gluten free number three

Lunch rolled around before I knew it and a visit to Whole Foods to pick up some Gluten Free baking ingredients was the perfect excuse to grab some lunch. I had stowed two small apples in my purse and was craving these delicious spring rolls. A few weeks ago, I tried these Whole Foods rolls for the first time and have been searching for rice roll wrappers ever since. I am not sure how they make these if they don’t sell the rice wrappers but after asking an employee, it was clear they did not have them in the store. I just might have to find a specialty Asian grocery store soon.

The basil I had brought from V’s was used to prepare vegan pesto for dinner. I used Ashley’s recipe as a guide, but used the traditional basil and pine nut combination.

I had never made a pesto this bright green before and I think that the nutritional yeast Ashley included in her version made it so beautiful.

Unfortunately, the gluten free noodles I had purchased did not work out as planned. I was surprised to find they had completely broken apart while cooking within a few minutes. This was a fail and I had to switch them for buckwheat soba noodles last minute.

A tablespoon of pesto was whipped with silken tofu before tossed with the warm noodles. I also sautéed kale and mushrooms with oil and balsamic vinegar to eat with the pesto noodles. In the fridge, I found a few sun dried tomatoes that I chopped up and added to the top for some sweetness and lycopene goodness.

‘Twas delicious…

To finish off my third day Gluten Free, I ate half of my favorite Endangered Species dark chocolate bar.

Other things:

-I don’t like the way my photos look at night without natural lighting…do you care about your photos not turning out as planned? Do you think that I should post these unflattering shots?

-Could you go a week without dark chocolate? I don’t think I could go more than one day…expect a chocolate post like this one soon.

Goodnight!

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my hands smell of basil

Last night I stayed true to my Gluten Free Week challenge, but was unable to document it because it I ate a wrap quickly before heading out for the night. I am still loving the Food for Life Brown Rice Tortillas that Kelsey suggested. I had a Falafel Sunshine Burger (love these), hummus, sprouts, carrot, cucumber, avocado, and hot sauce. It was delicious but I knew that the hard workout yesterday demanded for a post dinner snack before heading to V’s. Next up was a So Delicious Plain Coconut Yogurt, Puffins, and raspberries. I loved finding out that one of my favorite crunchy cereals was gluten free. It definitely makes my stomach happy.

Today, I am going to try and take more shots of my gluten-free eats. Kelsey brought up the idea of a blogger gluten free week and I would love to see others jump on the bandwagon and come up with some tasty gluten free eats. As I posted before, there are so many wonderful gluten free recipe blogs. I was astounded to read about Nicole’s first week gluten free, she really had some great affects. She also is trying a vegan diet as well which I am always a fan of and more than willing to help others transition to.

This morning, I started with some Trader Joe’s gluten free waffles. I have been buying these and never knew they were gluten free. The site has an area where you can download a pdf file of all gluten free items in the store, as well as vegan and other dietary concerns. The waffles were already in my freezer and I was more than excited to sit down to them smothered in almond butter, banana slices, and maple syrup this morning.

Look what I found in my boyfriend’s cabinets when looking for a post run snack.

Yes, Larabar heaven. I munched on a peanut butter and jelly one (it’s been too long) before observing V’s mini herb garden. In the last month or so, we have bought many seeds and a few potted herbs at the farmer’s market. So far, we have basil, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, and chives. Coming up soon are california poppies (his home state and love), tomatoes, bell peppers, and BEETS.

I cut off a significant bunch of basil, hoping to make some pesto tonight.

Some things I’ve been reading:

–Brendan Brazier’s posts on G Living: I have yet to own one of his books, but this post about running fuel and recipe for Raw Apple Cinnamon Bars was wonderful. They sound just like Apple Pie Larabars with some added hemp protein and quinoa.

-Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP article about sleep: I have always been a terrible sleeper. It tended to get better when I was competing in cross country races, but that was because of extreme training, school, and nannying. I was beat every night. In the last year, even when working 12-14 hour days on my feet, I still find myself tossing and turning. The article discussed an elimination diet that I found very interesting, considering I am doing just that right now:

For two weeks, eliminate sugar, corn syrup, sodas, refined grains and processed foods. These are metabolic disruptors which overstress the organs involved in hormone regulation and can seriously affect your sleep cycles. In addition, avoid dairy and gluten products, especially wheat, for the two weeks as these can cause food reactions or sensitivities which can affect your sleep cycle, too.

The only thing that has helped me sleep recently is melatonin, which I know is a natural supplement, but I would love to wean off of it if possible.

-Lastly, please check out these two posts that Alicia Silverstone has written (here and here) about horse-drawn carriages in NYC. I know that it seems romantic and charming to ride on a horse drawn carriage, but please think of these poor horses being surrounded by traffic on the streets in Manhattan. When I was an intern at Harper’s Bazaar a few years ago, I would walk through Central Park everyday and see how miserable the horses were. I even almost witnessed a car hit one and was heart broken. I wish this situation would change in the near future.

Questions for you:

Do you try to make your own energy bars or buy them often?

Have you ever had sleep problems? Any sleep secrets?

How do you feel about horse drawn carriages?

Hope everyone is having a lovely Tuesday!