Thanksgiving preparations!

It's been a crazy week.  I was doing so much better at the beginning of the week.  The gluten-free diet has really helped.  I've not been nearly as bloated, achy, or had as many itchy rashes.  So naturally just as things seem to be going well I get step throat.  For the fifth time this year.  You read that right, fifth.  I don't even have tonsils! 

I've learned this week that gluten free takes tons of planning.  I want to be prepared for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow so I'm making some safe stuff to eat. 

First up my all time favorite side dish, baked mac and cheese!  I used gluten free pasta obviously.  Then I melted 2 TB butter in a sauce pan, added 1 TB gluten free flour mix, and 1 cup milk.  Heat until bubbly.  Then I stired in 8oz. of shredded Kroger casserole blend cheese until melted.  Add 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream and mix with pasta.  Pour into pan, top with sharp cheddar and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. 

For dessert I have made a flourless chocolate cake.   I got the recipe from All Recipes.  I made it last week for an office party and it was really good.  Very, very rich!!!  I followed the directions except I make it in a springform pan with no water bath. 

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!  I will be eating around Noon and then hitting the road to D.C.  Big weekend ahead.  I'm so nervous! 

A time of thanks!

I can't believe Thanksgiving week is already upon us!  Time is going by so fast, it's kind of depressing!  I have a busy week ahead.  I work Monday through Wednesday, Thursday I'll be having Thanksgiving dinner at my mother-in-laws and then immediately leaving for D.C.  Friday I have a manicure appointment, the wedding rehersal, and then the dinner.  Saturday is my cousin's big day! We'll get our hair done and then the festivities begin!  I'm so nervous!  I don't want to do anything to ruin the wedding!  I've only been a bridesmaid once before and it was a much more casual affair!  Wish me luck! 

So as for food I am continuing my gluten-free trial.  So far, so good.  I've had mishaps due to my improper checking of ingredients before eating but overall this week as been good.  I do think some of my problems are easing up so I'm going to keep at it for a few more weeks to be certain it's not coincidence.  This will be tough this week with Thanksgiving and travel though.  Anyhow here are some highlights of my meals this past week!

This is an experimental casserole because I didn't feel like going to the store.  It contains gluten free pasta, broccoli, non-fat yogurt, tomatillo sauce, leftover turkey, and montery jack cheese.  It was actually very, very tasty!

Chili with ground turkey.

Crockpot turkey with sweet potatoes.  Brown/wild rice on the side.  I loved the sweet potatos, my husband however thought they were the grossest thing he'd ever tasted!  I put them in the bottom, put the turkey on top, and then topped with butter and wine.  It gave them a strange savory taste that I liked and he hated.  Go figure!

Another weekend flies by!

Yesterday I went to another of my favorite restaurants, Delightfully Yours.  I got my favorite thing on the menu, the butternut squash and bacon panini with sweet potato chips!  It is so, so good.  For dessert we all three split a slice of bourbon pecan cheesecake.  Heavenly!

I got a cranberry scone to go and had it as a midnight snack...it seems someone took a bite of it before I got to it though.  Naturally my husband denies responsibility! ;)

This morning I got up and made fried eggs.  I served mine with Oikos plain yogurt, a touch of honey, and a little bit of Enjoy Life Very Berry Crunch granola.  On the side are some clementines that I shared with my husband.

For dinner I made shepherds pie.  The base is ground beef, carrots, and corn (usually I'd use mushrooms but I was out). The topping is homemade white cheddar mashed potatos.  Very tasty!

I also made some pumpkin butterscotch muffins for breakfast tomorrow (I may have snacked on a couple this evening).  I got the recipe from All Recipes.  I subbed gluten free baking mix for the flour.  These are surprisingly tasty.  From the smell and texture of the mixture I would never have guessed they'd be so amazing!

I also decided to make some cranberry sauce.  I used the recipe in this months Clean Eating magazine.  This is the before cooking picture.

This is the after.  I love making cranberry sauce!  It's one of my favorite things to eat and it's fun to make, especially when the cranberries start popping!  I'm easily entertained that's for sure! :)

I've been on hiatus!

I've totally been lazy about blogging this week!  I went back to the doctor on Tuesday and she basically had no answers for me.  All my bloodwork is good except for a B12 deficiency.  As you can tell I absolutely am not vegan and I eat a lot of meat, eggs, and dairy so there is no reason my B12 should be low.  The doctor admitted she was clueless so due to internet research and help from my cousin who is a nurse, I've requested that she test me for celiacs/gluten intolerance.  It seems the blood test isn't very accurate and EGD is standard but I had an EGD several months back and while they noted inflammation of my small intestine they didn't biopsy it!  Doctors are so frustrating.  In light of the inflammation and my symptoms I feel that regardless of the blood results I'll be doing a trial run of a gluten free diet to see what happens.  Couldn't hurt.  Might help.  So this week I've had a few gluten filled favorites.

Cinnamon raisin English muffins with peanut butter for breakfast. Why the greenish tint I have no idea.

Hibachi steak and noodles from Fujiyamas.  Saved some for lunch! 

Cracker Barrel biscuits with blackberry preserves.

Tomorrow I'll probably have a scone from my favorite bakery.  Then I start the trial diet and if goes well it may be my permanent diet. 

  

Holiday favorites

I'm not super crazy for the whole Christmas season in that I don't like Christmas music, crowds, snow, or putting up decorations.  I know I sound like a total Scrooge, but truely I'm not.  I just like the simple things about the holiday season.  Being with my family and friends especially and also all the lovely food.  Seriously all my favorite foods are around this time of year!  Pumpkin, cranberry, gingerbread, and eggnog!

This morning upon arriving at work my wonderful boss gave me a box of Bigelow Pumpkin Spice tea!  So yummy!  I've mentioned my love for tea many times here and this tea does not disappoint! 

The highlight of my weekend was a trip to Panera Bread where I got the gingerbread bagel and and a gingerbread latte!  I've been waiting all year for the gingerbread bagel to be back!  I got one to go and toasted it for breakfast this morning.  :)

After work I went to the grocery store and they had the Cliff holiday flavors on display!  I had to buy several of each!  Plus they finally have Silk Nog!  I love soy nog! 

The rest of todays meals weren't nearly as exciting as my bagel. Lunch was a Healthy Choice meal.   

Okay but a little bit peppery.

Dinner was a roasted chicken from the deli, Annie's white cheddar mac and cheese, a Dole Autumn blend salad, and two grape leaves from the olive bar.  I was starving and wanted to have something I could eat as soon as possible! 

I'm officially a sloth...

Despite two rounds of antibiotics and a big shot in the butt my sore throat is back!  I'm about sick of this!  Perhaps it's a virus but I swear I've followed the don't get sick rules to a T.  I really need to get back to the gym but I'm scared I'll catch something worse or over-exert myself and further tax my immune system.  Anyhow I have a doctors appointment on Tuesday so I'll just try to hang in until then. 

These pictures are from yesterday because I fell asleep before I could blog!  Breakfast was Blueberry Kashi Go Lean waffles, Nutella, and strawberry All-Fruit.  Brown Cow Greek yogurt on the side.  I had this exact same breakfast today minus the All-Fruit.

Yesterday's lunch: An Amy's spinach pizza pocket and a low sodium V8.  Yum!

By dinnertime yesterday I had developed a HUGE lasagna craving.  So I made some.  No low-fat veggie filled recipe here.  All meat and cheesy goodness! :P  Lasagna is my all time favorite food!

This lasagna was today's lunch!  Yum!  Leftovers rock!

I made a mistake and bought a bag of Reese's candy that was marked down post Halloween.  These Reese's pieces along with the Reese's sticks and PB cups have been torturing me ever since.  I've had a few over the past couple of days...

The past two days I've been drinking this tea.  I usually hate green tea (I love black tea though) but this tea is quite tasty.  No bitter yuckiness like most green tea.  I obviously have been sick and run down plus my stomach is always acting ugly so I thought this was the perfect combo! 

Forgot to add I grabbed a Gingerbread soy latte after dinner tonight.  I've been craving one all day long!  So, so good. Lattes with soymilk are so much tastier than with regular milk.  Obviously I did not take this picture...

Anyhow one more day of work and then I get the weekend to rest.  If I am feeling better I'd love to do some Christmas shopping...we'll see how it goes!

Eggnog season is in full swing!!!

Nothing exciting going on in my world today.  Except for it being the slowest work day ever.  I don't know what was going on but everyone was feeling it! 

Lunch was leftovers from my mother in law's Sunday dinner.  Beef stew with whole wheat rolls.  Also a grapefruit Izze.  Those are yummy.  I came home feeling blah.  Crashed on the couch and watched Nirvana Live at Reading.  Then I went to dinner at Macado's again.  No pictures because my sandwich looked nearly identical to the one I had Sunday night.  Except it had roast beef, cole slaw, cheddar, and bbq sauce. 

 

After dinner I had to race on over to Starbucks to get the first eggnog latte of the season.  I'm proud to report they finally got this right.  Every year I eagerly order an eggnog latte and every year they scorch the eggnog and it tastes terrible.  Well the curse has been broken.  This one was right on!  Now I must hurry back for the gingerbread.  It's another favorite.  I'm a huge Starbucks fan.

The remainder of the evening was spent talking to my cousin on the phone.  Since I rarely, or um never, post pictures of myself I decided to throw up this not so flattering shot of me and my cousin.  I'm the one that is a full foot shorter. :P

November already???

Time is just flying!  It doesn't seem right that it's already November!  Anyhow I'm tired so I'll do a quick recap of the weekend highlights.  First Saturday morning breakfast.  Bacon and white cheddar omelet.  Don't worry.  I split this with my husband.  I swear I didn't eat the whole thing!  Learning to flip an omelet was a highpoint in my culinary life! lol!

 Went to Sam's Club Saturday and got some yummy things.  Chai Spiced Cider.  The best cider ever!

Sugar Pears.  So cute.  Like little baby pears!

I guess it was minature food day because I also felt the urge to purchase kiwi berries. 

Sunday I broke open a new jar of preserves.  Very delicious.  I bought this at Pier 1.  How random!

I served the jam on Kashi Go Lean waffles.  One half has peanut butter and the other has almond butter.  The almond butter half was way better!

Sunday night we went to Macado's for dinner.  I got the turkey rueben on a croissant.  I've been going through a big croissant phase for awhile now. Sad that they are so much worse for me than regular sliced bread. 

Today I tried a new Odwalla bar.  The Mocha-walla.  Pretty tasty.  It had little chocolate chips in it that made my morning. 

Still trying to get well and stay well.  Hard to do, everywhere I go someone is sick with the flu!  On my doctors advice I'm taking olive leaf extract.  I'd never heard of it but according to the book that came with it, it can prevent and even cure infections, viruses, fungi, and parasites.  Hmmmm....seems a bit much but it couldn't hurt to try!