Gluten and Dairy free week 2 {plus cheesecake brownie recipe}

Originally posted 3/30/2012 at www.TessAndTigerlily.com

 

Another successful week (well, last week only consisted of a few days) of being gluten and dairy free! I did have a few accidental slip ups, like when we went out for sushi at Blue C Sushi. The difference between soy sauce and tamari had slipped my mind, and I was thinking soy sauce was wheat free, and tamari was not. So there I was, happily gobbling up sushi smothered in (what I am now assuming was) non-gf soy sauce. Also, at that same meal, I got so excited when I saw a gluten free cupcake coming my way down the conveyor belt, that I snatched it up and relished its moist, sweet, fluffy goodness before remembering that I am also avoiding dairy, which was most likely present as butter in my now-consumed cupcake. But oh well, it's a learning curve and besides that, I did pretty well! Oh, except for the horrible detox symptoms.

Since I am no stranger to cleanses, dairy free and even gluten free diets and food products, I thought my body would handle this elimination diet like a champ without any complaints. I don't remember having any detox symptoms when I abruptly went vegan about four or five years ago, and I remember feeling amazing while on the master cleanse, and during my time as a raw foodist. But this time around, I was in for a shocker. For the first five days, while my body felt great, my emotions were in turmoil. I was on edge, easily upset and agitated, tired, having mood swings, crying spells, and had restless legs and insomnia for a few hours a night. I felt groggy, foggy, and just plain out of it. I was starting to get worried until, on a hunch, I looked up 'detox symptoms when eliminating gluten.' And there it was; ALL of the above were symptoms of a gluten detox. I read something about how gluten does something to the serotonin receptors in your brain, resulting in the mood swings and depression during those early days of elimination. It did make me feel better, knowing that I wasn't just going crazy!

Now that I am past the detox stage, I feel much better. It hasn't been too difficult, not even when meeting up with friends or going out to eat. When I know I'm going somewhere that won't have anything I can eat, I just eat beforehand. And when we need to eat while out and about, we think about the many gluten and dairy free options out there, like sushi!

What I've been eating: I've been eating much of the same as I mentioned in my last post. Here's a few new things:

Breakfast:
-On our day off together, Spencer made me a delicious egg scramble with rosemary ham and spinach with a side of rice bread smothered in vegan butter.
-Yesterday I tried out this Mochi that our pediatrician recommended for a yummy breakfast. I got the chocolate flavored mochi, cut a few small squares, toasted it in the oven according to the directions on the package, and then cut them open and filled them with peanut butter and sliced banana. I served them with more banana and Trader Joe's organic vanilla soy yogurt.

I'd previously only had the soft, sweet, squishy mochi that is either wrapped around japanese ice cream or served as a topping at frozen yogurt shops. This mochi is less sweet, heartier in texture, and made with whole grain brown rice. When it toasts, it puffs up, like a mini rice pudding muffin! I enjoyed it.

Lunch:
-For lunch, I am sometimes at work. There, I usually go to the Issaquah PCC (no, I don't often eat lunch from Trader Joe's, I like to get out for a bit!) and scan the hot bar or deli for gluten and dairy free items. This week they had delicious peanut sauce and mango curry tofu dishes! I got them with quinoa and roasted veggies. Another day, I got their Turkish garbanzo salad, and their yam and kale salad.
-One day this week, I met up with my friend, Sharon, for her birthday at Remedy Teas. She and her friend ordered the tea service. Since it came with too many things that I couldn't have, I ordered my own tea and snack. Luckily, they had a super delicious gf, df chocolate zucchini muffin! I ate it with a pot of 'creme brulee' oolong tea (doesn't actually have cream in the tea itself) with honey and soy creamer. It was my first time at Remedy Teas and I loved their selection of all organic teas in many wonderful, enticing flavors, as well as their selection of gluten and/or dairy free items.

Snacks:
-This week I had Lucy's chocolate chip cookies and Enjoy Life soft baked chocolate chip cookies. I know these are dessert items, but I ate them during snack times! The Lucy cookies were good, but on the dry, crispy side. If I were a fan of crispy cookies, I would like these, but I am more of an under-cooked-gooey-doughy-cookie kinda girl. The Enjoy Life cookies are perfect for that; they are like soft, sweet bites of cookie dough...but cooked!

Dinner:
-I mentioned my dinner at Blue C sushi. We just made sure to stay away from tempura rolls and any rolls with cream cheese or a cream sauce. Next time I will ask if they have tamari instead of soy sauce!
-Rice pasta with marinara sauce with rice bread covered in vegan butter, salt, garlic powder, and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.
-Spencer made homemade meatballs with marinara sauce and garlic rice bread!
-I made Dreena Burton's Mac-Oh Geez! I added 2 tbsp nutritional yeast to the sauce, because I love the cheesy flavor. I used brown rice rotelle pasta and used Ener-G gluten free bread crumbs to keep it gluten free. After making it, I feel like I should have added more olive oil and salt to the breadcrumb topping, as it was a little too dry and I kept adding salt while I was eating it. I've made this recipe (non-gf) a couple times before, and have always loved it!
-Last night Spencer made beef fajitas with corn tortillas!

Dessert:
-PCC started carrying Jodee's gluten free, vegan pies. I tried the Butterscotch Caramel. It was so rich and decadent! I could only handle a few bites at a time. There was a strong coconut flavor, since it contained quite a bit coconut meat/butter to get a nice creamy texture, but it tasted great with the butterscotch flavor. When searching for a link to the brand, I realize they have a shop in Greenlake! I'll have to check it out sometime!

-Last night I made Cheesecake Swirl Brownies! I made this recipe from Smitten Kitchen last month and loved it. When I found out about this elimination diet, these brownies were one of the first things I mourned. But, after a bit of confidence-building in the kitchen of late, I decided I could de-gluten-ize and un-dairy-fy it (uh, YES those are real terms!) I wasn't quite ready to make my own gluten free flour blend, so I purchased a pre-made one at PCC. I settled on Namaste Foods Perfect Flour Blend. It claims it can be substituted for regular wheat flour 1:1 in almost any recipe. It worked perfectly! The flour was silky and fine, no gritty texture! Of course, this recipe only calls for 2/3 cups flour, so I'll have to test it out more with cookies and other desserts before I can be certain of its awesomeness, but so far, I'm impressed. For the cheesecake portion, I just swapped out Tofutti non-hydrogenated vegan cream cheese.

The end product was perfection. It was very similar to the flavor and texture of the regular version; firm on the outside, fudgy in the middle, just like I like my brownies to be! The cream cheese flavor was subtler, but the swirl effect was easier to produce this time around, since the tofutti was a little thinner than dairy cream cheese! I don't think anyone could guess these were gf/df! Spencer loved them also. And now, because I know you are salivating for it, the recipe...

Gluten and Dariy free Cheesecake Marbled Brownies (contains eggs):
Adapted from smittenkichen.com

Brownie batter
1/2 cup vegan margarine (like Earth Balance)
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup organic evaporated cane juice
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2/3 cup gluten free flour blend (like Namaste Foods perfect flour blend)

Cheesecake batter
8 ounces non-dairy cream cheese (like Tofutti non-hydrogenated)
1/3 cup organic evaporated cane juice
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Brownie batter: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan, or round pie pan. Heat butter and chocolate in a saucepan, double boiler, or just a metal mixing bowl over simmering water over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally until melted. Remove from heat (and pour into mixing bowl, if not already using it to melt) and whisk in sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt until well combined. Whisk in gluten free flour until just combined. Pour into baking pan.

Cheesecake batter: whisk together cheesecake batter ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Pour over brownie batter. Take a knife or spatula, and start swirling, bringing some of the brownie batter into the cheesecake batter until it starts to marbleize. Go slow, so as not to over-do it! Once you get the look you want, sprinkle on the chocolate chips.

Bake until edges are slightly puffed and center is just set, about 35 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla non-dairy ice cream, or at room temperature. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Dairy Free Elimination Diet

Originally Posted 3/24/2012 at www.TessAndTigerlily.com

 

As I mentioned in my last post, I am embarking upon a gluten and dairy free elimination diet in order to see if it helps improve November's skin problems. The past couple days have been quite a change of pace, but not particularly difficult. While my most recent diet has been veggie-focused-yet-omnivorous, I was vegan for two years in the past and I've done all kinds of lengthy cleanses, which is making this new adjustment seem easy in comparison. In fact, I think I will enjoy it, as crazy as that sounds! I was at my most creative, confident, excited, and passionate when I was making foods with dietary restrictions. I don't know why, but there is something so challenging, yet rewarding about making something delicious while avoiding certain ingredients, and reaping the rewards.

Even if this doesn't end up curing Nova's dry skin, it certainly will be cleansing and will force me back into my formerly much-loved kitchen. It's only been a couple days, but I'm already loving it! And since embarking upon this new diet, I realize lots of other moms, friends and strangers alike, are on restricted diets too. I've been searching the web for gf/df blogs, recipes and ideas, and find these fellow mamas are doing the same! So why not share my experience along the way, and add to the mix?

My diet and goals: According to the plan laid out by our pediatrician, I will be avoiding all gluten and dairy, including goat and sheep dairy, but I CAN continue to have eggs. I generally like to eat whole, preferably organic foods, and minimizing over-processed or 'fake' foods. However, that doesn't mean I always follow those principles! I will allow myself some vegan butter, the occasional sprinkle of vegan cheese, df sour cream, etc, should I desire it, especially during the early weeks of transition. But for the most part, I would like to create wholesome, real-food meals! I do eat meat here and there, especially if Spencer makes it, but I mostly like to make vegetable-focused dishes.

What I've been eating: The items in italics will have easy recipes to follow!

Breakfast: (I usually combine two of the following for a filling meal)
-Enviro Kidz Panda Puffs or Koala Crisp cereal with soy or rice milk
-Trader Joe's brown rice bread toasted with Earth Balance Buttery Spread and a sprinkle of evaporated cane juice and cinnamon
-Trader Joe's [NEW!] organic vanilla soy yogurt, served with frozen berries
-Flying Apron lemon poppyseed muffin
-Green Smoothie

Lunch:
-Soup with Wheatless in Seattle sourdough bread
-Mixed green salad with chicken, dried cherries, candied walnuts, sprinkle of nutritional yeast, and balsamic vinaigrette and a side of W.I.S. sourdough bread smothered in prepared Simply Organic sweet basic pesto seasoning mix (contains maltodextrin, which was questionably gf, according to a quick google search), toasted in the oven.

Snacks:
-Green Smoothie
-Living Harvest chocolate hemp milk
-Toasted rice bread or corn tortilla topped with roasted red pepper hummus

Dinner: (usually with a green salad)
-Baked potato topped with Earth Balance buttery spread, Amy's chili, Daiya cheddar style cheese, scallions, and a dollop of plain soy yogurt
-Rice pasta with S.O. pesto, sprinkle of nutritional yeast and pine nuts with a side of W.I.S. sourdough bread
-Fish tacos with corn tortillas, cucumber mango salsa, avocado, and lime soy crema

Dessert:
-Wheatless in Seattle lemon cupcakes
-Rice Dream vanilla ice cream root beer floats

I was so happy to find the W.I.S brand gf/df foods! The sourdough bread had a nice crisp crust with a soft interior. When I toasted it in the oven with the pesto, the interior took on a gooey, mochi-like texture which I enjoyed. The lemon cupcakes are delightful! And the Flying Apron brand always produces wonderfully tasty vegan/gluten free products as well. I am so lucky to live in Seattle where these products and bakeries are everywhere. Working at Trader Joe's also comes in handy, since we carry a good selection of gf staples. The Daiya cheese took a bit of getting used to, but I like it enough. I think I remember liking Follow your Heart Vegan Gourmet cheese better, though. I really like a sprinkle of nutritional yeast for a subtle cheesy flavor. It takes on a shaker-can parmesan quality, especially on fresh stove-popped popcorn!

Now for some super simple recipes! Keep in mind, the following recipes contain approximate measurements, as I've just been throwing stuff together, tasting and adjusting as I go.

Chocolate Berry Green Smoothie: serves 2-4
A few handfuls of kale (enough to loosely fill the blender)
1 banana
1 cup frozen berries (I used cherry-berry blend and blueberries)
1/2 cup plain soy yogurt
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 cup Living Harvest chocolate hemp milk

Blend, adding water to desired consistency. Taste and add more of any flavor you would like to taste more of; berries, agave, yogurt, milk. Drink up! Mine made about 3 servings, so I kept the remainder in the fridge for Spencer, a snack, and breakfast!

Cucumber Mango Salsa: Serves 4 as a taco topping (Spencer showed me how to make this last night!)
-1/3 medium cucumber
-1/2 mango
-1/4 small sweet onion
-small handful fresh cilantro
-squirt of lime
-pinch of salt
-pinch of black pepper
-squirt of tapatio hot sauce (optional)

Chop the cucumber, mango, onion, and cilantro to desired texture (chunky or fine) and mix together in a bowl with the remaining ingredients. Taste, adjust flavors as necessary. Top onto fish tacos!

Lime Soy Crema: serves 4 as a taco topping
-1/4 cup plain soy yogurt
-pinch of salt
-squirt of lime

Wisk ingredients together, and drizzle on top of fish tacos, or any other mexican dish!

I'll post again next week, with more about this dietary change, more meal ideas, and more recipes!

Rosemary Blueberry Lemonade

Rosemary Blueberry Lemonade

Originally posted 5/20/2011 at www.TessAndTigerlily.com

How to make this tasty, refreshing beverage:

1/2 cup sugar
6 cups water, divided
6-8 sprigs fresh rosemary
3/4 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 cup frozen blueberries

Bring the sugar and 2 cups water to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat. Add rosemary, cover and steep for at least 30 minutes. Strain the syrup into a pitcher and stir in the lemon juice and remaining 4 cups of water. Adjust lemon to taste by adding additional juice! Chill. Before serving, top pitcher with frozen blueberries.

The frozen blueberries melt slowly, adding a good chill (especially handy if you didn't have time to chill completely in the fridge first!) and a lovely purple/blue hue to the lemonade. So tasty!

On to happier things!

I really did abandon this poor blog, and what a depressing two final posts to end it on! Well, I just wanted to drop in and assure the few people who may be stumbling upon this blog, that my life really did return to balance. I'm not exactly a raw foodist or vegan, but I am eating well and loving my life. I am currently blogging at www.tessonja.blogspot.com. There I write about my current adventures, mostly revolving around being a new mommy. But there are also things for you foodies, too! At this moment, I am on a gluten and dairy free elimination diet to see if it clears up my five month old daughter's skin problems. In the future, I may link up the recipe posts here, but for now, check out that blog, especially the 'recipes' tab!

Thanks!

Woah, new post finally! Green smoothie goodness!!!

Hey hey hey there, long time no write! I have abandoned my poor food blogs, but the weirdest thing happened today: I made something healthy that I was EXCITED about and had the urge to share! Wow!

Anyhow, my life has been wild. I don't really want to go into details, but let me just say I am not exactly the healthiest right now in terms of diet. I've been drinking a bit (ok, a lot...more than I'd like to be), I'm not currently vegan OR vegetarian (but I DO still enjoy vegan meals, and many of my meals are vegetarian), a lot of my meals are eaten on the run/for convenience, and a lot of my dinners come from the freezer aisle.

I am, however, aware of what is and isn't good for me. Does that make it better? I don't know. All I know is that I haven't been sick since November (and that was brought on by nothing else but stress), and I'd like to keep it that way. So there are a few principles I like to maintain consistently. And the easiest health principle I've been able to keep over the past few crazy newly-single months is this: eat yo greens!!!

Greens are soooo good for you. Green plants in general contain a lot of good shit. I'm not about to get into any specifics, just trust me or go do some research. Anyhow, you should enjoy rich leafy greens like spinach, kale, romaine, or other power packed greenies like broccoli and asparagus. Personally, I like to have a daily salad. Yeah, the rest of my diet is kinda partying in the shitter but at least I feel good about those daily salads.

I used to concoct these amazing, giant, overflowing salads with homemade dressings and blah blah blah but for some reason, at this time of my life, I like to keep it simple. Usually I'll just throw together salad greens, pomegranate seeds (pre-packaged, of course, from my job at Trader Joe's), crumbled goat cheese, and balsamic vinegar. I change it up a bit, but not for long.

Unfortunately, I get BORED of salads in general on occasion. But I know they are good for me. So how do I get my greens?

Green smoothies, fool! They are sooo easy and are actually super delicious. And cheap! You can pretty much make magic out of any combination of leafy greens (kale, spinach, chard, romaine), fruit, and water or juice. Here's what I had today:

Big handfuls of spinach (filled about 3/4 of the blender)

About one cup of frozen berry mix

One banana

Water (filled after the above is already in the blender, until it reaches the 1 cup line)

BLEND! Add more water if necessary!

And for an extra treat, I topped it off with some soy whipped cream. Necessary? No. Delicious? Yes!

Now go make your own!

P.S. Wanna know what I've been working on lately? Visit my horrible, depressing yet thoughtful 'words' blog: tessonjaswords.blogspot.com

abandoning my poor blog

So it is apparent I am currently abandoning my food blogs for the time being. My life has taken a complete 360 and I am just not focused on making food or even thinking about food like I used to. Much is due to the many life changes I have gone through in the past few months.

Most influential was the ending of a near-7 year relationship with my boyfriend. I left the relationship for many, many reasons and will not get too far into it here. It was a good choice that probably should have been made a lot sooner, and I am really happy with my decision. This event did, however, turn my life on its head. Being with someone that long can really make you lose a part of yourself, or at least repress it. There are so many complicated elements that make up who I am. The person I was becoming with him was great, for the most part; I was a good, accepting girlfriend, I was interested in health, I was eating well, vegan for two years, non-drinker for two years.

I started to feel other parts of myself coming out, though. First I broke being vegan (again and again), then I started drinking again. I broke up with the boyfriend and just...well, I can't really explained what happened. Everything I knew about my life just exploded, and I was the one who detonated the bomb. And it was great.

Where does this leave me now? Honestly, I am not interested in health and diet the way I was a few months ago. This sounds terrible, I know, but I'm just being honest. Haha, not that many people read this, or anything. Anyhow, detaching myself from the situation, I would say that I am destroying everything that I was for the past 7 years, starting new, figuring out who I am, who I want to be. I'm being reckless, I am having fun, I am eating like a 21 year old frat boy, I am staying up late. It may not be the best 'cleansing' but it is what I am doing nonetheless and I feel good about it.

I spent a lot of time cooking for the ex over the past few years, and now that it's over, and I am no longer a devoted little 'housewife' my desire to cook for myself has come to a complete standstill, in fact, I despise cooking these days. It's odd, because I used to find such joy in creating delicious meals, even when I was just cooking vegan stuff for me. Hmm, not quite sure what that's all about. I hope my joy of cooking returns eventually because I do still want to be healthy. My current diet consists of soup, salad, coffee, mac n cheese, or pizza for the most part. Oh, and beer. And mexican food and margaritas.

So my raw food journey has come to an end, at least for now. Maybe it will continue again if the desire returns.

I do, however, still have the passion to blog...I find something exciting or thrilling or therapeutic about sharing part of my life in a semi-public manner...so I will be expressing my current interests: words. I've written a lot of poetry in my life, although not so much during my last relationship. And I've been writing again, in addition to going through my old poems. I'm not very good or talented, but there's something about it that I like. So my new blog will share poems and short essays, old and new. I feel a little nervous and vulnerable about it, but drawn to it at the same time. We'll see how it goes...

new blog: Words

bye for now!

Raw recipes: kelp noodles and green dessert!

Here are some YUMMY raw recipes! First we got kelp noodles. Kelp noodles can be found online but I got mine at Madison Market in Seattle. They have a completely neutral taste and remind me of thin rice noodles or angel hair pasta. Here is the recipe I'm bringing for lunch at work this week:

Kelp Noodles, Veggies, and Green Sauce!

Kelp Noodles:

Open package of kelp noodles, rinse, and drain. You can also toss in some lemon juice to help them soften up, but they will soften more once they are in the green sauce.


Veggies:

1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 red bell pepper
A couple large handfuls green beans

Chop zucchini and squash. Julienne red bell pepper. Cut ends off of green beans and then cut each in half.

Green Sauce: (This recipe was adapted from the Creamy Italian Dressing recipe in Rawvolution by Matt Amsden...mine just has WAY more basil! This dressing is the #1 favorite of everyone who I've served it to! It is so versatile! Use it on salad, pasta, steamed veggies, raw zucchini noodles. Brian loves it drizzled over baked chicken and rice.)

3/4 cup oil
1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1-2 cups tightly packed fresh basil (depending on how much you like basil; I usually start with one cup, then add a few more stalks of basil until the sauce is very green and has a tangy pesto flavor)
1/4 cup tightly packed fresh oregano
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup raw pine nuts

Blend!

Now, you can either toss all of the ingredients together now and serve, or store them separately. I've chosen to store separately because this makes a LARGE serving, and I intend to eat this for lunch throughout the week. If you choose to serve the full serving at once, marinade the kelp noodles in the green sauce for about 30 minutes or more to help them soften. Then top with veggies and a drizzle of more green sauce!

If you want to make individual servings, portion out the desired amount of kelp noodles and toss with green sauce. (If you are taking this to work and are letting it sit, then the noodles will be soft by lunch. If you are just eating an individual serving immediately, make sure you let the noodles marinate for at least 30 minutes.) Then top with a couple handfuls of the veggies. Drizzle with more green sauce if desired. Store the leftover green sauce in a container in the fridge. Store the chopped veggies in the fridge as well. Store the kelp noodles in a container filled with water in the fridge. All of these should last a few days. This is only day one for me, so I can't tell you exactly how long they truly last. Should serve about 4, I'm guessing.

Also, I have yet to take pictures of this, but hopefully I will get a chance before I eat it all!


And here's recipe #2: Eat Your Greens...for dessert!

Green smoothie Popsicles!

This recipe is so simple it's more of an idea than a recipe. But you heard me! If green smoothies are so good for you, what better dessert could there be? Get some Popsicle molds, or use a few cups with spoons as the stick. Fill them with your favorite green smoothie recipe (see my previous posts here and here for ideas) and freeze overnight or until solid. YUM!

That's all for now!