I think it’s helped me stay saner, except for right now when I should be heading to bed, so I need to make this snappy, and I’ll add more tomorrow.

Fun stuff: An article on Immune Boosting foods in the Washingtonian Blog

and my holiday newsletter, too!  It’s got wonderful tips and gobs of recipe goodness, including a slew of naturally gluten-free recipes (or should I say, Gluten Free Easily?  Although the recipe list goes back more years than I’ve known Shirley!)

Fun tasty stuff: Candy Cane Marshmallows, dipped in chocolate.  Mr. Dude risked serious injury when he mentioned last night that he ate a bunch and hoped I didn’t plan to give them to many people.  And yet he is alive and well, and sanity prevails.  If the Christmas treats get eaten early, that’s it.  I’m making what I’m making, and that’s it.

That leads me today’s ingredient: citrus! For the schedule and our new Menu Plan Mama, please see Heather of Celiac Family.  Want to join in on the fun? I’m sure she’d love to hear from you.

If anyone is keeping track, I rarely eat citrus because it doesn’t agree with me (and if you’re keeping track, congrats.)Every year I make Choco covered orange slices because they’re Mr. E’s faves, and I’ll post a recipe this week.

Monday:
Chicken with Celery in Chestnut Sauce

Tues:
Quinoa Italiana, I hope!  I think I have more olives

Weds:
Halibut with Kale Pesto

Thurs:
Classic Beef stew

Friday:
Leftovers!

Sounds like Citrus is popular all around!

Wendy at Celiacs in the House is having an abundance of citrus in the form of Clementines and grapefruits.  She’s got a great lineup including a white bean Cassolet.  Also, don’t miss out on her 4 book giveaway to celebrate her blogniversary!

Heather of Celiac Family has a very cute logo.  And the theme will inspire her to use up the citrus that been around and also to drink more water.  She’s got cilantro lime shrimp on the menu, too.

Renee of Beyond Rice and Tofu intrigues with an Indian Spiced Squash soup.  She generally eats citrus in its native form rather than baking or cooking with it.

Angela of Angela’s Kitchen stops by with a Bison and Sweet Potato Stew and what looks like a very busy week of shuttling around kids to various places!  Hopefully she can find inspiration from other blogs for other yummy meals, too.

I’ve just “met” Samantha of So Simply Good, but anyone who is laundry phobic is clearly a long-lost soulmate of mine.  She’s got a nice paleo menu, and not only that, her grandfather GROWS oranges!  How cool is that.

©2012 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

And something fun to look forward to: I’m hosting a December Sanity Challenge!  More details to follow soon.

This weeks’ menu plan is hosted by Our Frugal Life and the theme is twist on pizza.  Hmmm…aside from Alta’s pizza (which is AMAZING, btw) I haven’t done much in the way of pizza.  Ok, twist my arm, Alta’s pizza it is!

Interested in hosting?  I’m sure Heather would love to hear from you!

Monday:
Ginger Lemon Chicken and broccoli

Tues:
Curried beef and cauliflower

Weds
Alta’s Pizza

Thursday:
Salmon on a bed of baby greens

Friday:
Leftovers

Fun Stuff:
Chocolate hazelnut torte (AKA E’s Cake)

©2012 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

I also did my annual T day roundup.  G-Free turkey list?  Check!  Recipes?  Check!  Tips for making it go smoothly?  You got it

I also posted an update on my life, which currently involves concrete everywhere at home.  And yet it’s all for a good cause–a garage by snowfall (fingers crossed).

Food…well, a mini meal plan is in order, because chaos has reigned. I already made Black Bean Brownies this week since a friend had to put her dear kitty to sleep, and NinjaBread Birthday cookies are on the lineup for tomorrow.

Oh wait, you mean food food? I suppose one cannot live on brownies and cookies alone. Angela is our menu swap hostess and she’s chosen slow cookers, and so I will dig for mine. Please also see Celiac family for future hosts/hostesses.

Monday:
Marinated herb chicken w/broccoli

Tues:
Leftovers (late night class)

Weds:
Quinoa and kale pesto

Thurs
Something slow cooker inspired?

Friday:
Leftovers

©2012 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

The theme for this week is cranberries, or how to make a fat cat fly.  Now, for starters, let’s just say that my cat, G, is a big dude.  I mean, a really big dude. We have a “double wide” cat scratcher and it fits just him–generally not the best sign. He was a stray and can’t seem to grasp that he doesn’t need to worry about food anymore.  We’ve tried with diet cat food, tennis balls in their dishes to slow them down and even a cat food dispenser, but he’s 100% happy with how he is, and of course, I love him exactly as he is. Until he changes his mind, I will still get my ribs crushed when he walks on me and we will get lectures from the vet.  So my main approach is to try to get him moving, and the best way to do that is…cranberries.  Yep, cranberries.  If I toss him a cranberry, he’ll fly across the floor and attack.  The problem, of course, is that means that cranberries end up in the darndest of places: under the fridge, inside shoes, under the futon, and are usually discovered weeks later and are rather furry.

I also love cranberries, but my main emphasis is on eating them, not chasing them.  I love them raw, simmered with a little agave, in relish, in apple crisps…and for more ideas, check out Ricki’s Wellness weekend.

Onto the menu!

Monday:
Kale and white beans with olives and roasted garlic

Tues:
Simply Yum Quinoa

Weds:
Chicken with cranberry relish

Thurs:
Coconut Curried Collards with Turkey

Friday:
Leftovers

And everyone else?

Renee of Beyond Rice and Tofu has a picture of (please shield the eyes of sensitive people reading, offensive 4 letter word ahead)

Ready?

Snow.

Fortunately it was at 7000 feet, but I for one am praying for a snow and ice-less year.  She also has Moroccan Chickpeas on the menu, which sounds delish.

Amanda of Gluten Free Detroit Metro has officially finished 3 weeks of full-time, back to work mommy, which hasn’t been easy.  Yahoo!  She’s got Angela’s White Chicken Chili on the menu.

©2012 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

First, last call–if you haven’t sent in a comment to the FDA on GF labeling, PLEASE DO! Info here!
Not only have we been experiencing a weather change, but others are on the forecast! Heather of Celiac Family will be the new mommy of MPM, as of October 17th.  I have truly enjoyed hosting Menu Plan Monday, and yet the reality is that between working at 3 locations, running around to various doctor appointments, volunteering, hosting a meditation group, breathing and eating, I simply don’t have the time to devote to growing and publicizing the swap.  When I was blogging more often, there was more traffic to MPM and more participants.  And so it seemed the right time to step aside.

Also, as I’ve recognized the impact that the busy-ness has had on me, I have a bunch of new changes on the horizon (stay tuned!)  I have mentioned self-care at length, and it’s a cornerstone of my life.  I’ve realized how my commitments to groups and projects have started to erode my commitment to myself, and so a change was in order.  Obviously I still intend to participate in MPM, and look forward to Heather’s changes.

Heather is the hostess this week, and her ingredient is squash.  Since I’m allergic to the whole squash family, my appreciation will be limited to admiring the little lovelies seen above.  Unfortunately, the pumpkin plants are not in good health anymore, so we’ll likely only have the ones I’ve harvested already, but 18 was a new record!

It was a crazy week–I did something weird to my jaw and so I spent days eating lentil dal. Now, I love lentil dal, but enough is enough…and I don’t want to see it for an extended period of time! I also haven’t gone shopping because my in laws were visiting, and so I need to do some hard-core scrambling tomorrow to get up to speed.

Monday:
Chicken and kale pesto

Tues:
Chicken and sauteed fennel

Weds:
Beef stew with celery, carrots and potato

Thurs:
Honestly? Totally depends on what I find at the store tomorrow

Friday
TBD

©2012 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

I must confess my prejudice. I just don’t really like big fat pumpkins, unless I’m carving them.  The little ones are much cuter, and much less of a hassle to grow.

And I am so grateful for my pumpkins!  We moved here smack in the middle of growing season, and I could not convince DH that the very first priority when we moved was to establish a garden bed.  So by the time we settled in, pumpkins were one of the few things we could still start from seed and harvest.

Every year, I delight in watching them grow from the tiniest little baby pumpkin to the…well, tiny adult pumpkin.  I don’t know why it’s more fun than any other thing to grow for me, but I get such a kick out of it.  There are a few left on the vine, but the plant is much less happy so we’ll see how many more we get.  Right now, we’re at 12 and counting, so absolutely no complaints here!  There are 3-4 that will most likely make it and a few maybes, but I’ve learned my lesson about counting my pumpkins before they ‘hatch’

What about eating pumpkins, you say?  Well, of course they’re wonderful sources of vitamin A.  And regretfully, I can’t eat them at all.  I CAN eat pumpkin seeds…no clue why.   But hopefully having them as a theme will help folks plan ahead for the month or so of pumpkin goodness to come…

It’s also the season to announce a change!  Over the next month or so, Heather of Celiac Family will take over coordination of Menu Plan Monday.  More details to follow!

Monday:
Simply yum quinoa

Tues:
Marinated herb chicken with broccoli

Weds:
Beef stew

Thurs:
Leftovers

Friday:
In-laws in town! Maybe going to Sweetwater Tavern? We’ll see.

Lots of menu plans around the web!

We’ve got Kerry Ann of Cooking Traditional foods, who has a GFCF menu planned.  This is her first menu plan Monday so head over and give her some love!  Her blog is on traditional cooking and she’s got some fun recipes in the lineup, like peanut butter fudge and lentil dahl.

Heather of Celiac Family has a pictoral menu plan, which is always fun.  Not only does she have pumpkin waffles on the menu, she’s got pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, too!  And here’s to hoping her family stays healthy.

Alta of Tasty Eats at Home will be teaching at the GF & Allergen Free Cooking Expo, so if you’ll be there, make sure to look for her classes.  She’s got some pumpkin on the lineup as part of a souffle topping and she even has beef heart…I’m way too chicken for anything like that!

Amanda of Gluten-Free Detroit Metro is back to work, and that’s certainly a challenge while makings sure a (gluten-free) dinner is on the table.  She’s looking for inspiration for broccoli, spinach and green bean recipes.  Thoughts?

Angela of Angela’s kitchen always has the cutest menu icons, and she is indeed the pumpkin QUEEN!  I think the pumpkin streusel bars sound best to me.

Emily of Our Frugal Happy Life is grilling a lot this week, and it’s her hubby’s golden birthday, too.  Pretty neat!

©2012 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

My auction for a session/Celiac group class with me ends TODAY, Sept 12th at 9pm EST.  I lowered the cost because I hadn’t gotten bids, and no bids means no $ for Jennie, which is no good!  Please check it out!

Last week I posted my thoughts on Gluten-Free labeling and what I’d like from the FDA.  I’m sure you have your own thoughts and hope you share them with the FDA, too! Also,  we were lucky that Melinda Dennis of Beth Israel Deconess Celiac Center came to talk on nutrient deficiency on a GF diet this weekend.  It’s great to have such nice opportunities so nearby.

Um, whoops, actually it’s Claire of My Gluten Free Home. EEK!
Please help me extend a warm welcome to Amanda of Gluten Free Detroit Metro, who is hosting MPM for the first time.  Her ingredient is sweet potatoes.  I must confess that I like sweet potatoes, but my favorite 3 forms are sweet potato chips, fries and pies.  Not exactly the peak of nutrition!  It does remind me that it’s time to make  a sweet potato pie since I haven’t had one since last year.

And, of course, calling all hosts/hostesses…

Monday:
Lemony Chicken and Roasted Broccoli

Tues:
Sniffle stew

Weds:
Leftovers

Thurs:
Salmon w/herb salad

Friday:
I’m hoping Mr. Dude will take me to dinner….or grill. Either way, I am predicting a strong chance of laziness on my part.

©2012 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

I’m hosting this week’s menu plan with the theme of tomatoes.  Usually, by this time of year, my kitchen is overrun with tiny gems of various colors. Above is a picture from last year.

This year, tomatoes are the snack of choice of area deer.  I thought I would have a lovely picture (this is last year’s bounty), but nope!  I do have a few that I snagged before they did, though.

I hope you all had better luck holding on to your tomatoes than I did.

As a weekly re-cap, I posted one of my favorite recipes, Simply Yum Quinoa, which is a quick, easy, one pot meal.  Diane of the WHOLE Gang has a great auction for Jeannie (see her blog for the whole scoop).  And Carrie, the Ginger Lemon Girl has an e-book of her favorite recipes out!  Life is good.

Monday:
Chicken and celery in a chestnut sauce

Tues:
Salmon on a bed of greens with herbs

Weds:
Coconut collard curry (say that 10 times fast, I dare you!)

Thurs:
Sniffle stew

Friday:
Simply Yum Quinoa!

Renee of Beyond Rice and Tofu is a lucky woman. She’s got Green Zebras and Napa Grape Tomatoes in her garden! She’s been exploring new cookbooks and has a garden heavy quinoa recipe on the menu, too.

Let’s have a warm welcome for Gluten Free in Detroit! Amanda is a fan of menu planning for budget reasons. She doesn’t have tomatoes because of the wacky weather, but is hoping for the generosity of neighboring gardeners. She’s off to a BBQ tonight, which sounds like fun!

©2012 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

I SERIOUSLY need to more organized about shopping and  menu planning. This has never been hard in the past, but since we’ve moved, my whole schedule has shifted, along with my shopping schedule.  Of course, one freezer was emptied in the process, so I have much less to draw on. As a result, I often have been finding myself scrounging around, and this makes for much more stress. Not cool!

Summers are usually somewhat slow, but I’ve found myself running around entirely too often and not reviewing cookbooks or blogging as much.  I did post a mini rant,and promise a tastier review tomorrow.
Monday:
Marinated herby chicken with roasted broccoli

Tues:
Leftovers w/quiona and white beans

Weds:
Salmon on a bed of baby greens

Thurs:
Sniffle stew

Friday:
Leftovers!

©2012 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

I am delighted to announce that DVDs of the Celiac and Gluten Free Diet Videos will be available as of this week!   Just contact me. The DVDs are for support group leaders, the videos themselves are also on youtube.  As much as I have appreciated this project, it’s also extremely satisfying to have the hard part DONE. Life has been busier this summer than usual, and I definitely notice needing more time for myself.

And, of course, this is the last week of our July Self-Care retreat.  Yep, I do realize it’s August, but we were just having too much fun!  Last week was Shirley’s fantastic post on Family Friends and Pets, and I have my post here.  Iris of the Daily Dietribe is hosting on Self Care through Creativity this week and head over and check out her post!  Valerie and I will do a round up next week.

On to food!

Monday:
Plum good beef stew with roasted cauliflower

Tues:
Chicken and broccoli in a faux soy sauce

Weds:
Kalamata Hummus on a bed of baby greens with herbs

Thurs:
maybe fish? I would love Mahi Mahi but need to grab some!

Friday:
Leftovers

Please email me if you’d like to host next week!

Heather of Celiac Family is balancing different requests–the usual suspects for the kids, and new tastes for hubby. She even plans to make a green bean dish with peaches, and I hope to hear more! She’s also got peaches planned in an Indian Chicken dish.

©2012 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.