{10 Days of Real Food Recap}

Just tuning in? I just finished the 10 Days of Real Food Pledge! It went from 9/19-9/28. Check out their website first for all the details like what the 10 day pledge is all about, what you can/can’t eat, and recipe/food ideas. (keep in mind that Lisa and her family are not gluten-free… so some of the recipes need to be converted)

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I sailed through the last days of the challenge — on leftovers. Nothing too amazing to report.

Except this mothership of locally raised meats from our friendly farmer, down the road from the in-laws’ house.

Aren’t those chickens huge? This is what they look like when you roast them up…

We slooooow roasted the tomatoes at 250 degrees for over an hour — they were so tasty! Then quick roasted the broccoli at 425 for less than 20 minutes, just tossed with olive oil and salt & pepper, and a shake of Penzey’s Bangkok seasoning.

 

And I also canned tomatoes — which actually turned into freezing, instead of canning, but I like to call it canning, cool? I made stewed tomatoes from all of our remaining tomatoes, which will be perfect this winter to pull out and use for soups and sauces.

And I used the extras for a batch of bloody mary mix for Oktoberfest last weekend. (or some really tasty V8-like juice)

(minus the vodka… totally real food style) 🙂

Are you Oktoberfesting?

We brought Nephew Nick this year — a first timer… and he was big fun! (and for the record, he is a huge fan of my banana chocolate chip muffins… and so were the rest of our fest friends)

I’m going to keep on keepin’ on. Eating real foods (for the most part anyway — there will be moments of being flexible and having treats), and paying more attention to the sugar intake… as in, it needs to take a hiatus.

It is an absolute eye opener when you realize how much sugar is added to things. Shocking. And not only sugar, but keeping with the “if it’s packaged/boxed, there have to be five ingredients or less” rule, our packaged foods are full of extras. And I’m not talking the stuff we know we shouldn’t eat, I’m talking about things that are put out there as healthier food options: yogurt, deli meats, healthier versions of salad dressings.

Even if you’re not down for the 10 Days of Real Food pledge, just take an extra minute to look at those labels, you might be surprised!

And a shout out to my husband for joining me on the journey. We had some fun in the kitchen, cleaned out the pantry, got creative with leftovers. We’re 10 Days of Real Food champs!

And I will say, that after being more “flexible” over the weekend, with adding in some bread, a handful of pretzels, and of course more alcohol, (I didn’t really drink during the 10 days much) I paid for it this week. My stomach was off. I think it’s still recovering. Our bodies know what is best. I just have to be a better listener. 🙂

I did score a fabulous, real food approved, brunch on Sunday at Fayze’s in La Crosse. It was our go-to place when we were in college. Love me some Fayze’s. But I wasn’t sure how GF-friendly they would be, so I had kind of avoided them the last couple years of the fest. So happy we tried them out this year!

In the red cup? A beermosa: New Grist & OJ. (they also had Redbridge, double points for Fayze’s!)

So there you have it. Another 10 Days of Real Food pledge success story. Did you play along? How did it go for you?

Stop back soon for a Q&A with my Celiac Sista — you know, the one I talk about all the time, super-mom to four boys, real food advocate? Yep, her. She’ll be here to share kiddo friendly foods, packed lunches that little ones actually want to eat, and more!

 

{10 Days of Real Food — Day 4 & 5}

Just tuning in? I’m doing the 10 Days of Real Food Pledge from 9/19-9/28. Feel free to join me at any time — but check out their website first for all the details like what the 10 day pledge is all about, what you can/can’t eat, and recipe/food ideas. (keep in mind that Lisa and her family are not gluten-free… so some of the recipes need to be converted — give a shout if you need ANY help!) 

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I’m currently taking name suggestions for these bars.

When I first made them, I sent a text to my celiac sister and said, “omg. come quick…I made Almond Joy Larabars.”

But that doesn’t have a nice ring to it. In my post the other day I called them, “I-Miss-Almond-Joy Bars,” even though I haven’t really been craving or even thinking of those yummy little candy bars this week — so they are going to need a new name, any ideas?

While you think about — how about the recipe?

10 Days of Real Food: Day 2 & 3 Update

Just tuning in? I’m doing the 10 Days of Real Food Pledge from 9/19-9/28. Feel free to join me at any time — but check out their website first for all the details like what the 10 day pledge is all about, what you can/can’t eat, and recipe/food ideas. (keep in mind that Lisa and her family are not gluten-free… so some of the recipes need to be converted — give a shout if you need ANY help!) 

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When I got home from work I was hungry.

Hangry, actually. (so hungry = angry, if no food)

And I took a look in the fridge, then the cupboards, then the fridge again — you know, just to be sure some super satisfying snack hadn’t magically appeared.

I had to stop and take a moment to think it out.   It made me realize what a habit that has become. Walk in. Head for the fridge. Snack, while I dream up what’s for dinner. (like having a mini-meal before the meal) No bueno.

*POST INTERRUPTION: at this exact point last night, I was sending some photos from my phone to email, so I could download them and put them into the post — I thought I’d close my eyes for just a minute… and I woke up 45 minutes later to the laundry timer going off. Guess I was tired, which is why this will now be a Day 2 AND Day 3 update. 🙂

So instead, I set out to make a simple skillet meal with what we had in the fridge/freezer.

Day 1 of 10 Days of Real Food

Just tuning in? I’m doing the 10 Days of Real Food Pledge from 9/19-9/28. Feel free to join me at any time — but check out their website first for all the details like what the 10 day pledge is all about, what you can/can’t eat, and recipe/food ideas. (keep in mind that Lisa and her family are not gluten-free… so some of the recipes need to be converted — give a shout if you need ANY help!) 

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Guess who got her husband to join her on this 10 day adventure?

This girl. 🙂

It’s so much easier to stay on track when you have a partner.

Breakfast: Caprese Poached Eggs

10 Days of Real Food (Take 2)

It’s time for some real food.

As much as I have been loving our anniversary cake, plenty of White Russians, and all the other goodies I’ve indulged in lately… there comes a time when you need to get back on track.

Curb the sugar.

Get back to real food.

Friday Photos: 10 Days of Real Food Pledge? Check.

Welcome to Friday Photos, a weekly feature here on Celiac in the City — you can read how it all started by clicking HERE.)

 

Guess how I celebrated making it through the 10 Days of Real Food Pledge?

More real food.

Who wants hummus?

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4 Ingredient Hummus 

1 can chick peas, drained & rinsed

olive oil – a couple tablespoons, depending on your consistency preference 

lemon juice – about half a lemon

1 clove garlic

salt/pepper (to taste)

Throw it all in a food processor (I used the mini one) and run it until it’s nice and smooth. Or leave a little texture if you’d like.

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You see, I’m just planning on keeping this thing going. That doesn’t mean I’m going to be on my game 100% of the time, but the changes that I’ve made have given me more energy, gotten me back to the gym, and kept me creative in the kitchen. (and a little weight loss made this girl’s day when she stepped on the scale yesterday.)

It’s funny, when I tell people about this little adventure of ours for the past ten days, the first question I usually get is, “so…what do you eat?”

Well, things like spicy cajun shrimp.

These tasty little pumpkin oatmeal clusters from Hallie over at Daily Bites.

A little Jovial brown rice pasta dish with curry shrimp.

Snack breaks were a regular happening.

And nuts saved the day.

It’s Day 11.

Who wants soup?

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Spicy Tomato Dill Soup

Adapted from Haute Apple Pie

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3  cups chicken broth

2 carrots, chopped

1 can navy beans, rinsed and drained

1  28oz can crushed or stewed  tomatoes

1 teaspoon dried dill

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in large pot, like this blue beauty. Add in your onions and cook until they start to soften. About 3 minutes. (add garlic in after 2 minutes)

Then add the broth, carrots, beans, tomatoes, dill, salt & pepper, and red pepper flakes. At this point, the aroma from the kitchen may attract company. (invite them in and pour a glass of wine)

Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer, until the carrots are soft.

Grab your immersion/hand blender, and blend it until nice and thick. You can do this step in the blender too, if needed, but it may take a couple of batches. Now pour yourself a glass of wine and enjoy.

So it’s not like we’re going without — mmm…mmm…good!

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Other excitement this week:

• I was interviewed today as a big fan the #1 fan of Molly’s Gluten Free Bakery for an article that will be in The Business Journal next week.
• Week 2 of the C25K is underway — send speedy vibes my way.
• The countdown is on for my trip to Palm Springs next weekend with my Mamasita — if you have restaurant/food ideas, send those my way too.

What’s going on in your world? Are you doing your own food challenge?

10 days of real food & the couch to 5k begins (again)

To kick off the year right, we are starting with a little real food detox.

There are plenty of detox plans out there, but I knew I wanted something basic, with no shakes or special products to purchase. Also wasn’t interested in drinking liquids only for two weeks. Basically, I just need to lay off the chips, cookies, and diet coke habits I’ve picked up this holiday season.

My sister had told me about the 100 Days of Real Food website this summer. I’m a big fan of their simple concept — eat whole foods, get rid of the processed stuff. And to be honest, (minus the last month) we try to eat that way in general.

We’re taking baby steps and doing their 10 Days of Real Food pledge, starting tomorrow and continuing through the 12th. My girl Kristi and I decided to rock the challenge together, and Mark says he’s in too — this will make it much easier at our place, to have us both on board.

He says it’s going to be a cake walk. I’m just hoping to wake up in a few days and not crave a Christmas cookie for breakfast. It will be an organized way to get back on track to eating the way we normally do.

And it helps me get working on my 2012 list right out of the gate. Not only are we going to be eating better, to “be well,” but we’re going to open up some cookbooks to inspire us. (I would love to do their 100 day challenge at some point this year too — maybe after our honeymoon.) 🙂

To go hand in hand with the better eating habits, it’s about time I get back to the gym. Consistently.

I sort of fell off the running wagon after the wedding. It’s my own fault. Wish I had someone blame, but I can’t think of anyone really.

So, I guess it’s on me.

I seem to do best when I have a game plan, so I’m going to do the Couch to 5k running plan again — and perfect timing, I just got an email with the date for our Team Gluten-Free 5k. 

We had a blast last year, and plan on more of the same for this year’s 5k — Saturday, May 19th.

Feel free to join in the fun — or tell me what you have planned for the new year. 

Ready. Set. Real Food. Go.