Muddy Buddies / Puppy Chow Recipe!

The holidays are the best time of the year.  Being gluten-free, it's hard to not want to naturally indulge in those wonderful (gluten-filled) holiday treats.  Well today I have for you a great Muddy Buddy recipe that you can make and bring with you to any gathering - whether it be for the holidays or any occasion.  The recipe is naturally gluten-free.

What to gather:

• 9 cups Corn Chex Cereal
• 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips (Toll House work great!)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup of your favorite peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 - 1 gallon Ziplock / Hefty bags
• Glass measuring cup or microwavable bowl
• Large mixing bowl

What to do:

• Measure out 5 cups Corn Chex Cereal, place in large mixing bowl
• Microwave chocolate chips, butter, and peanut butter for 1 minute, stir, add in vanilla, then microwave for another 30 seconds until mixture is smooth
• Pour half of chocolate/peanut butter mixture over cereal, mix, then add 4 cups cereal and the rest of the chocolate/peanut butter mixture, mix all together until cereal is coated entirely
• Take 3/4 cup powered sugar and place into first 1 gallon bag, and then do the same to the other bag
• Divide the cereal/chocolate mixture in half, and place half into each bag
• Add 3/4 cup powered sugar to each bag, seal, and shake!
• Add 1/4 cup powered sugar (if needed) to each bag to fully coat each piece, shake!
• Place storage bags in the refrigerator to cool and serve!

Important Note to my Gluten-free Friends:  If you are gluten-free and sharing with others who are eating food containing gluten, make sure you take your share first or have a separate container for your portion.  You can get cross contamination as everyone eats cookies and then reaches their hands into the Muddy Buddy mix as you eat along with them.  Avoid getting sick later and have your own little cup of Muddy Buddies. :)

Homemade Larabars

 I love Larabars.  I usually eat them for breakfast everyday and they are a great quick grab for that late afternoon snack before the work day ends.  If you've never had a Larabar, it is a bar made of just fruit and nuts.  They only usually have a few ingredients: dates, nuts, and sea salt.  They are also promoted as: gluten free, dairy free, soy free, non-gmo, vegan, and kosher (score!).

I eat them so much that I decided to make up my own recipe.  They turned out wonderful and are very filling!

In comparison, each 1.7 oz Larabar cost's $1.25 per bar.  Mine cost ~$.30 per each 1.7 oz bar.  That saves you $.95 (almost $1.00) per bar!  Calorie wise, mine come out to about 205 calories vs. Larabar's 220.

I chose to use Target Market Pantry Dry Roasted Peanuts (lightly salted) and a local grocery store's California Raisins.  Note, if you pick up organic or different ingredients, the cost of the bar will vary.

How to make your homemade Larabars:

• Gather these items:
• Food Processor
• Parchment Paper
• 8 in x 8 in Pan
• 12 oz Raisins
• 8 oz Dry Roasted Peanuts - lightly salted* - note: for your bars to be gluten-free you must make sure they aren't processed in a factory that also processes wheat 
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp (or more to taste) Cinnamon
• 1 - 2 TBSP Honey - note: local to your area is preferred

• What to do:
• Measure out 1 cup of raisins (6 oz) and blend in food processor for approx. 20 seconds
• Once blended, pour in the remaining 1 cup raisins (6 oz), 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.  Process until all blended together.
• Add in 8 oz Dry Roasted Peanuts and the honey.  Blend until all blended together - this takes approx. 1 minute depending on how big/fast your food processor is.  You may have to take out some mixture and blend separately depending on your machine.  Feel free to add as much honey to your liking - I'd say between 1 - 2 TBSP would be fine.
• Place parchment paper in the bottom of the 8 in x 8 in pan.  
• Remove the mixture from the food processor and place in the pan.  Flatten to the pan and place in refrigerator.  (I left mine in overnight)
• Cut into pieces to your desire and enjoy!

Let me know what you think! :)

The Gluten Summit - Findings #1

I was online last week when a friend posted an amazing online event - the Gluten Summit.  Each day, Dr. Tom O'Bryan, of theDr.com, interviews gluten experts and leaders in nutrition, gluten-related disorders, & healthy living that we are able to listen to FREE online Nov. 11-17th, and we can also purchase the All Access Package so we always have all the information contained in the summit.  

I wanted to share a few findings with you that I've learned from the Summit:

• Gluten Sensitivity
• "Believed" to be primarily a gut condition
• In Fact: Only 1 in 9 who have Celiac actually have bowel symptoms
• Autoimmune diseases actually have many manifestations
• Can take place in other parts of the body
• Can cause neurological problems
• Many with neurological manifestations and increased antibodies to gluten don't have intestinal damage
• Intestinal Environment
• "60-80% of the body's immune cells line the gut"
• "The gut can be affected by too much or too little of something"
• Coming in to the gut: eating gluten - irritating it
• Lacking a nutrient / dampening agent
• Chemicals Affecting the Gut
• Chemicals are everywhere - 74 billion pounds of chemicals are produced or imported by the US every day (not even including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, food additives, and fuels)
• How can you help your gut?:
• Cut out dairy and gluten
• Eat pro-biotics & Vitamin D & Glutamine
• What are we exposed to?
• What about... Mercury?
• 50% of exposure is from inhalation
• Coal-fired power plants
• Brown Cloud - traveled from China to Western US --> Contaminates environment with Mercury
• Used in vaccinations
• Anti-microbial 
• Knocks out bacteria
• Mercury warnings in lakes and rivers is increasing
• What about... Chlorine?
• Used to kill organisms in drinking water --> also kills commensal bacteria in the digestive tract  --> impacting immune response in intestinal tract
• What else are we exposed to??
• Cosmetics/Products/Sanitizers
• Parabens
• Triclosan
• (Mel's note: there are even more than listed above - google safe cosmetics - you'll find out so much about how most products in our cosmetics are unsafe. I used to research this a lot, but there's so much information out there - the best is to buy organic gluten-free items always (and non-gmo!))
• What does our Immune System do?
• Distinguishes between what is a threat and what is a non-threat
• First defense: microbium, then uses immune cells
• What chemicals do:
• Imbalance the microbial population (1st defense)
• Alters the immune cell function (2nd defense)
• Calm response is no more, and hyper reactions and sensitivities develop
• Bacteria then gets out of balance --> gut permeability --> Molecules pass through the gut into lumen --> body can then have an inflammatory response --> microbiome & immune system altered makes the body more susceptible food-related reactions (i.e. gluten sensitivity) --> after massive exposures to industrial chemicals, people can't tolerate certain foods
• Gluten Proteins
• Are not digested well
• Can alter intestinal microbes
• Can excite the immune response
• Can cause leaky gut
• Bacteria
• Turns the gut immune system on and off
• Directs the immune system on how to respond
• Impacted severely by exposure to chemicals like mercury & chlorine
• Food Sensitivities
• Must be addressed so that people can heal!
• May not be the root of imbalance
• Eliminate chemical exposure! 
• GMOS... (tomorrow's topic - stay tuned!)

Hope you learned something!  I found the best way to do this is in an outline so that it's all laid out.  Tomorrow I'll discuss GMO findings from the Summit.

Register for Free by clicking on the Gluten Summit link above.

Let me know what you think and what you've learned!

with love,

mel

Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls - Gluten Free & Paleo Too!

BRR!! Happy November!! This weekend I decided to make a gluten-free cabbage and meat dish.  It's getting colder outside, and what perfect way to bring in the cold than make a great gluten-free, paleo, stew.  

Gather these ingredients [Keep in mind, doubling this recipe works well for feeding hungry guys and the family]:

• 1 pound ground beef or turkey [lean is preferred] 
• 1/2 large cabbage
• 1 large yellow onion
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 16 oz can [or more] diced tomatoes
• 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 cup gluten-free chicken broth
• 2 TBSP apple cider vinegar [don't use white vinegar!]

Here's what to do:

• Brown the ground beef in a medium pan with the chopped yellow onion
• While the meat is browning, add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, chicken broth, and vinegar in a stew pot - and bring to a boil
• Cut up the cabbage and add to the stew
• Add in the meat [be sure to drain if there is fat in the pan]
• Cook on medium heat until cabbage is tender

Enjoy!

With love, Mel

PS - Thought I'd share this gem.  We went to Ikea this weekend and I totally fell in love with this photo... I used to love Spaghetti and ate it all the time.  Now that I can't eat gluten anymore without hurting, this picture says it all :)

Gluten-Free Banana Bread

I love banana bread.  My mom and grandma used to always bake banana bread when we'd have ripe bananas.  So here is my take on gluten-free banana bread.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 large or 4-5 medium bananas medium ripe (some brown spots) smashed
• about 1 cup sugar (can use less 3/4 cup)
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour (I use Gluuteny flour)

What to do:

• Set your oven to 350*
• Mix the bananas and melted butter together
• Add the sugar, egg, vanilla, then baking soda and salt - beat with hand mixer on medium speed
• Add in the flour slowly to the mixture and beat with hand mixer
• Put in a 4x8 pan
• Bake for 1 hour
• Eat delicious banana bread!

Let me know what you think!

This can also be made with regular flour if you wish (but it wouldn't be gluten free!)

With Love,

Mel

Delicious Gluten-Free Creamy Maple Polenta

Breakfast.  The most important meal of the day!  Growing up my grandma would make my brother and me breakfast - either cereal, eggs, waffles, pancakes, oatmeal, or bagels before going off to school.  Today, I don't have the time to sit down and eat or even make something.  So, I naturally set my Keurig every morning and make my coffee and run off to work with a Larabar.  [Which, let's be honest, gluten-free breakfast items are not cheap.]  Only on weekends do I actually "make" breakfast.  It wasn't until a few weekends ago when I had Polenta for breakfast, that I actually thought: "How wonderful would it be to actually have a warm breakfast!"  Not only does it taste amazing but it's much less expensive to make than to keep eating $2 breakfast bars everyday.  I knew I had to have this warm, creamy, gluten-free dish again and had to figure out how to re-create it in the most natural way possible [without all of the fillers and additives that can be in food]...

So after much research, here is my take on a wonderful, creamy, maple, warm polenta breakfast:

• Ingredients:
• 3 cups organic non-fat (or regular) milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup organic corn meal [I like mine on the finer side vs. course - I used Hodgson Mill Organic]
• 1/4 stick salted butter
• few dashes of Cinnamon
• 1 spoonful sugar (if you prefer)
• About 4 TBSP Organic 100% Maple Syrup
• Dried or fresh fruit/nuts (if you prefer)
• TIP: Use a "larger than medium" glass or metal pot to cook in - a 2.5 L Vision Clear Sauce Pan

Below are some of the ingredients I used:

OK guys this is seriously yummy and you can alter it to your taste if you like more or less sweet or creamy.

• What to do:
• Bring the 3 cups milk and 1 tsp salt to a simmer - medium heat
• While you have the milk on, combine the corn meal and the water then slowly add it to the milk
• Keep whisking, turn up the heat a little more and whisk until the mixture comes to a boil (just a few min.)
• Add in the butter
• Add in the maple syrup to taste (you can use more or less, add then taste, add then taste)
• Put in a few dashes of cinnamon
• Top it off with a spoonful of sugar if you'd like
• Let it cool for a min and then dish out to you and your family!
• Feel free to top off with nuts or fruit (dried or fresh)

This makes a pretty large helping of Polenta - it filled half of my sauce pan - so it makes about 1.75 L or about 7 cups worth.

Enjoy!

Let me know how you like it!

With love, 

Mel

This is Gluten-ified

Ok friends, this is the most embarrassing post yet.  I'm totally putting myself out there with today's post.  I think there are many out there that wonder if they have gluten problems or their stomachs get larger after they eat and they don't understand why... well... lucky for all of you out there I got cross-contamination when I ate out this week so I can actually show you what happens.  Normally I'm like the picture on the right.  My stomach should be flat and no hurt.  On the left you will see what happens when gluten enters my system.  When I took the picture last night I thought the world will be thinking I'm totally sticking out my stomach to prove a point, which I actually wasn't.  The worst part is, that was one of the better times that I could actually still button my jeans.  Before I was gluten-free and ate lots of pasta and bread I had the hardest time getting my stomach to go down after eating and sometimes, it would take days and my jeans would not fit.  Funny enough my posture was pretty bad in the first picture, my stomach hurt and was so bloated I was basically walking around like there was a baby in there.  The picture on the right I took this morning when I felt and looked better, still a little gluten left but for the most part, this is what I normally look like, gluten-free.

So what do you do when this happens?  Sadly, wait it out.  Try to just eat food that you prepare yourself that you know is gluten-free and don't eat out, drink plenty of water, limit sugar intake, and take pro-biotics (if you get your probiotics from yogurt - check the sugar content in your yogurt... yeah 16g for that little cup? you sure you want to eat it now? :)  Don't feed the bloat).

For those of you who can't eat gluten too, remember, you're not alone.  We all get cross-contamination, we all hurt, we all wish we didn't have this but just remember, it makes us much stronger!

When I was researching some today I ran across a forum where someone was saying gluten free is a fad... I laughed to myself a little and had to share that with you all... well sir, if this picture above says anything, being gluten-free certainly isn't a fad, it is a lifestyle for many of us [who wish we could bite into freshly baked Italian Bread with that angel hair pasta] have to live with.

To all of my fellow gluten-free'ers: just remember, you are NOT alone :)

with love, mel

just be... happy!

Happy Friday and Happy Labor Day Weekend!!

I've been thinking... which, I tend to do a lot of thinking.  Do little things for yourself.  If you are craving that Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte, go ahead and get one!  [Which I totally did twice this week and haven't had any aches! :) So I'm assuming it's GF and GTG]  Do things for others.  Whether it's helping an old lady pick something up or leaving something special for someone you love.  Make others smile.  Make yourself smile.  Life should be happy, why be sad.  Bad things happen, good things happen.  Everything happens for a reason.  Appreciate everything.  Thank God today.  Stop for a moment and watch the sunrise or the sunset.  Just stop whatever you're doing and look around.  Life is happening all around you.  Maybe you'll hear the hum of a refrigerator or air conditioner, maybe you'll hear the sounds of the outside, maybe it'll be a song you have on that you don't realize is playing [and now you do :)]... stop and think of all that you have accomplished.  Think of all the wonders and how when you were so upset maybe weeks months years ago when something made you sad and now you see why it happened and how much better you are now - God has a better plan than we can even imagine.  Be in the moment.  Soak it all in.  Take a deep breath and just... breathe.  And you know what?  Be happy.  Smile.  Make others happy!  Be the light in this world.  Be the positive one at all times.  Look for the good in people and in others.  Stop over-analyzing, stop under-analyzing, really... just stop analyzing all together.  Stop judging others.  Stop looking at others for their skin, race, what have you.  We're all different.  That person could be an amazing musician, a talented artist, an amazing mom, but no matter if they are someone noted as "great" or not, they are great in the eyes of God.  Be positive.  Give people a chance.  Give situations you just don't want to part in a chance.  Go outside.  Be amazed.  Take pictures but be in the moment.  Look at a blade of grass... how intricate it is and how all these little blades make up a great landscape.  Smile.  Be that person you see that is always happy but not fake.  And please, don't be fake.  Just be happy.  Take another bite, gaze a little longer into the eyes of the one you love, read one more page, take one more picture, sleep in one more minute.  Pin just one more pin [ok I do that a lot].  But keep others in check.  When someone is down, which we all get down lets be honest, be the light.  Make them know it's alright!  And no one, is ever, alone.  So here's my gluten-free advice for today.  To just, be... happy :)

with love,
mel

PS - write away and comment away!  I'd love to hear from all of you out there!

who wants 'smore?

Who doesn't LOVE s'mores?  I absolutely do.

It's summer time, you're around a campfire and everyone is breaking out the bread for mountain pies and the graham crackers for s'mores... and you can too!

This was my first summer being gluten-free & I couldn't miss out on mountain pie & s'more making.

For Mountain Pies:

Use Udi's Gluten Free bread and add in your favorite gluten-free topings.  Just make sure to use butter spray the CLEAN mountain pie maker:

When I mean CLEAN I mean CLEAN:

1. Have your own 

Or..

2. Make sure the one you are using is clean and don't re-use after it's been "glutenified"

Or...

3. Use foil to wrap yours in so it doesn't get contaminated

Now, for the best part, S'MORES!

Schar's gluten-free graham crackers (as shown above) make amazing substitutes for your favorite graham cracker.  Marshmallows are generally gluten-free so you are --safe-- (just make sure to check the package just incase) here's the facts:

 [In the U.S., the marshmallow industry is dominated by two main companies: Kraft Foods Inc. and Doumak Inc. The good news is, both manufacture only gluten-free marshmallows.]

Then, add in a piece of Hershey's Chocolate, and you're good.to.go!

Let me know how yours turn out or if you have any favorite mountain pies & s'more ideas!

Enjoy!

with love! <3

mel

eat [more] vegetables & [less] meat

Eat your vegetables!! Ok, now I sound like mom, but maybe, just maybe... mom is right! [btw... she always is]

After watching a few Netflix documentaries about vegetables and the benefits of eating more vegetables over meat, I decided to try it out and eat less meat and, just like eliminating gluten, I actually feel better.  

Maybe you are like me and actually feel heavier inside after you eat meat.  Replacing many of my dinners with vegetables these past few weeks has actually let me eat more, get fuller quicker, and not feel the heaviness that I do after a meal with meat.

Here are some facts:

HEALTH:

• Those who have a more plant based diet actually weigh less than those who consume meat
• They also consume less calories, less fat, and have a lower risk of heart disease than those who don't
• Red meat & processed meats are high in saturated fat - which increases your LDL (high cholesterol) & increases the risk of coronary heart disease
• Eating meat also increases your risk for cancer [http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/vegetarian-benefits?page=1]

BUT I STILL NEED PROTEIN!

• Other non-meat products are very rich in protein, like:
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Eggs
• Beans
• Peas

The documentaries I watched & recommend to you:

• Vegucated [about going vegan]

• Forks Over Knives [about the benefits of eating a plant based diet based on research]

Try adding more vegetables to your diet - and hey, they don't contain gluten!  Let me know the results :)

Chris & I have been just cutting up vegetables & potatoes and adding olive oil, salt, and pepper and sautéing them over the stove and don't miss adding any meat ;)

enjoy! 

love, mel