glutenfreegerblie

How to eat your gluten free cake and keep your friends too

Worried about going gluten free and being that person at the party or that friend at dinner who seems like they have to ask all the questions and need ALL the things!!?? How do you go gluten free in a way that serves you and doesn’t impose on your relationships with friends, family, and significant others around you?!

In the spirit of national Celiac awareness month, I wanted to take things beyond the (gluten free) food. If you’ve ever had to go on a restrictive diet or give up any of your favorite foods you understand that going gluten free goes far beyond just the food itself. Because food is such an integral part of our quality of life and we MUST eat to survive, changes in diet can ultimately change our social lives and the community around us. It’s easy to let yourself BECOME your diagnosis and let it own you in a way. Say no to being jail-bound by your gluten free lifestyle and say yes to it providing the opportunity to help you feel your best and live your best life! How to do that?

I’m here to share the scoop as someone who has gone through the ups and downs and ultimately found some of the secret sauce.

How to go gluten free & still maintain a happy body, mind & social life!

Always come prepared

If you’ve been diagnosed with Celiac or gluten just simply doesn’t love you back in the way you wish it did-introduce yourself to your kitchen appliances. Bringing my own gluten free dishes and/or baked goods has become a regular part of my attendance to a social gathering. This way, I always know I’ll have something to eat at that summer bbq or get together. Never expect your friends/family to be completely on board with having food for you-especially when this is a new diagnosis or lifestyle for you. If they happen to cook things for you-hooray! That’s a huge win!

Do your dirty work behind the scenes

Whenever going to a restaurant, ALWAYS call ahead and ask that they can accommodate you-specifically asking if they can avoid cross-contamination with gluten if you have Celiac disease. Using a script as follows has been very helpful to me: “Are you able to provide a safely gluten free meal for an allergy that will avoid any cross contamination? Can you share with me what items on your menu would accommodate that so I can plan ahead? Do I need to ask to speak with anyone in particular like a manager?” This way, you will get to the restaurant armed with an order in mind and you don’t have to be “that person” asking a million questions at the table in front of your friends. Always remind your server of your allergy when you get there.

Verbalize gratitude

There is no need to apologize for your allergy or food preferences-but ALWAYS be grateful for those around you who help support, accept and accommodate for you. Gratitude puts out good energy into the world and brings that positivity back your way. Those around you will be that much more likely to support and help (and maybe even make you some gluten free treats) when you genuinely thank them for going out of their way. If family/friends aren’t supportive or don’t seem to get it, have patience and be kind to them. Stay present to this fact: Those who have never had to personally deal with a food allergy on their own will never fully understand eating gluten free like you do-and that’s ok!

Laugh it off

Some of the best advice I have ever been given was: “Stop taking yourself so seriously”. This may seem silly and somewhat counterintuitive being that Celiac is a serious thing but sometimes we need to be reminded to laugh it off and that life is never perfect! Remembering to laugh when the going gets tough and making fun of ourselves can be so healing! Surround yourself with those who enjoy laughing and joking around like you do and remember that mistakes and screw ups are part of what make us human.

Looking for a tasty and crowd pleasing gluten free recipe to bring to your next get together? Try my Mediterranean Seven Layer dip here!

Lunch/Dinner

Green Basil Chicken

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This instant/crock pot recipe is super simple and great for those of you who want to ‘throw it all in a pot’ and be done! This happens to be Autoimmune Paleo (AIP) friendly-this is an anti-inflammatory elimination diet used for reactive autoimmune conditions-you can find out more about it here (PS I call it “AIP friendly” as a strict AIP diet would exclude the jalapeno, curry, chili powder) This goes great over cauliflower rice and I love it served with roasted baby bok choy for a calcium boost! Oh, and I forgot to mention-this is insanely detoxing as a meal thanks to the huge dose of fresh herbs, garlic and pungent spices; so eat up!

What you need:

3 organic chicken breasts
1 can full fat coconut milk
1 large handful organic fresh basil; save some for garnishing!
1 large handful organic fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno (deseeded unless you like a lot of spice)
1 heaping T yellow curry powder
½ tsp chili powder
1 small red onion-roughly chopped
1.5 tsp fresh grated ginger root
1 T avocado oil
4 cloves garlic
1.5 tsp salt

How you do it:

Add all sauce ingredients (everything but the chicken) to a vitamix or high powered blender/food processor (should make a thick sauce)
Add raw chicken to instant or crock pot and pour sauce completely over top
Cook in instant pot on low pressure for 10 minutes (make sure valve is switched to closed, then manually release pressure) or 3 hours on low for crock pot
Shred chicken once done

Makes ~ 6 servings

Breakfast, Snacks, Treats/Desserts

Sugar Detox Breakfast Brownies

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These brownies are my go-to for satisfying a chocolate-y dessert craving without any added sugars or sweeteners! They are great for busy weeks to grab on the go for breakfast; I also love crumbling them over smoothies as a replacement for granola. I generally like to keep a batch of these on tap in my freezer for when a chocolate craving strikes. These are very versatile in terms of changing up the toppings-I recommend adding a few sweetened chocolate chips to the mix if serving kids or people who are used to sweeter palates-these are just barely sweet!

Makes 9 squares

Bar Ingredients
1 large sweet potato
½ cup cacao powder (can sub carob powder)
2 large eggs
¼ cup coconut flour
½ cup melted coconut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Mix ins/Toppings (recommend about a 1/3 cup total toppings):

unsweetened coconut flakes
walnuts
cacao nibs
unsweetened chocolate chips (I recommend Pascha organic 100% cacao chips) or Eating Evolved midnight coconut bar (chopped) or Lilys brand stevia baking chips; if wanting sweetened chocolate then I recommend chopping Eating Evolved 70% or higher bars or Enjoy Life mini chips

How you do it:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Wash/dry sweet potato and pierce with a fork a few times- bake for 35-45 minutes (make sure you can easily poke a fork through, should be very soft)
3. Once baked, let cool and remove skin (if short on time you can try cooking in the
microwave instead)
4. Grease 9×9 dish with coconut oil or ghee
5. Add cooled sweet potato and all other bar ingredients to food processor and mix until well combined, fold in chocolate/walnuts (save some for topping)- you can also just mix everything in a bowl if looking for a light arm workout 🙂
6. Scoop batter into greased baking dish and sprinkle with reserved nuts/toppings
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until knife comes out clean
8. Cool before cutting; store in the fridge for a few days or freeze!

Makes 9 squares

**updates:

-Add 2-3 scoops of Vital Proteins Collagen peptides to boost protein content (mix right into the batter after other ingredients are blended)

-I have tried half coconut oil/half coconut butter and they came out great-super fudgy!

Served as a ‘heathified’ dessert! Topped with fresh organic raspberries, chopped hazelnuts and a scoop of So Delicious No Sugar Added icecream

Treats/Desserts

Salted Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

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These cookies are what I call Pegan=paleo and vegan! It can be tough to find a recipe (that actually tastes good) that is devoid of gluten, dairy AND eggs but this one is a winner!! I tweaked the sugar to be as low as possible but you may be able to alternatively sub a small amount of monk or stevia sweeteners if you prefer. Also-I’ve included my recipe for making a flax egg as well-this is an easy egg substitute for baking recipes for those who don’t do well with eggs. Enjoy!

What you need for cookies:

1 flax egg (see recipe below)
1/4 cup softened (not melty) coconut oil
1/4 cup cashew butter
3 T maple syrup
2 T coconut sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 and 1/4 cup blanched almond flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

For Flax egg

1 T ground flax
2.5 T warm water

How you do it:

To make Flax Egg: Whisk ground flax + warm water in a small bowl, let sit for 10-15 minutes

Preheat oven to 350S
Sift (you can just use a whisk) together almond flour, tapioca starch, baking soda and salt
In another bowl blend together nut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, coconut sugar and vanilla until smooth
Add flax egg into wet mix
Add flour to wet mixture and mix just until a dough forms
Fold in chopped walnuts and chocolate chips
Chill mix in the fridge for 15 minutes
Line a baking sheet with parchment and preheat oven to 350
Scoop onto baking sheet and flatten tops slightly
Bake 13-15 minutes until just turning golden brown (should still look a little soft)
Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet before serving, sprinkle with a touch of salt
Serve with steamed almond milk 🙂

Makes roughly a dozen cookies

Lunch/Dinner, Veggies

Vegan Broccoli Cheddah Soup

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Yes-you heard that right! No dairy here! Despite the lack of cheese this still has the creamy, cheesy-flavored goodness of this classic creamy soup without the heaviness of adding cream or cheese. It contains a healthy dose of fiber thanks to all the veg and is even keto-friendly! I also love this recipe because it uses both broccoli stems and florets to reduce food waste 🙂 Please make sure to use fresh dill-the flavor is necessary and it packs a punch of immune boosting trace minerals like zinc-this herb is small but mighty!

Without croutons:

What you need:

1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2-3 large stalks of celery
1 large carrot
2 tsp miso (gluten free)-optional
1 small yellow potato (about golf ball size)
4-5 cups chopped broccoli/broccoli stems-separated (I used ~3 heads)
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup raw cashews-soaked in hot water at least 10 min
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup nutritional yeast – optional but recommended!
small handful of fresh dill
squeeze of 1/2 of small lemon
sea salt and pepper to taste
4-5 slices gluten free sourdough (I used Bread Srsly brand (this is BY FAV the best GF bread I’ve ever tasted; Schar would also likely work well)
avocado oil

How you do it:

Heat oven to 375
Wash/chop onion, celery, carrot and mince garlic
Drizzle about a tablespoon of avocado oil into a large soup pot, heat on low/medium
Add chopped onion/garlic; cook until translucent
Add chopped celery/carrot and stir in miso; cook until soft ~3-4 min
Chop potato and broccoli into florets (also cube up broccoli stems)
Add chopped potato and broccoli stems with a splash of broth to the pot and cover to cook on low/medium until soft ~8-10 minutes (check that it is soft enough with a fork)
While that is cooking-chop the bread into cubes, toss in plenty of avocado oil and herbs of choice (I used garlic powder and fresh parsley/rosemary but use whatever you have on hand!)
Place bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven until golden and crispy ~13-15 minutes; remove from oven and set aside
In a high powered blender or vitamix add 16 oz of broth, cooked/cooled veggies from pot, drained raw cashews, apple cider vinegar and nutritional yeast-blend until creamy
Reserve a large handful of broccoli florets to the side and add the remainder to the blender-pulse to blend so that some of it remains chunky
Pour the soup back into the pot with the remaining broth and reserved broccoli
Cook the soup until the broccoli is cooked (bright green/tender) ~10 more minutes
Add lemon juice, fresh dill and sea salt to taste (likely will need 1-2 tsp); add black pepper
Ladle into bowls and garnish with croutons and fresh dill!

Makes roughly 6-8 servings

Lunch/Dinner, Snacks, Veggies

Sweet n Spicy Cauliflower

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Why do I like using monk fruit when trying to avoid added sugar? It is a natural sweetener derived from a fruit-not an artificial sweetener like sucralose or splenda. It also doesn’t trigger blood sugar spikes or reactions in your gut as other sweeteners or sugar alcohols can. My favorite thing about it? There’s some cool new research supporting that it helps improve insulin response in the body-this is a GOOD thing as we WANT insulin to respond quickly and adequately! A little goes a long way..it tastes sweeter than maple syrup or regular sugar on it’s own so use it in small amounts! I used Lankanto brand of monk fruit maple syrup for this recipe but you could also try subbing just liquid monk fruit + maple flavoring if you don’t have that!

What you need:

1 head of organic cauliflower
2 T olive or avocado oil
2 T sriracha
1.5 T monk fruit maple syrup (Lakanto brand)
1 T tamari/gluten free soy sauce or coconut aminos (for paleo/whole 30)
pinch of salt and pepper

How you do it:

Oven at 400
Whisk all sauce ingredients except cauliflower together in a bowl
Wash and chop cauliflower into small florets
Pour sauce into a large stasher bag or plastic baggie and add cauliflower
Mix well until cauliflower is fully coated
Line a baking sheet with parchment and pour coated cauliflower on top-make sure they have room and aren’t too crowded!
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until desired crispness and enjoy immediately!

Breakfast, Snacks

Creamy Ginger Sweet Potato Smoothie Bowl

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Why do I love a smoothie in a bowl this time of the year?! It’s far more digestion-friendly than slurping your smoothie down out of a cup through a straw. In the teachings of Ayurveda: cold, mixed foods like smoothies can be harsher on the digestive tract-especially during the Vata (late fall-winter) season AND especially for those of us who identify with a Vata dosha-for more on Ayurveda visit this site for some quick info or I recommend this book: Idiot’s Guide to Ayurveda

While Ayurveda preaches somewhat against smoothies in general I find that they are an easy way to pack in a lot of nutrition and are convenient for a busy morning. If you’re like me and you find that you smoothies just don’t “sit” as well in the winter months as they do they rest of the year then scroll down to my “belly-proof” smoothie tips below the recipe!

PS: this smoothie is fruitless, refined sugar free, belly de-bloating and filled with skin food! (walnuts, sweet potato, flax, collagen are especially skin-nourishing!) A whole lotta functional nutrition going on here 🙂

What you need:

1/2 small frozen sweet potato (~1/3 cup mashed)
~1 cup Ripple pea milk (you can use another dairy free milk here but you may need to adjust measurements since this one is a bit thicker) + hot water
2 T ground flax seeds
3-4 raw walnut halves
2 scoops collagen protein (I used Vital Proteins collagen peptides, Vanilla Bulletproof collagen would work well here too!)
1/3 cup frozen cauliflower rice
~ an inch of fresh ginger root
1 date (ideally soaked in hot water to soften)
splash of vanilla extract
optional: dash of turmeric, pinch of black pepper
optional toppings: bee pollen, unsweetened shredded coconut, sunflower seed butter, fresh fruit

How you do it:

Blend all ingredients in a high powered blender until desired thickness is reached. I added ~1/4 cup hot water to warm up my smoothie a bit. Use less water for thicker; pour into bowl and add toppings!

Belly-Proof your Smoothie:

What to do to help your body tolerate smoothies better during the winter (Vata) season and/OR all year long:

Eat out of a bowl with a spoon:
- this slows down your consumption of the smoothie and encourages some chewing action-all of which will better up-regulate digestive juices and bile flow to more efficiently break down and absorb food + reduce bloat
Eat at room temp or warm it up
- warm foods soothe the digestive tract during the colder months of the year
Make & blend the day before
- this allows the nuts/seeds to soak and partially breakdown allowing for easier absorption of micronutrients
Add potent spices (ie turmeric, ginger, cinnamon)
- these help to amplify the metabolism and soothe the gut lining
Add seasonal produce
- add fresh fruit/veggies that are in season->sweet potato, root vegetables, cooked apple for natural sweetness during this time of the year vs. berries in the summer; choose fresh vs. frozen if you can

Mine is topped with coconut flakes, bee pollen, sunbutter and chopped organic pear

Author: glutenfreegerblie

How to eat your gluten free cake and keep your friends too

Green Basil Chicken

Sugar Detox Breakfast Brownies

Salted Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Vegan Broccoli Cheddah Soup

Sweet n Spicy Cauliflower

Creamy Ginger Sweet Potato Smoothie Bowl

gerblie on the gram!