Breaking the Fast

Not sure where to begin?

Why not start at the beginning?

After all, doesn’t every design project begin that way?

This is commonly referred to as the foundation – or blueprint – for what is to follow, typically a Floor Plan, or my clients’ Wish List.

Of course, the foundation of your day – and your gluten-free lifestyle – is your first meal of the day – Breakfast.

Maybe you’ve always eaten breakfast, or maybe this concept is new to you.

Perhaps you’re one of those people who never eats first thing in the morning, or before noon.

I recently heard a nutritionist talk about the value of starting one’s day off right, by eating a regular meal. She addressed the common dilemma of “But I don’t eat breakfast” – suggesting that you start small, that it’s really just a matter of changing your mindset.

Mindsets are powerful.

This is why, for most of us eating a Western diet – consisting of cereal, or eggs and bacon with a side of toast – might question what choices we have when eating gluten-free.

The answer is there’s still plenty to choose from – beginning with a great selection of gluten-free cereals.

That’s fine if your preferred first meal of the day is cold cereal with milk, or hot cereal such as gluten-free oatmeal or buckwheat.

Beyond that, I’m going to challenge you to think outside the box.

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Coffee, Tea & Chocolate!

This trio of warming drinks has been on my mind lately.

And while I’ve never been a coffee drinker myself, I do like a good, bracing cup of tea.

In fact, my morning meal doesn’t seem complete without a big mug of this steaming brew, preferably a robust variety of green tea such as Hojicha or Gunpowder.

The names alone are part of the experience!

Whether a tea or coffee drinker, who among us hasn’t visited their local Starbuck’s on occasion, or made this a regular part of their daily routine?

Not only are there coffee shops on just about every corner, but the coffee and tea aisles in the local grocery store are nearly filled to overflowing with a wide assortment of brands and flavors.

And here is where the gluten-free among us can definitely run into some challenges, since these flavored brews may not be gluten-free.

As always, you need to be diligent about reading labels, and look for words like “natural flavors” listed in the ingredients – which indicates that particular beverage may or may not be suitable.

It isn’t always clear.

If anything sounds the least bit suspect – and the words gluten-free do not appear on the label – my advice to you is to keep looking!

As for chocolate – whether hot chocolate or chocolate candy – the same advice applies, especially if you are looking for suitable Easter candy.

In honor of the Easter holiday – and this trio of beverages – I’m sharing 3 recipes that feature chocolate in one form or another.

This way, you can indulge both your sweet tooth and your chocolate cravings while knowing these treats are absolutely safe for your special diet.

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How To Massage Your Greens

Did you know you can massage your food?

Yes, it’s true!

I learned of this technique about a year ago, when I first tasted a raw kale salad that was infinitely more tender than the kale salads I typically made at home.

I wasn’t sure what the restaurant had done to make the salad so tasty.

Before too long, I read about a technique that involved “massaging” your greens. I realized this was the exact process the restaurant had used to perfect their kale salad.

The sky’s the limit here, by the way – you’re not limited to kale.

Just about any greens can be massaged – chard, spinach, collards, arugula, lettuce – you name it.

Why the focus on Greens?

Kale, spinach, swiss chard and the like are the basis for a healthy, well-rounded diet.

Not only do leafy greens add necessary fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants – they are also considered essential to reducing the risk of cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis and other age-related illnesses.

Add the fact that they’re naturally gluten-free, and you’d be doing yourself a disservice not to include some of these leafy greens on a daily basis.

I’m still fairly new, myself, to introducing some of these nutritional powerhouses into my diet.

For the longest time I was strictly a lettuce and spinach kind of gal, until I decided to expand my horizons.

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The Joy of Comfort Food

Back in the day, girls were required to take Home Economics classes, otherwise referred to as ‘Home Ec’, for short.

These classes were devoted to learning the mysteries of both cooking and sewing, the belief being that every proper young woman must have basic knowledge in both areas.

If I remember correctly, this began in Junior High School.

And so it passed, that my first sewing project produced an apron that was to be worn regularly during subsequent cooking classes.

Still etched in my memory, is my one of my earliest cooking assignments – to prepare my very first, complete meal from scratch.

Of course, back then, my idea of the perfect meal was my childhood favorite – Tuna Casserole.

And even though my tastes have changed over the years & definitely matured – there are still times when nothing will quite satisfy like good old Tuna Casserole.

It may no longer be my all-time favorite, but for me, it’s still the ultimate comfort food.

Ah, comfort.

It’s what makes us feel good, when things are maybe not going quite as planned.

It’s the familiarity of a favorite food, a favorite chair, or a favorite book.

It’s a memory, perhaps, something that takes us back to childhood.

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Warming Foods For Colder Days

It’s a blustery day outside.

Every time I think that Spring is just around the corner, the temperature plummets again – a clear reminder that it is indeed still Winter.

This makes me want to do little more than curl up in front of a roaring fire with a hot cup of tea.

It’s the perfect thing, this time of year – a hot meal, or a bowl of soup, to warm us from the inside out.

What’s interesting to me is that while food can be literally hot or cold, according to how it’s been prepared, many foods also have inherent qualities of warmth or coolness – without going anywhere near a stove.

Take the cucumber, for example.

I don’t know about you, but cucumbers don’t tempt me in the least on a wintry day. Maybe that’s because they’re usually eaten raw, but it’s also because they have an inherently cooling effect.

Herbs and spices are also known to be either warm or cool.

A ‘warm’ herb, for example, can increase blood flow and create a warming sensation in the body. Such herbs and spices are often used for improved circulation, reduced joint pain or to stimulate the immune system.

The list includes ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom all of which remind me of warm gingerbread, fresh from the oven.

Dark chocolate and peppermint are wonderful as well, either used separately or paired together in drinks and desserts.

On the spicier side, we have hot peppers, garlic and cayenne – perfect in hot soups or stews.

Notice that such a meal, while heated and literally served hot, also contains ingredients that are considered hot by their very nature.

Colors do the same thing – and there is a rainbow of colors in our food!

But let’s go back to that fireplace for a moment.

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Love Is In the Air

Valentine’s Day is next week, which means a big focus on  showing the people you care about, how much you love and appreciate them.

A friend of mine pointed out that it is just as important to love and appreciate yourself – and that is so true!

Even better, was a suggestion I heard to give the gift of avoiding any sweets, whatsoever.

Simply because just about every store we walk into says that February 14 is a day for chocolate – is that really a must?

Well, I must admit I gave these suggestions considerable thought.

I’m all for showing myself some extra love and appreciation – along with my spouse.

I think that’s actually a lovely idea.

I also love the suggestion to honor Valentine’s Day some other way, something that does not involve chocolate, or sweets of any kind.

In the end, however, I decided that I’d rather have a little something sweet and chocolaty – in a healthy kind of way, I might add.

So, what will be on the dessert menu in my house?

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HOW TO SPOT SOMETHING FISHY

An acquaintance of mine – whose true identity shall remain anonymous – swears that whenever she has fish in a restaurant she gets sick.

As it happens, the restaurant setting is the only place she will eat fish, or seafood, since she never prepares it herself, at home.

That I can understand.

I rarely cook fish at home, myself, only because other family members dislike the fishy smell that tends to permeate the house.

So, whenever I dine at a restaurant – fish or seafood is usually my go-to meal.

And I can honestly say, it never, ever makes me sick.

So here’s the thing.

If eating fish makes you ill every single time – regardless of the restaurant – maybe something else is brewing?

Maybe, just maybe, my friend gets sick because she simply can’t tolerate fish due to either a food allergy or sensitivity.

I’m guessing it has absolutely nothing to do with the restaurant.

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Hawaiian Interlude, cont’d

As promised, I’m back to share my story of one dream of a waiter, who treated me to an extraordinary dining experience.

He even gave me a special recipe!

On this particular evening, we enjoyed a lovely meal at the hotels’ outdoor café – complete with said waiter, who went well beyond the call of duty.

The previous night, we had explained to him our disappointment earlier in the week – a dinner that had been set up with the hotel for a special occasion.

Despite the advance notice, the meal had not only been disappointing, but confusing.

(It was unclear whether the wait staff and the kitchen even knew about my dietary restrictions).

I’ve long been aware of a certain “disconnect”, as I call it, among restaurant staff – meaning that whatever special instructions you give to your waiter might not get all the way to the chef.

This is why you always need to ask, and ask again, whether your food was properly prepared and is indeed gluten-free.

The process can be frustrating and tiresome to say the least.

So, imagine my delight when this particular waiter informed me that the hotel takes food allergies very seriously.

When dessert arrived with a non gluten-free cookie sticking out from the sorbet at a jaunty angle –  never a good sign –  he whisked it away and personally prepared a fresh serving.

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Thinking Outside the Box

“Variety is the spice of life.” Anonymous

Do you ever feel like you’re in a rut?

Maybe you eat the same foods all the time? Wear the same clothes. Drive the exact same route to work, or wherever you travel on a regular basis.

The fact is – for anyone living with Celiac Disease, and/or multiple food allergies, your diet is limited by default, easily leading to meal-time ruts.

In other words, the tendency is to consume the same ‘safe’ foods over and over again.

Speaking for myself, when I find something I like, that is easy to prepare and nutritious, I will eat it repeatedly, day in and day out, without ever getting tired of it.

Well, all that changed for me recently, when my naturopath started me on a Rotation Diet.

This has nothing to do with weight loss, by the way, although I wouldn’t be surprised if a few pounds drop by the wayside while trying to maintain this new way of eating.

The goal of a Rotation Diet is to reduce repetitive intake of the same foods, giving your immune system a chance to recover from any foods you might be reactive to.

In a nutshell, it means limiting consumption of most foods to every three days, with a few exceptions here and there.

By the way, I’m in no way an expert on this subject, nor am I suggesting that anyone adopt a Rotation Diet, except on the advice of your doctor.

However, let me be honest, here.

There have been more than a few occasions – in as many weeks – when I’ve been ready to throw in the towel and say “the heck with it”.

Whether you are new to the gluten-free diet or mastered the basics years ago, you will understand.

You already know how challenging the initial adjustment can be when you need to eliminate whole categories of food from your diet, things that the rest of the world typically takes for granted.

Having to limit my meal time choices to every third day has me seriously challenged.

My solution?

I’m not sure I have one yet, although I know it means being more creative than ever in my approach to meals.

And learning to really think outside the box!

Which brings me to this weeks’ recipe.

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GREENING YOUR HOLIDAY

‘Green’ has become quite the buzz-word of late.

You can live a Green, eco-friendly lifestyle, taking the time to Reduce, Re-Use and Recycle and remove toxins from the home.

More specifically, you can embrace Green Design by introducing eco-friendly, sustainable products to your home’s interior. This one simple act can ensure clean, fresh air and a healthy living environment for you and your family.

Then there’s the mantra to eat your Greens, relying on lots of leafy greens and vegetables as a mainstay of your diet.

This is even more critical for anyone diagnosed with osteoporosis or osteopenia. But then, leafy greens are important to include in your diet regardless.

There are lots of ways to sneak extra greens into your daily meals, whether adding a handful to a smoothie (it really doesn’t affect the taste, I promise) – or relying on oversized leaves as a wrap, in lieu of bread.

I’ll address that in a future article.

Meantime, here’s another idea for incorporating greens:  an easy home-made Pesto.

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