Gluten Free - Day 7/90 - 83 days to go!

IT'S A MIRACLE!!!!!! Not only am I feeling better but I ran a half marathon this morning, pretty successfully, I might add.

Breakfast - Fueled up with a banana and PB2

Lunch - Max and Erma's has a gluten free menu. This is the Tomato Mozzarella Chicken with field greens. Delish!

Snack - Apple

Dinner - Grilled chicken breast over brown rice with a side of applesauce

Snack - I was watching a friend's son and took my own little guy along with me, so I walked them both to the ice cream shop for a treat. After running the half, I felt like I deserved to have a little something as well. Luckily, they had a gluten free list of ice cream flavors and the guy who was working was really nice about making sure to change his gloves and get a new ice cream scooper, just in case.


And, as for the half, I had initially thought I was supposed to run it at my hopeful marathon pace of 9:09 which would have been a breeze, but on Friday night, as I laid in my bed being sick, I glanced at my training plan and saw "Half Marathon - goal of 1:52" Ohhhhhh, crapwaffles! I ended up pushing harder than I thought I would have to, but it was all good. My final time:

Clearly, the course was a little long. No worries.

As much as I am enjoying blogging every single freakin' meal *wink*, I am guessing no one in their right mind wants to read this, so I am going to resume normal programming and will be sure to check in on the gluten free thing when I can.

Gluten Free - Day 6/90 : 84 days to go!

Ok, seriously....I have been feeling SO GOOD and then day 6 comes along, and I start to feel like a piece of crap on the bottom of someone's shoe.

Last night, I had a really bad run. I got on the treadmill at the gym for an easy 5 miler, and within the first quarter mile, I was sweating and felt nauseous. I made it a grand total of 2 miles in 22 minutes and some change. I was a mess. Hubby and I went home and I crashed.

Friday arrived and fortunately, I don't have much on my agenda.  I was able to get the kids on the bus for school, load up the dishwasher, and do the grocery shopping before my body was able to figure out what I was doing. After the groceries were put away, I grabbed a bowl of Vanilla Chex and laid in my bed, watching DVR's for longer than I care to mention. At some point, I remembered that I hadn't truly had lunch so I stumbled out of the bedroom, spread some PB2 on rice cakes, threw a few grapes on the plate, and went back to my bed to relax.

I am decidedly calling it "Leftover Night" and going to bed early. This means no First Friday action for this girl. *sad face* Half marathon tomorrow - outcome not looking good....

Gluten Free - Day 5/90 - 85 days to go!

Day 5 was NO PROBLEMO! I think I am getting the hang of this gluten free thing now....

Breakfast - 3 egg whites with a turkey sausage patty and melted cheese, apple

Lunch - 4 oz deli turkey (certified GF, of course) and some leftover zucchini with quinoa stuffing

Snack - 3 GF crackers with PB2

Dinner - THE most delicious homemade soup ever and a salad


So....Here is the recipe for the delicious soup:

Ingredients:

Extra virgin olive oil, as needed

3-4 split chicken breasts (free-range organic, if possible), rinsed, patted dry

8 cloves fresh garlic, chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 heaping cups thinly shredded cabbage (bagged cole slaw mix is fast and easy)

1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, cut up

1 yellow summer squash, cut up

2 zucchini squash, cut up

6 to 8 baby Yukon Gold potatoes, cut up

1 4-oz. can chopped green chiles- mild or hot, to taste

1 teaspoon rubbed sage

1 teaspoon each of: dried basil, oregano and parsley

Hot red pepper flakes, shake to taste

1 14-oz. can Muir Glen organic fire roasted diced tomatoes

2 or more cups organic chicken broth, as needed

A dash or two of balsamic vinegar to taste

Instructions:

Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil into the bottom of a crockpot. Lay the chicken breasts in the bottom; top with half the chopped garlic. Season with sea salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, combine the shredded cabbage, bell pepper, yellow and zucchini squashes, potatoes, and green chiles; and toss them with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Season with sea salt, ground pepper, herbs and a shake or two of hot red pepper flakes. Toss to coat.

Pour the veggies into the crock in an even layer. Pour on the diced tomatoes. Add the chicken broth and a dash of balsamic vinegar, to taste. The liquid should just about cover the veggies. If you like more of a brothy soup than a stew, add more broth.

Cover and cook on high for 5 to 6 hours, until the chicken is tender and easily breaks apart into pieces with a large spoon (my chicken was very cold when it went into the pot, so adjust your cook time accordingly, if you need to).

Taste test for seasoning adjustments. I added a pinch of brown sugar to mine to balance the tomato-garlic and spice. Stir in any seasoning adjustments and serve.

Makes four hearty servings to soothe you - body and soul. This recipe is gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, corn-free.

Thank you Gluten Free Goddess for another wonderful recipe.

Gluten Free - Day 4/90 - 86 days to go

Another day and another gluten free recipe. This one was courtesy of Real Simple.

Breakfast - 3 egg whites mixed with spinach, grape tomatoes, and an apple

Lunch - Chipolte burrito bowl with brown rice, black beans, steak, salsa and lettuce.

• Ok, I *know* that I just had Chipolte for the first time YESTERDAY, but I have a reasonable explanation for why I had it again. See, it is a rare occasion for me to have a day off from watching kids and this happened to be one of those days. I decided to run down in Oakland and meet the hubby for lunch. We agreed to meet at a place I had seen online called the Red Oak Cafe. Urbanspoon had them listed as gluten free friendly. Well, we went in and I asked about my options. They said any of their sandwiches could be made gluten free but when I asked about what kind of bread they used, the guy just kind of stared at me and then went to the back and brought out a bag of Udi's bread. As I surveyed the scene, it didn't look like they had separate areas for the gluten free items so I decided that cross contamination was too much of a risk and we walked out. And of course, right across the street there was a Chipolte *wink*

Dinner -  Chicken breast, applesauce, and zucchini with quinoa stuffing.

Snack - Cheesy bacon dip and apple slices

• I went to a craft night at a friend's house where we were making wine bottle vases. I had brought the cheesy bacon dip so I knew I was safe with that. I would have brought along some gluten free crackers too but the hostess had mentioned that she would have veggies for dipping. Unfortunately, there were no veggies so I just ate it plain. And someone had brought sliced apples so I was able to eat those. 
• There were brownies on the table that looked DIVINE but I didn't want to have to restart my 90 days so I just looked the other way. 

Gluten Free - Day 3/90 - 87 days to go!

Day 3 and I have discovered the BEST place for gluten free eating - CHIPOLTE! (Which I refuse to look up for fear of finding out that it is not as healthy as I think it is...)

Breakfast - 2 Deviled egg halves and a banana

• I am STILL trying to use up those deviled eggs....

Lunch -  Chipolte burrito bowl with brown rice, beans, chicken, salsa and lettuce

• A bunch of us met up for lunch and this was the perfect place to go:)

Afternoon Snack -  A small Gala apple

Dinner - An all beef hot dog, 3 slices of Natural Nectar Cracklebred with garlic hummus and organic applesauce

• We had someone here giving us a quote on the basement project so I had to eat quickly before going to my Juniors board meeting (read: gluten fest)

Snack - Fruits and Veggies

• Thankfully, one of the 2 meeting hostesses brought the naturally gluten free fruits and vegetables :) I didn't have the dip because I wasn't sure.

So far, so good. My belly still hurts though so we'll see....

Gluten Free - Day 2/90 - 88 days to go!

Day 2 and I tried my first gluten free recipe, thanks to the Gluten Free Goddess.

Breakfast - Al Fresco Italian Sausage and some sauteed peppers with a side of 2 deviled egg halves and a few slices of banana.

• Tasty breakfast and it fueled me perfectly for my 5 mile run on the treadmill - yippee!

Lunch - Weight Watchers chicken burger with 1/2 portion of sharp cheddar cheese melted on top, a small spring mix salad and a handful of grapes

• This was exactly what I would have normally eaten except that it was missing a bun. I did buy some Udi's gluten free buns but I decided that I didn't need it.

Snack - Hershey's peanut butter cup ice cream

• We were out all afternoon and my family wanted Dunkin Donuts. I watched them eat their treats and then practically ran to the shop where I had seen a sign for gluten free ice cream flavors. 

Be sure to turn on the sound for the video below by mousing over the top left corner and then clicking it.

Dinner - Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas, 1/2 ear of corn, and 1/2 serving of chips with salsa on top.

• I am UBER impressed with myself for following this recipe. And it was worth every bit of work that was put into it. Sooooo delish!

Bedtime Snack - 1 portion of Vanilla Chex

• Tasty but I probably need more for a bedtime snack...

Gluten Free - Day 1/90: 89 days to go!

Here it is, my very first day of being gluten free, and yes, I've already discovered where I can find gluten free bakery items. Enter Eden's Market in Mt. Lebanon, who carries a wide range of gluten free products AND they get a weekly delivery from a gluten free bakery in Ligonier.

Breakfast - 3 egg whites and a turkey sausage with 1/2 portion of sharp cheddar melted on top, a few grape tomatoes, and some cut up watermelon.

•  This was simple. It's pretty much what I have every morning but without the bread or wrap.

Lunch - Eat n Park's Grilled Chicken Salad without fries or croutons with some ranch on the side.

• Nick ordered the Bananas Foster French Toast, which, admittedly, looked pretty yummy, but my salad was filling and tasty as well so I was okay. 

Snack -  A gala apple

• Hooray for a naturally gluten free food!

Dinner - 1 all beef hot dog, small Caesar salad, 1/2 ear of corn, and 2 deviled egg halves plus my sweet treat from Eden's Market for dessert.

• We had hosted a picnic the day before where my Dad and youngest sister (both Gluten free) were in attendance, so I had leftovers from that. The sweet treat was DIVINE!