My "G-Free" report

Hey! Can you believe it's already July? Where is the summer going?


Well, the other day I took the kids to the library and was browsing the cookbook/diet book section, and I ran across the book "The G Free Diet" by Elisabeth Hasselbeck. I'm not sure why I picked it up, except that I have a few friends who are gluten-intolerant, and I was curious about it. It was a really easy read, and I posted on Facebook that I had read it. Well, my sweet friend Sarah A. made a flippant remark that I should report back to her on the highlights - here you go Sarah!!!! :)


The book was written by Elisabeth so that others wouldn't have to suffer like she has. For years she had suffered severe gastrointestinal problems, sometimes sending her to bed for a week at a time. Nobody had answers for her. She applied to be a contestant on Survivor: Australia and was accepted. Odd as it may seem, she says she felt WELL while scrounging for food in the outback, and when she returned to the States, she tried to introduce foods back one at a time to find the culprit. She researched and looked and determined that wheat seemed to be the problem, and she took it out of her diet, or so she thought. Some foods still made her sick, and after even more research, she found information on celiac disease and gluten intolerance. Doctors still didn't go along with her self-diagnosis, but once she moved to New York, she found an Australian doctor who finally ran the necessary tests and confirmed celiac's.


So, what is celiac disease? It's a "digestive disorder characterized by a toxic reaction to gluten, the protein found in certain grains." (G Free Diet). It's hereditary, chronic, and autoimmune. It destroys the tiny villi lining in your small intestines thereby preventing your body from absorbing nutrients, which can lead to a wide range of serious health problems. Researchers estimate it affects 1 in every 133 Americans, and many more are suspected of having a milder gluten sensitivity. However, less than 5% of people who have celiac disease actually know it. According to the book, it takes an average of 9-11 years to diagnose after the first onset of symptoms which is in stark contrast to Europeans who most often diagnose in the first year. Elisabeth and her doctor feel like part of the reason is because here in the States, we have big pharma who can offer up drugs to treat a lot of the symptoms, and doctors prescribe away. But for true celiac patients, there is NO CURE! You have to avoid gluten the rest of your life, a dietary solution.


Dr. Green says that doctors often confuse celiac disease with other conditions like IBS, acid reflux, Crohn's, intestinal infections and chronic fatigue syndrome.


Okay, so what are the symptoms? They vary and the list is long, but include: abdominal pain, anemia, constipation, delayed puberty, discolored teeth, excessive weight loss or gain, gas, headaches, joint or bone pain, reproductive problems, skin rashes, stunted growth in children, tingling or numbness in legs, Vitamin K deficiency. Patients might also have other sensitivities as well, including a lactose or peanut allergy or similar.


Next, what are some of the conditions that you can have that come from not treating celiac disease? Intestinal cancers, anemia, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's, osteoporosis, arthritis, fibromyalgia, Type 1 diabetes, and even some behavior disorders might be influenced like ADHD, depression and bipolar disorder. There are about 256 symptoms and health conditions associated with celiac disease!!


It can affect people of all ages and backgrounds, but especially those of Northern European decent. If one person in your family has it, your chances are as high as 1 in 22 that you do, too, but you must carry the gene for it. The odd thing is that you might not have any symptoms for a good portion of your life - Elisabeth didn't. But for some people, experiencing some sort of physical or emotional trauma can activate the condition. Hers was contracting a bacterial intestinal infection and she was never the same again!


If you think you might have celiac disease you need to go see a doctor for proper diagnosis. They can run a celiac panel which will either rule it out, or see where you are on the risk spectrum. Next they can do a small tissue biopsy, and then there is a genetic test if the first two point to celiac.


There is all the medical information she gives, well, at least a shortened version of it. The rest of the book is dedicated to helping you cook, shop, live and enjoy being gluten free!!


How does this all apply to me? Well, I've known for years that my body does better without wheat. I became a "low-carber" right before my son was born, and when I stick to it I feel better, have no spots of eczema on my arms, no indigestion. Now that I've read the book, I don't think I have celiac, but I do think it's possible I am one of those with a gluten sensitivity (I know, there goes my orthorexia nervosa kicking in!!! LOL) and so I am willing to take certain steps to reduce the gluten in my diet and see how I feel. I'm just weird like that, I'd rather eat the food my body likes and works best with. The book is great because she gives lists of naturally gluten-free foods, and also lists of things that are off-limits or suspect. I'm already an avid label-reader in the grocery store, so watching for a few more things is okay by me.


I've already started buying some GFree "substituted" foods, and so far so good! I will say that the EnerG brown rice bread was TERRIBLE! However, we've made Hodgson Mill pancakes which were good. Gorrilla Munch cereal and Van's GF waffles are good. For snacks we've tried Envirokids Chocolate Crispy Rice bars, Pop Chips (made from popped potatoes), and Glutino pretzel twists (can't tell the difference). I have some apple muffin mix to try as well as a French Bread mix that I'll make today. And I bought some rice based penne to make a baked casserole for Sunday.


So, there you have it, my "G-Free Diet" book report. If you have ANY intestinal issues that you are being treated for, I'd highly recommend this book!! I'm not a doctor nor do I play one on TV, but I just think if you can change your food instead of taking a drug for a condition, it's worth at least trying. Here's a convenient link to the book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/G-Free-Diet-Gluten-Free-Survival-Guide/dp/1599951886.


Have a great Independence Day weekend!!!!

All's not right in Gardenland, at least the squash part

Well, it's official. The squash crop is dead, stupid vine borers!!!! Yup, all of my plants are now garbage. Well, I think there are 2 still out there, but they could get yanked at any point!

So, you may ask, what the heck is a vine borer? Well, it's a bothersome pest that lays it's eggs at the base of your plant. They then hatch, chew into your plants and there they set up shop, chewing away. You may notice a wilt on your plants, maybe fruit that starts but quickly dies. At that point, it's too late! They are inside the stems cutting off all nutrients. Go look at the stem, you will probably see the tell-tale "frass", a sort of orangy sawdust where they have been chewing. Now, I've read that some people poke a sharp object in the stem to kill it, or even carefully slice open the stem, remove the worms and then rebury it to encourage new roots. Mine were so bad they just got yanked.

Now I must read and research and see how to get rid of the pupae that might be lurking in the soil...I'll have to try tilling and treating the soil along with crop rotation.

However, things are looking much brighter the next bed over - I have beans and peas!!!

The beans are "Kentucky Wonders" and the peas are Southern Purple Hull. As they mature the pea pods do turn a beautiful shade of purple and then you know they are ready to harvest. I am SO looking forward to making my first pot!

Well, that's all for tonight, I hope your garden is thriving without a pest problem. Happy harvesting!

Pickles!!

Happy Memorial Day weekend! I hope you are enjoying this time with some family or friends, or both!

My garden is coming along nicely, save for a few cucumber beetles that I've discovered. I thought they were weird-looking ladybugs, but upon further research found out that they are terrible pest! ACKK!! I have a plan to get ride of them which will be discussed in a future blog post - for now I am just hand-picking and killing, and I'm also using Neem oil about twice a week.

In spite of the bugs, I am getting a few cucumbers and zucchini.

While the cucumbers are still small I thought I'd try my hand at refrigerator pickles. I happened to catch an old episode of "Good Eats" called "American Pickle" and Alton came through for me again! It's a super-easy recipe, and I really only had to go buy a few ingredients. I had most of them already in my cabinet! Here's the full recipe:

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

2 medium cucumbers

4 whole garlic cloves, smashed

1 cup water

1 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup champagne vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. whole mustard seeds

1/4 tsp. ground turmeric

1 tsp. celery seeds

1 tsp. pickling spice

I'll start by saying that the original recipe says to slice the cucumbers thinly - I did mine in about 1/4" pieces.

Place the cucumbers, onions and garlic in a glass jar, you can use regular canning jars or the spring-top kind.

Place the remaining  ingredients in a non-reactive pan (non copper or aluminum) and bring to a boil. Simmer for 4 minutes.

Carefully pour the pickling liquid over the vegetables, filling to the top of the jar. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. Give the pickles a good 24 hours before you try them.

I thought these pickles were very good, and super crispy! I am going to try something different next time, I am going to trade the pickling spice for dill and see how that works. I hope you'll try these, and if you don't grow your own cucumbers, try visiting your local farmer's market. Don't know where it is? Try this link: www.localharvest.org

Have a great holiday tomorrow, and don't forget to thank someone you know in the military!!

Mark's Apricot Chicken

This is a super-easy recipe, and it happens to be a favorite of my husband's. I normally start it in a skillet and then bake it in the oven, but today my chicken wasn't quite thawed, so I decided to do it in the crock-pot. It still turned out GREAT! I really haven't made it very much the last few years because one of the ingredients (there are only 4 of them!) is Catalina dressing which has red dye in it. Now, it didn't occur to me to look since I was in a hurry, but there are recipes to make your own, and here is one of them: http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/1960s-Catalina-Dressing-33561

I don't know if Annie's or Newman's Own makes it, you can look.

ANYWAY, back to the recipe. Like I said about, there are only really 4 ingredients, and basically the outcome is a sweet and sour chicken. Here is how I made it today:

Place your chicken breasts in the slow cooker, you can sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper if you want, I used Tony Chacheres' cajun spice.

Cook on high for about 4-5 hours or until mostly done. Next mix the bottle of Catalina dressing, a jar of pure apricot jam or preserves, and most of a can of Durkee Fried Onions. Pour over the chicken and cook on low for about 45 more minutes.

Place in a serving dish, making sure you get all the sauce!!! Top with the remaining fried onions.

Okay, told you it was easy!!! lol

If you want to do it in the oven, I normally brown the chicken in a skillet first, then transfer to a baking dish and cook for about an hour depending on how big the chicken is. 

Mark prefers it served over rice, and for the two of us, we add tobasco or some other hot sauce to give it an extra kick. 

Enjoy!!!!

Spring gardening

Well, my garden has been in the ground since early March and I am starting to see the fruits of my labor. We added a fourth bed this year, and I planted a few new things this year. We have a full herb garden with Rosemary, Basil, Lime Basil, Oregano, Stevia, Chives, Parsley, Cilantro and garlic.

I have four tomato plants in a whiskey barrel, two are cherry and two are Roma varieties:

Our other beds have jalapenos, squash, cucumbers, red and yellow bell peppers, eggplant, okra and peas. This bed has our watermelon and cantaloupe - it seems underplanted but I promise it will be full of vines in no time!

Today I went to check on things and found a cucumber of pickling size!!

Here are our jalapeños and bell peppers.

Well, it's actually been a few days since I started this post, so we had a small harvest today. :)

I picked the 2 small cucumbers on purpose, I thought I'd try an experimental batch of refrigerator pickles. If the plants are any indication, I should have plenty to use all summer long!

Anyway, I guess that's all for now. I hope to be sharing picts and recipes all summer long. Happy gardening!

Low Carb Enchiladas

Hi everyone! Or should I say "Hi Mom!" since I know she is one person who actually reads this! lol Anyway, I ran across a recipe a few weeks ago for low carb enchiladas, and I finally got around to making them, sort of. I didn't really have everything for THAT recipe, but I know how to make enchiladas so I made them how I wanted to. Here is what I did:

For the "tortillas":

Separate 8 eggs, putting the yolks in a container in the fridge for later. Beat the whites with a little cumin and chili powder (about a dash of each) just until mixed.

Spray a small omelet pan with oil and heat to medium low. Pick up the pan and slowly pour a small amount (about 1/8) of the egg whites into the pan while carefully swirling it around so it is evenly distributed and forms a thin tortilla. Set back down on the burner and cook for about 2 minutes or until you see it start to pull away from the edge. 

Carefully flip it over (I was able to use my fingers, but be careful!!) and cook for another minute or so. Remove to a warm plate and continue to make the remainder. I was able to get 8 out of this, you can always make more if you need them.

For the filling, I just browned some ground beef with a little onion and seasoned it with garlic powder, chili powder, cumin and salt. Once it was drained I added about 1/4 cup of red enchilada sauce.

Now to assemble:

Spray a 9x12 baking dish and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take a tortilla, fill with a small amount of meat, then some shredded cheese. I used a combo of sharp cheddar and monterrey jack, but use what you like. 

Roll up and place seam down in the baking dish. Repeat until all are filled. Cover with the rest of the enchilada sauce, and more shredded cheese.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.

Serve with your choice of sour cream, fresh cilantro, sliced olives, jalapeños or salsa. ENJOY!

So there you have it. Once you know how to make the "tortillas" you can fill them with anything and make sour cream chicken enchiladas or your favorite veggie-filled enchiladas. Mark agreed with me that the egg "tortillas" reminded us of tempura battered chili rellenos, and the whole family thought they were delicious! I hope you give them a try.

The much anticipated recipe for Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken!

Hi, it's me again! I posted on FB the other night that I had made this recipe and got several requests for it. Unfortunately I didn't take photos to properly blog, but for now I'll post the recipe and then add in photos after I make it again.
I've realized that I have several recipes that are all versions of this, one was actually a shrimp recipe that I always make with chicken instead, one has white wine, some have different soups. So it's a very versatile recipe that you can play with. Below will be the original recipe as I found it, and I'll try to note where I go astray.


Cream Cheese Chicken


4 lbs chicken thighs, no skin (I use boneless chicken breasts)
2 tbsp butter or margarine, melted (I skip this part)
1 small pkg dry Italian Salad Dressing mix
2 tbsp chicken broth (I don't use)
1 lg onion, chopped (I don't use)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth (or white wine)
2 cloves minced garlic


Brush chicken with butter (or don't) and place in layers in a crockpot, sprinkling each layer with dry Italian dressing mix (I use about half the package). Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours (about 4-5 with breasts).
When chicken is ready, brown the onion in the 2 tsp of chicken broth. Add the remaining ingredients with the rest of the dressing mix and stir until smooth. (Since I don't use the onion I just microwave everything at half power to make the sauce.) Pour over the chicken in the crock pot and cook an additional 30-45 minutes.


You can serve over pasta or rice, I eat mine without. I also have been known to add in some sliced mushrooms. One of the skillet versions I have adds in broccoli and sun dried tomatoes - when making in the crock pot I'd add those with the sauce. Just try what you like and enjoy!!


I will try to take pictures the next time I make this. Please let me know if you make it and what you change!

Moussaka - Greek goodness

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes. In fact, I think it may be one of the best things I make,  and I don't mean to sound vain. But it's just that good! I have always been a big fan of lasagna, but since I shy away from pasta, this is what I have instead. Serve it with a big Greek salad and you just can't go wrong!

So, we're going to start with the eggplant. It should be smooth with no bruising. You want a medium-sized eggplant since the larger ones tend to be more bitter. Now, a common practice with eggplant is to "salt" it before you use it. That means, slice it into rounds no bigger than 1/4 inch. Put them in a single layer in a colander over a bowl and generously sprinkle with Kosher salt. Let it sit for a good hour and you'll see the moisture start to come out. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry. I admit, I don't always do this step, especially with a small eggplant. It usually turns out just fine! So, let's move on. Put the slices on a sheet pan and drizzle with oil and a little Kosher salt. Roast for about 20 minutes at 350º.

While that is roasting, start on the meat. You can use ground beef, but the traditional is ground lamb. You could also use a pound of each. 

Once that is cooked, drain and add 2 cloves of minced garlic, 2 diced tomatoes, 1/2 small can tomato paste, 1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1 tsp Greek seasoning, 1 tsp. dried oregano, 1 tsp salt, and a few grinds of black pepper.

Cover and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Taste it and adjust the salt if necessary.

Now let's make the Bechemel sauce. I know, it sounds fancy, but if you can make gravy you'll have no problem!

Take 4 tbsp. butter and melt in a sauce pan over medium low heat. Add in 4 tbsp. flour and whisk thoroughly, let cook for about 2 minutes. Now, slowly add 1-3/4 cup milk and whisk like crazy so there are no lumps! Once that is smooth, add about 1/2 cup plain yogurt. It will thicken fairly quickly, take off the heat. You can add a little salt and white pepper to taste.

Now it's time to assemble it all. Grab a casserole dish and liberally spray with oil. Start with a layer of the eggplant.

Then use about half of the meat mixture and pour over.

Layer with another layer of the eggplant.

And yes, you guessed it, the remaining meat mixture.

And now the good part! Pour all the saucy goodness over the meat!

And now, you really need to have some good Greek cheese, but since I can't find it readily, I do the unthinkable and use Parmesan. Shhhhhh - don't tell the Greek people!!! lol

Bake at 350º for about 30 minutes or until browned and bubbly. Garnish with a little fresh oregano and let set for 15 minutes or so. If you dig in right away it will be runny - you don't want that.

I hope you enjoy it - we really love it here. There is also a similar dish called Pastitsio which used elbow macaroni instead of the eggplant. Try them both - you won't regret it! 

Baked Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Okay, this is going to be my first recipe blog! I usually forget to take photos before I start cooking, so I was quite proud of myself tonight when I remembered.

Anyway, I've made this only once before, I think, but my family liked it so much I posted it to my yahoo recipe group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cookingfriends/

Anyway, my hubby's comment tonight on this recipe was that it wasn't "saucy" enough, so if you want it more like real spaghetti you might add a small can of tomato sauce or a few tablespoons of tomato paste. That being said, let's go!

Here are your ingredients: a spaghetti squash, a pound of ground beef, one red and/or green pepper, one onion, a clove or two of garlic, one can Italian diced tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, black pepper, and sharp cheddar.

Start by piercing the squash a few times with a fork and then microwave for about 5-6 minutes. It should now be soft enough to cut in half lengthwise with a large knife.

Take a large spoon and scrape the seeds out.

Next, place the squash cut side up on a sheet pan, drizzle a little olive oil over the squash, then salt and pepper. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until very soft.

While it's baking, brown one pound ground beef in a large skillet and drain.

Dice the onions and bell pepper, about a half cup of each.

Add to the ground beef, add a clove or two of minced garlic.

Saute for a few minutes until the vegetables are soft.

Using a fork, scrape the flesh of the squash, which will make the "spaghetti" strands.

Add the squash to the skillet and mix thoroughly.

Grate about a cup of sharp cheddar and add to the skillet.

Pour into a greased 9 x 12 casserole.

Top with a little more grated cheddar, and sprinkle with fresh parmesan if you want.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until bubbling. Serve and ENJOY!!