Gluten Free Days 1 & 2
So my gluten free two week challenge has started. I do not have a gluten allergy, it's just something a friend and I are trying as we heard it could help with the belly bloat; as well as cramps and digestive issues. So we're trying to go completely gluten free for two weeks - no wheat, barley, rye, malts, or triticale. I also found that things like dextrin, bulgur, durum flour, farina, graham flour, and semolina should be avoided. Apparently gluten binds up things in your belly which can cause gas, cramps, and bloating. So we figured it was worth a shot to see if it really makes a difference for us.
One thing that really surprised me while trying to figure out what things I'd be able to eat for two weeks was that not all wines are gluten free. I am staying away from alcohol for the most part as it does slow down your metabolism and much of it has gluten too. However, there are some dishes that I like to make that have some wine in them. Apparently, according to Yellow Tail, all reds are gluten free and vegan; Chardonnays, Pinot Grigios, Sparkling Wines, and Reislings are gluten free but not vegan; and Sauvignon Blanc is not gluten free or vegan. However, that's Yellow Tail wines - is that all? Hard to say as I've also found sites that say, "you can mostly trust wines that are 'almost always' made without a barrel aging process such as: 'Whites - Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, Italian Pinot Grigio, Bag-In-The-Box wines; and Reds: Bag-In-The-Box wines'." So I'm not really sure.
Anyway, day one ware pretty boring as I took it really easy. Breakfast was two bananas, lunch was a balsamic chicken with steamed broccoli, and dinner was store bought sushi. Lunch was the only thing I cooked and I had it put together, cooked, and on the plate in 15 minutes so it really wasn't anything special. I tossed about 2 tablespoons of balsamic in a nonstick pan with some basil and cooked my chicken breast in it on medium high while my broccoli steamed. For a quick lunch though, it was pretty darn good :)
Day two was simple for breakfast and lunch, but the I got cooking at dinner :) For dinner we had a shrimp scampi fettuccine - well, my tweaked version based on the ingredients I had :)
I was surprised to find the rice fettuccine really didn't taste much different. It was however odd cooking as it made the water creamy - I figure this was from the starches, but I could be wrong. Anyway, as a result, I didn't reduce my sauce much to account for the way the pasta would react in it and it also worked as a thickening agent in the sauce.
The only stumbling point was that the recipe calls for white wine - I had a Riesling and a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. So in all honesty I'm not 100% sure I was completely gluten free, but I did try.
It came out really yummy with just a little tang and kick. I liked the shrimp and really enjoyed how the gluten free pasta thickened the sauce.
This is what I did for dinner:
20 - 25 frozen (de-veined and ready to cook shrimp) - it was as many as I could fit in a single layer in my pan. You could easily make two batches or more if you wanted more shrimp.
8 oz Rice Fettuccine
4 cloves Garlic (minced)
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 med Lemon (juiced)
1/2 cup White Wine of your choice
1/4 cup Butter
1 tbl Oregano (chopped) - generally it's parsley, but I wanted fresh herbs and figured I'd experiment with the oregano.
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
Boil your water, salt it, and toss in your fettuccine. I cooked it for about 5 - 6 minutes.
While water for pasta is coming to a boil, heat pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, wine, oregano, and onion powder and allow to simmer for about 2 minutes.
Stir in butter until melted and add frozen shrimp. They cook really quick so watch as they turn orange and flip so that both sides cook through. Once shrimp is cooked, remove from pan and set aside. Allow sauce to simmer until your pasta is al dente.
While pasta finishes cooking, if your shrimp had tails on, this would be a good time to take them off.
Drain pasta and add to your sauce. Stirring frequently, simmer together for an extra minute.
Add shrimp into your pasta to warm back up and serve. You don't want to allow this to cook much longer as the shrimp can become rubbery if you over cook them.
Salt and pepper to taste
Overall, I hope that was truly gluten free and that my wine was safe. The first two days went well - I started prepping some snacks for days to come so that I don't have to live on fruits and veggies completely. I like to cook and want to be able to do things gluten free and still make yummy stuff. I know it's possible - I'm amazed at how much gluten free stuff really is out there... it's just all new to me.
I have several recipes I'm craving, but they're not gluten free. So I'm looking for ways to make them gluten free and hoping they'll come out tasting just as yummy as ever :) I'm looking forward to the experimenting and can't wait to share it with you :)
One thing that really surprised me while trying to figure out what things I'd be able to eat for two weeks was that not all wines are gluten free. I am staying away from alcohol for the most part as it does slow down your metabolism and much of it has gluten too. However, there are some dishes that I like to make that have some wine in them. Apparently, according to Yellow Tail, all reds are gluten free and vegan; Chardonnays, Pinot Grigios, Sparkling Wines, and Reislings are gluten free but not vegan; and Sauvignon Blanc is not gluten free or vegan. However, that's Yellow Tail wines - is that all? Hard to say as I've also found sites that say, "you can mostly trust wines that are 'almost always' made without a barrel aging process such as: 'Whites - Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, Italian Pinot Grigio, Bag-In-The-Box wines; and Reds: Bag-In-The-Box wines'." So I'm not really sure.
Day two was simple for breakfast and lunch, but the I got cooking at dinner :) For dinner we had a shrimp scampi fettuccine - well, my tweaked version based on the ingredients I had :)
I was surprised to find the rice fettuccine really didn't taste much different. It was however odd cooking as it made the water creamy - I figure this was from the starches, but I could be wrong. Anyway, as a result, I didn't reduce my sauce much to account for the way the pasta would react in it and it also worked as a thickening agent in the sauce.
The only stumbling point was that the recipe calls for white wine - I had a Riesling and a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. So in all honesty I'm not 100% sure I was completely gluten free, but I did try.
It came out really yummy with just a little tang and kick. I liked the shrimp and really enjoyed how the gluten free pasta thickened the sauce.
This is what I did for dinner:
20 - 25 frozen (de-veined and ready to cook shrimp) - it was as many as I could fit in a single layer in my pan. You could easily make two batches or more if you wanted more shrimp.
8 oz Rice Fettuccine
4 cloves Garlic (minced)
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 med Lemon (juiced)
1/2 cup White Wine of your choice
1/4 cup Butter
1 tbl Oregano (chopped) - generally it's parsley, but I wanted fresh herbs and figured I'd experiment with the oregano.
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
Boil your water, salt it, and toss in your fettuccine. I cooked it for about 5 - 6 minutes.
While water for pasta is coming to a boil, heat pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, wine, oregano, and onion powder and allow to simmer for about 2 minutes.
Stir in butter until melted and add frozen shrimp. They cook really quick so watch as they turn orange and flip so that both sides cook through. Once shrimp is cooked, remove from pan and set aside. Allow sauce to simmer until your pasta is al dente.
While pasta finishes cooking, if your shrimp had tails on, this would be a good time to take them off.
Drain pasta and add to your sauce. Stirring frequently, simmer together for an extra minute.
Add shrimp into your pasta to warm back up and serve. You don't want to allow this to cook much longer as the shrimp can become rubbery if you over cook them.
Salt and pepper to taste
Overall, I hope that was truly gluten free and that my wine was safe. The first two days went well - I started prepping some snacks for days to come so that I don't have to live on fruits and veggies completely. I like to cook and want to be able to do things gluten free and still make yummy stuff. I know it's possible - I'm amazed at how much gluten free stuff really is out there... it's just all new to me.
I have several recipes I'm craving, but they're not gluten free. So I'm looking for ways to make them gluten free and hoping they'll come out tasting just as yummy as ever :) I'm looking forward to the experimenting and can't wait to share it with you :)
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