I will give full credit to Mrs. Dude for this idea. She thought it would be helpful to the gluten-free community to list what I ate over the weekend and what adjustments I had to make to ensure I ate safe, gluten-free meals.
I love when somebody else comes up with an idea since that means I don’t have to. My brain hurts sometimes.
Here goes…
Friday Night
We had another couple over for dinner, cocktails, Mexican Train Dominoes and great conversation. The conversation and dominoes were completely gluten free, as were the cocktails (thank you Tito’s). For dinner, we decided to get into the summer mood and grill some burgers.
I stopped by a health food store in the afternoon to pick up some hamburger buns. They had one brand. They looked like hockey pucks. And they were $8 for 4 rolls. Seriously? I think I’ll pass.
So I ended up having two grass-fed burgers with no roll. On the side, Mrs. Dude made a nice mushroom and onion combination. I added some fresh organic avocado. We threw in some nice gluten-free sweet potato fries and we had a phenomenal, and easy, gluten-free dinner.
Saturday Brunch
Normally, it would be Saturday breakfast but since Friday night’s festivities didn’t end until 1:30am, I didn’t quite make it out of bed in time for breakfast. I went with the old standby: Three organic, cage-free eggs, organic sausage, mushroom, onion and asparagus, with a sliced banana on the side. You’d think having the same meal pretty much seven days a week would grow tiresome. Nope…still salivate over it.
Saturday Snack
After a nice 4 mile power walk at Tyler State Park, Mrs. Dude and I rewarded ourselves with Greensicles from Green Straw Smoothies. What’s in a Greensicle you say? Nothing by love…and almond milk, orange juice, banana and spinach.
Saturday Dinner
We went to my brother’s house for dinner, drinks and a ping pong marathon. Normally, going to someone else’s house for dinner can be a cause for worry. Not this house. My sister-in-law has gluten-free down pat. Appetizers consisted of celery and carrots, with Bobbi’s hummus. Plus, shrimp cocktail with McCormick’s cocktail sauce. These are two brands I swear by. And dinner was NY Strip steak with snap peas and a white sweet potato.
Easter Sunday Brunch
Back to my brother’s house. But since the kitchen was a bevy of activity, I did not want to risk any cross-contamination. So I brought with me my own pan and spatula to make my own eggs. While everyone else enjoyed Beth’s famous sticky buns and waffles, I had my eggs, banana and fresh strawberries. And of course, more ping pong.
Sunday Dinner
Mrs. Dude and I briefly discussed going out for sushi, but I was enjoying being couch-bound for a few hours since it’s so rare that I simply relax and do nothing. So we all basically took care of our own meals.
I went with Garlic Toasted Onion Fettuccine from Viviana Foods with some organic carmelized onion meatballs. Yeah…I know…no exactly your typical Easter dinner but who cares. It tasted awesome.
So that’s my weekend.
A couple of things to note:
One…I’m not exactly starving myself here. Gluten free is not a “diet”. It’s how I keep my health (and my sanity).
Two…with subtle adjustments, your meals can be just as good as you used to have them.
And three…there’s no need to feel like your “missing out” simply because you can’t have gluten.
I hope you had a great weekend.
Wow…I love the internet….my daughter found your blog and sent me a link to it, she’s pretty new to GF and casein free…and she’s up in Rochester, NY at college….then I see you took a walk at Tyler State Park, very familiar name, I walk in a Tyler State park…could it be the same state? Googled the Green Straw Smoothies and was really pleasantly surprised to find out that YES…same state, town next door….I can’t wait to take my son, also newly GF, CF to try out some smoothies!!!
Small world Kathie! Green Straw just opened a few weeks ago. The place is totally cool. If you see the owner (Kelly), tell her I sent you.
I’ll be making a trip there in the next 2 days…I will tell her you are getting the word out! My son will be thrilled, he’s now GF, CF and is always looking for places to go in the area
My husband and I have burgers pretty regularly. I have gotten used to burgers without buns, but sometimes I just want to pick my burger up and eat it like I used to. So, I have learned to make killer arepas that are perfect for that.
I mostly stuck with my traditional Easter dinner. Ham, veggies, angel food cake with lemon curd. My Grammy always made a ham, so I make a ham. My hubby and I will spend the day today canning leftovers from our 20 pounder and have ham for the next three months when I’m feeling too lazy to cook.
Not just over the weekend, but always, my meals consist of a lot of fresh veggies and fruits. I participate in a huge food co-op called Bountiful Baskets which covers most of the west half of the country. Every Saturday I pick up about as much fresh produce as I can handle for a week. All that produce just means there is more room in my life for baked goods while still dropping the weight I could never get control of before I was diagnosed.
I hear ya about picking up the burger and eating it. Using a knife and fork seems so…civilized.
You had some good eats. If I do eat a burger–which is rare, I use the Udi’s buns. I know they are really high in calories, but its at a bun for some beef.