Well we have made it most of the way through day 4 and have stuck to our guns. NO GLUTEN!
To be fair, we may have an advantage over most people that try going gluten free. Mike and I incorporate Isagenix into our diet and all but 2 Isagenix products are gluten free. Most of our days consist of 2 gluten free meal replacements (shakes, bars or soups), several gluten free snacks (Greek yogurt, almonds, etc) and a knife and fork meal. So really all we have to do is pick healthy, gluten free snacks and come up with 1 gluten free meal a day. Pretty easy so far. I will continue to post recipes as I develop them and/or find them.
These last 2 days have been even easier since we are doing a 48 hour cleanse. All of the products that support a nutritional cleanse are gluten free. So these last 2 days have been absolutely effortless.
Tomorrow we go back to eating meals again, after breaking out cleanse with a shake in the morning. I am a little apprehensive and almost wish I could keep cleansing. Cleansing is easy, Fridays are hard. But I can't keep cleansing because cleansing more than 48 hours is counter-productive. So eat I must and I will.
Fridays are historically tough for me, mentally. In the past I have always looked forward to the weekend so that I could cut loose a little bit and enjoy foods I wouldn't have during the week, as well as alcohol, usually in the form of wine. Fridays have been my reward for surviving the week. And for as long as I can remember our Friday norm has been homemade pizza and a bottle of red wine. And for even longer, my idea of pizza has always been made with wheat dough. Um......what to do?
Well the way I see it, I have 3 options.
The first, break the gluten free challenge and make my awesome homemade gluten laden pizza dough is not really an option at all. I will not give up so easily.
The second option is to not have pizza. This is a viable option. It would mean having to come up with a different, gluten free, meal that evokes the same feeling of Friday-ness
The third option is to find a delicious substitute for wheat dough so that I can have my pizza and eat it too.
I am leaning towards the third option. So I have been looking online for gluten-free pizza dough recipes and I have been surprised to find so many varieties. It's really hard to decide what to try. Here are some of the options I have found.
Cauliflower crust - http://dailydishrecipes.com/cauliflower-pizza-crust-recipe/
King Arthur - http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/gluten-free-pizza-crust-recipe
Sweet potato - http://carrotsncake.com/2013/01/sweet-potato-pizza-crust.html
Various flours - http://mariahealth.blogspot.com/2012/12/amazing-pizza.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gluten-free-pizza-crust-recipe/index.html
If you have tried any of these, please let me know what you thought of them? If you have tried others that you really liked, please share in the comments.
Oh, and I almost forgot to say, I think going gluten free is making a positive difference in how I feel. Cravings are definitely less and my normally amazing Isagenix results are even more amazing than usual.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Celebrate the little victories
This afternoon I went in to the office for a meeting and to catch up with my co-workers. The meeting was rather long and at the end they pulled out an ice cream cake. It was soooooo tempting. But I sat there and thought to myself, "Self, will eating a piece of cake bring me closer to, or further away from, my goals?".
It was a snickers ice cream cake. Did I mention it was really tempting?
While everyone else was having ice cream cake I enjoyed a small serving or unsalted, roasted almonds that I had packed and brought with me to have as an afternoon snack. I am so proud of myself. I mean, come one, it was snickers ice cream cake.
Yay me! The ice cream cake not only had gluten in it, but it was also a very high calorie, low nutrition food.
Small victory. It's only day 2 of our gluten free challenge, but if I can stay this strong for the 30 days my small victories will turn into big victories.
It was a snickers ice cream cake. Did I mention it was really tempting?
While everyone else was having ice cream cake I enjoyed a small serving or unsalted, roasted almonds that I had packed and brought with me to have as an afternoon snack. I am so proud of myself. I mean, come one, it was snickers ice cream cake.
Yay me! The ice cream cake not only had gluten in it, but it was also a very high calorie, low nutrition food.
Small victory. It's only day 2 of our gluten free challenge, but if I can stay this strong for the 30 days my small victories will turn into big victories.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Creamy Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole
Yesterday Mike and I went grocery shopping. On our list were the ingredients needed to make creamy chicken taquitos, including flour tortillas. This was obviously before we decided to embark on our 30 day gluten free adventure. So today my task was to reinvent those ingredients, less the flour tortillas, into a gluten free meal. This is what I came up with.
Creamy Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole
1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can fire roasted tomatoes with green chilies, juice included. I used Muir Glen
1.5 cups reduced fat (2%) Mexican shredded cheese, divided. 1 cup and 1/2 cup.
1 cup frozen corn, organic, thawed (you can add them to the colander with the beans while rinsing the beans)
3 tablespoons cream cheese
1 small red onion
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Preheat oven to 375F.
Place the Cooked rice in a big bowl.
Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and toss with the spices (cumin, chili powder, salt & pepper). Add the Olive oil to a pan and heat it over medium heat. Without over-crowding the pan, add the chicken and brown. You may need to work in batches. Add the chicken to the bowl with the rice.
Saute the onions in the same pan, about 4-5 minutes, until soft and then add the garlic and continue cooking for 1 additional minute. Add the tomatoes, cream cheese, bell pepper, beans and corn and stir to combine. Add this mixture to the bowl with the rice and chicken.
Add 1 cup of cheese to the bowl and mix. Place mixture in a casserole dish. I used a 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Top with remaining cheese and bake on center rack for 30 minutes, or until warmed through and cheese is melted.
Serves 6
Nutritional info per serving.
425 calories
40 grams of carbs (37%)
13 grams of fat (27%)
38 grams of protein (36%)
Mike and I enjoyed the casserole enough that I will make it again. In the future I will likely increase the heat level. The heat level on this recipe was nice, building slowly, but never uncomfortable. We just like a little more heat. I would likely add some fresh jalapenos.
If you try this recipe, please let us know how you like it as well as any modifications you make to it.
Creamy Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole
1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can fire roasted tomatoes with green chilies, juice included. I used Muir Glen
1.5 cups reduced fat (2%) Mexican shredded cheese, divided. 1 cup and 1/2 cup.
1 cup frozen corn, organic, thawed (you can add them to the colander with the beans while rinsing the beans)
3 tablespoons cream cheese
1 small red onion
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Preheat oven to 375F.
Place the Cooked rice in a big bowl.
Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and toss with the spices (cumin, chili powder, salt & pepper). Add the Olive oil to a pan and heat it over medium heat. Without over-crowding the pan, add the chicken and brown. You may need to work in batches. Add the chicken to the bowl with the rice.
Saute the onions in the same pan, about 4-5 minutes, until soft and then add the garlic and continue cooking for 1 additional minute. Add the tomatoes, cream cheese, bell pepper, beans and corn and stir to combine. Add this mixture to the bowl with the rice and chicken.
Add 1 cup of cheese to the bowl and mix. Place mixture in a casserole dish. I used a 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Top with remaining cheese and bake on center rack for 30 minutes, or until warmed through and cheese is melted.
Serves 6
Nutritional info per serving.
425 calories
40 grams of carbs (37%)
13 grams of fat (27%)
38 grams of protein (36%)
Mike and I enjoyed the casserole enough that I will make it again. In the future I will likely increase the heat level. The heat level on this recipe was nice, building slowly, but never uncomfortable. We just like a little more heat. I would likely add some fresh jalapenos.
If you try this recipe, please let us know how you like it as well as any modifications you make to it.
Sneaky places gluten hides
Mike and I spent a few hours yesterday evening clearing the kitchen of gluten. We tossed (moved to an out of the way location) the usual suspects; pasta, crackers and whole grain rice blends such as Near East Whole Grains.
We also found a few sneaky products that I never would have thought contained gluten; Drew's shiitake ginger salad dressing and Embasa chipotle in adobo. So out these went as well.
We were pleasantly surprised to find that none of our favorite spices and spice blends contained any gluten. I have been making homemade taco seasoning for months now so that helped. Our favorite condiments, mostly mustards, are also gluten free. Yay!
We still have to clear out the freezers, and I know there is gluten in there, but that will have to wait until next weekend, or maybe an evening this week if we find the motivation.
Day 1 = challenge 1
All in all I was very pleasantly surprised by the ratio of gluten free foods to gluten containing foods we had in the house, but this is day 1 and we have our first challenge. You see, yesterday morning, before we decided to go gluten free, we had gone grocery shopping for this weeks groceries and on the menu for today were baked chicken taquitos, wrapped in flour tortillas. So our first challenge will be to come up with a creative recipe using all (or most) of the same ingredients, minus the flour tortillas.
I'll share what I come up with later and if it is tasty I will post the recipe.
We also found a few sneaky products that I never would have thought contained gluten; Drew's shiitake ginger salad dressing and Embasa chipotle in adobo. So out these went as well.
We were pleasantly surprised to find that none of our favorite spices and spice blends contained any gluten. I have been making homemade taco seasoning for months now so that helped. Our favorite condiments, mostly mustards, are also gluten free. Yay!
We still have to clear out the freezers, and I know there is gluten in there, but that will have to wait until next weekend, or maybe an evening this week if we find the motivation.
Day 1 = challenge 1
All in all I was very pleasantly surprised by the ratio of gluten free foods to gluten containing foods we had in the house, but this is day 1 and we have our first challenge. You see, yesterday morning, before we decided to go gluten free, we had gone grocery shopping for this weeks groceries and on the menu for today were baked chicken taquitos, wrapped in flour tortillas. So our first challenge will be to come up with a creative recipe using all (or most) of the same ingredients, minus the flour tortillas.
I'll share what I come up with later and if it is tasty I will post the recipe.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
About Us
While eating homemade pizza, we decided to embark on a 30 day gluten-free experiment starting first thing tomorrow morning.
Whose we?
My name is Mike Loux. I am presently 42, stand 5 feet, 2 inches tall, and weigh around 205 pounds. I am happily married to Kelly, and am the proud father of 3 spoiled cats. I am a software developer for a regional property and casualty insurance company, and dabble a bit in programming on the side. And I'm getting ready to embark on a very interesting journey...
And my name is Kelly LeBlanc. I am 39, 5 feet 4 inches tall and weigh approximately 240 pounds. I'll know an exact weight tomorrow morning. I am happily married to Mike and I enjoy spoiling the same 3 cats. I am a nutritional cleansing coach and a QA engineer for a sales and use tax software company.
If, at the end of the first 30 days, we have noticed a marked improvement in our overall health, we may make the transition permanent. Time will tell...
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