Update on Gluten free me

Hi all...today is day 4 of being gluten free and wow do i feel AMAZING! I have more energy, and my stomach hasn't hurt at all, i haven't been bloated AND i am not gassy. I had stomach issues for so long that i forgot what it felt like to feel normal and this good! I am going to the doctor next week to get tested for celiac's and then see if they can test for gluten sensitivity as well. My friend Ashley is also gluten free and she says that with a diagnosis from a doctor you can write off your gluten free bread, pasta etc as a medical expense! Which will save a lot of money if i can get diagnosed. I really don't think i am celiac i feel that it's just a sensitivity but we will see!

I am really enjoying brown rice bread and my brown rice tortillas. Can't wait to test out recipes and other products out there for us gluten free peeps! My friend Naomi has been a tremedous help through all of this in helping me discover what i am allergic too. I think i mentioned her in my last post. But i feel that she deserves credit again.

Here is a a recipe she just sent me so i can try making my own bread. I think i will wait until after we get back from St. John's, NL to try this unless i get ambitious this weekend. I will re post the recipe again when i make it with pictures. But for now here it is:

Honey whole grain bread

Makes 1 Loaf

1 ½ cups warm water (100-110 degrees F)

1 teaspoon whole can sugar

1 package active dry yeast (2 ¼ tsp)

¼ cup honey

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

½ cup arrowroot powder

½ cup tapioca flour

½ cup brown rice flour

½ cup sorghum flour

½ cup teff flour

¼ cup buckwheat flour

¼ cup amaranth flour

1 ½ tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp sea salt

½ tsp baking soda

1.       Preheat oven to 200 degrees F and oil a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Place the warm water and teaspoon of sugar into a small bowl. Make sure the water is the right temperature. If the water is too cold the yeast will not become active and if the water is too hot it will kill the yeast. Add the yeast and stir. Proof the yeast by allowing it to stand for 5-10 minutes. It should become bubbly, if not start over again with fresh yeast and water. Then add the honey, oil, and apple cider vinegar. Stir well with a fork or wire whisk.

2.       In a large bowl, add the arrowroot powder, tapioca flour, brown rice flour, sorghum, flour, teff flour, buckwheat flour, amaranth flour, xanthan gum, sea salt, and baking soda. Combine the flours with a wire whisk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk them together as you are pouring to avoid lumps. Continue to whisk for another 30-60 seconds or so, or until the batter thickens and becomes smooth.

3.       Transfer batter to pan and gently spread out with the back of a spoon. Place pan, uncovered, into the 200 degree oven. Let rise for 30-35 minutes with the oven door cracked open. After it has risen, close the oven door and turn the temperature up to 375 F. Bake for 30 minutes. Loosen sides with a knife and place onto a wire rack to cool

Going gluten free

Hi all! I am slowly getting better at keeping this blog updated weekly. That's my goal! The last month i went dairy free as sort of a mini elimination diet. I am sick of constantly having an upset stomach, being bloated and embarrassingly gassy. I am done with feeling like crap. So with the help of my awesome friend Naomi i am doing a series of mini elimination diets to figure out the culprit. She is taking (and almost finished) the Registered Holistic Nutritionist course here in Moncton. I am her first case study and a GREAT one to learn from i think with all my stomach problems:)


So what i did for the dairy elimination was cut dairy out for 21 days and then slowly reintroduce it. Day 21 i had a serving of plain yoghurt, which i seem to be ok with THANK GOODNESS because i love it. I then had to wait 3 days (did you know it can take up to 3 days for a reaction to occur?!?!?!) i then tried parmesan and my stomach hurt pretty soon after BUT in looking at my food journals Naomi thinks gluten earlier in the day was the culprit. I tried old cheddar last night and so far so good! Yah. I'm not bothering with milk because it has bothered me since i was little and i haven't had much of it over the years. Prior to dairy elimination i had it in my cereals. But i have since switched to unsweetened vanilla and chocolate almond milk YUM!


I wasn't going to do the gluten elimination until i got back from our mini vacation in St. John's, NL. But decided with my stomach hurting a fair amount lately i don't want to wait. I have 2 weeks to do gluten free and then i can slowly re-introduce while in St. John's which will make things easier! The biggest thing i will miss is beer:( I know they have gluten free beer. Which i am sure i will try! I just had brown rice bread this am for breakfast and it was pretty good. Not the same wheat i am used to but it'll do:) Today's mission is get some non-gluten contaminated oats. I have Robin Hood oats now and they are definitely contaminated as i know they cause me issues already and since they are cheap and Robin Hood makes LOT'S of flour i don't they have a separate oat making facility. This means more expensive oats:( Gluten free will be pricey. But for my health it's worth it! Here's to feeling better and being stomach ache and gas free..ha ha. 


Here is a great dairy and wheat free recipe i made for the first time last night! And Shannon loved it too! Yah! He doesn't always love my healthy cooking. He grew up with a dad who was a awesome cook so he's used to sauces and lot's of butter!

Holy guacomole cream pasta

INGREDIENTS

* 1 16oz pack of brown rice spaghetti – I used Rizopia
* 1 avocado
* 2 garlic clove
* 4-6 tbsp almond milk [I used 5 tbsp but could have been good with 6 as well. It depends on how thick you want the sauce]
* 2 tbsp cashews, soaked overnight (I didn't have any on hand or have a chance to soak them overnight. Didn't miss them)
* 4 tsp lime juice
* 2 tbsp fresh cilantro
* 1 tbsp jalapenos
* 1 tbsp hemp oil – I used Manitoba Harvest (I had olive oil so i sub'd that)
* 1/2 tsp herbamare
* 1 plum tomato, chopped
* 4 green onions + more for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine avocado, garlic, milk, cashews, lime juice, cilantro, hemp oil, and herbamare. Pulse until smooth.
3. Add tomato and 2 green onions and pulse for 2-5 seconds until just combined.
4. Mix guacamole sauce in with pasta and serve with green onions sprinkled over top and herb and garlic socca crackers to the side.

Spring into Bikini Season

I just LOVE the Tone it up girls. They officially launched their Spring into Bikini series on the first day of Spring, Monday March 21st. The series will last 8 weeks and will have workouts, giveaways, health tips and motivation!!! Their first challenge is to post everyday what your workout is on Facebook, or post recipes etc anything to inspire. You can sign up here if you are interested. I did!! It's fun exciting and keeps you accountable and motivated!

I started with their first challenge to get up 30 min earl everyday to get in a little workout before you eat to start that metabolism and get that body moving. You can do yoga, an ab workout, go for a walk a run anything! I only started to get my ass in gear yesterday and started with some yoga from Tara Stiles You tube channel. She is great! I heard about her through Tone It Up as well. This morning i did a short yoga workout and then a Tone it up ab circuit. I have been doing a lot of their workouts lately to change up my routine and they are a ball!!! The girls are sweethearts and so random and funny! Love random-ness!

I really hope you will check these awesome ladies out and join the SPRING INTO BIKINI Challenge. Come on what do you have to lose?

Spring running

Wow what a gorgeous first day of spring sooo sunny out. A little chilly with the breeze but still so nice out. My girls Kendra, Jaclyn and i headed out for a 16k run late this morning. It was a great run and a little wet and muddy in places. But it's just so motivating getting out there in this weather. I am sure pooped now though wow. Kicked my ass!!! We maintained a decent pace between 5:30 and 6:00 min/km not our fastest but not our slowest either. And it's only going to get better from here weather wise. My favorite time of year to run is summer and fall...spring is great too but a little wet and muddy. Winter well it's just freezing and sooooo snowy! Especially this winter. I stuck mostly to treadmill running for as long as i could and i still will for a bit longer for my speed workouts. What is your favorite season to run in?

The snow has melted sooooo much lately! YAH! The mounds of snow are almost gone! Well getting there anyways. At least Laila can no longer walk over the fence. I will leave you today with yet another recipe:) I am always on the lookout. These little energy balls or you can shape them into bars are GREAT! YUMMMMMY. They are basically homemade lara bars which is a raw energy bar.

Chocolate lara balls


3/4 cup of dates roughly chopped
1.5 tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup almonds roughly chopped
1/8 tsp of pure vanilla

Put the dates and almonds in a food processor and buzz until almost mixed up then add the cocoa and vanilla and buzz until all mixed. Then shape into balls or bars! Whatever you like.

Enjoy:)

The love of running

Well i haven't been so good at keeping up with my blog lately. I am sorry for that. Life gets in the way and i am also trying to spend less time on the computer and more time reading and walking Laila...wow what a difference it makes. I feel less stressed and have more energy and a calmer mind. I think all of us need to take a reality check once in awhile and re evaluate the time we spend on the computer and the internet. There is a wealth of information online that sucks you in for hours. My favorite thing to look up and read about is anything fitness related; articles workouts you name it. Which i still love doing but i still felt like a break from so much technology use was needed and i will continue.

I am sitting here on a Sunday morning...the sun is shining in on me and it's warm out...so much snow has melted already yah! Spring is on it's way. Much needed after the crazy winter we had 1-2 storms a week for all of January and February! So much snow it was up to our fence and i had to shovel trenches numerous times so our boxer Laila couldn't escape.

I am so excited for our run this morning, 14 km here we come. I love sitting and relaxing before a run and digesting my meal. I am a little tired this morning though, time sprung ahead last night! Plus i had some vino so the combo i am sure is what is making me sleepy. But i know the run will energize me and i am glad i got up early this morning so tomorrow am 6 am won't hurt quite as much.

I have recently joined the Tone it Up team. You all need to check this girls out. They are trainers and hollistic nutrionists! And they believe in eating whole clean foods in the right combinations. They also have amazing workouts on their blog as well as their You Tube Channel. They are the cutest girls ever! One day i hope to get to Hermosa Beach to meet them and do one of their classes on the beach!

Low carb protein banana bread

Hi all. So sorry i haven't been posting lately. I kinda forgot about it. I have been meaning to post this recipe for awhile now and happen to be making it so what better time to post it. This banana bread is AMAZING and so most and healthy! SCORE! It's great for snacks. 


I am currently training for a half marathon, May 8th, 2011 in Fredericton, New Brunswick. I am really amped up training wise and have been doing great so far. I am not too far into my training yet as it's still awhile away. I have also signed up for the 3 Mountain Relay again this year but it is after the half and is in June. By far one of the funnest races of the race season! 


Training in the winter can be really tough and dangerous. Especially with all the snow we are getting this year. It's slippery, slushy and uses a lot of muscles that you don't use while running on pavement or even a gravel trail. You also risk cars not seeing you and almost hitting you, but that is a danger runners experience year round. That's why i like to stick to trails as much as i can. My good friend Edgar Vick suggested the trail in the north/west end of Moncton. So i plan on hitting that up this weekend maybe for my 10k run. It's really well groomed and safe. Gotta love that!


So here is the recipe:

Preheat oven 325 degrees F, PAM a large loaf pan

Bowl 1, mix:

3 egg whites
3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup organic sugar or stevia
1/2 cup slivered almonds (i don't put them in b/c i don't like nuts in my banana bread for some reason)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

Bowl 2, mix:

2 scoops whey protein (I used Genuine Health vegan proteins+ vanilla flavored. Plain works well too)
2 cups almond flour
1-2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp sea salt to preserve the banana bread, don't skimp on this. Sea salt also has a lot of trace minerals that our bodies need.

Combine all, mix well and pour into loaf pan, bake 60 minutes or until fork comes out clean (I cooked it for 45 and should have cooked it for 40 i think)
Makes 10 slices

Nutrition Facts per serving:
230 cal
13g fat (1g sat)
5g fiber
16g protein

Low carb Chocolate peanut butter cookies

Well i have slacked over the holidays! Posting to the blog anyways. I stayed on track with my workouts and managed to still get in my 6 days a week:) I also ate clean about 80% of the time. I did indulge in a decent amount of chocolate and felt pretty guilty about it. We had to throw out some and i even brought the majority of it to work for my co workers to eat! I am evil i know. I just feel bad throwing it all out. I am going to ask people to not give me chocolate next year. I am so good when it's not in the house. But as soon as it's in the house i loose my willpower. For those chocolate and peanut butter lovers out there i have discovered a new recipe that will cure those cravings in a healthy way! I made these with plain protein powder and almond butter last week and they were to die for so i decided to change the recipe up a bit.

Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 scoops chocolate whey protein powder (Vanilla or plain can be used too)
• 1/2 cup Sucanat* or sweetener of your choice
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all natural peanut butter (I used 1 cup pb & added about 1/4 cup water) (You can also sub the peanut butter for almond butter
• You can also add chunks of a dark chocolate bar when using plain or vanilla protein powder. I think it would be a little much with the chocolate protein powder

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. In a large bowl, lightly beat egg. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well
3. Form little balls with a spoon or your hands and place on a lightly greased or lined baking sheet.
4. Bake for 12 minutes. Balls will puff up and lightly brown. Cool for a few minutes before eating.

* If you are using sweetened protein powder, cut back Sucanat to 1/3 cup.

Tips & Bonus Information

Calories: 100, Total Fats: 6 g, Saturated Fat: 1 g, Trans Fat: 0 g, Cholesterol: 5 mg, Sodium: 90 g, Total Carbs: 7 g, Dietary Fiber: 1 g, Sugars: 5 g, Protein: 5 g