Sally's Gluten Free World

[Sally_Cinnamon]

TUESDAY 4TH JANUARY, 2010 (GREEN DAY)

9.00am
Coffee (with skimmed milk and fat free creamer) (1/2 A, 1 syn)

12.00pm
Chana Masala with boiled rice

So far today I haven't been great about eating, although it was a BIG bowl of Chana Masala and rice. I'm not feeling quite so well today, one of my incisions is giving me some unexpected pain so I'm really just staying on the couch and resting. At least it's keeping me out of the kitchen. Susan is planning to make what we call "S.K. Chang's" for dinner--named after a similar dish at a restaurant near us. Basically, it's a stir fry (in spray oil) of turkey mince, onions, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and beansprouts served with brown rice and eaten in lettuce wraps. It is seriously yummy, and will probably use up my B choices for the day. I might have another coffee too, or even a chai tea latte, just to use up my A choices. No idea what to do about those syns though, not got a great deal in to snack on, even the Christmas chocolate is gone--unless I can convince one of the girls to give me some of theirs...

5.30pm - Coffee (with skimmed milk and fat free creamer) (1/2 A, 1 syn)

I'm suddenly craving coleslaw so I just made a bowl from shredded cabbage and carrots and a tablespoon of low calorie mayonnaise. I really want it on a jacket potato but Susan is about to make dinner so I've set it aside for either a snack later on if I get hungry or to have tomorrow. Yum. If I eat it today, I'll syn the mayonnaise at 2 syns.

9.00pm - Two squares of chocolate and a tiny GF cookie (6 syns)

A - Skimmed milk
A -
B - Minced turkey
B - Minced turkey
Syns - 8/15

 

[kt_baybeh]

Hiya Sally

Sorry to see you aren't feeling to well!
My OH has coeliacs disease and is gluten free too so I shall be watching your diary with interest!

Only advice I would give is...eat before midday!!
By not eating until midday it is making your metabolism very sluggish and you won't burn fat as quickly or effectively.
I know some people can't stomach breakfast, but take small steps, even it starts with just something like a piece of fruit.

I cant function without breakfast!!

Kate

 

[niknaks]

Hi Sally

Welcome back and good luck on your new journey.

I shall be popping in every now and then as my mum is celiac and seeing your food diary may help inspire my mum too as she is also on the SW plan

Hope you feel better soon xx

 

[Sally_Cinnamon]

kt, I know you're right about breakfast and it's a real weakness of mine. I'm going to have to give some serious thought to breakfast options--eggs are always a choice and Susan makes me Huevos Rancheros occasionally but she can't do that every day (although I'd like her to). Fruit is also a possibility, although it probably won't keep me going for long. Actually, as I'm typing this I'm remembering a recipe I found for a GF breakfast risotto made overnight in a slow cooker--might have to give that a go tonight, if I can make enough for a few days and reheat it, that would be a good option for a sustaining breakfast, especially if I add in extra fruit...

niknaks, hello again! How does your mum get on with the GF side of it? What does she have instead of bread? That's honestly the thing I miss the most--we've found a great rice pasta which is exactly like wheat pasta, if not better (apart from the price...grrr) but haven't yet been able to find a bread substitute. And if she does have a bread substitute, how does she syn it? I don't know if I'm allowed to use 3 corn tortillas as a HEB--3 of them would be 120 calories. I wonder if they're even treated the same way as bread because of the lack of flour? It's very confusing and over here in the States there are no classes or consultants to ask, I'm on my own.

 

[Sally_Cinnamon]

You did indeed find me I've just been looking at your food diary and you, Madam, are looking FABULOUS!

As for the surgery, I don't have staples, just some weird strip things and glue, but they're still in place. Having an unexpected increase in pain today (it woke me up last night, it was so intense) but no other symptoms, no fever, no redness that I can see and no oozing that I can tell of so I'm just resting up (as usual ) and hoping it passes. I have some heavy duty painkillers but am trying to stay on ibuprofen at the moment as I have a fear of strong medications, I don't like the way they make me feel. That said, I didn't object too much to the morphine they injected when I was in the ER room The pain I'm having now though is right in my belly button, as if something sharp is stuck in there and stabbing at me. Anyway, I'm sure it will pass, it's probably my body's way of telling me that I need to rest more, I did have an active day yesterday.

The wheat intolerance is manageable now, the first couple of months were a bit of a shock. Thankfully, Susan is a great cook and always up for a new challenge so she's loved adapting recipes for me and most of the time you can't tell it's GF. She makes a wicked mushroom stroganoff with GF pasta that is just to die for--just need to find a way to make it SW friendly now! The girls are well too, and I''m happy to report that I'm having a break from knitting bears--handknitted socks are my present addiction!

 

[BritMumInCanada]

great to see you back

Sorry to hear you have been poorly , sounds painful.

I don't know if you have Meijer near you, but they have a gluten free section, which seems quite good. I expect trader joes or whole foods would have good sections too, although I know you are a good trip away from those.

 

[SacredSilence]

Hi there, I hope you don`t mind me intruding! The "Gluten Free" caught my eye lol

I buy "Genius" Gluten Free Bread but try not to eat it too often as my body and carbs have a love/hate relationship

LiSe Xx

 

[Sally_Cinnamon]

WEDNESDAY 5th JANUARY, 2010 - GREEN DAY

7.30am
Coffee (with skimmed milk and fat free creamer) (1/2 A, 1 syn)
Hot water

So last night turned out to be a bit of a disaster. One of our cats got really sick and is presently at the emergency vet. Long story short, he's had a cough which he's being treated for but around dinnertime last night we found him lying in a closet, shallow breathing, covered in mucus that was leaking from his bottom. He was clearly in pain and not even trying to move. The vet says his colon looks inflamed but can't see any reason why - x-rays didn't show anything. They kept him overnight in IV analgesics and fluids and they're going to call us today when they've run some more tests. I'm so worried about our baby Icarus, he's only 6 months old and he's a darling. The whole household is subdued and anxious today, including all our other cats who know something isn't right. :cry:

That aside, my pain level has reduced somewhat today, which is good, and we have some friends coming in to see us who postponed their trip from last week when I was super-sick. They eat a lot and we are in the tail-end of the week grocery-wise so there's not a lot in to feed them with. Susan has suggested that we go out to eat, and I think we'll probably go to a local restaurant that I know has great food and at which I can get some decent healthier options. Lemon chicken, I think, is on my agenda. Yum.

8.30am
Hot water

9.30am
Breakfast risotto with chopped apple (1)

Recipe success! I made my breakfast risotto! So, I took a cup of arborio rice, added cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, vanilla extract and sweetener, then added about three cups of water as it was cooking. At the very end I tossed in a chopped apple so that it would get coated but not cooked, and added (very naughty) a splash of whipping cream--maybe about half a tablespoon, just to add to the creaminess. And it's pretty good. Yes, it would be better if I'd replaced one of the cups of water for milk, and if I'd added brown sugar instead of sweetener but then it wouldn't have been a SW risotto, would it?

11.30am
Jacket potato with homemade coleslaw (note to self: make this more often, it's yummy!) (2)

3.00pm
Late lunch with friends.
Jacket potato, honey glazed carrots, and pot roast. No idea about the syns, no extra gravy, but I'm going to assume I had about 10 syns) (10)

5.00pm
Coffee with fat free creamer and milk (1/2 A + 1)

A - Skimmed milk
A -
B - Lean beef
B - Lean beef
Syns - 15/15 (7)

 

[Sally_Cinnamon]

THURSDAY 6TH JANUARY, 2010 - GREEN DAY

Still no news on the kittie :sigh:, the vet has no clue what's wrong with him and he's on IV fluids and antibiotics. They did exploratory surgery yesterday, to no avail, but they did find that his lymph nodes are swollen so they've done a biopsy and we'll get the results of that early next week. I want kittie back home :cry:

Foodwise, yesterday wasn't too bad I suppose. We ate out with Jen and Phil, I managed to avoid the mashed potatoes (very tempting) and the gravy-smothered pot roast and just went for the plain pot roast with a jacket potato and carrots. It was still absolutely delicious and I was so stuffed afterwards that I didn't need to eat for the rest of the night. We're out to lunch again today, this time with Susan's mom--we're meeting her at one of my favourite downtown restaurants. I have no real idea what I'll choose there. They do a lovely dish called Hoppin' John which is basically rice, beans, veggies, a tomato sauce and cheese. I could ask them to go easy on the cheese and have that. We'll see when I get there. Haven't had anything to eat yet as I'm typing this but I do have some leftover breakfast risotto in the fridge that I'll warm up in a little while. I'm going to count it as syn free today because I added the splash of cream to my bowl yesterday, not the whole dish. No cream today.

7.45am
Hot water
Breakfast risotto

12.00pm
Cabbage and carrot salad
Rice with red beans and cheese (A)
Chai tea latte (A, 2 syns)

Lunch out was lovely and I made sensible choices. They went easy on the cheese, in fact I'm not ever sure there was a full ounce on my meal, but I'm counting it as such. Just got to get through dinner now--and I'm hungry now so heaven knows how I'll make it to dinner time. Might make some more coleslaw or maybe heat a mug of black bean soup to tide me over. Also, not sure what I'm going to have as my HEB. I think Susan might be planning a big stir fry for dinner though so maybe there'll be some chicken in that and that will count.

7.00pm
Chicken stir fry with cabbage, beansprouts, carrot, green pepper and broccoli, with brown rice (B, B)

9.30pm
Handful of marshmallows (3 syns)

A - Milk
A - Cheese
B - Chicken
B - Chicken
Syns - 3/15 (19)

 

[Sally_Cinnamon]

FRIDAY 7TH JANUARY, 2010 - GREEN DAY

Icarus is still a very poorly kitten :cry: We're going to see him at the vets today, hopefully, and give him some snuggles although apparently all the vet techs are in love with him and snuggling him like mad at every opportunity.

No idea what my eating has in store for me today--and it's weigh-in day tomorrow so I don't want to go overboard, I'd love a good result on the scales tomorrow morning. Did I mention that I got new bathroom scales for Christmas? Well, I did, and they're wonderful. I know I gained weight since going GF, but honestly I think most of the increased number can be accounted for by my old scales--I could get readings up to 10lb apart within seconds of each other, and I know for a fact that they always read lower if I leaned in a certain direction. Guess what direction I always leaned in? I'm pretty sure that I've been kidding myself about my weight gain for at least the last year because my scales were so unreliable.

Anyway, these scales are brand-spanking new and had fantastic reviews on Amazon--everyone that used them said they were super-accurate and reliable which is exactly what I need. No more dodgy scales means I can't fool myself and have to get serious about my weight loss. No more excuses.

8.30am
Coffee with fat free creamer and milk (1/2 A, 1 syn)

I'm thinking I might make a potato curry this weekend. Posting the recipe here because it will remind me that I want to make it and give me incentive to stay on track. The original recipe can be found here, I've made a couple of modifications that I think will work well, although I'll let you know!

Ingredients

• 450g/1 lb peeled, cubed potatoes
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 -2 green chillies (to taste), deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp dried ginger
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 large can crushed tomatoes
  
• Splash of tomato sauce (passata) to thicken
  
• A little chopped fresh coriander to serve

Instructions

Boil the potatoes until cooked, but still firm. Drain.

Add the onion and chillies and cook until lightly browned in a pan.
Add the turmeric, coriander, ginger, cumin and tomato puree and cook for about 2 mins.
Add the potatoes and stir.
Add the tomatoes and passata and bring to the boil.
Simmer for about 5 mins.
Stir in the chopped coriander and serve.

You could also add a can of chick peas or green lentils ​

11.00am
Two eggs, fried with Canola spray oil
Fat-free refried beans, with a splash of hot sauce for extra flavour
Brown rice with a spoonful of S's Ranchero sauce

Not a lot by the way of veggies on that plate--our fridge is looking decidedly empty as it's grocery day tomorrow. We're out of mushrooms, peppers, pretty much everything. Going to have a banana in a while to at least put something fresh in my system, and we have spinach so I'm going to think of something to do with a big heap of that later on.

12.00pm
Banana

2.30pm
Dairy Queen Blizzard on the way home from the vet :sign0007:(35 syns)

I was pretty upset after seeing Icarus (he's a very sick kitty) so Susan detoured to Dairy Queen and I have no will power.

5.00pm
Coffee with fat free creamer and milk (1/2 A, 1 syn)

7.00pm
Black bean soup
3 small corn tortillas (B)

Bad, bad, bad Sally having ice cream. But I'm not *too* far over on my syns and I've only been writing things down for a couple of days but I've been on plan for a week so I'm hoping that I've got a few syns from previous days that will carry forward. I guess I'll know tomorrow when I weigh myself...

A - Milk
A -
B - Corn tortillas
B -
Syns - 37/15 (-4)

 

[Sally_Cinnamon]

MONDAY 10TH JANUARY, 2010 - GREEN DAY

I've been a bad girl and haven't logged in over the weekend--I've spent all my time knitting as I'm back in class on Wednesday and won't have as much free time, if any. It's going to be a busy semester, what with a conference paper to be worked on and an independent research project. Oh, and there's that Fellowship application due at the end of the week as well...

Anyway, it's Monday morning, the girls are at school and I've just managed to get my first batch of reading done and dusted. Susan and I have plans to go to the cinema this afternoon to see "Secretariat" and I have plans to make food, shower, and knit, just as soon as I've started today's food thread. I've discovered that if I start a food thread in the morning then I stay on track a little better because the OCD in me doesn't want an incomplete day. If I don't start a food thread first thing then I can ignore it in my mind and it's easier to get off track. So I'm here today, here's my food thread, and I'm on track.

(Icarus, by the way, is finally home and doing much better )

7.30am
Hot water

9.30am
Blueberries and chopped banana

Thinking I might make BritMuminCanada's Sweet Potato and Spinach Frittata for brunch...I'll update when I leave the kitchen.

12.00pm
Sweet Potato and Spinach Frittata (with added corn and cumin (A, 0.5 syn)

2.00pm
M&Ms at the cinema (11 syns)

8.30pm
Mashed potato (A), steamed broccoli, carrots, lean roast turkey (no skin) (B, B), gravy (3 syns)

A - Cheese
A -
B - Turkey
B - Turkey
Syns - 14.5/15 (0.5)

 

[Sally_Cinnamon]

TUESDAY 10TH JANUARY, 2010 - GREEN DAY

7.30am
Hot water

8.30am
Blueberries and chopped banana

9.30am
Hot water

11.30am
GF Pasta with homemade tomato sauce, 4 melted LC triangles (A)

4.00pm
Starbucks Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte (7)

6.30pm
Homemade Tomato Bisque (2)
Jacket Potato
Homemade coleslaw with reduced calorie mayonnaise (2)

8.15pm
Coffee with fat free creamer and milk (A)

A pretty decent day today, surprisingly. I'd not been keeping track throughout the day but I've been busy so hadn't wanted to eat as much. It's snowed here today so the girls are off school (they cancel school at the first sign of snow over here, it seems) and I had a meeting on campus this afternoon so I was out of the house from lunch until dinner. I'm pretty pleased with myself over the last couple of days, things hadn't gone as pear-shaped as I suspected they might. The real test for me was having M&Ms at the cinema yesterday, counting them as part of my allowance and not feeling guilty or as if I'd blown it. Progress.

A - Laughing Cow Triangles
A - Milk
B -
B -
Syns - 11/15 (4.5)

 

[Sally_Cinnamon]

WEDNESDAY 12TH JANUARY, 2010 - GREEN DAY

My goodness it's been cold here today! And another snow day for the girls who are now thoroughly bored and want to go back to school. Let's hope the roads clear up a little tomorrow.

First proper day back on campus today, two new classes--Latin and Feminist Theorizing. Both are going to be hard work, I think. Tomorrow is British Literature to 1650. Another hefty class.

7.30am
Hot water
Blueberries and chopped banana

9.00am
Hot water

1.30pm
GF pasta with onions, mushrooms, spinach, cherry tomatoes, turkey, and feta cheese (A, B)

5.00pm
Hot water
Banana

7.00pm
Salad with boiled egg and Caesar dressing (2)
Jacket potato with homemade coleslaw (2)

Clearly, I haven't had enough syns or HE choices today. Need to do better tomorrow.

A - Feta cheese
A -
B - Turkey
B -
Syns - 4/15 (15.5)

 

[Sally_Cinnamon]

MONDAY 17TH JANUARY, 2010 - GREEN DAY

So, I was a bit disappointed with my weight loss this week, just 0.6lbs, but I had a great weight loss the week before and I was on my period (I always tend to get a little bloated for a few days afterwards). I just need to be patient, keep on track and stay focused.

Had a great shopping trip with the girls today--managed to pick up $220 worth of cardigans and tops from my favourite shop over here for just $26. Four cardigans, one of which I had been ogling since before Christmas, and two casual jersey tops. The one I am really pleased with is a cream cashmere blend with hundreds of irridescent sequins on the front panels. Right now, it's a little snug so I have extra incentive to stick at my weight loss. I want to be wearing that cardigan by Easter. When is Easter this year anyway?

And in other good news, as I was typing this Susan got a phone call offering her a job interview on Wednesday. It's a part-time position which she could do alongside her teaching. She'd rather have full-time as her teaching is outside usual hours, but part-time would be great too. Fingers crossed, please, that it turns out to be a good position and even more fingers crossed that she is offered the job.

Back to the food...

9.00am
Blueberries and chopped banana

10.00am
Starbucks Skinny Caramel Latte (A, 2syns)

1.00pm
Green salad, jacket potato, homemade coleslaw (2 syns)

Not sure what's on the menu for dinner tonight. I'm going out around 6pm to see my knitting ladies but will avoid the food at Panera--they have very few GF options anyway. Might treat myself to a yummy drink, I suppose it depends on what I decide to have for dinner and whether I use my other HEA for cheese or not.

A - Milk
A -
B -
B -
Syns - 4/15 (11)

 

[Sally_Cinnamon]

WEDNESDAY 19TH JANUARY, 2011 - GREEN DAY

7.30am
Coffee with milk and fat free creamer (1/2 A, 1)

8.30am
Hot water
Blueberries and chopped banana

9.00am
Hot water

10.00am
Hot water

1.00pm
Hot water
Leek and potato soup (2)

2.00pm
Hot water
Chana Masala and brown rice

4.30pm
Hot water
Green & Black's Chocolate (8)

6.00pm
Hot water

7.00pm
Hot water
Rice, tomatoes, black-eyed peas, green peppers, onions, cheese (A)

8.00pm
Hot water

A - Milk
A - Cheese
B -
B -
Syns - 11 (4)