Watermelon
Strawberries
Cucumber
Fresh lime
Orange rum (gluten free made from sugarcane)
Blended
Poured over ice
Perfect on this 90 degree + Saturday
An artist's search to find and make things that taste good and look beautiful.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Summer Drinks
Ingredients:
Watermelon
Strawberries
Cucumber
Fresh lime
Orange rum (gluten free made from sugarcane)
Blended
Poured over ice
Perfect on this 90 degree + Saturday
Watermelon
Strawberries
Cucumber
Fresh lime
Orange rum (gluten free made from sugarcane)
Blended
Poured over ice
Perfect on this 90 degree + Saturday
Store Bought Cookies continued....
I found some A Chicago company Defloured http://deflouredbakery.com/
sold at various spots in Chicago I got their chocolate chip cookie three pack at Swim Cafe.
They were awesome a true A+, good texture, great taste, liberal amounts of chocolate chips. Definitely my favorite so far.
I had them for a snack the other day when I was working on the Barbara&barbara mural in Logan Square.
Photo by me.
sold at various spots in Chicago I got their chocolate chip cookie three pack at Swim Cafe.
They were awesome a true A+, good texture, great taste, liberal amounts of chocolate chips. Definitely my favorite so far.
I had them for a snack the other day when I was working on the Barbara&barbara mural in Logan Square.
Photo by me.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Eating Out: Swim Cafe
I was worried because of my recent dietary restrictions I would be very limited since they tend to be heavy on the sandwiches in means of menu.
I was happy to find this place offers both gluten free bread and beagles to their patrons allowing me to eat almost any sandwich on the menu.
I had a delicious egg, spinach, and ricotta sandwich on a gluten free beagle with a side of fruit, it was fantastic, and the beagle had a really good flavor and texture.
However for those who are highly allergic to gluten you might want to ask them how they toast their beagles and bread because I recently read that it's recommended to even have a separate toaster for Gluten free breads. Sadly even the small crumbs from bread made with wheat can contaminate the gluten free bread in the toaster.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Black Quinoa with mangos for dinner. A fantastic summer night, gluten free dish!
I made one of those dinners tonight that makes you feel less guilty about all the junk food you know you may consume later in the week.
Recipe via: Two Peas and Their Pod
I made it tonight it was fantastic!
The only difference is I topped it all on a bed full of red leaf lettuce and kale.
Photo by me.
Recipe via: Two Peas and Their Pod
I made it tonight it was fantastic!
The only difference is I topped it all on a bed full of red leaf lettuce and kale.
Photo by me.
Store Bought Cookies
My experience with store bought gluten free cookies.
So far, not so good, I'm thinking I may have to test the waters of baking gluten free cookies to really value the fat and calorie content I'm using to have one. I purchased all of these cookies at Whole Foods, regular grocery stores didn't have much to choose from, if anything to choose from.
Let's start with my first try, Jovial vanilla cream filled cookies: D+
Really these were the most tasteless, dry cookies I've ever experienced.
I've had Saltine crackers with more flavor! The cookie had a strange after taste that reminded me of dried prunes. The chocolate cookie was really almost inedible I only gave it a D+ because my Grammy Hall said she "thought they were OK", and that the vanilla cream had an OK flavor but I honestly wouldn't waste my calories on these literal bad boys. They did have a reasonably low calorie count 160 for two cookies but the fat count was still 7grams that could be better spent on anything else.
Second I tried Nana's gluten-free lemon cookies: C-
I was really surprised after trying this chalky tart cookie how many good reviews it had on the internet. It did get a slightly higher grade than the last cookies because it was a lot more moist, and had a sweeter flavor that comes from the company using natural fruit juices. But damn this is one dense cookie, and honestly almost too tart, kinda sour, and believe it or not the flavor was too intense. The cookie is also Vegan and I remember a lot of Vegan baked goods being quite dense.
Lemon cookies and cake are some of my favorites, and usually I appreciate them for how delicate the flavor is, there was nothing delicate about this cookie. And I just could not get over the texture and aftertaste, it was really chalky. I couldn't even eat more than a few bites. The company makes a variety of items so I might give the brand another try but again I'd save my 180 calories and 7 grams of fat for half a cookie for another day and another cookie.
My last try was the best experience with store bought cookies was from a women who makes some of the best gluten filled cookies in the USA.
Carol's Cookies: Gluten Free Double Chocolate B+
It had a lot of the best qualities I love about cookies made with wheat flower, good texture, moist, chewy, and a good flavor. It was definitely a very rich cookie which is a good thing if you just want a quick fix of chocolate and sugar a nibble will satisfy you, it also might last you a few servings. It was the only cookie of the three, where I actually ate the whole thing, and would buy it again.
Also, the website recommends warming the cookies up in the microwave. I believe this cookie would be fantastic warmed up, and then eaten with a bowl of vanilla ice cream. Now that's what I call calories that you can feel proud of.
So far, not so good, I'm thinking I may have to test the waters of baking gluten free cookies to really value the fat and calorie content I'm using to have one. I purchased all of these cookies at Whole Foods, regular grocery stores didn't have much to choose from, if anything to choose from.
Let's start with my first try, Jovial vanilla cream filled cookies: D+
Really these were the most tasteless, dry cookies I've ever experienced.
I've had Saltine crackers with more flavor! The cookie had a strange after taste that reminded me of dried prunes. The chocolate cookie was really almost inedible I only gave it a D+ because my Grammy Hall said she "thought they were OK", and that the vanilla cream had an OK flavor but I honestly wouldn't waste my calories on these literal bad boys. They did have a reasonably low calorie count 160 for two cookies but the fat count was still 7grams that could be better spent on anything else.
Second I tried Nana's gluten-free lemon cookies: C-
I was really surprised after trying this chalky tart cookie how many good reviews it had on the internet. It did get a slightly higher grade than the last cookies because it was a lot more moist, and had a sweeter flavor that comes from the company using natural fruit juices. But damn this is one dense cookie, and honestly almost too tart, kinda sour, and believe it or not the flavor was too intense. The cookie is also Vegan and I remember a lot of Vegan baked goods being quite dense.
Lemon cookies and cake are some of my favorites, and usually I appreciate them for how delicate the flavor is, there was nothing delicate about this cookie. And I just could not get over the texture and aftertaste, it was really chalky. I couldn't even eat more than a few bites. The company makes a variety of items so I might give the brand another try but again I'd save my 180 calories and 7 grams of fat for half a cookie for another day and another cookie.
My last try was the best experience with store bought cookies was from a women who makes some of the best gluten filled cookies in the USA.
Carol's Cookies: Gluten Free Double Chocolate B+
It had a lot of the best qualities I love about cookies made with wheat flower, good texture, moist, chewy, and a good flavor. It was definitely a very rich cookie which is a good thing if you just want a quick fix of chocolate and sugar a nibble will satisfy you, it also might last you a few servings. It was the only cookie of the three, where I actually ate the whole thing, and would buy it again.
Also, the website recommends warming the cookies up in the microwave. I believe this cookie would be fantastic warmed up, and then eaten with a bowl of vanilla ice cream. Now that's what I call calories that you can feel proud of.
Stomach problems have been part of my life since a young child. I recently visited a doctor who was suspect that I might have a sensitivity to Gluten and asked me to cut it out of my diet for a few weeks to see if I feel better.
The more I talk to people and research gluten allergies I find myself amazed the amount of people who live gluten free or reduced lives.
I have eaten gluten filled products abundantly since I was young, who hasn't? Some of my favorites are chocked full of gluten i.e. cereal, bread, pizza, cookies, cupcakes, it goes on and on.
This week I actually began my experiment with removing gluten from my diet. Removing foods from my diet is not a new venture to me, I have experimented with meat free, dairy free, and completely animal byproduct free diets in the past.
So it's been about four days into it and I have already found myself breaking the rules, feeling really hungry and being to lazy to do anything about it, and feeling depressed that gluten free products just can't replace the way gluten filled ones taste.
I realize If this experiment brings little relief to my stomach issues I will return to the eating the foods I was before but perhaps with a little less vigor.
The more research I do the less appetizing the little protein looks. My doctor told me that products like bread and cereal actually have 4 times the amount of gluten they use too, and the fact gluten is hidden in everything, really anything processed has a chance of being contaminated by gluten. And because its everywhere (even in some glues used for envelopes) and used in more and more people are finding they have trouble digesting it.
I secretly hope that my issues with gluten are not as serious as celiac disease, and that occasionally I can have a piece of pizza or piece of cake on my birthday. But for the next few weeks I will document my experiment and challenges of a gluten free diet.
Benefits of a Gluten free diet are pretty awesome, some I found online are:
Of course for those allergic or sensitive:
less stomach pain or cramps
being more "regular" or less "regular"
less bone and joint pain
less headaches
more energy
For the general public:
Weight Loss
Avoidance of processed and fast food
Avoidance of fried foods
The replacement of veggies and fruit for may snack foods
The more I talk to people and research gluten allergies I find myself amazed the amount of people who live gluten free or reduced lives.
I have eaten gluten filled products abundantly since I was young, who hasn't? Some of my favorites are chocked full of gluten i.e. cereal, bread, pizza, cookies, cupcakes, it goes on and on.
This week I actually began my experiment with removing gluten from my diet. Removing foods from my diet is not a new venture to me, I have experimented with meat free, dairy free, and completely animal byproduct free diets in the past.
So it's been about four days into it and I have already found myself breaking the rules, feeling really hungry and being to lazy to do anything about it, and feeling depressed that gluten free products just can't replace the way gluten filled ones taste.
I realize If this experiment brings little relief to my stomach issues I will return to the eating the foods I was before but perhaps with a little less vigor.
The more research I do the less appetizing the little protein looks. My doctor told me that products like bread and cereal actually have 4 times the amount of gluten they use too, and the fact gluten is hidden in everything, really anything processed has a chance of being contaminated by gluten. And because its everywhere (even in some glues used for envelopes) and used in more and more people are finding they have trouble digesting it.
I secretly hope that my issues with gluten are not as serious as celiac disease, and that occasionally I can have a piece of pizza or piece of cake on my birthday. But for the next few weeks I will document my experiment and challenges of a gluten free diet.
Benefits of a Gluten free diet are pretty awesome, some I found online are:
Of course for those allergic or sensitive:
less stomach pain or cramps
being more "regular" or less "regular"
less bone and joint pain
less headaches
more energy
For the general public:
Weight Loss
Avoidance of processed and fast food
Avoidance of fried foods
The replacement of veggies and fruit for may snack foods
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