Fluffy Food

I made Pancakes this morning!  Don't worry I did not give up on my 6 week cleanse, I simply used Gluten Free Flour and fake sugar substitute and yes almond milk instead of normal cow milk. They turned out good, but they tasted nothing like a pancake.  They tasted more like Snickerdoodle Cookies.  Not a bad thing.  I ate 2 about 2 hours ago and I am still stuffed.  It was nice to eat something bready, but I kinda felt sick after.  So maybe one would be better.  I just spread a bit of butter on them and ate them with my hands, cause it seemed better that way.  I suppose you could put fruit on top, but I opted to leave them plain, since I have had a-lot of fruit lately.

On a side note, I think I am feeling better though I am so tired from the lack of caffeine that it is hard to say I feel great.

today's news

I woke up to discover that I had lost 7 pounds somewhere, don't care if I ever find it again. :)  Not much else to share other than I tried the Quinoa Pasta with some pesto, and some pan-fried Polenta for dinner.  It was alright.  Nothing worth writing about.

What to do, what to do

I got brave and tried the Alter Eco Quinoa the other day.  In fact, I have now had it twice.  It is pretty bland by itself, though it smells like corn, but with a slightly nutty flavor, so I added some much needed salt and veggies.  The end result was a dish resembling fried rice. 

I like the fact that by purchasing the stuff I am helping support small family farms in Bolivia...but, then again according to this article in the New York Times, it seems that by helping Bolivian farmers export the crop it made it too expensive for the locals, and thus the rate of malnutrition in these areas is on the rise.  What to do, what to do.  Seems it is a no win situation, as the increase in jobs has been a huge blessing in these communities allowing people to stay in Bolivia instead of head to another neighboring country to find work.

On an entirely different note...


  I started out yesterday with a healthy and beautiful breakfast, a bowl of fresh fruit.  I even made a bowl for my mom and sister.  Would have made it for the guys too, but they went camping for the weekend.

I think the combination of all these new grains, beans and fruits has done a number on my stomach.  I have been in a world of pain the last two days.  So much so that I decided  on drastic measures of drinking Herbal Smooth Move Tea, just to see if it would help.  I have had 2 cups in the last 48 hours, it is not helping.  (I realize not everyone in the world wants to know that, but this is also serving as my medical journal...and if you are going through this process with me you should know what you are getting into)

little addition

After sampling my homemade fro-yo I decided it was missing something, so I added some of the almond milk I had purchased along with a bit more vanilla and brown sugar.  It is better now.  But here is a pic from the first time...

yummy good time

Last night I went out with my good friend for a much needed catch up session.  She let me pick the place to eat since I am the one with all the "issues" when it comes to food these days.  Such a nice friend.  I selected Hula's Bar and Grill in Down Town Santa Cruz. I settled on Hula's because they had a lot of fresh fish options.  I opted for the Macadamia Nut Encrusted Ahi with a Mango Papaya sauce with Black Beans and Plantains as my sides.  It was a delightful dinner out, and full of flavor!

After dinner we headed to Starbucks where I was very good and only had Peppermint Tea.  (no Caffeine)  The night was full of both flavor and friendship, two of my favorite things.  I ended my night at home where I sampled some of the Frozen Yogurt I had made earlier before heading out.  It was not quite frozen yet, but it was tasty.  I think it will be better today. 

I had never attempted to make Frozen Yogurt at home, so I Googled  it like I do just about everything...found what I considered to be the simplest approach  on e how.  I read what they did, decided I was sick of strawberries for the day and so this is what I did...

I took:
2 cups of Plain Organic Yogurt and tossed it into the new pretty blender along with 1 cup of tap water.
I ransacked the cupboards and grabbed the Vanilla Flavoring, Imitation Rum Flavoring, a bit of Brown Sugar, and the Coconut flakes.  I tossed a little bit of each of those into the blender after toasting the Coconut Flakes first in the convention oven.  I just kept adding till it tasted nice and Summery and Refreshing.  Of course I blended along the way on the Milkshake setting.  After it tasted right I added a few ice cubes, cause the person on e-how had suggested it.  Then I poured it all in a plastic container and placed it in the freezer.  Now the e-how guy ( I assumed it was a guy for some reason) said you could enjoy it right out of the blender, but mine was the consistency of milk, so he obviously got a different end product than I did with his frozen strawberries.  However I was enjoying the flavor by 10:30pm that night  and I am thinking it will be even more amazing today.

So go have fun invent your own way of doing it, I only chose e-how's because the picture at the top looked good (though I knew that was machine made) and because it did not require me to come back and stir ever 30 min.  I am lazy like that.

shopping day

After feeling sorry for myself yesterday, but having determined to make the best out of what I have to work with I set out on a shopping expedition.  As mentioned I had already bought fruits and veggies, so that left all the new stuff; spelt, quinoa,(Turns out the spelt and quinoa are from Bolivia, which is funny since so is my man.), gluten free flour, polenta and brown rice (the last two not totally new).   Then there was the meat, I found some Italian sausage made from chicken and some turkey links as well as turkey franks and some ground turkey. I also got Almond Milk and Rice Milk, plain organic yogurt, some beans, and I even found some gluten free brown rice lime flavored chips which I am munching on as I type. Not bad. (crap, just read they contain milk...)

So seeing as I now have some stuff to work with I will have to be spending some time searching for new and tasty recipes that fit the bill.  Should you have a favorite feel free to post away.  I want to be brave and try some fish dishes as well, so if you have a must try don't hold back. 

Also I should say that since this is a record of sorts I went on a 3 mileish walk this morning with a good friend, who was helping me think up things to do with these random foods.  Thank God for good friends, even when there is a lack of good food ;)

just a dash

I made my smoothie once again this morning, but this time I added a dash of salt.  It was a nice addition, bringing out even more of the flavor.  Just thought I would pass along the tip.  I also did this last night for the sorbet.