Eating Right for Gluten Free

That's their brand name, by the way. I found them at Randalls by complete accident! We happened to be passing the freezer section and boom! I grabbed all but one...I think it was the polenta one. 

I had the Mac and cheese for lunch today. It was a little salty, but overall I enjoyed it! It helped with the noodle cravings and cooked in much less time. I'd say about 6 minutes total (I like my cheese less saucy). 

For dinner I had the Chicken Teriyaki bowl. It had lima beans (I think) in it, but they're not in my allowable diet currently. This was delicious! Well flavored, especially for a TV dinner. 

Stay tuned for further updates :)

March of Dimes, March for Babies

Today I met with March of Dimes for Houston, as well as various UT Health employees/students/volunteers.  Many of us have signed up to be Team Captains for our respective organizations, specialties, and campuses.  

I will be the Team Captain for the UT Health Science Center Houston School of Nursing UT Student Nurse Association.  I have never been involved with March of Dimes on this level and I am VERY EXCITED!

March of Dimes isn't just about polio anymore.  It's for premature babies, for mothers, for baby's with birth defects (which I happen to have been), for newborn health screens, ... the list goes on.

Below is a new video from March of Dimes, voiced over by Chris Pratt.  

I. LOVE. THIS. VIDEO.

Watch it and I guarantee you'll love it, too.

Please help me in fundraising for a WONDERFUL cause.  To the right you will see my March of Dimes banner.  You can sign up to join me as a walker, as a donator, or as both!

The Houston walk is April 26th! Mark your calendar!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake ❤️

We had a very relaxed Valentine's Day (saving for a wedding is expensive!), so I decided last weekend to make a little treat for us. 

Cheesecake sounded perfect! I have been on a hunt for awhile to find the perfect gluten free crust. I've tried using rice chex, and while that got great reviews, it just didn't get my motor running. So while contemplating ways to get creative, this idea hit me like a lightning bolt. I immediately felt like a genius. 

COOKIE DOUGH. 

If I'm going to indulge in a treat, I might as well get us the best of both worlds! Cookie dough as the crust!! 

Work time is about 20 minutes. Wait time is about 2 1/2 hours. A true test of patience. 

...as you can see, I even let the tension build on my snapchat. 

So...Preheat oven as directed...

Simply spray your springform pan with cooking spray, then press the entire tub of Pillsbury Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough into the bottom and about one inch up the sides of the pan.

Because this made a thin layer, I only let this bake for about 8 minutes. Using a knife, I inserted the point into the middle of the dough. No residue came up, so I pulled my crust out to cool. 

While your Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Crust is cooling, I recommend you start working on the cheesecake.  Did I mention it's a no bake cheesecake?!

In your KitchenAid mixer, whip on medium high two 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese. When that is light and fluffy, add a 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk and continue to whip well. Then add 1/8 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice and a good teaspoon of vanilla. Whip all ingredients. 

Once that was nice and fluffy, I added it to my Chocolate Chip Crust in my springform pan. Covered with plastic wrap, and let sit in the fridge for about 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Serve when firm :)

I think Spens's exact words were, "If I hadn't proposed to you already, now would be the time!"

Sweet Potato, Apple, and Ham Breakfast Hash

I'm not normally a breakfast person, and for the most part I don't think Spens is either.  The last several months our eating habits have been borderline terrible so we decided to do another Advocare 24 Day Challenge.  

We started earlier this week, so the first thing I did was plan our meals...boyfriend approved.  I like to pick breakfasts first since they are the hardest meals for me to want to eat. I'm not a morning person at all.

Since I have so much free time right now, I of course started playing on Pinterest.  I found several breakfast recipes that were like a breakfast hash, but not many included a serving of fruit.  Until I found one recipe that had apples.  I love cooked apples.  

From there, I just ran with it.  This recipe is completely clean, paleo, Advocare approved, and (my favorite) gluten free.

Funny story - Spens doesn't have any type of peeler.  I tried to use a knife to peel the skin off one of the sweet potatoes.  It worked but it drove me nuts. and I gave myself a blister. not joking.  Needless to say, I did not peel the other potato.

I doubled the original recipe so that it fed Spens and I for breakfast for four days this week, making 8 servings.  After it was all cooked, we separated them into individual containers so that in the mornings we could just zap it and go.

So. fricken. good. and easy.

I'll definitely be making it again next week.

You'll need:

1 T EVOO

half an onion, diced (yellow)

1 lb honey ham

2 sweet potatoes, diced - peeling is up to you

2 apples, cored and diced

4 eggs

cinnamon

Makes 8 servings.

THAT'S IT! Super basic, super easy. Did I mention delicious?!

Directions:

1. Heat oil on medium in a very large skillet; add onion and cook about 4-5 mins.

2. Add sweet potatoes, ham, and apples.

3. Cook about 10 mins,  covered and stirring occasionally.

4. Add eggs. You can whisk before or not.  I didn't, but I had to mix a lot more than if I whisked them first. I wanted less dirty dishes.

5. Cook until eggs are finished and potatoes are soft.  I think mine was another 10-15 minutes.

6. Add cinnamon - I added the size of a quarter in my palm.  Some people like subtle flavor, some like strong cinnamon flavors.  This amount is completely up to you.  The quarter amount yielded a nice, subtle compliment to the sweet potatoes and apples.

This is so good and a great base for any other hash you might try! 

I hope you give it a try, and please let me know what you think!!

Top Golf is the best golf!

I've tried golfing several times in my life.  I'm beyond terrible, which I normally can't stand because I don't like to be bad at things, but I honestly just don't care.

I'm so bad at golf, I've settled on being the cart driver for the rest of my life.  I think a lot of it has to do with the hidden bag of wine.

Yes, I did say bagged wine. no guilt here.

That being said, there is a type of golf that I do enjoy. a lot. It's Top Golf.  Honestly, it's a great time regardless of your level of skill.  Sometimes I hit the ball, sometimes I miss it.  Either way, I always have fun.

We went last week and I finally remembered that they have a gluten free flat bread for their pizzas! Every time we go that's what I say I'm gonna order, but then we get there and something with gluten catches my eye and I completely forget about my safe option. 

My understanding is the gluten free flat bread can be substituted for any of the flatbread pizzas.  This time I chose Pepperoni and Sausage.  I don't think it's flavored with anything fancy, but they've nailed the gluten free crust.  It's a thin crust, which I always like.  It's not too crispy or too soft and has a good (almost like normal crust) texture. If I hadn't ordered it, you would have to tell me it's gluten free.. and that says a lot.

It's also cheaper than other gluten free pizzas I've tried. cheap + delicious is a win in my book any day of the week.

I didn't remember to snap a pic of it until half way through the pizza because it was that good.  

excuse the iPhone pic

Also pictured is my margarita.  I created my own - 1800 reposado, strawberry mint sangria swirl, with cointreau.  Heaven in a glass.

We also ordered Mushi, which I don't think is gluten free but still tastes really good. I limited myself to two slices...this time.  The best description I can give is that it's like Mexican food as sushi.  It's a jalapeño tortilla wrapped around sticky rice, drunk beans, spicy chicken, and cheddar cheese.  Oven baked and topped with sour cream, avocado, and sriracha hot sauce gives it a nice crispy outside with just the right amount of spicy. I mean, it definitely has a kick to it, but even though I like spicy, I'm a big ole baby when it comes to it.  Like "pass the margarita to soothe my mouth, please" as I simultaneously reach for another slice.

You can sit in the bar area to eat and drink or you can get a bay to play golf.  Your best bet for a bay is to take a group with you so you can split the play time.  That's the most expensive part and adds up verrrry quickly.

Houston friends - there's a location in Katy and in Spring! 

From what I can tell, menus vary a little with each location.  Regardless of where you're from, take a look and see if there's one close to you! You won't regret it!

Fielding's Wood Grill

On Friday we found ourselves running lots of errands. One of which put us in The Woodlands - we had to clean out our storage unit... the one that has had leftover work trash in it for three months. 

Yes. We've been paying for our trash to stay warm and dry. So stupid.

Anyways, I knew Friday would be Cleaning of the Storage Unit Day. BUT I was surprised when I woke up and Spens had already decided on lunch. In The Woodlands. At Fielding's. It's about a 25-30 minute drive for us, but the food has always been so good, we've never minded.

Needless to say, I wasn't even a little bit upset.

Fast forward to getting there and ordering. We met a couple friends, so we ordered the Serrano Pineapple Salsa to share.  I'm not sure what the chips are made of (I didn't think to ask).  Even though it tasted delicious, I found myself wheezing.  still worth it.

I ordered the Bayou Burger on a house baked gluten free bun.  It was a "burger" of shrimp that tasted like I was back in Louisiana.  The bun was a little bit dry feeling, mostly because it crumbled, but was still a really good alternative bun. Besides the shrimp "burger", it had andouille sausage, creole spices, the holy trinity (onions, celery, and bell peppers), tomato, and garlic remoulade. I would definitely order this again.  SO GOOD!  

Spens ordered the Smoke Burger, also on a house baked gluten free bun...so that we could split our burgers in half and share them.  He's so good to me.  

Back to the burger...it had the burger with bacon (no surprise), provolone, dried tomatoes, grilled onions, fried egg (double win), truffle bacon mustard, and lettuce.  I think because of the fried egg, this bun didn't taste dry at all.  It actually collapsed and made the burger all the more messy and delicious.  We both thoroughly enjoyed it! Spens didn't even mind the gluten free bun!!

We also ordered Truffle and Parmesan Fries. Probably not gluten free, but I had no reaction. that may just be my own body's weirdness.

I usually order their Dublin Dr. Pepper, but my body has been rejecting sodas, so I passed this time...Spens didn't. He looked like he enjoyed it. 

Overall, the food is delicious and I highly recommend everything.  I've been there a couple times and they haven't had anything I didn't like! 

That being said, if you are on a budget, they are pricey for burger and fries.  

But it's so good and if you're already going to treat yourself, I definitely say make the drive!

Next time, I think I'm going to try the Blood Mary flight :)

Been here before? What did you order?!

Tomato Bisque

This was delicious! My boyfriend and I finished the whole pot!

I was craving a grilled cheese so of course I needed a tomato bisque.  I found this recipe from a simple google search and as usual, I made it a little bit of my own...mostly because I used what was in my house already. shhhhh!

You'll need:

2 1/2 lb. plum tomatoes, cut lengthwise

1 1/4 t kosher salt, or more to taste

ground paper to taste

1 t EVOO

1 sm yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 t paprika

1 c water

optional garnish - sour cream and/or chopped parsley

Directions:

1. preheat oven to 425F. Cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil.

2. arrange the tomatoes with the cut sides up on the baking sheet.  it's ok if they touch.

3. sprinkle a teaspoon of the salt evenly (as best you can) across the tops. sprinkle ground pepper.

4. roast tomatoes in the oven for about 30 minutes, they should be soft but keep their shape.

5. in a large saucepan, warm the EVOO over medium-hi heat. 

6. add the onion and garlic and sauté about 3 minutes.

7. turn down the heat to low and cover for about 8 minutes to cook.

8. add the paprika.

9. raise the heat back to medium-hi, add the finished roasted tomatoes and water.

10. reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

11.  pour contents of saucepan into a food processor and blend until smooth.

12. rinse the sauce pan and pour the contents of the food processor back into the saucepan.

13. add in the remaining salt, plus more if needed, and pepper to taste.

14. reheat soup to medium heat.

15. serve (+ garnish) and enjoy :)

Hope you enjoy it!

What's your favorite soup + sandwich pairing?