Okay – has it really been THAT long since I posted? GOOD GRIEF! The last two weeks of February just about did me in. Between having the flu and waiting for word on the Chicklet’s arrival, I think all of my brain cells were on vacation. It’s *quite* overwhelming this wait. In fact, last Friday I just about broke.
But we humans are much stronger than we ever thought possible. And a new month has begun. Across adoption-waiting Land, a new month means NEW hope for news from the other side of the waiting game. And oh – what I wouldn’t give for a DUE DATE about now!
Thanks for your lovely supportive emails. I’m sorry I haven’t been very good about getting back to all of you as quickly as I would like (either to your fabulous comments or your emails). I promise to get on that. Really. I do.
Last time I posted, I wrote about Gluten Free Grocery Shopping. I didn’t realize how much interest, discussion and emails that one little post would prompt, to be honest. I thought most of us started out by sticking to the foods we could easily identify as being gluten-free rather than risking the box-label-can-prepped nightmare. (Although, I will say that I am mighty glad I was diagnosed in the age of cell phones!)
My sister-in-law was just told she has to be wary of developing Gestational Diabetes and she called me in a bit of a panic. She’s at a complete loss for what she can/cannot eat. We kicked off our conversation talking about snacks and breakfast. She was floored when I told her that I pack a handful of raw almonds for my mid-morning snack or that breakfast can sometimes be a fruit smoothie or a hard boiled egg.
Poor girl. She is struggling with the adjustment of missing out on convenient foods. When she told me that the dietitian recommended that she eat a whole wheat English muffin, she recoiled in horror. Why? Well, according to her, she freaked because her work cafeteria (where everyone picks up bagels for breakfast or sandwiches for lunch) doesn’t carry whole wheat anything.
Yes, you can guess what came out of my mouth next. I proffered that maybe, just maybe she should consider NOT eating in the cafeteria and bringing her lunch OR why not talk to the cafeteria manager and ASK for whole grain items to be served? (Surely she is not the only one who would eat them.)
She was appalled. How could she NOT eat there? What was she to do? Maybe she should pay hundreds of dollars a month for the next 4 months of her pregnancy to a food service that will deliver her meals and snacks to her?
At first, I was stumped. Here was this completely brilliant woman that I admire breaking down and I was stumped. And then I remembered just how much of our lives are truly saturated with food and food choices that are not necessarily healthy for us as a culture – let alone gluten-free for those of us who need it. And what about the nut-free? soy-free? casein-free? yeast-free?
Dang. We are a bunch, aren’t we?
So, it was back to the grocer for me. And my lovely sister-in-law and I are plotting menus together for her to live off of. And I’m trying to think of ways to help her adjust to that immediate loss of simple access and convenience – let alone the giving up of caffeine, sugar, and most carbs too.
We humans get through the tough spots together, huh?
Her with her diet and me with this insufferable wait.
In the meantime, I’m back to shopping the outside of the store. And to show you what kind of meal you can make, check out this one:
Chipotle-Dijon London Broil, sauteed spinach with garlic and mashed potatoes.
(Sadly, the sweet potatoes and yams didn’t look too tasty, so I settled for spuds. If my sister-in-law had been here, we would have gone with the sweet potatoes I just picked up today. OH YEA YUM!)
What is your favorite outside-of-the-grocer meal?
Or better yet – do you have any extreme low-carb, no sugar, low GI snack recommendations for my lovely Sis?
Do share!
Chipotle-Dijon London Broil
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 London Broil (about one and a quarter pound)
1/2 cup dijon mustard (GF)
2 chipotle chiles in adobe (*See note below)
salt/pepper for seasoning
Directions:
- Chop the chipotle peppers finely and whisk together with the dijon mustard. Set aside.
- Season the beef with salt/pepper.
- Turn on the broiler.
- Broil the beef to sear it for 3-4 minutes then flip to sear the other side.
- Remove from the oven and drizzle half of the chipotle-dijon mixture over the top. Return to the oven and broil for an addition 4 -5 minutes.
- Flip and repeat: smear the top with the most of the remaining chipotle-dijon mixture and broil again for 4-6 minutes. (This length of time will produce a medium-rare/rare meat depending on the thickness of your cut. Please be sure to test your meat until you achieve your desired doneness.)
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest 6-9 minutes. (I didn’t let the one above rest long enough, thus the juices are flowing out, sadly.)
- Serve with a drizzle of the left of your chipotle-dijon sauce.
*NOTE: Chipotle peppers in adobo are sold in cans. Chipotle peppers are just smoked jalapenos. If you are sensitive to heat, cut the chipotles down to just one or if you like things spicy, add another.
I promise not to be gone so long again….
I really had no idea that I had lost my mind so completely.
Ah well.
Maybe is the pregnancy adoption hormones?
LOL!
Happy Gluten-Free Eating!
~Kate
Gluten Free Gobsmacked 
One of my favourite snacky things is a strawberry compote. Its extremely healthy as its essentially fresh fruit, no carbs and if you mix with natural yoghurt low gi.
It’s essentially strawberries, rose water and the tiniest amount of sugar and even then only if you have tart berries.
chop the strawberries and stick half in a saucepan with a little water and sugar if they are quite tart. Cook until they break down and look like a lumpy sauce. Take off the heat, let it cool down slightly then stir through a dash of rose water (to taste) and fresh strawberries.
It keeps for a few days in the fridge but doesn’t normally last that long. I have it on gf banana pancakes or with natural yoghurt.
Hello Kate. It is just a shock for people that have to all of a sudden change everything that they do and eat. I am 26 and I was diagnosed with Diabetes 6 years ago and Celiac Disease 3 years ago. It can be tough to monitor your blood sugar levels and eat GF. With the diabetes, I try to eat about 30 grams of carbs a meal but it can become difficult b/c gf food tends to have more cards than non gf feed. It is a balance. I am on a insulin pump which lets me have more control over my life than just insulin shots. Is she going to be giving herself shots? Please email me or pass along my info to your sister-in-law. When I was diangosed with CD, the only person that I knew was a 88 year old women that had both CD and Diabetes. Anything that I can do….please let me know.
I have been thinking of you and your family while you “wait.”
Hello, just be sure to check the label on the adobo sauce, as many of them have non GF crackers as an ingredient……
Hello Mary –
I would be SHOCKED to find bread crumbs in my chipotle peppers with adobo sauce. In fact, I cannot think of an occasion when I have. Have you seen this??? I think it is a very wise choice to always read labels regardless, but with this ingredient in particular, I’ve never seen a brand that had any issues for gluten intolerance folks like myself. Thanks for the reminder to read labels! -Kate
Kate – I just made this lovely dip, and it is FABULOUS with fresh peppers, carrots or any veggie. It’s like a homemade Boursin. I think with full fat ingredients it would be lower carb.
Boursin
12 ounces of light cream cheese
3/4 cup nonfat cottage cheese, small curd
2 teaspoons of fresh garlic put through a press
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions-all of it
1/3 cup minced Italian flat leaf parsley
salt and freshly ground pepper
In a medium bowl with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer, blend the cream cheese with cottage cheese and stir in everything else. Cover and refrigerate overnight, serve with crudites or whatever.
As usual, recipe looks great!
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..This sounds delicious! I can’t wait to try it. Thank you for sharing it, Holly! 😉 – Kate
Hi Kate,
I try to eat mostly natural sugars now a days (though I do cheat a little when I bake) but I have to say agave is a life-saver! I believe its very low GI, so it would be safe for your sister-in-law. I bake with it or put some in natural greek yogurt with some chopped bananas, or put on a little organic light ice cream. I must say that agave and honey have replaced my unhealthy desire for caramel sauce 🙂
If she’s looking for a convenient “sweet,” Nestle makes these no sugar mousse mixes that are the easiest things on the planet to whip up. Yes, they use a splenda substitute so you get a little of that aftertaste, but if it makes her feel like she’s eating something “normal” than it might be worth a try.
It’s always such a fun panic when you change the way you eat. I remember my first GF shop; I was in the store for hours, unnecessarily of course. Oh well, I’m a label reader!
I’m sending good thoughts during your wait. It must be excruciating, but when you see that face it will all be worth it.
You’re a godsend to your SIL! I think the Standard American Diet (SAD) has become so ingrained in our culture, that’s it’s a huge shock to face dietary changes. It’s only when we start eating real food and cooking that it all becomes easier. It seems much harder at first, but then you figure it out it’s not at all. It’s also fun and you actually know what you are eating for a change! 🙂
I just made a great London Broil the other day. I’ll blog about it soon. No chipotle chiles for me though. LOL But, your London Broil is lovely.
Shirley