Month: October 2013

We went to South Carolina this weekend. I brought nuts with carob chips in the car for a snack, I still ended up getting a chicken salad from Wendy’s and eating it with only a 1/2 of a pack of dressing.  We were in the middle of no where Georgia and there was really no where else to eat other than McDonald’s and I would take Wendy’s over Mcdonalds if I had to eat fast food.

Most of the time we spent eating and I actually had to take a hiatus from from grain free diet because I really wanted to enjoy things like shrimp and grits.  The food in south Carolina is freaking a-MAZING! So I did eat 1/2 of a cupcake (so good, so rich), and an awesome sandwich which I had with whole wheat bread.  We went to the Blue Marlin, Grouchos, and a candy shop that had loose candy of all sorts. I got a bunch of candy to put on top of cupcakes, so as I make those I will post pics.  Now that we are back home…with the dogs, I am planning my week of grain free eating again. I was actually feeling really good without grain in my diet.  I felt like I had more energy, better digestion and I am excited to continue this journey to enjoy the other health benefits.  When we got home I jumped rope and learned another cool jump rope trick.  Jumping rope is awesome for burning calories and I think it has really helped my cardio levels and made weight training easier for me. It also keeps my attention because I can learn harder tricks.  I am going to try to post some videos of my workouts later in the week…….

I am including some pictures of some really gorgeous statues and the state house in S. Carolina.  There is so much history there and I had some good photo ops. 

I am also considering adding some more green juices to my diet along with the boat load of nuts and veggies and fruit that I have been eating since giving up the grain.

I also made red velvet cupcakes today with chocolate dipped Milanos and cream cheese frosting….what what!! I couldn’t eat these either which sucks but it gives the fiance something to take to work.  Several of my frosting tips fell in the garbage disposal and got messed up so my frosting looked a little jacked on some of these cupcakes. 

I’ve been eating a lot of chicken lately. This is DAY 3 of the no grain eating plan.  I have bad bad skin and I have been on anti biotics, retin A and everthing and it hasn’t worked consistently.  So I changed up my eating plan and face routine, I talked to my mom who recommended a grain free diet for 3 weeks to see if my body is having a reaction.  So, I am doing the grain free thing and I actually feel better, more energy, I don’t feel near as bloated as I used to.  I can eat Quinoa but no rice, flour or pretty much anything like rice, or couscous.   I always eat whole wheat and I did the gluten free thing a while ago but stopped for some reason?? not sure what it was?? Anyways, here I am trying the grain free thing and if this works or even sort of works I will be so freaking excited it will be ridiculous. If it doesn’t work then I am going to eliminate dairy after 3 weeks and see if that helps, if that doesn’t help then I give up.  The reason that I am doing this is because I have read a lot about grain allergies and how this can affect your digestion, energy and overall health. At this point it’s worth a try and it’s keeping me from tasting any of my baking.

So with that said, here is a recipe that includes whole wheat breadcrumbs that I can’t eat right now. This is a recipe I made up a while ago for “breaded” baked chicken.  It’s really good, not fried or battered and tastes awesome as well. I use 2 eggs on the outside but you can use egg whites if you so choose.  

1- 1 3/4 cups Panko whole wheat bread crumbs

1 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp rubbed sage

1/4 tsp pepper 

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper if you like spice

2 eggs

2 chicken breasts

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley

This recipe is soooo easy!!! 

heat oven to 385 degrees

take chicken breasts and placed in baking dish or cookie sheet

taken eggs and beat in a bowl you can add hot sauce to the egg if you want to

put garlic salt, sage, pepper, cayenne pepper in a bowl with bread crumbs and parmesan

take each chicken breast, dip in eggs then cover chicken with bread crumb mixture and place on tray. 

Place in over and allow to cook for about 35-45 minutes (depending on your oven and thickness of the chicken) or until done. 

Sprinkle parsley on top when cooked

When they are are done, grate parmesan on top if you love cheese like I do….i hope i don’t have to give up dairy….i’ll be so sad.

Also, I made sweet potato fries and left them in a long long time to get them crispy (see recipe in previous posts) and steamed broccoli.

i can’t remember if i posted this before…but these were a huge hit!!! White chocolate Rice Crispy Treats.  I got so many compliments on these easy treats when I took them to work…..

There really is no specific recipe for rice crispy that I have run across that does not end up being awesome.  

Melt the butter 1/4 cup..I try to use the least amount of butter possible…so sometimes I sub in 1/8 cup earth balance (which works as well as butter) and 1/8 butter or slightly less than 1/8 of each.  Sometimes you have to add more to make it work but generally I can get away with using slightly less butter and earth balance and still making awesome treats.

Add the marshmallows, I use one bag of small marshmallows, add then slowly and let them melt. You can add more to make it thicker, I sometimes add 1.5 bags depending on how rich you want to make it.

Here is where you can get creative..I added 3/4-1 bar of Giradelli white chocolate baking chocolate. You can find this in the baking aisle at most regular grocery stores. Add this in and let it melt.  You can also take butterfinger and put it in a food processor and then add it to the mixture. Take the chocolate off the butterfinger before adding it to the food processor to avoid a big mess. I have also tried putting froot loops in a food processor and adding them to the rice crispies, which is also really good. 

Then add the rice crispy cereal approx 4-5 cups, I used the chocolate cereal but you can use the white. Let it get coated well. Turn off heat under pot.  Take your spoon (preferably metal) and run hot water over it (this is to avoid a huge sticky mess on your spoon).  You will have to keep running hot water over the spoon when the mixture starts sticking.  Spray the pan with coconut oil cooking spray or some kind of cooking spray. 

Spoon the mixture into a pan, take your spoon and try to flatten it and shape it so they will cut into more even squares.  I run the spoon under hot water and kind of pat the treats down into an even rectangle so they cover the entire pan.  Put in fridge until they harden, take out and cut into squares. 

I made steak the other night with asparagus. It was a very easy meal….take asparagus, wrap in aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic salt, throw on grill until soft.  I don’t like my asparagus chewy or tough..Once you remove them from the grill add truffle oil or a truffle oil vinegar combination (it makes for a really nice flavor) .I can’t imagine anyone would…but people are weird.  As for the steak, the fiance uses grill mates steak seasoning, garlic salt, salt pepper, and then throws it on the grill…I have no idea how to make a steak on a grill…but i can tell you his steaks are freaking awesome!!!!!!! This is a great meal for me, it satisfies any salt cravings and is also extremely filling.  I don’t eat steak often but when I do I eat a homemade steak.  I think his steaks are even better than Ruth Chris…which I wasn’t that impressed by……I also love my steak 90% raw….as I also like my Tuna.