The Most Unusual "Pizza"

I know when I told Munchkie's Daddy that I wasn't going to be eating wheat he was incredibly resistant.  I think he thought we'd be eating plain chicken breast and steamed broccoli.  I say we because if I'm cooking dinner, it will be for everyone.  He won't read "Wheat Belly" and so thinks I'm off my rocker, as probably most of you do.  I just wanted to show you what kinds of things I am eating while being gluten free.  I'm also trying to stay away from other replacement carbs such as rice and potatoes for the most part.

This year Munchkie has had several issues that have surprised both of us.  First she had some respiratory stuff that requires inhalers at times, we're not sure if it's allergies or maybe asthma.  Then she started having skin stuff going on.  We're assuming it's eczema but it only goes away for a few hours to a day before it's back in full swing.  I personally think it's something food related, since it began once she started daycare and eating more meals (non-organic) outside of our home.  Munchkie's Daddy and I disagree on this one.  So I'm trying to edge her towards a wheat free and organic diet.  We'll see.

So here is what I ate today.

 For breakfast I had hot coconut flaxseed "cereal" which was so filling that I could hardly eat half of it.  It's unsweetened shredded coconut with ground flaxseed and milk (I used almond milk) and microwave for a minute.  Then add some walnuts and I added more milk after because it was kind of dry for me.

I found this recipe for gluten free goldfish, so I looked for one without cornstarch then Munchkie and I made them together.  They were a huge hit.  I doubled the recipe, hoping to have them for a while.  They were gone by dinner.  All of them.  As you can see, tip toes were just enough.  While I did not think they were like goldfish crackers, they were definitely delicious.

 Since the oven was already on, and I had kale from the farmer's market, so I made some kale chips to munch on.  While I was pulling out the kale I set some golden cherry tomatoes on the counter.  Munchkie instantly wanted to have some "toe-manoes" and we started popping tomatoes in our mouths.  Next thing I knew, the whole pint was gone and I had to distract Munchkie from that fact with the cooled cheese crackers.

 I also bought stone ground pure cacao chocolate at the farmer's market.  It is unlike any chocolate I've ever had before.  I actually am starting to prefer dark chocolate, eating 85% dark chocolate by itself, so this 70% was quite sweet to me.

 And for dinner, pizza.  This took quite a while to make and I don't know that I would say that it was "just like pizza."  It was good though.  I enjoyed it and Munchkie's Daddy had three pieces.

So how did I make pizza staying away from wheat?  Or any grain?  Well, it is definitely not something I would ever think of.

Wheat Free Pizza ~ from Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis M.D.

• 1 head of cauliflower cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces (the head I got at the farmer's market was bigger than my head, it was way too much)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large eggs
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (this was not enough cheese for me, I needed more)
• 12 ounces pizza sauce
• Basil
• Oregano
• Garlic powder
• choice of meat and veggies for toppings

1. Cook the cauliflower by boiling for 20 minutes or steaming.
2. Mash the cooked cauliflower until it looks like mashed potatoes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly coat pizza pan with olive oil.
4. Add the olive oil, eggs, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and I added basil, oregano and garlic powder at this time.
5. Pour the cauliflower mixture onto the pizza pan and press out into a flat pizza-like shape that is no more than 1/2 inch thick with "crusts" around the edge.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.  I wish that I had put mine back in for a could more minutes.
7. Remove the crust (leaving the oven on) and spread the pizza sauce, sprinkle the remaining cheese and add toppings.  His recipe calls for the oregano, basil and pepper at this time as well as an additional 1/2 cup of olive oil and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese over top.  We left this out.
8. Bake until cheese is melted, 10 to 15 minutes.
9. Cut the pizza and use a spatula to get out, you will have to eat with a fork, you can't really pick it up.

Fried Green Tomatoes

 While I am trying to avoid wheat and other carbohydrates I have to find creative ways to made dinner.  The other day I saw a post about making salsa and decided to use the abundance of tomatoes we have to made some salsa.  The Zesty Salsa turned out pretty well, I didn't have enough jalepenos so it wasn't quite as zesty as we would have liked.  I ended up with ten jars of salsa, nine of which I canned so we can enjoy it for many more months.  While I was making the salsa I had a moment of panic when I thought I wouldn't have enough tomatoes so I went running down the three flights of stairs to my first floor neighbor's door to ask for more tomatoes.  He had told me that he was tired of tomatoes and would be throwing the plants out once I took all the tomatoes I wanted.  So I grabbed every tomato that was even remotely reddish and then quite a few green ones in case I needed more.  Turns out that I was a little overzealous and had way more tomatoes than room in my pot. So I was left with quite a few green tomatoes.

When my parents came to help us move in my mom wanted to make fried green tomatoes for us with some farmer's market tomatoes.  The tomatoes she had were a green variety and were too ripe to really make a fried tomato.  I decided to try again last night with the left over salsa tomatoes.  The no carb thing posed a little bit of a challenge and so I went looking in my pantry.  I found almonds and ground flax seed.  Both of which are very healthy and will coat the outside of a tomato.  They turned out pretty good and this meal was so filling that I could not eat much more than half of what is on my plate.  I had used this recipe for Sesame Crusted Salmon and coated our albacore since I didn't have any salmon. 

Wheat Free Fried Green Tomatoes
Several Green Tomatoes
Egg Whites
1/2 cup sliced almonds crunched up into fine crumbs
1/3 cup ground flax seed
Seasings- I used oregano, basil and a small pinch of salt

Slice the tomatoes, put the egg white in a bowl and the almond/flax mixture onto a plate.  Dip the tomatoes in the egg white and then coat in crumb mixture.  Place into hot skillet with a small amount of olive oil and cook until golden brown on each side, flipping as needed.

Light and Refreshing

In the winter I'm all about hot chocolates, hot teas and coffees to snuggle under the blankets with.  In the summer I'm drawn to cold refreshing drinks, such as my obvious obsession with ice tea.  With my new mint plants I've been experimenting to see what I can use them in.  Some drinks have been bad.  Very bad.  Tonight I decided to try out a few things after I found some coconut flavored sparkling water.  This one is pretty good.

2 sprigs of pineapple mint, crushed up
1/2 a lime's juice
small squirt agave nectar
ice cubes
coconut flavored sparkling water

Now I just need to figure out something with the chocolate mint that actually tastes good.

Farm Fresh

Growing up we had a farmer's market downtown on the square several times a week.  I remember when I was younger it being so fun and there were so many stands to check out and buy fresh produce from.  As I got older and accompanied my mother I remember there being disappointingly less produce and even less farmers.  The same was true when I went to the farmer's market at our first house in Illinois.  When the grocery stores carry "local" produce, why do you need to venture to a farmer's market?  I was shocked when that market mostly sold jewelry, soaps and other crafty items and no fresh produce to be found.

Today was my first time being able to make it to the big city farmer's market.  I have been to the smaller one in the town we live in and bought some amazing things.  Things got off to a rocky start this morning when Munchkie's Daddy woke me and said "it's 9:30!" we both immediately looked at each other and knew that meant trouble.  While Munchkie's Daddy gave Munchkie a bath, I scrubbed the contents of her diaper off of the walls, crib and carpet.  Then two hours later than we intended we headed to breakfast and then the farmer's market.

When we first moved here, we really wanted to live in the "Little Italy" neighborhood.  When we found out that we couldn't really couldn't afford it, it was so sad, and we've had a feeling of regret ever since.  This morning as we walked through the park to this quaint coffee shop under large flowering trees we felt the regret even more.  We turned to each other as we walked in and couldn't even believe that The Weakerthans were playing.  How cute are these hand stamped cups?  And Munchkie's "hmm, maybe carrot, you know, all that good stuff in it" muffin was amazing!  From what I could tell there was carrot, zucchini and a hint of citrus with a cinnamon crumble on top.  My apple cinnamon scone with just a taste of salt and Munchkie's Daddy's chocolate croissant were also excellent.

Then the farmer's market.  It was a good thing that my cash was limited and they were all cash only vendors.  I also, had just the night before gone to both an area orchard and the grocery store to buy ingredients for my day of canning, so I knew what was a good deal or what wasn't a good deal.  The flowers were absolutely beautiful!  I wish that I could justify buying bunches of them.  I already had my eye on these sugar snap peas, but the guy behind the stand popped out and brought one for Munchkie to try.  She loved it and begged for more.  Two pounds seemed like a good number.  Guess what we'll be eating this week!  Apparently his cow likes them too, he was showing this "too cute picture" of his cow eating the snap peas.

Then I spotted a vender that had all kinds of fresh potted herbs.  The rosemary initially caught my eye, but then as the farmer kept showing me the different herbs I was drawn in.  I ended up with rosemary, stevia, chocolate mint and pineapple mint.  The man said that if you dry the leaves in a paper bag you can add them to teas and coffees to add flavor.  I can't wait to figure out what to do with them.  Then, just as we were walking out, I saw them.  The farm fresh eggs.  I just had to get them.  I absolutely can not even wait to make some scrambled eggs in the morning for breakfast.

Overall, it was a wonderful time.  I am super excited about my purchases and can't wait to use them all!  I will be frequenting the farmer's market this summer in it's various locations.  If you are in my area, check out CitySeed to see the locations and hours of all of the farmer's markets.  I am partially devastated that I didn't think ahead of time to get a CSA and enjoy fresh produce each week.  The one at the orchard near me equals out to $30 a week for 20 weeks of produce!  I seriously wouldn't be able to get fresh produce like that anywhere for a price like that!  Let me tell you, I will definitely be finding a CSA for next summer!

When things go wrong, start cooking

I had a very specific schedule planned out for this morning.  When Munchkie woke up I was going to get her, do my 20 minute exercise DVD with her "assistance," shower and make it to church for Sunday School.  Due to my schedule and our traveling I have not been able to go to our church since the beginning of December.  Isn't that crazy?  We really wanted to start participating more at church and we haven't been able to because I've been working.  When I woke up, went downstairs and started to brush my teeth, the water just stopped.  I turned the faucet off and on and nothing.  Nothing from the kitchen sink either.  Oh boy.  There went all of my perfectly scheduled plans.  No water= not good.  You don't realize how much you use rely on water.  I can't shower, I can't brush my teeth, I can't wash my scrubs (which are all dirty and I have to work tonight), and I feel amazingly dehydrated since I have limited water to drink. 

So when I get frustrated or stressed, I like to cook/bake.  Even though it meant that I would end up with dishes that couldn't be washed I decided to make something for breakfast.  It ended up being tasty.

I chopped up a couple tomatoes, sweet peppers and 4 cloves of garlic.

I sauteed the garlic in 1 teaspoon of olive oil and then added the peppers.  After they got slightly soft I added the tomatoes and about 1/4 cup black beans.  I know this may be weird, but I push the veggies around the outside of the pan and then pour the eggs in the middle to cook for a little bit.  I used 2 whole eggs and 2 egg whites that were scrambled with a dash of milk, chili powder, paprika, cumin and freeze dried cilantro (bad choice, wish I had fresh).

Then I added just a little bit of shredded cheese once everything was cooked.

Munchkie's Daddy had his in a wrap with hot sauce to spice it up more.

I just put mine in a bowl with some more cilantro.  Munchkie and I were supposed to share, but she decided that she didn't want any once we sat down to eat it. 

And so she ended up with a more toddler friendly breakfast.

This ended up being so filling neither one of us could finish it!  Quite yummy I would have to say.  I think it made our lack of water just a little more bearable.  Now the water can decide to start running at any time.  That would be nice.