The Low Carb Whole Food Gluten Free Foodie

birrds:

my dash is so dead right now - i’ll follow you all!

I’m a low carb whole food gluten free food blog and weight loss is certainly a part of it. Check it out - it got loads of good stuff, something for everyone.

 Before I started this blog, I had been toying with the idea of going gluten free.  My reasons for the gluten free trial are based on what I’ve learned about the benefits of removing gluten from one’s diet. According to Wikipedia , gluten is a protein found in wheat (including kamut and spelt), barley, rye, malts, triticale (a hybrid of wheat and rye) and oats.  Gluten is often used as a food additive to flavor, stabilize or as a thickening agent (dextrin).  Gluten sensitivity can cause symptoms such as weight gain, digestive troubles and fatigue. It can also affect blood chemistry and the treatment of auto imune disorders. Loads of people swear by it and if it might make my Fibromyalgia easier to live with, I’m more than willing to give it a go. I’ve been warned by medical professionals that you need to very strict about the complete elimination of gluten from your diet and that it can take from six months to a year to feel the full effects. There’s a good article about fibromyalgia and it’s connection to gluten sensitivity written by The Gluten Doctors:

“Anecdotally we have witnessed over and over again the resolution of the classic muscle aches and tender points in regard to gluten elimination”.

http://glutendoctors.blogspot.com/2009/06/fibromy

To facilitate my next big step forward, a gluten free diet, I ruthlessly cleaned any and all gluten offenders out of my kitchen. Since I’m already doing low carb, it’s not a huge stretch but it will mean giving up and/or replacing certain items.  Here’s a list of what got axed:
*regular soy sauce (which I will replace with gluten free soy sauce)*oat flour (which I already replaced with gluten free oat flour)*low carb bake mix (which I can replace with a recipe for homemade low carb gluten free bake mix, which I’ll be using in future recipes, I’m sure)*low carb pancake mix*miso soup*low carb tortillas*low carb pita bread*two kinds of oats, rolled and steel cut
The most of the  un-replaceable items are also processed foods, which I’m trying to cut out completely. Which brings me to the world of whole foods. Wikipedia defines whole foods as: “those that are unprocessed and unrefined, or  processed and refined as little as possible before being consumed” ( I love wikipedia, don’t you?).  It should be very clear to everyone at this point in history that additives, especially chemical additives, are not good for a human being’s general health and well being.  It doesn’t stop companies that produce food products they claim to be  ”health food”, in all it’s various guises and most people just don’t read food labels carefully enough.  I know there are a lot of Low Carb products on the market, available at least online. When I started reading the labels I was shocked at how much crap they contained. I can’t pronounce half the ingredients and all those chemicals can’t be good for you. Since my main goal is to try and be as healthy as possible, I think I have to leave behind prepared foods and get used to making everything from scratch. I don’t mind - it’s worth the extra work to know exactly what’s in my meals.

The other benefit of whole foods is monetary - most unprocessed food tends to be cheaper than processed foods in the end. I realize that organic food tends to cost more and I think that everyone has to decide for themselves how much you can afford to spend on food. So my motto in regards to this) is : don’t spend more than you can afford. In an ideal world, all the best would be affordable, but it doesn’t work that way. For example, if you can’t afford organic produce or dairy products that come from animals that are free range, growth hormone free, and are fed based upon their natural diets, don’t beat yourself up too much. Same thing for processed foods - sometimes it can’t be avoided. Only you can decide what’s best for you and your unique situation. So shop, prepare meals and eat as well as you are able. And try not to judge yourself too harshly - I’m certainly not going to judge you. It’s hard enough to make even the smallest changes in our lifestyles,  so anything you do, no matter how small, it’s a gigantic step in the right direction. Be proud of yourself for even thinking about making these adjustments.

I think the toughest addiction I ever had to give up (aside from cigarettes) was Caffeine Free Diet Coke. I hate to think about what years of drinking what is essentially a neurotoxin, did to my nervous system. I know I’m not the only one out there. But before I tackled that one, I first had to give up one of my favorite addictions: designer coffee. I’m not part of what I like to call “The Starbuck’s Phenomenon”; it’s not because I’m an aging hipster wannabe. I just associate Starbucks with corporation, which automatically sends me warning signals. I haven’t read anything truly terrible about Starbucks and I know that they are ranked pretty high in terms of green business practices. But I happen to live near an actual coffe house, Cafe Trieste, which is just blocks away from my apartment. It’s much better than any chain coffe place and that’s where I used to get my Soy Mochas (and their excellent chocolate croissants, which I also had to give up). I had already given up caffeine  when I was first diagnosed with Type II Diabetes and it wasn’t that hard. I tend to be anxious and I have epic insomnia, so caffeine is really not my friend.

I had to figure out the low carb homemade version. Fortunately, I grew up in Miami, with a heavy latino population and I learned the ins and outs of espresso making. Never mind the fancy machines; I know they look cool, but they are a pain in the ass to clean. It’s also much easier to make the stove top version.

That’s a three serving pot. You can also get them in one and six servings. The three serving pot makes about 1/2 cup of espresso and I use a 1/4 cup to make my mocha.  It’s simple - the whole thing unscrews into three pieces, the top, the bottom and the filter. Fill the bottom with water until it’s just below the indicated point. Put in the filter and fill with coffee grounds (don’t pack it) and screw on the top and boil over a medium high heat. You do need to keep an eye on it, because it can start to burn very quickly (usually when deeply involved with some other meaningless task). Also double check to make sure it’s filled with water - the rubber washer will melt and burn and it’s added drama you don’t need.

In case you didn’t already know, what makes it espresso is how it’s made and not the type of coffee that’s used. So you can use any naturally decaffeinated  coffee - just make sure it’s ground finely enough for espresso.

Low Carb Soy Mocha


Ingredients:

1/4 C freshly brewed decaf espresso
1 C unsweetened vanilla soy milk
1/4 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
natural sweetener, to taste

Preparation:

*Pour hot coffee into a mug; add the cocoa powder and stir until well blended. Pour in soy milk and microwave on high for approximately 45 seconds. Add sweetener and sprinkle with ground cinnamon, if desired.

Has 103 calories, 1.5 net carbs, 4.9 g fat, 4 g fiber and 9 g protein.

And there’s your happy ending.  You can make it a double and still have only 3 net carbs. You can put it in one of those adorable ceramic/porcelain, eco-friendly re-useable cups fashioned to look like cardboard coffee to-go cups with plastic tops. It’s cheaper and you won’t have to stand on line for coffee, ever again.
Easy virtue - there’s nothing like it.


Just for fun, go to the Starbucks website and check out: 

http://www.starbucks.com/menu/catalog/nutrition?.drink=all#view_control=nutrition.

You can look up your favorite Starbucks beverage and get the skinny on it’s nutritional information. My favorite, the 8 oz Soy Mocha has 130 cal, 22 net carbs, 3 g fat, <1 g fiber and 4 g protein.

One of my favorite vegetables is fresh spinach and I’m fortunate to live in a place where fresh organic produce is available year round.  But out of season fruits and veggies can be  expensive and you may live in a place where they are not available at all. The next best option is frozen produce and there’s a lot you can do with frozen spinach.  It’s messy to handle, so I had to figure out a way to make it easier. I start by taking a 10 oz (284 g) bag of organic spinach and I divide it evenly between three containers while it’s still frozen. I use a digital food scale to determine size portions - it’s more accurate than a measuring cup and it allows me to adjust the portion exactly. According to the package, a single serving of frozen spinach is 81 grams or 1 cup and a 10 oz bag will give you 3.5 servings. Using the scale allows me to measure out three equal portions, each weighing about 95 grams.

If you store them in the fridge, you can allow them to defrost without cooking. When you’re ready to use it, all you need to do is drain the water. You can use a sieve, provided that the wholes are small enough, or you can strain it through unbleached cheesecloth. To cut down on waste, I rinse out the  cheesecloth when I’m finished using it and dry it so I can use it as many times as possible. Once the spinach is drained, you’re ready to go.


Baked Eggs Florentine


Ingredients:


95 g chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1/8 T butter
1 large egg
1 T heavy cream
1/8 tsp garlic powder
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

*Preheat oven to 400 F.

*Grease a ramekin with butter.  To prepare the spinach, put it in a small bowl and add garlic powder and some  salt and pepper and blend. Lightly pack the spinach in the ramekin and make an indentation in the center - I use a measuring tablespoon.

*Crack the egg into a cup, making sure to keep the yolk whole. Gently pour on top of spinach and sprinkle with  salt and pepper, if desired. Cover evenly with heavy cream.

*Bake for 16 - 18 minutes, depending upon how well-done you like you like your eggs. Remove from oven (carefully, it will be very hot!).

I know it looks lovely in the ramekin (sorry for the lousy picture quality, but trust me, it looks amazing!), but it will be too hot to consume it you leave it in there. Run a knife around the edges to separate it from the sides and using a fork, lift it out of the ramekin and place on a plate.

And enjoy!


Makes 1 serving and has 173.63 calories, 3.25 net carbs, 10.85 g fat, 1.5 g fiber and 9 g protein.

Whoo hoo!  Somebody alert the press!  Seriously, welcome to my food blog. If I appear as if I don’t know what I’m doing, well, that’s because I don’t. But I’m not going to let that stop me. So, bear with me - I hope to be of some help to others out there. Dieting is hard - don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Naturally thin people are naturally thin; they don’t tend to have things like insulin resistance to contend with and often regard those of us to whom it comes less easy as lazy and undisciplined. Those of us who are not naturally thin (which is to say, most of us, even though almost any kind of media will tell you otherwise) find ourselves struggling. People who have the additional burden of chronic illness struggle even more - I have fibromyalgia as well as insulin resistance and it has been difficult to make the necessary changes in my lifestyle. I’m a work in progress - I have not reached my target weight and I am still very out of shape due to severe exercise intolerance, but over the course of one year, I was able to lose 80 lb’s by diet alone, have completely eliminated both aspartame and sucrolose (and many other things) from my diet and no longer need to take prescription medication for type II diabetes. Since I live alone I have modified the recipes  for one person servings ( or in the case of sweets, the lowest number possible so as not to tempt myself ). They are also modified for people who have limited mobility, chronic fatigue or are just plain exhausted from being terminally busy. This means meals that are not too labor intensive - the fewest amount of ingredients and the least amount of prep work, designed to make life easier while still being nutritious and appetizing.

Now, on to the food!