Pizza cravings

So I am fairly certain I have posted about *PIZZA* at least a few times on this little blog :).

Well...we're coming up on my big "two-year anniversary" of being GF (Oct. 18, 2008 was my first GF day!)...and I still crave pizza...real pizza...like none other.

Do I crave other non-GF foods? Yeah, sometimes...just a bit. But, really, it's typically nothing that I can't redirect by eating something as equally yummy that happens to be GF.

Pizza, though, man....it just drives me nuts!

Honestly...sometimes it really makes me angry, these pizza cravings. I was trying to explain it to Jeremy the other day. It is really the only food that I get *angry* over. People can eat pretty much anything else in front of me and I don't care a whole lot. Sure there are some things that look good...but I get over it.

Pizza though? Ugh. I am plagued by the stuff.

It probably sounds strange...but I am pretty sure part of my "issue" with it is the social aspect. EVERYONE likes and eats pizza! It's no fun being the dork in the room who can't eat it, too!

This week I was craving pizza in a horrible way. I ended up making myself a pseudo-pizza substitute on Friday night when Jer was eating dinner out with his friend Chuck....

I've mentioned the awesomeness of Chebe products before...but I will take this time to sing their praises once again :).

I found a few packages of dry mix in my pantry (SCORE!) on Friday night and used the cheese bread mix to make a yummy pizza crust. The back of the package instructs one on how to make a pizza crust with the mix...basically add some egg, oil (I used butter), and cheese to the dry mix. I also added some garlic salt and extra baking powder (to make it a little softer). I then rolled it out into an awkward rectangle on a non-stick baking sheet and baked that sucker. After twenty minutes I brushed my crust with a melted butter/garlic salt mixture and sprinkled cheese on top. I threw that back into the oven for a few minutes while I heated up some marinara (Prego brand is gluten free...they even indicate that on the jar!). When the cheese was bubbly, I removed it from the oven...sliced it up...and ate it with the marinara sauce for dipping. MMMM!

A delicious dinner that satisfactorily met the requirements of the cravings that had been plaguing me all week :).

Thanks, Chebe, for coming through for me again :).

Firehouse Pizza

So, Firehouse Pizza (located in Normal...and also in Peoria) has the BEST GF pizza in town. By far. It is amazing, amazing, amazing! Jeremy and I went on a date :) last night...he let me pick the restaurant, so I chose Firehouse. We've been there a few times (Jeremy loves their calzones, so we don't really go there JUST for me ;))...but last night it was particularly good! I get the pizza with garlic sauce, mozzarella cheese, Canadian bacon, pineapple, and mushrooms...and then a side of marinara to dip it in. SO AWESOME!

SO, if you are in the Blo-No area and want some delicious GF pizza, RUN...don't walk...to Firehouse Pizza in Uptown Normal for some awesome, awesome pizza! :)

"Surprisingly GOOD!"

...Thus said my dear loving husband....who tends to be skeptical at times of my GF creations ;). Tonight he made his delicious spaghetti sauce for our dinner...

I had one Schaar pizza crust left in my box of two and I decided to make some garlic toast (just spread on some melted butter that I mixed with garlic salt...not exactly rocket science!) in the toaster oven to go with our salad and spaghetti. I enjoyed my piece...and Jeremy looked at what was left on the serving plate and asked, "SO, is it good? Like, would I like it?" I told him I thought he might, so he tried it.

He actually told me (and he is PICKY about food!!) that it was really great, "Surprisingly good" were really his exact words...and he went on to say that I wasn't missing anything when I ate this, compared to "real" bread! So, if you are GF like me...hook yourself up!! :)

Clearly, this is versatile stuff and can be used for things other than just making pizza...it is not frozen, and it is sold 2 to a package. I've also used it as "toast" with (homemade from my mother) apple butter for breakfast! YUMMY!

Three cheers for Schaar! Definitely has the Rachel and Jeremy stamp of approval! :) :)

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!!!!

SUCCESS!

WOW...the pizza was phenomenal! Really! About a year ago Jeremy made it his mission to perfect his own recipe for a home-made Chicago-style pizza (a good friend of his gave him a deep-dish pizza stone for a wedding gift, along with a Chicago-style pizza recipe book, a big pizza cutter, and some Parmesan/pepper shakers). More recently he took it upon himself to attempt a gluten-free version...totally his idea. WOW, I guess this guy must really love me for some reason! ;) He made the dough for the crust last night and left it in the fridge overnight to rise...and then prepared the rest of the pizza today. The sauce and cheese were both the best they've ever been on his attempts, too! It was amazing. Words cannot describe it, really. Gosh, you don't really appreciate something until you can't have it...and then get it back!

I have the best husband...ever!!
Here is the blessed thing before cutting in...

A little pumped! (wow, what a flattering pic! HAHA!)

Jeremy cutting the beautiful masterpiece

Love in pizza form!

{contented sigh}

AMAZING! The crust was a bit of a funky color (made with a blend of gluten free flours; I think the funky color came from the sorghum flour)...you can't tell in this pic, but it took on a greenish/greyish hue at some points! HA! Oh well, it tasted PHENOMENAL...seriously. This was some of the best gluten-free food I've eaten in my 3+ months of eating gluten free!!! Way to go, babe!

PIZZA?!

Jeremy just took our dinner out of the oven...a home-made gluten-free CHICAGO STYLE pizza! I will give a full report after dinner! SO excited!

Dreaming and other musings

First, I have been DREAMING about gluten again. Really. It's fairly unsettling and quite annoying. Last night, for example, I dreamt about being at some big conference or convention or something of the sort and of course at lunchtime when they wheeled out the big buffet line of sandwiches and such there was nothing I could eat. For some reason, in my dream state, I "knew" the only thing I could eat was a hamburger bun (wait...bread? What?) with some cheese and lettuce on it. So, I ate it...pissed. When I woke up I realized how stupid that dream was. First of all, when I am in those situations (which I have been a number of times over the past 2 and a half months), I pack my own food. Second of all, I am pretty sure...even if I was able to eat anything on that buffet, it wouldn't have been a HAMBURGER BUN! Whatever.

Second, I am still on a quest...to find a perfect gluten-free grilled cheese sandwich and gluten free pizza. These are my two biggest cravings. When we went to Trader Joe's in Chicago in November, I purchased some gluten free French rolls and attempted to make a pseudo grilled cheese sandwich in our toaster oven. Yeah, it didn't work. It was decent, but the bread was far to sweet and dense to really work out. One of the first Sunday evenings of my new "diet", I made a gluten-free pepperoni pizza using a Chebe brand pizza crust. It was decent...and I would probably try it again...but it wasn't the pizza perfection I was looking for. What do I REALLY want?! Just Pizza Hut, really! Jeremy and I DID discover, though, that Lou Malnati's in Chicago makes gluten-free crustless pizza. That is DEFINITELY on our list of things to go try...sooner rather than later!!! :)

Third, Christmas (in both the gluten-free realm and just the "in general" realm) was awesome! Jeremy got me 3 gifts (in addition to a few others) that will be a great help to me. Check out the Triumph Dining website. Even in all of my perusing of the internet and other resources, I never once came across this website! Jeremy somehow found it and ordered 3 products for me: a restaurant guide, a grocery shopping guide, and some handy-dandy dining cards that explain the gluten-free diet in a variety of languages. You are supposed to hand them to the waiter/waitress and explain them and then ask them to share the information with the chef and others who will be preparing your food. Awesome! He is SO thoughtful and I LOVE these gifts! What great resources to own!

Fourth, I've decided to pursue genetic testing for Celiac Disease, most likely through The University of Chicago. Here is information taken directly from their website.

"What is genetic testing and who can benefit from it?
There is a blood test or cheek swab test kit available to determine whether or not an at risk individual carries the genes responsible for the development of celiac disease. These genes are located on the HLA-class II complex and are called DQ2 and DQ8. Each case of celiac disease has been found to show these so-called "haplotypes"; therefore, a negative gene test indicates that celiac disease cannot develop in that individual.
There are two main reasons for using the genetic test when evaluating an individual for celiac disease. The first case is to "rule out" celiac disease, which is a medical term that indicates an individual does not possess a necessary risk factor for the development of celiac disease, genetic predisposition. Without this factor, it is impossible that the individual with a negative gene test will develop celiac disease in the future. People who test negative for the gene would not be required to have regular antibody screening for the remainder of their lives. For example, the children of an adult with celiac disease could have the gene test. The results would allow the parent to know which children need close monitoring.
In individuals with symptoms who have not had a biopsy to diagnose celiac disease, but have been on the gluten-free diet for a significant period of time, the gene test is often the only way to determine if symptoms could possibly be related to celiac disease. For a person who faces this situation, a negative gene test would indicate that symptoms are not the a result of celiac disease. A positive gene test, however, does not diagnose the disease but increases the likelihood that it is present."

I also learned through some additional reading that Celiac Disease, gluten intollerance, and wheat allergies manifest themselves in people by very similar symptoms. Since I never had the biopsy...even though my doctor REALLY believes I have Celiac Disease, we don't know...not beyond the shadow of a doubt. Naturally, I am not satisfied with this. Yes, I feel TONS better while on this gluten free diet...but I want to be sure that what is going on with me is truly Celiac Disease.

So, there you have it...my thoughts as of late. On another note...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! As far as resolutions go, I decided I should have a Celiac Disease/gluten-free living resolution for myself...my resolution relates to my fourth comment above: I resolve to undergo genetic testing for Celiac Disease at some point early on this calendar year in order to TAKE OWNERSHIP of my health and what is going on....and as a way to ensure I am doing everything I can (both for myself and my furture children) to be the healthiest person I can be.

Pizza?!

Jeremy informed me this weekend that he had a surprise for me...a co-worker told him about a pizza place in Peoria that has gluten-free pizza! Could it be?! He is going to try to find out where this is and if it is, indeed, true....I sure hope so! My hopes are DEFINITELY high up there in the clouds! Pizza is one of my biggest cravings right now. I could go for a slice of pepperoni pan pizza from Pizza Hut right about NOW! Not to mention their awesome breadsticks....ohhhh MAN!

I've been a slacker blogger lately...things have been crazy busy, getting ready for Christmas and all that! I love this time of year, but it gets very hectic and tiring as well!

Better go hop in the shower...it's past bedtime! :)

Take care, all!

news

Well, nothing really too exciting to report. I hadn't posted any new murmurings about my recent gluten-free adventures since last Thursday...so I thought I'd better do so quickly before I hit the hay...I'm home sick today. Yuck.
Well, I "celebrated" one week of being gluten free...well, as gluten free as I could manage anyway. I am sure I am still getting gluten in my body from various sources.
For lunch today, I popped some popcorn with our stovetop popper. This has been my staple as of late. Not very healthy (since of course I melt some butter on it...but at least it's REAL butter and not some chemical-y plastic margarine or something)....but it does have lots of fiber and protein in it, so I guess it's not ALL bad! ;) It is the one thing I know is safe all of the time and fills me up...so it's what I reach for a lot! In fact, I hadn't even washed the stovetop popper (not as gross as it sounds!) for like the past 3 uses...I did wash it this afternoon after lunch, though ;). Yummy popcorn!
I'll start discussing this weekend, in reverse order...
Last night (Sunday) I experimented with gluten free pizza. Well, as gluten-free as I could manage anyway. This really is tough! Anyway, I was feeling really under the weather (all weekend I have been really congested, coughing, nasty-ness containing, etc.)...so Jeremy and I didn't go to the high school fellowship at church last night (we typically go on Sunday nights; we help out with our church's youth group) but was really craving pizza for some odd reason. I used a mix I found at Naturally Yours, made by Chebe. I had made these little cheese buscuits with another mix by that company earlier in the week and really liked them...so I thought I'd experiment with their pizza crust! The instructions have you add oil (I used extra virgin olive oil), some milk (I used 2%), an egg, and gave the option of adding parmesan cheese (which I added). I ended up adding a bit more milk than the instructions called for because I didn't feel like it was the right consistency. The crust tasted pretty good...it had some good seasoning (basil, oregano) in it. It was nice and crisp on the edges, however, it got kind of soggy under the pizza toppings....I did bake the crust for 25 minutes on its own before adding the toppings (per the instructions), but perhaps I'd try it for a little longer next time. I used Kraft 2% mozzerella cheese and some hormel brand packaged pepperoni. I am not sure if either of them are truly gluten free; I checked my trusty Cecelia's Marketplace Gluten Free Grocery Shopping Guide but didn't see either of those products explicitly listed. Neither had wheat or gluten warnings and neither had any ingredient on the list that was blatantly gluten-containing...and honestly, I was craving pizza in such a bad way I just threw caution to the wind and used those ingredients! I had a bit of a stomachache afterwards, but I think it was due to the quantity of cheese I consumed yesterday ;) and not necessarily due to the presence of any trace amounts of gluten...but what do I know!? ;)
Earlier Sunday afternoon I went to a going-away party for Vanessa, one of my co-workers. A fellow SLP, Stacy, held the party at her house. I brought some cheese dip (sour cream, cheese spread, and cream cheese whipped together) with some gluten-y crackers I wanted to get out of the house as well as a separate box of almond thins (some gluten free crackers) so I could use those for a bit of the dip for myself. I discovered that this diet/lifestyle/whathaveyou is kind of nice (in a sick and twisted way) when attending parties such as this...it means I really can't just sit around and graze at the buffet! There will typically be very little, if anything, that I can eat that I didn't bring myself (even if I don't think it contains gluten, I am not sure about the preparation methods/cross contamination/etc.). I did eat some of my cheese dip (before everyone started dipping the wheat crackers into it! I found this, by the way, annoying...I had spreaders in there! Instead of, though, using the spreaders...people typically just grazed and stuck their crackers straight in the dip. Sigh. I'd rather fume silently than make a big, silly deal out of it all! ;) )...and some slices of cheese that were clearly cut from large bricks of cheese (i know I shouldn't just "assume"...but I did anyway. I assumed these were safe), as well as some apple slices and caramel dip. Oh, and I did dip a few marshmallows into a chocolate fondue pot (never mind the fact that people were dipping pretzel rods into the same fondue pot. Sigh. I will never win! Oh well.).....so I didn't starve! ;) The party was nice. It was great to see everyone there at the party...and Stacy's house is so cute! She and her husband, Bruce, got married just a few months prior to Jeremy and me...in May of 2007. Vanessa, whom the party was for, is getting ready to move to Alaska with her husband and infant daughter! Her husband is in the army and got stationed out there...WOW!
Prior to the party on Sunday, there isn't much to report...I slept in (a Ny-Quil induced slumber, mostly...I felt like crap on Saturday, too!) and we didn't make it to church. We really do need to start getting better about that...but I really did feel like crap tacos this weekend.
Saturday was a great, lazy day...but I will report on Saturday and Friday (my family came into town!!) perhaps later! I am going to go hit the hay now. I am really crappy feeling, and crappier the longer I sit here. SIGH. Get healthy, Rachel!
Peace!