fast food for the gluten-free eater...

I'm not a huge fast food junkie, but being someone who works at home by myself, I like to get out of the house every now and then to grab an inexpensive meal to eat at home. Ergo, fast food.

Eating fast food on a gluten-free diet can be a little challenging, but not impossible. It just requires some knowledge and creativity.

1. Chipotle

Chipotle is by far my favorite fast food lunch. Everything on their menu is gluten-free except for the tortillas. Even before I learned about my gluten intolerance, I usually got a bowl: a taco salad of sorts with a rice base.

Plus, if you load up your bowl with the right things, it's not too terribly unhealthy of a meal. I like to get mine with chicken, no beans, and no dairy. Fairly healthy. I guess :D


2. Subway

The Boser is a huge sandwich fan-- he eats Subway for lunch nearly every weekday. About 800 Subways are currently test driving a gluten free bun, and all the DFW locations I've visited have it. The bun is small, but pretty tasty. Nothing phenomenal, but standard gluten-free bread fair and it gets Boser his beloved sandwich now and again.

3. Domino's

Several pizza places offer gluten free crusts (including Mellow Mushroom and Palio's, if you live in Denton), and Domino's added it to their menu yesterday. I haven't tried it yet, but the promise of awful-for-me style pizza after a stressful day is wonderfully alluring and trying one will happen sooner or later. I'll keep you posted.

The Boser is especially excited because they only offer the gluten free crust in a small, so we'll have to order two pizzas. So he can have a "real pizza" and I can have a "sickly pizza," as he so eloquently put it.


4. The Burger Hack

As you know, I am a huge burger fan. While it's hard to find a local burger joint with a gluten-free burger patty, let alone a bread option, the fast food industry is a little more understanding. Carl's Jr., Five Guys, and Mooyah all offer a "lettuce wrap" option to hold your burger patty, the patty of which is gluten free already. (Watch out for the shakes at Mooyah, though.) The Boser is a big Five Guys fan, so if we eat at the restaurant, I usually end up fork and knifing my lettuce wrapped burger because it's kind of a mess otherwise. But if I bring a burger home for lunchtime?

The Burger Hack:

Two slices of Udi's sandwich bread, lightly buttered and toasted. You almost forget it's not a bun. Almost.

You can buy Udi's burger buns, and buns from other gluten-free companies for that matter, but I haven't been that adventurous yet. Maybe someday.

Happy fast fooding!

Loves and Hugs,

Rachel Elise

gluten free focaccia...

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you probably know that:

1. I love food.
2. Burgers and bread are among my most favorite of foods.
3. I found out I have a gluten intolerance a few months ago.

Trying to find out what was wrong with me took a few years, the last three or four months of which were really miserable. Everyone has different reactions and symptoms to gluten; mine was to itch excessively. I was like a little kid with chickenpox, scratching uncontrollably, hoping that temporary relief would somehow make me heal. (I'll clue you in... it doesn't.) Eventually a doctor suggested that I may maybe might have a gluten intolerance, but I took blood work and it came back negative. At that point, he didn't really know what to try next, so I took it upon myself to try a gluten-free diet, blood work or no blood work. And whatdoyaknow. Three days later, I was already getting better. The body is an amazing thing.

At first, my gluten intolerance wasn't a big deal. I ate gluten free 95% of the time, but if I was having a rough day and I wanted to go to RG Burgers and have my skin itch slightly for about a week, I went for it. Itchiness was a side effect I could live with in small doses. But now I've started getting sick to my stomach, having migraines, etc... basically, it feels like having a hangover for about a week. Not. Worth. It.

So, lately I've been trying to embrace gluten-free products. My friend Shelley, who is also gluten intolerant, turned me on to Udi's sandwich bread right from the beginning, and it's a staple in our kitchen. I've also found a few veggie burgers I like, particularly Sunshine and Amy's Bistro Burger, but other than that, I've mainly just changed my eating habits. But now that even cheating on my gluten-free diet is out, I've been craving to replace those foods I miss.

Side note: I love cooking, but baking and I don't really get along so well. Therefore, buying these replacements for glutenie treats seems like the best option. I'll learn to bake... someday...

I went to my local natural foods store last week and picked up a few gluten free things, including this Rosemary Focaccia bread:

Oh my stars. It is so good. I can't wait to make a big bowl of gluten-free pasta and sop up the sauce with this bread. Take that, gluten intolerance. Muah ha ha.

It's soft and breadie and doesn't crumble apart. It comes frozen, so I thawed it on my countertop for a couple of hours and then toasted it right before eating. I took a small chunk of it to Easter dinner so that I could have a dinner roll alternative. I gave my 14-year-old brother-in-law a bite and even he thought it was a good.

Success.

Also, if you are gluten intolerant, I highly recommend you check out this blog. I came across it the other day, and I can't stop reading it. Gluten free products can be so annoyingly expensive, and Karen really focuses on the quality of the product vs. the price. Some things are good but not worth it, some things are expensive, but how could you live without them? Love it.

Hugs and Loves,

Rachel Elise

rice chips make my heart smile...

Today I'd like to share with you what is far and away my favorite gluten-free snack.

RICE CHIPS.

Now, I'm sure you're thinking that sounds sad and boring and just about the worst thing ever, but you should not. Because they rule. It's like a thick tortilla chip with whole seeds and grains adding a magical texture and sea salt adding a magical flavor.

Pass the hummus, please.

Loves and Hugs,

Rachel Elise

gluten-free cookie shake...

Since finding out about my gluten sensitivity in October 2011, I've done a lot of research on gluten-free eating. Far and away the weirdest food that I've discovered can potentially be a no-no is ice cream. ICE CREAM. I really don't understand how they do it, but if you look at a lot of ice cream labels, you'll be out of luck if you're avoiding gluten.

Luckily I live in Texas and a lot of Blue Bell flavors are gluten-free, but I still love making homemade ice cream in my Cuisinart maker.  Before you write off making your own homemade deliciousness, you have to check out the 2-Quart Cusinart Ice Cream Maker.

Cuisinart 2-Quart Ice Cream Maker

The maker comes with a cylinder core that your freeze in your freezer... no messing with the salt and ice and all the things that are a hassle with making your own batch. Just freeze the core for 24 hours, mix your ingredients, chill in the fridge for an hour, dump them in the maker, and wait half an hour. IT RULES. The softest, creamiest ice cream in the world. And I always know that it's 100% gluten-free.

Because of the growing awareness of gluten-related health issues, along with some kind of bizzaro fad diets, you can buy a gluten-free version of just about anything. But I'm a sucker for ice cream (duh... I'm writing about homemade ice cream in February), and milkshakes are my main weakness. Yet even with the popularity of gluten-free, when it comes to a cookie/oreo shake, you're on your own.


So this afternoon I whipped up this little guy with my Cuisinart Hand Blender.

nom nom nom.

In addition to the Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker, I highly recommend their Hand Blender. It comes with a mini-food processor attachment, an immersion blender attachment, and a whisk attachment. Totally useful and versatile while using minimal cabinet space.

Cuisinart Hand Blender Set

Here's how I made my shake:

I crumbled two Enjoy Life Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies into the measuring cup that came with my hand blender. Then I added in a cup and a half of homemade vanilla ice cream (using the "Simple Vanilla" recipe from the Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker instructional booklet). I added in half a cup of milk and let my immersion blender go to work.

Delicious.



Loves and Hugs,

Rachel Elise

P.S. This was the first time I had tried the Enjoy Life cookies. They are really delicious and have a fantastic texture, but are pretty pricey for the number that came in the box.