Confessions of a Sweetoholic

Hi, I'm Chrissy, and I'm a sweetoholic. ("Hi Chrissy.")

I don't understand when people say "Oh, I'm not really a 'sweets' person..." I literally can't comprehend someone not enjoying desserts. They are my weakness. Something to celebrate? Have a treat. Depressed and sad? Have a treat. Just today I had a good exercise and it somehow turned into a good reason to have two cookies. However, we all know two cookies does not equal one good workout. Having celiac seriously increased my sugar consumption...so many gluten-free options. It's especially hard to say no to sweets when I feel like I have to say no to every other piece of food.

Eggplants!!

Eggplants are beautiful. The deep purple color, the silly, rubbery texture... I am in love with eggplants. I simply don't know how to eat them. My beautiful husband bought me the cookbook in the photograph above - The Gloriously Gluten-Free Cookbook by Vanessa Maltin. I adore this book because it has totally practical yet authentic Italian, Asian, and Mexican dishes. So I immediately went to the index to see what the book had for eggplants. My eyes fixated on fried eggplant with garlic-ginger sauce and jasmine rice. Yum!!

This one requires timing. First chicken, start the sauce and rice at the same time, then the eggplant last. (I added a little bit of my own flair and added chicken.)

1. Chicken: throw some chicken in a pan with a light drizzle of honey, 4 basil leaves, and chili flakes
2. Sauce: throw all the ingredients in a sauce pan and cook on medium (and stir) until the sauce because thicker...or for about 15-20 minutes. Set aside when done.
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup *shiitake mushrooms sliced thin (we couldn't figure out which ones were shiitake so we winged it, haha, fun cooking moment)
1 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup fish sauce - which I sub in more veggie stock instead
1/2 cup gluten-free soy sauce
1/2 cup honey
2 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs chili flakes (good amount of spice! If you want your mouth to be on fire, add more)
1 tbs ground ginger
3. Cook jasmine rice
4. Fry eggplant! Mix up 2 eggs and 1/4 GF soy-sauce in a bowl. In a wider bowl mix up 1/2 cup brown rice flour, 1/2 cup corn starch, and 1 or 1/2 tbs salt. I only used one eggplant, which is a ton anyways...so cut it up about 1/2 inch thick into however long you want (I did about 2 inches long. Heat up oil in a deep-ish pan. Dish eggplant into egg mix, then coat totally in the flour, and fry 'em up!!
5. Put it all on a plate with sauce over, but go easy on the sauce it's rich. YUMMMMMMMMM

Work It Out

I hate the gym. It's dirty, my husband inevitably catches a cold when we go, and it's not close to the house. My solution: Jillian Michaels' DVDs. he 30 Day Shred is amazing - you pick between 3 workout levels and it really gets your heart rate up in just 30 minutes. The Trouble Zone video is really hard, but you feel it! My body feels better if I get exercise...but getting off the couch and doing it can be pretty hard. Exercise makes me even more conscious about what I eat; not in a crazy diet way, but considering the benefits of my food more.

Bok Choy with Pasta

No, you didn't misread the title. I put bok choy in pasta. Here I was, staring at the cute little bundles of baby bok choy, wondering what to do with them - I also knew the contents of our fridge was scarce but I did have pasta and ground turkey. This is what ended up on our plates:

Boy choy (steamed for very short time)
Gluten-free pasta
Parmesan cheese
Red bell pepper
Ground turkey, probably seasoned
Pesto I had made the day before

*I LOVE THIS DISH! Bok choy is usually used in Asian dishes, but in pasta, it tasted close to broccoli but in a leaf form. De-lish.

Help Wanted

Stabbing pain to my lower tummy...a little light-headed now from holding my breath because the pain is so sharp...doubled over at work, can't stand up straight...Did I ingest gluten?

Does anyone know a remedy to try and calm a stabbing tummy after you've accidentally eaten gluten??

Flying Apron Cupcakes

Today was a scorcher in Seattle - around 90 something degrees. I typically avoid buses on days this warm, but I stuck it out so I could meet my dear friend at Flying Apron. This place makes me happy; all vegan, gluten-free treats. Nothing compares to the feeling of being able to order anything on the menu. My eyes grew big looking at the various berry bars, muffins, cookies, cupcakes...oh hello apricot cupcake! And let me say, it was more delicious than I imagined. Not super fruity, but almost a hint of maple and sugar. Summer is a beautiful thing.

Stop and Smell the Food

I regret that I have spent so much time away from writing. As we all know, it is easy to get wrapped up in the hustle of our daily lives. With that hustle comes scarfing down whatever food we can find or have time to eat. That kind of eating doesn't involve truly tasting your food. It doesn't ask your body what it is craving and what nutrients it needs. Nothing compares to eating a bite of food and letting out a big sigh of happiness from the flavor. I'm guilty of neglecting my senses when it comes to what I've been eating the last couple of weeks.

Tomorrow I am going to a family party - which we all know is one of the biggest eating challenges for us celiacs. My plan of attack: bring a side dish and dessert that I can eat and enjoy in case I can't eat anything else. I'll be making a GF pasta salad with chicken sausage, tomato, broccoli, basil, and feta...chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, and maybe even some kale chips with homemade salsa. I've got my bases covered! Having a GF cookie makes it a little easier for me to pass on all the cakes, pies, and yummy side dishes that have who-knows-what in them. I can't even eat the meat from the BBQ without asking a million questions about the sauces - and who wants to be that guest? But alas, parties like this are not about the piles of food I can scarf down. They are about slowing down and enjoying my other senses; laughter from my in-law aunts, endless conversations about football between my husband and his cousin, hugs from people who invited me into their family, the smell of briquettes on the BBQ... who needs pasta salad when the soul is so full?