Just Another Manic Monday!

Happy March 1st everyone! Today has started out pretty fabulous for me already! Love my Mondays! I did manage a 15 miler this morning and now I am ready to refuel and get back into the swing of things. But first I have to share some awesome recipes with you guys. I woke up on Sunday morning ready to bake and cook. And bake and cook I did!! First, I made Keith  gluten-free brownies from his favorite mix, Namaste. I make a few substitutions. Instead of adding 3/4 cup oil I always use either unsweetened applesauce or apple butter. They are still fabulous and you won’t miss anything but the extra fat grams….promise! 🙂

A few weeks ago the movie, Waitress was on TV (love that movie BTW) and ever since then I have been wanting to make a pie. So for dinner I tried my hand at chicken pot pie! It as so good. Keith loved it and declared it worthy of cookbook number 2 (to be released sometime this coming year!)

CHICKEN POT PIE

• 2 pounds chicken, cooked and chopped
• 1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 (10.75 oz) 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup
• 1/4 cups milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 2 ready to bake pie crusts (I used the low-fat Pillsbury Pet-Ritz Pie Crusts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and pour into pie shell. Cover with second pie shell and seal the edges closed. Cut slits in the top to allow steam to escape.

Bake 30-45 minutes until golden brown.

Serves: 6

Per Serving: 399.7 Calories; 12.7g Fat (4.5g saturated fat); 78.5mg Cholesterol; 1295.5mg Sodium; 32.8g Carbohydrates; 3.1g Sugar; 35.4g Protein

** T0 make this even more low-fat don’t use the bottom crust. Simple fill a pie plate with mixture and the put a crust over the top of the pie plate. Cut slits to allow the steam to escape and follow directions above. This will change the nutrition facts to (per serving): 293.7 Calories; 7.4g Fat (2.5g saturated fat); 78.5mg Cholesterol; 1199.2mg Sodium; 20.8g Carbohydrates; 1.8g Sugar; 34.1g Protein

You guys know that I love fun random trivia facts. So to help brighten your Monday, I will leave you with some more useless information a la Kelly:

• Diet Coke was only invented in 1982
• A skunk’s smell can be detected by a human a mile away
• When snakes are born with two heads, they fight each other for food
• American car horns beep in the tone of F
• Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave
• Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors
• You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching TV
• The king of hearts is the only king without a moustache

Do you have a random piece of useless information to share?

SMILE…IT’S MONDAY!:)

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And The Winner Is…

Thanks to everyone who entered the Perfect Foods Bar give-a-way. These bars are seriously awesome and even I am jealous of the winner! haha! So are you ready? It is:

KRISTEN @ CHANGE OF PACE 

Congratulations girl! Shoot me an email with your information and I will get it over to the people at Perfect Foods so they can mail off your goodie box!! Woot Woot! Happy Tuesday to you!!  

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Who do you admire and why? 

This is an interesting question. What sparked it was while eating my breakfast this morning, I overheard a conversation between two boys. They were probably 12 (give or take a year) and they were heatedly debating who the best basketball player was. One was insisting it was Kobe while they other held fast in his Shaq love. It made me smile a little as I remember having very similar conversations as a kid. Who was the best and why? To be frank, we still have them today. My husband and I are constantly talking about who’s the best in the NFL in their respective positions. Do we ever really grow out of the hero-worship phase?  

So I thought, who is my hero? I will say that I wish I could be uber lofty and say it was some famous political pioneer, or a famous writer, but really mine is an athlete. Kara Goucher to be exact. I find her to be an inspiration to me. She is a fighter, a runner, and a woman. I am in awe of her and she pushes me to do better in my own training. I find her relatable and very down to earth. Runner’s World did a huge spread on her this month and I devoured every word! Sometimes people just inspire you for all kinds of reasons and some of them can be personal. I only hope that on a much smaller level I can serve as an inspiration to people around me too!  

 

 

 

Kara Goucher

Who inspires you?  

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Sparkspeople had a great article on Gluten today called, Gluten FEAR: Should You Go Gluten-Free? Lots of great information on what exactly gluten is and how to incorporate gluten-free changes into your diet. Go here to read it!

You Just Thought I Was Done…

So you might have thought after my all-day Sunday baking day that I was finished, right? WRONG! Yesterday I made a gluten-free Pumpkin Pie for my hubby (his fave) and Pineapple Meatloaf (another household staple) for dinner. I also made the gingerbread for the Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle I will be making for Christmas Eve.

 I am also responsible for the Christmas Eve dinner since it is at my house. The menu will be Chicken Tortilla Soup and Tamales! Plus for Christmas Day I am making my traditional Raw Broccoli Salad and a 5-cup Fruit Salad to take to my Mom’s. Okay…now calm down, all of those recipes will be coming in the next few days, but for now let’s stick with the Pumpkin Pie and the Pineapple Meatloaf, shall we?

PUMPKIN PIE (GLUTEN-FREE)

Keith's GF Pumpkin Pie

1 unbaked 9 inch gluten-free pie crust (I use the Whole Foods brand)

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 large eggs

1 can (15 oz) canned 100% pure pumpkin

1 can (12 oz) fat-free evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in a small bowl. Beat eggs in a large bowl and stir in pumpkin and spice mixture. Gradually stir in the evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 40-50 minutes (or until knife inserted comes out clean).  Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours and either serve or refrigerate.

Serves: 8

247.3 Calories; 6.8g Fat (2.3g saturated fat); 55mg Cholesterol; 323.7mg Sodium; 41.2g Carbohydrate; 3.5g Fiber; 29.3g Sugar; 7.1g Protein

PINEAPPLE MEATLOAF

Meatloaf with a Pineapple Twist

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup steel-cut oats (or 1/2 cup regular oats)

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1/2  red bell pepper (or any color of your choice)

1/4  teaspoon salt

1 pound lean ground beef

8 ounces crushed pineapple, drained

BBQ sauce

Combine egg, oats, onion, bell pepper and salt. Add beef and pineapple. Mix well. Place in a 8 x 8 baking dish and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Top with BBQ sauce and bake for another 3 minutes.

Yields: 4 servings

CALORIES 235.9; FAT 8.6g (3.4g saturated fat); CHOLESTEROL 118.1mg; SODIUM 138.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 13g; FIBER 1.4g; SUGAR 7.1g; PROTEIN 26.6g

 

GF Product Reviewst

Happy Thursday! Sheesh…I can’t believe it is already Thursday. Where has the week gone? Let’s start with dinner last night. It was an easy one: Applegate Farms organic turkey burgers on gluten-free Udi bread and some organic Alexia french fries that I bake in the oven. Served up with a side of steamed broccoli and we were good to go!

 

 

Okay so on to the important part of the post! It is no secret that Keith and I eat mostly gluten-free. When I say mostly, I mean we live about 90% gluten-free. We eat mostly raw and natural foods but when we do turn to processed foods we try to go the GF route. With that said, there are a lot of gluten-free products on the market and quite honestly some of them taste REALLY bad! Well I figured to save some of you the trouble I would give you some of my top GF foods that really taste excellent!! Consider these your Kelly and Keith tested and taste approved!! I know the list looks long but remember all of these things are eaten in MODERATION.  Try to stay as raw and natural (fresh fruits, veggies, and proteins) as possible!!

Also go to my post on Gluten-Free Dining Out for a complete list of Austin restaurants that offer gluten-free menus! Yay! Or go to the Gluten Free Registry and just type in your zip code to find restaurants, bakeries, caterers, and grocers in your area!

 Breads

•  Best Sandwich Bread:  Udi Bread. This bread is so fluffy and tasty and the best part is that you don’t have to keep it frozen!!! It tastes great right from the pantry.
•  Best Breakfast Bread: Glutino Cinnamon Raisin Bread. You have to keep this frozen but it toasts nicely and is delish!
• Best Bagels: Glutino Bagels. These are AWESOME! They are large so you can easily only eat half and be totally content!
• Best Pizza Crust: This is a toss-up between Udi’s and Whole Foods Gluten Free brand. Both are good for different reasons. If you want a cracker type crust go for the Udi’s but for those of you who like a little more fluffy crust go for Whole Foods. Both rock!
• Best Pasta: Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta. They have a huge product inventory with all kind of noodles for whatever pasta dish you want to make!

Chips/Crackers/Snacks/Cookies:

• Best pretzels: Glutino!! These are amazing. So much so, in fact, that I CAN NOT be trusted with an open bag! 🙂
• Best Chips: Another Toss up! My favorite are the Guiltless Gourmet Blue Corn Chips and Keith likes the Rice Chips by Lundberg. (All flavors do rock!)
• Best Cracker: Keith’s pick: Nut Thins by Blue Diamond Growers all flavors. My pick: Edward & Sons Exotic Rice Toast all flavors!
• Best Granola: Enjoy Life Foods (all flavors: apple cinnamon, very berry, cinnamon)
• Best Cookie: Midel Ginger Snaps or Chocolate Chip
• Best Pudding: Kozy Shack Rice Pudding

Best Cereal

• Keith’s pick: Leapin Lemurs (KIDS CEREAL!) by Nature’s Path. This cereal is a mixture of chocolate and peanutbutter puffs. I think they are okay but they taste gluten-free to me.
• Kelly’s pick: Mine is a toss-up between Multigrain Puffins by Barbara’s Bakery or plain old KIX cereal by General Mills.

Best Bars:

• Keith’s pick: Think Thin Bars (brownie crunch and peanut butter are his favorite flavors)
• Kelly’s pick: Apple Cinnamon Jamfrakas or Caramel Apple Snack Bars from Enjoy Life Foods

Best Baking Mixes:

• Best Pancake (all-purpose mix): Pamela’s! One word: WOW!
• Best Brownie Mix: Namaste. These brownies are amazing. We always have a batch on hand and we just keep them in the freezer and pop them in the microwave to heat them back to gooey goodness
• Flour: Bob Red Mill’s All Purpose Baking Flour is great for most recipes! Anytime you see a recipe that calls for all-purpose flour you can always sub this in! I do!

Also remember to READ your labels for your soups, condiments (ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, salsa, you know) etc. and look for it to say Gluten-Free. Unfortunately, most things are gluten-free by product brand rather than by product. For example Sara Lee turkey lunch meat is gluten-free but that doesn’t mean that Oscar Meyer is. Confusing, yes!

You can ALWAYS email me with questions about certain products and I will help you decifer if it is gluten-free! I hope this is helpful for everyone! 

 Alright…time for my lunch! PEACE OUT! 🙂

Pumpkin Cookies

Um…cookies…yeah I LOVE them! 🙂 So anytime I can find a healthier cookie recipe I am all over it!! I made these last night while my sweet husband was yelling at the Cowboy game. I was hoping this would at least cheer him up a little…it didn’t! 😦 The cookies were really good (and gluten-free). They taste cakey and although Keith was mad about the game he still managed to eat about 5 of them! So maybe I did help a little.

PUMPKIN COOKIES

1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

dash of salt

1/2 cup pumpkin

1/4 cup applesauce

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream sugar, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir in pumpkin, set aside.

In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir into the creamed mixture and mix well.

Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

Serves: 24

38.4 Calories; 0.1g Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 36.8mg Sodium; 8.9g Carbohydrate; 0.4g Fiber; 0.6g Protein

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Other points of interest: Researchers in Australia found that people on low-fat diets were less depressed and/or angry after a year than those on low-carb, Atkins-style diets. Check out this study: Low-Fat Diet Makes People Less Angry Than Low-Carb 

Christmas Baking

I had a very long conversation with my mom this morning about our holiday baking day (which happens to be December 20th and of course I will take and post pictures of everything!!) But it was so fun to talk about all the cookies and pies we are going to crank out! My favorite holiday dessert is my Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle! It is AMAZING in taste AND calories! This is our Christmas Eve tradition and this year I think I am going to spice it up a little and make individual trifles in my mom’s martini glasses! FUN!

PUMPKIN GINGERBREAD TRIFLE

1 (14 ounce) package gingerbread mix (I use the gluten-free gingerbread mix by the Gluten-Free Pantry)

2 (1 ounce) packages, vanilla sugar-free, fat-free instant pudding mix

3 cups cold skim milk

1 (15 ounce) can solid packed pumpkin

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

2 ½ cups fat-free Cool  Whip

½ cup gingersnaps, roughly crushed (I use the gluten-free gingersnaps by Midel)

Bake the gingerbread according to package directions; cool completely.

 Place milk in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add pudding mixes while mixer is running. Beat for 2 minutes on high-speed. Chill pudding in refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes. Add pumpkin and spices to pudding and stir well. Set aside.

 To assemble trifle, crumble ½ of the gingerbread in the bottom or trifle bowl. Gently spread ½ of pudding mixture over gingerbread. Spread 1 ¼ cup of Cool Whip on top of pudding. Repeat layers one more time. Sprinkle crushed gingersnaps over the Cool Whip topping for garnish.

 Refrigerate overnight and/or chill until ready to serve.

 Serves: 12

CALORIES 274; FAT 2g (0g saturated fat); CHOLESTEROL 2mg; SODIUM 672.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 55.3g; FIBER 3.34g; SUGAR 20.5g; PROTEIN 6.49g

Chanukah Latke Goodness

Happy Wednesday everyone!! This Friday night is the first night of Chanukah so I thought I would post my healthy latke recipe!! Latkes are a yummy Chanukah treat (think hashbrowns people) and I LOVE them! Typical latkes are fried in oil but being the healthy cook that I am…I bake mine and use butternut squash instead of potatoes!! Sneaky huh?? Try them out…there is no rule that you have to be celebrating Chanukah to enjoy these tasty little treats!

 

BUTTERNUT SQUASH LATKES
 
3 cups shredded butternut squash (I peel and seed the squash and then use a cheese grater)
1/2 cup shredded onion
1/4 cup egg substitute (like Egg Beaters)
2 Tbsp. gluten-free flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Optional Toppings: applesauce, sour cream, scallions…whatever you like with your latkes) 

Place a large baking sheet in the oven, and preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place shredded squash and onion on a layer of paper towels. Cover with another layer of paper towels, and press down firmly to remove all excess moisture. Repeat until squash and onion shreds are as dry as possible. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine squash, onion, egg substitute, flour, and salt. Mix well. 

Using oven mitts or kitchen towels, carefully remove the hot baking sheet from the oven. Cover sheet evenly with a quick spray of olive oil. (I have one of those olive oil spritzers) 

Spoon squash mixture onto the sheet in 12 evenly spaced mounds. Using the back of a spoon, flatten and spread each mound into a circle about 3 inches wide. 

Carefully (remember, it’s hot!) return pan to the oven and bake for 8 minutes. 

Using oven mitts or kitchen towels, carefully remove sheet. Coat the top of the latkes with another quick spray of olive oil spray. Gently flip with a spatula.

Return to the oven and bake for approximately 10 minutes, until both sides of latkes are crispy. Serve with sour cream topped with scallions and/or applesauce topped with cinnamon! 

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Serving Size: 3 latkes (without toppings)
Calories: 84; Fat: 1g; Sodium: 324mg; Carbs: 16.5g; Fiber: 2.75g; Sugars: 3g; Protein: 3g

Baked Oatmeal, Fun Food Quiz, and a Poll!

I have lots to post this afternoon after a very busy morning. First, the good stuff…baked oatmeal. I don’t know about anyone else, but it is flipping COLD outside! And I heard we have a 60% chance of snow…yes you read that right…SNOW on Friday. Seriously, I live in Texas for a reason and snow is not it!! 🙂 I started looking through my cold weather recipes and found one of my favorites! I am definitely making this sometime this week. It is baked oatmeal and it is the perfect cold weather breakfast and everyone, even the kids, will LOVE IT!

BAKED OATMEAL WITH APPLES & RAISINS

2 cups rolled oats (I use gluten-free rolled oats)

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup skim milk

1 egg

2 egg whites

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup raisins

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup diced apple

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl combine oatmeal, baking powder and salt. Mix in remaining ingredients; stir and pour into a greased 8 x 8 baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cut into 6 bars.

Yields: 6 servings

CALORIES 186.4; FAT 2.7g (0.6g saturated fat); CHOLESTEROL 36.2mg; SODIUM 304.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 33.7g; FIBER 3.6g; SUGAR 2.1g; PROTEIN 6.6g

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Sparkspeople has a great quiz on their website called How Healthy Is Your Relationship With Food? It is short…10 questions and might offer some good tips and/or insight for you. Answer the questions honestly knowing that no one will see your results but you and maybe you will learn a little about yourself! Have fun!

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POLL ALERT!!

 Leave a comment: What is your favorite thing about the Winter season?

 

Hearty Oatmeal

When I got home from the gym this morning I was craving oatmeal. So I whipped up a hearty bowl of cranberry oatmeal to satisfy me! I paired it with some scrambled egg whites and was good to go!

I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free oats…Take 3 tablespoons oats, 1 tablespoon dried cranberries, 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1/3 cup water, 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon and mix it all together. Microwave for about 2-3 minutes. ENJOY!

Gluten-Free Brownies

Did someone really say brownies AND gluten-free in the same sentence?

I am not opposed to using mixes to help me with my baking. Keith and I have tried all kinds, obviously we LOVE Pamela’s as my prior posts will show, but our favorite brownie mix is one from Namaste Foods. (You can find it at Whole Foods or The Natural Grocer) The brownies always come out perfectly! I keep these on hand regularly for my chocolate loving hubby! We just individually wrap them up and keep them in the freezer. Then when we want one we pop it in microwave for about 45 seconds for a yummy dessert! Now tell me those don’t look like dessert heaven?!?