My two favorite dinners.

I am addicted to Pinterest. Hard core, addicted. I get so many ideas and so much inspiration from that great site.

My fiance, Steve, is a vegetarian. I am gluten free. Dinner time can get stressful around here. I dislike making two dinners. Often, we fend for ourselves. However, I do attempt to make him dinner at least once or twice a week when I am able to come up with a dinner for both of us.

Recently, I made these two dinners I found on Pinterest and it was really delicious.

http://fitsuccess.blogspot.com/2013/02/healthy-snack-quinoa-pizza-bites.html

http://www.momendeavors.com/2013/02/baked-gluten-free-buffalo-cauliflower-bites.html

It was healthy, savory and easy. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we did!

Treehouse Bakery

At the GFXCon I had the opportunity to meet Corianne Sizemore and her staff from Treehouse Bakery. I took home the samples of the adorable mini-cupcakes (one of my ultimate indulgences!) and I could not wait to try it. 

Seriously, look at this packaging.

I asked specifically about how they prevent cross contamination and they prepare the gluten free items first and in a separate area in order to avoid getting us cross contaminated.

The cupcakes were so adorable I almost didn't want to dig in and ruin the cute factor...I said almost...

Here is the scoop:

Chocolate Cupcake: My favorite cupcake! It was rich,moist and sinful! I honestly wish that I had about a million more of these in my house waiting for me to indulge in. SO DELICIOUS!

Mesquite Mocha Cupcake: I love Mocha flavored anything, so naturally, I adored this flavor. It was the culmination of flavors was perfect!

Vanilla Cupcake- This was delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed it.


Strawberry Cupcake- I liked this one a lot and it had a great strawberry after taste.

All the cupcakes are vegan. The ones I are are obviously GF, I would eat every single one over again! They were that good. I totally recommend the Treehouse Bakery and I hope that you like them as much as I did.

Surf Sweets Gummy Swirls

This is my favorite Surf Sweets product. They are called Gummy Swirls. They are Heaven in your mouth. Like every Surf Sweets product, they are:

• Organic and natural
• Provide 100% of daily vitamin C
• GLUTEN FREE/CASEIN FREE
• Made with organic fruit juice
• Free of dyes or preservatives
• Contains no corn syrup 

Gummy Swirls also contain a full serving of calcium and are vegan.  My whole family and I devour these! We are total fans!

Surf Sweets Gummy Bears

 I am a parent.. I give my kid candy sometimes....I share candy with my kid sometimes...
I found an awesome candy that I don't feel bad about sharing...

SURF SWEETS is amazing! Here is why:

• GLUTEN FREE/CASEIN FREE!
• Organic- natural ingredients and juices only
• No corn syrup
• Some of the products are vegan or vegetarian
• Contains 100% vitamin C

So, that is why I eat it. That is why I share. In this case, sharing is caring and I just make sure he brushes his teeth after!

I don't have enough to share with you guys...sorry! It is really delicious! The red one is my favorite...Jacob's too!

Where have I been?

Hum...good question. I have been around and cooking. So, yay for you all! At first I got into a major food funk, which I tweeted a bunch about. This is when I was still a vegetarian. Yes, I think my vegetarianism played a part in my funk. I never knew what to eat. Going out to eat, which is sometimes a challenge as a gluten free lady got a trillion times harder at some establishments. Eating became mundane and I became more tired than usual because even though I am taking a multi-vitamin, I was still missing out on some protein I needed. I hated eating and I hated food. As a glutton, I was not enjoying the gluttony that I had in the past. So, I was grumpy about food. I would complain in the supermarket and I hated to cook. I recently stopped being a vegetarian and I am ready to make my blog return! TADA!!!

Sorry if you missed me, I missed you all too! New food post in a few days!

Gits: Matar Paneer

I had high hopes for this meal. It was too spicy (it claimed to be of a medium spice level) and was too runny. Maybe if I would have put rice in it or something. Sometimes finding new and exciting GF vegetarian meals can be challenging. I would have to label this a FOOD FAIL.

My favorite snack at the moment...

About a year ago, I posted my favorite portable snack. This is my favorite snack to eat at home. I sometimes eat it for lunch or dinner too if I am feeling too lazy to cook for myself. I love hummus and cucumbers! It is good for you and you are saving a ton of carbohydrates by not using chips or pita (if we could eat pita).

What is your favorite snack to eat at home?

Amy's Teriyaki Bowls

Vegan. Yummy. Loaded with vegetables, tofu and keeps you feeling full. Hum, what can beat that...nothing! I really enjoy eating this when I am short on time.


The Stats:
Serving Size: one container
Calories: 290
Total Fat: 4.5
Total Carbs: 52
Total Protein: 12

Lucy's Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found these at Starbucks. They do not have milk, eggs, peanuts, or tree nuts! They also have organic ingredients and they are also vegan...I am sold. I got them after a long day out with Jacob when I failed to pack for a hunger emergency for myself (he is always well prepared, I am sometimes not!) so I gave in and purchased these. They were pretty good. They are not going to be my go to snack but they did the job and kept me satisfied. Plus, it is nice to know that if I am in a bind, I have options at a mainstream place like Starbucks!

The Stats:
Servings Per Package : 1.3
Calories: 130
Total Fat: 5
Total Carbs: 20
Sugar: 12 grams
Protein: 2

Happy Saturday! This Is My Super Breakfast :)

Day Six of Every Day Is A New Post This Week!

Happy SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE weekends :) They are a great! They are full of opportunity to unwind from the week. You will probably need a ton of energy to accomplish whatever awesome adventure it is that you have to embark on today! That is why I am posting my favorite breakfast! This always keeps me full all day long and I usually do not get hungry for lunch when I make it. I just pack a snack to go and I am set till dinner time :)

It is so simple and easy to make! All you need is spinach, portobello mushrooms, eggs and cheese!

Grab a pan and spray it with oil. Saute the mushrooms and spinach until they are cooked.


Add the eggs...
Add cheese. You can use as much or as little as you want!

Fold over the eggs. This helps melt the cheese and form an omelet.
Serve. Relax. Enjoy.Have a wonderful day :) See you tomorrow!

Rice & "Chorizo" Dinner!

Day Four of Every Day Is A New Post Week: Rice & "Chorizo" Dinner!

I made this awesome dinner the other night! If you follow me on Twitter, you would know that I was nervous cooking with Soyrizo. It ended up turning out great! I will be cooking with it again. You cannot see the Soyrizo because of how it crumbles, but it is in there and it adds a great flavor into the meal!

This is the recipe, you can use chorizo where Soyrizo is listed.

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 BOX SADAF Rice Mix (found at Middle Eastern Store)
- Soyrizo (1/2 package)
- Diced tomatoes (canned,strained, 1/4 cup)
- Sweet Peas (canned, strained, 1/2 cup)
- Corn (canned, strained, 1/2 cup)
- Green Mexican Salsa (Optional)
- Tortilla Chips (Optional)

How To:

Cook rice according to directions. Take Soyrizo and take it out of wrapping. Crumble it up and let it cook well with rice in a skillet. Then once it is cooked, add the vegetables until everything is cooked.

Serve with chips and salsa if you desire!

Trader Joe's Gluten Free Pancake & Waffel Mix

Every Day Is A New Post This Week! DAY TWO! TODAY I BRING YOU....

I like pancakes, yes I do, I like pancakes...how about you? Woo hoo! I am giddy! I like pancakes and I like this week. It is exciting!

Do you know what, I also like? I like these pancakes! Trader Joe's, you know your stuff. I am rarely disappointed in you. The packaging does not lie, it is easy to prepare! I made these for breakfast and I was full until dinner!
I am not going to post nutritional information like I normally do. You can add anything to these and it changes the stats. I served mine with butter, fresh fruit and syrup! YUM!

Pick these up and try them for yourself!

EVERY DAY IS A NEW POST THIS WEEK! CHECK YOUR LABELS!

Every day this week there will be a new post! So make sure you check back every day and see what is new on the blog!

ALWAYS CHECK INGREDIENTS!

I am sure you all know this by now however, I am always surprised by some of what I see in some food items.

I was at the Supermarket with my boyfriend and as usual, I had a sweet tooth...yeah, what else is new? I spotted these and I got intrigued.
I read the ingredients:

Ingredients:
Maltitol Syrup, Maltitol, Vitiam D Evaporated Milk, Sorbitol, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate Liquor, Butter (Milk), Hydrogenated Palm Oil, Xylitol, Calcium Caseinate (Milk), Milkfat, Contains 1% or less of the following: Food Starch Modified , Whey Protein (MIlk), Lactitol, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Egg White (with Sodium Lauryl Sulfate), Fish Gelatin, Soya Lecithin (an Emulsifier), Partially Hydrogenated Palm Oil, Cocoa Powder, Milk Protein Isolate, Inulin, Sucralose, Acesulfame K

GROSS. I LOVE chocolate. I however do not want fish in my chocolate. Are you guys going to eat these? Let me know! I know that a lot of you are not vegetarian. Let me know your thoughts!

Vegiac

I am currently eating a delicious lunch. It is a brown rice tortilla with beans, melted cheese, carrots and avocados. SO YUMMY!

I want to thank all of you that sent me comments and emails regarding my last post on going vegetarian while being gluten free. Also, for those of you that also had questions about it with me, I found an amazing resource!

I was on Facebook today and I searched "Gluten Free Vegetarian" in the groups and VEGIAC came up. I suggest that you do the same if you are also a GF Vegetarian! They also have a website, here! It is a forum that is filled with information!

Today Marks A New Day

Today is the day that I become a gluten free vegetarian. Why? Well, for several reasons....

1. Gluten free? I have Celiacs. I don't really see that as a choice.
   
2. Vegetarian? I have a plethora of reasons. I was a vegetarian for years as a teen but I developed a protein deficiency because I did not fancy the foods my body needed to do it properly. I was also a vegan for around 4-6 months too then. I loved my time as a vegetarian. I was a vegetarian for animal rights, I would always say that I couldn't eat anything with a mother or with a face.
   

I gave up red meat in September but that was not enough. A few months ago I saw this teen hit his dog when I was walking with my boyfriend. It upset me so much that I felt ill. Animal cruelty in any form really upsets me. I thought to myself that I would go vegetarian once I could figure out how to do it well with the whole gluten free aspect.

Then last week I was driving home late at night with my son and I accidentally ran over a bunny (yes, Stephanie...it was just as traumatic as years ago when it happened to the both of us) and I cried all the way home. Even though I tried to avoid hitting the rabbit it was awful. I knew people that had rabbits so I would play with them so I know how loving rabbits can be. I just couldn't eat meat anymore after that.

There are many health benefits too when you are a vegetarian...

I am not trying go get anyone to join me. That is not why I am writing this. I am just writing this down so I remember my anniversary of going back.

How does this change GLUTEN FREE GLUTTONY?

1. It really does not!
2. I will still review products! Just not ones with meat.
   
3. I will give meat recipes I just cant vouch for if it is good or not.
4. We are all on this gluten free journey together and we are here for each other!
5. If you are a gluten free vegetarian, do you know of any fake meat that does not contain wheat? I am having the hardest time finding good fake meat!