Macaroni & Cheese Two Ways (both gluten free)

In November of 2008 I was one of many Americans to lose my job. That was an awesome day - I started the morning by waking up late, then realized my sweater AND the shirt underneath it were both on backwards, and then I was laid off. It's never good to feel disposable, but at least I had known it was coming and had started the job hunt. I couldn't feel too bad - it wasn't personal. But after a few months of realizing that I was competing with THOUSANDS of people in my exact same position and most companies weren't hiring, I began to take it personally. I got depressed. To make things worse, my back kept acting up and leaving me lying flat all day. So I did what many other people in my position would do...I watched a ridiculous amount of television. And I watched a lot of cooking shows. One show in particular was called Cook Yourself Thin. Boy did I love that show. *sigh* They have some great recipes, and I modify some of them here and there to make them gluten free and then tweak them a little more to make them perfect for me. The following is my favorite Mac n Cheese recipe - a crude interpretation of Cook Yourself Thin's version, but delicious all the same.

Mac n Cheese:

Ingredients:
1 bag Trader Joe's Brown Rice Penne
1 package lowfat shredded cheese blend (or just shredded cheddar)
1 cup shredded lowfat or part skim mozzarella
1.5 cups lowfat milk
2 Tbsp olive oil
1.5 Tbsp soy flour

Instructions:
Cook the Brown Rice Penne per the instructions. In a separate smaller saucepan, warm the olive oil over medium-high heat, then whisk in the soy flour. Warm the milk in the microwave or another saucepan, and add to the flour mixture, whisking while you pour. Lower the stove to medium heat and stir the milk until well blended. Add the shredded cheese blend/cheddar a little at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Note - the cheese doesn't totally blend into the milk- just make sure it's nicely melted before you add more. Strain the pasta once cooked, add back to the pot and pour in the cheese sauce, mixing well. It will be very liquidy at first - that's good. Pour in the mozzarella and stir again. Done. Salt and pepper to taste.

Now, I promised you TWO versions. The second isn't a big change... I have issues with cow's milk (for some reason cheese is OK in limited quantities, but milk just isn't my friend) so I will often make this with Goat's milk and Goat's milk cheddar or goat cheese. If you are a fan of goat cheese, try it out! Alternatively, use Goat's milk and regular cheddar and mozzarella as listed above.

Zucchini Bake

My mother used to make a veggie sautee consisting of zucchini, onions, mushrooms and a can of crushed tomatoes. It was delicious, light, great with brown rice and it became a regular meal of mine for a long time. I decided to build upon (bastardize?) the recipe and that led me to the Zucchini Bake recipe posted below. The Zucchini Bake is pretty basic, but it is filling and yields leftovers. I like to make a batch on a Monday night and have the leftovers for lunch and dinner over the next couple of days. And I *think* it is South Beach Phase 1 friendly. Just make sure you watch your cheese intake during the day so you don't exceed your limit and maybe be picky about the sauce you use...

Zucchini Bake

Ingredients:
1 large zucchini (or two small) sliced into thin round pieces
1 onion, diced
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 jar of your favorite gluten free pasta sauce (Check out Classico - they specify on the back label whether or not they are gluten free. And I love their sauces)
1 package shredded lowfat cheddar (you might not use the ENTIRE package - that's up to you)
1 pkg (roughly 1 pound) leanest ground beef you can find
Olive Oil

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375. Coat a pan with olive oil, add the onions and garlic and sautee until onions are becoming translucent. Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Meanwhile, pour half of the pasta sauce into the bottom of a lasagna pan. Layer half of the zucchini slices over the sauce, sprinkle with cheese and cover with the meat/onion mixture. Top with remaining zucchini slices, then layer the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with more cheese until well covered. Bake for 25-30 minutes (until zucchini is soft and cheese is melted).

Quick and Dirty Mac n Cheese

While on a mission to find healthy versions of mac n cheese, I came up with this gem by accident. I had the ingredients and I decided I should try it. Instant hit for me and the boyfriend. I'm a fan of this recipe mostly because it consists of three ingredients, takes little effort (or skill) and tastes good.

Ingredients:
1 serving of your favorite gluten free macaroni (use the suggested serving size on the package)
3 wedges Light Laughing Cow cheese
1.5 tsp grated Parmesan Cheese

Instructions:
Boil your pasta per the instructions, then strain. In a bowl, use a fork to mash the Laughing Cow. Add the pasta to the bowl and blend with the cheese, then stir in the parmesan. Eat. If you like it creamier, add more Laughing Cow. For more of a kick, add more parmesan. Double the batch as needed. :-)

Gluten Free Kisses

Every once in a while I felt like I was having a gluten reaction and couldn't figure out what might have caused it. It was actually my sister who got me thinking...maybe my chapstick is causing some trouble. See, the sister I'm referring to loves giving me kisses on the cheeks and then gleefully yelling "HAHA - GLUTEN KISSES". The Gluten Kisses got me thinking: if you're wearing chapstick containing gluten, doesn't that inevitably end up being ingested in some small way? We lick our lips, we drink beverages that pass over our lips, food goes into our mouths by way of the lips (biology 101), so it kind of makes sense that something as minor as my chapstick could cause some trouble.

I went online (because who has time to read a book?!?!) and I found out that yes, gluten in cosmetics can be bad for the gluten intolerant and Celiac Diseased. This was sad for me because I had just discovered some skin care products from philosophy that I loved and really did not want to part with. So I sent an email to philosophy customer service asking if they would be able to tell me which (if any) of their products are gluten free. They responded with the following (note how polite they are. And note the lack of caps...I love this):

"thank you for contacting philosophy about gluten free products. i have listed these items below...

- purity made simple and purity foaming
- hope in a jar original formula and hope in a jar spf 20
- the microdelivery peel kit
- the microdelivery exfoliating wash
- booster capsules
- shelter spf 30
- big gorgeous eyes mascara
- kiss me
- supernatural lip gloss
- supernatural airbrushed canvas
- all of the food inspired 3-in-1 bath and shower gels
- when hope is not enough replenishing cream
- all of the flavored lip shines
- divine illumination
-inner grace shampoo, bath and shower gel
- eye hope


also, for your reference, product ingredients are listed on each product page on www.philosophy.com. to locate the ingredient list for a product simply click on the product you are interested in, and click the "ingredients" tab in the box provided at the bottom of the page to view a complete ingredient list for the product. for a complete product list, click the "products a-z" link located at the bottom of the philosophy.com homepage."

Now, more of their products are likely gluten free, but it just so happens that the products I am in love with are on this list so I did not ask for more information. If you're curious about a product and are confused by the ingredients you can't pronounce, send them an email! I appreciated how nice they were (I didn't include the very friendly invitation to contact them with further questions, but it was there in the original email).

So, upon receiving this list, I decided to try one of their flavored lip shines. I started with the Pink Bubbly. What do you know, it tastes and smells like I would expect a strawberries and champagne lip shine to smell and taste. Turns out, I don't particularly LOVE the scent of strawberries and champagne, but that's just me. I could see why others would love it. And aside from the scent, I love everything about this gloss. It provides a nice shimmer and just a hint of color, and keeps your lips moisturized for hours without ever feeling greasy or sticky. The flavored lip shines will definitely be a part of my collection going forward. So do a little research, ditch your gluten infested lip products (if applicable) and find something that works for you. If it just so happens to be the same product that works for me, so be it! You don't HAVE to love it just because I do...but it would be so lovely if you did :-)
http://www.philosophy.com/web/store/prod_pink-bubbly-lip-shine____56553_44057_79414

Dear Grilled Cheese: I've missed you

When I first received my diagnosis, I didn't think it would be a big deal to adjust because I'd never craved carbs. In fact, I didn't much care for bread and was very picky about pasta and pizza crusts. I didn't expect to miss much. But there's so much more to being gluten free than just avoiding bread and pasta. SO. MUCH. MORE. But there will be more blog posts on that subject. Today, we're talking about something very dear to my heart :-)

After a year of living gluten free, I suddenly found myself missing sandwiches. Something about tuna salad on whole wheat seemed so heavenly. And, of course, my old friend: Grilled Cheese. Grilled Cheese sandwiches were my go-to meal for years. If I was eating at a restaurant that had grilled cheese on the menu, I ordered it. If I was having a bad day or a lazy day, grilled cheese. If I wanted a bowl of soup, grilled cheese was the side dish. I think you see where I'm going with this. While I wasn't nuts about bread, I was beginning to realize that bread was the vessle for the cheese. The yummy melted gooey cheese. I missed it.

Up until that point, every gluten free bread I had encountered was awful. I don't even know how some of those companies can justify calling it bread - but I suppose 'Sour Cardboard' wouldn't really hold up in the market. (Stories surrounding the search for decent bread for Thanksgiving stuffing will appear later...) But back to the grilled cheese. One marvelous day I was checking out at Whole Foods and the cashier noted all of the Certified Gluten Free items in my cart. She asked me if I had tried Udi's. I went back in search for it upon her recommendation and I am so glad that I did.

Udi's Gluten Free Whole Grain bread reunited me with my old love, grilled cheese. In fact, Udi's is opening new worlds to me. Worlds of gluten free sandwiches and stuffing and french toast. And oddly enough, I like it so much better than I'd liked any other sandwich bread in my gluten days. I even love the crusts, which I always used to loathe with a passion. Friends used to joke about the mess I made tearing the crusts away from my sandwiches. But it had to be done - those crusts were seriously messing with the grilled cheese mojo. But Udi's crusts are delicious. I actually eat slices of Udi's as a snack and find it hard to stop with just a couple of slices.

I prefer the whole grain over the white, but everyone is different. I suggest trying both to see which you prefer. But whichever you choose, stick a few slices of lowfat cheese in there (or some goats milk cheddar if you have issues with cow's milk like I do) and grill it up for instant joy. So, to Udi's I issue a special thank you, to the young woman at Whole Foods I issue a much bigger thank you, and to any readers out there who miss good sandwiches - go forth and Udi.

http://www.udisglutenfree.com/