Saturday, June 26, 2010

Week One Menu

Well, we're about to start the full UltraMind Solution program this coming Monday, so today before our weekly grocery shopping we made up a menu of what we're going to eat this week. In case anyone is interested, here is our menu...

Breakfast:
  • Applesauce Pancakes w/ Apple Cinnamon Syrup and Almonds
  • GFCF Granola and/or GFCF Corn Flakes w/ Almond Milk
  • Eggs
  • GFCF Toast (w/ protein)
  • Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal w/ Almonds
  • Apple Cinnamon Millet w/ Almonds
  • Banana Muffins (w/ protein)
  • Grits (w/ protein)

Snacks:

  • Organic baby carrots w/ nuts (mixed, peanuts, or almonds)
  • Trail mix - almonds, peanuts, dried wild blueberries, cashews, sunflower seeds, pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds (if desired)
  • Hard boiled egg
  • Organic grapes or apple w/ nuts
  • GFCF bars (Lara bars or Trios)

Lunch:

  • Leftovers
  • GFCF Veggie Burger (Sunshine Burger)
  • Salmon Patties
  • Turkey Hot Dogs
  • Natural Lunchmeat or PB&J Sandwich

Dinner:

Monday- Shrimp scampi w/ corn spaghetti, frozen peas, GFCF breadsticks

Tuesday- Sesame Honey Drumsticks over rice w/ frozen corn & watermelon

Wednesday- San Francisco Chops (Pork) w/ mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli & corn

Thursday- "Penne" w/ Mushroom Sauce (w/ rice spirals), veggies & fruit

Friday- Lunch option/date night

Saturday- Grilled Fish w/ grilled veggies (mushrooms, onions, organic zucchini), rice

Sunday- Barbecue Crockpot Chicken w/ baked potatoes & veggies and/or fruit

Mom bought a few mixes and new items for this week, so I'll let you know what tastes good and what doesn't. Here's hoping the week goes smoothly!

Namaste,

Mel G.

Applesauce Pancakes with Apples and Cinnamon Syrup

This morning we tried Applesauce Pancakes, a recipe from the GFCF recipes yahoo group, and I made up an apple cinnamon "syrup" to go with it. They tasted really good together. The pancakes were rather plain by themselves, but with the syrup, I really enjoyed them. The recipe for the pancakes can be found here at the Recipe Circus site. The syrup I made was very simple and made the pancakes less bland when poured over them.

Apple Cinnamon Syrup
1-1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1-1/2 tsp. cornstarch

In small saucepan combine apple juice and cinnamon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Remove about 1/4 cup of liquid from saucepan into small bowl. Wisk cornstarch into liquid in bowl until all cornstarch is dissolved (this prevents cornstarch "dumplings" from being created). Add cornstarch and juice mixture to saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir until thickened to desired consistency. If needed, add more cornstarch as before.

Hope you enjoy a great breakfast as much as I was able to!

Namaste,
Mel G.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Moving Right Along

Preparation week has gone without a hitch so far, (*knocks on wood*) but being busy with school I've not gotten to post much about it. Today I'll attempt to remedy that.


Monday went as planned with a simple chicken stir-fry, though I almost forgot about the chicken part. I made two stir-frys, one with regular, gluten-filled soy sauce and teriyaki sauce for Dad and one with wheat free tamari for Mom and I. I also made chicken (without veggies) seasoned with garlic, soy sauce, and teriyaki for the picky kids. Our stir-fry was delicious. Dad said his was good, and when he tried a bite of ours said he liked ours as much if not better. He also said he is happy to eat whatever we eat, so we don't have to make seperate dishes for him, he just doesn't want to do the complete UltraMind Solution.



Tuesday's tostadas were even simpler than the stir-fry the night before. We just heated up some canned black beans and some corn tortillas and put whatever we wanted on them. For me that meant just a tortilla with beans and cheddar cheese. Mom also made guacamole, but I didn't try any of that this time. After my tostada, I was still hungry, so I had black bean and cheese nachos with our "natural" tortilla chips. The kids had a "whatever night" because they are boring and don't like Mexican food at all (even the very boring version that I eat).



Wednesday's dinner was absolutely delicious. My mom's Creamy Braised Chicken recipe (which I think actually came out of a Light and Tasty magazine) was a hit. We adjusted the recipe a bit so the recipe I post will be our adaptation.


Creamy Braised Chicken


Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced onion
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced carrot
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
  • 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons GFCF margarine (we used Earth Balance), divided
  • 1-1/2 pounds chicken breast halves (we used ones with bones, so they took a little longer to cook than boneless would have)
  • 2-1/3 cups chicken broth (we used Food Club brand as it had no sugar), divided
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup organic half and half
  • 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, quartered

Directions:

In a dutch oven or large pot saute sliced onion, carrot and celery in 1 tablespoon of margarine until tender. Remove vegetables from pot; set aside. Add chicken to pot, brown on both sides. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm. Add 1 cup of broth to pot; simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup. Stir in rest of broth and seasonings. Return chicken to pot; cover and simmer for 5 minutes (perhaps longer if chicken has bones) or until juices run clear. Remove chicken onto serving platter; keep warm. Combine cornstarch and half and half until smooth, gradually stir into pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened (it took much less time than 2 minutes for mine to thicken). Return vegetables to pan. Remove from the heat; cover and set aside. In a non-stick skillet, saute mushrooms in remaining butter. Add mushrooms to serving platter. Discard bay leaf from sauce; spoon over chicken and vegetables.

Thursday we had lasagna that was rather delicious as well. The recipe is rather old (my mom made it for my dad when they were dating) from a box of Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles.

Lasagna

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp. parsley flakes
  • 1 Tbsp. basil (we used dried)
  • 2 cups diced tomatoes (we used canned)
  • 2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
  • 1 (8 oz.) package whole wheat lasagna noodles
  • 2 (12 oz.) package small curd cottage cheese (or one package ricotta and one package cottage)
  • 2 beaten eggs
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. parsley flakes
  • 1 bag shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Brown meat slowly; add next 6 ingredients to meat. Simmer uncovered about 1 hour. Cook noodles until tender; drain and lay out on wax paper. Combine cottage cheese with next 5 ingredients in separate bowl. Place 1/2 noodles in 9x13 baking dish; spread 1/2 cheese mixture over noodles, add 1/2 mozzarella cheese and 1/2 meat mixture. Repeat layers. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Today's (Friday's) dinner was very simple. A bag of frozen mixed vegetables steamed in the microwave and some tilapia cooked with lemon and Parmesan cheese on top.

Trial and Error

I tried sea salt yesterday for the first time, which is what we are supposed use during the rest of the UltraMind Solution and learned that it is much saltier than regular table salt. Just thought anyone that was unaware (as I was) should know before they put way too much sea salt in a recipe.

Local Finds/Tips and Tricks

I found some more Full Circle brand chicken drumsticks in the 40% off section this morning at United. Also, they have completely organic Full Circle chicken at Market Street. It helps to look at what day the chicken will expire to know where you should go on which day if you don't have time to go everywhere (as I often don't). I also went to Vitamins Plus yesterday to look at their organic produce (which they get every Thursday) and found some great deals. First, I got about one and a half to two pounds of organic green grapes for only $1.81. There were also one pound packages of organic baby carrots for 94 cents. I also got a five pound bag of organic russet potatoes for $3.69, which I didn't feel was too bad, especially since they seemed very fresh and I haven't seen organic potatoes everywhere. It also looks like they are expanding Vitamins Plus as well, as there seemed to be many more gluten free items in particular.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Gluten Free Frenzy Chips/Crackers Giveaway

Gluten Free Frenzy's "Food Should Taste Good" Chips/Crackers giveaway is ending tomorrow. The yellow corn chips look like they are a possibility while on the UltraMind Solution. You can find all the information you need at www.glutenfreefrenzy.com.

Here's hoping!
Mel G.

Preparation Week Phase

Well, it's finally here. I can hardly believe it's time to start the UltraMind Solution and its seven week program. This week is Preparation Week and we spent quite a while this morning coming up with this week's plan of action food wise.

Weekly Menu:

Breakfasts:
  • Enjoy Life Granola with Milk and Fruit
  • Cottage Cheese with Fruit
  • Banana Muffins (the Banana Quinoa Muffins that we altered to not include quinoa)
  • Applesauce Pancakes
  • Eggs
  • Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
  • ?Grits?*
  • ?Yogurts?

Snacks:

  • Carrot Sticks and whole wheat homemade bread^ with almond butter
  • Trail mix - almonds, dried blueberries, cashews, walnuts, pecans, ?raisins?, ?sunflower seeds?, add pumpkin seeds the day of
  • Hard Boiled Egg
  • Cheese Stick w/ Fruit
  • Cottage Cheese and Fruit
  • Snack bars (Trios, Lara Bars)

Lunches:

  • Leftovers
  • Sandwiches - almond butter and jam (no sugar), cheese, or lunchmeat and cheese on homemade whole wheat bread

Dinners:

Monday:

  • Chicken Stir Fry - bagged stir fry veggies, carrots, chicken, wheat free tamari, sesame oil, ?teriyaki sauce?, ?pineapple chunks? w/ brown rice

Tuesday:

  • Mexican Night - Tostadas (corn tortillas, black beans, cilantro, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, homemade guacamole, salsa, ?corn?), baked tortilla chips, rice

Wednesday:

  • Creamy Braised Chicken w/ mashed potatoes and frozen corn

Thursday:

  • Lasagna w/ spinach and strawberry salad (baby spinach, sliced strawberries, toasted walnuts, shredded mozzarella cheese)

Friday:

  • Fish w/ potatoes or rice for Mel, date night for Mom

Saturday:

  • Turkey burgers for Mom and Mel, regular burgers for rest of the family, fruit, baked potato chips

Sunday:

  • Honey Pecan Chicken**, Baked Potatoes/Sweet Potatoes, Fruit and Veggies, homemade whole wheat bread

*Anything with question marks around it means we have to check into it and try to make sure it is free of what it needs to be or it's something we may or may not add.

^We are only eliminating white flour this week flour-wise, so we are still eating whole wheat stuff until next week, the book and guide were a little confusing, so that is how we're interpreting it. We are also not starting to eat all organic fruits and veggies until next week.

**We are interpreting that it is okay to use honey sparingly, as some of the recipes Dr. Hyman has in the guide include honey or agave nectar

I will try and post the recipes we use and like as we use them, as well as what we find and where at the stores here in Lubbock.

Tips and Tricks/Local Finds:

So far one thing we have found is that the local United Supermarkets and Market Streets have a brand of chicken called "Full Circle" that is all natural (no added hormones, antibiotics, vegetarian fed and some is free range). It is fairly expensive regularly, but this week we found some in the 40% off bin. The only thing that is important to know about United's chicken, though, is that all of it is previously frozen, so if you don't find some that is still frozen, you need to eat it very quickly. Supposedly they set out the meats in the 40% off bin from 8-9 each morning, so that is a prime time to look for specialty items that tend to be rather expensive. Also, Market Street has some grass-fed, organic beef that you may be able to find in the 40% off bins on occasion. We found two packages of Full Circle drumsticks that were still frozen this week for about $3 apiece.

I think that is about all we have to update at this point. UltraMind Solution here we come!

Namaste,

Mel G.