Day 16: Celery

I figured I probably have enough items to finish 30 days of things I can eat now. So I'm jumping back into that as well.

Today's food is celery. Celery is nice to chew because it feels like I'm accomplishing the act of eating without too many allergies or calories. Right now I am munching short celery sticks that I cut up last night. Great snack!

I've heard that celery is a "negative calorie food." E.g., the act of eating celery burns more calories than you take in from the celery. I wonder if I can find a place to corroborate that.

[PAUSE]

WOW! It's true! According to a number of resources I trust, especially www.snopes.com, celery is a negative calorie food. Check it out! The act of chewing isn't what burns the caolries, though; it's the energy required for digestion. Nifty!

I use celery to bulk up salads when I'm stuck at a buffet where I can't trust most food. I cannot have too many leafy greens, because my body cannot digest them very well. So here is the "recipe" I use for buffets when I have to make a meal out of little or nothing.

ULTIMATE BUFFET SALAD
- Red cabbage, shredded
- Carrots, slivered
- Celery chunks
- Cucumber slices
- Mung beans (they are mostly water, but add some variety)
- Broccoli or cauliflower, if I'm feeling adventurous
- Sunflower seeds (or sesame seeds, if they have them)
- Red kidney beans (ok, so I don't add them right now since I'm avoiding hardcore legumes, but they were very yummy when I could add them)
- Plain chicken, if it's actually plain, which it rarely is, on top.

Grab a piece of fruit for dessert and you've survived eating out with your coworkers!

Day 15: Broccoli

I brought my broccoli to work with the best of intentions. The little florets are not overly nummy, but I liked the idea that I could get some crunchiness from a snack. But like a recalcitrant child, I could not motivate myself to eat the poor veggie and it went bad.

Round 1 - Broccoli 1, celiacsings 0

And then inspiration struck! What if I melted cheddar cheese on the broccoli, like a loaded baked potato without the potato part? So the next time I brought the broccoli AND shredded cheese to work. Lunchtime approached and I realized that the broccoli on potatoes is usually steamed or cooked in some way. Could I risk just sticking it all in the microwave without cooking the broccoli? Indecision battled with hunger and the certainty of the rest of my food won out.

Round 2 - Broccoli 2, celiacsings 0

But today is the day. The broccoli is still crisp; the cheese is still sans mold. Half our staff is off-site so if the disaster smells terribly, I have fewer apologies to make.

I looked up how to steam broccoli in the microwave. It's as straight-forward as one could probably get:

1. Wash broccoli.
2. Chop off stalks so you get cute little tree-like pieces.
3. Place florets and 1-2 Tbsp. of water in microwave safe dish, ideally with lid. I have no lid here at work so I'm going to use our microwave safe plastic wrap.
4. Microwave for 3-10 minutes depending on microwave.
5. Broccoli is done when still slightly crisp, very aromatic, and bright green.

Alright, reading audience. Wish my office luck, that this doesn't have dire olfactory consequences!!

[pause]

And SUCCESS! (for the most part...) The broccoli with light cheese is actually quite good. I should probably get some plastic wrap that is more microwavable, though. Thankfully, because I only had one small stalk I only needed to microwave the plastic wrap for a little less than 2 minutes. The wrap had only started to melt to the bowl. Sigh.

Round 3: Broccoli 2, celiacsings 1, plastic wrap -1

Broccoli with Cheddar Cheese Snack (serves 1)

• 2 stalks of broccoli
• 1-2 Tbsp water
• 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• salt to taste

1. Wash broccoli and chop florets of stalks.
2. Place broccoli & water in microwave safe dish. Sprinkle with salt as desired. Cover with lid or microwavable plastic wrap.
3. Microwave on high for 2-4 minutes, depending on microwave strength and amount of florets. Broccoli is done when still slightly crisp, very aromatic, and bright green.
4. Uncover. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
5. Microwave on 80% for 25 seconds or high for 15 seconds. Again it may be more or less depending on your microwave and how melted you want the cheese.

And there you go. It took a few rounds, but eventually there was veggie success!

Day 14: Fage Yogurt

Yogurt is good, in general, for those dealing with candida and is often gluten-free (beware fruit concoctions with modified food starch, though). Yogurt encourages the growth of positive bacteria. Of course, if you have dairy issues, you've probably avoided yogurt for years like me.

However, last summer my nutritionist recommended Fage yogurt, because the lactose-level is low. It settled well when I didn't eat it with blueberries (I'm allergic, it turns out, to blueberries).

Fage's site lists a bunch of recipes: http://www.fageusa.com/recipes.aspx. This one struck me as very yummy. I think I will try to make it this weekend!

Lamb Cutlets with a Herb Crust and Yogurt Dressing

(http://www.fageusa.com/recipe_detail.aspx?PageId=172)

This recipe is very simple, but looks spectacular, and so is ideal for entertaining. Serve with Mediterranean-style rice, cooked with a little onion, tomato and herbs, and a generous helping of thick, creamy FAGE Total Yogurt.

Preparation: 5 minutes Cooking: 10 minutes Serves: 4

Ingredients

Small bunch of thyme, stalks removed
1 tbsp each mixed peppercorns, cumin seeds and coriander seeds
Large bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Lamb cutlets 2 – 3 per person, depending on size
7 oz FAGE Total Yogurt
1 1/2 lemon

Preparation

1. Place the thyme, spices and parsley in a pestle with the oil and grind for 2 – 3 minutes.
2. Press this seasoning into both surfaces of each cutlet.
3. Grill or cook the cutlets in a griddle pan for about 8 minutes until thoroughly cooked, turning once.
4. Mix the FAGE Total Yogurt with the lemon juice and spoon over the cutlets, just before serving.
5. Serve with rice or mashed potato.

Chef's tip

If you don’t have a pestle and mortar, crush the spices with a rolling pin and chop the herbs, then add the oil. To make a great, creamy mashed potato, add FAGE Total Yogurt in place of milk and butter.

Day 13: Shrimp

It's actually quite surprising to me that with all of my food issues, I am not allergic to shellfish or seafood of any kind. I really don't care for the fishy tasting critters, but at least they won't kill me or make me wish I'm dead!

I went to a Tex Mex restaurant with my cousin a few months ago. After some confusion (and a not-so-quick jaunt to the manager's office's printer), the server gave me a gluten-free list of foods. Of course, almost nothing was garlic-free. All of the meat was marinated with garlic. All the rice & sides had either garlic or flour. And the non-garlic or gluten items were beans. (This was my own fault for agreeing to eat at this genre of restaurant, but I digress.)

So there's nothing to eat on the menu, but their staff was dedicated to getting me food. (I wish I could remember which restaurant it was.) They finally came up with shrimp. Their shrimp is not marinated already so fajitas could be made with oil and no spicing. Corn tortillas rounded out the hard-earned feast.

It was great and a triumph for the staff as well as me.

Next on my restaurant-shrimp visiting list: Romano's Macaroni Grill so I can try their "Jumbo Shrimp Spiedini." Has anyone tried it yet?

Day 12: Tapioca

I have a box of tapioca starch in my cupboard. However, in beginning this entry, I realized I had no earthly idea what tapioca actually was or where it comes from. So off to the internet I went!

Much like canola oil does not come from a canola (it comes from rapeseed), I hypothesized that tapioca may not come from a tapioca plant, mostly just because I'd never heard of one. I was right! (for once...) Tapioca is a starch that comes from the root of the cassava plant aka yuca (one 'c') plant aka manioc. It's native to South America.

It takes a lot of processing to get to the tapioca. The root itself contains cyanide toxins and you really don't want to be eating that in your pudding!

Speaking of which, I've never had tapioca pudding. Some people rave about it. Others never mention it. I'm going to try to make it.

I've decided to create a version that does not have the 1/3 or 1/2 cup of refined sugar in it. I don't know whether the coconut milk will compensate enough. However, I feel like it's worth it, because if I could make an edible sugar-free dessert-like object, I would be very happy! I'll post the recipe if it works...

Day 11: Olive Oil

I thought about this item long and hard on Saturday...and then didn't get around to posting it. Ah well!

I don't like olives. And I much prefer corn oil for cooking. But that being said, olive oil certainly has its place, especially in Italian dishes. For me it seems to make more "taste sense". I often use it when making pizza or pasta recipes.

I am always envious of my fellow diners when I go to a nice, often Italian restaurant and they provide a basket of bread and olive oil. I've never successfully remembered to bring my own bread in advance.

Only one time did I go to a gluten-free friendly restaurant (prior to the yeast diagnosis) in New York City, that had gluten-free bread that I could use. They warmed it in the back and brought it out and felt a bit like a queen. It was heavenly.

And because I only visit NYC once every 2-3 years, I can't tell you the name of the restaurant. I wish I remembered it. Actually, I may be able to find it online (you can find everything on line these days).

[pause while katie goes searching]

No luck for sure. It could have been Sambuca (http://sambucanyc.com/), but I wouldn't swear by that. They do have a gluten-free menu and it is a nice Italian restaurant.

In searching for my gf olive oil dipping source, I found a great resource: the Celiac Handbook blog. http://www.celiachandbook.com/newyork.html It's got a great list of GF restaurant options in New York city.

Day 10: Quinoa

Quinoa is a gluten-free grain. It comes from the Andes Mountains of South America, but the Quinoa Corporation ships it up here. (http://www.quinoa.net/127/index.html) I think it's a funny grain, in many ways.

• It's got a funny name. Though it looks like it should be pronounced qwinn-no-uh, it's actually pronounced keen-wah.



• It's funny that it's not actual a grain. Technically, it's a seed, but here in North America we use it as, and refer to it as, a grain.



• It's funny in that every six months or so I think, "I should make something with quinoa!" And then I do. And then it's just ok, not fabulous, not horrid. Just kind of there. I have yet to find a recipe that makes quinoa pop for me.

But, as someone pointed out to me, this is a record of 30 days of things I can eat, not necessarily things I like. I can eat quinoa. And I don't dislike it, not really. I'm on the fence.

Anyone have any good quinoa recipes? I'd love to hear them and find a way to make quinoa yummy for me!

Day 9: Brown Rice

I'm already grasping at straws (or grains, as the case may be). But brown rice is an approved food, in moderation, so it's a valid entry.

There's not much to say on brown rice. Or rather not a ton that's interesting.

"brown rice" gets 2,470,000 hits on Google. Lots of recipes and lots of debate brown vs. white rice. (brown is healthier, but can be more fatty...) If you switch to images, the pictures are just as prolific.

My nothing can really come close to the reach and dissemination of brown rice and rice, in general, through my diet these past few years. Rice is my wheat. Brown rice is a side dish, a main dish, and a flour. It is a cereal, a bread, and Rice milk replaces dairy and soy for me. Rice pasta is the cheapest gluten-free pasta option I've found and if you use the right brand, it only falls apart a little.

Six years ago, I'm not sure I had ever made brown rice. If I had, it was because I picked up instant brown instead of instant white in the store. With the Celiac diagnosis in 2004, everything shifted and now I use brown rice and brown rice-based ingredients in everything!

I made this recipe below before lentils were scratched from my list, but it's so wonderful I wanted to share.

I adapted it from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone; it's a recipe for mujadarrah.

Lentils & Rice with Fried Onions
6 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, halved, sliced moderately thin
1 and 1/4 cups of lentils (brown or green - I used brown)
3/4 cup long-grain brown rice
Salt & pepper

• Heat the oil & add the cut up onion.
• The recipe says to cook the onion until rich, dark brown. We tried that; it didn't work so well for us. It made the onions very harsh in the mouth. Instead the second time, we just brown them slightly, about 5 minutes. MUCH better!
• While you are futzing with the onion, stick the lentils in a pot with 1 quart water and salt to taste (~1/2 tsp.). Bring to boil, simmer for 15 minutes.
• Add rice , pepper, and any additional water needed to cover the lentil & rice combo.
• Add lid and cook over low heat until rice is done. The recipe says about 15 minutes. It took us about 25 with brown rice.
• Turn off heat and stir in the carmelized, not blackened onions. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
  

ENJOY!!!!

P.S. This makes a fabulous potluck dish since:

• legume allergies are not very common,
• it's vegetarian and filling unlike a plate of lettuce,
• can be a main course or a side dish, and
  
• it takes so few ingredients that you can often whip it up in under an hour from stuff you already have around (if you have a basket of onions like we do)

Day 8: Eggs

When I was working with the nutritionist last summer (of course, not covered by health insurance), egg whites were something we used for a great source of protein. I've never really cared for the texture of hard-boiled egg yolks, but the whites were always very yummy. But again not something I cooked myself.

I must have called my mother the first six times I tried to make hard-boiled eggs. The 7th time I just faked it. Now I continue to fake it with some regularity. But now I've found a new method I have to try!

Recently my friend & coworker forwarded to me a website on how to cook hard-boiled eggs IN THE OVEN! Has anyone ever done this? The idea fascinates me. I'll let you know how it works!

Here is the link to site he sent me: http://tipnut.com/hard-boiled-eggs/.

Day 7: Corn

Internet sites and even the candida books I have differ on whether corn is approved or not on the anti-candida diet. But, to the best of my knowledge, I am not allergic to it and since it shows up as approved on some lists, I'm going to go for it!

Ah, corn. It shows up in so many forms: corn on the cob, frozen nibblets, cornmeal, corn flour, corn oil, and the forbidden corn syrup.

It's not nearly as good for you, but I much prefer the taste of corn oil when cooking. Vegetable oil is often soybean oil and with my legume issues, soy is "right out". But even though olive oil is the healthier choice, corn oil is always the first one I reach for.

I freely admit that I had to look up how to cook corn on the cob recently. It's straight-forward enough that I could have (should have?) faked it, but there's always a part of me that wants to know what everyone else "normally" does before I go off on my crazy cookin' own.

Corn on the Cob - Boiled

• Boil water. Add salt if desired.
• Husk and wash corn. I break them in half for more manageable pieces.
• Carefully drop in boiling water.
• Boil for 7-10 minutes (the only real key piece of info!).
• Remove with tongs. Eat ASAP!

I've cooked some pieces tonight that I hope to bring to work for lunch over the course of this week. We shall see how well that goes. I'm not sure what reheating will do to the taste or consistency. I'll let you know!

One thing I did find very useful when scouring the 'net was a recipe for corn on the cob in the microwave. I've made it twice now. It helps if you can monitor it from the same room, or at least some where close by. Running down the length of your office when you hear something popping is not high on the professional scale.

I followed this site for the microwave directions: http://www.microwavecornonthecob.com/

The quick summary of the site is:
Soak corn for 30 or more minutes.
Squeeze away excess water.
Microwave for 7 minutes.
Shuck under cold water.
Enjoy!

Day 6: Fresh Herbs

When buying them in the store, fresh herbs can be expensive. But some of the literature on candidiasis indicates that dried herbs gain yeast-enhancing molds during the drying process. So to be true to that, I only include fresh herbs on my list.

My favorites tend to be basil and mint. Rosemary is good too, but a little goes a very long way. My boss brought in some herbs from her garden so I got to play with some fresh sage, parsley, thyme, and oregano as well.

I was so envious of her access to the fresh herbs; I really need to start my own garden. I feel like I would find some much more to do with the herbs instead of just adding them to chicken and pasta! I think I'll start with a little basil plant. I understand mint is quite prolific and with my luck, it would overtake everything else in our yard.

At some point, I want to try Vietnamese, vegetarian summer rolls. They tend to be rice paper, mint, carrots, leafy greens, red cabbage, and a few other veggies thrown into taste. That would be a good use for mint. I'll post the recipe once I try it!

Day 5: Salmon

I don't like fish. Generally, the taste it leaves at the back of my throat makes me gag. Thank goodness for popcorn shrimp or I never would have eaten out growing up otherwise. (Red Lobster was our family's restaurant of choice.)

But then came Celiac and my popcorn shrimp was out. What to do?! My mother concocted a simple salmon recipe for my father (a fellow Celiac suffer) to have and eventually I risked it. To my surprise, I loved it.

Since then, I've found salmon to be a common "safe" food when eating out. Instead of being marinated, it is often just glazed and they are happy to leave the sauce off.

I would love to include the salmon recipe, but my mother hasn't sent it to me yet. I know it involves salmon, butter, and lemon zest. Watch this space for more soon!

Day 4: Almonds

Day 4: Almonds

I was a late-comer to many foods, mostly out of necessity. As the items I used to eat fell off the "Approved" list, one by one, other items had to take their places.

Before legumes were kicked off the list I had discovered the joy of green beans and slivered almonds. If you like bacon and want the beans to be very tasty, but not nearly as good for you, toss in some bacon bits. For extra, bacon-ness, dump the whole concoction into the skillet you just cooked the bacon in and stir beans & almonds until coated.

Once beans were lost to me, I would use a handful almonds (~12) with a fruit, usually an apple, as a healthy, between-meals munchie. It helped sustain me and kept me body processing food by "grazing" throughout the course of the day.

But with the candidiasis, I'm supposed to be avoiding fruit sugars as well. No more apple & almond snacks.

So now I've started adding almond to my rice pasta. It makes the side dish more substantial and I eat less of it, consequently.

Pine Nut & Almond Pasta

1 box of gluten-free pasta (about ~8 oz)
1/8 cup of pine nuts
1/4 cup of slivered almonds
2 Tbsp of olive oil
Salt, dextrose-free

• Cook pasta as instructed. I add a little salt to the water when cooking the pasta.
• In medium to large skillet, heat up oil & salt on medium heat.
• Lower heat to simmer level. Add pine nuts and almonds.
• Stir them frequently as they toast. The best indicator for when the nuts are done is the pine nuts. Once the pine nuts start to brown, remove skillet from heat.
• The pasta will most likely be done about the same time. Drain the pasta.
• Put the drained pasta in the skillet and stir. If your skillet is too small for all of the pasta, do a few scoops at a time in batches. Not only will this help mix in the nuts, but it will coat the pasta with the oil.
• Put the mixture back in the pot and pour any remaining nuts & oil mixture on top.
  
• Toss once more for optimal mixage. Enjoy!

Day 3: Chicken

Day 3: Plain, plain, plain chicken

I used to season everything with garlic. It was wonderful on chicken. About 13 months ago though, I found out I was allergic to garlic too. Sigh! First gluten, now garlic (and yeast!)--what was I going to eat?

I've created a simple baked chicken recipe that works for me. I eat it with brown rice or brown rice pasta. It would be great with the millet & corn recipe from yesterday too.

1.5 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken tenders
2 Tbsp corn oil
1/2 cup of fresh shredded basil
Dextrose-free salt & pepper to taste
Squirt of lemon juice, if you're feeling brave

• Preheat the oven to 375.
• Put oil in 11 x 14 pan. Season with salt & pepper (yes, there's no chicken in there yet!)
• Add lemon juice, if you are feeling up for it..
• Wash chicken tenders. Roll in oil, salt & pepper (+ lemon) to coat. Lay flat in single layer in pan.
• Cook for 20 minutes.
• Carefully flip over tenders with fork and sprinkle basil on.
• Cook for 10-15 more minutes until done.

YUM!

Day 2: Millet

I'll admit I was looking for another grain when I ran across the millet this morning. I don't know that I've ever cooked or cooked with millet before today, but I decide this would be a good one for Day 2.

Here's a simple recipe I tried this morning.

Millet & Pan-cooked Corn

• 2 3/4 + 1/4 cups water
• 1 + 1 tablespoons corn oil
• 1 cup uncooked millet
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn Kosher sea salt with no dextrose added - to taste
• Pepper - to taste

Put 2 3/4 cups water, 1 Tbsp corn oil, & a little salt in a pot. Bring to a boil.

Add millet & cover. Simmer for 25 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for 10 minutes.

5 minutes after the millet is done, put other Tbsp of corn oil, 1/4 cup water & a little salt into a skillet. Heat up and added frozen corn.

Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add millet to corn in skillet, stirring together. Millet will soak up the water/oil/corn "juice" mixture.

Once thoroughly mixed, scoop onto plate and serve!

If you cook this recipe, just comment and let me know! I know I've scoured the web for simple recipes with only a few ingredients and it's been hard to find.

Day 1: Sesame

OPEN SESAME!!! Or should that be "open with sesame"? Probably.

I love sesame. I use it in oil form and seed form. When the latest round of allergies was diagnosed, I would use sesame to spice up everthying I could find.

30 Days of Food I Can Eat

Another blogger friend of mine spent the month of August doing 30 Days of post about items she disliked. This month it's things she loves and a bunch of other writers have hopped on the bandwagon for September. I'm going to try to do 30 Days of food I can eat. Hopefully, I'll be able to come up with 30!