Gluten Free & Vegan--Quick tofu and snap peas over rice

Fast and easy lunch, dinner or in my case---breakfast!! I'm a little odd, I like savory over sweet in the morning. I've never been a cereal person (except when I was pregnant last year!) never took to donuts, same with sweets. I like them here and there. So I oddly made this for breakfast yesterday morning :-)

What you need:

Tofu extra firm
Snap Peas
1/2-3/4 cup Jasmine Rice, also tastes great with brown rice. I usually alternate.
Ginger
Tamari 3 tablespoons
11/2 tablespoons of water
Garlic (optional)
15-20 minutes cook time
Season tofu after cubed and in pan

Start rice, then set aside.

First, drain your tofu, then press the excess water out, gently. I like to get a lot of the water out of mine so it has more of a dense feeling rather then a silky bit. Just a texture thing in the recipe, if you prefer a silky one, just simply cook it less time. I cube it and sauté it in a combo of Tamari GF low sodium soy sauce, ginger, pepper and garlic. I cook it flipping it occasionally for approximately 15 minutes.
While this is going on, steam the snap peas for about 5-7 minutes until the consistently you like. Crunchier about 5, softer about 7.
Around the last 5 minutes of cooking throw the amount if snap you'd like into the pan and sauté them together. It dries them out a little (still leaving them soft) and give them a good taste.

When done serve over jasmine rice and ENJOY! Simple easy and flavorful :-) hope you like!

Gluten Free Asian Pork Pot Stickers {from scratch}

I was in a major medical funk today after some news from my one of my many dr's. So I asked myself today, what is something I miss eating that has Gluten in it? One of the first things that popped into my head was Chinese food, pork pot stickers to be exact. I love lo mien, but I'd like to consider myself a pot sticker connoisseur. No really....haha...

I've tried them all over the U.S. Detroit, Denver, Philly, Portland-OR {the best, Shanghai Tunnel!} Atlanta....ok you get the point. I really like them. So after hearing one of the many Celiac's I follow post a tweet about #celiacproblems and making them a #celiacsolution I felt inspired to try something {scary} and new. Make them from scratch.

I've had a transition challenge from gluten cooking to gluten-free cooking. Something that's kind of been frustrating because I had felt I had mastered the one and the other has so far been hit or miss, usually dealing with a texture/baking issue. Because the two are drastically different and a work in progress.

So today I was in a happy place thanks to seeing my BFF after a long time apart., and felt inspired so I made them from scratch!! Took almost two hours total between prep and cooking. So this isn't a quick recipe, but a good {worth it} recipe!

Plus, a bonus, you can easily freeze them after the first boil process for a later date and then reboil them as stated below and then pan cook till light/to preferred darkness. Then definitely a quick 30 minute meal perfect for the hustle and bustle of the week! :-)

I will say I have a little bit of cooking experience. A few years behind my belt with some training from an old roommate-chef and my grandma. Along with a lot of trails and errors over the years. I am 50 % Polish surrounded by a lot of 100% Pollocks so I have some experience making pierogi's from scratch so I found a great recipe I've used for GF pierogi dough and paired it with this and it worked perfect!!

Anyways ok finally the recipe--!

What you need/ what you need to do with it---
Insides:
1 lb of ground Pork
1 bunch of Bok Choy
1/2 of a onion
-Chop up bok Choy into small shreds and mince onion
-Mix in bowl with ground pork and season with below spices. Set aside.

Seasoning:
Sea salt
Pepper
Crushed red pepper
Tablespoon of fresh minced ginger
Garlic
2 tablespoons of tamari (Gf soy sauce)
1 tablespoon of Coconut oil, to fry in at end

For the Dough:
2 cups tapioca flour
1/2 cup corn starch
3/4 cup white rice flour
3/4 cup potato starch
2-1/2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
Have an extra 1/2 of flour mixture for rolling out the dough and when it gets thin and or sticky.
approximately 1-1/4 cup water (you can substitute some of the water with a little gluten-free sour cream or Greek yogurt, I use about 1 tablespoon of Greek)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 large eggs, beaten seasoned with a dash of sea salt and pepper.

To make the dough, whisk all dry dough ingredients thoroughly.
Add oil, egg and water; and mix thoroughly to form a stretchy type of dough, the consistency of raw biscuit dough.
Add a little cornstarch, enough to allow you to handle without sticking to your hands.
Sprinkle a smooth surface generously with tapioca flour. Flour your hands and rolling pin, too. Roll out thin, but not as thin as possible, as this will cause the dough to stick to the surface and tear while filling.
Roll enough dough out so that you will be able to cut out 3 1/2 - 4” circles. I use a medium size cup to do the perfect size with a little water near by just in case it gets sticky, you can dip it before you make the cut out.
To each circle add about 1 heaping teaspoon of filling and close to form a half circle.
Pinch each pot sticker closed
Boil water in a large pot. Cook until the pierogies float to the top, about 8 minutes.
I prefer them sautéed them in 1 tablespoon of coconut oil after boiling them. Fry them until golden brown. I usually sauté them until they're crispy about 5-7 minutes. Check the insides to make sure the meat is fully cooked. Usually takes 15-20 minutes total for me.

I am so impressed with myself I won't lie. They tasted so good. I paired then with a simple homemade sauce.

A mixture of Ginger, crushed red pepper, Gf soy sauce and water. Yum!!

Hope you like!

Breaking it down, Celiac style

As I've heard a few times now in the Celiac community "my Celiac is not your Celiac." This is the MOST true statement I've heard in a while. Like most if not all diseases they affect people differently. Some people have minimal to no symptoms, others are debilitated. From the severity of my symptoms to my test results and biopsies its clear I have a bad case of it.
In most of my Dx's over the years when there's a number set of normal ranges I've always had a result that was very evident and clear.
With my hashimoto's the normal levels are between 10-100, mine were at 22,000 (yep...didn't stutter) when I was at my worst. Then after having it for 2 years it started to affect my thyroid function. A normal persons range for thyroid levels is between 0.3-3, and it some other places dr's use 0.5-5, when I was feeling so ill and couldn't function some days after 3 months of suffering waiting for my appointment my thyroid levels were at a whopping 31! Very evident why I felt like I was dying. Hormone function truly affects everything in your body. And lastly when I was tested for celiac disease a normal person test sample can then be classified as negative, (0-20 units); weak positive, (21-30 units); or moderate to strong positive if greater than 30 units. I was at a 98. And after 6 long months on a strict GF diet, I still tested at 46 about 6 weeks ago. That was when I had to go under for a minor surgery of multiple biopsies in my esophagus, stomach, small intestines and my colon. All mere weeks after turning 27. After I got those results, it somewhat felt like my journey for answers was still so far away. They took 7 biopsies total, 4 more than planned. They found my small intestine, stomach and esophagus were covered in white blood cells and a disease called eosinophilic esophagitis along with severe redness and inflammation throughout those areas and a significant amount of damage to my small intestine. (Which I'm on 3 medications right now to try and reduce a lot of that) The only test that came up healthy was my colon. Oh yeah, go booty go! Haha... :)
My dr said this is all a complication of untreated food allergies, which means not only am I not allowed to have gluten (and wheat, barley, rye and oats) there's definitely signs that I have way more allergies I'm unaware of (awesome!! Lol, not). I have waited 5 weeks now for my appointment to see a allergist and a new nutritionist and I still have to wait until the last week in January. Doesn't even make sense when everyday feels like I've eaten gluten, when I haven't still. It's clear my levels were cut in half with a strict GF diet, but its also clear its still over 30 (48) with is too high.
This all stemmed after my pregnancy too. Weird right? And ironically these things trigger after pregnancy or during traumatic times or stressful events. After a different traumatic time in my life during 07, my Hasimoto's started. Ironic?
It seems crazy this has been my life this far, and even more crazy the way my life has always been. I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd ever have to deal with more than my rare kidney disease, never in my life. I thought that was my bad card, I thought that was the one card dealt that would affect me forever, but I was wrong. I didn't think I was invincible, but I never thought I'd truly be able to handle much more after what I did the first 10 years of my life.
Everyday I've amazed even myself the strength I've had to make it through some dark times. It's not easy, ill tell you that much. My husband has been my absolute rock and everyday I thank my lucky stars that I never settled.
Truly the last few months one of the worst side affects that my auto immune diseases cause for me (and nearly all auto immune patients, from my experience) even beyond pain is depression. That was the first symptom that was present besides extreme weight gain when my auto immune journey began and I've battled it since 07. Some weeks I'm so happy and some it just takes over. It's a constant struggle. Previously I had many coping techniques along with exercise and meditation and I successfully had my depression gone for nearly 2 1/2 without taking meds or anything. It didn't come back until I was 6 months pregnant and it was in full swing. Has been since that day in feb. 2011.
So for anyone who doesn't truly understand Celiac disease let me tell you it's not fun. It's not a fad. It's actually quite annoying beyond anything. I haven't lost weight, in fact I have gone from losing a few pounds a week and starting my GF diet at 140 that was in April of 2012, now in December 2012, I am at 155. So for all you stupid ass celebrities saying "OMG GF is soooo amazing, I've lost so much weight!!" Really?
As I said I'm still in my first year trying to live a full GF lifestyle, not just diet so its understandable its annoying at times.
I first had to start with food and drinks with Wheat, barley, oats, rye. I also was told about cross contamination and the upmost importance of this. This means basically going to a restaurant with my level of Celiac is something I HATE doing unless its in a dedicated GF kitchen, which from what I found is slim pickings outside of my house.
Cross contamination happens everywhere, toasters, pans, cutting boards, sponges, dishes, utensils, counters, etc...you get my point.
After sitting down with my GI dr and nutritionist it was brought to my attention all the places gluten likes to hide is NASTY self. Condiments, Medication (which I take 17 pills a day, half of which at this point have gluten but there's no known alternatives yet, and without my meds I will die from my kidney disease, literally), toothpaste, beauty products like makeup, shampoo and conditioner, styling products, lotion, creams, soda, cleaning products like laundry, soap and dish detergent....can you believe I'm still going? THAT IS CRAZY!!!!
I can't tell you how much money wasted I have sitting in my hall closet full? Also can I tell you how strenuous shopping is? Starring at labels, feeling confident its there's no gluten and then researching everything while in the store on my phones Internet only to find there's gluten in it. It's just NOT listed bc the FDA doesn't have strict guidelines about this genetically processed version of wheat that's proven not anything close to what our grandparents and before had eaten in their lifetime, as well as many other horrible ingredients.
Also it's annoying to switch brands and find there's gluten in one but not the other. Or the fact that I am supposed to stay clear of food and drink processed in facilities that process wheat.
I once bought a can on trader joes chick peas, love them! I bought a off brand of chick peas at Walmart weeks later, started getting sick and found out it was processed in a wheat facility. I racked my brain for days before I even questioned the can.
People don't get it either. My step mom once told someone (while she thought i wasn't listening)in my beginning stages with a Celiac DX and GF diet that I could eat an oversized cupcake on my son's first birthday "Because its ok, she cheats all the time." Huh crazy, what people DO NOT get is people with Celiac disease DO NO cheat. It is NOT an option. It's the equivalent to eating rat poison. It will kill them over time. And that is not an understatement.
Also a lot of my direct family and in laws can not remember for the life of them I can't eat certain things. And by certain things I mean the obvious like crackers, breads, pastas. Stuff like that. I don't expect them to remember everything, but I kinda wish they'd respect and care about me enough to know its the farthest thing from easy and going places to eat whether its out in public or to someone's house is more stressful than anything. It's more of a chore to me now.
People also don't understand just because you found or made something GF, it doesn't mean it's TRULY gluten free. Was your kitchen contaminated when you made that? Did you touch any gluten while you were making that? Did you cover your pans in tin foil when you made that? Probably not.
Also when being bought something, they don't understand the wheat facility factor or the "fad factor" just because a product says Gluten free it doesn't mean it is.
The FDA allows up to 20 parts ppm of gluten in food which does not mean its safe for all Celiac's. A tiny crumb from a crouton left on my salad can have me keeled over for a few days, depending on the amount, throwing up, extreme headaches, fatigue, brain fog, and without a doubt diarrhea for weeks. Don't believe me, please come stay in our guest room for a week! :)
But what the reality is the SAFEST thing for me and all Celiac's is to steal clear of ALL processed foods and stick to only fresh fruits, vegetables and homemade dishes and treats. Trust me when I say it's harder than you think.
I got myself and hubby off of most frozen processed food a few years ago and that was easy, eliminating all processed food would essentially mean cans, boxes, bags, everything under that umbrella. That is very hard to do.
The rules I've read from learning and doing the 100 days of real food challenge is if its boxed, bagged or canned it can only have 5 ingredients or less. And seriously if you can't pronounce 75% of the words, you really,probably shouldn't eat it. Take a look at the labels the next time you shove something processed down your gullet will you?
I truly believe along with genetics, environmental and food factors are what lead to my auto immune diseases. And that scares me a lot.(Since I already have 2, they feel with other symptoms I have I have another still too. I've been tested for MS, that was clear but my dr's think there's fibromyalgia, RA, and or Addison's Disease as well.)
I'm trying to teach my son and husband healthy ways to live through food as I learn myself. It's truly eye opening and I insist everyone do some research before they out stuff on their mouths, these days.

Phew...that was a long post/rant :)

Thanks for listening :)
M

I can feel the tears coming..

I think at this point I'd {almost} give anything to be more normal health wise. I can't live like this anymore and it just keeps getting worse. I know I'm lucky for the things I've gotten through and it could very well be worse. It's just very hard day to day dealing with all of these side affects and not having the answers just yet just getting sicker each week. I have 3 serious chronic conditions that are always in constant battle with each other. I have 13 drs appointments in the next 70 days I'm really hoping something happens.

I started not to feel very well last night and ended up waking up at around 1 shaking, sweating the freezing my ass off only to run to the bathroom and throw up. Happened about 4 times last night then carried into today. My head is pounding my body hurts. I'm not getting sick or anything, this same thing happened for the last two years where I'd have bouts of these symptoms everyday. That's how they found the Celiac disease. I can't get into an allergist like they've requested until jan.30....that's ridiculous. How am I supposed to live? Function when I get dizzy, faint, throw up, etc etc etc!!????

I know it could be worse, I could be in a wheelchair or have no arms. Or I could have full blown cancer. I dealt with cancer with my thyroid and it was only in the beginning stages so I was lucky. I know that can be scary.

I'm trying, I'm really trying. I just feel so awful everyday. And it's making me super depressed. I just want health, that's all I want. I'd trade it for almost anything.

What else could I have? Haha.

Well in the last year I've been DX with Celiac disease, Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease,Trochanteric Bursitis of the Hip and thigh and Eosinophilic Esophagitis on top of my already rare diseases Hyperoxaluria, and Hashimoto's. I'm kinda exhausted but my dr's think there's more wrong so I'm waiting to see a few specialists over the next few months. I truly believe my one dr was spot on with either RA, Fibromyalgia and or Addison's. I have 90% of the symptoms and its extremely commons for certain auto immune diseases to cluster. And all of those are main clinger to both of mine. Scary to think about.

You would think I'd be dead already but I've been saved 3 times now so I'm thinking I have a bigger purpose, just not sure what that is just yet :)

Although I'm now up to 17 pills a day and everyday is another challenge I'm thankful I'm here, I'm thankful for my husband and the few people who stand by me and care and most of all I'm thankful for my little smiley boy who keeps reminding me to keep going strong.

M

GF holiday green bean casserole

So my favorite time of the year is Thanksgiving, but just like any holiday green bean casserole is a holiday meal staple {at least how I grew up.} I never had to think about it last year since my DX was in late march and I hadn't realized how "gluten friendly" the recipe was till I was making it last week.
So I did what any celiac would do; I found another way around it and make it {mostly} from scratch! And let me tell you, it was amazing!! I brought it to an early holiday party and everyone actually PREFERRED the GF one over the traditional! They actually could taste the difference in soup quality and overall flavor.
I'm bias though, I think most people's cooking skills suck compared to mine :) It's been a hobby of mine for a few years now, and I really take pride in my creations and it's always made with love!
First off let me say, I've always, always hated the taste of Campbell's condensed mushroom soup. I was spoiled with delicious homemade Polish mushroom soup from my Grandma that put all others to utter shame. So I had no problem letting that one go. Also I do not and have never made green bean casserole with frozen green beans--I think it tastes gross {personal opinion} and for an extra 20 minutes you can clean, cut and boil fresh ones and turn the recipe around trifold.
Due to time I opted out of making my grandmas soup {its a 2-3 day process} to try the new GF progresso line of soup to cook with. I've tried the mushroom soup by itself as a meal and I personally didn't like it bc the mushrooms were slimy, but the flavor was good and I knew it would be a good cooking soup over a meal type soup. So here we go!

Here's what you need: (all depends on how many you're serving)

1-2 can of Progresso GF Mushroom soup
Fresh green beans
1 large onion
1 medium onion
2 cups of 2% or higher milk (the original recipe I found for the fried onions was buttermilk, I used 2% and it worked just fine)
Oil to fry (I used soybean oil, but what ever oil you prefer should work
GF flour of your choice
Seasoning of choice in the flour
Some type of sifting device (a strainer could work too)
A decent working space and a few bowls!

Pre-heat oven to 375•

Okay do first off I cleaned, cut and boiled the green beans until they were just getting soft, a little more than blanching but roughly about 10 minutes or so. Set aside.
With the large onion Julianne style cut and set aside. Then with the medium onion dice then sauté for about 5 or 6 minutes, just past sweating.
Take the green beans and put them back into the pot you boiled them in, pour the soup and sautéed onions in and stir thoroughly. Dump the mixtures into a baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes uncovered.
If your green beans are still harder and you prefer them softer or you didn't boil them long enough then add about 10-15 minutes more baking time and you should be good to go.
While this is all cooking take your milk and put it in a bowl and let the onions soak in it for about 10 minutes. While this is happening pour a very generous amount of oil into a large/deep enough pan so your not getting sprayed with hot oil. It's probably about 3 1/2 cups of oil I used (Let it come to a good boil while your finishing up the onions)
Then have another bowl aside with the flour. Season and stir.
Take the onions that had been soaking in milk and transfer them into the flour, then sift and repeat.
Once the onions are already coated enough take them in groups and toss them into the oil until they start turning golden brown.
It happens really fast if your oil is hot enough so don't go anywhere! I used a large ladle to get the onions out but in theory a metal skimmer or fry basket would have worked tons better but whatever ;) use what you have to work with!
When taking them out of the oil I places then to dry on paper towels on a baking sheet. After they're dry and hardened after about 10-15 mins put them on top of your casserole and bake for the last 5-10 minutes of your total casserole time.

Hope this all made sense!! And tastes good for you too :)

M

Which casserole is the GF one?? Left or right?? If only you could taste :)

{GF} Turkey and ground pork chili

I made extra to freeze so this is a big batch for just 2 people, would feed probably about 5-6 comfortably.

1 lb ground turkey
1 lb ground pork sausage
2 med onions
2 green peppers
1 red pepper
2 jalapeños (more if you like it spicier!)
2 cans of diced tomatoes w/juice
2 cups vegetable stock or chicken broth
2 cans of black beans
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of cannelloni beans

Spices I used--
Pepper, salt, chili powder, garlic, cumin, paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, cilantro---season as you like!

Dice onions, peppers and jalapeños set aside. Place broth or stock in crockpot on high, brown meat and drain, add diced veggies and let them sweat for about 6 minutes. Drain beans and add them to the crockpot along with the diced tomatoes and juice. Season meat while still in stove (meat tastes better!) then add to crockpot and stir. Let it come to a boil for 3 hrs and them set to low for an hr stirring occasionally.

I put cheddar cheese and a dollop of Greek yogurt on top!
Easy to freeze too.

<3