Half Way!

Wahoo, I made it to the half way point!!  I can't believe I'm saying this, but it hasn't been SO bad.  I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not good, but thanks to some innovative products and good old home cooking, I don't feel like I've missed out too much.  Honestly, the hardest part has been eggs, which is why I'm planning to bring them back first, even though it's technically out of order.  I'm just really struggling to make filling breakfasts, especially since I'm still serving my family eggs most days.  Restaurant eating is also somewhat miserable, but again, not quite as bad as I expected.  We got Indian takeout last night, which is a great option since the main grain is rice and it's easy to get vegan dishes or dishes made with coconut milk.  This weekend is 4th of July, but we don't have any big plans so I think I'll be OK.  I'm planning to be very hard core about avoiding hidden allergens and cross contamination in the last 2 weeks leading up to the endoscopy, so this will probably be my last weekend of restaurant eating.  Happy 4th everyone!

Daiya Pizza

Welp, it's official, this company has saved my sanity.  Seriously, I was already in love with Daiya for letting me have quesadillas and cheeseburgers and much more on this darn elimination, but now that I have tried their frozen pizza....they are my hero.

This past weekend was my biggest challenge yet - a trip back to my college town with my sorority sisters.  Of course all our favorite junk food was on the menu, not the least of which was pizza.  I steeled myself through the pizza joint dinner (wahoo wings and salad), and even through the late night cheesy pepperoni bread sticks.  But after a second night of drinking I really, really wanted pizza.  Knowing this would happen, I brought a Daiya Pepperoni-Style pizza with me and stashed it in the freezer of our Airbnb.  And omg, you guys, it worked.  I felt like I was eating pizza.  And my life was complete.  And lest you say, but Tera, you were clearly drunk when you ate it, so this doesn't count...I reheated half of it the next morning for breakfast and it was still good!  (Don't judge, it's not college if you don't eat leftover pizza in the morning!)

Black Bean Brownies

I totally get that these sound weird.  And maybe a little gross.  But you guys...they taste good.  Like really good.  And isn't that what matters??

The texture is definitely different than your standard brownie - much fudgier.  But that's not necessarily a bad thing, just different.  Most importantly they are SO chocolaty, which is the key in my opinion.  And last but not least, they're easy!  So whip up a batch and give them a try for yourself.

Ingredients

• 1 15-oz can black beans (or 1.5 cups), rinsed and drained very well
• 2 Tbsp cocoa powder (I am obsessed with Scharffen Berger)
• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted, plus extra for greasing the pan
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips, plus more to sprinkle on top

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place all ingredients except the chocolate chips into a food processor (supposedly a blender really can't handle it).  Process really well, until completely smooth and creamy.
3. Stir in the 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.
4. Grease an 8x8 baking pan with a little coconut oil.  Pour batter into pan.  Sprinkle with additionally chocolate chips, if desired.
5. Bake 17 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes.  If they still seem gooey, leave them in the fridge for a few hours and they will firm up.

Meatballs

Every year my family buys a quarter cow from an awesome farm in southern Wisconsin.  The cows are grass fed and the meat is delicious.  With this purchase comes 100 pounds of ground beef, which means we eat a LOT of burgers, tacos and of course meatballs throughout the year.  But most meatball recipes call for milk, breadcrumbs and eggs - no, no and no!  So I was on a mission to find a simple recipe that didn't use any allergens.  I didn't have super high hopes for texture, but alas, these turned out great!  We made them into mini meatballs, which may have helped. As a bonus, they are super easy, with no chopping at all.  We served them atop a big pile of brown rice noodles with homemade marinara sauce, and I can't say I missed a single allergen!

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 Tbsp coconut flour
• 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 3 Tbsp coconut milk (from a can)
• 3/4 tsp salt

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium sized bowl, dump all of the ingredients.  Use your hands to mix them thoroughly.
3. Create small balls, about 30 in total, spacing them out on the baking sheet.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until cooked through.

Father's Day Barbeque

We decided that this year we would host Father's Day, that way I could have more control over the menu.  I think we did a pretty good job coming up with a feast that satisfied my need to feel included, but also served tasty things that our guests could enjoy.  It looked like this:

Appetizers

• Tortilla chips with salsa and guacamole (and queso...which I obviously didn't eat)
• Antipasti platter with prosciutto, salami, olives and artichoke (and some bread and cheeses...again, I just avoided those)

Main Course

• Cheeseburgers (I had mine with a Daiya Provolone Slice, and ate it on an Ezekiel Brown Rice English Muffin)
• Pasta salad made with Explore Cuisine Chickpea Fusilli
• Grilled vegetables
• Watermelon

Dessert

• Rice Krispie Treats
• Ice cream (which I just avoided)

All in all I think it was a big success!  I will say, I was a little disappointed in the chickpea pasta.  Next time I will try something else.  But the provolone slice and brown rice English muffin were great stand-ins for a bun and cheese, and will definitely be used again.  

Happy Father's Day everyone!

Baked Oatmeal

Egg-free breakfasts have been the hardest part of the elimination by far.  We are SO reliant on them, making scrambles, hashes, fried eggs, etc nearly every day.  So although I'm not typically a big oatmeal fan, I was starting to feel desperate.  I had a bunch of strawberries and blueberries on hand that were about to go bad, so I thought an oatmeal bake might kill two birds with one stone.  The recipe I based it on was a bit more complicated than it needed to be, plus it used milk, nuts and eggs.  But with a few swaps and some simplification, it ended up being super easy, allergen-free, and remarkably tasty!  We ate it warm from the oven and it had a nice gooey interior with a crunchy crust.  I also froze 2 portions, so I'm hopeful that it will also make a good emergency breakfast if I'm in a bind.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp flax meal
• 3 Tbsp water
• 3/4 cup canned coconut milk (make sure to stir it up so you get the cream as well as the watery part)
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp melted coconut oil, plus more for greasing pan
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup coconut flakes
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 1/4 cups fruit, cut to bite sized if necessary (I used half blueberries, half strawberries)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375 if planning to bake right away.
2. Start by making your flax egg.  Combine the flax meal and water in a small dish.  Stir and let sit while you prepare the rest of the liquid ingredients.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the coconut milk, maple syrup, melted coconut oil and vanilla extract.  Stir vigorously as you add the coconut oil to get it well combined before it starts to re-solidify in the colder ingredients.
4. Add the flax egg, stiring to combine.
5. Add the rolled oats, coconut flakes, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.  Stir until everything is well combined.
6. Use a little coconut oil to grease a small baking pan (mine was about 5"x5".  Sprinkle half the fruit on the bottom.  Add oat mixture and spread out in pan.  Top with remaining fruit. 
7. If baking right away, bake for 42-45 minutes, then allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
8. If baking the next day, refrigerate until bake time.  When ready, place the casserole in the unheated oven, then set to 375.  Start a timer for 52 minutes.  Leaving it in during preheating time will help bring the mixture to room temp.  Allow to cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Whole Foods Hot Bar & Salad Bar

I know, I know, Whole Paycheck, yada yada.  Whole Foods has a lot of haters, and years ago I really wanted to be one.  Until I started to care about my diet, and more specifically about the ingredients in the food I buy.  The fact is, Whole Foods is one of the ONLY grocery stores in my area with true transparency in their ingredients.  Their massive hot bar and salad bar area has little name cards for each item, and right there on them is a full list of ingredients.  For the most part, they are pretty clean.  Sometimes they are not.  But regardless, the information is there for ME to decide what to put in my body.  Knowledge is power!  (Ok, off my soap box now).

My newfound favorite thing about Whole Foods is that those ingredient cards clearly call out allergens.  So during our recent trip their for groceries and a quick dinner, it was super easy for me to figure out what I could and could not have.  Sure, it was a little disheartening to see so few allergen-free options, but I was still able to assemble a pretty formidable dinner.  I ended up with a delicious pulled pork, as well as a kalua pork as my entrees.  On the side I got roasted carrots as well as some coleslaw.  And for a carb fix I got a scoop of Mexican rice.  Throw in a Crispin hard cider from their bar, and it was an overall delightful meal!