I'm Wheat Free and I Know It...I Work Out!

I did a pretty hard workout at the gym today.  What does that even mean?  Well, for me, it means I was breathing hard by the end, the muscles in my shoulders got about half as pumped as they used to when I went climbing, I could see some extra veins, I had trouble closing my fingers afterwards, and I could only marginally feel my legs as I shakily made my way back to the locker room.  I have been "going to the gym" and doing some manner of strength workout for, oh let's see...twenty-one years now.  I started all the way back in junior high (when they still had schools called "junior highs") and have not stopped for longer than four months at a stretch since then.  That is a lot of strength training.  I started out pretty basic, goofed around with some plyometrics in college, goofed around some more with functional stuff and mobility exercises before that was cool, and have been experimenting ever since.

I have apparently gotten to an age where I am really not interested in spending five hours each week at the gym and another fifteen hours each week on my bike.  I never used to understand those people who said they didn't have time to exercise or that they didn't like it or that it was hard to get back into it once you stopped.  If I don't exercise, I lose my mind.  No exaggeration.  I become a different person who is anxious and angry and quite unpleasant to be around.  However...I am now beginning to understand about having other things going on that take up time and that sometimes override the go-to-the-gym compulsion.  It feels very strange to me to shorten a ride because I want to (yes, want to) get home and harvest my vegetables and water my plants and go hunt squirrels with my dog.  And write.  It feels strange, and when I first started noticing it I tried to stop it.  I got angry.  I got frustrated.  I weighed myself three times when I went to the gym to see how fat I had gotten from thinking about something other than my next ride/run/lift.

My attempts at going back to my old habits failed time and again.  I just do not have that same drive.  It isn't exactly that I am lacking motivation.  It is more that a shift in priorities has occurred, and more life has been added to the Life Mix.  I don't think this shift is necessarily a bad one.  It's just one that I am still adjusting to. So, in the interest of still getting my needed endorphins but also getting, god forbid, OTHER things accomplished as well, I have played with my strength workouts quite a bit to shorten them but make them more intense at the same time.  And more fun.  And...entirely coincidentally but perhaps not surprisingly, a TON more effective.  So, let's see.  I spend less than half the time I used to at the gym, I enjoy it more, and I'm at least twice as strong.  Maybe getting old isn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Today's recipe is a celebration of efficiency.  It's quick, easy, delicious, and you can do other things while it's in the oven.  No compromises here.  Well, unless you were hoping for a marathon of kneading and a War and Peace length ingredient list.  Not this time!   Even I am finally learning the beauty of keeping things simple.  Sometimes.


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Today's recipe is a super easy side dish, snack, or even breakfast that you can make in about 25 minutes.  The baked sweet potatoes to the left are from a gluten-free gnocchi I made last spring.  Stay tuned for that recipe in upcoming posts!

This recipe is not a "baked good" so to speak, but you make it in the oven and it tastes good, so I think it still qualifies as something I can put on a baking blog.  Plus, it is simple AND delicious, so perhaps I will get some feedback from someone who makes it....

Roasted Sweet Potato Morsels
2-3 large sweet potatoes - orange or white will work
Preheat your oven to 400, unless you know it runs hot.  If it runs hot, use 375.
Chop your sweets into 1/2 inch squares. No need to peel!
Toss in a bowl with enough olive oil, grapeseed oil, or coconut oil to coat.  Don't be shy with the oil.
Sprinkle 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional!).
Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg if desired.
Or parsley.
Or cinnamon.
Toss again to coat.
Spread evenly on a baking sheet, leaving space around each morsel.
Place on a rack in the center of the oven.
After 11 or 12 minutes, stir/flip/toss the morsels.  They should be beginning to crisp and brown.
Return to oven for another 12 minutes.  Check again.  If they are crispy on the outside and deep golden, they're done.  If not, leave them in for additional time, checking about every 2 minutes.

These are delicious right out of the oven, or can also be tossed with whatever like to make a roasted sweet potato salad.

Enjoy!
~GFG

The quest for "healthy" food is easier than you think...

Today I'm going to define some words.   Dictionaryophiles, beware.  If you are a Webster's addict, you might want to sit down with a glass of tasty red wine while you read this to take the edge off.  I won't be using a dictionary for my definitions.  I will be using my common sense.  My what?  Yep, that's right.  I'm being crazy today.  I'm using my common sense to think through my decisions.  I haven't consulted one single book, website, pamphlet, or expert (or even another human being, in fact).  I haven't done a lick of conventional research.  I haven't enlisted the use of any kind of specific gadgetry designed for just this task.  Nope.  It's just me and my noggin.  A threatening combination to be sure.

That is not to say that my words are uninformed or that there is nothing to back them up.  Quite the opposite.  Fortunately or unfortunately, my tumultuous relationship with food and the food-body-mind connection goes back a long way.  I can remember at age seven being aware of looking different from the other (spindly) girls my age and making certain food and exercise decisions as a result.  So that's almost thirty years of what we'll call "field research" that I have been racking up just as part of my every day dealings with my food and the (sometimes painful) fact that we have to eat to live.

Enough of that - if those qualifications qualify me to you, read on!  If not...read on anyway!  At the end you'll find a tasty recipe and some pretty pictures to look at along the way.

Definitions that govern my food choices, straight from my head to your screen:

Healthy food:  Items we eat that make us feel good in body and mind; items we eat that taste good.  Items with ingredients we can pronounce; items that fill our tummies but don't cause that Ick feeling.  Items we can eat just a bit of and feel satisfied; items that we could eat often and still feel good in body and mind every time.  Items that do not cause us to have to go lay down on the couch and "sleep it off."

Good food:  see "healthy food"

Tasty food:  see "healthy food"

Unhealthy food:  Items we eat that cause our stomachs or minds to feel yucky; items we only allow ourselves to eat when we are already feeling bad (perhaps).  Items that contain few or no ingredients that are naturally occurring.  Food that is not canned or frozen or jarred, but will keep indefinitely, unrefrigerated.

The above summarizes the the totality of factors that go into my eating decisions.  Over time, just what my personal "healthy" and "unhealthy" foods are has changed as I have tried different things, experimented with eliminating various foods from my diet, adding more of certain nutrients, etc.  At this point in my life, I sort of, maybe, kind of, a little bit feel like I am figuring out what works to keep my body and mind and life in harmony.  And all of it tastes good, surprisingly.  Or maybe not so surprisingly.

And therein lies the whole point of this post:  what works for one person will not necessarily work for another person, but whatever works for you should feel and taste good.  Eating healthfully does not in any way consist of depriving yourself.  Eating healthfully is actually quite the indulgence, and should allow you to enjoy the act of eating again, or to discover joy in eating for the first time.

It's worth keeping an open mind and trying new ways of eating that might seem strange to see how they affect your digestive system and your body and your mind.  The three are not so separate as you might think.  That would make things way too easy.

For example (more of my "field research"):  I never would have guessed I had a wheat intolerance or that I would do better on fewer grains and lots more protein.  But I tried it, and the results are in:  Not only is my tummy happier, but my body and muscles have responded very positively.  At first, I tried for two weeks, then went back to my previous way of eating for two weeks.  Then I tried four weeks.  Consistently, I was better off without the wheat...and that has led to all kinds of food explorations...and a little blog about gluten free eating.  You may have heard of it.

I urge you all to buckle up for the ride (sometimes up, sometimes down, sometimes rough, but always worth it) and buckle down to the project of figuring out what healthy eating is for you.  When you do, you will see why some of us giggle at the prospect of "healthy food" as a some kind of negative idea.  It's just plain silly.





(Bacon-beef burger topped with grass fed unpasteurized mozzarella over  tomato coulis w/bacon, accompanied by roasted broccoli and banana peppers - YUM!)

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Healthy Almond Butter Cookies (or Cashew Butter, if you have it!)
Adapted from Blackberry Bakery Gluten-Free, by Karen Morgan

Caveat:  Dough needs at least 1 hour in the fridge to set!  It will be good up to 1 week in the fridge, so use a little bit at a time or all at once, but be sure to get that first hour of setting time in before you attempt to bake.  Once dough has set, THEN preheat oven to 330 (yes, 330 - 350 works, but you have to watch them REAL close.  Believe me, I tried.).

1/2 cup almond butter or cashew butter
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour (Bob's Red Mill!)
1/2 cup arrowroot starch
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon guar gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) at room temperature, soft enough to mash
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mix all dry ingredients minus the sugar in a medium bowl.
Cream the butter with the sugar in a separate and larger bowl.
Add the almond butter and combine.
Add the eggs then vanilla, blending to completely emulsify.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and beat until combined.
If you would like to add chocolate chips, do so last, and fold in about 1/2 a cup or a bit more if you'd like.

PUT IN FRIDGE TO SET FOR ONE HOUR!!!

Preheat oven to 330.
After dough is set, cut parchment paper to fit or grease 2 cookie pans.
Use a large spoon or ice cream scoop to scoop 1 1/2 inch balls of dough 2 inches apart on your prepared pans (or smaller or bigger if desired - adjust baking times accordingly).
Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate pan and set your timer for another 7 minutes.
Cookies are done when they are golden brown around the edges and slightly firm to the touch, bouncing back when pressed in gently.

Eat 'em up!

~GFG

Labels Shmabels!

The name of this blog is designed to make a point, sort of.  I wonder if I have ever explained that point?  Can't remember, so here I go!

The point is that gluten-free foods can be delicious enough to compel gluttony (gluttony:  the act or process of eating to excess).  Gluten free foods are just that:  foods (food:  material consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth and provide energy...etc).  Above all else, they are designed to be consumed.  Are some of them lousy?  Yep.  Are some of them practically inedible?  Yep.  Are some of them processed beyond the scope of what a healthy imagination can imagine?  Yep.  Are some of them pretty tasty, but not great?  Yep.  Are some of them surprisingly good given that they look terrible?  Yep.  Are some of them just plain delicious?  Yep.

In other words, gluten free foods are just like any other foods.  They come in all shapes and sizes and textures and calibers.  What seems to set them apart from the general genre of "food" is that they all have the (mis)fortune of a common (lack of) ingredient, so we lump them all together rather than taking each for what it is.  That's kind of like going to an Italian restaurant and commenting on the lousy Chinese food.  Or, more exactly, it's kind of like having one bad experience with Thai food and therefore never eating it again and swearing that it's all too salty or too greasy or too yucky.  Not all Thai food is created equally.  And so it follows that not all FOOD is created equally.  And...not all gluten free food is created equally!

Just because a food is gluten free does not mean it will be dry.  It does not mean it will be "healthy tasting" (though I'm not sure what that means, but I hear people say it and the implication is definitely negative).  Gluten free does not mean taste-free or texture-free or moisture-free.

It simply means that there is none of a specific protein (called gluten) found in wheat, barley, rye, and malts in said food.  Have you ever tasted plain wheat flour on its own or flour mixed with water?  It's kind of like eating dust.  It is far from tasty.  What makes it tasty are the reactions that happen when it is combined with other things.  That's right:  the wheat itself is a vehicle or canvas, if you will, on which other ingredients rely to bring out or imprint their flavors.  By changing the canvas, you only get MORE possibilities, not fewer.

This post is dedicated to my dog Eddy (eddy:  a current of air or water running contrary to the main current).  Having him around and experiencing the reactions people have to him has helped drive home the fact that labels and generalizations only make our minds smaller and our hearts sadder and our lives less textured.  Who needs that?  Not me!  Not you!  Eddy likes gluten free foods...well, when they fall on the floor, that is.  I somehow don't think he's musing, "Hmmm, this is gluten free.  It will likely be terrible.  But I will quick scarf it up before Mom-lady sees me."  I am pretty sure he just eats and enjoys the surprise indulgence.  Is there a lesson here somewhere?

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Blueberry Raspberry Blackberry Pear Crisp!  
Seriously, you can use whatever fruits you have in the fridge, for the most part.  This recipe was adapted from a Bob's Red Mill recipe for Blueberry Nectarine Crisp, though I have never made it with just those two fruits.

Makes one 13x9" crisp

Ingredients
Topping
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup arrowroot
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon guar gum OR xanthan gum
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick butter, chilled and diced

Filling
4-6 nectarines, cut into wedges
2 cups blueberries
3 cups other fruit of choice
1 tablespoon arrowroot
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest OR 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375.
Lightly grease your 13x9" pan with shortening or butter.
To make the topping, combine the flours and be sure to break up any clumps.  Add the spices and sugar and blend well.
Cut in the butter with your fingertips until you have small moist clumps and/or it kind of looks like you're working with damp beach sand.
Refrigerate the topping while you mix the fruits!

Or make the fruit part first!
Mix all your fruits in a large bowl and sprinkle the arrowroot over evenly.  Remix to distribute.  Add the sugar, vanilla, and lemon and mix again.  Allow to sit for 10 minutes (this lets the arrowroot work its binding magic).

Pour your fruit into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
Sprinkle the topping evenly over the top.
Bake until the topping begins to brown and feels firm to the touch and the fruit is tender, about 30-50 minutes (I know this is a wide range - start checking at 30).  Rotate your pan after 15 minutes.

Allow to cool for 30 minutes if you can stand to wait.

Serve plain or with coconut ice cream!  Or regular ice cream!

Enjoy!

~GFG

P.S. - We are in the last couple weeks of peach season...that fruit would work great here.  

Biscuits! With one kind of flour! Not kidding!

In this transitional time, I have found myself reflecting on why we do what we do when we do it.  Many of our rhythms and tendencies are seasonal whether we recognize them as such or not.  And the foods we eat and crave and make are a huge part of that cycle.  When it's cold, more people use their ovens for cooking, baking, and general warming.  When it's hot, cool salads and gazpacho rule the roost.  When you have free time, you can spend a lot of time researching, cooking, and enjoying one meal.  During hectic work weeks, it's all about simply getting food on the table.

Foods are a reflection of our immediate needs.  It's not just a philosophical thing.  It's a stomach growling right this minute kind of a thing.  During stressful, busy times, we don't have a minute to think about meal planning, yet we want something comforting, something that tastes good and satisfies us and doesn't confound us.  We want something simple and fulfilling.  Now.

These are the times when it is so easy to turn to fast food or quick food or no food...or that pint of ice cream in the fridge.  Those edibles may fill you, but they won't fulfill you.  I have a better idea that's almost as quick and easy.

Luscious, buttery, warm, melt in your mouth biscuits.  Perhaps over leftovers quick sauteed with some canned tomatoes (or fresh!).  No leftovers?  Fried eggs make a fine accompaniment then, with a side of whatever veggies you've got on hand.  Please pass the butter.

No time for mixing, cutting in butter, rolling, and shaping biscuits, right?  Wrong!!  These take about three minutes to mix, 15 to bake, and 0 to cool!  They use a whopping six (6!!) ingredients, two of which may be left out if you so choose.

Gluten free baking requires finding a balance, as does a busy life.  When you're balancing too many things already, try to simplify something.  It's hard to simplify without feeling like you're sacrificing.  I can guarantee you won't feel one bit deprived, guilty, or otherwise short-changed by making these simple beauties instead of something with twenty-seven ingredients.  And I highly doubt anyone you feed them to will disagree.

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Almond Flour Drop Biscuits - yields 7-9 large biscuits
(adapted from The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook, by Elana Amsterdam)

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 teaspoon salt - optional
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup olive oil (or grapeseed, or whatever you have on hand)
2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar (more if you want them sweeter) - optional
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it.
Combine the almond flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl.  Be sure to break up any clumps.
Add in the eggs, olive oil, and honey.
Stir with a whisk or wooden spoon until well blended.
Dough will appear sticky and dense.
Using two large spoons or a 1/4 cup measuring cup, spoon rounds of dough onto your baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake 15 - 22 minutes, rotating your pan after about 8 minutes.
Serve warm, with or without butter!

Enjoy!

~GFG