The Gut Gazette

Gluten Free "Kraft Dinner"

2011-11-09T09:01:00.000-08:00

University foods definitely include Kraft Dinner. I would love to see the numbers on how many students in University/College eat Kraft Dinner a week. I am sure it's a high number!

Unfortunately the gluten free students don't have that option to open a box of KD and quickly cook it. However, I found a wonderful gluten free alternative to Kraft Dinner!

The brand is Irresistibles, found at the grocery store Metro (in Canada).

It was definitely delicious, but I wouldn't say it was "irresistible". The pasta took a lot longer to cook then the box indicated, so I had to keep checking on it...I didn't want to overcook it. The powdered cheese was much brighter in colour than Kraft Dinner's cheese.

I didn't find the powdered cheese to be that "cheesy" in taste, it was a bit bland, and I had to smother it in Ketchup. I would buy this again, and I would recommend it to those who are gluten free and need a Kraft Dinner alternative. However, if you aren't gluten free, don't pick up this box, go straight to the real stuff...it's not the same as good old Kraft Dinner.

If anyone knows of any other gluten free macaroni and cheese (that is in a box), I would love to hear them!

"A Healthy Snack = A Healthy Tummy"

2011-10-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share a blog that my friend Jenna has created as a project for one of her nutrition courses.

It's an amazing blog full of colour, fun foods and great nutrition tips to help you feed your child nutritiously during your busy life.

The blog is called Little Bites, Lotta Nutrition, it will definitely wow you! Check it out!!

Gluten Free from Grandma

2011-10-11T17:14:00.001-07:00

This weekend was my FIRST time ever having a gluten free pie! Grandma made my favourite Thanksgiving pie, pumpkin, gluten free. I was so happy and appreciative of it. She had told me countless amount of times that I shouldn't get my hopes up and that she wasn't sure what it was going to taste like. The first bite was amazing. The pastry melted in my mouth and had the taste of regular gluten crust. It was buttery and rich, not too sweet...it was perfect. The pumpkin pie filling was just as delicious. It had the perfect amount of spice to it and wasn't too dense or too sweet. My sister tried a bite of the crust and decided to go the gluten free route on the pie as well. Job well done Grandma. You had no reason to worry!

Sweet 16

2011-09-30T14:49:00.001-07:00

Noooo....I have not turned 16, but it has been 16 months since I last posted on The Gut Gazette.

After taking time off to focus on me and my health, I have decided to start blogging again :)

For the past 16 months+ I have been gaining my health back in all areas. Physical health, and mental/emotional health. I have been in more states of remession than flare ups, I have gained weight to now be at a healthy weight (which has decreased my Crohn's symptoms substantially), I have come to an agreement with myself that life is too short for worrying, the life in my eyes is back and I am the happiest I have ever been! I am also less restricted with what I eat now. I am able to eat some of the foods that I wasn't able to eat before, such as tomatoes, strawberries, oranges, sugar, chocolate :) , and corn. I am able to eat dairy in moderation, but too much sets me off. However, gluten is still a big no, and I have come to terms that I'll most likely never be able to eat it again (but I really shouldn't say "never").

The reason I have come back to blog is to create more awareness around Crohn's disease AND to blog about food and food products (one of my favourite things)!

I hope you enjoy my upcoming posts, there isn't much of a plan, I'm not going to dedicate hours to blogging, I'm just going to freely blog and go with the flow.

Take care!
M

Just a Drop

2010-06-21T04:52:00.000-07:00

If you deal with digestive issues, I am sure you can relate about the embarrassment you feel when using public washrooms...or just any washroom.

Well, my embarrassment has been banished, as I now use Just a Drop. I wish I had known about this all my life, it's so amazing how well it works. Just a Drop is a Canadian company from the East Coast that has created a product to eliminate bathroom odours. It is made from concentrated plant extract, making it environmentally friendly and safe for all toilets and septic systems. Before you do your buisness, you just squeeze a few drops in the toilet, and once you're done there's no smell at all, it's absolutely amazing.

There are three scents: Eucalyptus, Floral Oasis and Refreshing Spring

I like all of the scents, but my favourite would have to be the Eucalyptus. It is the most "refreshing", and smells more like a cleaning product. I find that the Floral Oasis sort of smells like an aersol spray...so it kind of gives it away that you had to use some sort of odor eliminator. The Refreshing Spring is also nice, it too smells like a cleaning product, but a little more intense then the Eucalyptus.

They even sell it 'to-go'! It's great to just carry around in your purse, or you can even stick it in your pocket.

There is also a travel size option, so you can take it on the plane with you with no problem. It's also nice and small, so you could also use it as a 'to-go' option.

According to the Just a Drop website, many people with medical conditions have turned to this product to relieve their embarrassments with bathroom odors, such as Crohn's Disease, Celiac, IBS, and Colitis. I'm so happy I've been able to try this, and honestly, I don't think I'll ever go anywhere without it again. I was a little skeptical at first to how well this would actually work, but my doubts were unneeded, as this is the best thing ever!!

You can order Just a Drop online, or if you click 'Where to Buy' on the website, you can see what stores carry it near you. Now go order some! You won't regret this purchase!!!

Have a great Monday!

The Winner!

2010-06-20T09:20:00.001-07:00

Well....I was definitely late at posting the winner of the CSN Giveaway, so sorry about that.

But here it is, finally...

Congratulations Erica! You have won the $50 gift certificate to spend how ever you like at any of the CNS Stores!!!

Erica said...I would spend it on this bakeware set: http://www.cookware.com/Pyrex-1058994-REX1001.html

Please send me your email so I can get you your prize!

Bad Blogger!

2010-06-18T14:16:00.000-07:00

Wow. I've totally been off the blog world for a couple weeks now - doesn't look like I'll be winning any blogger award, haha.

I'm glad many of you have shown interest in the CSN Giveaway, whoever wins will definitely have fun spending that $50 gift certificate!

This isn't much of a post, but I just want to give you an update of what's to come:

1. Heel 'n' Wheel-a-Thon 2010

2. Product Reviews

3. Gluten free bread update

I'm definitely going to get back on blogging tonight or tomorrow!!

Enjoy your Friday!!

xo Meg

My First Giveaway!

2010-06-02T13:36:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Can you believe it's Wednesday already?! I feel like it should be later in the week...yesterday felt like Thursday to me!

So, I have exciting news!!!

I'm so excited to write to this post right now, because this is The Gut Gazette's first ever giveaway! The lovely people over at CSN Stores gave me the opportunity to hold a giveaway for a $50 gift certificate for one lucky winner, to any of their online stores.

It's amazing how many stores CSN has, there are over 200! They have stores for pretty much everything. For example, they sell headboards, and mattresses, in their furniture store, expresso machines and microwave ovens in their housewares, fitness equipment, baby accessories, and my favourite kind of things which include cookware!

Sounds cool right? Well, if you want a chance at winning a $50 gift certificate to spend at any of the 200+ stores that CSN has to offer, then here's your chance to enter the contest!

There are 6 ways to enter (one entry per item you do, please comment letting me know what you have done!)

1. Comment on what you would spend with the $50

2. Add The Gut Gazette to your blog roll

3. Blog about this giveaway

4. Tweet about this giveaway

5. Follow me on The Gut Gazette

6. Add me to your Google Reader

The contest will be open for 2 weeks, so until June 16 at 5:oopm. I will pick the winner by Random Generator and announce it either in the evening of the 16th or on June 17th in the morning.

Good luck and have a great night!!!

Edit - TO NOTE: This giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents, sorry for not adding this before!!

Hug a Fat

2010-05-29T05:53:00.001-07:00

If you're not aware already, there's this little movement going around in the blogosphere called 'Hug a Fat Month'. Katie over at Chocolate Covered Katie started it to spread the word about healthy fats and how good they are for you.

Lots of people are afraid of incorporating fats into their diet, for fear of weight gain, high cholesterol and blood pressure and increased risk of heart disease. Many North Americans are drawn to low fat products such as skim milk, low fat cheese, zero fat yogurts, low fat pretzels and cookies and this and that. The fear of fats should be put to an end...well, I mean people should still fear unhealthy fats.

The truth of the matter of this low fat culture, is that some people aren't getting enough healthy fats, and healthy fats are a very essential factor in normal growth and development and maintaining good health. The body uses fats for many vital functions, I found a good write up on all of the different functions that fat uses here:

Brain – Fats compose 60% of the brain and are essential to brain function, including learning abilities, memory retention and moods. Fats are especially important for pregnant women, since they are integral to fetal brain development.
Cells – Fatty acids help your cells stay moveable and flexible, as well as being responsible for building cell membranes.
Heart – 60% of our heart’s energy comes from burning fats. Specific fats are also used to help keep the heart beating in a regular rhythm.
Nerves – Fats compose the material that insulates and protects the nerves, isolating electrical impulses and speeding their transmission.
Lungs – Lung surfactant, which requires a high concentration of saturated fats, enables the lungs to work and keeps them from collapsing.
Eyes – Fats are essential to eye function.
Digestion – Fats in a meal slow down the digestion process so the body has more time to absorb nutrients. Fats help provide a constant level of energy and also keep the body satiated for longer periods of time. Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) can only be absorbed if fat is present.
Organs – Fats cushion and protect your internal organs.
Immune System –Some fats ease inflammation, helping your metabolism and immune system stay healthy and functioning.

It's really interesting if you think about it: since the low fat revolution in North America, obesity rates have doubled...when you look at the Mediterranean diet of some European countries, their diets are full of healthy fats, olives, olive oil, nuts and fish...and they're perfectly healthy in healthy weight ranges.

The key is eating healthy fats.

Choose these fats more often instead of saturated and trans fats (which are the unhealthy fats):

Monounsaturated fatsfound in canola and olive oil, soft margarines with no trans fat, mayonnaise, nuts, avocados, and olives.

Polyunsaturated fats are found in a variety of nuts, seeds, oils, mayonnaise and soft margarines with no trans fat.

There are two important types of polyunsaturated fats that are essential as part of a healthy diet:

Omega-3 fats are found in fatty fish such as salmon, omega-3 eggs, canola oil, walnuts and margarine or mayonnaise made with canola oil.
Omega-6 fats are found in some nuts and seeds, safflower, sunflower and corn oils, and soft margarines with no trans fat.

My favourite healthy fats:

- avocado

- coconut oil/butter

- almonds

- sunflower seeds

- pumpkin seeds

- chia seeds

- olives

- olive oil

- salmon

What are your favourite healthy fats?

Well, that's my little rant about healthy fats. Of course you have to eat them in moderation, but that's just like everything else.

So go ahead and hug a fat....or 'phat' like Angela likes to call them.

Updates:

- Check out Katie's Artisana giveaway, you have a week to enter!!

- Ginger is the New Pink is holding a giveaway too, it's for ecomom.com (really cool!)

Friday with Figs

2010-05-28T04:33:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

Yet again, it is a gorgeous sunny, blue sky, bird chirping, scorching hot morning! I love waking up to blue sky days, they just make you so much more happier.

I keep forgetting to post a really good recipe I created a few days back, so I thought this morning would be the perfect morning to introduce it.

The past few weeks, I have been seeing fresh figs for a very good price in the grocery store, but every time I passed them I didn't know what I would use them for. When my Mom came to visit me last week, I knew the perfect use for them!

Fig, Pear and Almond Salad

(serves 2)

4 fresh figs

1 bosc pear

1/2 fennel bulb

1/4 cup dry roasted sliced almonds (slivered would work too)

2 cups baby spinach

Vinaigrette

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp curry powder

Wash and dry spinach. Place on the bottom of a plate (or bowl). Slice and dice up the fennel, place on top of the spinach. Slice pears and layer them over the spinach and fennel. Slice the figs and place on top of the pears. Dry roast the almonds in a pan over medium heat for a few minutes - watch carefully so that they don't burn. Sprinkle almonds over the salad. Mix together the vinegar, oil, mustard, honey and curry powder. Drizzle vinaigrette over the salad.

(Alternatively, you could probably just throw all of the ingredients into a large salad bowl and mix them together to serve...this way is just a little prettier.)

I really hope you enjoy this summer inspired salad! I had it with a gluten free pasta salad.

Enjoy your Friday!!

In Love.......with [me]&goji

2010-05-26T13:51:00.000-07:00

Wow. Okay, so I'm not complaining what so ever, but it is insanely hot right now. Especially since I'm in a place with no air conditioning for the time being. It really makes me realize how much I should appreciate air conditioning when I'm in it....and how much I would LOVE to be up at the cottage by a lake. *Sigh*. Oh well :), like I said, I'm not complaining, I think it's awesome that I get to walk around in a sun dress and sandals!

Hopefully where ever you are, you too are enjoying beautiful weather!

(And good eats too!)

I've been loving this gourmet cereal I got to create on [me]&goji.com. I was lucky enough to have [me]&goji give me the opportunity to make my own cereal blend that they shipped to me to review. It was so much fun to click and choose from over 60 all natural and organic ingredients. I went wild and clicked a bunch of delicious add ins!

I just loved this because I could choose what I was putting into my cereal. No refined sugars, no long worded ingredients that I didn't understand, no preservative or artificial flavours, just pure wholesome and healthy ingredients that were gluten free and safe for me to eat.

It's quiet fun, you first choose your base (the foundation of your mix). My foundation was gluten free (of course). I chose the GF Goji Oats. There is also one other gluten free option, it's called Flaxed & Flaked - certified gluten-free corn flakes with flax, amaranth and sesame seeds. I didn't do this one though because I'm still experimenting with how corn effects me. Next you "enhance you base", I chose quinoa flakes (gf) and ground cinnamon. This step isn't required, but why wouldn't you? There are so many yummy "enhancements", such as cocoa almonds, cocoa nibs, ground nutmeg, etc. After that you add your dried fruits (again, not required). I chose goji berries, blueberries, bananas, and cranberries. The next step is the nut and seed add in (but again, not required). I clicked sliced almonds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, and pumpkin seeds! Finally you choose the name of your creation. You could name it whatever you want, how fun is that!? My mix is called The Gut Gazette's GF Muesli. You can also choose to upload a photo, with the charge of $2.99 - I passed on that one. As much as I wanted a photo on my own mix, I didn't see the point as it was only for myself, but it would be a great idea if you were making the mix as a gift.

The capsule they send it in is HUGE!!! It's also such a creative way of storing the delicious goodness. Why do they use capsules? Well...the website states that it is:

influenced by modern-minimalist interior design, we aimed to create an aesthetically appealing package that sits on your countertop and not in the cupboard.

art meets science: both functional and attractive, the cylindrical design makes pouring easy and mess-free. no more difficult-to-open bags or flimsy boxes.

freshness is locked in with an easy, pull-off foil seal. once opened, a tightly fitting cap keeps cereal fresher, longer.

convenient and portable: fits in standard cupboards (if there is already one on your countertop) and makes taking cereal on-the-go easier than ever.

big value: packed with 50% more cereal (21oz, 600g) than the average box.

Are you in awe yet? Don't you just want to go and create your own blend???

Unfortunately (yes I know, don't you hate that word...), [me]&goji does NOT ship to Canada. Boo. They only ship to the States as of now. The reason? Shipping gets pricey!! I totally understand their logic...but also bummed out. Luckily I had it shipped to my grandparents placed in the states, where they kindly brought it back home for me.

(Random...but who knew blogging could be such a workout? It is so hot out that I'm sweating just sitting at my desk!)

Anyway, back to the cereal! The cool thing about my blend is that I can eat it hot or cold. There are instructions on the container on how to eat it as a hot cereal. All you do is cook it in water or milk, just like you would any other oatmeal. I think it would be pretty cool to make Vegan Overnight Oats with it too! All I have been doing is snacking on it by the fist full...tomorrow I'm definitely going to eat it for breakfast though.

There are so many cool things about this company, that I think my post would turn into a large essay if I kept rambling on about how awesome they are. [me]&goji gives 5% of their profits to local and regional charities, whose passion is to change the world. They themselves are also very environmentally friendly, click here to read about it all!

Now, if you aren't feeling creative enough to make your own mix, don't worry, they have recipes you can choose from, such as Adam's Apple, a gluten free blend of flaxed and flaked, apple, cinnamon, cranberry, goji, golden raisins and pumpkin seeds.

[me]&goji also makes great gifts! You can send a mix, give a gift certificate, or give a cereal subscription. Wow, I would love to get that gift!!

I could go on and on about this company, but I think I will leave you to click around their website yourself, who knows, maybe you will leave a few bucks less! Hopefully you do though, because this stuff is amazing!

Well, I think I should probably go get groceries, since dinner for me is almost here.

Have a great night!

Good for your SOL.

2010-05-25T13:53:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to trying Sol Cuisine's veggie burgers. I've been hearing so much about these frozen gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian patties, but there was never really a time that I wanted to eat them. I feel like burgers are a total summer bbq kind of food - they're not something I usually crave in the winter.

Up at the cottage this weekend, we were having a bbq for dinner one night, so I decided I would buy these veggie burgers for our Sunday night bbq. Not going to lie - they don't really compare to a juicy beef burger...but it was still nice to eat something that looked sort of similar to the rest of the families dinner. I felt normal having my dad bbq me a burger that I could eat, and I felt normal when I was sitting around the table layering condiments and veggies on a patty with the rest of the family.

I had my Mushroom and Rice burger on 2 slices of gluten free bread - the best gluten free bread in the universe, as the little bakery I get it from says it is. It is quite good. Full of seeds and different gluten free flours. It still doesn't beat Organic Works gluten free bread though.

I think you have to like mushrooms to enjoy this patty, as you could definitely taste the mushroom flavour. I love how there are gluten free, vegetarian burger options out there, but I'm not going to lie, I don't think I'll be running out any time soon to buy these again. They were okay, but they weren't the greatest. There wasn't much flavour to the patty, I had to try really hard to figure out the tastes in it. It did have the texture of a beef patty though, the box was right! I'll never say never though - I may try one of Sol's other veggie burgers (I do love Sol's soy yogurt though!!). I would love to make my own veggies burgers...anyone have any good recipes to share??

Beside from the "okay" burger...the weekend was SO lovely. It was such a beautiful hot weekend at the cottage, the lake was just screaming for me to jump in...however, the lake was a little too cold for my liking. I think I'll wait a few more weeks before I'm ready to take my first swim of the year.

Today is a really hot day, I probably should be outside enjoying it...but I'm feeling quite tired and lazy today. I had a really bad little flare up yesterday...it totally knocked me out...but I think I have to attribute it to the gin and tonic that I had for the second night in a row...I thought I was onto something! The first night I had it the alcohol didn't do anything to me...but once I had it the second night it hit me right away...stupid gut!

Anyway! Enjoy your Tuesday!! Anyone watching Glee/American Idol/The Biggest Loser tonight??? So many shows to juggle tonight :)

RISE - Appetite for Adventure

2010-05-23T08:12:00.001-07:00

Did you know that 20 million Canadians suffer from digestive disorders? You probably wouldn't have guessed that because most people who do suffer from digestive disorders are much too embarrased to talk about it.

Who wants to talk about gas, bloating, bowel movements and stomach pain? That's gross, right?

Wrong.

It should definitely not be gross. It's only part of being human, we all experience these symptoms...but some experience them to a much larger extent, suffering with disorders of the digestion system, such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and Celiac Disease.

There needs to be more awareness concerning digestive diseases. It should no longer be a taboo topic. Digestion is such an essential process in the human body, and when digestion isn't functioning properly, it should be taken more seriously.

RISE - Appetite for Adventure is the national fundraising event series for the Canadian Digestive Health Foundation (CDHF) which includes a number of different adventurous activities in three different provinces to raise money and awareness to help the 20 million Canadians who suffer from digestive diseases in Canada.

You don't have to be an athlete or even sporty to particiapte, you just have to bring a positive attitude and get ready for a fun filled adventure.

What is the purpose of RISE?

RISE for the Canadian Digestive Health Foundation is driven by three primary goals:

1) to raise $1 million+ for research and education

2) to increase awareness of digestive health and disease in Canada

3) to provide a team of extraordinary Canadians with an amazing lifetime adventure

In order to reach our goals, we are soliciting the support of corporate sponsors, seeking donations

from the public and enlisting an extraordinary team.

Which RISE Event is for You?

Alberta: July 4-7 : Wild Cave Exploration, Discover the Foothills on Horseback, Camp, Prairie

View Trail Hike, White Water Rafting

Ontario: July 11-13 : Blue Mountain Amazing Race, Crevice Hike, River Kayak

Quebec: July 18-21 : Via Ferrata, Diable River Canoe Exploration, Acrobranche, Nordic Bike Tour

For more information, visit the RISE homepage here, and for For a complete RISE - Appetite for Adventure Package, please contact the CDHF at Info@CDHF.ca with the subject line "Ready to Rise".

If you're not interested in partaking in the adventures, donations to the Canadian Digestive Health Foundation are always welcome. To donate you can click here.

Every penny counts, whether it is $2, $20, $200 or $2000...your donation will be put towards supporting initiatives that help reduce the incidence of digestive disorders, improve quality of life, support those living with digestive disorders and the professionals who care for them and, enhance education and research.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-08T18:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, and to all of you mothers and mothers-to-be out there!

First off, I would like to say that my Mom is the greatest. She's the best Mom in the whole world!

I know many of you could probably disagree with that statement, thinking that your Mom is actually the greatest...but don't we all think our Mothers are the greatest?

There aren't enough words to describe how great my Mom is, but I thought I would at least try with this.

My Mom is supportive, loving, caring, trusting, kind, respectful, understanding, thoughtful, helpful, talented, funny (and silly), creative, a role model and pretty much just amazing. She is such an amazing woman, so inspiring. She isn't just my Mom though - she's my best friend. I tell her everything, we can talk for hours on end and I just never get sick of her.

Even though Mother's Day is only once a year, it's pretty much every day, because Mothers should always be treated the best!

Make sure to spoil your mother today!

Have a lovely Sunday!!

Dessert for Breakfast?

2010-05-04T06:50:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had birthday cake for breakfast? Or "breakfast pie"? I know I have. When I was younger and could eat anything and everything, we would sometimes have our leftover birthday cake for breakfast or the leftover pie we had the night before, it was a very special treat!

This morning I had something that looked like it should have been a dessert, and quite honestly it probably could have been a dessert, as it was so sweet and delicious.

I made Angela's Vegan Overnight Oats for breakfast, with my own little twist. I've been wanting to try them ever since I saw them on Oh She Glows, but every night I would forget to make them, so obviously they were not in the fridge to meet me as I woke up in the morning. Last night however I did remember! It was so fun to just wake up and have breakfast all ready for me. I didn't have to slave over the stove making sure my oats didn't burn. I also didn't have to do any dishes!

Meg's Vegan Overnight Oats - Banana Maple Style

Before you hop in bed, combine:

1/3 gluten free oats

3/4 cups vanilla almond

1/2 mashed banana

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp flax meal

1 tsp salba seeds

Cover and place in the fridge.

Once you wake up, run to the fridge to eat your prepared breakfast!

Well, you can eat this alone...or you can make it into a parfait, like I did. The parfait was what made it look like dessert.

I used unsweetened plain soy yogurt.

So, get a bowl, or a glass, and alternately layer the overnight oats and the yogurt. At the end, top it with a dollop of nut butter - I used sunflower seed butter.

This was SO good !!! I can't wait for tomorrow morning!

If you're an oatmeal lover, you have to try this one.

Sunday Night Dinner

2010-05-02T15:03:00.000-07:00

What a lovely weekend! The weather was so warm and the trees and flowers are blooming like crazy. Did you all have a nice weekend?

I went to Chapters in search of some books Saturday, but it was crazy busy and I forgot a coupon that was going to give me half off any second book...so, I came home empty handed and went onto Amazon...where I got 4 books for the price of 2, it was great! We also went to see a really funny movie Saturday night, Death at a Funeral. We saw the original British version and thought it was hilarious, so we went to the theaters to see the American version - it was even funnier.

Yesterday I did a big spring cleaning of my room, throwing out things that I really don't need any more...things that I've been holding onto for much too long. It feels nice to finally get rid of them. I also went for a nice long walk with my sister, it was nice being able to walk around in shorts and tanks and not being cold!

In the afternoon I made a Gluten free, Refined sugar free Fruit Crumble for dessert. It felt so satisfying to pick fresh rhubarb from our garden and put it to use.

We didn't get to eat it until after our dinner though....I guess that's why it's called dessert! Our dinner was soooo good though. Mom made a roast chicken with carrots and onion, sweet potatoes, green beans and asparagus. Yum, yum, yum!

Mom said the dinner wasn't "blog worthy" to take a picture of.

Gluten Free/Refined Sugar Free Fruit Crumble

Filling:

2 cups chopped rhubarb

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 apple chopped

1 pear chopped

1.5 tsp stevia powder (5 packets)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup maple syrup

Topping:

3/4 cup white rice flour

1 cup gf oats

1 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup apple sauce

1 tbsp safflower oil

4 tsp maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

First, chop all of the fruit into 1/2 inch chunks. Throw the fruit, stevia, cinnamon and maple syrup in one bowl. Stir until combined. Grease a baking dish and then place the fruit mixture on the bottom of the dish. In another bowl, mix together the topping ingredients until moist and crumbly. Crumble the topping over the fruit until covered. Pop into the oven for 40 minutes until golden.

Serves ~6 people.

Serve with ice cream, frozen yogurt, plain yogurt, or eat on its own.

This makes a great dessert, or you could even eat for breakfast with yogurt!

This dish was great. The whole family loved it and thought it was nice and sweet. I was so happy it turned out sweet, as rhubarb is such a bitter vegetable.

Did you know rhubarb was a vegetable? I always thought it was a fruit! Did you know that one cup of rhubarb provides 348 mg of calcium, that is as much as a glass of milk!

Wow. You learn something new everyday, don't you!

Well, it looks as if it's going to be a sunny day today! Enjoy your Monday everyone :)

Tulips are my favourite flower. They make me so happy and get me excited that warm weather is on its way!

Last month was 'daffodil month' in support of the Canadian Cancer Society. They're still blooming in our garden though. They're such a beautiful cheery flower!

Updates:

- Check out Katie's giveaway!

- Look! My Operation Beautiful note was posted!

Okay...now I'm off to yoga!!

1 Year Yesterday!

2010-04-26T13:03:00.001-07:00

I can't believe I didn't acknowledge that yesterday was The Gut Gazette's 1st Birthday!

For this whole month I keep reminding myself that it has almost been 1 year since I did my first post, and today as I checked when my first post was, I realized that it was April 25...oops. Oh well, that's why there's such a word as 'belated', right?

A little over 1 year ago, I was starting to be in a better place with the fact that I had to deal with gut issues day in and day out...I still wasn't very accepting, but I was open about the fact and trying everything I could to heal my stomach. I decided that I wanted to start up a blog, to document my journey to a healthier life...I wasn't exactly sure the direction my blog would go in, but I knew I wanted to blog about things that have helped me, so that maybe, perhaps, I could help someone else.

So I knew I wanted to start a blog, and I knew that I wanted to help others with digestive disorders...but I had no clue how to blog or anything along those lines. I'm not sure the exact words I typed into the google search engine, but I typed in something along the lines of Crohn's disease, and the first link that popped up was Dancing Through Life, a blog written by Ashley about her "journey as a Weight Watchers member, leader, and young woman with Crohn's disease." Her blog was SO cool (and still is), and I spent a couple hours or so just browsing through her posts. I hadn't met any one else who had Crohn's and lots of food intolerances. I thought it was so cool how much I could relate to her! I then found another blog from Ashley's blog roll called Making Love in the Kitchen, it's a blog written by a woman named Meghan, who has essentially healed herself from Crohn's all through diet and lifestyle. Again, SO cool!!!

After a few days of reading through fellow bloggers and researching what blogs were all about, I brainstormed a name for my blog and came up with 'The Gut Gazette'. April 25th was the day I created my Blogger account and wrote my first post. When I look back at that first post, I laugh. It was so boring and impersonal. The first few months were very boring posts, I really didn't know what the heck I was doing, and I was just writing posts about knowledge that really wasn't of much interest for many people. I feel so embarrassed when I look at my old posts, but it has all been a learning experience and it still is. Today I JUST put up my picture. There is finally a face behind Meg's Gut.

I wonder if this cake is gluten free?

I've definitely come a long way from my first post on April 25, 2009, but I know that my blog is yet to still develop. It is always growing, but I know that it will always be a blog about my journey to a healthier gut and soul!

Thank you for all who read The Gut Gazette, I love doing it and I love receiving comments and/or emails!

Feel free to drop me a line whenever, and I love getting comments...so don't hesistate to do so!

Have a great week!

xo Meg

CheeCha, CheeCha, CheeCha!

2010-04-24T11:52:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago the wonderful people over at CheeCha sent me a box filled of their delicious potato puff snacks, in an array of yummy flavours. It was SO nice of them to send me it, my tummy has been very happy! Also in the box were some post it notes (perfect for studying), a pen with a highlighter on the tip (so cool), and a great alternative to a plastic water bottle.

I really like CheeCha Puffs, they sort of taste like potato chips, but a lot more lighter and not oily at all, as they are air puffed. I kind of think of these little guys as a cross between chips and popcorn, as they taste like chips, but they're popped like corn. The best thing about this snack is that they're gluten free, dairy free, nut free, cholesterol free, MSG free and non GMO! How great is that!?

There are 5 flavours: Luscious Lime, Mediterranean Ginger, Original, Sea Salt and Spiced Pepper, and Sea Salt and Vinegar.

The Lusicious Lime was not included in the package from them, but I found it at one of my local grocery stores and picked up that flavour.

Mediterranean Ginger: Tastes a bit like the Lusiciuos Lime, but with lemon instead, not a very strong flavour though - I couldn't really taste the ginger. There wasn't a huge hint of lemon, the flavour was very close to the Original. Rating = 7/10

Original: Tastes like plain potato chips, without the grease. I feel like these would be good dipped in hummus or chip dip, yum! Rating = 7.5/10

Sea Salt and Spiced Pepper: Have you ever had Lay's Salt and Pepper chips? They taste a lot like those, again without the grease, and 1/3 less the calories and 1/6 less the fat. I enjoyed the initial taste, but I wasn't a fan of the after taste - I had the taste of onion and garlic left in my mouth...yuk. Rating = 6/10

Sea Salt and Vinegar: Tastes exactly like salt and vinegar chips, smelled like them too. I really liked this flavour! Rating = 10/10!

Luscious Lime: My favourite flavour. They were sweet and tangy at the same time. They made you pucker a little bit, but they also had a sweet falvour, probably from the evaporated cane sugar. These reminded me a bit of Tostitos Hint of Lime :) Rating = 10/10!

(Source)

Thanks again CheeCha!!!

Well, I am officially done for the summer! I had my last exam last night, and it feels so great to just sit down with a cup of tea and blog without the nagging feeling of having to study, study, study! Have a wonderful weekend!

You Are Beautiful

2010-04-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

My oh my! It's been a week since my last post...and this post is going to be a quick one too...

I've been studying my brains out for exams. I have 2 more left, 1 Wednesday and 1 Friday...then SUMMER!! SO excited! I just wanted to say a quick "hi" and leave you with this note I wrote for Operation Beautiful.

Have you heard of Operation Beautiful?

Caitlin from Healthy Tipping Point started this movement as a way to "end negative self-talk or “Fat Talk.” It is to "help women and girls realize how truly toxic fat talk is". Anonymous people write notes in public places — at work, at the gym, at the grocery store, and scribble down whatever comes to mind — “You are beautiful!” or “You are amazing just the way you are!” Some people read them and just smile, but some people are truly touched by the effort of a random stranger.

I think this is SO cool, and I love the fact that people are starting to take a stance on the fact that everyone is beautiful just the way they are. There shouldn't be one type of body that is the "ideal" body, everyone is different, and we should except what we have. Being super skinny is not healthy, nor is being too overweight. Being healthy is what is most important.

I urge you to start acting in this movement of Operation Beautiful...or at least check out the website...you will leave the site with a smile on your face feeling 10x better than you did going to it!

Mindless Television Well Needed

2010-04-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

Another full day of studying, and yet again my brain is crying for me to stop packing so much information into it, gahhh! It was very happy once it was dinner and I could sit down to watch some mind-numbing tv, where I wouldn't have to think. Gossip Girl and roasted kabocha are a great pair.

I should have never re-introduced ketchup back into my diet. I'm pretty sure it's making me feel sick every time I eat it, but now I crave it! I keep thinking "maybe it will be okay this time..." I really hope that this time will be the time! If not though, then this is definitely the last squeeze of ketchup for me!

I also made some "carrot fries" - this time cooked, something that kbwood posted on her blog the other day and I was just craving! (Is it weird I crave cooked carrots...?) Anyway, I also roasted up some "zuchinni fries",

cooked up some quinoa flakes with curry and agave

and had a side salad with dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and crunched up Mary's Sticks and Twigs.

In other news, I made it onto Angela's (from Oh She Glows) Health News Round up yesterady night! I was so excited to see that I was on her list, as a "Quinoa Protein Bowl Spotting"! That was a delicious dinner, I highly recommend you try it!

Anyway, back to le studying. Hope you are all having a lovely night!

xoxo gossip girl.

Meet My New Love

2010-04-12T15:43:00.000-07:00

Oh my. I think I have found a new love.

Yesterday I found a recipe for vegan chocolate posted by Averie from Love Veggies and Yoga. It was super easy and quick, so I thought I would try making it during a study break, substituting carob instead of cocoa.

I doubled the recipe and it took less than 5 minutes to make. I licked the bowl to taste it and wow....I thought I was eating chocolate. I made my roommate try it and she said it tasted like real chocolate pudding! So I stuck it in the freezer to solidify, and once I brought it out I chopped it up into pieces. Although it tasted like chocolate, it didn't have the crunch that chocolate has. It was more like fudge - amazing though.

"Carobolate" Fudge

2 tbsp coconut oil (warmed up to a liquid)

3 tbsp agave syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 tbsp carob

Mix all of the ingredients together. Line a little dish with plastic wrap and pour the mixture in. Cover and freeze until solid. Unwrap the plastic and cut into bite size pieces. Keep in the fridge.

When I came home from my exam today (yup, 1 down!) my brain was thinking about how I could make this carob fudge into a crunchy chocolate, I realized I probably put too much agave nectar in. So round #2. I created the recipe again, making a bigger batch and not adding as much agave. It froze within minutes and voila, it was like I was biting into a piece of dark chocolate. How I have missed you chocolate.

"Carobolate"

3 tbsp coconut oil (heat until liquid)

4 tbsp carob

1 tbsp agave syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix all of the ingredients together. Line a plate with plastic wrap. Pour the mixture onto the plate and spread until even and about 1/4 inch thick. Cover and place in freezer. This will solidify within 15-25 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and break into pieces. Keep in the fridge.

I ate a decent amount of it before packing it up to stick in the fridge, and then I hit my desk to start studying for Wednesday's exam. While I studied all I could think about was my new find...how could I modify this recipe again? A brilliant idea came to mind! I made fruit and seed carob clusters. I made them super healthy too. And, within minutes of solidifiing in the freezer, it came out exactly how I planned. These little gems are SO good!!!

Healthy Carob Fruit and Seed Clusters

3 tbsp coconut oil (heat until liquid)

4 tbsp carob

1 tbsp *Fibre Sure (or Metamucil or Benefibre)

1 tbsp ground flax

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

Mix the first 4 ingredients together, and then add the fruit and seeds. Pour onto a lined plate and spread evenly. Cover and stick in the freezer. This will solidify within 10-15 minutes. Remove plastic wrap and break into chunks.

*Fibre Sure is gluten free

So yes, I think I have found a new love.

Now I must go and make dinner, as I just totally had dessert first! Who said dessert has to come after?

Lazy Smoothies

2010-04-11T07:36:00.000-07:00

When you're too lazy to throw in your own ingredients to make a smoothie, pre-made smoothies never fail. Although homemade smoothies are my number one choice...when I'm too hungry to wait for the Magic Bullet to do it's..."magic", I turn to the pre-made one in the fridge!

I really like this pre-made, store bought smoothie by President's Choice Blue Menu. It's 'Wild Blueberry and Acai"...and it is PACKED with delicious fruits!

Read: 180 blueberries (do you think they actually count out 180???); 24 black berries, 270 acai, 1 3/4 apples, 2 banans, 3/4 pear. Delish!

I enjoyed my smoothie with a sprinkle of flax and made my self a nice big yogurt/apple sauce mess.

Vanilla soy yogurt (the best I've ever had - Solgurt by Sol Cuisine, tastes nothing like soy yogurt...so smooth and creamy), unsweetened applesauce, 1 nectarine, Perky's Crunchy Flax, Nature's Path Rice Crisps, soy nuts, raisins and a sprinkle of cinnamon...all mixed together = yum! It actaully reminded me of my dinner I had last night (Protein Power Bowl)...although, it definitely didn't taste the same...thank goodness - I don't think I could stomach curry in the morning.

Funny story actually...a few weeks ago as I woke up at 6:30 for my 8:30 class, I went to sprinkle my usual cinnamon on my bowl of oats; however, the only source of light in the kitchen was the overhead light of the stove, and the jars that hold my spices are all the same looking...so I actually didn't really pay to much attention to what spice jar I picked up. As I started shaking away at my cinnamon...I realized that cumin was the ingredient being sprinkled onto my morning oats, the oats with vanilla almond milk, honey, bananas and sunflower seed butter. I was not impressed. I didn't have time to make a whole other bowl, and I was not excited about the idea of wasting all that food. So I simply scraped off as much cumin as I could. Here and there I would get a hint of cumin in my spoon, but really it wasn't too awful...it kind of made me think that savory oats really wouldn't be too bad...just not with bananas and nut butter!

This breakfast really filled me up. I was actually just a little too full for comfort. It definitely kept me satisfied until lunch time rolled around at 1:30...4 hours of fullness!

For lunch I had one of my favourite go-to lunches, a huge mix of everything salad. I love throwing a bunch of stuff into a tupperware with a bit of lettuce, pouring in some dressing and shaking it up. They're by far my favourite lunches. Today's salad had red peppers, fennel, cucumbers, carrots, chickpeas and pickles. Usually I add some form of dried fruit, but I just wasn't feeling it today. My dressing was honey mustard and apple cider vinegar. Yum! I also had some Super Slim Brown Rice Garden Vegetable crackers on the side.

I got to eat lunch while studying for my exam tomorrow...how fun....not!

I did some hard core procrastination between 4-5:30 this afternoon...I went for a walk, cleaned the kitchen, called my Mom, and I made carob "chocolate"! I saw a recipe for vegan chocolate on Love Veggies and Yoga, and I just had to try making it! It was super easy and took no time to make. I substituted carob powder instead of the chocolate though. It's still in the freezer hardening up, so I'll post about it tomorrow.

Once dinner came, I really wasn't in the mood to cook anything up, so I turned to another one of my favourite go-to dinners. Gluten free toast with sunflower seed butter and veggies. It never fails and honestly, I could probably eat toast every meal of the day. I had my favourite gluten free bread, Organic Works! This kind was Rice and Millet...it's pretty yummy.

One slice with sunflower seed butter and raspberry fruit spread, the other with sunflower seed butter and honey!

Nut butters + honey are my favourite combo, sweet and salty, yum yum. What are your favourite combos on toast?

Now I'm pretty much done my studying for the night...I need to get to bed early for my morning exam tomorrow...a nice 6:30 wake up call for tomorrow morning.

P.S - I got formspring! I have the box located on the right hand column bar. Ask away!

OSG Protein Power Bowl

2010-04-11T06:48:00.000-07:00

As I said in my post yesterday afternoon, once I read about Angela's Protein Power Bowl yesterday morning, it was all I thought about ALL day!! Dinner finally rolled around and I was just so excited to make it. I used fennel instead of onion, quinoa flakes instead of waiting 30-40 minutes for real quinoa to cook, and I didn't add garlic but I did add a few other goodies.

Angela's version can be found here.

Meg's Version of Protein Power Bowl:

- 1/3 cup quinoa flakes

- 1/4 cup Perky's Crunch Flax (who said you had to have cereal with milk?)

- 1/3 cup chickpeas

- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds

- 1 tbsp ground flax

- 1/2 cup fennel

- 5 asparagus spears

- sprinkle of GF tamari

- 1 tsp curry powder

Cook the quinoa flakes in 2/3 cups of water for about 90 seconds (or as the instructions on the box read). Sauté the fennel and asparagus together. Pretty easy right? Then just throw it all in a bowl and add the toppings!

The quinoa flakes are hiding underneath the mess of all of the other deliciousness.

YUM! It was definitely what I was expecting..but better. I loved all of the crunchy textures and different tastes I added it. I was hesitant when I used tamari after I had put the curry in, but it was actually quite delicious. I will definitely make this again and it kept me feeling full for quite a long time.

I also had raw carrot fries with ketchup. I know, I know...sounds a little odd right? But trust me, don't bash it until you try! Do you like sweet potato fries with ketchup? Then you will like these! Such a good combo!

Well, I must go make some brain food for my long day of studying...tomorrow is my first exam!!! I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty nervous for it...it just crept up way to quickly. Have a wonderful Sunday :)

Getting My Study Break On!

2010-04-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

My mind feels like mush! How much can a girl study in a 1 day??

I honestly just can't wait to be done with exams, it will be so awesome to be on 4 months of summer...even though I'll be taking 2 distant education courses.

I promised myself I was going to work really hard until dinner time rolled around and then call it quits for the night...but my little brain couldn't justify that, it needed a break, hence why I've turned to blogging hehe.

While I was studying for my social psychology course, I came across this quote on the page:

It really clicked home with me, and I thought I would share it with you all :)

On another note, I bought this book the other day at Chapters:

Meditation, week by week, by David Fontana.

I've really been wanting to learn how to meditate for a while now, so I've decided to finally give in to it!

The book has 52 different meditations to try out over 52 weeks, being 1 year. The book says that each meditation doesn't have to be practiced everyday, but that these practices are intended to be practices for as long as you desire. The book reads "in the year ahead put aside conventional ideas of progress, of measuring how far you have travelled each week and each month. Notice instead how sometimes you seem to come a long way in a single meditation session, while at other times you may feel you're slipping back even beyond your starting point. Do not be elated by the first kind of expereince or disspointed by the second. These observations are essentail lessons about your mind. Distracting emotions such as elation and disappointment are part of the obstacles that have to be overcome on the path to self-discovery." I'm really looking forward to this new challenge! I'll be updating each week on the new meditation practice I have learned.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to dinner tonight - I'm going to make the Protein Power Bowl that Angela made last night...once I read about it this morning at breakfast, it is all I have been thinking about ALL day!!

Question: Do you meditate? Have you ever tried?

Kabocha Squash!

2010-04-09T07:29:00.000-07:00

Guess what? I finally found kabocha squash at Whole Foods (as I mentioned in my last post)! I have been looking everywhere for this supposedly amazing squash. I've read about it in so many other blogs, and it just looked SO good!

I wasn't really sure how to cook it, but I figured that most of you just slice it up and bake it...am I right? I baked it for half an hour until it became golden and fork tender.

Man oh man was it good! I think butternut squash may be beat out by this little guy. It was almost like the consistency and texture of a dense sweet potato, but tasted like a cross between butternut and acorn squash. I loved how I could eat the skin too! It was crispy and nutty flavoured. I think next time I will also roast the seeds, because some of the seeds were stuck to the flesh when I baked it, so I peeled them off and ate them and wow were they yummy. They tasted like pumpkin seeds...but better!

I dipped my kabocha squash in ketchup...which I probably shouldn't have done as I'm paying for it this morning. Ketchup = acidic = not so good on the tum.

Oh well...it was worth it!

How do you eat your kabocha squash? Do you dip it anything?

Sorry for such a short post! I know I have been lacking in my posts the past few days...but my first exam is only 3 days away and I'm thinking school comes before blogging.

A Date with Banana Coconut Muffins

2010-04-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

Easter everyone! I took a little break of blogging over the weekend to enjoy a computer free weekend with my family. The weather was gorgeous! We couldn't believe it was only early April, it was definitely a shock to our bodies. We had our Easter dinner on Saturday night, enjoyed with this beautiful view of the sunset.

Unfortunately I still had to study this weekend, as this week is my last week of classes, and then I start exams next Monday...so I probably won't be blogging during exam time.

Anyway! Today my Mom and I went down to Whole Foods, I love that store. It was fun, but I don't think I need to make the trek back down there again, as the natural health food store I have found near me has almost everything as Whole Foods has, plus more. I did however enjoy Whole Food's salad bar. I've been wanting to try it for so long, as I keep reading about the amazing salad bar experiences others have had. I didn't take a picture of it, but I had baby spinach, steamed kale, red cabbage, beet root, asparagus, red quinoa, mixed beans and watermelon. Yum! It was soooo good. It was pretty inexpensive as well...$6.47 or something like that. I bought some new soy yogurt to try, vegan mozzarella cheese, nice big Pink Lady apples, kabocha squash (which I have been longing to try), and we got a bunch of veggies and chicken to make a chicken stir fry for tonight.

This afternoon I had the itch to bake. So I ended up doing so.

I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to bake, but I knew I wanted bananas in it. Whenever I think of bananas in something, I think of muffins...so I created Banana - Coconut - Date Muffins.

A Date with Banana Coconut Muffins:

1 cup all purpose gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)

1 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1.5 tsp gluten free baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 eggs (or 2 tbsp flax meal + 6 tbsp water)

3 bananas mashed

1/3 cup apple sauce

1/3 cup honey

1 cup milk (almond, rice, soy or dairy)

1/4 cup shredded coconut

5 honey dates chopped

1/2 cup raisins

Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, dates, raisins and coconut.

In a separate bowl mash the bananas, mix in the apple sauce, honey and eggs or egg substitute.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients together.

Spoon into a greased or lined muffin tin.

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. - this time was based on mini muffins...it will probably take a bit longer if you make large muffins.

Makes 24 mini muffins or 12 large muffins. You could also make a loaf out of this.

They turned out delicious. Very moist and not too dense. The banana is very distinctive, so you can only taste the coconut subtly. These would be very good spread with a little coconut butter, or Earth Balance.

On a different note, I just wanted to take the time to say 'thank you' for everyone who reads my blog, and welcome the new readers! Please don't hesitate to ask questions or leave comments, I love hearing from you! Also, does any have any suggestions for kabocha squash? I can't wait to try it!

I'm No Fool!

2010-04-01T14:15:00.001-07:00

Last night I went to bed thinking that tomorrow (being today) was just another ordinary day...until I set my alarm and realized that tomorrow (today) was April 1st! I love April Fool's Day! It is an excuse to play jokes on people and not feel bad! It took my a while to doze off last night, as my mind was racing with pranks that I could play. I didn't really think of anything too good, just some silly texts that I ended up sending my friends. I fooled them though...well most of them!

This week has been a bit of a crazy week, I've had lots of school work and appointments, and just trying to get organized before I came back home for Easter. Now I'm back home, and I'm just itching to get into the kitchen. I've already put the oven and food processor to use, within the the past three hours I've been here. I got home with a fresh loaf of gluten free sandwich bread that was new to me, I hadn't tried the brand yet. I sliced it up, and to my surprise discovered that I got ripped off! The bread was hollow in the center! I paid $6 for a hollow loaf of bread - it more just like a crust. It tasted awful too. I feel bad for the people who are just buying this gluten free bread and thinking that this is what they have to live off of...because I have found so many delicious gluten free breads that are so amazing! My mom tasted a piece and was grossed out, she said she needed to cleanse her palate with some chocolate...I wish I could've done the same! She told me to just throw it out - but I felt so bad wasting a huge loaf of expensive speciality bread...so I decided to slice it up and toast it under the broiler, which I then transfered to the food processor and made some gluten free bread crumbs. The bread crumbs tasted much better then the actual loaf.

Now I just have to think of some uses for these crumbs! Any suggestions?

Only $1.89

2010-03-28T08:02:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have tasted coconut butter, I am sure you can agree that it is beyond tasty. It's one of the most delicious tasting foods I think I have ever had. I like eating it in my oats, on a sweet potato, in yogurt, in apple sauce and by the spoonful. The only downside to it is that it's SO expensive. $16 for a jar of this gold.

I was so excited a couple weeks ago when Heather posted a recipe for homemade coconut butter. I couldn't believe how easy it was for her to make her own.

On Friday I decided to take on the task and make my own jar...for only $1.89!

This bag of unsweetened desiccated coconut butter cost a small price of $1.89.

I poured the whole thing into a food processor, pressed the 'on' button, and let it spin away for 20 minutes.

Then I poured it into an empty mason jar, screwed on the lid and I placed it in the refrigerator...although it doesn't need to be kept refrigerated, I wanted it to cool faster to see what the very end product looked like.

Before going into the fridge.
After!

I then found a 1/2 full bag of desiccated coconut in the baking drawer, I also saw that I had some carob flour in the cupboard....hmmmm, Artisana makes chocolate coconut butter....I wonder what carob coconut butter would be like. So I dumped the bag of coconut into the food processor, yet again (after taking 5 minutes to wash and dry it) and then added 3 tbsp of carob flour...I turned it on for 20 minutes (poor food processor, I bet it was getting tired) and voila! I had carob coconut butter.

Once they were both solidified, I had to warm them back up again so that I could taste them....again!

They don't have the same texture as Artisana's coconut butter, they're a little grainy...but who cares! It was less than $2 and it tastes like the real thing!!! YUM!

By the way, the carob coconut butter is amazing, I love it. I drizzled it over my apples and it was pretty delicious.

Honey Chai Spiced Almonds

2010-03-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

I'm in an almond phase! I really enjoyed the Maple Almond Chicken that we had last night, the sweet tastes with the almonds were a really great pair, so that is why today I decided that I was going to roast up some sweet snacking almonds. I didn't want to do the traditional honey glazed almond, I wanted to spice it up a bit...which I literally did!

Enter:

Honey Chai Spiced Almonds!

3 tbsp honey

2 tbsp safflower oil

1 tsp powdered stevia

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp ground ginger

3 cups raw almonds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the honey, oil and spices altogether in a bowl. Mix in the almonds until each nut is coated.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or you can grease it), spread the almonds on the pan and bake for 18 minutes. Once 18 minutes is up, take out and stir, stick back in the oven for another 5 minutes. Take out and let cool. The almonds will probably stick together, so just break them up.

They were simple to make and made the kitchen smell like chai tea. They're also hard to keep your hands off once they've cooled. Enjoy!

Maple Almond Chicken

2010-03-25T16:49:00.000-07:00

Even though I have a fully functioning kitchen at school, I just don't have as much motivation, inspiration or creativity to cook and bake as I do at home. This afternoon when I came home for the weekend, I started scavenging through my Cooking Without cookbook by Barbara Cousins, a cookbook with recipes free of gluten, dairy, sugars, yeast, salt and saturated fat. I found one recipe that I really wanted to make called Chicken Polo, it was a tagine style dish with dried apricots, cinnamon and almonds (doesn't that sound amazing!?). The only problem was that I didn't have any dried apricots, and I didn't think it would be the same without them.

I really like the combination of chicken and almonds, so I googled the two ingredients and my lovely friend google found me a delicious recipe from the Canadian Living magazine - Maple Almond Chicken. It turned out really yummy, although the cooking time took a little longer then the recipe said it would and I kept having to add more stock to the pot to prevent the carrots from burning to the bottom. Next time I think I will brown the chicken and bake it in the oven until fully cooked, and then add it to the pot of the carrot-maple sauce.

I also modified this dish to make it gluten and caisen free (the '*' indicates my modifications).

Maple Almond Chicken (modified*)

*1/4 cup brown rice flour

*1 tsp dried rosemary

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

*2 tbsp safflower oil

1.5 cups gluten free chicken stock

* 1 cup chopped carrots

* 1 tbsp maple syrup (honey or agave syrup could work too)

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup chopped almonds, toasted

In a resealable plastic bag combine flour, rosemary, salt and pepper; add chicken and shake to coat. Reserve any remaining flour mixture.

In a large Dutch oven, heat *oil over medium heat, brown the chicken, about *5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Add reserved flour mixture to pan; cook, stirring for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the stock. Add carrots, maple syrup and vinegar; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 6 minutes.

Return the chicken to the pan; cook over medium heat, covered until no longer pink inside and almost no liquid remains, *10-12 minutes (you may have to add in more stock at this point if the liquid at the bottom begins to burn and stick to the bottom). Stir in almonds at the end.

If you try this recipe, I would recommend browning the chicken first and then baking it for 35-40 minutes (or until fully cooked) at a 350 degree F oven, and then adding it to the pot with the carrots and maple sauce. If you try this approach, let me know how it turns out!

This was a delicious dinner, I served it with brown rice on top of a bed of lettuce, and a mix of roasted brussels, zucchini, mushrooms and celery.

To view the original recipe, click here.

Tomorrow is Friday! Have a good night! I'm off to watch the Vampire Diaries (don't judge - it's good!!)

Cook's Mission: Apricot + Pretzels

2010-03-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

There's a new and exciting mission out in the blog world, it's the Cook's Mission: The Mystery Basket Competition created by Mae over at Ohh May.... The task is to create a an original recipe using all of the mystery ingredients. You send in your recipe and it is posted on the Cook's Mission website. People then vote for the best recipe, and every Sunday night the winners are announced. The winners then get to choose the next mystery ingredients for the upcoming weeks challenge! Exciting eh? The mystery basket ingredients for the first week are apricots and pretzels, so here is my little concoction.

When I heard that the mystery ingredients were apricots and pretzels, all that kept coming to my mind was some form of trail/snack mix. I was excited that I could put to use my newly bought (as of today) organic dried apricots from the Bulk Barn, and I also now had a reason to go out and buy Mary's Organic Sticks and Twigs, as I hadn't tried them until today (product review to come!). Who doesn't like a good old snack mix? I love snack mixes and one that included apricots and GF pretzels was definitely on my agenda for today.

Gluten Free Pretzel and Apricot Snack Mix:

14 dried organic apricots chopped

1 cup Mary's Organic Sticks and Twigs Sea Salt, broken into thirds

1/3 cup dried cranberries (mine consist of a mixture of orange flavoured, raspberry flavoured and original)

1/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup Perky's Crunchy Flax Cereal

1/3 cup soy nuts

1/3 cup dry roasted edamame

1/4 cup gluten free, dairy free carob chips

Mix all together and store in a re-sealable container.

This turned into this:

I'm storing mine in a re-sealable container and keeping in the fridge to keep it fresher.

Chop your apricots like this.

Roasted edamame

Soy nuts!

This is a great little snack mix, you can put it in a bowl for parties, munch on it during a movie, pack it in your lunch or just pack it for a t0-go snack!

You can also add a whole lot of other ingredients, such as:

- other types of dried fruit (apple, mango, banana, prunes, dates, etc)

- different types of nuts (almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, etc.)

- seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, hemp, chia, flax, sesame, etc.)

- chocolate chips

- chocolate/yogurt covered raisins

- other types of cereals (corn flakes, rice puffs, etc.)

- cinnamon

- carob powder or cocoa powder to make it more "chocolaty"

The list is endless, use your imaginations and throw anything you wish in!

Make sure to check out Cook's Mission - The Mystery Basket Competition to vote for your favourite recipe!

What a mess!

A Sleepy Day

2010-03-23T13:30:00.001-07:00

Today has definitely not been an 'energy day'. I felt that right when I got out of bed this morning. Even after my 10 hour sleep, I still didn't feel very recharged. As I walked to class my legs just didn't really want to walk, and when I sat in class all I really wanted to day was put my head down and sleep (but I didn't, I payed attention to the prof!).

I had the intention of coming home from class, eating lunch and making my way to the gym, but that just wasn't going to happen. I found myself crawling into bed and sleeping for an hour and a half. Now I'm at my desk, with my cozy clothes on, drinking my favourite tea. Now is the time that I wish we had cable so I could turn on some Oprah! I've decided to skip the gym altogether today, it's not worth pushing my body to do something if my body doesn't really want to work out. It's a good thing to listen to our bodies, if they want sleep - give 'em sleep! How many more hours until bedtime??

"Learning Life" - Isn't it true?

Have I mentioned I've started getting acupuncture treatments?

Yep, it's the real thing! Last February (2009) on a vacation in Florida, I saw a Holisitic practitioner, who taught me about the warm diet, she gave a me an acupuncture treatment too and holy crap did it hurt! I winced (or maybe screamed) right when she did the point on my foot, which represents my spleen (a key role in digestion). I was SO afraid to start going back to do acupuncture treatments, I hate pain and I wasn't going to put myself through unneeded pain.

A couple months ago I started seeing a new naturopath (yes, another one! the previous one I was seeing a few months ago left to go on sabbatical) and wow, do I love her! She has been really helpful and she really knows her stuff. She's helping me with my IBD, but also helping to bring my period back...She informed me that she does acupuncture treatments, and that she thought it would be beneficial if I gave them a try. I was a little hesitant at first, because I really didn't want to be paying to be in discomfort, so she told me that she would do acupressure my first go round, and then I could decide if I wanted to go ahead with the needles or not.

Off I went to my first acupressure treatment, where she placed ear seeds on the meridians that stimulate digestion and on the meridians for the female reproduction cycle. Ear seeds look like tiny little Band-Aids, with a very tiny metal ball underneath the sticky fabric. The metal ball helps stimulate the pressure point. Ear seeds are mainly used for the ear, for a therapy called 'auricular therapy', also known as ear acupuncture. Did you know that all over your ear there are points that represent every single part of the body? Crazy eh!? She uses the ear seeds all over the body though.

[Source]

When I went back for my second treatment, I decided to "suck it up" and go for the needles. What was the worst that could happen? And besides, the needles are way more beneficial and my naturopath really believed it would be way more helpful for my digestion and menstruation. So I gave it a try, she put the needles all over the points on my stomach, but that was it, I wouldn't let her put them on my sensitive parts, like my legs or in my ears. (By the way, the points that represent my digestion on my legs are SO sensitive, to touch my inner legs feels like I have bruises all the time - it hurts a lot...doing adductor exercises kills me!) I'm not going to lie and say I didn't feel anything when she put the needles in. I did feel them, but it really was not bad at all. It was kind of a cool sensation, it didn't hurt, but I definitely felt like something was really working.

I was so happy after that treatment! I did it! I finally got up the courage to do acupuncture! I was so excited to go back for my second real acupuncture treatment.

When I went back, and told her she could put the needles in my hand as well, along with more points in my stomach that sort of hurt the last time. She was so happy, as she said the points were important ones. Coming home from that session exhausted me though, I had to veto my whole day and sleep and watch mindless television. I couldn't believe how tired it made me, I guess my body was really working hard to unblock my energy paths.

For my third session, I kept with the usual points, I'm still not ready for my legs to be pricked with the needles, but none the less I'm doing well with it. I wasn't as tired after my last appointment, fortunately I didn't have to have a 3 hour nap!

Is it weird to say I'm loving the acupuncture? I just really love the feeling of it.

I'm not sure if I love the treatments, or if I love the activity I do afterwards, hehe. There is an AWESOME natural foods store a couple streets down from my naturopath, and I always stop in after my treatments and pick up yummy gluten free, dairy free, sugar free foods! They have fresh gluten free bread from Organic Works, gluten free, caisen free and sugar free carob chips (something I have been looking for forever), every nut butter imaginable, and...oh man...the list goes on, but needless to say, I love it!

Product Reviews to come!

Carob Chips!

Questions:

What do you do when you have low energy days?

Have you tried acupuncture?

Cookie Granola

2010-03-21T13:40:00.001-07:00

I was in a baking mood this afternoon, and I had the notion that in a few hours I would be sitting down eating a cookie with my cup of tea, but as I worked in the kitchen coming up with a new creation, the cookie batter in the bowl started looking like perfect clumps of granola. So I decided to dump the crumbly batter onto the baking sheet, spread it evenly and bake it as granola.

It turned out really well and I keep sneaking back to the cooling tray of this crumbly "cookie granola", it's so good! I think it will taste really good mixed with yogurt, or as a topper on my morning oats, however, it is just as good plain, eaten right out of the hand.

Coconut, Carob, Banana Cookie Granola

1 cup gluten free oats

1 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp guar gum

3 tbsp carob powder

1 tsp stevia

3 tbso pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2 bananas

1/4 cup honey

1 egg

1 egg white

2/3 cups unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Mush the 2 bananas. Add honey, mix, and then whisk in the egg and egg white. Stir in the applesauce.

In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients.

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Spread onto a parchment lined baking sheet and spread evenly.

Bake for 20 minutes and then stir and bake for another 10 minutes.

Let cool.

If you'd like, try adding a couple tablespoons of canola or coconut oil into the mixture before baking, I didn't do this but I think I'm going to try it for next time so that it comes out more golden and crunchy.

Potty Talk

2010-03-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

Caution: afraid of the word "poo"? I advise you to not read this post!

With a digestive disorder, comes a large time spent in bathrooms.

With a digestive disorder, you begin forming a relationship with your toilet.

With a digestive disorder, you are able to pretty well memorize where every public bathroom is.

With a digestive disorder you don't hesitate to use public facilities.

With a digestive disorder you get past the embarrassment of having to poop in a public facility.

With a digestive disorder you aren't awkward about voicing that you have to poo, or shall I say NEED to poo!

With a digestive disorder you aren't uncomfortable talking about your poop, hence this post.

I'm going to be honest with you guys here, since I've been battling this silly gut of mine, I have developed 'bathroom anxiety'...not the type of bathroom anxiety someone gets where they're afraid to use public restrooms (because trust me, I ain't afraid of no bathroom!), but the type of anxiety where I fear I won't be able to find a public restroom.

What if I'm out and about and I have to go poop and I can't find any where to go? What if I have to go SO badly that I just can't hold it any longer and have an accident??

There have been times where I have had to go poop SO badly that I felt like I was going to be sick. I got sweaty and shaky, my heart was beating faster than a horse race and I thought I was just going to faint and (excuse my language), s*@t my self. No fun what so ever.

Once I was at the bus terminal and that exact feeling happened, I had to go SO badly. But the problem was fixable (at least I thought), I just had to go down the escalator and open the door to the women's bathroom. Well at least I thought that's what the solution would be...but nope, the bathroom was closed for construction. Closed for construction!!!?!?! Oh man, what was I going to do!? I ran upstairs and located the single handicapped stall, but the wait time was at least 15 minutes (and my cranky colon was not going to wait that long), the line seemed as long as the line up for rides at Disney. I was flustered and thought I was just going to pass out. I asked some lady in a distressed tone "do you know where the closest bathroom is??" she told me it was somewhere in the underground mall below us. "Crap" (literally), I was all alone and this bus terminal seemed like a foreign city to me, how was I going to find this mall? I ran down the escalator and into the mall, I spotted the signs and arrows pointing to the bathroom, I ran and ran and ran and it felt like I was never going to find this stupid bathroom. I found it though, after a marathon of a run, it was at the very end of the long mall. I made it (thank goodness)! But let me tell you, it was not a fun process being in that much discomfort and stress. As I left the bathroom (relieved) and walked back up to the bus terminal to catch my bus, I realized that the marathon of a run was not very long at all, it was probably only a 1 minute walk, but in the time of feeling so awful, I thought it was the longest stretch ever.

Every time I had to go back to the bus terminal to catch my bus for school, my crazy brain would tell my gut to go haywire on me and give me a nice load of diarrhea (yup, I said diarrhea). I would become so stressed that the same situation would occur again, but I thought of situations that made my gut feel even worse. I thought....

a) what if the bathroom downstairs is under construction, the line up for the handicapped is huge and I can't make it to the mall bathroom in time? what if I have an accident?

b) what if all three bathrooms are under construction and there isn't a close enough bathroom...and I have an accident?

Not good thoughts, right? Right. And so I would get to the terminal and have to find the bathroom as fast as I could...luckily the bathroom that was under construction was finished being made over, and I got to sit on the lovely white toilet within minutes.

This has happened more than once, and in many situations, which has caused me to link certain places and certain situations to having to go poop. Not only does my brain play tricks on me, but I also get really anxious going places where I don't know where the bathroom is or when I'm having an stressful day and not feeling well, because I know that my bowels need to befriend a toilet many times in that day.

It's not a secret, I poo a lot. There are days where I'll have up to 10 poops, and days where I've totally cleaned my self out the previous day and am left with nothing to give (I quite like those days). It's totally up in the air, it's a "crap shoot"...I never know what life my bowels will lead me each morning I wake up.

What I have learned though, is that I have to have confidence in myself. I know that I don't have normal bowels, and I know that if needed, I can go use the bathroom when ever I want. I have learned that I am not in grade 2 anymore, I don't have to ask permission to use the bathroom. I have learned that if I can't find a bathroom...well I can't find a bathroom - that is why I carry extra undies everywhere I go, just in case of that rare occasion where I may have an accident. It won't be the end of the world if I do...sure, I'll be embarrassed, but hey, what can you do?

I have become so pro with bathroom hunting...but I'll save that story for another post...as this one is becoming as long as the essay I should be writing!

Oh, P.S - Poo should not be taboo!

Product Review: Nature's Path Gluten Free Cereals

2010-03-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

A few months ago the people over at Nature's Path were nice enough to send me some of their new gluten free products to try out. Thank you, they were yummy!

I got sent the Crunchy Maple Sunrise and Whole O's cereal, along with the Lemur Peanut Choco Drizzle Crispy Rice Bars, but unfortunately I had to have my sister taste test the rice bars as chocolate doesn't agree with me.

I have also been buying the Whole Grain Brown Crispy Rice cereal, it is one of my favourite morning breakfasts!

So the verdict?

Crunchy Maple Sunrise Cereal: A combo of corn, rice, flax, quinoa, buckwheat and amaranth...so many different gluten free grains in one! Although corn is on my "no list", I wanted to give it another try and see how I reacted. Unfortunately I tried to many "no" foods at once, so I'm not really sure if the corn made me sick or it was something else. I'm going to have to be more strategic in introducing the "no" foods back into my diet. It was amazing none the less, I completely emptied the box. The maple was a great flavour, and there wasn't any refined sugar in it...just evaporated cane juice, which I could justify as there were only 7g of sugar per serving. The ingredients = organic whole grain corn meal, organic evaporated cane juice, organic brown rice flour, organic yellow corn flour, organic inulin, organic quinoa puffs, organic maple syrup, organic flax seeds, natural maple flavor, organic buckwheat flour, organic quinoa, sea salt, organic amaranth, organic molasses, tocopherols (natural vitamin E). I ate it with rice milk, topped ontop of soy yogurt, mixed with apple sauce and eaten just by itself. My favourite way was probably with the yogurt, as I made a fruit and yogurt parfait, and having a crunch in it just made it even better...especially a maple crunch!

Whole O's: This was another great cereal, reminded me of Cheerios. Again, there was corn in it, so I haven't yet finished off the box, I'm taking a break of introducing back foods, since I'm still in an "inflamed state" from my last flare up and bringing trigger foods back into my diet will just lengthen the healing process. The taste was a little nutty and it wasn't too sweet. It was nice with rice or almond milk. The ingredients = organic brown rice flour, organic corn flour, organic evaporated cane juice, organic pomegranate juice concentrate, sea salt.

Whole Grain Brown Rice Cereal: My favourite out of the three. I used to love having Kellog's Rice Krispies, but unfortunately they're not gluten free, and they have refined sugar added. These taste like Rice Krispies though, and they're not to sweet at all...only 2 grams of sugar per serving. The ingredients = Organic brown rice flour, organic evaporated cane juice, sea salt, organic molasses. I like having this straight up with rice milk, but sometimes I'll add a tablespoon or so of carob powder, to make it "chocolately". I also mix it with apple sauce, or of course with soy yogurt. It's a little bland eating it plain...I don't know how I used to eat cereal without milk when I was younger.

Nature's Path has so many other gluten free options, such as Crunch Vanilla Sunrise (doesn't that sound so yummy?), Corn Flakes, Mesa Sunrise Cereal, Amazon Frosted Flakes, a bunch of different gluten free cereal bars and more...check their website out!

I haven't tried many other packaged gluten free cereals, but I am a huge fan of hot cereals, like gluten free oats, quinoa and brown rice cereal.

What are your favourite cereals?

Pumpkin Curry (in a hurry) Hummus

2010-03-13T10:31:00.001-08:00

Well, paper 1 has been completed! On to paper number 2 now.

I'm fueled and ready to tackle it though, because I just had some delicious pumpkin curry hummus. I loved my little creation so much yesterday at lunch, that I just couldn't wait for lunch to come sooner so that I could make it again.

This time I took a picture and jotted down the measurements so that you can try it for yourselves!

Meg's Pumpkin Curry (in a hurry) Hummus

1/3 cup of pureed chickpeas

1/3 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp curry

Mix all together and voila! You have pumpkin curry hummus...easy enough right?

I enjoyed my dip with a mix of different veggies - cucumbers, carrots, red peppers and endive. I also dipped some Garden Vegetable Brown Rice Crackers into the mix.

A very satisfying lunch for a working brain (and a hungry tummy!)

P.S - Remember when I posted about the Best Gluten Free Bread Ever...being Organic Works Buckwheat Chia? Well, I just ran out of it last night, and was sad that I wouldn't be able to have it for breakfast. I ended up having a dream about it last night! In my dream I went to go get it at the store, and the company decided to stop doing gluten free options....how sad. I hope my dream wasn't real! But honestly- if you can find it, grab it! It is SO good!

Enjoy your Saturday - hopefully the weather is a bit nicer then it is here...it's cold, rainy and extremely windy...I'm glad it's not sunny though, since I'm stuck at my desk for a weekend full of essay writing!

An Un-Pictured, Random Post

2010-03-12T17:37:00.000-08:00

I have dedicated my Friday, Saturday and Sunday to purely writing the 3 essays that I have due next week...sounds fun, right?

I did get a good majority of paper 1 completed today, however...the computer was such a distraction! Blogs, Facebook, checking my email a billion times (really...how many emails do I expect!?!), browsing though the iTunes store, checking the long term weather forecast....just so distracted!

Today I had some good eats, and unfortunately I just never thought to take pictures of anything! I have realized that I don't really need an exact recipe for everything I post on my blog, there are so many of you bloggers out there who just post your yummy eats for inspiration to others, and no recipe has to be attached...so, I think I'm going to start posting my creative dishes!

Although I don't have pictures for you today, I do have descriptions.

For lunch I whipped up some hummus....but it wasn't just any plain old hummus, pumpkin was added in! I'm just loving canned pumpkin these days, I'm combining it with everything. Pumpkin as a base for pizza (instead of tomato paste), pumpkin mixed in pasta, pumpkin in my yogurt (yes, yes...I know...sounds gross, but don't judge until you try!), pumpkin on my oats, pumpkin pie in a mug (I'll be posting that recipe soon!) and today, pumpkin curry hummus. It was SO yummy!!

Dinner was amazing (if I do say so myself). My friend came over for dinner and we had honey mustard curried chicken (curry was the theme for today), sweet potato kugel (frozen leftovers from Christmas), sauteed purple cabbage (just a little olive oil, salt and pepper) and a mixed green salad. It was so good and I really wish I had taken a photo.

I haven't had chicken (or meat for that matter) in a while...I've just been so busy that when I come home for dinner I end up making something that is quick and easy, and chicken just isn't such a quick meal to cook up.

Well, I guess I should probably do a bit more work on this essay before I call it quits for the night, I think I'll catch up on some mindless television later...Gossip Girl perhaps?

A few questions for you!

1. What do you enjoy pumpkin with?

2. What are some quick and easy chicken recipes?

3. Are there any 'guilty pleasure' television shows you just love?

Happy Hump Day!

2010-03-10T18:54:00.000-08:00

Is it only just Wednesday?

It feels as though it should be Friday...oh well, I guess it's good to be busy, right?

I have definitely been able to meet the definition of busy this past week, studying, paper writing, studying and studying...how I love midterms.

I thought I would take a little bit of a different spin on this post today, by not just talking about the usual health and well being stuff, food, recipes or product reviews. Mainly because I just have to share some Canadian pride with this article I read today.

Air Canada flight idled for Olympic hockey fans

The Canadian Press

Updated: Wed. Mar. 10 2010 8:47 PM ET

VANCOUVER — Travellers over the world know the pains of flight delays - due to fog, weather, late pilots, or just plain busy airports.

But only in Canada would a flight get delayed for a hockey game.

Air Canada president Calin Rovinescu told a Vancouver business gathering that one of his company's scheduled flights sat on the tarmac as passengers finished watching the men's gold medal match between Canada and the U.S. on the final day of the Olympic Games.

He said travellers on the Montreal-bound flight just couldn't be persuaded to board the plane while play continued.

Instead, they watched the heartstopping hockey game being broadcast on airport departure screens.

Passengers on board Air Canada flights around the world during the Canada-U.S. showdown were kept apprised of the score by the flight crew, who were receiving real-time updates from operations control.

Only in Canada...

Anyway, on to some delicious products I stumbled across while in the States...I wish they were here in Canada too!

1. Whole Soy & Co. - Soy yogurt: Creamy and tasted nothing like soy. I thought I was eating plain old regular cow's yogurt. It was silky and amazing, I don't really have words to describe how much I enjoyed this. I think for all of the 8 mornings I was there, I awoke to a little tub of this goodness. I was only able to find the raspberry and blueberry flavours, but I enjoyed the raspberry just a little more than the blueberry. Supposedly the yogurt is made just like cow's milk yogurt and they culture the soymilk with vegan probiotic cultures. It is dairy free, vegan, and gluten free!

If I ever find this in Canada, I think I will live off of it!

2. SunButter- Sunflower Seed Spread, Natural Crunch: Now I have seen this in Canadian stores, but I don't ever buy it because there is cane sugar listed in the ingredients, but there were no other sunflower seed butter brands, and my craving of this nut butter just was not going to last for a week. I chose to go with the 'natural crunch', to see how it differed from smooth sunflower seed butter. It was packed with whole sunflower seeds, and the taste was delicious. Very nutty and sweet...or shall I say sweet and salty. I didn't mind the 'dehydrated cane juice' that was added, it made for a sweeter snack (and the amount of sugar per serving was very insignificant). I did like the crunch to this as well, it went perfect with sliced apples. I just found it harder to spread on crackers, because the seeds didn't really "blend" onto the flat surface. I just realized from being on their website though, that they do carry an organic variety with no sugar or salt added - I'll have to give that one a try! This is a great alternative if you can't eat nuts or you just love sunflower seeds...like me!

Oh yah....it was also gluten free, and free of any other common allergen!

(Okay, one last review for today!)

3. Crispy Green - Crispy Bananas and Crispy Pears: These were a fun little find. They are 100% freeze dried fruit, with no additives or preservatives...just plain old fruit. The banana variety read, Ingredients: Bananas. The pear, Ingredients: Asian pears. Easy work for the eyes, didn't have to scan through a whole list picking out ingredients that weren't safe for me. Bonus, they were gluten free too! I love reading those two words, they make me so happy. Verdict = yum. I really enjoyed these. Sometimes I find that freeze dried fruits are a total disappointment, they sometimes just taste like styrofoam, and when crumbled look like saw dust. These were not like that at all though. They were dense and had taste. The banana was my favourite, I liked eating them on their own, but I loved mixing them in with my yogurt and granola, or into my warm bowl of oats. It was even good on top of gf bread with sunflower seed butter...yummy! The pears were delicious too. I also brought home mango and pineapple, but I am yet to try them...I'm kind of savouring my bananas still...and making them last...although I have learned my lesson in the past when it comes to saving food. Funny story: A few years ago my Aunt and I went to Montreal for the day, where we purchased the coolest looking pasta. I bought pasta in the shape of sombreros, striped red yellow and green and my aunt bought black and white striped bow ties. They were expensive..$14 or something like that. I was going to stuff them with ricotta and something sweet, they were going to be delicious, but I kept saving them for the perfect occasion. Point being, I got sick, couldn't stuff them with dairy products, then went gluten free...so they're still in the cupboard...probably expired by now. So moral of the story, don't save things...enjoy them once you buy them! Anyway...back to the free dried fruits! I love them and would love to find these somewhere in Canada! They're the perfect go-to snack and can be mixed into anything...apple sauce, yogurt, cereal, on top of toast, on their own....anything works!

Well, that was lengthy.

Have a good night!

Cheers,

Meg.

P.S - If you know of anywhere where you can get the soy yogurt of freeze dried fruit in Canada, let me know!!!

Quotes to Live by

2010-03-07T16:29:00.000-08:00

Life isn't always easy. Everyone has ups and downs day to day, and experiences difficulties, confusion and complicated situations. I am sure there has been a time, or many times, that you have gone through something, that makes you feel like you are the only one going through it. Once you reach out though, you learn that so many others are dealing with same problem as in some way or another.

When I first began experiencing my digestive problems, I thought I was literally the only one in the world going through it. As years passed by, and my gut problems progressed, I just fell deeper into a slump, wondering why I was the only one dealing with this. I never saw commercials or ads about digestive disorders, or heard anyone talking about them.

Once I started doing more research and reading up on digestive disorders, I came across other stories of people with problems that sounded exactly like mine. Once I finally learned about what I was dealing with, I also began to learn about so many others that had a story similar to mine. I have recently started a digestive disorder support group and have met so many other wonderful people who have lived a life, and who are living a life much like mine. It made me realize that I am not the only one going through this problem. Talking with others with IBD has been so cool (as weird as that sounds), because I can talk to them about issues that they can relate with and truly understand. I've said it before, but I think that support groups and talking with others about your situation has a huge impact (positively) on your healing and journey to a healthier life.

A little while back I stumbled across a website called Soul on the Go, where they sell sticky notes that have quotes and affirmations written on them. I thought it was such a great idea to see these, as many times when people are going through a tough time, they just need to read positive quotes to help push them through the day and realize that life really isn't that bad.

Soul on the Go has many different types of themed packs with different quotes inside each, including, sports, wisdom, general, motivation, money, wellness, body and motivation. I have the wellness, body and motivation packs.

I love all of the quotes and I have stuck a few of my favourites all around my room. When I look at them, they lift my spirit a bit and put a smile across my face and remind me how great my life is. Check out their website and learn more about these little stickies at http://www.soulonthego.com/.

What are some of your favourite quotes?

Just don't dip your cookies in the chicken stock!

2010-03-05T18:46:00.000-08:00

While vacationing in Florida a few weeks ago, we found an amazing chicken stock that was legit gluten free. The chicken stock that we usually use doesn't officially say that it is gluten free, but there are no ingredients in it that suggest to us it could be contaminated...but I was still weary every time I had it.

I was so happy a few days ago when my Mom called me saying that she found the same brand in the grocery store!!! It's gluten free with no MSG and no salt added! Store bought chicken stock is always packed with sodium, but this one isn't what so ever, you should be excited.

It's by Kitchen Basics, called Unsalted Chicken Cooking Stock. It looks home made and it tastes like something you would make in your own kitchen. For 2/3 cups there is only 90g of sodium!

I would highly suggest you keep your eyes open for this the next time you're out shopping, it isn't very expensive either, only $4.99 or so for 946mL. All of the ingredients are really clean and pure too. Kitchen Basics also carries beef stock, vegetable stock and a load of other kinds!

They have an allergen statement reading: We strive to reduce the risk of allergen reactions by specifying that our ingredients must not contain *milk, *eggs, *peanuts, *glutens, soy, tree nuts,** fish, **shellfish, or corn. We do not autolyze, hydrolyze, add or produce MSG.

Now I know that cookies aren't a match with chicken stock, but I just had to tell you about these cookies I made today, inspired by Oh She Glows Banana Apricot Spelt Oatmeal Cookies. I saw the recipe on Angela's blog a couple weeks ago and immediately bookmarked it, I couldn't wait to make them...they looked so good. And were they ever good!

I adapted the recipe to make it gluten free and I added a few more ingredients to it. My modifications are bolded.

Meg's Version: Banana Apricot Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

- 1 cup gluten free certified oats

- 1 cup brown rice flour

- 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 1/2 tsp gluten free baking powder

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 4 tbsp flax seed

- 8 dried apricots

- 1/4 cup dried cranberries

- 1 egg

- 1/2 tsp organic vanilla extract

- 1/2 cup honey

- 1 mashed banana left a little bit chunky

- 1/2 tsp lemon juice

- 1/4 cup gluten free/dairy free carob chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Mix together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl - set aside. Mix together the wet ingredients in a larger bowl. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Make blobs on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake 12-15 minutes or until nice and golden! Made 20 delicious cookies.

Honestly, they were so good! You have to try these...or try making Angela's version on Oh She Glows!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for...

2010-02-26T14:37:00.000-08:00

COCONUT MILK ICE CREAM!

One thing that I have really missed since being dairy free is ice cream. I used to love ice cream, it was the perfect after dinner treat, a nice bowl of cold creamy, sweet and delicious ice cream. I also miss going out for ice cream, it was such a fun treat to ride my bike over to the closest ice cream place and grab a cone with my friends, or walk over to the convenient store and have an ice cream sandwich or drumstick. My favourite flavour was mint chocolate chip, but I also loved getting Rolo!

Since I have been dairy free though, cow's milk ice cream isn't really an option, I can't go out with friends to get a cone of deliciousness, because my gut just won't accept it. And...Baskin' Robbins or Licks just doesn't have soy based ice creams.

However, I have since found dairy ice cream alternatives, such as ice cream made from rice and soy. Soy ice cream has a very rich and distinct taste, but it is still creamy and the texture is the same as dairy ice cream. Rice ice cream is not as satisfying as dairy ice cream...it is a little more grainy and not as creamy. But none the less, I still love having the odd bowl of soy or rice ice cream every now and then.

I had been hearing a lot about coconut milk ice cream through some of the posts by Veggie Girl. It looked so good and she said so many great things about it. I wanted to try it so badly, but I could never find it anywhere. I then came across it at The Big Carrot...but when I read the label I didn't see any signs of it being gluten free...so I didn't want to waste $9 on a pint of ice cream if it was just going to make me feel sick. When I got home I contacted Turtle Mountain (the makers of the Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Ice Cream) to inquire what products of theirs were gluten free, excitingly the coconut variety was indeed gluten free and free of any dairy!!

On my trip to Florida, I found the coconut ice cream at Publix, and bought it with so much happiness...I couldn't wait to try it!!!

Conclusion = AMAZING! The taste was so delicious. It was vanilla-ey with just a hint of coconut, and the texture was exactly the same as plain old cows milk ice cream. It was creamy, rich and sweet, and I didn't even think I was eating an alternative ice cream. It was great. (I had the Vanilla Bean flavour).

Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Ice cream is:

- Dairy Free/Lactose Free

- Sweetened with Agave

- Gluten Free

- Contains no soy protein

- Cholesterol Free

- No Trans Fats

- Certified Vegan

- Certified Made with Organic Ingredients

There is no refined sugar in it either! 1/2 cup = 150 calories, 8g of fat and 12 g of sugar.

I think that this ice cream has won me over, I don't see how I can ever go back to eating soy ice cream after this...but, if I am in need of a quick ice cream fix and coconut is not the available option...then soy will have to be my friend.

Good job Turtle Mountain!

Chickpeas Please!

2010-02-24T13:47:00.001-08:00

I lovvvvvvvvve chickpeas...on top of a salad, in a rice and bean mixture, in soups and in wraps, made as hummus to use as a dip for vegetables, crackers or a spread for a sandwhich.

The only thing I hate about my chickpea obsession, is that I always buy them canned, and the canned beans have so much sodium in them! A serving of chickpeas (or any canned bean) can contain anywhere from 300 - 500 mg of sodium (or more).

"The amount of sodium considered adequate to promote good health in adults is 1,500 mg per day. The United States Institute of Medicine (IOM) is commissioned jointly by the USA and Canada to establish the nutrient reference values that are used to set policies and standards. One of these reference values is the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL), which is the highest intake level that is likely to pose no risk of adverse health effects. Based on the IOM's UL, Health Canada recommends that adults do not exceed 2,300 mg of sodium per day." - HEALTH CANADA (You can read more about sodium and health here).

Most Canadians (and Americans) do exceed 2300 mg of sodium per day, which poses risks to our health, especially our hearts.

Every time I go to the bean aisle in the grocery store, right beside the canned beans lie the bag of dried beans, that hardly have any sodium at all. But dried beans take effort to make, and my lazy side just never wants to wait for them to soak and cook...I just want a quick fix. I just want a can opener and a strainer!

A couple months ago I did decide to buy a bag of chickpeas...but guess what? They just ended up lying in my pantry and each time I went to the grocery store, I would buy canned chickpeas, and begin to feel guilty that I had the $8 bag lying lonely in the cupboard. Soooo, a few days ago I decided to take the plunge and make my own chickpeas! It wasn't so time consuming at all, and the end result was worth the wait.

I measured out 1 cup of dried chickpeas, put them in a large pot and covered them in 6 cups of water. I stuck them in the refrigerator around 3pm and the next day around 11am I took them out and placed the pot on the stove. I brought the beans to a boil, and then let them simmer for about 1 hour, until they were nice and tender.

Then I drained them and used half of the beans to make some hummus and put the other half in a plastic baggie to stick in the freezer for future use.

Verdict: I'll definitely be opting for dried beans from now on. The taste will have to take some getting used to though, because they aren't as all salty as the canned variety. A serving only contains 25 mg of sodium!

I'm excited to make some romano beans next, and even a mixed bean blend!

Have you ever soaked dried beans? How do you do it? Do you add anything to kick them with some more taste?

100th Post!

2010-02-23T05:28:00.000-08:00

Today is not only my 100th post, but it is my birthday!

I can't believe another year has gone by, but I am so excited for this one to start!

I also can't believe that I have done 100 posts on The Gut Gazette! I've been having so much fun in this "blog world", reading other's blogs and working on my own blog. I love the little community that exists in the "blog world", it's great to read of others journeys and learn new foods and recipes and tips that others find helpful.

Here is to a great year and 100+ more posts!

It has also been just over a year since I learned what the problem was with my gut, being Crohn's disease. It has been somewhat of a good thing though, learning about what I have, as with that information I have been able to help myself live an easier life...eliminating certain foods, taking medications, going on vitamin supplements, making sure I don't over do my exercise, but also making sure that I do exercise, and just listening to my body in general. I also know that I don't have to worry when I'm feeling sick, as I know what it is. I have learned so much about Crohn's in the past year, which has also been pretty cool, since a year ago I had no idea what IBD even was.

I think I have embraced having what I have. I used to be really shy about my gut issues, and didn't like talking about them...but that was just really creating a downward spiral, as it was just negative energy, probably making me even more sick.

Now I'm really positive about it all, and have just accepted it as my new norm. I have been able to do this blog, which has been awesome, read up on IBD through books, the internet and other blogs, volunteered with the CCFC, talked to others who have Crohn's through the CCFC's IBD meetings and the support group I created at my school. I think that talking to others who are in the same boat as you is really important in healing, as it just makes you feel better about what you are going through and allows you to realize that you aren't the only one going through it. Of course you can tell family and friends about your problems, but they just are not able to understand and relate the same way somebody with IBD can.

You can read about my "journey" in the article on the Canadian Digestive Health Foundation website (if you want), just click here!

I also think that it is really important to spread awareness about IBD, as not many people are really aware of it, or how much pain and discomfort one suffers on a daily basis.

IBD is so under the radar, that I only learned about a couple months ago that the colour purple represents Crohn's disease. Now I have a purple "Know More" bracelet that is from the websitehttp://www.personalizedcause.com/. The website has every colour bracelet for pretty much every single cause there is.

If you, or someone you know has Crohn's or you are just passionate about spreading the word about it, to create awareness and raise money in hopes to find a cure, I urge you to purchase one of these bracelets and wear them with pride :)

Nut Butters

2010-02-21T15:26:00.000-08:00

When you think of nut butter, what is the first 'nut butter' that comes to mind?

If I were to be asked that question a couple of years ago, I would have instantly said 'peanut butter', as I thought peanuts were the only nuts that were made into a spread.

Now since I shop mostly in the organic sections of the grocery store (as that is where most of my friendly foods are, ie: gluten free, dairy free, etc) the aisle where the peanut butter is located is met with numerous other 'butters', like almond butter, cashew butter, pumpkin seed butter, sunflower seed butter (my favourite), pecan butter, tahini (sesame seed butter), walnut butter, coconut butter, and I'm sure there are many more that I am not even aware of!

Nut butters are so versatile. I personally like sunflower seed butter, almond butter and coconut butter the best, and I don't just put these spreads on toast. I'll mix them into a warm bowl of oats, spread some on a gluten free rice cake, top a muffin with some, mix it into apple sauce, dip fruits and veggies into it, or put a dollop of it on a baked sweet potato.

Artisana Nut Butters, are an organic nut butter company that "[create] uniquely delicious, healthy, gourmet food", as said on their website. I will second that statement, as they're nut butters are amazingly good.

The coconut butter was the first that I ever tried from their company, I fell in love with it. It's so warm tasting and the taste is very tropical. I also the love the health benefits that come with coconuts: packed with lauric acid, which kill bacteria and boosts immunity, helps with digestion, kills candida and is great for the skin. Coconut oil is very different from coconut butter, as coconut butter is the coconut meat pureed, coconut oil is just pure "coconut oil". Coconut oil is great for frying veggies and used in place of dairy butter.

Tahini is a paste, or butter made from sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are high in copper, manganese and calcium. They say that copper is good in helping reduce pain in rheumatoid arthritis...so I wonder if it would help in patients with IBD, as inflammation occurs too.

Tahini is very bitter tasting, it isn't the sweetest of the nut butters, but it sure is creamy and it great for making hummus.

Almond butter has turned out to be one of my new favourites, it is a bit more grainy textured then smooth, but I enjoy the taste. It isn't too strong tasting, but you can still taste the subtle hint of almond. If you like a sweeter tasting spread, almond butter might not be your first choice, as it isn't as sweet, but you could alway add a squeeze of honey to what ever you put almond butter on. I like almond butter on celery, spread on apple slices or a piece of warm gluten free toast.

The cashew, pecan and walnut butters are all very creamy rich tasting butters that are great if you like the distinct flavour of all these three nuts. They're great for spreading on toast and would even be a good substitution for tahini in hummus!

Nuts and seeds are such healthy whole foods that are packed with great nutrients. Nut butters for the most part are all gluten free, dairy free and for the mostly never sweetened.

It's fun to see the variety of nut butters in the supermarkets and trying out new flavours. Who said a peanut butter and banana sandwich had to be made of peanut butter?

Next time try an almond butter sandwich, a coconut butter sandwich (for a tropical taste) or my favourite, a sunflower seed butter sandwich (gluten free that is)!

The Olympics!

2010-02-20T09:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday evening I came back from a lovely vacation in the states, which is why I haven't posted for such a long time!

The vacation was great, it was nice to do some relaxing and take my mind away from school. I also did a lot of product reviewing, tasting products that I haven't seen in Canada yet.

We went to a grocery store called Fresh Market, it was such a great grocery shopping experience. The grocery store is set up much like a market with blackboard signs written in chalk. The smells were amazing, and being in the bakery section made me wish I was able to eat gluten.

I got so many fun foods!!! I can't wait to do all of the reviews for them!

(Roasted edamame beans, freeze dried bananas and pears, crunchy sunflower seed butter,

soy yogurt, gluten free wraps, root vegetable chips, Mary's Crackers)

On another note:

Have you been watching the Olympics? It's been so cool watching them in my home country! I thought that NBC did such a great job portraying Canada in the clip they did before the Opening Ceremonies.

My Mom and I made a delicious Olympic themed meal for the night of the Opening Ceremonies last Friday. We made a chicken, vegetable stir-fry where we incorporated all of the colours of the olympic rings. There were not any blue vegetables that we could find, so we used purple cabbage, thinking that maybe it would turn blue when sauteed...it wasn't exactly blue, but it worked none the less. Black was in our wild rice blend by Lundberg, which was an amazing rice blend of long grain brown rice, sweet brown rice, wild rice bits, wehani (which I have no clue what that is) and black japonica. Red was represented by the red peppers and the red onion (which looks more like purple), yellow was the yellow pattypan squash, and green was in the broccoli, asparagus and snap peas! We also had fennel, orange peppers, mushrooms and chicken. Mmmm, it was one of the best stir-fries I have ever had!

Anyway, I'm off to make some gluten free granola...and watch some more Olympics! What events do you like to watch? I like the half pipe, downhill skiing and biathlon.

Bake Sale

2010-02-08T05:11:00.000-08:00

Today one of the organizations (that I'm helping with) at my school is having a baking sale, and I volunteered to make a gluten/dairy free treat for those who probably always walk by the bake sale table, unable to buy a yummy treat, as they're all full of gluten and dairy.

As I didn't really have time this weekend to whip something up from scratch, I resorted to a good old box of cookie mix that I picked up in the gluten free section at the grocery store. It's by Gluten Free Pantry, a product of Glutino, and it is called Chocolate Chip Cookie & Cake Mix.

The mix was very simple to follow and the bake time was nothing, only 15 minutes!

The ingredients in the mix read: white rice flour, chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), brown sugar, sugar, potato starch, potato flour, sodium bicarbonate, salt, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate. Contains soy.

(Instead of butter I used Earth Balance)

The smell in the kitchen was so amazing once the cookies came out! The ingredients aren't particularly all safe for my consumption, but they just looked so good (and smelled amazing), so I had to try some of the broken cookies that didn't make it to the "to bake sale" pile.

Verdict: chewy, sweet, gooey, wonderful! They tasted exactly like a "normal" home baked chocolate chip cookie (they looked normal too, right?). My roommates tried them as well, and they loved them too!. They couldn't distinguish them from a "normal gluten" cookie.

I would highly recommend this product if you're in need of cookies and don't have time to make them from scratch. The mix is also a recipe for chocolate chip cake, you just need an extra egg white and cup of sour cream...yum, I bet that would end in a good result.

P.S - a portion of the sales from this product go to Celiac Disease Research!

Very Busy! (But that didn't stop me from enjoying ginger!)

2010-02-05T06:41:00.000-08:00

Wow! I can't believe it has been a week since my last post - that is evidence to how busy my past week has been. Since I was out for a whole week from my flare, I wasn't able to be productive in any way, so this week has been full of late nights doing school work and getting myself all caught up.

Although my week was hectic, I did find two new awesome products that are helping wonderfully to ease the pain of my gut. The ingredient featured in both products is ginger!

The first product is from the company Go Naturally. They are Organic Hard Candies - Ginger, with no artificial flavor, no artificial colour, they're gluten free and made by hand. The ingredients: organic evaportated cane juice, organic brown rice syrup and natural ginger oil. Per candy is 15 calories with only 2.5g of sugar. I really like the taste of these little candies. They taste like pure ginger and they're a great treat to suck on after a meal. The company has other flavours, like pomegranate and honey...mmm, I would love to give those a try!

The second product is from the company The Ginger People. They are the Original Ginger Chews. They're gluten free, all natural chews with 20 calories and 5g of sugar a pop. The ingredients read: cane sugar, ginger, and tapioca starch. Although both of these products do contain cane sugar, the amount is so minute, and I eat these in very low moderation that I don't think the sugar is affecting me in any way. The ginger chews are amazing!! I'm so happy that I finally found them! They're very chewy and the perfect bite size to stick in your mouth. At first they seem sweet, but then a wave of heat from the ginger kicks you, but it's a nice spicy feel. They feel so good going down my tummy and whatever pain is in my gut is gone for the few minutes of heat from the ginger. I would highly recommend this product for after a meal, or if you're stomach is just not feeling great.

I really love ginger when I'm not feeling well.

Ginger has such soothing properties:

- it contains the active ingredient gingerol, which interferes with the enzymes that cause inflammation in the body

- it stimulates many digestive enzymes in the pancreas

- helps and prevents bacteria, as it is antibacterial

- the enzymes in ginger help break protein

A yummy tummy healing tea I like to make when I'm not feeling great is placing an inch of fresh ginger in a hot mug of water with a slice of lemon and a sprinkle of stevia or honey. Let the ginger steep for a few minutes before drinking.

Another great ginger fix is eating the pickled ginger that you get with sushi!

Beautiful Juice

2010-01-29T08:02:00.000-08:00

A couple summers ago I had my 4 wisdom teeth extracted, which left me eating mushy and liquid foods for almost 2 weeks! That's when my Dad came home with the 'Juicerator'. During those 2 weeks of having an awfully sore mouth, I drank a lot of freshly squeezed juice creations, they were delicious.

Now, while reading so many other blogs, juicing seems to be the latest trend, everyone seems to be doing it. While I have been at school, the Juicerator has not been with me, so I haven't made any juice since my wisdom teeth came out. Since I've been at home since Wednesday because my flare up, my gut just isn't tolerating much, so, I decided to pull out the huge juicer machine and create a delicious combination.

Wow! How could I forget how great this thing is!?!?

I think my gut may be seeing more juice...hopefully I can sneak it back with me to school hehe.

The colour of it was so beautiful too. So vibrant and red.

I juiced 1 green apple, 2 medium organic carrots, 1 inch slice of ginger, 1 small beet, and 1 cup of mixed greens (which I couldn't even taste).

I made a bit of a mess...there was pulp and juice everywhere...I forgot to put the lid on the container where the juice pours into.

I think I may have a new obsession...I just can't believe I've ignored this juicer for so long...I'm sorry Juicerator.

What are some of your favourite juice combos?? I need some suggestions!!

P.S - Check out Chocolate Covered Katie's Vita-Mix giveaway!

Stop! Too Much!

2010-01-27T10:49:00.000-08:00

The past few months have been the best months I've had in a long time. I've hardly had any pain, my bowels are starting to slow them selves down, my energy has been at its peak and I've been so happy!

Because of my improving health, I have been doing things that I wouldn't have been doing last year. This weekend I was feeling so great that I thought I would crack open those gluten free beers of mine. I wanted to give them another go, see what the outcome would be. I tried a couple Friday night and felt great. When Saturday rolled around I felt pretty good as well...a little pain here and there but nothing I couldn't handle. So once Saturday night hit, and everyone was drinking wine, I thought...hey! why not?? So, I too poured myself a couple glasses. Again, I had a bit of pain and bloating, but I wasn't glued to the couch.

The past couple weeks, I have also been working out a little too intensely then what I have been used to. I've been feeling so great that I want to work out a more vigorous level, I even gave myself the goal of learning how to run, so that once the nice weather arrives I can run outside with my friends. I've been running, working harder on the elliptical and I attended a couple spinning classes last week - which totally gave me a hard workout. I've also increased my yoga abilities from a calm Hatha class to a power yoga where I actually sweat! It has felt great to work out and actually have some sweat build up.

So here are two things so far that I wouldn't have done last year..or even 4 months ago: hard workouts and drinking alcohol.

To add to the list, I've been staying up later then I'm used to...lets just say this weekend I stayed up much past midnight a few nights in a row. The bad thing about that, is I just can't sleep in past 9, even if I stay up until 2:30!

One last thing - I've been sneaking in a few foods that I probably should be avoiding - tomatoes, in the form of ketchup, corn based cereals and more dried fruit than usual.

Yesterday when I woke up at 6:30 for school, my body told me enough was a enough and sent me back to bed until 10am. I stayed in bed for the rest of the day until I could finally turn my lights out for the night. This morning I woke up and gahhh my stomach was even madder. I crawled back into bed after a bowl of oats (which felt like a bowl of knives) and slept it off until 11am. Now I'm glued back in bed with my heating pad and am apologizing to my gut for everything I have put my body through the last couple of weeks. Even though I was feeling better, I think I shouldn't have pushed my body to that extreme, because now it's my second day in bed and I'm definitely paying the consequences.

I've learned my lesson though, right?

Silly gut.

Gluten Free Made Easy

2010-01-25T15:03:00.001-08:00

These days, many people are beginning to go gluten free, either because of being diagnosed with Celiac Disease, or because of other health problems, like digestive disorders or skin problems.

If it’s your first time going gluten free, I’m sure you can understand that visiting the grocery store can be frustrating! You go down the normal cracker/cookie aisle and pretty much every single box of crackers is made of wheat, or if they’re made of rice the fine print underneath the ingredients says that they may contain wheat. When you go down the soup aisle, all of the soups are either thickened with some sort of gluten, or packed with noodles. In the sauce and spice isle the fine print again says that they may contain wheat and in the deli section, the meats even can contain gluten! So now what? Only fruits and vegetables…and rice cakes? Well, not even rice cakes, as most brand name rice cakes are cross-contaminated with gluten.

When I first went gluten free, I thought I was fully eating a diet free of gluten…but I was eating Quaker oats, rice cakes and cereals that even though didn’t say they had wheat in them, were actually cross contaminated with wheat. Once I visited my new naturopath in September, she informed me that the oats I was eating every morning were so contaminated with gluten that it was equivalent to eating a slice of wheat bread! And the rice cakes I was eating for a snack also were highly contaminated…oh, and then the cereal I ate as a bedtime snack was also contaminated! So what I thought was a gluten free diet that I was following was not really one at all, I was still making myself sick with all the gluten contaminated foods that I was eating. Once I got home from my appointment, I began looking at all of the ingredients on the foods I had. The first box I picked up was my rice milk. In very small red print underneath the ingredients, it read: contains gluten from barley protein at less than .002%. Who would’ve known? I always read the ingredients of my foods to look out for dairy and sugar, but this print was so small that I guess I must have just missed it the first time. My chicken stock was the next thing that I looked at, and guess what? There was gluten in that as well! Dijon mustard…gluten, spices…gluten, soy sauce…gluten. I was also unaware of all the other grains that contained gluten…like barley and kamut. Gluten just seemed to be everywhere! After about two or three weeks of being 100% gluten free, my bloating Buddha tummy was gone!

As days went by, I researched about different gluten free products and learned about all the other foods that could possibly be contaminated with gluten. Even to this day, I am still learning about some of the foods that could possibly contain gluten and I am coming across so many more gluten free products.

The best way to live gluten free is to make sure the packaged food clearly states that it is gluten free, if it doesn’t and you are unsure, call or email the company inquiring if the product is gluten free.

Luckily most grocery stores have gluten free items in their aisles, some more then others, and some stores even have distinct gluten free aisles.

Transitioning to a gluten free diet can also be a shock to the taste buds. But don’t worry, your taste buds adjust and sooner or later you will totally forget what it’s like to eat gluten-containing foods. You also end up not missing the “regular” bread and pasta, because you know that if you go back to eating the “regular” gluten foods, you’ll pay for it a few hours later, by visiting the toilet and curling up on the couch. But wait! Why should I say “regular”? Isn’t this gluten free diet our regular now? Yes, it is! Your new (and my new) gluten free diet is our norm, it’s our regular eating style.

After trying many different gluten free breads, pastas, crackers, and other gf foods, I can finally say what my favourites are! (Oh…and ‘GF’ stands for gluten free).

So, my favourites thus far are:

(these are also dairy free, some are vegan)

GF pasta brand: Tinkyada – Just like their tagline states: ‘Not Mushy’! The pasta actually tastes like regular pasta, especially their spaghetti and fusilli.

Most GF breads are found in the freezer section…my favourite so far are:

GF breads: Food for Life Brown Rice Bread – sweet and nutty flavour, chewy and isn’t crumbly. Food for Life Brown Rice Tortillas – soft and chewy, tastes just like wheat tortillas. Organic Works Buckwheat Chia (it’s fresh and has the texture of wheat bread!)

GF granola bars: Enjoy Life Caramel Apple

GF energy bars: Lara Bars (especially the Banana Bread flavour)

GF oats: Cream Hill Estates Lara’s Rolled Oats

GF dry cereal: Nature’s Path Crispy Rice Cereal – tastes like Kellogg’s Rice Krispies; Nature’s Path Crunchy Maple SunRise – so sweet and crunchy, perfect over top of yogurt or with some rice/almond milk

GF rice cakes: Lundberg Brown Rice Cakes and Lundberg Honey Nut Rice Cakes

GF Honey Mustard: Mr. Spice Honey Mustard- a little saucy, but tasty and great on veggies, chicken or tofu

GF Worcestershire: The Wizards Vegan Gluten Free Worcestershire Sauce – isn’t exactly the same as normal Worcestershire, but it does the trick on shepherds pie or over gf pasta salad

GF Salad Dressing: Organic Ville Orange Cranberry – refreshing - definitely true to how the website describes it. I love this on spinach salad tossed with some peppers, sunflower seeds and dried cranberries

GF Yogurt: YoSo Soy Yogurt (my favourite is vanilla). A creamy non dairy yogurt great as a fruit/veggie dipper, also great with granola…or by itself. Although the container does not indicate it is gluten free, the website does and I contacted the company do double check.

GF Crackers: Mary’s Organic Seed Crackers – packed with delicious seeds and gf grains. Perfect to snack on by themselves or with some vegan gf ‘cheese’. Also great dipped in hummus. SuperSlim Brown Rice Crackers – the garden veggie ones taste like Vegetable Thins and the sea salt ones are just delicious!

GF Rice Krispy Treat: Source Salba Krispy Rice Bars – has the texture of a Kellog’s rice krispy treat and definitely satisfies the sweet tooth

GF Dairy Free Ice Cream: Good Karma Organic Rice Divine Coconut Mango – nice and sweat and has the creamy texture of ice cream. Turtle Mountain Organic So Delicious Creamy Vanilla – the container doesn’t state it is gluten free, but the website does and I double checked by contacting them. It is the best dairy alternative ice cream I have ever had. It’s rich and has the consistency of dairy ice-cream. It doesn’t really taste like soy either.

Well, I’ve probably missed a few items, but I will definitely update this soon and when I find new products!

P.S – Did you know that gum can contain gluten?? As of now, all I know is that Trident Gum is 100% gluten free.

It's Only Wednesday??

2010-01-20T10:31:00.001-08:00

Don't you hate when you wake up thinking it's a totally different day, and then you realize that it is only "Wednesday"?? This morning was like that, I figured out it was Wednesday a few moments after thinking we were further into the week...then I was at the gym, and again, I had to think really hard if it was Friday or not. That's what long weeks do to you I guess.

So far the past week and a half has felt like a month. I've been so busy the past few days, that I haven't felt like I've had the chance to just kick back and breathe.

All of last week I had many late nights and busy days trying to get everything organized for second semester, but I think I overwhelmed my self a bit and my body told me so in the form of an annoying head cold. It's funny what our bodies can do to us if we push them past our limits. Therefore, it's really important that we don't push ourselves, and give our bodies the rest and nourishment that it constantly needs.

I was still making "me" time for myself by going to the gym...but I wasn't really focusing on relaxing. I wasn't taking the time before bed to write in my thought journal, or practicing yoga on my own time, or just sitting and thinking. I was going full pace- organizing textbooks, starting readings, visiting with friends, running here and there..blah just so much was going on.

Today is the first day that I actually feel like I can just cool down. I've also listened to my body the last couple nights and have been going to bed before 10pm!!

I've taught myself a lesson this past week, which will hopefully stick with me for the rest of the semester. Don't over do it! Don't stay up too late (because I know my body can't handle late nights), and take time each day to sit and focus...maybe I'll start meditating!?

Do any of you meditate??

Case in point: take time for yourself, for your body. Nobody can lead a life high paced - even if they think they can...in the end it will all add up and your body will let you know in some way or another.

On another note, Lauren, from Ginger is the New Pink, has a giveaway going on right now for an ice-cream maker!!! Also, check out Oh She Glows, Angela is donating 10% of her sales from yesterdays and todays sales of her Glo Bars. I can't wait until she releases her gluten free Glo Bar, I'm so excited to try them!

Have a great day! And remember...take time for yourself! You deserve it!

GF Honey Mustard

2010-01-18T06:48:00.000-08:00

Did you know that store bought honey mustards can contain gluten??

I had no clue...I'm still learning about all of the products that could possibly have gluten in them. Even certain chewing gums have gluten in them....

Honey mustard is probably one of my favourite flavours. I like it on sandwiches, on my tofu, a dipper for chicken, on pasta salads, over veggies...it works great on anything. When I learned that my store bought honey mustard had gluten in it, I was a little bummed. I know that I can make my own by mixing 2 parts dijon with 1 part honey...but that takes work...I just want something I can squeeze out of the bottle.

When I visited The Big Carrot, one of the things I was looking for was a gluten free honey mustard. My mission was accomplished when I found it packed in between the ketchups and salad dressings! It's called Mr.Spice Organic Honey Mustard. The bottle claims that it is:

• Organic
• No Cholesterol
• No MSG
• No Preservatives
• Gluten Free
• Wheat Free
• Dairy Free

• No HVP
• No Sulfites
• All Natural
• Salt Free
• Fat Free
• No HFCS

Nice!

The ingredients are as follows:
Water, Apple Cider Vinegar*, Evaporated Cane Juice*, Lemon Juice*, Honey, Herbs and Spices*, Rice Starch*, Potassium Chloride, Horseradish* (Cider Vinegar*, Horseradish* (Cider Vinegar*, Horseradish*, Water, Salt, Soybean oil, Food Starch, Sugar*, Citric Acid), Water, Salt†, Soybean oil, Food Starch, Sugar*, Citric Acid), Garlic Powder*, Xanthan Gum, Turmeric, Natural Flavor, yeast extract*, Gum Tragacanth, Onion Powder*.
*ORGANIC

Guess what? There is NO sodium either, it's salt free!

The only down side to the honey mustard is that it is a sauce/marinade, so it's not as thick as "regular" honey mustard, but it doesn't really phase me. It tastes great, just like honey mustard, and it works fine on sandwiches, as a chicken dipper on my tofu or over veggies.

Mr. Spice Organic also has many other sauces/marinades, which I am yet to try. The next sauce I want to try is the Ginger Stir Fry Sauce, yum!

Do you have a favourite gluten free honey mustard?

Best Gluten Free Bread EVER!

2010-01-15T06:44:00.001-08:00

Step aside Food For Life Brown Rice Bread, I have found a new love, Organic Works Buckwheat Chia Gluten Free Bread!

I picked up this bread when I was ventured over to The Big Carrot a couple weeks ago, although it was pretty pricey, at $7.99, it was worth every penny.

Gluten free breads are usually very dense with not a lot of fluffiness like wheat bread, and mostly always they come frozen, but this bread is different. It has the texture and consistency of a piece of whole wheat bread. The flavour is nutty and it is packed with flax seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds and millet. I have definitely been appreciating every slice, and I froze it so that I could enjoy if for a longer time. I'll take a couple slices out the night before and make a sandwich with it the next day for lunch, or if I'm wanting a slice immediately, I'll just stick it in the microwave on auto-defrost for a few seconds and it comes out tasting chewy and fresh!

The ingredients are as follows: (*Organic ingredients) *light buckwheat, *flax seeds, *sunflower seeds, *millet, *chia seeds, fresh yeast, tapioca starch, *soya flour, *sunflower oil, *cider vinegar, *cane sugar, xanthan gum, sea salt. The bread is vegan, peanut/nut free, and trans fat free. Per slice of bread = 130 calories, 4.5g fat, 4g fiber, 3g sugar, and 5g of protein. Yum, yum, yum!

I'm so happy I found this new brand of gluten free bread, it's always fun to try something new. Although Organic Works has won my stomach over, I will still stay true to Food For Life Brown Rice Bread, as it is much more convenient for me to buy.

What are your favourite gluten free breads?

Pure Fun

2010-01-13T09:58:00.000-08:00

Remember in December when I found the Pure Fun Better For You Candy- Organic Candy Canes?

Well, the other day at The Big Carrot, I found a whole section full of Pure Fun Better For You Candy, such as hard candy and lolly pops. I didn't think it would ever be hard for me again to pick out candy, but the other day it was. I couldn't decide if I should get the Fruit Pinwheels..,the Citrus Slices...the Pure Pops, or the Mint Pinwheels. Finally I made my decision and put the Mint Pinwheels into my shopping cart.

There are three flavors in the pack: peppermint, spearmint and pepsin.

The peppermint tastes exactly peppermint; it tastes like a good old candy cane, and the spearmint tastes like spearmint gum.

I like the peppermint and spearmint the best...as the pepsin is a little odd tasting.

Have you ever had Pepto Bismol? Well, if you have, you will definitely be able to recognize the taste of the pepsin mint, as it tastes so much like Pepto Bismol.

I've never heard of something that tastes like 'pepsin'....for all I know pepsin is the enzyme in the stomach that breaks down proteins...is that the point of this mint??? None the less, I can bear the taste, it's not that bad.

I would highly recommend these little treats. Just like the Candy Canes, they're organic, made with no pesticides, GMO's, artificial flavours, synthetic FD&C colours or gluten. They're also free of refined sugars.

The ingredients = organic evaporated cane juice, organic brown rice syrup, citric acid, natural flavors, natural colours, alfalfa extract, turmeric extract and beet colour.

1 piece of Pure Fun Peppermint Candy is 20 calories, with only 3 grams of sugar.

A regular piece of peppermint candy is 25 calories with 5.5 grams of sugar.

The next Pure Fun Organic Candy I want to try are the Pure Pops!

Hope you're all having a great Wednesday.

Keep positive!

A Day Full of Cooking

2010-01-11T07:06:00.000-08:00

The other day my mom and I spent the day cooking up a storm of 'Meg Friendly Foods' to individually package and freeze so that I could stick them in my freezer at school for the days when I want an easy meal. Buying pre made frozen foods that I can eat are very hard to find. I either find something that is gluten free but has dairy in it, or something dairy free but has gluten in it. Now I have over 20 frozen meals that will be great to take out if I come home from a late yoga class or am just being super lazy!

We made a slow cooker chicken and garbanzo bean veggie soup, sweet potato bean soup, turkey shepherds pie (free of potatoes), and gluten free, dairy free mac and cheese!

I taste tested all of the final products and yum were they good! I can't wait to eat them for meals!

I would highly recommend you try this mac and cheese recipe that I used from Gluten Free Goddess. I thought that it actually tasted like a creamy dairy cheese, gluten pasta mac and cheese, it was so good! My mom even thought it was pretty good!

Gluten Free Dairy Free Mac and Cheese (slightly modified by Meg)

12 oz. dry gluten-free macaroni pasta
3 tablespoons safflower oil
3 tablespoons white rice flour
2 1/2 cups unsweetened rice milk
2 cups shredded non-dairy gluten-free cheddar cheese
1/2 to 1 teaspoon gluten-free honey mustard
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup gluten free breadcrumbs

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and pre-cook the gluten-free pasta just until it is al dente. Drain the pasta and rinse it under cold water. Set aside.

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat, and stir in the rice flour. Cook and stir the flour for about 10 seconds, then slowly add in the rice milk, whisking to blend.

Bring the mixture to a bubble then reduce the heat to low. Add the shredded cheese, mustard, nutmeg, and stir. Continue stirring the sauce until the cheese melts. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add in the pasta, stirring to coat. Pour into a baking dish or individual baking dishes, top with bread crumbs, cover and freeze. OR - place in a 350 degrees oven and bake for 25 minutes until bubbling.

Serves 6

before bread crumbs

after bread crumbs - final

How to make gluten free bread crumbs: Place 5-6 slices of gluten free bread on a pan and into the oven on high heat (5oo degrees). Broil until dark brown and toasted. Transfer to a food processor and process until crumbly. Place the crumbled mixture back on the pan and stick under the broil for a few more minutes until the mixture is crunchy. Voila! Now you have your own gluten free bread crumbs!

Gluten Free/Dairy Free/Potato Free Shepherds Pie

I was inspired by a recipe from WellSphere:

1 head cauliflower 2 parsnips 1 pound ground turkey 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1 cup broccoli, chopped 3 celery stalks, sliced 1/2 cup onion, chopped 1 cup frozen peas 2 tsp dry tarragon 2 tsp dry thyme 2 tbsp olive oil 1 cup chicken broth, divided

paprika

Peel and chop parsnips and chop up cauliflower. Steam the two until tender and then blend using a hand blender or in a food processor with 1/2 cup broth and 1 tbsp of olive oil - blend until creamy.

While the parsnips/cauliflower steam, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large saute pan and add the ground turkey, brown for about 5 minutes. Add onion, celery, red peppers, broccoli, herbs and 1/2 cup chicken broth, stir and cover on medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the peas once everything is cooked.

Place the meat mixture in a dish and spread the cauliflower/parsnip puree evenly over top. Shake a little bit of paprika over top. Cover and freeze - OR broil until top is golden brown.

Serves 5

* If you have opted for freezing these dishes, take them out of the freezer in the morning of the day you are going to enjoy them (or the day before) to allow them to defrost, and then bake accordingly off of the recipe.

I'm so excited to eat these meals!

Moroccan Chicken Thighs

2010-01-07T15:07:00.000-08:00

This is a delicious chicken recipe. Free of gluten, dairy, refined sugar, corn, and garlic.

You can substitute the dried dates for dried figs or dried apricots...or you can use all three fruits! If you can't tolerate dried fruit, just cancel them out of the recipe, it won't make a huge difference.

Moroccan Chicken Thighs

1 tsp stevia powder

1/2 tsp corriander

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp brown rice flour

1.5 tsp olive oil

12 skinless boneless chicken thighs

Sauce

2 cups chicken broth divided

8 pitted dried dates chopped

1 tsp brown rice flour

1/4 cup chopped shallots

Place chicken in a bowl. In another small bowl combine the first 5 ingredients. Set aside 1 tsp of the spice mix. Add flour to the remaining spice mix and sprinkle over the chicken.

In a large skillet, brown the chicken in the 1.5 tbsp oil until brown on both sides (4 minutes or so). Remove and keep warm. Add chopped onion to the pan, cook and stir for 3 minutes or until onions are browned. Stir in 1 cup chicken broth and dates, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and return chicken to pan. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes until the chicken's juice runs clear. Remove chicken and keep warm. Combine the 1 tsp of brown rice flour with reserved spice mix and remaining remaining broth, add to the pan and boil for 2 minutes until the liquid has thickened. Throw the chicken back into the pan.

Ready to serve!

I served this dish with roasted sweet potatoes and parsnips, grilled zucchini and spring peas. It would also be lovely over brown rice or quinoa.

Something New

2010-01-07T09:39:00.000-08:00

Today, for the first time, I finally got around to trying almond butter! Wow is it yummy...my sunflower seed butter has met it's match!

The taste is a lot more milder than sunflower seed butter, but still nutty tasting, and it's full of protein and good fats. For 2 TBSP it is 190 calories, 18g of fat and 5 g of protein. It filled me up for the morning and kept me full until lunch rolled around (where I ate it again...) The almond butter I have is made by a Canadian company called Nuts to You Nut Butters Inc. (it's the same brand as my sunflower seed butter). I've looked all over the net for their website, but I just don't think they have one.

In the morning I ate the almond butter on brown rice bread and on my green apple, and then for lunch I had it on top of Mary's Organic Crackers with a nice big salad.

After my delicious new breakfast, I made my way over to The Big Carrot to get some gluten free/dairy free goodies and left the store feeling very excited to try my new buys!

The next couple weeks I will be sharing new products and a few new recipes that I'm going to try, such as gluten free/dairy free mac and "cheese", chicken and chickpea soup and shepherd's pie!