Monday, April 25, 2011
Lavender honey!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Quick Snacks
A lot of people have been asking me what I eat for snacks, which is a great question because I often asked myself what to snack on especially while I was navigating this new way of eating. I had no idea what a healthy gluten/prossessed carb free snack was. Here are a few of my favorites.
Carrot & Celery Sticks with Hummus: In my opinion, Sabra is the best hummus you can buy commercially made. The problem: it is expensive at stores like Fred Meyers and Safeway. Solution: I buy it is at Winco or Costco. Costco has a bulk size for about $6 and by my estimate it is 2.5 times larger of the regular size you can buy at Winco which is around $3 per tub. I buy regular carrots and celery. Sometimes I pre-slice a LOT of carrots and celery when I know I am going to have a busy week. If I had kids, I'd probably do that so we can just grab some when the hunger strikes. Most mornings, (I'm so lucky) Prince Sam cuts them up for our snacks. We work 10 hour days, so I always make sure to bring snacks because when 4 hits, we get hungry or I get super nauseous when my blood sugar is low.
Microwavable Edamame: My chip replacer AKA eat infront of the TV replacer is edamame. I buy the microwavable frozen edamame and throw it in the microwave for 5 minutes and toss with a little sea salt. It is super simple but it works for that salty craving! Sometimes it is even a side dish for dinner.
Lemon Soda: My lemon sprizters (as Sam calls them) are a great way to satisfy pop cravings or lemonade cravings. Look at previous posts for recipes. I want to tell you about a fabulous experience I had: I ordered my lemon drop stevia @ iHerb.com (lemondropstevia) on a Friday (pay day) and I recieved a shipping notification less than a half hour later! Then, I actually got my stevia (two dollar shipping) on MONDAY. It was crazy! I really only saved 2 or 3 dollars since you can buy lemon drop stevia for $14.99 at Whole Foods, but I rarely frequent a whole foods so it was cheaper and much more convinent to purchase it this way. Some people mix liquid stevia (there are all kinds of flavors and I've tried most of them) with seltzer water or club soda. I tend to find a weird after taste at the end if they aren't stirred very well. The root better + vanilla creme mixed with club soda is pretty good. I also like peppermint stevia with peppermint tea. YUM. Maybe I should devote an entire post to stevia.. at some point. Now, if you dont like mixing your own drinks and still have a soda hankering... PUT THAT DIET COKE DOWN! There is an alternative: Zevia! Zevia is the best tasting calorie free healthy soda! Down fall- the price. It is $4.99 at Freddies which is the best price I've found and then a lot of times you can find coupons on their website. The best deal is when it goes on sale at Freddies for $3.99 and I have a dollar off coupon! SCORE. I buy and buy and buy and stock up! I used to drink a lot of soda but Zevia helped wean me off of it... for two reasons: 1) it is healthier and after my withdrawls I wasnt craving regular soda and 2) because its expensiveI dont drink as much. I can't afford to drink two or three a day. Ok, I never really drank three pops a day. I love it and I wish I had some of it in our fridge at home right now, but sadly I dont. I need to stock up again when Fred Meyer's has a sale.
Apple's and Peanut Butter... OR almond butter. I buy our peanut and almond butters at Winco, in the bulk section. It isnt going to be as cheap as generic prosessed sugared peanut butter but its also not a super expensive item either. My personal favorite apples are pink ladies! YUM... I use my handy dandy apple slicer, which I bring to work, my tub of PB or almond butter and dip away! For me, I'm eating a healthy apple, with natural sugars. I generally have this for breakfast in a pinch or as a late afternoon snack because there is something about apples and PB that seem to stablize my blood sugar so I dont get feeling really sick on the drive home. This weird phenominon has happened on a few occasions, my blood sugar gets so low (I'm technically not pre-diabetic my doctor says but I'll bet since I'm overweight and pre-disposed to diabetes I am pre-pre-diabetic. One of the reasons I've found myself on this journey! Prevention!) and Sam and I drive home and I get dizzy and light headed. One time, we got home, made it through the door and ran to the bathroom to vomit. I also got a migraine so maybe or maybe not related to low blood sugar but I've made sure to have an afternoon snack now before we drive home. I've always prefered the bulk, freshly ground peanut butter but I can see how some people might not like them as much. They are just plain dry roasted ground peanuts or almonds. No sugar, or oils to make them creamy. This type of PB is hard to spread on bread, so making sandwhiches with it is kind of hard but that isnt an issue for me since I dont generally eat sandwhiches. Peanut allergies? Well, obviously this one isnt for you but I did read this interesting statistic from the Almond Board recently that far fewer people are allergic to almonds than peanuts.
Home Made Crackers: Speaking of the Almond Board... Elana from one of my favorite recipe websites (http://www.elanaspantry.com/) made these crackers for the almond board: gluten free rosemary almond flour crackers. In Elana's book there are several versions of these crackers, some add cheddar cheese (if you eat it) and my favorite have a ton of sesame seeds in them. These are excellent crackers but they are labor intesive. (Isn't eating healthy in general labor intensive? You've gotta be commited) To be honest, I've never made them, Sam is the trooper and makes them for us. They are great in hummus or any other dip. Try to make them as thin as possible so that they are crispy and they dont actually fall apart as easy. They do take some practice but they are worth it. Sometimes we make her delicious soups with these crackers for a very comfort-food night. I like comfort food, as you can tell. My two top favorite soups are: mushroom soup and butternut squash soup. She has some soups I have yet to try but these are so delicious. I even made the mushroom soup for my parents and they really enjoyed it... or at least told me that!
CHOCOLATE CAKE: Ok, this isnt really a snack but rather a dessert... but I thought I'd post it on here: chocolate cup cakes! You can make these as a cake or mini cup cakes! BUT this is for sure delicious!YOU CAN HAVE FROSTING! Made of course with the much lower on the glycemic index sweetener: agave. I now buy agave in bulk from Winco. Its in a gallon jug and its worth the price! This is like GOLD in my house hold. Take a peek and enjoy... I may make this tonight! Chocolate Cake and Marshmallow Frosting! I have cooked this and try not to too much because its so delicious! And I'll admit, Sam and I have had the frosting all by its self. Its one of the first gluten, sugar free things I tried... YUM!
I also drink no sugar added fruit smoothies (thats another topic alone), nuts and the occasional Lara Bar in a pinch but please let me know if you have any other sugar free, gluten free snack ideas... I get stuck in a rut!
Carrot & Celery Sticks with Hummus: In my opinion, Sabra is the best hummus you can buy commercially made. The problem: it is expensive at stores like Fred Meyers and Safeway. Solution: I buy it is at Winco or Costco. Costco has a bulk size for about $6 and by my estimate it is 2.5 times larger of the regular size you can buy at Winco which is around $3 per tub. I buy regular carrots and celery. Sometimes I pre-slice a LOT of carrots and celery when I know I am going to have a busy week. If I had kids, I'd probably do that so we can just grab some when the hunger strikes. Most mornings, (I'm so lucky) Prince Sam cuts them up for our snacks. We work 10 hour days, so I always make sure to bring snacks because when 4 hits, we get hungry or I get super nauseous when my blood sugar is low.
Microwavable Edamame: My chip replacer AKA eat infront of the TV replacer is edamame. I buy the microwavable frozen edamame and throw it in the microwave for 5 minutes and toss with a little sea salt. It is super simple but it works for that salty craving! Sometimes it is even a side dish for dinner.
Lemon Soda: My lemon sprizters (as Sam calls them) are a great way to satisfy pop cravings or lemonade cravings. Look at previous posts for recipes. I want to tell you about a fabulous experience I had: I ordered my lemon drop stevia @ iHerb.com (lemondropstevia) on a Friday (pay day) and I recieved a shipping notification less than a half hour later! Then, I actually got my stevia (two dollar shipping) on MONDAY. It was crazy! I really only saved 2 or 3 dollars since you can buy lemon drop stevia for $14.99 at Whole Foods, but I rarely frequent a whole foods so it was cheaper and much more convinent to purchase it this way. Some people mix liquid stevia (there are all kinds of flavors and I've tried most of them) with seltzer water or club soda. I tend to find a weird after taste at the end if they aren't stirred very well. The root better + vanilla creme mixed with club soda is pretty good. I also like peppermint stevia with peppermint tea. YUM. Maybe I should devote an entire post to stevia.. at some point. Now, if you dont like mixing your own drinks and still have a soda hankering... PUT THAT DIET COKE DOWN! There is an alternative: Zevia! Zevia is the best tasting calorie free healthy soda! Down fall- the price. It is $4.99 at Freddies which is the best price I've found and then a lot of times you can find coupons on their website. The best deal is when it goes on sale at Freddies for $3.99 and I have a dollar off coupon! SCORE. I buy and buy and buy and stock up! I used to drink a lot of soda but Zevia helped wean me off of it... for two reasons: 1) it is healthier and after my withdrawls I wasnt craving regular soda and 2) because its expensiveI dont drink as much. I can't afford to drink two or three a day. Ok, I never really drank three pops a day. I love it and I wish I had some of it in our fridge at home right now, but sadly I dont. I need to stock up again when Fred Meyer's has a sale.
Apple's and Peanut Butter... OR almond butter. I buy our peanut and almond butters at Winco, in the bulk section. It isnt going to be as cheap as generic prosessed sugared peanut butter but its also not a super expensive item either. My personal favorite apples are pink ladies! YUM... I use my handy dandy apple slicer, which I bring to work, my tub of PB or almond butter and dip away! For me, I'm eating a healthy apple, with natural sugars. I generally have this for breakfast in a pinch or as a late afternoon snack because there is something about apples and PB that seem to stablize my blood sugar so I dont get feeling really sick on the drive home. This weird phenominon has happened on a few occasions, my blood sugar gets so low (I'm technically not pre-diabetic my doctor says but I'll bet since I'm overweight and pre-disposed to diabetes I am pre-pre-diabetic. One of the reasons I've found myself on this journey! Prevention!) and Sam and I drive home and I get dizzy and light headed. One time, we got home, made it through the door and ran to the bathroom to vomit. I also got a migraine so maybe or maybe not related to low blood sugar but I've made sure to have an afternoon snack now before we drive home. I've always prefered the bulk, freshly ground peanut butter but I can see how some people might not like them as much. They are just plain dry roasted ground peanuts or almonds. No sugar, or oils to make them creamy. This type of PB is hard to spread on bread, so making sandwhiches with it is kind of hard but that isnt an issue for me since I dont generally eat sandwhiches. Peanut allergies? Well, obviously this one isnt for you but I did read this interesting statistic from the Almond Board recently that far fewer people are allergic to almonds than peanuts.
Home Made Crackers: Speaking of the Almond Board... Elana from one of my favorite recipe websites (http://www.elanaspantry.com/) made these crackers for the almond board: gluten free rosemary almond flour crackers. In Elana's book there are several versions of these crackers, some add cheddar cheese (if you eat it) and my favorite have a ton of sesame seeds in them. These are excellent crackers but they are labor intesive. (Isn't eating healthy in general labor intensive? You've gotta be commited) To be honest, I've never made them, Sam is the trooper and makes them for us. They are great in hummus or any other dip. Try to make them as thin as possible so that they are crispy and they dont actually fall apart as easy. They do take some practice but they are worth it. Sometimes we make her delicious soups with these crackers for a very comfort-food night. I like comfort food, as you can tell. My two top favorite soups are: mushroom soup and butternut squash soup. She has some soups I have yet to try but these are so delicious. I even made the mushroom soup for my parents and they really enjoyed it... or at least told me that!
CHOCOLATE CAKE: Ok, this isnt really a snack but rather a dessert... but I thought I'd post it on here: chocolate cup cakes! You can make these as a cake or mini cup cakes! BUT this is for sure delicious!YOU CAN HAVE FROSTING! Made of course with the much lower on the glycemic index sweetener: agave. I now buy agave in bulk from Winco. Its in a gallon jug and its worth the price! This is like GOLD in my house hold. Take a peek and enjoy... I may make this tonight! Chocolate Cake and Marshmallow Frosting! I have cooked this and try not to too much because its so delicious! And I'll admit, Sam and I have had the frosting all by its self. Its one of the first gluten, sugar free things I tried... YUM!
I also drink no sugar added fruit smoothies (thats another topic alone), nuts and the occasional Lara Bar in a pinch but please let me know if you have any other sugar free, gluten free snack ideas... I get stuck in a rut!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Review of Almond Flour Drop Biscuits and Quiche
I love quiche. LOVE it. My Mom used to make it growing up and never with crust. So, I suppose that's why I don't really like quiche with crust. Which is a good thing because its a lot healthier without it. Quiche is a regular in our house hold. I love eggs. My parents love eggs so maybe that's where my love comes from. I could eat eggs every morning. Some people despise eggs... our neighbor, who has 3 chickens, doesn't really like eggs, so luckily, she gives us a lot of eggs, even with that we go through AT LEAST 18 eggs a week between the two of us. Cholesterol? Not a problem here. In fact, even with my new life style- I eat a ton more meat than I used to (I don't even like meat that's why I had such a hard time eating like this at first) and lots of eggs. Luckily, low cholesterol runs in my family. I just had it tested and its lower than normal, which is weird but for me that means I can eat my eggs and meat. My Prince tho... note to self, have him get his cholesterol tested. Today, I had my front shoulder tattoos touched up for the up coming wedding... this is the fourth time, they don't heal well (that's not another blog topic) and I'm feeling run down. We had already scheduled quiche on the menu for today... and almond flour drop biscuits. The Prince has made these before but with Bob's red mill almond flour which is a lot more coarse than Honeyville. The Bob's Redmill biscuits were a lot more rustic but tastey. The Honeyville almond flour made a delectable drop biscuit. I ate two tonight and they are so delicious!
So, I agree with Elana, the Honeyville Brand Blanched Almond Flour is the best!!!!!!!! I love Bob's Red Mill because its local but when you are baking there is no comparison. Plus, Honeyville is the cheapest I've found with $29.99 for lbs. That is what I use and that is what I used to make Elana's drop biscuits on page 20 of the gluten-free almond flour cookbook. The ingredients are: almond flour, sea salt, baking soda, grapeseed oil, agave nectar, eggs, and a little lemon juice. There is no butter in these biscuits yet they taste incredibly buttery. The are incredibly fluffy and moist. Almond flour keeps a moistness that regular flour cant touch. They don't keep as long as regular flour biscuits because they get too chewy but they wont last very long. Like I've said in previous posts, comparatively with my old baking soda biscuits they wouldn't win but for gluten free, they are wonderful! If you are eating gluten free I'd recommend you try them!
Tonight's quiche, was crust less for the reasons mentioned above and it is from page 61 of the same cookbook. This is not your Bisquick quiche, the one that frequented our home before... so fluffy and airy. This is more like a frittata. It doesn't rise without flour but its really delicious. I did make a few changes: no sun dried tomatoes and instead of goat cheese (we had none) we used some mozzarella. We will be making this again for sure. She says to add 3 eggs but we did 4 because it seems so few eggs. I surprised how creamy and soft this was without the flour and again, I think this will be a staple in our home.
In the picture below we also added some chicken sausage to make it non-vegetarian meal. The Prince doesn't like not having meat with dinner.
So, I agree with Elana, the Honeyville Brand Blanched Almond Flour is the best!!!!!!!! I love Bob's Red Mill because its local but when you are baking there is no comparison. Plus, Honeyville is the cheapest I've found with $29.99 for lbs. That is what I use and that is what I used to make Elana's drop biscuits on page 20 of the gluten-free almond flour cookbook. The ingredients are: almond flour, sea salt, baking soda, grapeseed oil, agave nectar, eggs, and a little lemon juice. There is no butter in these biscuits yet they taste incredibly buttery. The are incredibly fluffy and moist. Almond flour keeps a moistness that regular flour cant touch. They don't keep as long as regular flour biscuits because they get too chewy but they wont last very long. Like I've said in previous posts, comparatively with my old baking soda biscuits they wouldn't win but for gluten free, they are wonderful! If you are eating gluten free I'd recommend you try them!
Tonight's quiche, was crust less for the reasons mentioned above and it is from page 61 of the same cookbook. This is not your Bisquick quiche, the one that frequented our home before... so fluffy and airy. This is more like a frittata. It doesn't rise without flour but its really delicious. I did make a few changes: no sun dried tomatoes and instead of goat cheese (we had none) we used some mozzarella. We will be making this again for sure. She says to add 3 eggs but we did 4 because it seems so few eggs. I surprised how creamy and soft this was without the flour and again, I think this will be a staple in our home.
In the picture below we also added some chicken sausage to make it non-vegetarian meal. The Prince doesn't like not having meat with dinner.
Notes: Sam came home with strawberries and sugar free whipped cream (you can mix agave and cream together) and we used these as a shortbread: DELISH!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Websites I frequent for FOOD INSPIRATION!
I was just making my grocery list for the week and planning our meals. We can't grocery shop if I do not do this. Although our nicknames for the purpose of this blog are Prince and Princess, we live on a really tight budget. With the wedding coming up, its even tighter and our debt is growing. The Prince and Princess really only works because of the street we live on: Princess Avenue. Although- The Prince is my Prince Charming... He is pretty perfect~! Back on topic: So, if we go to the grocery store without a list, without a plan, we buy stuff that's immediately appealing without thinking about meals and lunches. Man, we don't even have kids yet and I can only imagine how that will complicate things. I spend my week looking at recipes. Part of eating gluten free for me is not substituting a lot of things, like gluten free breads and snacks (I do a little) but mostly removing things OUT... which I've found I can do and then I add in other stuff (more veggies, new squashes, quinoa (yes, its a grain, but a grain I choose to eat and don't feel ill effects from) hummus, apples...
I'm not perfect mind you, last night I went from work straight to Boutiques Unleashed, an even that sponsors DoveLewis's Pet Loss Support Program and ate mini pulled pork sandwiches and mini mac 'n cheese. I did enjoy the veggie spread too! I make the thoughtful decision to let myself eat like that because I refuse to be obsessed with being perfect. I'm far from perfect so why try? What I do TRY to do is make my everyday eating better so that I can enjoy "normal" food without constantly gaining weight which is what I have been doing for the last 8 years. I have removed refined carbs out of our dinner because dinner should be fairly light and well, I just don't miss them. I can honestly say I was addicted to white-flour, high sugar, highly prosessed, fortified carbohydrates. Breads, pasta, especially breads, cookies, crackers, bread again. I was and still am addicted but I have a hell of a lot more control over it now than I ever have. After losing some initial weight and not being afraid I could never change (that was a big hurdle for me) I am comfortable with experimenting and cooking like this. I actually feel like I enjoy bread more now on the few occasions I eat it. I am FREE to enjoy it and not addicted to it so I must have it! Yet, for daily cooking I still need inspiration. I find my inspiration at the following websites:
http://www.elanaspantry.com/ and http://www.everydaypaleo.com/
Notes: I love Elana's Pantry because she uses almond and coconut flours. Other gluten free flours mess with my blood sugar and I dont like them so much. Plus, almonds are a super food.
Everyday Paleo: I don't 100% follow the Paleo diet but I think its a good lifestyle. I still eat some grain (quinoa) and eat some dairy. So, often times I'll add them.
Both of these sites support using agave nectar and honey when using sweetener. I support that as well... but... that is a topic of another blog.
I'm not perfect mind you, last night I went from work straight to Boutiques Unleashed, an even that sponsors DoveLewis's Pet Loss Support Program and ate mini pulled pork sandwiches and mini mac 'n cheese. I did enjoy the veggie spread too! I make the thoughtful decision to let myself eat like that because I refuse to be obsessed with being perfect. I'm far from perfect so why try? What I do TRY to do is make my everyday eating better so that I can enjoy "normal" food without constantly gaining weight which is what I have been doing for the last 8 years. I have removed refined carbs out of our dinner because dinner should be fairly light and well, I just don't miss them. I can honestly say I was addicted to white-flour, high sugar, highly prosessed, fortified carbohydrates. Breads, pasta, especially breads, cookies, crackers, bread again. I was and still am addicted but I have a hell of a lot more control over it now than I ever have. After losing some initial weight and not being afraid I could never change (that was a big hurdle for me) I am comfortable with experimenting and cooking like this. I actually feel like I enjoy bread more now on the few occasions I eat it. I am FREE to enjoy it and not addicted to it so I must have it! Yet, for daily cooking I still need inspiration. I find my inspiration at the following websites:
http://www.elanaspantry.com/ and http://www.everydaypaleo.com/
Notes: I love Elana's Pantry because she uses almond and coconut flours. Other gluten free flours mess with my blood sugar and I dont like them so much. Plus, almonds are a super food.
Everyday Paleo: I don't 100% follow the Paleo diet but I think its a good lifestyle. I still eat some grain (quinoa) and eat some dairy. So, often times I'll add them.
Both of these sites support using agave nectar and honey when using sweetener. I support that as well... but... that is a topic of another blog.
Spaghetti Squash
I began my spaghetti squash journey when I decided pasta wasn't going to be part of my life (my regular life that is- special occasions I'll make exceptions) although I didn't know that it would turn into one of my favorite foods. I could not find spaghetti squash in the stores- winco, fred meyer, albertsons... I believe this was around fall/winter. I seem to have no trouble now but then it wasn't available. Spaghetti squash is lemon yellow. VERY hard to miss at a store. Alas, all I could find was this "stripetti" squash. I had no idea what that was until I read the little sticker on it that identified it as a cross between "Spaghetti and Delicata Squash." (Note to self: buy and cook a Delicata Squash.) Exhausted and really wanting to try this I bought the stripetti and so began my adventure.
This squash is not easy to open. Although we have a decent knife set, (The Prince and I are registered for the wedding for a much superior knife set!) it was way too much work to cut. I actually pulled out some of our pumpkin carving tools and it worked much easier. So, if you have the little orange, specially serrated carving knife, use it! Now, I ask the Prince to cut them for me since we have it on the regular now. Don't get me wrong, I CAN do it, but he can do it with much greater ease. So, we microwaved it (see below for directions) and I pulled it apart with a fork. Before putting spaghetti sauce on it, I tried some... and *shocked face* I loved it. I thought it was perfect. The Prince thought it was mediocre but needed a little more convincing than I did. He enjoyed it with the spaghetti sauce. Opposed to the Prince, I didn't like it as much with spaghetti sauce on it at first. Perhaps because I hadn't gotten used to my new way of eating and while I love spaghetti or stripetti squash now, I wasn't impressed. Anything I cook now compared to the high carbohydrate processed foods isn't going to win in a taste contest... unless you take in the whole picture. Can I eat spaghetti squash instead of delicious pasta? Yes. Especially when you factor in the health benefits. The benefits compared to pasta especially, heck yes I can! So, I gave it another attempt but this time I just ate it plain and I liked it. Stripetti became a side dish and even breakfast sometimes. I like weird things for breakfast. Something about it reminds me of undercooked shredded potatoes, but in a good way! I was enjoying it and starting to eat it more frequently.
Just as it was entering our lives on a regular basis, it disappeared. I could no longer find it at the grocers. In its place I found spaghetti squash. Why I thought they would be the same, I have no idea. No one makes a hybrid squash just to make it the exact same. I prepared it the same, and it was not as good. Much worse actually. Not nearly as sweet as Stripetti and certainly not as tender. With encouragement from the Prince and me being stubborn with determination to make it work, I kept cooking it. We tried it with sauces, and it was better. However, through much experimenting I found that tossing it in a small amount of butter (a thin pad for the two of us works) and feta is amazing. You can barely taste the butter and the feta adds just a little bit of saltiness. Spaghetti and Stripetti are very different but I now love both. They are similar, like siblings- each with their own good and not-so-good qualities. Last night, we had spaghetti sauce over long zucchini shreds (zucchini sliced top to bottom with a potato peeler) and spaghetti squash. It was one of those meals where the spaghetti sauce can top everything on the plate. We were out of feta though- so I stood at the fridge for awhile thinking about what would compliment the spaghetti and it hit me: shredded Parmesan!!!!! OMG- it was heaven. I didn't even put any sauce on it because I just wanted to eat that! It almost reminded me of a crazy healthy mac 'n cheese. This afternoon, as my late snack I ate some of it re-heated in the microwave and decided that I had to make a post about this. I hope this inspires you to experiment with spaghetti or stripetti squashes.
Spaghetti squash is super low calorie with 1 cup having only 42 calories. So, in my opinion you have some room to add a little butter or cheese. After all, you do need fat with your carbs! I would have a hard time eating more than a cup at time... but I might have last night... It is also a relatively "low carb" carbohydrate. One cup has 10 grams of carbs, 2 grams of dietary fiber so that equals 8 net carbs and 4 sugars. It is super low on the glycemic index... which I didn't think about before, but since I've switched to this lifestyle my blood sugar has been getting super low, and I've had to think about things that sustain blood sugar over a period of time. Although I dont have diabetes it does run in my family and it also runs in the Prince's family so its something I need to think about. The glycemic index runs from 0-200 and you should aim for an average intake of about 100 and spaghetti squash is is 2. So, I'd say its a very healthy carb indeed! You can find all the facts and even the fullness factor on my favorite nutrition site: here.
Finally to the directions for cooking:
This squash is not easy to open. Although we have a decent knife set, (The Prince and I are registered for the wedding for a much superior knife set!) it was way too much work to cut. I actually pulled out some of our pumpkin carving tools and it worked much easier. So, if you have the little orange, specially serrated carving knife, use it! Now, I ask the Prince to cut them for me since we have it on the regular now. Don't get me wrong, I CAN do it, but he can do it with much greater ease. So, we microwaved it (see below for directions) and I pulled it apart with a fork. Before putting spaghetti sauce on it, I tried some... and *shocked face* I loved it. I thought it was perfect. The Prince thought it was mediocre but needed a little more convincing than I did. He enjoyed it with the spaghetti sauce. Opposed to the Prince, I didn't like it as much with spaghetti sauce on it at first. Perhaps because I hadn't gotten used to my new way of eating and while I love spaghetti or stripetti squash now, I wasn't impressed. Anything I cook now compared to the high carbohydrate processed foods isn't going to win in a taste contest... unless you take in the whole picture. Can I eat spaghetti squash instead of delicious pasta? Yes. Especially when you factor in the health benefits. The benefits compared to pasta especially, heck yes I can! So, I gave it another attempt but this time I just ate it plain and I liked it. Stripetti became a side dish and even breakfast sometimes. I like weird things for breakfast. Something about it reminds me of undercooked shredded potatoes, but in a good way! I was enjoying it and starting to eat it more frequently.
Just as it was entering our lives on a regular basis, it disappeared. I could no longer find it at the grocers. In its place I found spaghetti squash. Why I thought they would be the same, I have no idea. No one makes a hybrid squash just to make it the exact same. I prepared it the same, and it was not as good. Much worse actually. Not nearly as sweet as Stripetti and certainly not as tender. With encouragement from the Prince and me being stubborn with determination to make it work, I kept cooking it. We tried it with sauces, and it was better. However, through much experimenting I found that tossing it in a small amount of butter (a thin pad for the two of us works) and feta is amazing. You can barely taste the butter and the feta adds just a little bit of saltiness. Spaghetti and Stripetti are very different but I now love both. They are similar, like siblings- each with their own good and not-so-good qualities. Last night, we had spaghetti sauce over long zucchini shreds (zucchini sliced top to bottom with a potato peeler) and spaghetti squash. It was one of those meals where the spaghetti sauce can top everything on the plate. We were out of feta though- so I stood at the fridge for awhile thinking about what would compliment the spaghetti and it hit me: shredded Parmesan!!!!! OMG- it was heaven. I didn't even put any sauce on it because I just wanted to eat that! It almost reminded me of a crazy healthy mac 'n cheese. This afternoon, as my late snack I ate some of it re-heated in the microwave and decided that I had to make a post about this. I hope this inspires you to experiment with spaghetti or stripetti squashes.
Spaghetti squash is super low calorie with 1 cup having only 42 calories. So, in my opinion you have some room to add a little butter or cheese. After all, you do need fat with your carbs! I would have a hard time eating more than a cup at time... but I might have last night... It is also a relatively "low carb" carbohydrate. One cup has 10 grams of carbs, 2 grams of dietary fiber so that equals 8 net carbs and 4 sugars. It is super low on the glycemic index... which I didn't think about before, but since I've switched to this lifestyle my blood sugar has been getting super low, and I've had to think about things that sustain blood sugar over a period of time. Although I dont have diabetes it does run in my family and it also runs in the Prince's family so its something I need to think about. The glycemic index runs from 0-200 and you should aim for an average intake of about 100 and spaghetti squash is is 2. So, I'd say its a very healthy carb indeed! You can find all the facts and even the fullness factor on my favorite nutrition site: here.
Finally to the directions for cooking:
1) slice the spaghetti squash length wise
2) Scrape out the seedy insides. If you have pet rats, which I assume most of you don't but just in case: the rats really love the inside of squashes, so you don't have to waste it! Although my little Rattie cant eat all of it so the rest goes in the composter.
3) Place in a glass pie dish or bowl with the area you just scrapped up facing the ceiling.
4) In the dish, place a small amount of water (probably like 1/4 of a cup.)
5) Put in the microwave and depending on size, cook for 7-12 minutes. I usually buy a small junior football size, that is enough for us and some left overs. Note: Stripetti squash cooks a faster than Spaghetti squash.
6) You know the squash is done when its flexible. When you can squeeze the sides together and it moves.
7) Shredding:I usually hold the squash in my left hand with the bottom of the squash resting on a plate. I usually have a towel or wear an ove-glove since the squash is so warm. Take a fork and from top-to-bottom and side-to-side pull apart the squash from the shell.
8) While its hot, toss in some butter or your cheese of preference.
It chills really fast, so sometimes if its not the last thing done for dinner I pop it back in the microwave for 30 seconds. It re-heats very nicely.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Wish I had a lemon tree.
I wish we had a lemon tree but I live in Oregon and I'm not willing to move to Cali but that is how many lemons we are going through.We did our bulk grocery shopping on Sunday and we are out of lemons already (its Tuesday.) We have been going through lemons like crazy lately. Why? I'm not sure. I suppose I get semi-obsessed with certain types of food now and then. The way I look it, as long as its healthy, I'm okay. In a sense, I'm a functioning addict to sweets, but since losing 50ish pounds I've cut back and switched options. More on that later, this post is about lemons. I've also thought, perhaps I am deficient in certain vitamins (as most Americans are) and that is the source of my cravings. This addiction is good; I'm drinking a lot more water and getting some good vitamin C. I don't tend to drink straight water. After my coffee in the morning, throughout the day I drink tea. Usually herbal and decaffeinated, with the exception of green tea. It is going to get warmer and when I am warm I don't enjoy tea as much and I don't always prepare iced teas. I like soda, if I didn't have an issue with my weight I'd probably still be drinking it. I used to drink diet soda and it was a personal choice to quit that addiction and boy, did my body thank me! Body aches and headaches ceased in less than 3 days after having it out of my system. I occasionally drink Zevia: http://www.zevia.com/ which is a stevia sweetened soda but its expensive so I don't always buy it unless its on sale. What the Prince and I have been drinking is: club soda, fresh lemon juice and lemon drop stevia. Sweet Leaf lemon drop stevia is probably my favorite stevia out there. If you've never used stevia you can read up on it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia. I buy it from amzon usually, for around $10 with free shipping. If I cant find it for that price or without shipping costs I buy it from whole foods for $14.99. This bottle will last months. Stevia is SUPER sweet and you don't need a lot. For this drink its usually 1 full vile (from the dropper) of lemon drop stevia, 1/4 of your glass with fresh lemon (with pulp!) and then club soda. Sounds super simple- and it is... simple deliciousness. In our glassware, the recipe is about 12 calories per glass all coming from the lemon itself. Club soda has no calories and stevia also does not have calories. It tastes like carbonated lemonade. Lemons are makin' me happy! I can only imagine how nice this drink will be sitting on our patio in the summer months... maybe I'll add some fresh muddled mint from the garden too! Yum!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Welcome
Welcome
Welcome to the Princess House. My husband and I are pretty boring and that’s why I’m sure no one would be that interested in my blog unless you know me. This blog is will be centered around a few things that interest us: our home, (on Princess Avenue) our pets, our successes and failures in gardening, (we're new at it) and our food; we have been trying for the last few months to eliminate grain from our diet and eat close to "paleo" style. It has been life changing.
About the Princess House
We have three cats, a rat and two beloved dogs, that we treat like our children. My husband and I bought our house on Princess Avenue in 2009. Our humble house is about 1200 square feet with 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms. One of the best parts about our home is our lovely yard that takes TONS of work. We've also started gardening which most likely will take up several entries on the blog. My daily life basically consists of: my wonderful husband, Sam, our eldest dog Blue (a karelian bear dog/black lab mix, never met a person that didnt adore him because he really is PERFECT,) and Charles Duckworth (Charlie Duck for short, who is short, a basset hound/lab mix, and let me tell you he is the funniest character you've ever met) and our kitties: Chairman Meow, Thor and Ash. We also have a rat, Rufio (Rufioooooo. Remember the movie "Hook?") Rats make excellent pets, Rufio is the 9th rat I've owned and someday I'll do a post on why rats are amazing pets.
This blog is so I can share my husband and mine's story. While we not very interesting, people often ask about our diet, "what CAN you eat?" This will hopefully be an excellent resource and a bit of life documentation for myself!
Welcome to the Princess House. My husband and I are pretty boring and that’s why I’m sure no one would be that interested in my blog unless you know me. This blog is will be centered around a few things that interest us: our home, (on Princess Avenue) our pets, our successes and failures in gardening, (we're new at it) and our food; we have been trying for the last few months to eliminate grain from our diet and eat close to "paleo" style. It has been life changing.
About the Princess House
We have three cats, a rat and two beloved dogs, that we treat like our children. My husband and I bought our house on Princess Avenue in 2009. Our humble house is about 1200 square feet with 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms. One of the best parts about our home is our lovely yard that takes TONS of work. We've also started gardening which most likely will take up several entries on the blog. My daily life basically consists of: my wonderful husband, Sam, our eldest dog Blue (a karelian bear dog/black lab mix, never met a person that didnt adore him because he really is PERFECT,) and Charles Duckworth (Charlie Duck for short, who is short, a basset hound/lab mix, and let me tell you he is the funniest character you've ever met) and our kitties: Chairman Meow, Thor and Ash. We also have a rat, Rufio (Rufioooooo. Remember the movie "Hook?") Rats make excellent pets, Rufio is the 9th rat I've owned and someday I'll do a post on why rats are amazing pets.
This blog is so I can share my husband and mine's story. While we not very interesting, people often ask about our diet, "what CAN you eat?" This will hopefully be an excellent resource and a bit of life documentation for myself!
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