Bisquick - the GF Version....love it!

Today is a better day, finally starting to feel normal again after the gluten incident last week.  I’m achy but not nearly as much as I was, that could have something to do with the ibuprofen I finally gave in to and started taking.  Last night I made myself work out, I didn’t want to, I was so tired and hurting so bad but I convinced myself I would feel better after….and I did, for a little while, I consider that progress!

It was just me and the furry four-legged children in the house last night, the husband had to work (his schedule always starts to really get full as the school year gets closer to an end).  I really wanted something comforting for dinner but I also didn’t want to make it.  That meant something from the store that wouldn’t take long to make.  Enter Bisquick gluten-free mix.  I had pancakes and bacon for dinner!  It reminded me of the dinners we used to have as kids when my Dad went out of town for work.  My Mom always made pancakes for dinner one night when he was gone, it made it special and it was fun.

Bisquick GF pancakes are pretty good, there is a bit of a difference in texture from the other normal pancakes, but I think I’m getting used to the texture of gluten free things now.  They were easy to make, I even made extras and put them in the freezer for the next time a pancake craving hits.  A couple of pancakes, some real maple syrup and a couple of strips of really good bacon (made in the oven because it’s so easy that way) made for a really good dinner that made me feel comforted.

No recipe today, I don’t have one to share.  Just a recommendation that if you haven’t already you should check out the Bisquick GF mix, it’s just as versatile as the original and it makes good pancakes.  I found some recipes using it on the Betty Crocker website today; they have a good GF recipe section (http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/health-and-diet/gluten-free).  There are also recipes that use the Betty Crocker GF cake mixes.  I’m going to be trying some of them soon.  The GF chocolate chip scones sound yummy!

Finally, I thought I would mention a book I’m reading right now that was recommended to me by someone that writes a gluten-free column.  The book is Wheat Belly by William Davis, M.D.  I’m not too far into it and I have already had a bunch of moments where I thought “aha!” to myself.  He explains how the wheat of today is so different from the wheat of even 50 years ago which may be one of the reasons why so many people are coming up gluten intolerant.  It’s interesting, I’m not going to preach about it, I recommend reading it if you are at all interested in the effect the wheat of today has on the body.  As a matter of fact, I’m only about 100 pages in and I have already talked with my husband, who has diabetes, about removing wheat from his diet as well.  It will be interesting to see if that helps him with the up/down of his sugars, despite eating better and using insulin.

The Weekend and SkinnyTaste.com

How was your weekend?  I had a good one by my standards.  I didn’t have anything planned and had a lot of time to spend just doing the things I love doing.  This is where I need to give a big thank you on here to my husband who sent me off to Barnes & Noble on Saturday morning so that he could vacuum and dust the house (stay away ladies, he’s mine J ).  I have been having trouble with hives popping up, which happens every year at the beginning of allergy season, and he’s being diligent about keeping things in the house as allergy free as possible.

On Sunday I spent a good portion of the day playing in my studio.  I made several Easter cards and plan to spend some time tonight making the rest of the ones I need for family.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute huh?  I think I mentioned that my husband gave me a Cricut for my birthday.  I had so much fun just experimenting with it.  I cut out way too many Easter bunnies, my family better watch out for bunny confetti in their cards.  I did realize that I need to get more storage for the things I cut that I don’t use right away otherwise the piles on my work surfaces are going to get high.  I did see something on Pinterest over the weekend (that I pinned, of course) about how to deal with all of the scraps that result from paper crafting.  The best part of working in my studio?  Time passes and I don’t even notice it.  I went in there around 11 and didn’t look up until 3:30 when my husband suggested maybe we should have some lunch (or, at that time, early dinner). It is good for my spirit to be creative and lose track of time, a great stress-reliever!

I did finally make the chicken and veggie enchiladas on Saturday, they turned out really good.  I think the only adjustment I made to the original recipe I posted was to add some chipotle peppers which are my favorite.  I used the veggies that were in the fridge; zucchini, red bell pepper, mushrooms, onion and a tomato.  I even used the avocado I had and made a little bit of guacamole to go along with it.  Yum.

Since I didn’t have one of my recipes to share today I thought I would direct you to a blog that I reference a lot, www.skinnytaste.com.  If you are a WW person and haven’t been to this site you need to go, now.  She has bunches of recipes for just about everything.  You can search by meal, ingredient, WW points values and she even has her GF recipes tagged.  It’s a site I go to at least a couple of times a week, I always want to see what’s new.  The recipe I found when I went there today sounds amazing and is gluten free, Sweet Potato Tandoori Salad, I can’t wait to try it!  Go to her site today if you haven’t already, you will be addicted to it like I am after you do.

I will be travelling for work for the next few days so you may not see  a post from me until Friday or Saturday, unless I find a really great GF place to eat in Charlotte that I just have to share.  Have a great week!

Sleep and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

Sleep has been a key for me lately, I slept 9 hours again last night, I love me some sleep!  It’s nice to wake up and feel like I can get out of bed without dreading having to get up.  Yay!  My poor husband, who is not a morning person, likely doesn’t much care for the more awake energetic me in the morning.  I think I talk more than he does, and that’s saying something!

Last night was a quick evening; I intended to do something, anything, creative.  Instead I listened to music and cooked dinner.  After I read a little bit. I’m reading The Hunger Games for my book club at work (I saw the movie but I love the book, I have a hard time putting it down!).  I got so sleepy I was in bed and asleep around 8:15.  It kills productivity at home but it sure does make me feel better.

On my commute into work today I was thinking about germs and sickness.  There are a lot of people at my office that have been sick over the last couple of months.  A good friend ended up with the flu, I drove her home from work one day because she just needed to get home (she takes the bus to avoid having to drive in our horrible commute).  I’m probably going to jinx myself, but I haven’t caught anything.  I am wondering why.  I know my immune system is tired, maybe a little less so since I have been paying more attention to what my body is telling me it needs?  I always hear people say that it makes a difference, what you eat, how much you sleep and exercise.  I’m beginning to think that’s true.  I have cut out something I know is harmful to my body, I limit sugar/sweeteners (I still have a daily square of really dark chocolate – thank goodness for individually wrapped Ghirardelli squares!), eat veggies with every meal and make sure I’m getting at least 8 hours of sleep each night.  I haven’t mixed in regular exercise yet, but now that I am feeling better again the treadmill and I have a date scheduled this weekend.  Anyway, just something to think about….though I still wonder.  I have a sister-in-law that eats perfectly and is an exercise fiend and she’s been sick at least a couple of times this season.  Hmmm….

Enough of that….it’s time for food!  I found a recipe online for something called Chocolate Chip Cookie Dip.  Here is where I admit that when making cookies more of the raw dough ends up in me than that baked cookie.  At first I was a little skeptical about the recipe; the base is chickpeas or white beans.  What?  The things I use to make hummus?  How is that even possible?  Still, the idea that I could eat something that tasted like raw cookie dough and it would be healthy for me, I’m so in!  It’s perfect for taming my sweet tooth and there is something really wonderful about being able to take a spoonful and just eat it without any guilt.  The recipe with my adjustments (I omitted the oats/flax, didn’t add any milk and cut the sugar in half) is listed below, the original recipe is on a fantastic blog called Chocolate-Covered Katie (the healthy dessert blog), you will find it here:  http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/05/23/want-to-eat-an-entire-bowl-of-cookie-dough/  I haven’t tried anything else from her site but I see she has a special section of GF recipes that I plan to revisit (she has a recipe for black bean brownies that I have to try!)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dip

(adapted from Chocolate-Covered Katie’s blog)

• 1 1/2 cups chickpeas
• 1/4 tsp salt
• tiny bit over 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup nut butter (I use peanut butter)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips (a couple more may have fallen in when I measured)

1.      Drain and rinse the beans really well, at this point I rolled them around inside the colander and removed as many of the skins as possible though I don’t think you have to do that

2.      Place all of the ingredients except for the chocolate chips in a food processor and let it go, stop when it looks well combined, scrape down the sides and let it go again

3.      This is the point where you taste and see if you need more salt or sugar

4.      Dump all of it into a sealable container and mix in the chocolate chips

5.      Refrigerate…..and try not to eat it all at once!

Ordinary Days

I skipped a blog day again, ugh, I seem to forget a lot lately.  It wasn’t intentional this time; I fell asleep last night when I got home…oops J

I will recap the last couple of days because I skipped.  On the thyroid front, the ultrasound went relatively well.  There are a couple of nodules, kind of expected because that’s normal for people with Hashimoto’s.  They needed my tests from 2005 to determine if they have increased in size at all.  My next step is an appointment the specialist at the beginning of August.  I’m getting closer to answers every day!

Food has been good, though I have been really hungry lately (swinging back into hyperthyroid).  I have been able to manage it to the point where I am using my WPs.  I didn’t want to this week, but I also need to listen to my body.  I haven’t used all of them and I won’t dip into activity points so I feel like I’m staying on track.  Luckily my cravings haven’t been for sweets/chocolate, they have been for crunchy and protein.  The crunchy is easily taken care of by an apple, or dill pickles or my home-baked corn chips…check.  The protein I’m just focusing on low-fat stuff, mostly chicken and some tuna. The exploding chicken taquitos from Hungry Girl have come in handy.

Exercise has been going well.  I love the feeling of getting stronger.  Am I crazy to be excited about putting the treadmill up to 6% incline and trucking like I’m climbing a hill?  I love that I can, that my muscles work well and feel strong and that I know if I were on an actual hill I could do it no problem.

Ok, that’s it for today.  I don’t really have much more to say.  Happy Friday!