Summer Food Ideas

I don't think it's any secret to those that know me that I LOVE food. After a visit with my aunt on our recent lake getaway, she informed me about living a gluten free diet. A week later, I happened upon Dr. Oz (and I never watch daytime television) and he was talking about being gluten free. He had a specialist talking about the varying degrees of gluten intolerance. It got me to thinking about finding out if I have some sort of gluten intolerance. I know that I don't suffer from the severe end of the spectrum, but I wonder if there is something there. To find out, take gluten completely out of your diet for 2 weeks and then incorporate it back in. If you have any sudden weight gain or physical and/or chemical changes to your body, you have some sort of a gluten intolerance. I've been cutting out gluten as much as possible, but since our vacation is coming up I don't want to hit it too hard until we return. I will say that by making subtle changes and cutting down on the gluten, I have lost weight. It really hasn't been too difficult to do.

I always have a smoothie for breakfast. I've experimented with different versions of smoothies: from green smoothies, to Pinterest recipes, to my own concoctions. Here is this week's choice of smoothie:

I use 12oz of light orange juice, half a bag of this frozen fruit (I found it at Sprouts), and a 7oz container of Fage plain 2% greek yogurt. It's quick and simple and keeps me full for at least 4-5 hours.

For lunch these days I've been eating really light. I have a plate full of protein, fruit, and veggies. Several little snack items all together on one plate.

• cheese cubes or a wedge of laughing cow cheese ( I use colby jack cheese cubes or garlic and herb laughing cow cheese)
• hummus (I prefer Sabra brand-either roasted red pepper or garlic)
  
• carrots
• gluten free crackers (I found these at sprouts and they are so delish)
  
• any kind of fruit (I've been enjoying grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, or strawberries)
• 2 Tbs of peanut butter (I get powdered PB from sprouts-just add water. They even have a chocolate version!)
• I also like to add some Greek yogurt. My new favorite is Siggi's! You can get it at Sprouts or Target. The girls at work got me hooked. They even make them in tubes for on-the-go access.
  

I love my protein-packed lunch. Of course, I drink only water throughout the day. Sometimes I add some fruit flavor, sweetened by Stevia in my water or Advocare's Rehydrate, Cherry Limade flavor.

For dinner, I've been experimenting with things that I've pinned on Pinterest that I never cooked during the school year due to laziness. I made an easy crockpot version of Chicken Teriyaki that I found on Pinterest. Throw the following items in the crockpot and cook on low for about 7 hours:

• I used frozen chicken breast strips-any choice of chicken will do, fresh or frozen about 1lb
• 1 large can of crushed pineapple, with juice
• 1 cup Teriyaki sauce
• 2 cups chicken broth-I just used 1 15oz can
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 minced garlic cloves

When it was almost done, I cooked some brown rice and mixed it into the crockpot.

Mr. Hubby and I are loving stuffed mushrooms these days. I like to create new versions of the stuffed mushroom each time. This week I made mini stuffed mushrooms.

• 8-16 mini mushroom caps, cleaned out
• 1 bag of spinach
• 1 white onion, diced
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• salt and pepper
• 4 oz feta cheese
• 1/2-1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 pkg of bacon bits

1. cook the garlic, onion, spinach, salt and pepper in skillet until the spinach has all wilted and onions are soft
2. spray a foil lined cookie sheet with cooking spray
3. place cleaned out mushroom caps on cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray
4. add in feta cheese and bacon bits into the spinach mixture and stir
5. stuff mushrooms with spinach mixture
6. top with mozzarella
7. bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes

You will love these mini stuffed bites!

I will be making larger stuffed mushroom caps later in the week. I will follow suit to these, only I may add some imitation crab meat and artichoke hearts.

I look forward to really giving a gluten-free diet a go when I return from vacation. Stay tuned for more recipes!