Gluten Free Goodness

Usually, it’s all about the food, but here’s a short break to discuss…well, people who discuss food.  Maybe that’s not so much of a stretch?

Sometimes people choose a career. My career choose me.  Since I’m from a Middle eastern family, food is pretty much the center of everything.  Happy?  Eat!  Sad? Eat!  Hungry?  You get the idea.  Food was always central, and my first language, so to speak.  Becoming a nutritionist and dietitian was a natural choice.

As the years went by my own health issues began, I wondered if my diet could help, especially since many of my problems were gastrointestinal issues!  More than one doctor gave up and said, well, you’re a dietitian, figure it out.

Initial allergy tests did little, but going gluten free was HUGE for tummy issues, pain, energy and more.  Many allergy and food sensitivity tests later, I found that I had a lot of food triggers.  I learned how to manage a gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soy free, peanut free, shellfish free, corn free, sugar free diet and still make good, healthy food.  Then it dawned on me that I’d unintentionally stumbled into a unique niche.  It’s fascinating, fun, rewarding, and such a delight!  I’m very lucky that I get to work with fabulous clients, discussing things that are always interesting to me.  www.harriswholehealth.com

This post is in honor of National Registered Dietitian’s Day, which is March 11th.  I didn’t have a clear vision of where I’d be as an RD, but it’s been a great journey.  Please do check out sites of other RDs and give them a little love, too!

Beyond Prenatals – Food vs. Supplements and Real Advice vs. Fake Advice
Annette Colby - No More Diets! A Registered Dietitian Shares 9 Secrets to Real and Lasting Weight Loss
Ashley Colpaart – Dietitians working in food policy, a new frontier
Diana Dyer – There and Back Again: Celebration of National Dietitian Day 2009
Marjorie Geiser – RD Showcase for National Registered Dietitian Day – What we do
Marilyn Jess – National Registered Dietitian Day–RD Blogfest
Julie Lanford – Antioxidants for Cancer Prevention
Renata Mangrum – What I’m doing as I grow up…
Liz Marr – Fruits and Veggies for Registered Dietian Day: Two Poems
Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen – Family Nutrition … It’s our “Beat”
Jill Nussinow – The Registered Dietitian Lens I Look Through
Wendy Jo Petersen – March 11 is our day to shine!
Diane Preves – Registered Dietitians and the White House Forum on Health Reform
Andy Sarjahani – Dr. Seuss Tribute continued: Green Eggs and Ham and a Sustainable Food System
Rebecca Scritchfield – Big Tips from a “Big Loser”
Anthony Sepe – RD Showcase: Registered Dietitian Day, March 11, 2009
Kathy Shattler – RD Showcase for Nutri-Care Consultation
UNL-Extension, Douglas/Sarpy County – Nutrition Know How – Making Your Life Easier
Monika Woolsey – Dietitians–Can’t Do PCOS Without Them!
Monika Woolsey – In Honor of National Registered Dietitian Day
Jen Zingaro – My life as a Registered Dietitian

I’m a little late for Thanksgiving, but it’s always a good time to give thanks.

I have so much to be thankful for this year:

~a wonderful husband

~ two beautiful cats

~our very own house, complete with a garden

~an abundance of food to keep me full and cooking projects to keep me entertained

~promise for a joyous future

~dear friends whom are near and far, and e-buddies, too

~a fabulous job (two, actually)

~ a heart full of hope.

I was struck by the picture above, taken by the multi talented Sally because my first thought was that any second, the sun would shine through the clouds, and that’s a great metaphor for life.  Sally’s having a contest and giving away one of her amazing photos, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Rachel, of the Crispy Cook, was kind enough to award my blog with an “E” for excellent!  I’m quite honored.  Rachel’s blog is excellent in my humble opinion!  She has a clear love of fresh produce, and does a lot of preserving and canning.  As an added bonus, her recipes are gluten free to accommodate her husband, who is one lucky guy!

The rules that accompany this award are as follows:

“Please find at least 10 more blogs of any kind which you deem to be excellent; but hey if you only come up with 3 or 5, I don’t mind. Post about the blogs you picked, linking back to me and to them. Once you’ve posted, return here to let me know your post is up, and of course let your 10 award winners know too.“

I’ve met a lot of fabulous bloggers in my short time blogging, and I’m delighted to have a small way to say THANK YOU to a few for their inspiration and amazing recipes!  It’s been a lot of fun, and I can’t believe it’s only been 6 months.  Time flies!

Here is just small sample of some of my favorites:

Sea, of Book of Yum: Her recipes are creative and original, her cuisine is global, and she’s always a generous hostess.  What more could you ask for?  The fact that she’s been making more allergen-friendly recipes as of late is merely a bonus.

Sally, over at Aprovechar is excellent in so many ways!  She is a gifted writer and photographer, but her spirit is what really captures me.  She dishes up inspiration, hope and allergen friendly recipes, which is really nourishment at its best.

I’ve been a longtime fan of Cindalou’s Kitchen Blues, and am glad to see her returning to the bloggosphere after her wedding.  She serves up gluten and dairy free creative recipes that are low glycemic, healthy, and often grain free, too.

I met Shellyfish through Daring Bakers and she’s a wonderful, energetic, creative cook!  Her recipes are vegan and often raw, and they’re fabulous.  She has a positive outlook and great pictures that always look vibrant and crisp.

Angela and her gang over at Angela’s Kitchen is always a good read, especially since Angela shares my passion for soup.  Angela’s recipes are gluten and dairy free.  She teaches classes on GFCF cooking and even has an e-book coming out soon.  I can’t wait!

Veggie Girl has long been a great source of vegan recipes, but she’s recently gone gluten free, too (yay!).  It’s fun to hear of her travels and her recipes, and she is an incredible dancer, too!  Just check out the videos of her recent competitions.

Thomas at The GFCF Experience makes my “excellent” list for several reasons.  It’ s challenge to be a good parent, and that challenge is multiplied with a special needs child.   There are a lot of mommies out there in the special needs world, but we don’t see as many daddies, so thank you, Thomas, for representing. Thomas provides great info, reviews and sometimes recipes, too.

Last, but CERTAINLY not least, is Carrie AKA Ginger Lemon Girl. She’s as sweet as can be and always has traditional American fare…but gluten free, of course. Many of her recipes are on my to make list, and I appreciate her energy and baking skills!

I have met SO many excellent bloggers, and could keep right on going, but work calls!

Ok, I couldn’t resist. Here goes! This is supposed to be a vegan 100 list, which I saw on Veggie Girl’s site (and many others) but many of the things are animal based, so color me confused. I counted something whether I had the meat based version or the vegan one. I was surprised that I’d tried so many, given all my allergies. If you’d like to do it, here are the instructions:

1) Copy this list into your own blog, including these instructions.

2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.

3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

4) Post a comment here once you’ve finished and link your post back to this one.

5) Pass it on!

1. Natto
2. Green Smoothie
3. Tofu Scramble allergic
4. Haggis um…no.
5. Mangosteen Hopefully soon!
6. Creme brulee
7. Fondue
8. Marmite/Vegemite
9. Borscht I think so…not sure.
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Nachos
12. Authentic soba noodles
Super yummy. Yay buckwheat!
13. PB&J sandwich seriously? who hasn’t eaten pbj?
14. Aloo gobi
15. Taco from a street cart
16. Boba Tea
17. Black truffle allergic
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Gyoza
20. Vanilla ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Ceviche
24. Rice and beans
25. Knish -heck, I’m a jew from NY, whaddya expect?
26. Raw scotch bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche one of my very favorite drool foods from my years in CA
28. Caviar
29. Baklava probably the last non-gf food I’ve made. I miss making these and I miss eating them even more!
30. Pate
31. Wasabi peas—which I promply spit out, so I’m not sure if that counts
32. Chowder in a sourdough bowl do I get extra points for eating my chowda in Boston?
33. Mango lassi love these…
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Mulled cider =I make some every year
37. Scones with buttery spread and jam
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
I make an amazing gumbo, if I do say so myself.
40. Fast food french fries - I still occasionally have a few when I can find them GF
41. Raw Brownies
42. Fresh Garbanzo Beans
43. Dahl
44. Homemade Soymilk allergic
45. Wine from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more-wine is wasted on me. Double for expensive wine.
46. Stroopwafle
47. Samosas
48. Vegetable Sushi
49. Glazed doughnut
50. Seaweed
51. Prickly pear- I plan to have one very soon!
52. Umeboshi allergic
53. Tofurkey allergic
54. Sheese
ok, I miss cheese and all, but fake cheese scares me.
55. Cotton candy
56. Gnocchi
57. Piña colada
58. Birch beer
59. Scrapple um, no. just no.
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores!
62. Soy curls allergic
63 Chickpea cutlets
64. Curry
65. Durian
66. Homemade Sausages
67. Churros, elephant ears, or funnel cake—and then I promptly went on one of those rides that go upside down and let’s just say all didn’t end well.
68. Smoked tofu-years ago at Moosewood. One of the only ways I liked tofu.
69. Fried plantain—me gusta mucho!
70. Mochi
71. Gazpacho
72. Warm chocolate chip cookies - warm is the best way to eat a cookie, in my opinion
73. Absinthe
74. Corn on the cob
75. Whipped cream, straight from the can I think I had it more straight from a can than any other way!
76. Pomegranate–let’s just put it this way, I have to schedule teeth cleanings at the end of pom season because I have so many pom stains.
77. Fauxstess Cupcake
78. Mashed potatoes with gravy
79. Jerky
80. Croissants
81. French onion soup
82. Savory crepes
83. Tings
84. A meal at Candle 79
85. Moussaka -
86. Sprouted grains or seeds
87. Macaroni and “cheese”
88. Flowers
89. Matzoh ball soup
90. White chocolate
91. Seitanallergic
92. Kimchi
93. Butterscotch chips
94. Yellow watermelon I’ve even grown one!
95. Chili with chocolate
96. Bagel and Tofuttiallergic
97. Potato milk
98. Polentaallergic
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Raw cookie dough heck yeah!