Some restrictions are good

Well, if you follow me on here, or on one of my other blogs, you probably already know that I am gluten free. I have been gluten free for a while now, (over a year) and am dairy free too. I am also soy free to try to combat my fertility issues. I recently became refined sugar free as well. It was such an easy transition, I couldn't believe it. I am a sweets girl. I love cookies and cakes and cookies and cookies. ha ha. But lately, to be honest, I've found myself not really interested much in sweet things. Who ever would have thought it could be true!

On Valentines day, Husband took me out to dinner. We went to the Texas Roadhouse, (I know, not romantic in the slightest, but we wanted steak) and boy did we get Texas sized portions! I was able to get gluten free options, which was awesome. So many waiters look at me like I have lobsters coming out of my ears when I ask about gluten free... but our server was awesome at the TR, and very helpful and accommodating to my restrictions. I ate about half of my steak, and was almost immediately sick.

**I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE THINKS IT WAS FOOD POISONING. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY NOT FOOD POISONING.**

I had over eaten, but it was more than that. I had been noticing lately that meat really makes me sick after I eat it. To the point of stomach cramps. The rest of V-day was spent huddled in a ball on the couch totally sick. I am sure everyone experiences an extent of what I feel when I eat meat: Sluggishness, sleepiness, etc. I mean, it takes a lot for our bodies to break down meat!

But my issues go far beyond that. I feel achy, and sick, and as I already mentioned, I get stomach cramps and I am so tired it's crazy.

So after that day, I decided to cut out animal products. Yes. You heard me right. I am following a Vegan diet for a while to see if I feel better. I know that B12 supplements are very important, as well as folic acid and iron. I will eat protein rich foods, (no soy) and I will not forget about my Omegas either. (FINALLY THOSE NUTRITION CLASSES ARE GOING TO COME IN HANDY)!

I have been following a Vegan diet for one week, and I have to tell you that I am not only losing weight faster, I am feeling better than I have in YEARS!

I want to say that I was a vegetarian years ago, and I remember feeling pretty good during that time, (with the exception that I became anemic-something that caused me to start eating chicken and eggs again). But back then, even though I was a vegetarian for over 3 years, I was a complete idiot about it. I didn't actually eat good foods. I just avoided meat. Not exactly a healthy diet. I snacked mostly on breads, (oh if only I knew back then what gluten does to me!) and potatoes and cheese and diet soda. I'm telling you I don't know how I survived that long! I won't even go in to my eating disorder that I developed!

But this time around, I have my health in the forefront of my mind and I am excited to find something that works for me. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to feel good, and not be sick every time I eat!

I think that food is definitely our medicine. If we aren't feeling good, I think food/diet is the first place we should look. Our bodies are wonderful, miraculous things that will tell us when we need to change something. If you are feeling crappy, maybe you should look at your diet and see if it is something you're ingesting.

I am not a doctor or even a nutritionist, but I do know that taking a hard look at my food has changed my life. It has honestly and truly made such a difference in not only my weight, but my overall health and well being. It has also enhanced my mood and I feel like a much happier person. I hope so much that it helps my fertility issues as well, but for right now, I just want to do what is best for my body, and my body is happy that I am following a Vegan diet.

Here's to hoping all of you find your happy foods!

With Love,
Suz

A new little pet project.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a bit of an attention span issue. So, to combat the winter blues, I have started a dessert page, called Sugarface Bakes.



It is a blog filled with recipes for gluten/dairy/soy/refined sugar free baking! Yummy desserts. Some are from blogs that inspire me, but most will be my own twists on things, and my own original recipes.

Check it out!

With Love,
Suz

What I've been up to lately...

So, I've been pretty absent from this old blog for a while now... sorry lovelies. I've been trying to keep busy. I finished my last photo session of 2010, and then, it's been quiet. I have a potential new wedding client, but that won't be until March if I get the job. So, what is a (sorta) out of work photographer to do?

(All of these pictures have been made possible by the use of one of my fabulous Christmas presents from husband: My new SPEEDLIGHT! )

Well...

I've rekindled my love for knitting,

taught myself to knit in the round,

taught myself a new stitch (the gorgeous HERRINGBONE) by knitting myself an oversized cowl,

began crocheting a new scarf for my sweetheart out of fisherman's wool,

rediscovered my favorite book, and said goodbye to my favorite snack,

 

found a surprise inside the book that makes me laugh, 

saved an almost perfect train table from an untimely death by trashcan, (and thereby cinching my mother of the year award)... did I mention it was FREE?...

ordered some new music from some old favorites,

and downloaded MATT AND KIM'S SIDEWALKS ALBUM, (that was all caps, because I can't express without shouting how wonderful this album is) Hellogoodbye's Would it Kill you? Album, and all of the Pomplamoose stuff I could find, (no pictures on this one, sorry)...


decided that KID TO KID really is the happiest place for parents on a budget but who love expensive shoes,

 VANS WITH VELCRO! ($4.99)

A nod to my high school days with these kid size purple doc martens! ($5.99)

found some gems at ROSS DRESS FOR LESS and TJMAXX, (including but not limited to an enamel coated cast iron casserole dish that I've wanted for ages, and it just so happens to be in cobalt... and some new chucks for cheap)...

found a new gluten free/dairy free cookbook that makes me want to live in the kitchen, 

got a new work station, 

am still learning how to use my Christmas present from the Mr... (yep that's my Rolleicord Va Type 1!!!)...

 

 I also decided that I HATE blogger, because I had to pay $5 for 20 GB of storage because the Bass turds (What? Fish poop is gross but it's not a bad word) said I ran out of storage space. Whatevs. 

I wanted to do some mobile uploads of my mommy-son date tonight at CUPCAKE CHIC in Orem. But we still live in the cheap dark ages where we don't have cell phones with data plans, so Sprint charges us up the wazoo for sending photos to email... 

Back to Cupcake Chic... They are currently the ONLY cupcake bakery that I know of that sells Gluten Free cupcakes. Z ordered a chocolate one, (they only had two cupcakes left - chocolate and red velvet) and we sat down to test it out... the verdict? 

Well, I tried a bite of it, and I will say that Z scarfed up the frosting, which to me tasted like sugary shortening... not my favorite flavor... and wasn't really in to the cupcake part, because it was pretty dry and crumbly... not my favorite texture... but it tasted OKAY... not great. The upside is that it only cost $2.25, which is kind of a rip off, but not for specialty stuff. 

But I am giving major MAJOR kudos to these guys for trying what everyone else seems to be scared of trying! 

Also on a side note... PIZZA PIE CAFE (my local favorite) is selling GLUTEN FREE PIZZA now! :) And it's pretty dang good... I think I would like it better if had a different texture, but I am not going to be a whiner. I'm just stoked I can eat at my favorite pizza place again! 

I have added to my no eats list. Currently I am gluten (duh) free, DAIRY (oy) free, and SUGAR (yeah you heard that right) free... So my diet is restricted, but it's okay. I am not only losing weight, (yep, it's true!) I am feeling better, and I am actually regulating my insulin resistance problem which means there might (PRAY FOR US PLEASE!) be a chance we will be adding another baby to this family this year... which would be, well, in one word... A-MAY-ZING.

So, I am going to do better about blogging... well, I'll try. :) 

Thanks for reading! 

With Love, 

Suz

Something new...

I have started my own Gluten Free cooking site for my recipes. It's no big deal, but you can check it out. I've added a new recipe, and uploaded some of my old ones from here.

The Messy Gluten Free Cook

A word to the wise...

Sometimes you might be tempted to try something you know you shouldn't...

But just know that no matter how good that something may seem, it will leave you unhappy, filled with self loathing, bloated, and probably constipated...

I hate you gluten. I really, really hate you.

With Love,
Suz

I have found some new blogs...

I LOVE finding new blogs. Especially if they are devoted to being gluten free. It just makes me so happy to know that there are others out there who make my life so much easier with their wonderful ideas and beautiful dishes that are delicious and inspiring. I also love to read the stories of the people behind the blogs...

Here are a few new favorites.

Simply Sugar and Gluten Free (Seriously her life story is mine for the most part)
She Let Them Eat Cake (This lady rocks!)
Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom (Her stuff is SO beautiful)
Living Free (This is wonderful because she cooks without Dairy, Gluten or Sugar!)
Gluten Free Easily (Just browsed her site, and things are looking pretty good!)
Gluten Free Gidget (Super yummy stuff here!)
Cook it Allergy Free! (Some yummy recipes and good info on her site)
The Spunky Coconut (She's Casein/Gluten/Sugar free and also has some RAW recipes too!)
Z's Cup of Tea (Grain/Gluten/Dairy/Sugar Free!)
The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen (She won me over with her Avocado Fudge-scicles)
Celiac Teen (How awesome is this girl? She's 17 and a whiz in the GF kitchen!)

And of course here are some old standby's that I still lurve.

The Gluten Free Goddess (AKA Karina's Kitchen... she is amazing)
Elana's Pantry (She cooks amazing things)
Ginger Lemon Girl (Awesome)
Gluten Free Mommy (She is so cool for so many reasons)


Today marks day one of being SUGAR FREE as well as GLUTEN FREE. I will be slowly but surely cutting out my DAIRY as well. So, blogs that address all THREE to me, are AMAZING.

With Love,
Suz

I'm back... with a recipe!

I know I've been a real slacker lately. I promise it isn't because I hate blogging... in fact, it's just because I haven't really known what to write about. I've had a bad case of bloggers block.

Tonight, I made Ez and myself some nummy dinner. I'll tell you all about it.

I made it up on the fly, trying to think of something Mediterranean/Italian but that was Gluten Free (of course) and light... I didn't want anything too heavy. Summertime is not for super heavy saucy dishes in my mind.

So, I looked at what ingredients I had on hand.

Canned tomatoes and black olives, white rice (I would recommend brown rice, but I didn't have the time to cook rice for 80 minutes) fresh baby spinach, minced garlic, onion powder, fresh whole white mushrooms (the biggest I've ever seen!) olive oil, and dried basil... what to make?

So, I decided on a rice goulash of sorts. I call it...

SPINACH & STUFF RICE...
(I'm not too creative I guess! ha ha) 
And it looks a little something like this:

 
I started out making the plain rice... I usually have it on hand already made so that I can cut my cooking time down exponentially. As I said, I prefer brown rice, but decided on the quick route today with white rice.

Then, I got out a large bowl, and my other ingredients. 

1 1/2 - 2 cups CUT FRESH BABY SPINACH (I love the big bag of it at Costco)
1 Can of CANNED DICED TOMATOES (with the juice)
1 can of CANNED LARGE BLACK OLIVES
1-2 cups of FRESH WHOLE (EXTRA LARGE) WHITE MUSHROOMS


Take the baby spinach, and cut it... I guess you could use a food processor, but I wanted mine a little larger pieces so I used my kitchen scissors. (It made about 1 1/2-2 cups of spinach) then put it in the bowl.

Then I took the canned diced tomatoes and added the tomatoes and the juice to the spinach in the bowl. 


Then I put the large black olives in to my Vita Mix 5200 and chopped them finely (this was more for my toddler's benefit... if veg is too big, he usually turns up his nose so I have to hide it).  I then added the finely chopped olives to the bowl. 

I then chopped up the mushrooms in to 1/4- 1/2 inch square pieces... just diced them, I didn't bother measuring them with a ruler or anything... then I added them to the bowl too. 


I mixed everything together and then let the bowl sit for a little while as I prepared the stove top. For this you'll need:


2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon (or more depending on your tastes) dried BASIL
A few shakes of onion powder (again, make it taste good to you)
About a 1/4 teaspoon of salt... (add however much you want, I don't like things salty, because I like to taste the freshness of my food)


I added 2 Tablespoons of Olive oil to the pan and set the temp to med-high and added 1 teaspoon of minced garlic (I might have added a little bit more, since I love garlic so much... but just add it to your taste preference). I continually stirred the garlic and oil so that the garlic wouldn't burn. STIR STIR STIR. 


Add the basil and the onion powder. Continue to stir for about 2 minutes. Once you feel the garlic is cooked enough so as not to be too pungent, add the bowl of ingredients to the pan. 


Stir it all together and saute for about 3 minutes... just enough to cook the mushrooms a little bit but not long enough to give yourself soggy spinach. (You be the judge) 


Add your salt, and stir some more, then add your rice (about 2 cups worth of cooked rice) and stir it all together and set it aside. 


This should feed about 3 or 4 people. 


I think if you wanted to, you could add some bacon or chicken to it and it would be delicious! 

 Yummy in the tummy! It has Ez's stamp of approval... which is saying a lot!

With Love,
Suz