Wheat Belly: Week 4 + 5

Well, I'm back from vacation in Florida.  It was a wonderful time with the husband and some awesome friends, but its always good to get back home.  You probably noticed I didn't post anything last week, well I took a hiatus from all electronics.  That's right, no phone, well except to call home on Thanksgiving, no Facebook, and no computer or iPad.  It was really nice to just relax and live in the moment.

Anyway, eating gluten free and traveling was quite the challenge.  Especially eating seafood and eating out.   Eating out isn't so bad, except there are so many temptations and I still have cravings for wheat and gluten so my will power is growing, but slowly!  The challenge with seafood is that a lot of it is fried or some ingredient is added to thicken this and that and most likely it contains wheat/gluten.  Even though it was challenging it was still a good experience.  I learned to read the menu closer as well as ask our server how the dish was prepared.  This is key when eating out. Don't be afraid to ask if they have any gluten free options or if they know whether or not the dish has ingredients in it that might contain wheat/gluten.  

Gluten Free Thanksgiving was a hit with our friends.  I was a little hesitant with the idea, because I do not want to force my choice on anyone else, but they were excited about trying something new.  I mean why not?  We had already done something different by going to Florida for the holiday so it was fitting to break tradition from the normal Thanksgiving feast.  

Thanksgiving Menu:

1.  Baked Turkey

2.  Better Than Mashed Potatoes: Cauliflower Mashers

3.  Stuffing (Made with Gluten Free Bread)

4.  Green Beans Seasoned with Gluten Free Sausage

5.  Red Wine Sautéed Mushrooms

Round 2:

1.  Stone Crab Claws 

Stone Crab Claws are in season this time of year in Florida.   The really cool thing about Stone Crab is that you don't actually capture and harvest the whole crab just to get the claws.  Stone Crab Claws get cut off the crabs and then they are released back into the ocean where the crabs will grow new claws!  Pretty Cool huh?

Round 3:

1.  Lobster Tail

2.  Fresh caught Grouper and Mackerel from our fishing trip
4.  Sautéed Brussel Sprouts (AHHHMAZING!)

3.  Dark Chocolate Mouse with Home Made Whipped Cream and Raspberries

Not your ordinary chocolate mouse...made with tofu, cocoa powder and a little whipping cream and vanilla.  Less sugar, more protein, and still the most delicious chocolate mouse I've had! :) This was another recipe from Wheat Belly.   

So, I over indulged a little bit on a few brownies, chocolate mouse and wine, but what are vacations for if you can't have a little indulgence!  What matters most is that our Gluten Free Thanksgiving was a success!

Aside from the Thanksgiving dinner, we used leftover Turkey to prepare a second Gluten Free meal, Turkey, Tomato, Brie Sandwiches.   I made the popular herbed focacia bread from Wheat Belly and a horseradish sauce.  We sliced the tomatoes really thin, baked the brie in the oven for a few minutes, and topped it all with some lettuce.  Wala!  An amazing Gourmet Sandwich!  

Week 5

Getting back in the swing of things has been difficult this week.  My sleep schedule is all off, I definitely ate too much at Thanksgiving and I didn't want to leave Florida.  The week off was wonderful, but two weeks would have been amazing!   

How do I get through the transition?  Back to meal planning.  Yep, every week I look through my cook books and plan out each meal for each day. Breakfast and lunch are on your own, but we all come together for dinner.  I then make a grocery list of what we need.  (Be sure to look through your pantry and refrigerator so that you aren't buying stuff you already have.)

This weeks menu:

Monday:  Meatloaf and Steamed Cabbage and small golden potatoes (the perfect 1 serving)

Tuesday:  Turkey Enchiladas (from leftovers)

Wednesday:  Oriental Chicken Salad and Fresh Garden Salad

Thursday:  Creamy Tomato Soup

Friday:  Make your own Mini Pizza

Saturdays and Sundays are usually a toss up because everyone is in and out at different times.  But, if we have enough leftovers from the week that is what we will eat.  If not, a nice pot of chili or chicken soup is easy and goes a long way!

Happy Eating!

xoxo,

Alissa

P.S.  

If you are interested in home interiors, like design and architecture, check out my latest post about our house we are building.  We are super excited and it looks like ground breaking will be this weekend.  Fingers Crossed!