WIAW: Orange, Orange, Orange

I am knee-deep in finals preparation (and procrastination). But in the midst of all that, yesterday started out with a bike ride to spin class. It was very cold and I made the mistake of wearing ankle socks and so the cold wind was a creeping up my leg. Brrrr

 

So for breakfast I had half of my overnight oats with frozen raspberries and homemade granola and saved the over half for my post workout breakfast. Once I was back at my warm apartment, I enjoyed my second breakfast with a large mug of coffee to try to dispense the cold chill from my bones.

Then I meandered over to one of our elementary schools that I am doing data collection at for my Master’s Project. The food service manager graciously offered me a lunch and so I had a “snack” of sides consisting of mashed potatoes, green beans, broccoli, and a pile of grapes! I still can’t believe there is such a variety of fruits and vegetables at elementary schools.

Then I went to Starbucks to redeem a free drink in the form of a gingerbread latte (2 pumps ginger bread and an extra shot of espresso), and eat my very orange snack of orange bell peppers, carrots, and 2 clementines. And I did some studying for finals week.

Then for dinner I had a taco salad with a lot of spinach, red peppers, onion, black beans, and chopped black bean burger on top. I dressed my salad with a scoop of greek yogurt and a ton of  salsa.

 

This is the brand of black bean burgers that I use. They are gluten-free, spicy, and delicious!
Then I finished the day with my orange theme and had an orange as I studied the night away and some un-pictured caramel popcorn.

Question of the day: Are you a clementine or an orange person? While I have been eating both of them all-day, every-day. My heart lies with the traditional orange. Yum

As always thanks to Jens from peasandcrayons for hosting this WIAW.

~Alyssa

 

WIAW Pies. Pies. Pies.

Well Hello there and happy Thanksgiving eve!

I started yesterday strong and took pictures of what I ate but then things started to get sketchy near the end of the day. So I hope you will enjoy and use your imagine to fill in the gaps.

As always thanks to Jen from peasandcrayons for hosting this food day awesomeness.

It all began with an early morning workout that left me starving! It was a mix of a bootcamp/interval training that left quite the burn. After working out I had some cereal with fruit and cinnamon. Such a winning combination.

       

 

Then I snacked through the morning while I worked on a big paper that I desperately need to finish before Thanksgiving! Ugh Advanced Human Nutrition you will be the death of me!

    

 

And of course I had my trusty-dusty mug of coffee!

Then I had lunch with my dad at the buffet in the Black Bear Casino in Cloquet (this is the part where things get sketchy). I will illustrate with my words what I ate. I limited myself to two plates, I will not go in depth about how big the plates were :). My first was a HUGE salad with ALL the fixings and a mix of cottage cheese and french as the dressing. So good. Then finished off my buffet time with a smaller plate of mashed potatoes, green beans, italian sausage, corn, and some grapes!

Then, I went over to my grandmas to make pies! This was my first pie making experience and it was soo much fun. You can tell that pie making is definitely one of those skills that just takes time to acquire. But I learned from the best and had a great evening with my grandma, aunts, and one of my cousins! We finished off the night with some spaghetti while the apple pies  baked to perfection in the oven. Love them all!

           

 

Then Chris brought me a latte, after we met with the Church Choir director and he also got me my favorite gluten-free chocolate chip cookie! #spoiled.

 

Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I hope you enjoy your Wednesday and give someone you love a big big hug today!

~Alyssa

 

 

 

Wheat-less Wednesday

So this week, I know I am being a little ambitious with 2 posts today, but I had to tell you all about these delicious black bean burgers I have been ingesting as quick as I can get them.

It is really hard to find black bean or any veggie burgers that are gluten-free. Most of them use wheat to keep it together, but not these! These black bean burgers are delicious, a bit spicy, and super easy for a weeknight meal! They have protein from the beans, but less saturated fat than beef hamburgers woo (I know my fiancé is rolling his eyes right now).All you do is pop them in the toaster oven for 5-8 minutes and flip halfway through and you have yourself a tex-mex, healthy burger. I found this brand at Whole Foods, and have unfortunately have only been able to find them there. They run about $3.50 for a pack of four burgers.

Question: What’s your favorite kind of burger, beside beef (if that is your favorite)? There is a gluten-free salmon burger at the Duluth Grill that I dream about! Sooo good!

Don’t be afraid to branch out and expand your burger horizons!

~Alyssa

Wheat-less Wednesday: Affordable GF options

So as you can read in this post, being gluten-free does have its drawbacks, especially when it comes to the pocket book. That’s why typically I like to eat naturally gluten free foods and tend to steer clear of things that have been processed to become gluten-free. Usually gluten-free alternatives have higher amounts of fat and sugar to make them taste better. With that being said, I still buy some gluten-free products, usually only necessities such as bread and pasta.

However, sometimes you just are craving a cookie, that you don’t need to whip out the food processor and coconut flour to make. In these times, there are some affordable gluten-free options! This week I will highlight some options at Wal-Mart, and hope to continue with most of the major food markets.

Wal-mart just released a new Great Value gluten-free line that has many affordable cookies, pasta, granola bars, and bread. Now I don’t know if I would classify any of these as healthy, but if in need of a treat under $3, here you go!

They have pretzels! They also have some gluten-free meal options such as mac’n cheese for a busy night option.

They have chocolate chip cookies.They also have oreo-type cookies! These were catching my eye. Oreos are one of the few gluten-containing foods that I really find myself craving!

Now I haven’t tried any of these, I just think it’s interesting that gluten-free options are taking over the world! And these options, as I mentioned before, are all under $3.

Question of the Day: What is your favorite type of cookie?  While I do love oreos, I take after my dad and think my heart belongs with the old fashioned chocolate chip cookie. 

 

Wheat-less Wednesday: Tofu

Hello people!

I know what you’re thinking…Tofu gross, I do not want to read this! That is exactly what my dad and fiancé would say…right to my face. But I have faith that this recipe will turn people around!

Now I am not trying to turn you into vegetarians and this is in no way a replacement for all meat, but if you’re like me and you eat a lot of salads you will love this because it is the perfect salad topper or addition to a stir fry.

And from a nutrition standpoint. Tofu is made from soy and when eaten in  replace of red meat once or twice a week can lower your saturated fat intake which leads to a healthy happy heart and lower risk of heart disease.

Here’s how to do it!

Preheat the oven to 350°

Now there are 3 steps to making perfect roasted tofu.

1. Draining the excess liquid: Buy extra firm tofu and then sandwich the tofu between paper towels with a heavy weight on top to drain the liquid out of the tofu. You need to drain it for 15-30 minutes.

2. Marinate the tofu: Now you can use any number of ingredients to marinate. My favorite is homemade teriyaki marinade:

-1 tbsp gluten-free soy sauce

-1 tbsp rice vinegar

-1 tbsp water

-1 tsp honey

-1 clove of garlic minced

 

Cut your tofu into whatever shape and size your heart desires. The thinner you slice it the chewier it will get as it dehydrates in the oven.

Whisk these ingredients together and pour over the wonderful blank canvas that tofu is. Let the tofu marinate for at least a half hour in the refrigerator.

Another marinade that is good is balsamic vinegar and dijon mustard.

3. Bake the tofu for 30-40 minutes, flipping the tofu halfway through so it browns evenly.

Once the tofu is golden brown perfection, remove from oven and let cool completely before storing for salads.

 

Now go make a salad or cook up some quinoa, sauté some vegetables and enjoy a delicious stir fry.

~Alyssa

Wheat-less Wednesday: What I Can’t Stop Eating

Here are some of favorite summery foods that I just can’t get enough of!

1. Homemade curry chicken salad with greek yogurt, grilled chicken, and grapes.

2. PEACHES!

3. Cherries! How do you stop eating these?

4. Grind-your-own almond butter. haha sorry about the picture…I had already eaten most of it!

5. QUINOA! It is the best to throw on top of light summer salads or use to make quinoa bean salad.

 

Love it!

6. And of course farmer’s market veggies.

What are you all eating?

~Alyssa

 

Wheat-less Wednesday: Cheesecake Edition!

Hello, Happy Wednesday, and buckle up your seat belts for a cheesecake recipe that will make you drool and leave you just waiting for an occasion to make it for a loved one! It’s that good!

But first I have to post just one engagement picture….. with more to come later. Eek I love them!

Admire the awesomeness, but back to the cake, as many of you know it was my mom’s birthday on Sunday. She requested a cheesecake for her birthday celebration, and I was more than happy to whip up a delicious, creamy, awesome cake for my mom. One problem, I was stumped about what to use for the crust. Most cheesecake has graham cracker crusts, and it is almost impossible to find gluten-free graham crackers. Also I was just in the mood to spice this cheesecake up a bit. So I decided to use ginger snaps! Brilliant idea that produced an awesome base for the cheesecake.

So here it is, Connie’s Easy Lemon-Breezy GF Cheesecake, is Martha Stewarts classic cheesecake, with fun and gluten free twist. I also substituted plain greek yogurt for the sour cream and reduced the sugar a bit.

	Ingredients For Connie’s Easy Lemon-Breezy GF Cheesecake
Crust
	5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted.
	8 oz gluten-free gingersnaps
	1/4 cup sugar
	1/4 tsp salt
Filling
	4 bars of 8 oz cream cheese
	1 1/4 cup of sugar
	1 tsp lemon zest & 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
	1/2 tsp salt
	4 large eggs
	1 cup plain greek yogurt (or sour cream)
	1 Tbsp vanilla

First preheat the oven to 325°. Then, start with the gingersnaps, dump them in the food processor and pulse for a few seconds. Then add in the melted butter, sugar, and salt. Mix together and press into the bottom and 1 inch up the side of a 9 in springform pan

Put the crust into the oven and bake 10-13 minutes or until the gingersnaps are just starting to get dark. While the crust is baking set a pot of water to boil (to be used later) and  start in on all that cheese for the filling! It is easiest to make if the cream cheese is at room temperature.

Put the cream cheese in the mixer and mix until it is “fluffy.”

Once you are satisfied with the fluffiness of the cream cheese, scrape down the bowl and gradually add in the sugar. Beat well and mix in the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and vanilla.

Add in the eggs (these are our colorful farmers market eggs) one at a time, mixing between each egg. Last but not least, add the greek yogurt and mix one last time.

Surround the crust with aluminum foil and place it in a roasting pan. Pour your delicious filling into the gingersnap crust and then fill the roasting pan with the boiling water so it goes halfway up the cheesecake pan. The water insulates the cheesecake so it will cook evenly.

Cook for an hour and 45 minutes at 325°.

And walah! You have a beautiful and utterly irresistible cheesecake that tastes very light and refreshing.

Try this gingerbread crust the next time you make a cheesecake, you won’t regret it!

~Alyssa

Wheat-less Wednesday: Brown Bagging It

So I am now in my fourth week of my internship at the hospital! Oh my goodness things are flying by, and I figured I would have SO  much free time this summer,  but so far it’s been pretty jam packed! I do have some exciting new things coming to the blog super soon though so stay tuned!

Ok so back to my internship and working full time….and FOOD! So St. Luke’s has a cafeteria but due to my student/engaged financials I choose to brown bag it! Wohoo you can tell I am going to be a Dietitian because I spend WAY to long making my lunches. Like there are the most involved salads ever, but hey who said brown bag lunches need to be boring!

I have been into putting cottage cheese and balsamic vinegar on my salad with some chopped grilled chicken, red peppers, and spinach…YUM.

So in my brown bag adventures I stumbled across a gem that I just had to share with you all! These little babies:

They are individual guacamole packs with only 170 mg of sodium. Not bad for pre made guac. And the best part is they are so portable and the perfect thing to add to a taco salad to bring to work.

You can also put them on tacos like we did for dinner…

So much flavor and deliciousness wrapped in one little pouch. You can’t beat that. I believe it was around $3 for 6 pouches. That’s almost cheaper than buying avocados and making your own. Plus I always use half an avocado then forget to use the second half and it goes to waste. So this is the best of both worlds.

Try out some guacamole pouches to dip veggies, top the perfect taco salad, or scoop chips to spice up your lunch.

~Alyssa

Wheat-less Wednesday: Nature Box

Another week, another Wheat-less Wednesday! I’m really excited to tell you all about this new fangled snack invention that is the focus of this edition.

So my wonderful fiancé, Christopher, got me a 3-month Nature Box subscription as a thoughtful gift for finishing my first year of grad school. I had looked at the Nature Box site a couple times, but was so pleasantly surprised that he got the subscription and excited to try all the cool gluten free snacks.

Let me tell you a bit about Nature Box. Overall it is a company that sends healthy snacks right to your door. First you pick the length of your subscription, and they send you one box a month. Then, you pick what size box you would like, 5,10, or 20 snack bags. Once you have signed up you have the option to pick the snacks you want or you can put surprise snacks in your “pantry”. The best part is you get to personalize your pantry by making it gluten free, low cal, low sugar, or low fat and then they match snacks to your preference!

I chose flax crostini bites, chipotle maple almonds, pear praline crunch, baked sweet potato fries, pb&j granola. They are all very good! My favorite so far is a toss up between the crostini bites and pear praline crunch. The pear praline crunch is a good mix of sweet and salty making it a perfect snack to satisfy most of your cravings.

I will admit I haven’t tried the granola yet, because that was the one thing that Chris requested so I am leaving it for him. The sweet potato fries were a bit of a let down. They have an odd texture, but whenever you are making gf crackers I shouldn’t be surprised about this.

Here is my snack line up for the next shipment. I’m excited!

 

If you are a snacker you should definitely look into this, or if you are in need of a gift to support someone with healthy lifestyle choices, I would recommend Nature Box, it makes a great gift!

~Alyssa

Wheat-less Wednesday: Cereal Edition

It is time for this weeks Wheat-less Wednesday! Wow that is a lot of w’s (some would even say a whopping amount). If you came expecting Portland Part 2, I apologize, there are just so many pictures to sort through, but it will be up soon! Anyway this Wednesday is a bit bittersweet. You see yesterday was the last time I walked to campus from my current apartment, crossing over this bridge…..

And my last spin class…..

After my final tomorrow I will be immediately moving out and moving up (nothing like moving in and mooching off the parentals).

Anyway, now to the task at hand…cereal. When I am not making oatmeal for breakfast, it is nice to have cereal on hand for a quick and nutritious start to the day. Gluten-free cereal is hard to come by, except for rice krispies and corn chex that have a lot of sugar and about zero fiber or sustenance to keep me full to lunch time. So instead I have turned to Erewhon Supergrains. 

And buckwheat and hemp is my favorite flavor, it may not sound enticing but trust me it’s delicious.

One cup comes in around 220 calories and contains 5 grams of fiber and only 6 grams of sugar and not to mention it tastes great. It has a great nutty-grain flavor when paired with yogurt or milk and berries makes for a great breakfast.

And the ingredients: Organic Whole Buckwheat Groats, Organic Brown Rice, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Hemp Seed, Organic Maple Syrup, Sea Salt.

Unfortunately I believe they may only be available at Whole Foods which is fairly limiting, but definitely the best gf cereal that I have found. I highly recommend it!

~Alyssa