Thursday, September 3, 2009

Gluten Free in Grad School

I had an idea earlier this week. Surely it will be a fleeting one, like most of my ideas, but I thought I'd pursue it a bit and see where it goes.

Gluten-free bloggers abound. There are some who are also vegan, some who are artists, some who take incredible photos, some who have other allergies, etc. There are many who post incredible recipes - here's my new favorite this week - and were instrumental in my own "recovery" process, at least in terms of rediscovering a love for good food.

While I'm sure I haven't exhausted the entire gluten-free blogging world, I've noticed a shortage in the I'm-super-busy-(and poor)-because-I'm-in-grad-school,-so-quick!-how-do-I-eat-gluten-free-cheaply-and-quickly variety (say that five times fast!). So, my latest idea was to start blogging about the kind of food I'm eating, strategies I'm creating for staying healthy and gluten-free while 1) being super busy and having less time than I used to to cook wonderfully tasty gluten-free meals, 2) going to school in a gluten-abundant environment, and 3) living on a pretty tight budget.

So, a few things from this week:
1. Beans & rice are the way to go - and don't have to be boring! This week, I had some canned pinto beans in the pantry, so I cooked up some red beans & rice. Sauté onions, garlic, jalapeño & red pepper until soft, add some lime juice, throw in some cumin, chili powder, & cilantro, and then add pinto beans (I included the "juice"). Cook until heated through and serve over rice.

2. Resurrect old favorites: in college, I used to make an incredibly simple-yet delicious honey mustard chicken. It's been awhile since I last made it, so I decided to resurrect it tonight. Sauté red onions, shallots and garlic in olive oil until soft, add chicken breast (I cut them into 1-2 inch pieces) and cook through. Mix one part honey with one part mustard (rough est. - add or subtract to taste!), pour over cooked chicken/onion mixture, add some ground red pepper, and serve over rice-cooker brown rice with a salad and you're good to go! The whole thing took me less than 45 minutes tonight.

3. Make things from scratch, in bulk. Or buy mixes and make them last all week. A few weeks ago, I made a double batch of a Bob's Red Mill Pumpkin Muffin recipe (but my favorite is this one) and threw most of them in the freezer. I've been eating yummy muffins several times/week since - just toss in the microwave for 30-60 seconds and you're good to go! Then, earlier this week, I got a free Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie mix, whipped up my batch of cookies on Sunday (or Monday? The week has been a blur), and have made them last all week. They even keep out of the refrigerator fairly well (an accomplishment you'll recognize if you're familiar with gluten-free baking...)! Yum yum.

4. Skip the baking. After honey mustard chicken and a peachy white wine from Spain tonight at dinner, I came up with a no-bake peach cobbler. Simply dice a fresh peach, sprinkle with cinnamon, and top with crushed Lucy's Oatmeal Cookies (gluten-free, of course!). Check out the photo if you need convincing - this was really, really delicious.



That's it for today. I know I don't have many gluten-free readers at this point, but hopefully this was beneficial for some. And - I promise - these recipes are all yummy (and super healthy), whether you're eating gluten-free or not! I dare you to try them. :)

2 comments:

Alayna said...

Lynnae you are incredible. You always come up with wonderful things to eat.

LynnaeEtta said...

I think I'd go crazy if I didn't!