days a week.
• I'm skinny and cannot lose any more weight.
• I normally do not eat any breakfast or will snack on dry cereal from a plastic bag.
• I love white rice and haven't really enjoyed brown rice too much
• I need to be careful with so I do not accidentally eat any gluten. My last reaction was probably from the smallest trace of gluten and yet was so severe I had to leave work early.
• And I need to do all of this while working over 40 hours a week.

I will be one of 18 Chicago-based bloggers taking part in this 28-Day Challenge with Whole Foods. I'm excited for the opportunity to change my diet.

For those new to the blog, here are some "recap" style links: a Memorial Day versus Labor Day comparison of me on and off gluten and a year in review entry. I had an appendectomy on October 15, 2008. I was still having health problems and saw a gastro who told me to simply get on the pill. In early Spring 2009, a friend help diagnose my lactose intolerance. I tested her theory with a milk challenge and realized that milk was making my symptoms worse. (My stomach hurt, I didn't feel like eating, I drank a milk shake, my stomach hurt...it was a nasty cycle.) In December 2009, my symptoms were getting much worse even though I was completely off dairy. Three gastros, 5 tubes of blood, 2 rounds of stool testing, 1 CT scan, 1 chest x-ray, an echo later and a colonscopy and upper-endoscopy later, I self-diagnosed as gluten intolerant near the end of June 2010. The gastro agreed, wrote it in my chart, and I maintained a gluten free diet ever since. There was a major difference in my health when I was off gluten. All of my symptoms disappeared within five days. Do I think a gluten free diet is the answer for everyone? Not at all. If you are intolerant, then yes, you should follow a gluten free lifestyle. If not, enjoy your wheat, barely, rye, and (most) oats!

Here's to the rainbow!

Microwavable Lunch: Patak's Original

I recently discovered Patak's Original Indian food at the grocery store (enticed by a coupon, no less) and turned over their products to see if they were gluten and dairy free. Most Indian food is (they tend to use coconut milk rather than cow's milk!) and Patak's was no exception. They actually had the most creative and colorful labeling I have seen! I am enticed to buy their product with declarations like "100% natural", "Free from artificial colors, flavors & preservatives" but am totally sold when seeing "Gluten free" and "Suitable for vegans"!

I had the Vegetable Korma curry with rice (only one pepper out of five on the spicy scale) for lunch at work. It worked extremely well for a dish that is easy to store in a desk drawer for days when I just didn't have time to cook something completely homemade. It was very tasty and really packed in flavor, but wasn't too filling. My lunch looked nothing like the enticing picture on the box. I should have brought my fresh herbs to work to garnish! Next

time...

Overall, something worth buying again for easy lunch solutions! I think I will be buying some of Patak's other products and creating some Indian dishes in my kitchen rather than just the microwave at work!