Guilty Pleasure

“But don’t you miss pizza?”  I get this question a lot.  Pizza is like a devil food to me because it combines wheat and egg in the crust and dairy in the cheese.  At first, I definitely missed pizza.  The cheesy-ness, the thick crust, the ease of ordering it after a long day.

Having allergies is not like being on a diet, where you could really cheat if you wanted to and could deal with the guilt.  I won’t give into temptation because I know how the devil foods make me feel.  But instead of thinking I would “never” have pizza again, I thought about how I could.

Thank goodness for Bob’s Red Mill.  This company makes flours I didn’t even know existed.  What really great is that they make gluten free as well as wheat based flours, so it is a great product for everyone.  And, I can find it in my regular grocery store.

Yesterday I decided to give Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust a try.  I made the pizza crust from the bag of gluten free flour by just adding warm water, oil, and egg (although I used the handy trick of substituting 1 tbsp. of flaxseed meal with 3 tbsp. water for every egg called for).  It was so easy to make!

Because I was feeling lazy, I used Ragu Pizza Sauce instead of homemade, and added my favorite dairy free cheeses as well as mushrooms and chopped green peppers.  YUM!

Do I miss pizza?  No way!  Instead of feeling that I would never eat pizza again, I found a way to eat this guilty pleasure.  My food allergies don’t prevent me from eating my favorite foods… they just challenge me to find different, creative, and healthy ways to eat them!

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Ras-yummy!

I love cooking and thinking of new recipes, but really love sharing a meal with good friends.  Last night, a couple of my best friends from college came over for a home cooked meal.  I wanted them to try a wheat and dairy free meal and promised that they wouldn’t even notice.  I knew they would be perfect guinea pigs for my raspberry almond turkey cutlets and honey lemon carrots.

While I was cooking, they sampled Boy that’s good Bean Dip and rice crackers.  They loved the appetizer so much that they so graciously left me only one rice cracker, followed by an “oops, sorry… but this dip is really good.”  Talk about happy customers!

While they were munching on their new favorite crackers, I made raspberry almond turkey cutlets and honey lemon carrots.  It is such an easy recipe, that I was able to enjoy time with my friends instead of being stuck in the kitchen for too long.  Since one of my friend is obsessed with vegetables, I also made a raspberry walnut salad.  Here are the final products:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a side note, I couldn’t find turkey cutlets that looked thick enough, so I bought a whole turkey breast and cut it into four slices that I thought looked hearty.  I considered chicken for this recipe when I was having a hard time finding turkey, but glad I stuck with the other white meat.  We all agreed that the raspberry almond was a perfect combination with the turkey.

Overall, they gave a thumbs up and didn’t miss wheat or dairy!  I hope I can cook for them again and make them converts 🙂

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Protein and Fiber and Taste, oh my!

I love Whole Foods.  I do not love some of the Whole Foods price tags.  Don’t get me wrong, they have quality ingredients and I do believe that you get what you pay for.  At Whole Foods, you pay more, but you also get greater quality.

Last week, I bought a container of bean dip (about 12 oz, the size of a small hummus container).  Ingredient list looked good, and no wheat or dairy.  Price tag: $3.99.  Ok, I was willing to pay $3.99 for a few great afternoons of snacking.  At the end of the container (which was gone very quickly, by the way), I said “Wait a minute.  I could MAKE this.”  So I did.

I went back to Whole Foods and bought a can of black beans (about $1), a can of chickpeas (about $1), a lime ($.50), and a small jar of roasted red peppers ($2.99).  I knew that I had the necessary spices at home.  My total was $5.50.  So, more than the container of black bean dip, but it made more than 3 times as much!  I couldn’t believe how much it made.  It was so delicious that I taste-tested it with a teaspoon and then switched to a table spoon.  It was THAT good.  Here is the recipe.

Not only was the price tag on my bean dip wallet friendly, but its ingredients are full of protein, fiber, and taste.  Black beans and chickpeas are loaded with protein and fiber, which are instrumental in weight loss.  They have that magic ability to make us feel full.  And the spices add the taste kick that the sometimes-bland beans need.  Now, when I eat my new favorite afternoon snack with wheat free crackers, I am not afraid that I won’t be full in a few hours, I am afraid that I won’t be able to put down the spoon!

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Flaxseed to the rescue

I have recently discovered an allergy friendly superfood.  Flaxseed.  Bet you didn’t see that one coming.

Before food allergies, I ate the same breakfast everyday.  One egg, a piece of toast or half engligh muffin, OJ, and coffee.  Once I learned about my food allergies, that breakfast became a fond memory.  (After hearing about my allergies, a friend even said to me,”You are allergic to eggs?  But you eat one everyday!”  My thoughts exactly.)  I discovered Van’s gluten free waffles thanks to my mother (who always has a knack for the delicious), and soon discovered that most Chex cereals are also gluten free.  Ok, so two choices for breakfast now.  Chex cereal and soy milk are perfect for the morning rush, but cereal just doesn’t hold my hunger until lunch like the protein- filled egg breakfast I used to eat.

Enter flaxseed.  I have heard about flaxseed before as well as its health benefits.  So, while at Whole Foods, I decided to give it a whirl.  I bought some and sprinkled it on my cereal.  Doesn’t taste like anything, but those seeds sometimes get caught in my teeth.  What if I put them in the food processor?  Instant flaxseed powder.  I sprinkle a few tablespoons on my cereal, and I am seriously full at breakfast.  Just adding that tiny ingredient has made all the difference in my breakfast.  It must have super powers.

Actually, upon recent research, I realized that flaxseed does have super powers. It helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure, it helps prevent cancer, it aids your immune function, it expands in your belly and can help with weight loss, and it helps balance women’s hormones.  The list goes on.  Here are some helpful articles (article 1 and article 2) I found about the benefits of flaxseed.  Who knew this seed has been around for centuries and we are just now realizing how great it is for us?!

Once I realized how great flaxseed is for our bodies, I started to notice it in more food items- my Van’s waffles have ground flaxseed in them (no wonder they are so delicious!), the granola I put in my yogurt has flaxseeds in it, gluten free flours sometimes have ground flaxseed in them, and now I sprinkle it on my cereal and sometimes in smoothies.  One of the best secrets I have discovered about flaxseed is that if you combine flaxseed powder and water in a ratio of 1 to 3, you can use it to replace one whole egg in any recipe.  Flaxseed to the rescue!

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Not your cafeteria chili

We are still in the middle of winter.  Ugh.  Nothing like a hot and spicy meal to warm us up!  I decided to make Chili last night… but not the mushy brown cafeteria chili.  Spicy, flavorful, colorful chili.  I love making chili, especially around this time of year, but have never written down my recipe until now.  That is what is so great about chili.  You can just throw everything in the pot, let it simmer, and it tastes delicious!  I think a key of chili is making your own spice packet… not buying the chili spice packet from the grocery store.  My favorite chili spices are cumin, paprika, and red pepper flakes… as well as a mystery ingredient you will have to read the recipe for to find out!

I usually put sour cream and cheddar cheese on my chili to give it that creamy goodness.  But I found some dairy free alternatives at the grocery store yesterday that I wanted to try out:

Verdict: Pretty good.  The sour cream had a great texture, but definitely had a soy taste.  I added just a little to my chili to give it some creaminess and couldn’t taste the soy at all.  The Daiya cheese is pretty good.  I have had the mozzarella before and like it.  It has a good texture and does melt (some soy cheeses retain their shape and make you wonder what is in them).  You have to know that it isn’t going to taste exactly like cheese, but I think the taste is pretty good.  Thumbs up additions to my chili!

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Pass the Rice

Last night, I went out to dinner with a very good friend of mine.  Since we both love sushi, we went to Typhoon Asian Bistro.  Added bonus- rice is gluten free!  I knew I would actually have a choice of what to eat and wouldn’t have to ask the waiter a million questions.  Asian food can be very food allergy friendly… I just have to stay away from the white fish products and soy sauce.

When we sat down, I informed the waiter that I was gluten free, and he said that they had a gluten free menu.  Even bigger bonus!  My friend told the waiter to bring her a gluten free menu as well… I think it takes a great friend to say “hey, I am going to do this with you.”  We were both amazed at the choices!  We thought the several pages of the original menu was extensive, but never imagined how big the gluten free menu would be, too.  We stuck with our favorites of salmon, tuna, and crab… no white fish here!

The waiter was even sure to bring wheat free and low sodium soy sauce for both of us, without me having to ask.  I was impressed at how accommodating he was, given my food allergies.  I have learned over the past few months, that all you have to do is ask for a special request.  Most restaurants are very friendly and not annoyed when I say that I have food allergies.  I never want to be a pain in a restaurant in fear that they will spit in my food, but Typhoon Asian Bistro was great.  And clearly they respect food allergies if they have an entire gluten free menu!  I am seeing more and more of those these days.  All you have to do is ask.

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Hello world!

Hello out there!  Welcome to Balanced Fork, Healthy Life!  This site is about allergy free eating for healthy living.  Today starts my daily recorded journey of allergy free eating.  I am hoping that keeping this record will help me to be more mindful of what I eat and how it affects me, as well as learn more about allergy free eating and healthy living.  I hope that you will find useful information, delicious recipes, and insight into healthy living that can work for you.  So, please read!  Subscribe!  Comment!  Balance your fork and lead a healthy life!

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