Yummy yummy cake balls!

Ok, ok, I have been absent from the blogging world for like 2.5 months....WOW! Guess I've been busy ;). Maybe "being a better blogger" will make its way onto my "new year's resolution" list...and maybe it won't. We'll see! ;)

Anyway, in more exciting news....here's a fun new GF "recipe"!!

Yeah, so...."cake balls" doesn't sound overly eloquent ;)....but these little guys are mighty tasty! I must give credit where credit is due, I got the idea here...at MckMama's blog (a fabulously entertaining blog I peruse regularly).

Here's MckMama's entry about her "cake ball" extravaganza (she stuck sucker sticks in them, made pretty-colored frosting, and named them "snow pops"....a little more eloquent ;)). MckMama's Snow Pops. THAT is where I got the idea for my own variation!

I am going to a party tonight (a going-away party for a co-worker/friend who recently got a different job) and wanted to have some kind of yummy chocolate-y GF treat to bring! Based on the aforementioned idea from MckMama's blog, I decided to make some GF cake balls....



**{Please note} My idea of baking/cooking/food preparation in general is often throwing random quantities of random crap together. I inherited the wonderful gift of "eyeballing" something I am making/baking/cooking from my mother who also seldom measures (aside from the obvious baked goods that naturally require more precise measurements).


Process......

Get 1 box of GF cake mix (I used Betty Crocker GF yellow cake). Prepare per instructions on the box, cook cake in refrigerator. When cool, cut into chunks and put in food processor. Pulse until cake becomes fine and powder-like (don't over-process, like I did! It may turn into a big ol' lump!)

Prepare 1 box of GF/dairy free/peanut free (because a friend I am eating with tonight cannot have dairy or peanuts) vanilla frosting. (YOU can likely use whatever kind of frosting you'd like. Mckmama suggests cream cheese frosting. Naturally, being a cream cheese lover, I think that sounds phenomenal. However, I opted out of that this time since a friend of mine who will likely be eating these can't do dairy).

Mix frosting and powdery-cake-bits together. I noted that my frosting/cake heap seemed kinda squishy, probably too much so. Mckmama had written that she added some rolled oats to hers to thicken it up. So, I pulverized some GF animal crackers in my handy-dandy food processor and added those to the mix to thicken things up. I think it was a good choice.

Shape into balls (approx 1"-1 1'/2" diameter), put on a cookie sheet/plate that you've lined with wax paper. Put into freezer for a while to harden.

Remove from freezer when they seem sufficiently hard (I waited an hour). Melt some coating for your balls. Mckmama used Hershey's white chocolate (that she colored with food coloring! They are super-cute). I would assume almond bark would also be good. I used Enjoy Life's allergen-free chocolate chips for the aforementioned reasons. I melted them slowly in the microwave and then swirled the balls in the chocolate. After swirling, remove with toothpick and set on wax paper-ed surface to dry.

You could top these little beauties with anything...a swirl of a contrasting colored chocolate/coating, red sprinkles (what I used!), crushed up peppermints (I thought this would be yummy but, frankly, was too lazy to crush them up to try it out), crushed nuts, etc, etc, etc. Just make sure you sprinkle on your topping before the coating is dry!!

ENJOY!!!!

Happy Gluten Free Anniversary To Me!

So, it was ONE year ago....October 18, 2008....that I made the switch to gluten free! WOW! What a year it has been. 105 blog posts, some baking successes, some failures...new friends...new knowledge...but, best of all....

I am healthy!

I am the healthiest I have ever been in my life. Before this, I never knew what it was like to feel well. I can say with confidence that NOW, I (usually!) truly feel WELL! It is an amazing feeling. I can't believe I made it a year!

No cheating! Not knowingly, anyway! Not even once.

I think I should go bake myself a gluten free cake or something!!! :)

And, just because I want to pat myself on the back again ;)...I successfully finished the Chicago Marathon last Sunday! I could have NEVER fulfilled this dream pre-GF lifestyle. Long story short, I had more than 1...shall we say..."bathroom mis-adventure" while running last summer/fall. Suffice it to say there is absolutely NO WAY I would've EVER been able to make it through a marathon (and probably not even a half marathon) without living GF!

So, I'll say it again...Happy Gluten Free Anniversary to ME!!!!!!



..and, happy wedding anniversary to my parents, who have been married 29 years today! WOW!!!

These are a few of my favorite things...lately

I've neglected this little blog for a while now!
A friend of mine from work asked for some recipes/tips...she is having a GF relative visit next weekend and wants to be sure she is sufficiently prepared to feed him. I decided to take this opportunity to update this blog with some of my recent favorite GF finds and share them with not only her, but the rest of blog-land as well :).

1) Kinnikinnick Foods Inc. Personal Size Pizza Crusts
These things are AMAZING. They come in the freezer section a box of 4 and are DELICIOUS. They are easy to prepare...preheat oven to 375, then bake with your choice of favorite toppings for 10-15 minutes. The crust gets wonderfully crispy and has a great texture. These crusts would be great to have a "build-your-own-pizza" night with kids and grown-ups alike. They are also wonderful to have on hand for a quick, easy meal or snack. I enjoy them with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese...and sometimes pepperoni, yellow and red peppers, mushrooms....ANYTHING, really!
I found them at a Kroger in Peoria...however according to the Kinnikinnick website, they can be purchased online as well. Common Ground Grocer in Bloomington carries Kinnikinnick products, as does Naturally Yours...however I cannot vouch for the presence of this particular product at these grocery stores....worth calling ahead and checking into, if you are interested. If all else fails, they can be ordered from the website.


2) La Tortilla Factory Ivory Teff Wraps
DELICIOUS, DELICIOUS, DELICIOUS! My friend Jillian actually found these for me...and they are amazing! Another friend, Abbey, brought them to work for a Mexican potluck lunch since she saw them at Meijer (here in Bloomington) and saw that they were gluten free and that I would then be able to enjoy them! I have some wonderful friends :). These were a GREAT find. They are yummy both hot and cold...and are completely versatile. I pop them into the toaster oven with taco meat for an easy burrito (and then top with cheese/sour cream/lettuce, etc. after cooking in the toaster oven)...or enjoy them cold with a variety of sandwich toppings (Boar's Head meats are another one of my GF favorites...available at the deli counter at Kroger on College here in Bloomington)


3) Pamela's Products Chocolate Chunk Cookie Mix
I found this one at Meijer here in Bloomington. These are yummy, yummy cookies! My non-GF hubby, Jeremy, actually gobbled them up even faster than me! He's a big fan of chocolate chip cookies, and a big food critic ;)...so if he approves, they HAVE to be good! ;) They are easy to prepare...and delicious. Definitely recommend these for an easy dessert...and a fun one for kids to help prepare, too.



4) I've written about this one a lot...but it's a recipe my husband and I come back to ALL of the time....Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup....
As far as seasoning goes, I use McCormick brand taco seasoning. Many McCormick brand spices are gluten free....as listed in my gluten free grocery shopping guide, and cited on this blog.
I use Tostitos chips, Daisy sour cream, and Kraft shredded cheddar...all gluten free...for the topping of this soup.

5) Chex...
Check out the Chex GLUTEN-FREE section of their website for some AWESOME snack ideas.
YUMMY doesn't even begin to describe these recipes! I've tried a few...but I want to try them ALL! Happy Chex-mixing! :)

Time for bed....perhaps a post with more later this weekend. We'll see ;).

Stonyfield Farms Yogurt

Not only is it delicious, but it is Certified Gluten Free! I do love me some Stonyfield Farms yogurt. My mom introduced me to the Oikos Greek Yogurt, also made by Stonyfield Farms....it isn't yet "certified" gluten free...but it is gluten free (and they are in the process of getting it certified). I've eaten it numerous times and been fine. Read the label for yourself to be sure ;), but I am telling you....it is gluten free. Also, you can print out coupons for their yogurt products.....http://www.stonyfield.com/coupons/new_coupon3.cfm. Their yogurt tends to be a little pricey, so the coupons are great.

Gluten free, organic, delicious, healthy...what more could you want?! :) I have a bunch of Stonyfield Farms yogurt in my fridge (as always!) and so should you :)

Dr. Stephen Wangen

I love this guy! I have his book, Healthier Without Wheat, that is all about non-celiac gluten intolerance (which is what my doctor believes I am presenting with). I found a powerpoint of a presentation he gave online, which is great...and explains things very simply.

Basically...people with celiac disease represent a SMALL percentage of the overall population of people who have gluten intolerance. Gluten intolerance is not a less-severe form of celiac disease....it can cause all of the same signs/symptoms/issues. Basically the only difference is that you do not have "villous atrophy"....but you still have a host of other issues. There are 130+ issues that can be caused by gluten intolerance. It's crazy!!

Here's a link to his blog: http://ibstreatmentcenter.blogspot.com/

Check this out!

A new discovery I made today: Gluten-Free on a Shoestring...a great blog with tons of GF recipes! Awesome!

I have been a slacker blogger lately....it seems that, as usual, I tend to overcommitt myself and in the midst of finishing our basement, training for a marathon, starting a beginning runners' group at work for some of my coworkers, getting ready to take on a student intern at work, catching up on paperwork at work that I let pile up during the month of July when I was finishing up more classes....I just haven't had that much time for blogging!

SORRY!!! I hope to share more recipes and tips, soon! For now, though....enjoy the blog listed above! It looks to be fantastic and I will spend more time perusing it later when I have more time. :)

Have a wonderful weekend, all!

~Rachel

DESSERT!

So, as I previously mentioned, I slaved away ;) for the past 13 months in some classes. Some of the students enrolled in this program traveled from hours away to participate in these classes. During the past 2 Julys, when classes were the most frequent and intense, the students who traveled from far-away-places to be a part of the program "lived" in hotels here in Bloomington (the class also had members up in the Chicago area; students attended whichever location was more convenient for them and we had class via Polycomm, which was kinda annoying). Tuesday night this week was the last night that these students would be staying overnight, so the 8 of us here in Bloomington went out for dinner/drinks together. Amelia, a fun girl I have become friends with, ordered "Gooey Butter Cake" at Baxter's Grill here in town...and they all analyzed it (I couldn't try it, of course) and decided it wasn't gooey at all and wasn't even really that good. So, I googled a recipe for Gooey Butter Cake and adapted it to be GF and made some to bring to class on Wednesday! It appeared to be a hit!
Here's the recipe:

1pkg yellow cake mix (I used Betty Crocker's gluten free yellow cake mix)
1 stick of butter
1 egg
-Mix the dry cake mix with the 1 stick of butter (melted) and 1 egg; press into an ungreased 9x13 pan

Then Cream Together:
1 brick cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla
-Pour over cake mixture, spreading to the edges. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 35-40 minutes.

I served it plain...but classmates (who are from the St. Louis area, where apparently this dessert originated) suggested sprinkling powdered sugar on top of the cooled cake, or serving with fruit or a variety of dessert sauces. YUM! Another classmate said that she wondered if brown sugar sprinkled on top would be good...I think that sounds great! Maybe I'll try that next time :)

Breakfasts on-the-go

My favorite easy gluten-free grab-and-go breakfast items:

~A small bag of dry GF cereal; particularly CHEX...which now has many officially gluten-free options and is available at "normal" grocery stores: the rice, corn, honey-nut, chocolate, cinnamon, and strawberry varieties are ALL GF! My favorite is the cinnamon. I have tried them all, aside from chocolate and strawberry. I could eat the cinnamon all day, really! It is fantastic...sort of Cinnamon Toast Crunch-esq which brings me back to my childhood (that was, for some reason, the ONLY sugary cereal we were EVER allowed to have in our house). I LOVE it!

~Hard boiled eggs...these are so notable (and a wonderful HEALTHY option!) that I've blogged about them multiple times! Once a week or so I will prepare a bunch of hard-boiled eggs so that Jeremy and I both have an easy breakfast option for those rushed work-day mornings. We love 'em! I always buy organic eggs...not sure if it REALLY matters ;), but I figure if we eat the quantity of eggs that we do (one a day for each of us) they should definitely be the healthiest, most natural variety

~String cheese sticks....not necessarily the healthiest option (if you are in the dairy-is-bad camp), but still easy and delicious. Works for us in our house! :)

~Larabars...I've blogged about them before, too, but they are DEFINITELY notable. These are delicious...and, in the company's own words "simple. pure. delicious". These bars are made from minimal ingredients...for example, the "Peanut Butter Cookie" bar (which is the first one I tried!) is made from only peanuts, dates, and salt. YUM! My personal favorites are Peanut Butter Cookie and Key Lime Pie. Jeremy prefers Cherry Pie. YUMMY!

~Kind fruit and nut bars...my favorite varieties are Mango Macadamia, and Almond& Apricot...I will be visiting Naturally Yours here in Bloomington TODAY to stock up on more of these. These also make a great lunch...I've gotten in the somewhat bad habit of working through lunch and not eating much (I've been swamped at work!) and these are so easy to grab, delicious, and really do fill you up for a few hours

Weekends when I have a bit more time (when is THAT?!), I like to prepare smoothies (that's what we had this morning!) with a variety of frozen fruit and orange juice (That's it!) dumped in a blender and blended to frothy perfection....or scrambled eggs with feta and spinach...or GF pancakes...

Carol Fenster's Gluten Free Buttermilk Pancakes:
1 Cup Carol’s Sorghum Blend...this is the best GF flour blend I've found, recipe below...I keep a stash in my freezer at all times (well, except right now because I ran out! ;))
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp xanthan gum
½ cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Butter for frying
1. In a mixing bowl or large measuring cup, sift together the sorghum blend, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum.
2. Gradually whisk in the buttermilk, butter, egg, and vanilla until very smooth. Let the batter stand 5 minutes and then adjust the consistency, if needed.
3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Pour ¼ cup batter onto the skillet and cook until bubbles appear on top of the pancake, about 2-3 minutes. Turn and cook until browned on other side. Serve immediately.

I've made these when we have overnight out-of-town guests over (and double the recipe to serve 4)...I get rave reviews! I LOVE these pancakes!

And now, Carol Fenster's Sorghum Blend:
1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
1 1/2 cups potato starch or corn starch (I use potato)
1 cup tapioca flour
Mix it all together in a large container and keep on hand for all of your baking needs!

It works great in a variety of recipes! She has tips in her 1000 Gluten Free Recipes book for adapting the blend to be more suitable for specific baking/recipes, but honestly I typically just use it straight-up...

Well....

It's been over a month since I've posted! It has been a wild and crazy month, though...I definitely haven't fallen off of the face of the earth, I've just been focusing my energy elsewhere :). Wednesday was the last day of classes in a 13-month series of courses/practicum work I was enrolled in through Illinois State University completing graduate work that earned me certification as an Auditory/Oral Specialist....but this isn't the time nor the place to discuss the ins and outs of that! On to the food!

I am going to post a bunch of shorter posts now, instead of one super-long post with everything I have to say...so bear with me!

A peek of what's to come....fast food options, Mexican (=LOVE!), breakfast and lunch on-the-go, a new yummy dessert recipe....and MORE!

See you soon!

GF French Toast

So my brother, Dan, and his girlfriend, Laura, stayed with us Saturday night so I made a big breakfast for all of us on Sunday morning. I performed an experiment (risky, I know ;)) that ended up being decently successful. I used slices of my Whole Foods Cinnamon Raisin Bread (kept in the freezer section at Whole Foods and stays in my freezer at home) and dipped it in a mixture I made of 1 egg, 1 cup of milk, and some cinnamon...then cooked each side in a frying pan (I used non-stick pans so I didn't need to add any butter or anything for frying). I served the slices with the obligatory maple syrup...and they were actually pretty good! I'd say it's definitely a viable GF breakfast option...pretty tasty, and really easy! :)

Also, this past week I performed another experiment...gluten free cheesecake brownies. I used a Namaste mix (I hadn't used that brand before; I found it at Naturally Yours here in Bloomington) and prepared it as instructed on the package. After spreading the batter in a 9x13 pan, I mixed 1/2 brick of 1/3 less fat cream cheese with 1 egg and some powdered sugar (maybe approx. 1/2 cup; I just sprinkled some randomly in there ;) That's how I tend to bake/cook!!) until it was well blended. Then, I spread this out in a swirly pattern on top of the brownies. I baked the brownies as directed on the package...and they turned out pretty yummy!

Ok, as long as I wrote about 2 success stories, I should confess that approx. 1 1/2 weeks ago I did have a baking failure ;). I wanted to try to make a pound cake (from my 1000 Gluten Free Recipes book) but didn't have eggs...so I substituted banana for the egg (something I had read online was a viable option for people with egg allergies). Well, it may work...but I under baked it and didn't realize it until about 30 minutes after I had removed it from the oven and was cutting a slice for Jeremy (I planned to serve it with vanilla ice cream and strawberries...good thoughts, right?!)...I realized that the center was kind of gooey...in a really odd way. So, I threw it back in the oven for a while ;). Let's just say, it never really recovered ;). I sulked, as is my typical reaction when I fail at something, and left it on the counter for a good two days before throwing it away. What, did I expect that it would miraculously turn into something edible?! ;)

Oh well, 2 for 3 isn't TOO bad, now is it?! ;)

Have a great day! Happy GF eating to you :)

Check this out!

If you're a dork like me, you might find this interesting. I haven't quite looked through it as in-depth as I want to, but I plan on going through it closely over the next week or so.

Today I went to (I know, this is totally unrelated to gluten intolerance ;)) a conference about Childhood Apraxia of Speech (pertains to my career as an SLP) and the speaker told us about the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) website that was created by researchers at Johns Hopkins University...basically you can look for genes for anything that you want. Naturally, I typed in "gluten intolerance" and came up with the following page about Celiac Disease....
Check it out for more information if you are interested!!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/dispomim.cgi?id=212750

Also, in other news....I ate a fast-food lunch today during the break at the conference...I went with some friends to Wendy's since I had read that they have a gluten free menu. I ordered the baked potato with cheese sauce, broccoli, and sour cream (ok....I know I wasn't exactly eating healthy! ;))....all which are listed on Wendy's Gluten Free Menu....but I felt like crap all afternoon. Bloating to the max....and I still feel terrible. No idea what is wrong or what is up with that, but I am not liking it! Sigh.....

"Additional Things to Beware of to Maintain a 100% Gluten Free Diet"

I found this article...and I thought it had some great info! Here's a breakdown of the info:

Additional Things to Beware of to Maintain a 100% Gluten-Free Diet

Rice and soy beverages because their production process may utilize barley enzymes.
Bad advice from health food store employees (i.e., that spelt and/or kamut is/are safe for celiacs).
Cross-contamination between food store bins selling raw flours and grains (usually via the scoops).
Wheat-bread crumbs in butter, jams, toaster, counter, etc.
Lotions, creams and cosmetics (primarily for those with dermatitis herpetaformis).
Stamps, envelopes or other gummed labels.
Toothpaste and mouthwash.
Medicines: many contain gluten.
Cereals: most contain malt flavoring, or some other non-GF ingredient.
Some brands of rice paper.
Sauce mixes and sauces (soy sauce, fish sauce, catsup, mustard, mayonnaise, etc.).
Ice cream.
Packet & canned soups.
Dried meals and gravy mixes.
Laxatives.
Grilled restaurant food - gluten contaminated grill.
Fried restaurant foods - gluten contaminated grease.
Ground spices - wheat flour is sometimes used to prevent clumping

News....

So things have been busy...but I should get back into my old "blogging" habit! :) Recent happenings include, but are not limited to the following:

I attempted the "CORE" Weight Watchers diet plan with my friend Jillian for a week...talk about torturous. I craved refined sugar like none other!

I met my first "internet friend", Kristin, in person

I made some delicious gluten free chocolate mint cookies and sent 62 of said cookies with Jeremy to work this past week for a "food day"....to rave reviews!

I sampled (TWICE) the new GF Valencia orange cake from Starbucks...it's so good, it's honestly crave-worthy, as evidenced by my need to get one on Thursday for lunch! HA! Not exactly a balanced lunch, but it was delicious!

I discovered that Naturally Yours here in Bloomington carries fresh baked goods...including a delicious raspberry muffin that I gleefully sampled

I am still asked quite regularly what gluten is

I've made a number of gluten free meals here at home for a number of guests

....I found out I do NOT have Celiac Disease.........yeah! Weird, huh?! Well, I have
"gluten intolerance" or "gluten sensitivity"...so really, nothing will change in the arena of my diet/current lifestyle. But the knowledge that I don't have an autoimmune disease is a good thing.

Ok, so I had my follow-up appointment post genetic testing with Dr. DeWeert, a GI here in town, on Tuesday.....and....I don't (yes DON'T) have Celiac Disease....I don't have either of those 2 genes that predispose people to Celiac Disease! 35% of the population has at least one of these genes in some form and I have NOTHING! When I first went in to see Dr. DeWeert a few months ago he told me that he was pretty darn sure the genetic testing would come back showing that I had at least one of the genes. I definitely have gluten intolerance according to Dr. DeWeert, though, and I am not arguing with that! Gluten is definitely key in whatever was screwing me up for so long...eliminate it and I am suddenly basically fine. Also, I can definitely tell if I had something that was "contaminated"...or at least I think I can. What if it is in my head?! Well, I don't think some of my....err...SYMPTOMS ;)...can be just "in my head". So, now I am in this weird non-Celiac but still gluten-intolerant population. I did some reading about this recently, too, when it became apparent that maybe this was the category I fell into. People talked all tragically about how they feel "forgotten" since they don't have the "label" of Celiac Disease but still have the same symptoms...just don't have the auto-immune disease component/etc. I don't plan on being that tragic about it ;).
Well, like I said though, nothing for me is going to change...I mean, it's obviously good to have this information and I may even try something glutenous (since I know it won't permanently damage me) at some point...but the thought freaks me out!!! I don't know if I can really bring myself to do it. I mean, sometimes it sounds really tempting (bread bowl from Panera anyone?!)...Obviously I know what I was like pre-diet-change and don't really want to go back to ANY of that suffering! Plus, there is a tiny percentage of Celiac's who supposedly DON'T have the genes ;). I totally recognize it's a long shot...but I could be in that ;). HA! I hope people don't use this news as some kind of excuse to be less careful around me. It's still totally obvious that I get sick when I have gluten...boy oh boy. I have to admit, though, sometimes I do doubt myself...like, am I just some kind of hypochondriac who made all of this crap up!? Then I remind myself....um, no...not likely! This isn't exactly FUN. It's been incredibly hard and it's definitely not about getting attention or anything like that. I don't even LIKE being the center of attention/having something "different" about me! Not to mention the fact that, well, there's no way that practically pooping my pants after eating gluten can be just IN MY HEAD! HA!
I just read on celiac.com : In some rare individuals, especially some men, a negative genetic test may not exclude the possibility of celiac disease anymore than a negative blood test. Men more commonly have negative genetic tests and blood tests, especially older men with long-standing severe disease.
Well...I'm clearly not a man. And definitely not an OLD man ;). But who knows!!!
Well, for not I am content....I don't have Celiac Disease, but my body still hates gluten. That's fine...with all of the support I've been getting, I've been doing pretty darn well. I am finding things to eat that I actually enjoy and I am not suffering by any means! So, bring on the rice pasta and the Chebe bread! :)

Explanation of the last post ;)

Ok, ok...here's the latest drama with me and my silly "medical issues"...
I had 2 blood tests when I went in to see Dr. DeWeert (of Digestive Disease Consultants here in Bloomington) about 2 weeks ago...the genetic test for the 2 genes that predispose one to Celiac Disease (basically if you DON'T have those genes, there is no way you have Celiac...but if you DO have the genes, it doesn't necessarily mean you have Celiac for certain...it just means you have a higher likelihood of developing it at some point in your lifetime) and the one looking for antibodies in the blood stream. He decided to do both even though I have been GF for nearly 7 months now and the antibody one might be negative since I haven't had gluten for a long time. He said that recent studies have shown that some celiacs still have antibodies in their blood for 6-12 months after going GF. So, I said to heck with it and just had both tests done ;)....which may or may not have been the right decision on my part, but he really made it sound as if that was the way to go. It will probably cost a butt load, but oh well I guess....that is what my flex spending account is for, right?! ;) Honestly, though, I am kind of irritated....ok, very irritated, with the somewhat shoddy service I've gotten from that office. I called on Tuesday (one week after I got the blood tests...I fully recognize that this was a bit early to be calling, only one week after having the tests...but the girl in the lab actually told me that I could start calling on Monday. So, I did wait a whole day after she told me to start calling ;). With my OC personality, that was definitely practicing restraint! ;)) to see if they had the results yet, and the nurse called me back on Wednesday saying they had the results. She told me "the results do not confirm the diagnosis of celiac disease"....not you don't have it (I was/am pretty certain I won't be hearing that), just that the tests didn't confirm the diagnosis. Ok, so I tried to get the nurse to explain this to me better...for example, what did each test specifically say (in my mind I was thinking, based on the way she worded the results, that the genetic test showed I had the genes that predispose you to Celiac, but the antibody test didn't show the high level of antibodies that would indicate Celiac...since I've been GF for so long)...but she just repeated "the results do not confirm the diagnosis of celiac disease" and told me I could talk to the dr. more about that on the 19th when I go back for my follow-up appointment. Naturally, I wasn't satisfied with that...I called my primary care physician's office (who always gets me in right away, which is great) and got an appt. for last friday, then called DeWeert's office back after hanging up with her and tried to get a hold of someone in the medical records department to get those results sent to my primary care physician....but was just forwarded to a voice mail box that told me to allow 5-7 business days. WHAT?! So, I called the front desk hoping to figure out a way to get expedited service (i.e., going in myself to get the records and simply bringing them with me to my dr. appoint at my primary care physician...)....but they were of zero help. I am not trying to be unnecessarily mean here ;)...I KNOW a receptionist doesn't necessarily know what goes on in the medical records office or whatnot, but I thought she might at least be able to transfer me to an actual person instead of just the voicemail again. Ha, I probably sound like one of those psycho-patients that dr. offices really hate ;). I promise, I am really not that way at all...I am just trying to be proactive. Oh, and I haven't heard back yet from the records office even though I left a voice mail in the early afternoon Wednesday. ARGH! Ok, ok....I know it hasn't been 5-7 business days like the voicemail box said ;)...it's only been 2 (since it's the weekend)...but still! I thought I'd at least hear back so they could tell me what to expect...and I think I need to probably go in and sign something giving them permission to share medical records, etc. Who knows. I'll wait til I hear I guess...I shouldn't be this dramatic about everything. In the grand scheme of things, what does it change?! In all actuality, I guess I am over it ;)...I mean, clearly "celiac disease"explained ALL of my crazy symptoms...and they subsided within a month of going GF...so even if I don't actually have celiac, I am probably "gluten intolerant" or whathaveyou....but this merry-go-round this past week kind of drove me crazy! HA! Sorry for that long rant!
So, there you have it...where my mind has been this past week!

In other news, Biaggi's in Bloomington has GF pizza now...and it's fantastic! We had Jeremy's family over here for mother's day tonight...and ordered Biaggi's take out. I made a fruit salad and a dessert and we got pasta, bread, and salad (my fav. messina salad!) and GF pizza for me. YUM!

Have a great week, all!

~Rachel

Celiac

so I might not have Celiac disease? What? Some test results just came back (a nurse called; I had more blood drawn on last Tuesday) and they "do not support the Celiac diagnosis"

Ok.


Then.....


WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?! And why did a gluten free diet fix symptoms that tortured me for 6 1/2 ish years!??!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!??!!

random food...

Ok, so here is the other "recipe"...if you can call it that ;)...I mentioned in the previous blog. I say it that way because I have kind of gotten in a habit of just throwing random crap together lately ;).

Tomato-y Chicken and (Rice) Pasta ;)

1 box gluten-free tomato soup (I used Imagine brand; I really like this. It is available at Meijer, for you Bloomington-ites ;))
1 can tomatoes and green chilis
Chicken breasts (I used 3 large breasts)
Rice pasta (any shape will do!)

Basically all I did was put the still-frozen chicken breasts in the bottom of my crock pot, pour the soup and tomatoes/chilis on top and let the whole thing cook on high for 3 hours and then low for 3 more hours. At dinner time I boiled up some yummy rice pasta (I used spaghetti-shape; obviously you can use anything that suits your fancy!). When the pasta was drained, I returned it to the pan and put a little butter and garlic on it (you can omit this or use olive oil or whatever). Next, I put some noodles on each plate and covered each plate of noodles with one chicken breast and some of the tomato sauce from the crock pot. You could serve this with cheese on top or with parmesan to shake on top...but we didn't add any cheese. We are actually cheese-a-holics ;) so if we think a dish is fine without cheese, it probably really is! HA!

Today I stopped home for a quick lunch again and am currently chowing down on leftovers from last night. I made a box of Trader Joes' Gluten Free rice mac n' cheese and added a flaked pre-cooked salmon fillet. I found the salmon at Cub Food's here in Bloomington in the refridgerator section by the other seafood....it said "gluten free" on the label, so of course that piqued my interest ;). I am a marketer's dream ;). HA! Anyway, it was simple and oh-so-yummy!

Jeremy and I are going to a wedding this weekend; it will be my second gluten-free wedding reception experience ;).

Have a good day, all!

Rachel

Good eats

I stopped home for a quick lunch and thought I'd jot down a quick blog entry as well. I sure haven't been blogging much lately (explanation in the previous entry!). Anyway, hopefully I'll get back into it. We'll see. Also, in the last entry I wrote that I would be posting another entry right after posting that one with new food ideas/recipes. Well, I must have gotten sidetracked by something else because I sure didn't post anything! ;) Well, here are a few tidbits...

My favorite easy lunch lately has been somewhat random but totally delicious :).
Ingredients:
2 slices of Whole Foods Gluten-Free Sandwich bread (any bread will do, of course, but this is my all-time favorite!)
Butter
Cheese of your choosing (I typically prefer cheddar ;))
1 egg
honey

1) Cook the egg however you like (I "fry" it, but just in a few spritz' of cooking spray), set aside.
2) Lightly butter 1 side of each slice of bread. Fry each of these in the same pan you cooked the egg in (butter-side down, just like you would a grilled cheese sandwich)
3) Put cheese on the un-buttered part of one slice of bread, and cover with the egg. Cook until the cheese is melted.
4) Turn the other slice of bread over (so now the buttered/toasted side is facing up) and spread some honey on it. Keep it on the pan until the honey is warmed a bit.

There you have it, an "open face" egg/cheese "sandwich" and a slice of toast with honey. YUM! I love it...in fact, it is just what I ate for lunch today! Somewhat random, but totally delicious :).
~~~

Also, this past week I made 2 really easy dinners:
First one: Baked Turkey Breasts with Black Beans and Hominy (ha, really creative title ;))

Ingredients:
2 lbs Turkey breasts (boneless, skinless, fat removed)
3/4 cup chicken broth (Progresso brand is gluten free, and it is my preferred brand. I like their low-sodium version)
1 can organic black beans
1 can hominy
sour cream
cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Place turkey breasts on the bottom of an 8x8 baking pan that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Pour the 3/4 cup chicken broth over top. Cover with 1 can each of black beans and hominy. Cover pan with foil. Bake until nearly done (approx 40 minutes or so, depending on thickness of breasts). Uncover, sprinkle cheese on top (whichever variety you prefer, and whatever quantity you want). Return to oven, uncovered, and bake until cheese is bubbly. Ensure turkey breasts are done, and then serve with sour cream and additional cheese if you wish. So simple and really delicious. It worked great to put together ahead of time (minus the cheese) when I came home on my lunch break and hold in the fridge for a few hours before popping into the oven at dinner time!

I need to hurry back to work now, but I will post the second recipe later...yummy tomato-ey chicken over garlic rice pasta! YUM!

Have a great day, all!

Rachel

Excuses...

I haven't felt much like blogging lately. On April 10th I started getting harassed by some crazy guy on one of my blogs. It started out not-s0-harassing (or so I thought) and ended really badly. I guess it was my fault, I kind of perpetuated it. Without saying too much about specifics, because it has to do with a good friend of mine....here is an explanation on why now all of my blogs aside from this one are "private" (again, if you happen to be someone who was reading my silly meanderings, let me know and I will enter your e-mail address as one of the approved people to read the blogs!)....
I have a blog on which I was trying to post a different picture every day of something I was thankful for. Ok, I recognize that this may sound entirely lame...but that's what I did ;). A "new year's resolution" of mine was to be a more grateful, thankful individual. I have so much to be thankful for and I don't want to ever take anything for granted. Anyway, I thought a little blog chronicling a year of my thankfulness would be cute (for my own use) and, of course, I could use it to share with friends/family, etc., the ways in which I was thankful for them. Well some random (or maybe not random) guy started leaving me messages after a post about one of my good friends...it started out by asking if I wanted to hear some information he had about her. I had turned on comment moderation, so I received an e-mail telling me that I had this message. He kept sending me messages through my blog and I never accepted them, for obvious reasons. I just kept reading them...and he gave me his e-mail address so I could contact him that way. For some reason, now that I think of it, he never responded to my e-mail; he only sent me messages on the blog. Anyway, it started to get totally creepy and weird and it was beyond anything I can really describe in this kind of forum. So, my blogs are private now. There you have it. Whew! I have kept this one public because, if I ever have anything that is useful in the realm of gluten-free-living tips/etc., I want to be able to share that information with whomever wants to access it. I know I always google random gluten free crap and end up at random peoples' blogs and have, on more than one occasion, gotten some really great information via blogs. So, on the off chance that anyone is in my boat, googles something gluten-free, and comes up with my blog and gets some helpful advice...well, then, my work is done! :) HA! And, speaking of which...if you are reading this blog and ever get any helpful advice, by all means, let me know! :) At some point I want to start having little contests and things, too, like I've seen some other bloggers (what a silly term..."bloggers"!) do. So, there's an incentive to read my blog! HA! Contests to win some yummy gluten free items! Speaking of which...seeing as this is a gluten free blog, I should be posting about THAT and not about some lame blog-stalker guy trying to complicate my and my friends' lives! :)
I'll start again in a new, fresh post.
Ta ta for now!
~Rachel

Busy month

It's been a BUSY month....the first weekend in April I traveled to MN with my sister to my good friend Rosalee's bachelorette party...the second weekend in April I ran my first half marathon...the third weekend in April Jeremy and I traveled to MN to attend Rosalee and Bobby's rehearsal and wedding....whew! So, I haven't been blogging much.

Highlights...

~gluten-free chili at the bachelorette party on Saturday, April 4 made by Rosalee's older sister Nicole who awesomely made it with me in mind
~delicious sangria at the bachelorette party (GF, of course! :))
~I FINISHED a half marathon on April 11th....in under 2 hours! The snacks afterwards, however, were lacking...the only thing I could eat were the bananas and apples! Ok, I realize this isn't exactly suffering ;), but when everyone else is stuffing themselves with Papa John's pizza it's easy to feel sorry for one's self! I said to my sister, as she bit into a hot piece of pizza, "I am THIS close to eating a piece of that! It looks awesome!" I was serious, too. Well, she took one look at me and said, "Let's get you out of here then" and made a bee line for the exit to the food area. Good idea, sister! Remove me from the situation :). So, yahoo for sisters ;)
~I had some of the BEST gluten-free meals EVER the weekend of Rosalee's wedding...the rehearsal dinner at the Hubbell House in Mantorville, MN was AMAZING (walleye, baked potato, and wine...can't go wrong, really.)...and the wedding food was great too! The caterers were SO helpful (Roz had talked with them beforehand) and I had a yummy plain chicken breast (it really was rather good!), potatoes, green beans, fruit and ice cream (in place of the ice cream cake the guests had)...not too shabby! So, yahoo for Rosalee, MN, and gluten-free weddings :)
~Rosalee's step-mom Joleen made AMAZING gluten free monster cookies in the little out-of-towner goodie bag she had for me and Jeremy at the hotel we stayed at. Can we say amazing?!??!

Needless to say, GF life isn't treating me too badly right now. This girl loves her food! ;) Sheesh, I sound like a fatty!! ;)

Private blogs

So, I had a crazy dude sending me messages via one of my blogs, so I made all of my blogs aside from this one private. If you want to be invited to read any of the other blogs, let me know :).

Have a great day!

Rachel

Top Ten list....

Taken from The Gluten Free Optimist...thought this was great :)

Ten Positive things about having Celiac Disease...
1. Your health is better!
2. You helped improve the health of other people by telling family members, friends, coworkers, and doctors about the importance of testing for celiac disease.
3. You don’t need medicine or surgery to treat your disease.
4. You don’t have to share your food.
5. You save money by not impulsively buying sweets, by not impulsively eating out, and by not buying your lunch daily.
6. Since you read labels, you have a better idea of the nutritional facts and ingredients of the foods you eat and can make more informed choices.
7. You appreciate the small things in life and find joy in them like new good gluten free foods, the mention of gluten free or celiac on a television show, gluten free lists of foods and medicines, and an informative blog post or review. (Yes, these are big things to celiacs, but they are still small things in the big picture of life.)
8. You eat healthier at home when you don’t feel like driving far to eat out or buy gluten free convenience foods.
9. You have something to blog about.
10. You participate in amazing internet networking with other celiacs and have an instant bond with them.

Lately...

Things are going pretty well!

I did make a new yummy item this week...I used the Gluten Free Pantry brand muffin mix to make some muffins for a work breakfast. The mix is plain and then you can add mix-in's to your muffins. I added dried cherries, walnuts, and chocolate chips and then sprinkled a bit of brown sugar on top...for some yummy Chocolate-cherry-nut muffin creations :). People at work seemed to like them, so that's cool! :) I enjoyed them, too. YUM!

Yummy!

I love cooking...and as I've said before, "re-learning" how to cook post gluten free lifestyle has been somewhat of a challenge. Tonight, however, I made a yummy meal for us and our good friends, Josh and Laura. I thought I'd share the menu because I want to remember it...it was yummy and I'd love to re-create it sometime!

Appetizers:
~Sliced Cabot New York sharp cheddar cheese (a new cheese Jeremy picked out; it was decent!)
~Hummus (I used a gluten free mix that you basically add your own water and olive oil to) with broccoli and carrots

Salad:
~Butter lettuce (a newish discovery, thanks to meals at Laura and Josh's...this is just a bag of Fresh Express lettuce and we love it!)
~variety of do-it-yourself toppings (diced hard-boiled egg, black olives (ew, not for me! Jer loves them, though!), Mediterranean cheese blend, Craisins, sliced almonds, and Texas Toast croutons (NOT gluten free...not for me! We had a bag that we needed to use up ;))
~variety of dressings (light Caesar, ranch from Avanti's here in town (Jer's favorite dressing!), oil and vinegar, and gluten free poppyseed dressing (from Whole Foods)...YUMMY!!

Main Course:
~Chebe cheese rolls...DELICIOUS gluten-free rolls made from a yummy mix. Available at Meijer and Naturally Yours here in Bloomington. I LOVE these rolls! The others enjoyed them, too! They are made from a tapioca flour base and are so soft on the inside and crisp on the outside. I would DEFINITELY recommend them...even if you don't need to eat gluten-free!
~Parmesan mashed potatoes....Recipe:
4 lb. red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 cups chicken broth (I used Progresso; it is gluten free)
1-8 oz pkg 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese, cubed
3/4 cup Reduced Fat/Light Sour Cream
3 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan Cheese
4 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. garlic salt

Put potato chunks in large saucepan. Add broth; cover. Bring to boil on high heat; simmer on medium heat 15 min., stirring after 8 min. Uncover; stir potatoes. Simmer, uncovered, 5 to 6 min. or until potatoes are tender and most of broth is absorbed.

Add cubes of cream cheese. Reduce heat to low. Mash potatoes slightly until cream cheese is melted. Add sour cream, butter and Parmesan; mash until potatoes are smooth and heated through.

YUMMY!!!!

AND
~Crockpot Cranapple Chicken (recpie adapted from http://www.cookingcache.com/)

Crockpot Cranapple Chicken Breast Bake Recipe
4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I used just over three lbs of breasts)
4 to 6 green onions (I didn't use onions)
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries (I used a cup since I thought I used more chicken)
1/2 cup chopped dried apple (I used one whole fresh apple, sliced...but waited to add it until about an hour before serving)
1 clove garlic very thinly sliced (I used 1 1/2 tsp of crushed garlic form a jar)
2 tablespoons brown sugar (I used four Tbsp.)
2 tablespoons water (I used 4 tsp)
1 teaspoon lemon juice (I used 2 tsp)
2 teaspoons butter (I used 4 tsp)

Place chicken breasts in a 2-quart (or larger) crockpot. Add remaining ingredients in the order given, dotting evenly with the butter last. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours. Serve over rice (I didn't serve with rice; Jeremy doesn't like rice very much. However, I think rice would've been great).

I think the cooking time was a little long; the chicken was a little drier than I would've liked, but all in all not too shabby!

Dessert
~fresh raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries (sliced) mixed together with a SMALL amount of sugar (just a tiny sprinkling on top as they sat in the fridge for a few hours)
~organic vanilla pudding (not instant; Jeremy loves the "skin" on the kind you actually have to cook ;))
~whipped cream

YUMMY!

We had a great time with our friends, too :). All in all, a great evening :)

WHOLE FOODS

WHOLE FOODS=HEAVEN ON EARTH......oh my goodness! It is seriously my favorite grocery store EVER now!
I had class in Chicago on Saturday so I decided to ask my handydandy little TomTom (actually, Jeremy's...he got it for Christmas from his parents; we hadn't even used the little guy yet!) if there was a Whole Foods nearby...and there was one 9 miles from Oakton Community College, where my class was (long story short, it's some co-op dealie with ISU; sometimes we are at Oakton and sometimes we are at ISU)...so of course I embarked upon the quick journey to go check it out and BOY, was I glad that I did!
EVERYTHING in the store is all-natural and many things are organic as well. BEST part is, though....they have TONS Of GLUTEN FREE GOODIES! The baked goods...oh my goodness...things looked wonderful!
I got a loaf of GF sandwich bread ($7ish, Whole Foods brand; I had read somewhere that it is the best GF bread available), a round loaf of GF sourdough bread, some Bob's Red Mill sorghum flour (I should've stocked up; we have it here, but it was cheaper at Whole Foods), some GF poppyseed salad dressing, some GF rice lasagna noodles (I can never find them!), some organic white wine vinegar, a GF personal-size Glutino brand cheese pizza (!!!), some GF chocolate chip cookie mix (Pamela's brand), and a pre-washed and pre-cut cup of fresh kiwi and strawberry from the produce section (for my "lunch", I ate it as soon as I got in the car!). They had a great produce section!! I really wish we had one of those stores in our town.

But....let me just tell you...the sandwhich bread is PHE-NOM!!!! Seriously!! I made a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch yesterday AND today with it and loveloveLOVED it! After being deprived for FIVE months now it just tasted SOOO good. I've tried a few other kinds but nothing is really GOOD, just "bearable" (well, some are terrible!). This stuff, though, was wonderful. When we go back up to Chi in late April for a race, we will DEFINITELY be stopping by a Whole Foods. It is my new favorite shopping experience!

SO, if you want some great (THE BEST!) GF bread, head on over to a Whole Foods and check out the freezer section which is CHOCK-FULL of many varieties of bread and baked goods. Next time I go, I am going to get the tomato basil bread (the woman who showed me the section at the store recommended it) and either banana bread or carrot cake! YUP, they have stuff like that too! Really!

All Hail Whole Foods!

I made it!!

We are HOME from AZ and had a wonderful wonderful trip! Absolutely fantastic...and I wish we were still there! Well, kind of ;). It is of course, always nice to be home. There's nowhere quite like home, is there?! :)

I was SO nervous during the weeks leading up to the trip...I had basically resigned myself to the fact that I would get sick at some point during the vacation. In my mind it was inevitable. Between eating out and eating meals at Eileen and Dave's house (our hosts) it was bound to happen at some point.

I am so thankful to report that I needn't have been so worried!!

Eileen had stocked up on some gluten free goodies that she had for me in the guest house where Jeremy and I stayed...check it out! She had even gotten my favorite granola! (accidental! She had no idea!). She also got me some pretzles (not shown; they were in my bag ready to take with to the baseball game!). The yellow box of Trader Joe's mac and cheese was one I'd brought from home (one of the boxes Jillian got for me!). I survived! ;)

Eileen also went way out of her way to prepare many gluten free meals for me during our stay. The woman is truly a saint. She and her husband Dave used to be neighbors here in Bloomington of Jeremy's parents, but moved to Mesa sevenish years ago when Dave was transferred with State Farm (he is a vice president of State Farm; in charge of auto claims out there in the AZ area. Big stuff ;)). I had never met them before, but they were two of the most accomodating, loving individuals I had ever met. I can't wait to see them again someday! I cannot thank them enough for their kind generosity! In a future post, I will share two recipes from her: a soup with pork, green chiles, and hominy (phenomenal!!) and a margharita lasagna (she made mine with rice noodles!!). Both were sooo yummy!!!
Jeremy and I had read that there was a Red Robin in Mesa; however we had forgotten to check the address before embarking on a journey to find lunch on Monday. We ended up "happening upon" Red Robin and dined like kings! ;) Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE Red Robin!? YUMMM indeed!

Jeremy just loves it when I take "pointless" photos of him ;). HA!

{GULP!}

Tomorrow...later today, really (since it's after midnight!)...is our trip to AZ! Long awaited, and now it is staring us right in the face! I'm reallyreally nervous about the food situation. I am sure I'll have lots to write about when I am back.
Ok, back to packing! Wish me luck!

Yummy dinner!

Thanks to JILLIAN for this awesome present...two boxes of gluten free mac and cheese from a recent trip to Trader Joes!! Jillian, a great friend I met at work, is just AWESOME and sooo generous! She always finds me little goodies...and I love her for it!!

I have a pot of water with one box of the noodles a'boilin' downstairs and can't wait to eat it! After that I am off for a pedicure...a silly indulgence, I know ;). It is in preparation for our trip to AZ on Thursday...my biggest trip yet while gluten free! It'll be an adventure, I am sure...but I am up for it! :) Time to go consume said mac and cheese....have a lovely night, all!

Flourless Chocolate Cake...mmmmmm!!

This week we had a potluck planned for Tuesday over lunch at work....so of course I knew I had to find some kind of new recipe to make! My mom had told me about a recipe for flourless chocolate cake that she had heard on a morning show on ABC I think...and had e-mailed me a link to it. The recipe looked and sounded delicious...and it was by Emeril, so it HAD to be good, right?! :) I gave it a try...here's the recipe for all of you adventurous-sorts out there!!

Flourless Chocolate Cake
(by Rachel and Emeril ;) )
~1 pound semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used four bars of Ghiardelli semi-sweet chocolate baking bars)

~1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus 1/2 tablespoon (I used Land O' Lakes, our butter of choice in this house ;), and it was actually the salted variety because that was all we had at the time...and it was fine)

~1/4 cup Kahlua (I am cheap and didn't want to buy a $20 bottle of Kahlua, so I used this Bolthouse Farms Mocha Cappuchino chocolate milk drink I had in my fridge...also worked great!!)

~8 large eggs (organic, of course ;))

~1/4 cup sugar

~1 teaspoon vanilla (be sure it's gluten free!! Some aren't!)

~1/2 teaspoon salt

~Confectioners' sugar or cocoa powder, for garnish (I just used the powdered sugar; I figured there was already plenty of chocolate! ;))

~Fresh raspberries, for garnish (I forgot to get these; so I just had the powdered sugar...it was fine ;) Fruit, though, would make it even prettier!!)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Using 1/2 tablespoon butter grease a 9-inch springform pan and line bottom with a parchment round (I didn't have a round, so I just roughly cut one from my big roll of it!). Cover pan underneath and along sides with foil and set in a roasting pan (I used a cake pan! I don't have a big roasting pan).

Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Combine the chocolate, butter, and Kahlua (or chocoalte milk! ;) ) in a metal bowl set over simmering water or in the top of a double boiler (I don't have a double boiler, so I used a medium-sized sauce pan and put a metal bowl on top). Melt the mixture, stirring constantly, until smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes; reserve.

Meanwhile combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until frothy and almost doubled in volume, about 5 to 10 minutes (honestly, I probably did closer to 4-5 minutes). Fold 1/3 of egg mixture into chocolate mixture using a rubber spatula. Repeat this process 2 more times until all of egg mixture has been folded into chocolate mixture.

Pour batter into prepared springform pan and place in the roasting pan (I poured it into the prepared pan that was already inside the "roasting pan"/cake pan). Pour enough boiling water into the roasting pan to come about halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

Bake until cake has risen slightly and edges are just beginning to set, about 40-45 minutes. Remove cake from roasting pan and cool on wire rack to room temperature. Remove foil, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Remove cake from refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving. Remove springform pan sides, invert cake onto a large plate, and peel away parchment paper from bottom (this part took a while since I was being careful! The bottom of the springform pan was stuck to the paper, which was stuck to the cake. I bent a fingernail trying to pry them all apart! Be careful!!).

Reinvert cake on another large plate or serving platter and garnish with confectioners' sugar or cocoa powder immediately before serving.Yum yum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I took some photos to put with this blog entry...but I deleted them off my camera accidentally before uploading them onto the computer! DARN it all!!!!

I feel bad...

...and it is SO frustrating....

Sunday was Jeremy's 27th birthday...happy birthday (again), babe! :). For a while, I had planned on having a birthday party for him. I had one last year...a surprise! I had arranged for his best Bloomington guy friends to meet out at Medici (which was a new restaurant here in town at the time) for pizza and then come back here to our place for dessert, along with their wives/girlfriends/whatever if they wanted. I think Jer had a great time with his friends, and I was happy to have pulled off the surprise. I decided against the surprise this year and instead talked to him about what restaurant he'd like to go to and what friends he'd like to invite. I also decided against having just guys...because, quite frankly, I wanted to go too :). We planned this year's party for Saturday night (Feb. 28th) at CJ's here in town, not far from our house.
(I started this post on Monday and never finished it! I will finish it now--Sat 3/7!)
I suggested CJ's because I know they serve Jeremy's favorite Chicago-style deep-dish pizza in town. I KNEW it would be a struggle for me to sit there and watch him eat pizza, but I made the sacrifice, because it was his birthday and he LOVES it!! I know, I am being kind of dramatic...referring to it as "a sacrifice"...but in a way, it really was! It is NO fun to sit there and watch people eat pizza. It is one of the worst food issues I have.
Anyway, so I invited tons of his (mostly) local friends and said we would be having dinner at CJ's and then everyone was invited back to our place for dessert...
Well, we had a great turn-out...Chuck and Sarah came, Brooke and Jamie stayed for dinner (they were visiting from Rockford!), Aaron and Katie came, Jon (Jeremy's brother), Alec, and Josh and Laura. It was a great group of fun people!
We had reservations for 6:30, but we ended up hanging out by the crowded bar until a few minutes after seven because they never got a table ready for us. At one point (around 6:50), I went over to the hostess stand and asked some lady about it and if our table would be ready soon...pointing out, of course, that we had reservations for 6:30....her response? "Well, do you have a keg of dynamite? Because we're just waiting for some people to move so we can get your table together!" EXCUSE ME?! Yeah, she really said that. It was interesting.
Well...we FINALLY got seated ;) and started to look at the menus. EVERYONE ordered the deep-dish Chicago-style pizza. Awesome...or not. So, once the meal arrived I had to sit there and watch everyone eat that yummy-gooey-cheesy pizza. Let's just say, I was in a mood. HA! Oh, and before that, people ordered tons of deep-fried, breaded appitizers. So, it was pretty awesome to sit there and watch those being consumed as well. I know, I know...it was my HUSBAND'S birthday...and I tried to have a good attitude. I didn't, though!
Oh, and the waitress delivered those 4 awesome-smelling and looking pizzas...and realized she had forgotten my entree somewhere. Great. So, I sat there LONGER with no food in front of me to distract me! When she brought it out...it was pathetic. I had ordered the broiled cod and the darn cod fillet was no more than THREE inches long. Seriously. I had ordered it there before, so I KNEW that wasn't how it typically was. I was pissed...it was bad enough to be eating fish when everyone else had pizza, but the size of it was really pathetic. That darn 3" of fish cost me 13.99! Reeeeediculous.
Ok, ok, I'll stop ;).
I felt terrible sitting there and being so cranky and I kept telling myself to cut it out, it wasn't a big deal, etc., etc....but I kept getting MORE upset at myself for being upset at all so it was just one big upset, uncomfortable mess. I didn't even take any pictures at dinner because I was in such a foul mood! Silly me!
After dinner, though, things turned around. We all went back to our place (minus Sarah...she wasn't feeling well...she had just gotten back from an overnight trip to Atlanta to see Ben Folds and was hungover and tired ;)) and plus Adam and Jami who joined us around 11. I served the yummy-looking oreo ice cream cake I had made for Jeremy (again, sacrifices I made for his birthday! ;) It's one of his favorite desserts) and I ate some yummy Edy's vanilla ice cream with dark chocolate hot fudge on top. I wasn't suffering there! ;) ;) HA!
Hopefully next year I will be a big girl at Jeremy's birthday party. Good grief!
All in all, though, it was a great evening with friends...and I am DEFINITELY thankful we have so many fun and wonderful friends :)
Thanks, guys, for putting up with cranky ol' ME! :)

Uno Chicago Grill Rolls Out Gluten-Free Pizza Nationally...is this FOR REAL?!?!?!

I just found this awesome blog post....

and was allllll excited because it looks like Uno Chicago Grill started carrying gluten free cheese and pepperoni pizzas......

well we've been to the location at the Mark Twain Hotel in Peoria numerous times...Jeremy's favorite food is chicago-style deep-dish pizza and I love (well, loved??) it as well. I was SO PUMPED to see that we might be able to go there to enjoy it together again!

Well, I jumped on the Uno website to find the phone number for the Peoria location to see if they were, indeed carrying the gluten free pizza (the corporate website said that not all locations have it yet)...and it turns out, it isn't an Uno's anymore! It is now called Two 25. Excuse me?!??!?!

So close....yet so far away. Darn you, pizza!!!!

MORE GF resources

1) MEIJER:

A friend from work, Kristin, just sent me a facebook message telling me to check out the Meijer Meal Box online website because they had a bunch of gluten free tips/information, etc. Thanks so much, Kristin! There are some great tips/products/information here!

Link to resources: http://www.meijermealbox.com/gluten-free-resources

Link to a list of foods available at Meijer grocery stores (we have a huge Meijer here in Bloomington-Normal!): http://www.meijermealbox.com/gluten-free-product-list

2) Living Without magazine:

I'd been meaning to subscribe to this magazine for a while now, but forgot about it until I saw a link to it on the Meijer mealbox website mentioned above. I just subscribed to it...$23 for a year (6 issues). I am so excited to get some new recipe ideas and tips! The magazine claims to bring the "latest news on food allergies, autism, celiac disease, and asthma"...I had peeked at one once, and it looks great! I am pumped to get the first issue...I hope it's soon! I will definitely keep you all posted and let you know how it is :)

3) Blogs

On the right hand side of my blog (you'll need to scroll down), you'll find links to some blogs I've found to be interesting and helpful...for your convenience, I also listed them below and they all have links to their sites:

Gluten Free [Cooking School]
Gluten Free Optimist (i need to take a few tips from here about being optimistic!! ;))
CeliacChicks
Gluten-Free Living (They also publish a magazine that I might subscribe to also at some point)
Gluten Free Blog
Recipes from Karina's Kitchen Gluten Free Goddess
Recipe for a Gluten Free Life by Mrs. G.F.
GF-Zing! -this website is Gluten Free!
At some point, I hope to get better about networking and start leaving messages on all of these blogs and maybe "feature" some of their blogs on my blog, etc. We'll see. For now, though, I just thought I'd let you know some of the cool gluten-free blogs I've discovered :)

ENJOY! :)

CHEX!

Ok, so I knew Rice Chex was now gluten free (I have a big unopened box in my kitchen!)...but what I had forgotten about was that on the Chex website they had a bunch of gluten free recipes! My good friend Jen had told me about this, and I had forgotten until she reminded me on the phone yesterday! I looked it up today for the first time, and it looks great! There are some yummy-looking probably crowd-pleasing snack ideas that would be great for parties or other get-togethers. I can't wait to try them! The recipes look easy and delicious The only hard part will be deciding which one to try first! ;)

Chex Gluten-Free Recipes

I think I am the most excited about the Italian Chex Mix...and of course, Muddy Buddies (or "Puppy chow"! :))

Delicious discoveries!

Just found these blogs...they look to be helpful, and chock-full of awesome recipes and tips!

http://myglutenfreecookbook.blogspot.com/

http://www.glutenfreecookingschool.com/

YUMMY!

ALSO...a great GF bakery that ships!

http://gfgreatbakes.com/viewproduct/3//

SWEET! Literally ;).

Love is...

...sticking up for your wife who can't eat "normal" food.

I was reminded again today of how much I love my husband. An awkward food-related situation arose today (and I don't want to go into too many details because I don't want to be mean) and Jeremy totally went to bat for me and stuck by my side.

I love this man! Honestly, I don't know how I could deal with all of this crap without him.

Sure we haven't exactly completely converted our home to a "gluten free zone", but there is significantly less gluten-containing food here. I still buy him "regular" pasta, but he is tolerating some rice pasta. In addition, I do buy him "regular" buns for his hot dogs/hamburgers/BBQ pork. There is also some wheat-containing BBQ sauce here, as well as some cans of his favorite soup...Cambell's Bean with Bacon (gross!!! ;)). However, for the most part...everything in our house is stuff I can eat and stuff that won't make me sick if I accidently ingest a few crumbs of it or something!

I love you, Jer!

more party-time and FOOD! :)

Thursday night I had some good friends over for a fun party...I hosted a Thirty-One party at my house. I had met the consultant, Lindsay Hale, at a group home-party consultant party at The Lodge in Bloomington back in December and booked a party with her then. It was a ton of fun! I LOVE entertaining. In fact, my only lament with the house we own right now is that I would love to have a BIGGER place to be able to have more people over! I LOVE the cooking, even the cleaning, and just general preparation and excitement that goes into having a group of fun friends over. I love spending time with a group of fun people doing anything, really!

Naturally, the gluten-free diet has necessitated quite a few changes in my "entertaining" plans!! This was actually the biggest get-together I'd had, post gluten-free lifestyle change. The guests were: Sarah and Jami (fun Bloomington friends!), Katie Fanello (newly-engaged Augie friend; she is engaged to Jeremy's old college roommate. Katie is in grad school for SLP at ISU right now), Abbey (a newer Blo-no friend; she works with Jer), Dawn and Stacy (2 fun SLP girls that I work with at Easter Seals), and Pam (Dawn's sister from out of town who was visting). It was so much fun!! Lindsay was a really fun consultant, too, so it was nice to get to know her a bit more as well.

Enough babbling, on to the important stuff...the menu!! I made gluten free brownies (I used the Gluten Free pantry mix that I briefly mentioned previously; I made them for the first time when we were visiting Jeremy's parents' place in Raleigh), gluten-free mini-cheesecakes (a recipe I made up after compiling some ideas I found online), had some white corn tortilla chips with a dip I made, and some yummy buttery home-made popcorn (that Jami loves!! :)).

Here are the brownies (or half of them, anyway!) after most were eaten :). (another nerdy reason I love the entertain is I LOVE to use all of my fun Longaberger products!! :) Haha!!). I thought they were delicious, but Jeremy informed me that they weren't as good as the ones I had made before in NC. I informed him that the mix was identical, but he told me that I just "must have" done something differently. Honestly, I might have overbaked them a bit (oops!) because they weren't as gooey as the first batch. Oh well...I still thought they were great and would definitely recommend the Gluten Free Pantry brownie mix that I used to create them! A mix that makes an 8x8 pan (I combined two boxes and used a 9x13" pan) costs about $3.50 at Wal Mart...yeah substantially more than the $1 you can get many non-GF brownie mixes for! Frustrating!!


Gluten-free and Fabulous Mini-cheesecakes
3 8-oz bricks of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream (I used Daisy brand light sour cream; it is GF)
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (make sure it is GF!)
Mi-Del brand Gluten Free ginger snaps (or may substitute any gluten-free cookies!)

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line muffin tips with paper or aluminum baking cups (I used paper).
3. Place one cookie in the bottom of each baking cup.
4. In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
5. Fill baking cups approximately 3/4 full with cream cheese mixture (I used a cookie scoop for this; less mess and worked wonderfully!)
6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.
7. Cool completely before storing in a tightly covered container in your refridgerator.

SOOO easy...and sooo delicious!

NOT the best photos...but here are my little cheesecakes! I made half with chocolate chips sprinked on top, and half plain. They would also be fabulous with fruit sprinkled on top. One of the recipes online showed mini-cheesecakes baked with one madarin orange segment baked on top of it. That could be yummy as well. The possibilities are endless! Next time, I want to adapt the recipe to be pumpkin mini-cheesecakes, with some pumpkin puree baked in! Perhaps in place of the sour cream...we'll see.

terrible photo...but you get the idea...


These little delights were SO easy to make...and SO worth it! Yum-yum-yummy! The are the kind of things that don't taste "fake" or make you feel like you are still deprived from the "real thing"!

University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center

Well...I decided to e-mail Dr. Stefano Guandalini at the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center today...and he responded already! I basically wanted more information and to see what my next step should be...I sent him a VERY lengthy e-mail describing my symptoms and "adventures" with various doctors/diagnoses.
Here is the response I got from him:

Dear Rachel,

I read carefully your story and I feel there is indeed a high chance you have celiac disease. Unfortunately, as you clearly understand now, the whole diagnostic process (that should have promptly begun years ago) was not handled properly and is now jeopardized by your diet.

In essence, I now suggest the following:
1) Have a genetic test done, looking at the presence of HLA-DQ2 or DQ8.Any doctor can request this simple blood test to Prometheus Laboratories; or you can have a swab test from the inside of your cheeks that has the same value and is offered by Kimball Genetics (if you choose this, write to our program director Ronit Rose at rrose@peds.bsd.uchicago.edu and she can have one sent to your home). If the genetic test is negative, you can stop here: there is no risk of being celiac. If it is positive, then proceed with:
2) Reintroducing some gluten in your diet (about half a cracker per day would be more than adequate to trigger the immune response while hopefully causing minimal or no symptoms) for at least 3-4 months, then have an EGD with biopsy done.
In any case, if you want first to be seen, I -although being a pediatrician - can also see adults and occasionally do this for suspect celiac individuals. So you may contact my receptionist and ask her to see me either here in Hyde Park or in my outreach clinics in Matteson, IL in a date that is convenient for you (I do warn you,though: I may be booked up for quite some time..! :))

Stefano Guandalini, M.D.
Professor and Chief,
Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
Founder and Medical Director,
The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center
University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital

Very informative! I am going to e-mail the program director and ask for the swab test right away....I wonder how much this costs? We'll see! :)

I am going to consider trying to get an appointment with him, too. I can't believe the thoughtfulness of this guy for e-mailing me back...and so promptly, too! Wow!!