Best Gluten-Free Products

I recently decided to go gluten-free for many reasons.  One of those reasons is that I have had troubles with arthritis in all my joints.  Apparently gluten is bad for inflammation.  Also, I read Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Way Back to Health by William Davis.  In the book Davis cites empirical research studies that show that the hybridized wheat of today is bad for our health and may be partly responsible for the obesity epidemic.  I highly recommend reading the book.  If you don't have the time or interest in reading the book, then just read all the reviews on Amazon.  The testimonials are very compelling.

My own testimonial is that when I initially went gluten-free for three weeks I lost 4 lbs.  I didn't make any other changes to my diet or exercise.  I wasn't counting calories or even focusing on eating healthy.  I had plenty of meat, cheese, and nuts.  Yet I still lost weight.  I also didn't have any major flare ups in my joints during that time.  After week three was over I decided to cheat a little bit.  I had some gluten in the form of Crab Rangoon (I'm yearning for a gluten-free version!).  The next morning I woke up with the inflammation in all my joints again. 

With that lesson learned I went another four weeks without gluten.  Unfortunately I had another weak moment and had Beef Wellington appetizers from Cosco (Please tell me if you ever find gluten-free puff pastry!).  Again I woke up the next morning with all the joint pain.  It wasn't worth it.

10 Symptoms of Gluten-Intolerance

I realize that going gluten-free might seem like a daunting or even impossible task.  For me it was a relatively easy transition.  As I have mentioned before my husband, Carl is Celiac (which is even worse than gluten-intolerance).  Since I already have to read labels to make sure I don't poison him it isn't hard to do it for myself.  We have been married for five years, and we have tried numerous gluten-free products.  Some are good and some are not.  Instead of telling you all the products that aren't worth the money I would rather focus on the positive.  I have compiled the following list of some of our favorite gluten-free products:

Hormel Pepperoni and All-Natural Deli Meats
Boar's Head All-Natural Deli Meats
Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Brown Rice Pasta
Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta
Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta (Recipes)
Conte's Gluten Free Spinach & Cheese Ravioli, Cheese Raviolli, and Gnochi (Frozen.  They have many other products that I haven't tried yet including pizza and pierogies! Available Online!)
R.P.'s Pasta Co. Linguini and Fettucine (Refrigerated)
Classico Pasta Sauces (The Alfredo is also gluten-free!)
Sonoma Gluten-Free Flatbreads by Donatos (Frozen)
Deli International Pizza (Frozen)
Freschetta Gluten-Free Pizza (Frozen)
Mama Mary's Gluten-Free Thin Pizza Crust
Canyon Bakehouse Rosemary & Thyme Focaccia, Sandwich Bread
Schar Par-baked Baguettes, Sub Rolls, and Ciabatta Rolls
Rotella's Sandwich Bread
Udi Sandwich Bread, Hot Dog Buns, Hamburger Buns, and Bagels
Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Bisquick and Dessert Mixes (Recipes)
Chebe Cheese Bread Mix (Cheese sold separately.  I haven't made these in a long time.  Sorry, Carl.)
Enjoy Life Soft Baked Cookies (Free of wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish, shellfish)
Grandma's House Gluten-Free Apple Pie (Frozen)
Alexia Potatoes (Frozen)
Selected Wolfgang Puck Canned Soups (Not all are gluten-free.)
Selected Amy's Canned Soups and Frozen Entrees (Not all are gluten-free.)
DePuma Frozen Gluten-FreePasta (I haven't tried this yet, but I'm including it in the list b/c it looks AMAZING!)
Glutino Pretzels & Bagel Chips
Stax (Pringles are not gluten-free.)
Blue Diamond Hazelnut Thin Crackers (They have other varieties, but we like the Hazelnut kind.)
Van's Gluten-Free Crackers
Chex Cereal (Make sure it's the Gluten-Free!)
Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour, Rice Flour


Additional Resources:
Gluten-Free Product Reviews from fellow blogger and Kansas City girl, Marissa Carter
Glutenfree.com
Glutenfreemall
FindMeGlutenFree.com

Hopefully you will be able to find these gluten-free products in your local supermarket in the health foods section or within the rest of the store.  If not, then you may have to purchase them online.  I also highly recommend requesting them through your local supermarkets in hopes that they will stock them for you.  Just remind them that they are missing sales.  The squeaky wheel gets the grease!


xoxo,
Sara


P.S.  Please include your own delicious gluten-free finds in the comments!

Pinterest Love plus Roasted Cauliflower & Aged Cheddar Soup!

Over the past week I have gotten back on my Pinterest boards exploring past pins and pinning new ones.  There is no lack of inspiration in this world with the internet at hand and especially with Pinterest.  How awesome is it that you can basically create your own story boards (that would have originally been magazine clippings push pinned to a bulletin board) all in one place!?  With my love of food and low-cal eating I have collected a lot of recipes that I am anxious to try (some just a small taste because they are fattening rich, some a whole plate full serving because they are low-cal!).  I invite you to check out my boards and would love for you to follow any/all of my boards that interest you. 

I made a recipe this evening for my husband that I pinned on Pinterest from Kevin at Closet Cooking:

Roasted Cauliflower and Aged White Cheddar Soup (Click the link for the recipe!)

I tweeked (confused that with tweeking, my bad) tweaked the recipe only slightly.  I skipped the step of sautéing the chopped thyme.  Instead I dropped a bouquet of thyme tied with butcher's twine in the broth.  I fished it out and discarded it before the puree step.  Also, I dare say I used two cups of white cheddar instead of 1 1/2 like the recipe stated.  And yes, I used a cup of heavy cream to make it creamy.  (Kevin suggested it!)  I reserved a little bit of the cheese and fresh chopped thyme for a garnish. All those tweaks and I thought for sure I was breaking the calorie bank.  It tasted like a cheesy cream of potato soup.  I plugged the recipe into the Lose It! app on my iPhone (after I already ate, wink, wink).  I was pleasantly surprised by how reasonable the calories were!  I estimated the recipe to be 4 servings based on how much I ate.  This deliciously, decadent soup was only 378 calories/serving.  I ate a small romaine lettuce salad with 1/2 a Tbsp. of Marzetti's Simply Dressed Light Caesar dressing (18 calories) just before the soup was ready.  I added a slice of gluten-free toasted baguette (55 calories) for dipping in the last bits of soup.  It was a very satisfying meal.  Of course, I'm scared to tell you the fat content. That means I'm not going to.  Haha! In case you are on a low fat diet I would suggest sticking with the 1 1/2 cups of cheese.  Also, use skim milk or extra broth instead of heavy cream.  I'll try to do that the next time.

I can't wait to try Closet Cooking's Roasted Cauliflower and Aged White Cheddar Gratin next!  Stay tuned for a review.

xoxo

Sara

Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto with Balsamic Glaze

Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto with Balsamic Glaze

I am re-posting this link today because of a conversation I had with a checker at Trader Joe's (love that place!!!).  I made the recipe today minus the prosciutto, because I am trying to go pescatarian (boo!).  We shall see how long that lasts.  (Pssst!  I ate a piece of chicken last night.  Don't tell anyone.) 

My lovely, fellow blogger, Kelly at Eat Yourself Skinny was kind enough to let me guest post my asparagus recipe on her site a little over a year ago.  While you are redirected to her site you must check out all her awesome recipes.  She's a blogger after my own heart.  She even lists recipes by points for all of you WW enthusiasts. 

On to other news, I am continuing to work on my guidebook about what to eat when you eat out at chain restaurants.  I'm beginning to taste the end of this decade long two-year project.  God willing, I should have it done by December.  Don't worry!  Even though I am pretending to go going pescatarian I will have plenty of beef/pork/poultry options in the book.  I might go back to being a raging carnivore within a week, so don't hold me to the pescatarian thing.  I'll keep you posted.  In case you don't know what pescatarian means you can read all about it on Wikipedia.  I'm not trying the diet change to be pretentious or holier than thou.  I'm merely trying it, because it's considered a heart-healthier diet. 

I watched the documentary Forks Over Knives on Netflix, and it inspired me to reduce my meat intake.  I highly recommend watching it even if you are a carnivore that salivates at the mere mention of meat like Pavlov's dog salivates at the bell.  If you watch it and still want your meat, then I certainly won't blame you.  You'll get no judgement from me, because it will be a hot day in Antarctica before I give up cheese and eggs.  The video is still an interesting watch without being super preachy like some other documentaries concerning meat consumption.  In addition, it is loaded with scientific research.

This isn't really an animal rights kind of issue for me.  (Although I think it would be hilarious if animals had the right to vote or run for congress.  Oops!  Forgot it's a bunch of donkeys and elephants.  My bad.)  Even if I succeed at going pescatarian I'm never going to stop wearing leather.  Fish skin just isn't fashionable.  Eel skin is okay but kind of creepy.  I own four leather jackets, and I will continue to wear them with pride.  They match my leather handbags, belts, and shoes.  Plus one of the jackets makes me feel like Joan Jett.  That's one feisty, rock n' roll chick.  That never goes out of style.  I plan on wearing that jacket far past my prime.  Someone will have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands even if I live to be a hundred.  I hate to belabor the point, but I love that jacket. 

Now that I wouldn't shut up about the jacket I suppose I should show you a picture.  It's only fair.

While I'm on the subject of all things me, I must tell you that I have gone ginger.  That's right, I'm a redhead now.  It's more auburn than fire-engine or carrot top.  Bye, bye blondie.  Thanks to Dalton at Roca Salon for holding my hand through the transformation.  He is some sort of mad scientist genius with hair color.  No regrets, buddy!  I'll update my profile pics on all my social media when I get a chance.

Wishing everyone sunshine and happiness!

Sara

350 Calorie Gluten Free Veggie Quesadilla

 

 Nutrition Info

• Calories: 350.2
• Fat: 15.6g
• Carbohydrates: 41.3g 
• Fiber: 8.0g
• Protein: 13.6g

Ingredients

2 Soft Corn Tortillas
1/4 cup Kuner's Refried Black Beans with Lime Juice
1/4 cup Colby Monterey Jack Cheese, Shredded
1/3 cup Bird's Eye Ultimate Southwest Blend (frozen corn, onion, black bean, and poblano pepper mix)
2 Tbsp. Sour Cream
2 Tbsp. Pico de Gallo
Cooking Spray

Directions

The first step is optional. I spray each side of the tortillas with cooking spray. Then place the tortillas on a cookie sheet. Broil them on high for 1 minute on each side in the oven to soften them.

Next preheat the oven at 350 degrees. Spread the re-fried black beans evenly on each tortilla. Be sure to coat close to the edge of the tortilla.

Next top each tortilla with the colby jack cheese. Only 1/4 cup!  Make sure you measure it or it won't be a 350-calorie quesadilla!

Microwave the frozen Southwest blend for 30 seconds to thaw/heat the vegetables. Drain and add to each tortilla.

Bake each tortilla open-faced in the oven for 10 minutes until the cheese is melted. Next broil them on high for 2 minutes until the cheese is slightly browned for added flavor. Make sure you keep an eye on them so that the tortillas don't burn. Then flip one tortilla on top of the other and cut it into quarters. Garnish with the sour cream and pico de gallo.

Serving Size: 1 quesadilla