Good morning!
I met up with some family last night for a great dinner at an Indian restaurant called East is East. I am usually pretty weary of Indian food due to the naan bread that is used with almost every dish but this place was just fantastic. The food is prepared using natural ingredients and taste so yummy and wholesome. The best part is when you order the eastern platter, you get to pick two dishes, dahl, salad and rice and it is all refillable (the plates are bottomless!!!).
This cute little restaurant on Main and 28th, had authentic seating and music the whole time we were there, and I couldn't get over how great the waitresses were about gluten free!!! I would highly recommend anyone to this restaurant, vegetarians, and people with dairy allergies will feel right at home with the multitude of choices on their menu. They also have a location on Broadway near MacDonald!!!
So as I sit here typing this information, I feel as though I should leave you all with a simple Indian recipe to try at home, but seeing how my skills at Indian food are not very great i will simply suggest a great tasting dahl that you can get a any grocery store ( for those of you in Fredericton, I know that Aura food carries this line of products. Its the Happy Planet soups, here is the link: http://www.happyplanet.com/
Have a great day! And keep your questions coming as I would love to create a sort of relationship where I can answer all your GF questions!!
Cheers,
Ally:)
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
My lessons from Raw food!
Hello!
So I decided to stop eating a full raw diet and instead look into the benefits of a well balanced diet. I still do not include dairy, meats or eggs, but sometimes eat fish and chicken ( although that is only in extreme cases). I still eat loads of fruits and veggies, and see the benefits of raw food, but also believe that our bodies need a bit of cooked food as well. We nee some good complex carbohydrates, such as yummy brown rice and potatoes.
The trick is: eat when your hungry.... there is not real way to eat other than when you legitimately feel full and allow your stomach time to digest. Us Celiacs have a hard time digesting to begin with, and it helps to do a cleans from time to time to aid in this digestion process. I would suggest a cleans with a fruit and veggie base!!
As life on the west coast gets busier, I will do my best to keep this update, and feel free to offer feedback!
Have a happy GF day!
Recipe of the day:
Roasted Veggies
- yams
- potatoes
- zucchini
- carrots
- beets
- and any other root vegetables such as turnip, parsnip, eggplant, etc.
Chop all veggies into chunks and place on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil ( or sesame oil for a different taste). Sprinkle with chopped garlic and salt and pepper. You can also add some cayenne pepper to make them spicy!!
Roast for 35-40 minutes and check them half way to mix them around the pan to make sure all veggies get cooked evenly! Enjoy as a salad or side dish! Yum:)
Cheers!
Ally
So I decided to stop eating a full raw diet and instead look into the benefits of a well balanced diet. I still do not include dairy, meats or eggs, but sometimes eat fish and chicken ( although that is only in extreme cases). I still eat loads of fruits and veggies, and see the benefits of raw food, but also believe that our bodies need a bit of cooked food as well. We nee some good complex carbohydrates, such as yummy brown rice and potatoes.
The trick is: eat when your hungry.... there is not real way to eat other than when you legitimately feel full and allow your stomach time to digest. Us Celiacs have a hard time digesting to begin with, and it helps to do a cleans from time to time to aid in this digestion process. I would suggest a cleans with a fruit and veggie base!!
As life on the west coast gets busier, I will do my best to keep this update, and feel free to offer feedback!
Have a happy GF day!
Recipe of the day:
Roasted Veggies
- yams
- potatoes
- zucchini
- carrots
- beets
- and any other root vegetables such as turnip, parsnip, eggplant, etc.
Chop all veggies into chunks and place on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil ( or sesame oil for a different taste). Sprinkle with chopped garlic and salt and pepper. You can also add some cayenne pepper to make them spicy!!
Roast for 35-40 minutes and check them half way to mix them around the pan to make sure all veggies get cooked evenly! Enjoy as a salad or side dish! Yum:)
Cheers!
Ally
Monday, August 10, 2009
Cooked food = Pain!
Good afternoon!
As I write this little blog it is pouring rain here in Vancouver and I want nothing more than to eat some warm soup.... but I now know that this would be too much! Here is why:
This past weekend I went to Salt Spring Island (which every Celiac should go because of the baker at the Saturday morning market.... AMAZING gluten free food!). That being said, I ate some bread and some meat.... boy was that a bad idea. I think it was probably the meat that did me in, but my stomach was definitely not ready for the pain, bloating, and overall discomfort. My body was used to easy to digest fruits and veggies, with some raw crackers from time to time maybe, this was way too much and I have not felt that bad in a while. It was mainly due to my stomach feeling stuffed.... like I had a small child (in the form of starchy carbs and meat) in my stomach.
Needless to say I am very happy to be back on my simple fruits this morning! Berries, banana and salad with some humus on the side!! I will keep you all updated as things move along this week! and I will also post a great recipe later this week.... lets just say it involves the most filling of raw veggie wraps!
As I was doiny some research I stumbled accross a website which listed numourous health benefits to a raw food diet, here area few:
Increased energy
Improved skin appearance
Better digestion
Weight loss
Reduced risk of heart disease
Most people with Celiac have a tough time with digestion, duw in part because of years of stressing our intestines and also because of lack of fiber. For everywhere that you have gone undiagnosed or ate gluten, your body began to form scar tissue. Now this is not common in everyone who has Celiac, but I for one know that my body is still healing from years of scar tissue build-up. Sometimes when I eat too much food, or a certain kind of food I can feel my stomach pulling or tugging and it is very painful. My doctors have basically told me that it is scar tissue build up from being sick for so many years.
That being said, a raw food diet can greatly increase your flow of food (if you know what I mean). Because you are not only eating clean, easily digestible food, but you are also eating fiber packed food!! Which is great for people with Celiac who seldom meet their daily 30g requirement!
So go ahead try to incorporate more fruits and vegetables in your diet instead of that extra potato or chocolate dessert. See how it makes you feel!!
Food for thought: Next time your walking through the woods and think wow this is nice... stop, take a deep breath and smell the clean air! This will not only calm you down, but will also clean out stale air and make you feel better! :)
Cheers,
Ally
As I write this little blog it is pouring rain here in Vancouver and I want nothing more than to eat some warm soup.... but I now know that this would be too much! Here is why:
This past weekend I went to Salt Spring Island (which every Celiac should go because of the baker at the Saturday morning market.... AMAZING gluten free food!). That being said, I ate some bread and some meat.... boy was that a bad idea. I think it was probably the meat that did me in, but my stomach was definitely not ready for the pain, bloating, and overall discomfort. My body was used to easy to digest fruits and veggies, with some raw crackers from time to time maybe, this was way too much and I have not felt that bad in a while. It was mainly due to my stomach feeling stuffed.... like I had a small child (in the form of starchy carbs and meat) in my stomach.
Needless to say I am very happy to be back on my simple fruits this morning! Berries, banana and salad with some humus on the side!! I will keep you all updated as things move along this week! and I will also post a great recipe later this week.... lets just say it involves the most filling of raw veggie wraps!
As I was doiny some research I stumbled accross a website which listed numourous health benefits to a raw food diet, here area few:
Increased energy
Improved skin appearance
Better digestion
Weight loss
Reduced risk of heart disease
Most people with Celiac have a tough time with digestion, duw in part because of years of stressing our intestines and also because of lack of fiber. For everywhere that you have gone undiagnosed or ate gluten, your body began to form scar tissue. Now this is not common in everyone who has Celiac, but I for one know that my body is still healing from years of scar tissue build-up. Sometimes when I eat too much food, or a certain kind of food I can feel my stomach pulling or tugging and it is very painful. My doctors have basically told me that it is scar tissue build up from being sick for so many years.
That being said, a raw food diet can greatly increase your flow of food (if you know what I mean). Because you are not only eating clean, easily digestible food, but you are also eating fiber packed food!! Which is great for people with Celiac who seldom meet their daily 30g requirement!
So go ahead try to incorporate more fruits and vegetables in your diet instead of that extra potato or chocolate dessert. See how it makes you feel!!
Food for thought: Next time your walking through the woods and think wow this is nice... stop, take a deep breath and smell the clean air! This will not only calm you down, but will also clean out stale air and make you feel better! :)
Cheers,
Ally
Thursday, August 6, 2009
almost a week and still going strong
Hello!
So its almost been a full week and I am loving the raw food diet. Although I have not gone 100% raw yet, I am very close and have basically been vegan all week, with some minor slips. I also noticed that when I ate cooked food I felt really weird, either too full or just sick. I have attached a link for you, if you want to read more about the raw food diet. It can seem really complicated but a great way to transition is finding a great smoothie recipe to start and just eat lots of fruits and vegetables. I recommend more fruit because its higher calories and density, you will feel full and energized due to the natural sugars found in fruit!
link: http://www.living-foods.com/index.shtml
I am off to Salt Spring Island this weekend and apparently my friend found a GF bakery so I will report back on how amazing my weekend went! It is nice to see that there are many more options for people who want vegan, vegetarian, GF, lactose free, etc. options.
That being said, here are a few observations that I've made on my raw food adventure. Not only has travelling become a lot less stressful, I have also begun to really enjoy everything I eat, raw food tastes so much better and I really feel like I'm fueling my body instead of satisfying a craving to eat just about anything. I also don't crave things like chips and chocolate anymore, and when I do a smoothie with almond milk, cocoa and a banana do the trick!
Stay tuned for more recipes and more ranting about this really great diet. And in about 5 months, this blog is going to switch over into a "my adventures in Costa Rica blog". That's right everyone, I am taking this GF thing overseas... well not really over seas but cross borders!
Take care and enjoy being GF cause we are special! :)
food for thought: check out a book called Skinny Bitch. I'm not telling you all to get skinny and become vegan, but its worth a critical read just to see a different point of you!
Cheers,
Ally
So its almost been a full week and I am loving the raw food diet. Although I have not gone 100% raw yet, I am very close and have basically been vegan all week, with some minor slips. I also noticed that when I ate cooked food I felt really weird, either too full or just sick. I have attached a link for you, if you want to read more about the raw food diet. It can seem really complicated but a great way to transition is finding a great smoothie recipe to start and just eat lots of fruits and vegetables. I recommend more fruit because its higher calories and density, you will feel full and energized due to the natural sugars found in fruit!
link: http://www.living-foods.com/index.shtml
I am off to Salt Spring Island this weekend and apparently my friend found a GF bakery so I will report back on how amazing my weekend went! It is nice to see that there are many more options for people who want vegan, vegetarian, GF, lactose free, etc. options.
That being said, here are a few observations that I've made on my raw food adventure. Not only has travelling become a lot less stressful, I have also begun to really enjoy everything I eat, raw food tastes so much better and I really feel like I'm fueling my body instead of satisfying a craving to eat just about anything. I also don't crave things like chips and chocolate anymore, and when I do a smoothie with almond milk, cocoa and a banana do the trick!
Stay tuned for more recipes and more ranting about this really great diet. And in about 5 months, this blog is going to switch over into a "my adventures in Costa Rica blog". That's right everyone, I am taking this GF thing overseas... well not really over seas but cross borders!
Take care and enjoy being GF cause we are special! :)
food for thought: check out a book called Skinny Bitch. I'm not telling you all to get skinny and become vegan, but its worth a critical read just to see a different point of you!
Cheers,
Ally
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Yummy fruits a fun little trip and lots of raw food
Good afternoon!
So I went up to Whistler this past weekend for an unexpected little trip and usually these trips leave me feeling famished because I don't prepare for not being able to find gluten free places. What was amazing about this weekend: I didn't have to look for GF places because I was basically eating fruit!! So good:)
So Friday I had a few potato chips in the evening but all in all my day went like this:
breakfast: peanut butter and banana (this is now my staple food!)
snack: blueberries, blackberries and raspberries
lunch: salad with a veggie burger(now this is not raw, but i had one left in my fridge that had to be eaten)
snack: cucumber, peppers and broccoli
snack: raspberry freezer pop thing made with fruits
dinner: potato chips, 1 plum and carrots
Saturday went a little something like this:
breakfast: staple as usual
snack: banana and cherries
lunch; salad with tuna (seared tuna is also not raw, but remember... slow transition)
snack: cherries
dinner: i cooked a GF crust with salsa and cheese.... this was my biggest mistake all day. I figured I was hungry and needed to use the rest of the cheese in my fridge, but man did this ever make my stomach feel weird afterwards I just drank lots of water and felt so sleepy so I went to bed really early.
Anyway enough about my food, i am of to a great start today, and just ate at a raw food restaurant! Thai wraps were amazing, the place is called : Gorilla Food!!!! check it out if you are ever in Vancouver.
I hope all if you will at least try one day on a raw food diet so that you can see the small difference this diet can make! Off to make some cleansing juice and do some school work. Please keep posting your comments, they are always appreciated!
Food for thought: Next time you think your hungry, wait a few minutes and ask yourself if you are truly famished or if its just your brain looking for something stimulating. This has been my toughest challenge yet!
Lots of love and luck with your GF diets!
Ally:)
So I went up to Whistler this past weekend for an unexpected little trip and usually these trips leave me feeling famished because I don't prepare for not being able to find gluten free places. What was amazing about this weekend: I didn't have to look for GF places because I was basically eating fruit!! So good:)
So Friday I had a few potato chips in the evening but all in all my day went like this:
breakfast: peanut butter and banana (this is now my staple food!)
snack: blueberries, blackberries and raspberries
lunch: salad with a veggie burger(now this is not raw, but i had one left in my fridge that had to be eaten)
snack: cucumber, peppers and broccoli
snack: raspberry freezer pop thing made with fruits
dinner: potato chips, 1 plum and carrots
Saturday went a little something like this:
breakfast: staple as usual
snack: banana and cherries
lunch; salad with tuna (seared tuna is also not raw, but remember... slow transition)
snack: cherries
dinner: i cooked a GF crust with salsa and cheese.... this was my biggest mistake all day. I figured I was hungry and needed to use the rest of the cheese in my fridge, but man did this ever make my stomach feel weird afterwards I just drank lots of water and felt so sleepy so I went to bed really early.
Anyway enough about my food, i am of to a great start today, and just ate at a raw food restaurant! Thai wraps were amazing, the place is called : Gorilla Food!!!! check it out if you are ever in Vancouver.
I hope all if you will at least try one day on a raw food diet so that you can see the small difference this diet can make! Off to make some cleansing juice and do some school work. Please keep posting your comments, they are always appreciated!
Food for thought: Next time you think your hungry, wait a few minutes and ask yourself if you are truly famished or if its just your brain looking for something stimulating. This has been my toughest challenge yet!
Lots of love and luck with your GF diets!
Ally:)
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