Joy Bauer Slim & Scrumptious

So remember when I posted that Joy Bauer is my # 1 Fan? Ok, she isn't really, but someone at her website reads me and knows who I am, so Joy Bauer loves me by association...right....not really! But, let's pretend!

I mentioned in my previous Joy Bauer post that I was sent two books to review. This is the latter of the two and I spent my time cooking away and mainly forgetting to snap pictures because the food was pretty amazing.

Slim & Scrumptious is not specifically a gluten free cookbook but it has health conscious meals that many can enjoy. I was able to cater many of the meals to the GF lifestyle. 

These were my favorite:

• Italian Sunday Brunch Bake
• Apricot Almond Oats (Use dedicated GF Oats!)
• Sicilian Quinoa Salad
• Pistachio Chicken Salad
• Lemon Sage Chicken Breast
• Crispy Kale
• Frozen Hot Chocolate (MY FAVORITE!!!)

Check out the book for yourself and let me know what you think! Does the book not being a GF cookbook exclude it from being used in your home?

Book Review: Joy Bauer's Food Cures

Joy Bauer's Food Cures is a New York Times Best Seller

About a month and a half ago I thought someone was playing a prank on me, I received an email from JoyBauer.com. The email expressed enthusiasm for my site. I was flipping out. Holy crap. I watch Joy Bauer on TV.  I adore the Today Show not just for Matt and Meredith (when she was on) but also for Joy.

So, back to that email...maybe not Joy herself ,but someone at her company  knows who I am. This is almost like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, but healthier...this is the degrees of separation Joy Bauer style. The email asked me to review two books, one of them being Food Cures.

Funny, actually, I was planning on purchasing Food Cures for my migraines since there is a chapter on that. I had no idea that the book even touched on celiacs. I like how Food Cures breaks everything down simply for the reader to follow. Even though Joy is a Nutrition Expert, she does not overwhelm you or frighten you with terminology that one cannot follow. I also feel like her advice is easy to apply to everyday life. Her celiacs chapter was comprehensive and she knew what she was talking about. It is a good starter book for a person that has just been diagnosed and needs answers or a person that has celiacs with other issues, such as myself.
I am using Food Cures to treat my celiacs, migraines and also for weight loss.

I would highly recommend Food Cures to anyone in the Gluten Free community or anyone that just wants to improve their overall health.

Avanti= Awesome Italian Done Right

I was nervous about going to dinner tonight. I dreaded eating Italian at a restaurant and getting sick. I haven't done it since finding out about my gluten intolerance. My sister's 30th birthday was today (happy birthday again) and she wanted to eat at Avanti to celebrate this grand occasion. I didn't glance at the menu like I normally would have. But because at other Italian restaurants I had not seen many gluten free options, I didn't bother. I walked in expecting to order a salad with no dressing and a side of lemon to sprinkle on top. Once inside, I talk to the owner. He is a wonderful Italian man that is so sweet and accommodating. I told him all about celiacs and he understood everything. He went to the kitchen and came out with a box of gluten free pene! I was so happy! He told me that he was even going to cook it himself to make sure it was ok in a kitchen they didn't use much! Woo hoo, I didn't have to worry about cross contamination! I asked him if I could eat meatballs there and it turns out that they use wheat in them, so stay away from there meatballs if you cant eat gluten! But, the food is really good!

The lovely owner and I:


I love this place!

My mom wanted to order appetizers so I looked through the menu and I figured out that I could eat the Beef Carpaccio. It comes with the bread on a separate plate and do not eat the dip on the side because I do not know what is in it. It was fabulous. I found it to be very fresh.
My dinner was the Glutino Brand penne pasta, grilled chicken, tomato sauce, fresh basil and a ton of Parmesan cheese!
Can you tell...I am happy with my food! I love Avanti!
For dessert, I had Creme Brulee with Berries!


My sister & I on her big night!
I also met Doris Roberts, the actress on "Everybody Loves Raymond"!



Avanti took away my fear of eating out at an Italian restaurant. They showed me the magic of speaking up in order to get the type of food I want. I know that my last post was a real bummer because I spoke about how bad my last restaurant experience was. Avanti really helped show me the difference between a bad experience and a good one. I cant recommend Avanti enough.

For more pictures of the night, check out the Endless Possiblities Blog.