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 :)

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!

FOUR THINGS...to be thankful for (yesterday's thoughts)

I spoke with my mom on the phone yesterday and shared with her the following three wonderful things that had taken place yesterday, for which I was very thankful!

1) HUMMUS: A friend from the Peoria Easter Seals office, Stephanie (a PT) sent me a facebook message on Friday saying that she was going to be passing through Bloomington tomorrow (which was Saturday) on her way back home to Peoria and wondered if she could stop by and give me a present. Totally unexpected and fun! So, we made plans to meet up for a few minutes in the Sam's Club parking lot (per my suggestion, since it wasn't far off of the highway and she was eager to return home!) where she gave me her present...A few months ago over lunch at work (when I was still at the Peoria office), we had gotten into a conversation about hummus and how much we both liked it. She told me about her favorite two places in Chicago that have homemade hummus that she LOVES (she is originally from the Chicago area and still has family there). Well, for some reason she decided she would bring some to me...so I could have a nice little gluten-free snack, as she put it! How sweet was that?! I tried it as soon as I got home, of course...and it was DELICIOUS!!! That stuff is awesome. I was floored by her kindness...I love random stuff like that! It was such an encouragement to me...and a reminder that I need to turn around and show others kindness like Stephanie did to me!

2) BREAD: My friend Catherine called me yesterday afternoon shortly after I picked up the hummus from Stephanie...as I was running some errands about town. Catherine has a friend, Starla, who has Celiac Disease...and has known she has it for like 10 years (so she is an expert! ;) ). Well, Catherine told me that she had been thinking about me and my plight to find bread so that I could once again enjoy a grilled cheese sandwich...well, Catherine told met hat she had spoken with Starla about where to find some decent/delicious bread. Starla told her that her favorite bread can be found at Whole Foods (a grocery store in the Chicago area) in the freezer section...and that the first time she discovered it, she ate the whole loaf in about a week, it was just THAT good! Awesome!! I can't wait to try it. So, yahoo for another great friend and the great kindness and great help she showed to me :)

3) BOOKS: I had a book to return to Barnes and Noble, so I went there yesterday, returned the book, and perused around for another to get in its place. I found...The Gluten Free Bible...check THIS out for a book review! This book is truly awesome! There are tons of topics...from initial diagnosis, to cheating, to pregnancy, to recipes, to suggestions of doctors! I LOVE this book and spent a good amount of time yesterday looking through it. I can't wait to read it all! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone living a wheat-free/gluten-free life!! I am so thankful I found it...I love good, new books...and especially ones that pertain to my life and can offer help to me! :)

4) CHILI'S: This last thing to be thankful for happened later last night, and post the conversation with my mom...but of course is worth noting! See the previous post for a full description :)

Have a wonderful day!