Gluten Free Day 3
So day three has come and almost gone - and well, I have to give myself a small pat on the back. Work brought in pizza today and I managed to say no (and I love pizza). I won't lie, the thought of cheating did cross my mind a few times.
Once again breakfast was simple. I had a banana after my walk in the morning and a grapefruit at work with strawberries to snack on until lunch.
Lunch I made a super quick salad, but it was pretty good. It's pictured in my last post since I used dragon salt (recipe in the last post) to season my chicken. But I'll sit down and tell you what I did now in case you're looking for a yummy quick salad recipe :) I will say though, it's not measured as I was tossing things together so that I could make it and eat over lunch.
I made snacks when I got home - some apricot coconut balls I found on Pinterest and some roasted chickpeas (also pictured in my earlier post).
Since I was snacking on those, I had to be sure they were good for tomorrow, I wasn't super hungry for dinner so I just made a quick wrap. I did get some gluten free tortillas, and sadly must admit it's just not the same as the wonderful soft tortilla I'm used to using... however, it was still yummy :) They had to be slightly warmed and I'm used to just grabbing and using them cold for this wrap so I didn't love the fact that I had to warm it for 15 - 30 seconds (I did 15, that makes it hot enough)... But it wasn't bad - just not what I'm used to and a more noticeable difference than yesterday's pasta (which cooked different with the way it changed the water, but tasted pretty normal to me). Honestly, I think they are closer to corn tortillas than flour - but it could've been the way I prepared them since I've seen reviews that say they're really close to flour ones... I will give them another chance, after all, I do have a whole package now :) So who knows, maybe these teff tortillas will grow on me.
Anyways - here are my food creations for the day:
Cook one chicken breast in nonstick skillet with a little water (replenishing as it evaporates so you don't get a dry pan) and about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the dragon salt. Once cooked, chop into bite sized pieces and set aside.
Place spinach on the plate and top with a hard boiled egg, half an avocado, and carrots. Then add on your chicken and add your desired dressing (I used a Greek Vinaigrette).
1/2 heaping cup Dried Apricots
1 cup Coconut Flakes
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Tbl Coconut Oil
2 Tbl Honey
Blend everything in food processor until it is a dough like consistency. At this point it will be pretty sticky and may be difficult to roll. I put it in the fridge for a bit so that it could firm up and it was super easy to roll into little snack sized balls.
These are pretty good and I've started thinking of other dried fruits and other flavor combinations - so there may be more to come over this two week challenge :)
1 can Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 Tbl Olive Oil
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
3/4 tsp Dragon Salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Drain, rinse, and dry the chickpeas. Place in bowl and toss with the rest of your ingredients.
Arrange on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 30 - 35 minutes (until crispy). Every 10 minutes, shake the pan to help prevent the chickpeas from burning.
Transfer to a serving bowl.
FYI - They'll crisp up a little more once they cool so don't take until they're as crispy as you want. Just let the outside get a little crispy and they'll be perfect once they cool.
I didn't measure this out - but I did take pictures every step of the way for you :)
Take your tortilla and add a thin layer of basil pesto.
Add a layer of spinach.
Add your cheese - this time I did mozzarella but I've done parmesan too and both are good :)
Add some avocado slices.
Roll up and enjoy! Honestly this would be great with chicken too - just depends on how heavy you want it. I've done it without the avocado when I was just wanting a light snack, and that's yummy too :) Lets face it, you can't go that wrong with pesto, cheese, and spinach :)
Well that's my day for you. While I can't say I notice a physical difference (I'd be shocked to only three days in) - I can feel it in my digestion. So I am even more interested to see where this takes me in 14 days! Time will tell and I'll continue to share my food experiments too :) If anyone knows of any amazing gluten free recipes - I'd love to hear them :)
Once again breakfast was simple. I had a banana after my walk in the morning and a grapefruit at work with strawberries to snack on until lunch.
Lunch I made a super quick salad, but it was pretty good. It's pictured in my last post since I used dragon salt (recipe in the last post) to season my chicken. But I'll sit down and tell you what I did now in case you're looking for a yummy quick salad recipe :) I will say though, it's not measured as I was tossing things together so that I could make it and eat over lunch.
I made snacks when I got home - some apricot coconut balls I found on Pinterest and some roasted chickpeas (also pictured in my earlier post).
Since I was snacking on those, I had to be sure they were good for tomorrow, I wasn't super hungry for dinner so I just made a quick wrap. I did get some gluten free tortillas, and sadly must admit it's just not the same as the wonderful soft tortilla I'm used to using... however, it was still yummy :) They had to be slightly warmed and I'm used to just grabbing and using them cold for this wrap so I didn't love the fact that I had to warm it for 15 - 30 seconds (I did 15, that makes it hot enough)... But it wasn't bad - just not what I'm used to and a more noticeable difference than yesterday's pasta (which cooked different with the way it changed the water, but tasted pretty normal to me). Honestly, I think they are closer to corn tortillas than flour - but it could've been the way I prepared them since I've seen reviews that say they're really close to flour ones... I will give them another chance, after all, I do have a whole package now :) So who knows, maybe these teff tortillas will grow on me.
Anyways - here are my food creations for the day:
Quick Chicken and Spinach Salad:
Cook one chicken breast in nonstick skillet with a little water (replenishing as it evaporates so you don't get a dry pan) and about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the dragon salt. Once cooked, chop into bite sized pieces and set aside.
Place spinach on the plate and top with a hard boiled egg, half an avocado, and carrots. Then add on your chicken and add your desired dressing (I used a Greek Vinaigrette).
Apricot Coconut Balls:
1 cup Coconut Flakes
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Tbl Coconut Oil
2 Tbl Honey
Blend everything in food processor until it is a dough like consistency. At this point it will be pretty sticky and may be difficult to roll. I put it in the fridge for a bit so that it could firm up and it was super easy to roll into little snack sized balls.
These are pretty good and I've started thinking of other dried fruits and other flavor combinations - so there may be more to come over this two week challenge :)
Roasted Chickpeas:
1 Tbl Olive Oil
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
3/4 tsp Dragon Salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Drain, rinse, and dry the chickpeas. Place in bowl and toss with the rest of your ingredients.
Arrange on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 30 - 35 minutes (until crispy). Every 10 minutes, shake the pan to help prevent the chickpeas from burning.
Transfer to a serving bowl.
FYI - They'll crisp up a little more once they cool so don't take until they're as crispy as you want. Just let the outside get a little crispy and they'll be perfect once they cool.
Pesto Spinach Wrap:
Take your tortilla and add a thin layer of basil pesto.
Add a layer of spinach.
Add your cheese - this time I did mozzarella but I've done parmesan too and both are good :)
Add some avocado slices.
Roll up and enjoy! Honestly this would be great with chicken too - just depends on how heavy you want it. I've done it without the avocado when I was just wanting a light snack, and that's yummy too :) Lets face it, you can't go that wrong with pesto, cheese, and spinach :)
Well that's my day for you. While I can't say I notice a physical difference (I'd be shocked to only three days in) - I can feel it in my digestion. So I am even more interested to see where this takes me in 14 days! Time will tell and I'll continue to share my food experiments too :) If anyone knows of any amazing gluten free recipes - I'd love to hear them :)
I just made the chickpeas the other night, and used salt, pepper, and curry powder, and they were delicious. Maybe I didn't shake enough, b/c the edge ones were burnt, but still yummy!
ReplyDelete