Happy Joe's and other excitement!

Holiday time....naturally the holidays tend to kind of revolve around FOOD....which, for a gluten-intolerant person, can be a challenge (and even accompanied by sadness).

My family is becoming increasingly more and more cognizant of my gluten-free lifestyle. I love them for it! Obviously I love them for many more, and more important reasons as well...but their understanding of my need to live a gluten-free life is really a huge blessing to my life.

This was my THIRD gluten-free Christmas...I can hardly believe the time has flown by so quickly! It seems like just yesterday was that October 2008 day when I made up my mind to "quit" gluten "cold turkey"!!

Yesterday (1-1-11!) we had the annual Christmas get-together for my Mom's side of the family. My mom told me that she had seen that Happy Joe's (a yummy pizza place in the Quad City area) now carries gluten free pizza crust!

This is amazing to me for a number of reasons....if you've read much of my blog you know that my biggest gluten-free "sadness" is the lack of pizza. Oh, I love pizza! :) So, knowing of another gluten-free pizza option....is amazing!

Secondly, Happy Joe's brings back good childhood memories for me :). I am fully aware that their pizza may not be the best ever or anything really hugely unique or exciting to some people. However, it is truly nostalgic for me. We didn't go out for pizza much when I was growing up...but when we did, it was typically for Happy Joe's!

I can't wait to check out their ingredients to see what I can eat there! I am hoping for their Canadian bacon...it would be amazing if that was gluten free. That was definitely one of my favorites :).

I felt so loved/taken care of by my mom and sister yesterday...they each had prepared me a little single-serving gluten-free version of dishes that they brought to share at the Christmas party! Megan brought a baked pineapple dish (that was amazing, by the way!). The regular recipe called for a cracker crumble-topping, as well as flour in the dish. She omitted the topping and substituted corn starch for flour in my little single-serving dish. Yum! My mom made a delicious sweet potato casserole (one of my favorites!) and also swapped the flour for corn starch. The entire large dish was gluten free...but she scooped out a little dish for me ahead of time so that it wouldn't get cross-contaminated at the big buffet table! WOW! In addition, she made me a little single-serving dish of a strawberry jello dish that typically has a graham cracker crust (crustless for me). Mmmm! :)

Thanks, family, you are such a gift to me! :)

Shout-out to my fabulous mother :)

So along this gluten free journey, there have definitely been some pretty definied ups and downs....the best part, though, has been the support of my super-amazing husband, family, and friends :).

My sister got married last Saturday (YAYYY!), and my mother...though there were dozens of other things to worry about....was totally on top of making sure there were ample things for me to eat from the moment I arrived at her house on Wednesday until I left to go back home last Sunday. She arranged for a friend to pick up Biaggi's take-out and bring it to the reception so I would have a safe meal to eat (shout-out to Jen as well for picking it up for me!). And, during the reception...my dad went out to get a bag with some GF brownies my mom had baked for me so I could have something to eat when everyone was eating the yummy gourmet cupcakes at the reception :). (I must add that the brownies were made using the relatively new Betty Crocker gluten free brownie mix....and were absolutely fabulous. I would HIGHLY recommend that baking mix...plus it is pretty widely available! Just here in Bloomington, I know you can find the Betty Crocker mixes at Cub and at Wal Mart, among other stores!).

She also made an awesome coffee cake using the Betty Crocker yellow cake mix....she basically prepared the cake mix, put half of it in a cake pan, put some butter/cinnamon/brown sugar mixture (the typical cinnamon-y coffee cake concoction stuff) in the middle, put the remaining cake batter on top, and added more of the butter/cinnamon/brown sugar, etc. mixture to the top along with some chopped pecans. It was divine! She made it for breakfast on Thursday morning and I ate it after returning from a 4-mile run with the bride-to-be. She also brought leftovers of it to the hotel where we got ready for the wedding on Saturday morning...which was also fantastic! :) I would definitely recommend experimenting with the apparently very versatile Betty Crocker yellow cake mix to make some yummy coffee cake concoctions!

So, thanks, Mom! You always take care of me! :)

Awesome Christmas Gift--Namaste Baking Mixes!

Happy New Year!! Maybe I'll write more this year...and maybe I won't ;). We'll see!

I did, though, want to share about an awesome Christmas gift I received from my mother- and father-in-law: a gift certificate for Namaste food!

I used up the gift certificate shortly after Christmas and received the big box of food last week. I ordered a cookbook (it uses their mixes with a variety of added ingredients...some really great suggestions!), bread mix, brownie mix (I've had this one before...it's great!!), blondie mix, pizza crust mix, sugar-free muffin mix, pancake/waffle mix, and cookie mix. I made the blondies last night for a small dinner party we had with a couple of friends. They tasted pretty yummy! Oh a whim, I added some crushed pecans to the batter, and sprinkled some more crushed pecans and brown sugar on top. Success! :) (I just ate a leftover one a few minutes ago ;)).

I would highly recommend checking out the Namaste website....they have a ton of great products. They also have many of their products available here in Bloomington at Naturally Yours. I've also tried their Biscuit/Pie Crust mix (used it to make a great pie crust for pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, to rave reviews from my father-in-law ;)), and their Taco Pasta (comes with pasta and a seasoning packet; I added tomato soup and ground beef to it for a yummy dinner!). I have truly loved all of their products! :)

Namaste's website says, among other things, "...Our facility contains no wheat, gluten, corn, soy, potato, dairy or nuts. It is our attempt to try to eliminate any chance of cross-contamination so you can enjoy Namaste Foods products worry-free...." Awesome!! :) :)

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!

Top ten...

Here is a "top ten" list...that is ever-evolving:
The Top Ten things I have learned in the past 3.4 months (in no particular order!):

10. Hard boiled eggs are a wonderful protein-rich "staple" to have on hand in the refrigerator. Of course it can't hurt if they are organic/free-range eggs ;). I figured if I was eating more eggs, I should probably cough up the little extra to be sure I wasn't getting extra hormones and crap during the day.
9. Larabars are fantastic...and come in a variety of delicious flavors! Minimally processed, just a few ingredients (nuts! fruit!) in each...obviously gluten free, also non GMO, Kosher....many reasons to love them! My personal favorites are Cashew Cookie, Peanut Butter Cookie, and Key Lime Pie...and Jeremy loves the Cherry Pie ones (and I love that he eats them with me...instead of getting all of that nasty high fructose corn syrup in his old standby, Quaker granola bars!). I think the cheapest place here in Bloomington to find them is at Kroger on College ($1.49 a bar), but you can also get them at Naturally Yours and Meijer (they are around $1.69 at both of those places). In addition, you can also buy them in bulk at Amazon.com!
8. Favorite gluten-free and EASY breakfast...Stoneybrook Farms gluten-free low-fat vanilla yogurt with frozen berries on top. I buy the large containers and divide it into four servings and sprinkle frozen blueberries/raspberries/strawberries/blackberries on top. I send one serving with Jeremy when he leaves for work in the morning and I take one for myself. Sometimes we sprinkle nuts on top. Delicious...and healthy!
7. a gluten free grocery shopping guide is a necessity. The two that I own are available online:
Cecilia's Marketplace and
Triumph Dining
6. Don't make any assumptions. Don't assume things are gluten free without researching it(I made this mistake with a mocha at a deli...and paid for it later that morning in a small airplane bathroom). Don't assume people know what Celiac Disease or gluten intolerance is.
5. Be prepared for unsolicited advice (from people who have no idea what you are going through or what it is like or what the best thing to do in your situation is....as well-intentioned as they may be!)...and do your best to smile, nod (and ignore! HA!). They aren't being evil, they are trying to help...
4. Finding a polite way to explain your dietary restrictions in restaurants to waiters/waitresses is a must. It is SO uncomfortable for me to discuss these things and to be "different" or "difficult"...that I (as Jeremy informed me recently) sound really forced and rude. I am making an effort to make it a more light-hearted polite conversation....practice makes perfect!
3. The Gluten Free Bible by Jax Peters Lowell is a fabulous resource...and my favorite Celiac book I own so far! I love love LOVE it! She covers everything...from diet, to doctors, to dining out, to cooking/baking, to (yes, truly!) sex and fertility. She tackles all of these topics and more with a great sense of humor...she's a lady I would love to have a glass of wine with!
2. Jeremy told me tonight at dinner (after another conversation about something random screwing with fertility issues...my latest obsession)..."you need to stop worrying and start living"...I need to adopt that mantra and go forward with my life! The more I try to control everything in my life, the more I realize that I am not in control at all. After all, why are we really here at all...but to live?!
1. Life is good :). I have wonderful friends and family...and a husband who is more than I ever dreamed a husband could be, really. I have so many friends/family members who have gone out of their way to prepare gluten-free meals/snacks for me and to make sure I don't feel ostracised at get-togethers. It means the world to me, it really does. For some reason, in the midst of this craziness God is still good :).

Traveling...

Well, we are leaving for North Carolina TOMORROW...and return Monday. It will be my first trip to the "unknown" post gluten free diet (of course we have traveled over the past three months...but just to family/friends' homes! This is far! It requires an airplane!)! I hope I don't starve! ;) We are visiting Jeremy's parents' new house out there...and Mrs. B (the elder! ;)) informed me that she stocked up on rice pasta...so starving doesn't sound quite imminent. GOOD! I am a cranky gal if I don't eat!! :) I'll bring lots of Larabars and hope to be all good.

Honestly, I think I am more worried about our kitten, Izzy...we are leaving her all alone for the 4 days we are gone! Poor thing...