Working, Traveling & Such... The last 6 months!

I did not realize it had been quite so long since I had updated this site... I guess I should be better about it! It has been a crazy 6 months! WOW!! I have gotten back in to traveling for work and for fun a bit. I have enjoyed it but I will say it hasn't come without its scary moments! I always worry that I am going to get "poisoned" as we call it in my family. Since I have such a bad reaction to Gluten it feels like poison! I spent my first Christmas here in NY without my "family" meaning Mom & Dad and Michael... but I have been able to meet great people who have become part of my "NY family"! I am so grateful to them for always including me and making an effort to eat what I can. It has been a blessing to also know that their daughter is GF and so they know the challenges. It is amazing how God puts people in your life just when you need them. January brought a huge bombshell that included a possible chance to leave NY... But what it really gave me was the opportunity to look inside myself and realize that for the last 8 years I have been fortunate to have a career that I really enjoy. But is a career all that I want out of this life? I know that the answer is emphatically "NO"... Now, what to do with this knowledge?? I have been searching for an answer to this... and while doing that, I have been traveling, meeting new people, working on myself and attempting to find answers to a few pressing questions in my life! I feel so much better as a person and hope that this shows on the outside also! I have developed that I do enjoy my time in the GYM! I know, that there was a huge collective gasp from many of you out there!! Heather, the uncoordinated, blonde who thought that exercise was going for walk has developed a passion for working out! YES!!! What I have really decided is that (1) it helps me sleep, (2) that once I have rid myself of all the negative products that I was putting in it, I actually feel like being active again, (3) I actually have energy and want to use it to get this body into shape again!! Once I realized I didn't have to be the FAT girl anymore, I didn't want to be!!! Now, I am in the gym about 4 or 5 days a week and I feel great!! In March I traveled to Walt Disney World for the first time since I was a kid! Wow, how it has changed but I loved it! Disney does cater to those with food allergies but I will say that I was still TERRIFIED!! What if I was cross contaminated?! How would I deal with being sick the rest of the trip? Thankfully we hit up Target the first night there and got many goodies that I could eat and I just took stuff with me that I could eat. It was a wonderful trip spent with my family! I also went Atlanta to see a great friend!! I have learned a couple of things from my trips... The South eats a lot of fried stuff and stuff with flour!! It was quite challenging to eat in Atlanta but I did survive! I am thinking I will stay here where I have my great GF place... Sherry Lynn's!!! Lot's of NY travel for work has been great! But the smaller towns are quite difficult when it comes to food. The most interesting fun thing that has happened is we stayed in the small town where "Nightmare on Elm Street" was based on... Hope everyone has a wonderful summmer! More posts to come! Enjoy and Share!! Heather

Green Chile Chicken Chili

It was a cold, snowy evening... I always wanted to start something off like that :) But really it was. Our first snowfall of the season. The weather man said it would be a dusting but it ended up being just a couple of inches, nothing big. But then came the below freezing temps and everyone forgot what it was like to drive when it was cold and there was white stuff on the ground. So I stayed home and did what I do best (or should I say... what I like to do) COOKING!!! It has been a while... traveling for work, fighting some Gluten poisoning, and lots of visitors :) I almost forgot what it was like! Hope you enjoy!

1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 yellow bell pepper, minced
2 small jalapeno's, seeded and minced
olive oil
S&P
1/2 can of green chiles
2 bottles of Goya Salsa Verde
1 can Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
1 can Canellini Beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups cooked shredded chicken
1/4-1/2 cup cilantro

Over medium heat add oil, onion, garlic, peppers and salt and pepper. Saute until starting to soften. Add green chiles, Salsa Verde, and beans. Heat for about 10 minutes. Add chicken and cook until heated all the way thru. Stir in cilantro after removed from heat.

Top with Pico de Gallo, Sour Cream, Tortilla Chips, and cheese! Makes a great one pot meal. Easy to use left over chicken for (or maybe even Turkey after Thanksgiving :) Share and Enjoy!!!

Dairy = The Devil... at least for me!

Traveling is fun, right?? Well, it used to be! Traveling when you have Celiac, or any other disease that makes eating a challege, is much more difficult! Thankfully, I can cook... That means as long as I can drive to and from my destination I can usually bring food that I can eat. In June, I was on the road 3 out of 4 weeks and did not come home in between. Yes, it was great to see old friends and make new friends but I am still paying the price and it has been 2 weeks!

The Chef at the location I stayed for the 2 weeks was great. He gave me a menu with everything that had Gluten in it (usually everything on the menu) and then told me tha the chef for the night would make me a piece of grilled chicken or fish for lunchc and dinner everynight and that I could have a salad. Well... that was a long 2 weeks. When I tried to explain to him that I could not have dairy or soy he stated that he wasn't sure he could totally eliminate that since many of the foods prepared had ingredients he wasn't sure about. So I stayed safe and ate salad and grilled something.

I was so tired of grilled something, that as the time went on got more ungrilled and poached, that I decided to eat some veggies. They said they were steamed and then added to veggie stock to keep them moist. Wrong... there was dairy in quite a few of the items that I ate. Now, I am not blaming this on the chef, but what I am saying is that I learned a serious lesson...

What I learned is that when I eat dairy, I get tired, lethargic, and light headed. I have heard of all types of foods and how they affect each person. What I didn't know is that I was going to have this reaction. When I was taken off of all gluten, dairy, soy, and meat in October 2010, I just stayed totally away because I didn't want to get sick again. In April 2011, I saw the GI doc and he said to try it, but I would need pancreatic enzymes to process meat (chicken and turkey) and dairy. So I tried! But after all of traveling and dairy that I ate, I determined that the dairy was the cause of the problem (at least for that part). My body just doesn't like it!

So, now I am back to a dairy free diet and I am feeling better! I did have ice cream cake last night for a special occasion, but no more! I also know that if I choose to have dairy on a special occasion, I will have to deal with the fallout for about 3 days!

Take note of how you feel when you eat certain items... They might be doing more damage than good!

Share & Enjoy!

Spicy Gazpacho

8 roma tomatoes - peeled
1/2 cucumber
1/2 small red onion
1/2 yellow pepper
1/2 red pepper
2 garlic cloves, peeled
3 tbsp fresh parsley
3 tbsp fresh cilantro
S&P
3 dashes of Tobasco

Add the tomatoes to boiling water for 1 minute. Remove and drain. Slice the end of the tomato and remove the skin. Add everything to the food processor and blend until smooth or a bit chunky if you like. Chill and serve with fresh cilanto and avocados.

Broccoli and Tatertot Casserole (Traditional)

1 pkg frozen tatertots
1 lb hamburger meat
1/2 onion, diced
1 tsp garlic
2 large heads of broccoli, trimed and steamed for 3 minutes
1 large tomato, diced
1 can of cream of mushroom soup, plus 1 can of milk
1/2 cup of cheese

Layer the tatertots in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Add the hamburger, onion and garlic to a sauce pan and brown. Set aside. Add the broccoli to a steamer (or dunk in boiling water for 3 minutes). Remove and drain. Mix the soup and milk together.

Remove the tatertots from the oven. Layer the hamburger mixture over the tatertots. Then add a layer of broccoli. Pour the soup mix over the top. Add the diced tomatoes and cheese. Bake for 25 minutes on 350 until bubbly.

Share & Enjoy!!

Vitamin Water (and Zero) & Modified Food Starch

Last week I wrote to Coca Cola the distributor of Vitamin Water. I asked the question... What is your Modified Food Starch made of... Corn or Wheat? This is the response that I received...

Dear Heather,
Thank you for taking the time to contact glacéau®. You may be interested to know that the usual source of the modified food starch we use is corn. For those products that contain modified food starch, it will be listed in the ingredient declaration. All vitaminwater®, vitaminwater zero™, and smartwater® products are gluten free. None of our products contain any of the fda designated “big eight” allergens. We hope this allows you to enjoy our products. If you have any questions or if we can be of further assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Thanks again for your interest in glacéau!
Sincerely,
Alice
Consumer Relations Representative
glacéau
www.glaceau.com

I was so excited to get this email. It opens up more opportunities for me to try new products! If you are GF and like Vitamin Water (Zero) you now have another something to add to your diet! Share & Enjoy!

31 GFCFSF Items in Honor of Celiac Awareness Month!

In honor of Celiac Awareness Month (May 2011) I am posting 31 of my favorite items that are Gluten Free (GF) Dairy Free (CF) and Soy Free (SF)! They are posted on my FB page! These items include pastas, milk (almond), snacks, and many other items! These are items that you would most likely find in my pantry and fridge when you come visit! If you would like these items posted here also, let me know!

** Please remember: I buy certain brand items because they are free of the things that I can't have. If you choose to purchase off brand products PLEASE READ the ingredients list so you don't make yourself or your family sick ** Share & Enjoy!!