I'm really starting to feel like I can do this!

Lookie Lookie!!! Hot Cereal that I can actually eat!

And did! And liked it! Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Cereal lives up to its name. Especially with a little agave nectar, milk, vanilla and strawberries. (oh and just a teensy bit of butter that I melted over the top)

Erin over at 5 Dollar Dinners is not only one of my favorite bloggers, but she is also someone I've really been looking to now that I am having to embark on this new way of eating. She's been preparing her family healthy meals that are gluten free and affordable for years. She gave me a a piece of advice that I'm finding to really be true. She said it's a tough switch, but once you can get the hang of planning your meals around brown rice, quinoa, potatoes, sweet potatoes and rice flours for sauces, etc., that it's much easier to cope.

I'm starting to figure that out. Last night we changed up the dinner plan because Fareway had these beautiful, HUGE bone-in round steaks for $1.99/lb., so I made one of my favorite comfort food faves, Swiss Steak on mashed potatoes. I will post the recipe later today. I tried to eat just a little of the meat as I'm still just trying to make sure my system doesn't get too much to try to digest at once, but the potatoes and gravy were heaven.

I'm also having to reprogram myself about fats. After losing 50lbs, I had really centered my eating around low fat. The reality right now though, is that I need some fat, along with lots of liquids. So I'm challenging myself to allow more fats, especially good fats, into my diet. Surprisingly, this is a tougher one for me mentally. Fortunately, I love olive oil and walnut oil for dressings, I looove avocado, and I've been sneaking things like flax oil into smoothies, dressings and other things, so I think I'll eventually get comfortable with this, too.

I was given a beautiful eggplant from a coworker's garden, so tonight I will be experimenting with making a gluten free eggplant parmesan. I will also be sitting down today and laying out my menu plan to post here. Funny. Last week I was terrified about trying to plan meals. I am actually kind of excited about it today.

I have to say I'm pretty surprised

I just polished off some toast w/ jelly made with Kinnikinnick Foods Candadi No Yeast Multigrain Bread. It tasted MUCH better than I expected any bread without wheat to taste. I'm a believer. Still not worth $6 a loaf, but now I feel good about making my own at home.

So far, so good....

Eating gluten free is tricky, but I really haven't felt deprived in any way, and for the most part have stayed on track.

The only foibles I've made are unintentional ones, and I think I've omitted all of them as I read more about how gluten can be hidden in foods under different names. That means no more flavored coffee creamer for me, which is incredibly sad, but some almond milk and agave nectar isn't too bad either.

I discovered yesterday that Bonefish Grill is pretty good for eating GF if you're going out. They visited the stations with food yesterday, and I was asking the manager if I could eat any of it. The amazing thing was how much of it I COULD eat. Including the most amazing brownie ever. I guess they have really tried to have some options on the menu. Kudos to them.

Today we're tailgating at the office and everyone is bringing food. Going to be interesting to see what I can actually eat.

Breakfast for Dinner!!

The boys get giddy when we have breakfast for dinner, or when they get to eat breakfast for lunch at school. I ended up tweaking the meal a little bit last night, and didn't end up having a waffle myself. I was craving potatoes. Better than craving toast or something, I guess :)

Was encouraged after doing some research on flour/baking mix alternatives yesterday. Looks like Amazon has some competitive pricing on buying in bulk, and I'm sure there are other places I can do that through as well. No more $6 loaves of bread. ACK!

Tomato Cream Cheese Soup

I was able to use up some of my tomatoes from the garden in this soup. It's gluten free, and pretty darn healthy. I got my full day's worth of Vitamin A and about half my Vitamin C in one steamy, delicious bowl. Okay, two.

I'm having this for lunch here at the office today. I'm really shocked it lasted this long.

Ingredients-
2lbs. good tomatoes, chopped (you could peel and core, but since it gets blended at the end I say save yourself the trouble)

3 large carrots, washed, not peeled, and chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 medium sweet onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups vegetable or chicken broth- I used veggie

1/2t kosher salt

1/2t freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1T agave nectar, honey or sugar

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped (if you don't have fresh, you could use dry, about a teaspoonful or so I'm thinking, but I'd add it when you add the broth and other seasonings)

2oz. cream cheese (yes, you could add more, but this was delicious with just a kiss of cream cheese to add creaminess. I was trying to be kind to my rear end.)

Chop tomatoes, sprinkle salt on them, and let sit for about 20 minutes. Then place on medium high heat and add your other veggies.

Add the broth, all of the spices except for the basil, and the sweetener of your choice.

Bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30-4o minutes until veggies are tender. Add cream cheese, and stir to melt. Add half of the basil. Use an immersion blender (or a regular blender if that's what you have, just be CAREFUL! This is some hot soup!). Blend until smooth. Serve with remaining basil on top.

Enjoy. Be sure to look away if anyone licks the bowl. Of course I would never do that. :::Cough:::

This recipe is linked to the $5 Dinner Challenge. This was well under $5, and that includes using store bought organic vegetable broth. Homemade broth would make this even more affordable.