Menu Plan Monday April 25th–Borrowing Inspiration

Posted on April 24, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

Hope everyone had a happy Passover/Easter/quiet weekend.  And calling all hosts/hostesses!

Chez Harris is a bit of a busy place with DH and I both showing/selling our house and visiting potential houses nearby.  Fingers crossed that everything works out beautifully for all those involved, and that our resident feline brigade handle the interruptions with grace.

Last week, I posted my Choco-Raspberry Yummies as part of April in the Raw.  Though they’re not the most attractive, they make up for it in tastiness and wholesomeness.  I’ve been making cookies from our freezer stash for our house visitors, made a mint version of my Chocolate Chestnut Fudge and will be making Chocolate Banana Bread as muffins…and I made Ricki’s Maple Flax cookies, too, with quinoa flakes. Delish!

This week’s theme is on borrowing inspiration, because I know I’m guilty of doing my own thing, rather than branching out, and I’ve read more than a few blog posts about drifting into boring menu plans.  This week, I’m super inspired by Alta’s Simple Quinoa Pizza Crust and I’m very eager to give it a roll!  Love to hear about the bloggers or books that are inspiring you these days, too.

I’m also teaching on Reducing Inflammation at the Kaplan Center this Saturday April 30th.  I think the class is full, though.

Monday:
Coconut Curry with Collards

Tues:
Alta’s Pizza crust (topping TBD)

Weds:
Roasted rosemary chicken w/roasted veggies

Thurs:
Mahi mahi with steamed broccoli

Friday:
leftovers…

And everyone else?

Wendy of Celiacs in the House was intrigued by Alta’s pizza recipe, too. She also mentions a white bean and tuna salad that sounds amazing! Like many bloggers, she’s off to the GF and Allergen Expo, and I’m sure we’ll hear more shortly.
Angela of Angela’s Kitchen will be a the GF and Allergen expo, and she’s all for getting inspired!  Her honey kabobs sound tasty, as do the Sausage and Peppers from Carol of Simply Gluten-free.

Renee of Beyond Rice and Tofu is catching up on life this week, and so she wants to stick to the basics.  She’s got a great black bean chili on the lineup, and will be looking at pressure cooker recipes.  Hey, speaking of which, Wendy had a great pressure cooker article a few weeks ago…

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April in the Raw–Cocoa Raspberry Yummies

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

Okay, they’re not the prettiest, but they ARE tasty!
The gang from Detox January had so much fun that Brittany of Real Sustenance and others suggested April in the Raw. And here we are!  Each day, another blogger is posting their raw recipes, and there’s a link up to post yours, too.

Part of the reason I was intrigued by the event is that I tend to eat more cooked than raw fruits and veggies–what can I say, I have a sensitive tummy, although I adore raw foods (especially raw fruits!).  You can’t beat the flavor of raw fruits and veggies.  It’s important to me to explore the range of ways of eating, and this gave me the opportunity to step outside of my typical raw salads/fruits/veggies/nuts/seeds to a broader range.

Some of my favorite raw recipes:

Garlic scape pesto (my garlic are almost there!) w/raw nuts
Salsa-mole
Summer Rolls
Bliss Dip (use raw nut butter)
Summer lovin’ salad
Cocoa Carob Sweeties from Diet Dessert and Dogs
and I am itching to make this one from Gluten Free Cat, too: Double Cocoa Cranberry Drops

It was easy to figure out what to make.  I still have raspberries in the freezer from my garden last year, and the new ones are starting to bud, so it’s time to get on with it!  I tend to hoard my garden stash because, ya know, it’s a long winter and my inner squirrel emerges.

But I digress.  These have a yummy, wholesome, very filling feel to them–the way you feel when you eat ‘real food’, vs how you feel when you’re taking in too much sugar (of whatever sort) for your body.  And Senor picky (AKA husband) liked them, although I feared they weren’t sweet enough for his taste.

Raw Choco Rasp Yummies

¼ cup raw cocoa powder
¼ cup raspberries
½ cup soaked/well drained hazelnuts
¼ tsp stevia concentrate/10 liquid drops

1 Tablespoon raw agave or honey

Soak hazelnuts 4-6 hours and drain really, really well. Put in a food processor with all the ingredients except liquid sweetener. Blend for 3-4 minutes. Add in liquid sweetener and it will come together easily! Roll into small balls and refrigerate, or just pop into your mouth.

Do check out the rest of the April in the Raw lineup, and a big thank you for Brittany for the inspiration for this fun event.

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Menu Plan Monday: Sugar-Free Delights

Posted on April 17, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

Last week was a busy one. I taught a parent’s class, had an interview on Let’s Talk Live on gluten intolerance (I hope the link will be up soon!), our house went on the market and am working on the final edits for the Celiac Disease video project. All fun stuff, but boy am I tired! I am looking forward to a little breather and even hosting April in the Raw this Friday. I am also hoping to review Ricki’s new book “Good Mornings”. The Walnut Cacao Nib Butter has been calling my name!

And Ricki’s recipes fit in perfectly with this week’s theme: sugar-free delights! Especially with the normally sugar-laden Easter and Passover desserts, I’m hoping to remind myself of the yummy indulgences that I can still have and enjoy. Even though, BTW, Gluten free Faces has published a list of Easter candy.

The plan this week is to semi-celebrate Passover, but I’m still not 100% which night we’ll have time. I’m planning to make charoset, some MYO matza, baked chicken, roasted cauli. We shall see…and I do have many recipes here if you still need inspiration.

As for sugar-free recipes, I think all of mine are refined sugar free, so that makes it pretty easy, doesn’t it! And I will be posting raw chocolate raspberry balls Friday, too, which are also sugar-free.

And just because often times things get a little scrambled: I avoid cane sugar and have for the past 4-5 years because it gives me fibromyalgia-type symptoms, and that’s not worth it to me.  I do still eat stevia, honey, agave, maple and coconut sugar, which are sugars, too. People overall eat way too much sugar and cutting down makes sense, but I’d hate to unintentionally give the idea that most people need to remove all added sugars from their diet. (not so!)  I’m very pro-happy medium, and adjusting your diet to your body and your needs.

Also, after my post on “Me first & Self Care” I heard some interest in a blog carnival on self-care and am thinking conspiring with Valerie and others to put together something fun. If that sounds good to you, drop me a line!

Weekly plan:
Monday:
Nightshade stew with fennel, using the last of the frozen tomatoes from my garden

Tues:
Roasted salmon with baby greens and asparagus

Weds:
Passover dinner

Thursday:
Coconut Collard Curry

Friday:
leftovers, I hope!

Baked goods/fun stuff:
Walnut Cacao Nib Butter from Good mornings
Raw chocolate raspberry balls, to be posted Friday

I am trying to do less in the kitchen because of the pressure to have a super neat kitchen ’till we sell our house!

And if you’d like to host, please email me!

Scrumptious of In my CSA box has a GF Vegan menu and a great resource to share, too–the new XGFX blog hub, which is a gluten free vegan site with all sorts of neat features, so check it out.  As usual, she’s got a variety of wonderful dishes and yet my attention (of course!) drifts to her talk of a raw chocolate mint chocolate chip milkshake….wow.

Renee, of Beyond Rice and Tofu has a great post on her style of menu planning. She runs through her common foods and also her ways of planning.  The planning style was quite a bit like mine–scribbles on the back of used envelopes.  She has spicy ginger noodles on the menu, and they look fantastic!

Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl has a pantry based week.  She has a white bean tomato pasta dish on the line up for today that looks fantastic, and I’m looking forward to her posting the recipe later this week.

Wendy of Celiacs in the House has been one busy chica with a review of gobs of cookbooks and new posts on her Mother Earth News blog, too.  I’m quite honored that’s she’s included one of my favorites, Quinoa Italiana on the lineup too.

Heather of Celiac Family has a jam packed week between her daughter’s birthday, her parents visiting and Easter.  She always has gorgeous craft projects for holidays, so I can’t wait to see what she whips up this year.  Her banana coffee cake looks perfect, and you’d never guess she cut back on the sugar.

Angela of Angela’s Kitchen has a great lineup for Easter.  She’s got a luscious picture of her hot cross buns and a great post on natural sweeteners, too.  But the picture of her little one with huge bunny ears a few years bake takes the cake!

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Menu Plan Monday: Greens

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

Happy Monday!

What a crazy week of scrambling and busyness it’s been.  I spoke to the VA Dietetics Association Annual Meeting on eating a healthy gluten-free diet on Monday, which was just lovely.  I posted an adoption of Elana’s wonderful recipes, and I also posted on self-care and putting “me first”.  I also posted an April roundup of gluten-free news.

And we cleaned.  And scurried around.  And I made chocolate banana bread…mmm….The date our house is on sale was pushed back a week to this Thurs (wanna buy a house?).  So I will have to be very mindful about the amount  of kitchen “mess” I generate this week & in the future.

As you can see above, some of my kale from last year is still alive and well. (yes, this is real time! I took it this AM from my window, and you can see both the garlic shoots and kale) This fits in perfectly with Angela’s theme of greens! It seems like Angela has an adorable new badge, too! If you’d like to host the menu swap, please email me.

Monday:
Kalamata chicken w/garlic and rosemary roasted cauliflower

Tues:
Hummus on a bed of greens

Weds:
Mahi w/Kale Pesto (or maybe quinoa? dunno)
(Wendy did a gorgeous review in her adoption)

Thursday:
Nightshade stew, hopefully with fennel

Friday:
Leftovers

Baked goods:
I just don’t know. We’ll see. I’m overwhelmed at this point.

BTW, was chatting with Valerie about self-care. Is anyone interested in a blog carnival on it in May? Let me know in the comments.

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“Me first” movement

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

The Me MovementI stumbled upon Rebecca Scritchfield’s Nurture Principles and I was delighted at from first glance! Rebecca is a fellow RD and I haven’t had the pleasure to meet her in person (yet) but this philosophy meshes so well with mine that I was inspired to mention it.

No matter what we are doing, I rarely meet someone who doesn’t feel they should be doing more (especially women)  And one of my favorite quotes is a Buddhist saying, “You can search the world over and will never find anyone more deserving of your love than yourself”.

It’s shown up in different ways at different times in my life: Running on injuries and making them worse.  Eating disorders in high school. Doing a double degree program in grad school (& working part time).  Pushing myself through many years of illness and not reaching out for help when I needed it.  Not only didn’t I get the love and support I needed, but I deprived my friends of the opportunity to be there for me, too.  At this point I consider myself a recovering Type A.  I understand my actions, and yet, wish I could have had the wisdom to be kinder and gentler to myself and put “me first” more often.  I also struggle with step 2 of “me first”, which is not feeling guilty about step 1.

I’ve made “me first” a priority.  And certainly chronic pain and fatigue ‘helps’ because I have an immediate, palpable reminder from my body of what it needs, and what it doesn’t.  I meditate almost every day, and host a mediation group, too.  I eat good food and thoroughly enjoy my indulgences.  As you well know, I plan our meals weekly, which greatly reduces my stress.  Especially in the summer-ish months, I’m outside enjoying nature every day.  I have a job I adore and am working on the ability to say “no”.

And yet it’s still an every day practice.  I have even more need to put my well being first, especially as we get ready to move and there is much more chaos at home.  So I’m hoping the badge will help remind me of what is most important.  Some people view self-care as extravagant or self-indulgent, but IMHO, that couldn’t be further than the truth.  Children learn their self worth through how they are treated, but also the way we treat ourselves.  And I know I function better and am a better human being when I take good care of myself.  I can’t do anywhere near as much to help the people I love take better care of themselves (or my clients) unless I first take care of myself, and treat myself with kindness and gentleness.

Now, it’s time for bed.

Peace, love and broccoli,

Cheryl

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Everything Elana–Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

I am just under the line with this adoption of Elana, from Elana’s Pantry.  I just did a presentation on a Healthy Gluten-Free diet for the VA Dietetics Annual Meeting a few hours ago and so I’ve been behind on…let’s see.  Everything.  As a sidenote, how lovely to see over 120 of my fellow RDs interested in learning more about how to eat wonderfully on a gluten-free diet!

I’ve long enjoyed Elana’s recipes and philosophy and I’m glad to have the opportunity to adopt Elana for Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger, as hosted by Sea at Book of Yum. And for other slowpokes like me, they need to be posted by tomorrow <ahem!>

Of course, the idea is to adopt A recipe.  And yet, as I looked through Elana’s recipe index, the overachiever in me stepped up.  It seemed like an awesome opportunity to explore.  So I made the Perfect Chicken, the Roasted Asparagus, Elana’s Chocolate Cake from her book, Pear Crisp from the Almond Flour cookbook, Coconut flour chocolate cupcakes, the Irish Soda Bread (lovely, but in my rush out the door I forgot to take a pic!).  In the past I’ve made the Banana Cream Pie Muffins with one of my chocolate frostings.

The rundown: all were delicious.  Well, that was a simple roundup, right?  I’ve found that I appreciate Elana’s recipes because almond flour is so much easier than mixing 5 flours, and most of the recipes are quick and easy to make, and much more nutritious, to boot.  Almond flour goods are also much moister, and really have much broader appeal to a wider audience.  I also really appreciated that she has so many “real food” recipes, from dips to desserts to breads to crackers to…well, pretty much anything.

So obviously I have a few copies of and enjoy the Almond Flour Cookbook. I’ve also pre-ordered her newest Gluten Free Cupcakes book online.  Because seriously, Elana+cupcakes=yum.  Very simple.  It’s out April 26th, BTW.

Last but not least, part of the reason I’m so enamored with Elana is the person she is.  Like many Celiacs, she’s been open about having some medical issues.  And like many Celiacs, she’s taken those challenges and turned them into a beautiful way to share and give back to this community, and to fully engage regardless.  It’s certainly something I can relate to with my own challenges, and it’s always a joy to see others flourish and make unplanned cards a winning hand.  I believe we help ourselves and inspire others by living our best.

Please see Book of Yum for her Adoption Roundup, which is always a gorgeous food fest!

Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Comments

Gluten-Free on A Shoestring

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

I was offered the opportunity to review the book, “Gluten-free on a Shoestring”, and of course I jumped at it.  It’s by Nicole Hunn, the author of the GF on a Shoestring blog.  It’s always fun to try out new recipes!  And the recipes were truly excellent. I would particularly recommend this for someone from NY, or someone who loves NY style baked goods.

Lots of different things about this book.  For starters, it wasn’t what I expected (not bad, mind you, different).  I assumed since it was focusing on the thrifty aspect of the diet, it would be looking at naturally gluten-free recipes.  Instead, it’s a case for MYO versions of the most delicious gf foods, that either you can’t buy, or are incredibly expensive.  Think Black and White cookies, pizza, pie crust, etc.  There are also great tips in the beginning about coupons, buying in season, buying in bulk, etc.

I made quite a few recipes: the sweet pie crust, spoonbread, and chocolate chip cookies.  They were all delicious.

Pie crust: This crust rolled out like a dream and was very easy to work with, which I appreciated.  It also received the highest of high praise from my sweetie.  Every couple of years, he’ll taste something, say he likes it, and then later say something about me making food that has gluten (as I stare blankly at him).  Somehow he thought the pie crust was “the real deal”.  And, of course, I feel the need to tease him for suggesting something so silly–there has been no wheat flour in the house for 6+ years, you’d think this might have caught his attention by now.   I made the crust and filled it with my Chocolate Raspberry Love pie–talk about a match made in heaven!

Spoon bread: (see above) easy, naturally gluten-free, delicious. My only comment is that the size pan it calls for is way off.  The recipe says a 6 inch cassarole dish, and I filled one, then an additional 4″ dish, and both were overflowing with yum.  Just one 6″ dish would have caused a world of mess in my oven.

Choc Chip Cookies–in a lot of ways, this is the benchmark against which recipes are measured. DH liked them, but not as much as our usual recipe from GLG. However, the fingers stealing the cookie was not scripted–their lack of utter perfection did not keep him from inhaling copious quantities of said cookies.  We’ve frozen the rest to bake off later, and so I’ll have to post on those, too.

So overall, great book with solid recipes.  Love the faux matza ball soup recipe and I am eager to make that, too!

My main criticism is that almost all recipes used dairy and no substitutions were given, which is a bummer since so many Celiacs are lactose intolerant/dairy allergic and subs don’t always work.

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Menu Plan Monday: Celebration

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

What a busy week!  We are still in the final stages of getting our house ready to sell, so there has been a lot of additional scurrying.  Soon it’ll just  be a matter of keeping the house clean, which is challenging for someone like me, especially when I’m on a baking kick.

And boy was there a baking kick.  Spoonbread, pie crust (w/my choc rasp pie), choc chip cookies from Gluten Free on a Shoestring, which I’ll review later this week, Elana’s Perfect chicken (leftovers are becoming soup as I type) and Roast Asparagus.  And cinnamon almonds and a failed pizza which I’m doing my best to forget.

I did post on Celebrations, and there are a lot going on!  My blog celebration (if you haven’t visited, please do!), a big ‘ole cake from Jules for 1 in 133, and Angela, our kind hostess is celebrating her 10 year gluten-free celebration.  WOW!

I also am working on both the Celiac disease video project videos and a presentation for the Virginia Dietetics Association on Gluten free and healthy…what fun!

And onto food:

Monday:
Homemade chicken soup

Tues:
Coconut curry with roasted cauliflower

Weds:
Quiona Italiana

Thurs
Hummus and greens

Friday:
leftovers!

Baked good:
the biggest treat I could have is time off. So hopefully I’ll refrain from baking and chill out. We shall see…

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Time to Celebrate!

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

Cheryl’s note: It seems like for whatever reason, people were getting an error message for this page…not sure why, but hope it works now!

I was looking through my 2 websites, www.gfgoodness.com and www.harriswholehealth.com and realized that I’m about 100 shy of 300,000 page views in the past 2.5 years.  Holy (gluten-free) cannolli I was stunned!  Both sites started from a desire to share my love for good food and a passion for knowledge, and yet it’s become so much more. I’ve been touched by the people I’ve met through blogging and the little notes of appreciation I get for my monthly newsletters through HWH.  It’s truly been my pleasure, and an honor, to have had an opportunity to have this chat with so many of you and learn from so many of you.  So thank you to all of you for making this such a fun and rewarding experience.

And what’s a celebration without food?  Here are a few of my very favorites from the past few years:

To celebrate, the plan was to give away a gift certificate for somewhere yummy.  But especially given what’s going on around the world and in Japan, I just can’t get my heart into it.  So instead, I decided to go the unconventional route.  I’ll be making a ($.25) Red Cross donation for each comment between now and April 2nd and I figure that’s a reason to celebrate all around.

So the ways to enter:

  1. Tell me your favorite recipe or page on Gluten-Free Goodness or Harris Whole Health, in the comments section.
  2. Follow me on twitter @cherylharrisrd and leave me a comment telling me you did.
  3. Sign up for newsletters at Harris Whole Health and leave me a comment letting me know.
  4. Twitter about this celebration/donation!
  5. Post on something or someone who you want to celebrate, and leave me a comment.

And even better, Angela of Angela’s Kitchen has chosen Celebrations as the theme for Menu Plan Monday for March 28th.

Hugs,

Cheryl

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Menu Plan Monday–Noodles

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

I’m so delighted that Wendy of Celiacs in the House choose noodles, because I haven’t eaten noodles in forever.  Like 4 years forever.  Most carbs bother my stomach, but I decided to give buckwheat noodles (soba) a second try since I was making them for a class for DC Celiacs.  And YUM!!!!

But back to Wendy.  She’s got her very own new blog at Mother Earth News, and I’m very excited to see it!  She’s reviewed Amy’s book, so head on over and send BOTH lovely ladies some love.

I had a busy but fun week last week.  I made Irish Soda Bread from Elana, which worked well, spoonbread from GF on a Shoestring, which I need to review, and Cinnamon Apple Millet, which was terrific. And I also had the honor to appear in a Washingtonian article on Celiac/gluten free last Monday, which was a delight.

This week will be a simple one food-wise.  My husband is out of town, and the house is a total mess as we get it ready to sell.  As a dietitian and coach, I always tell people to tell other people their goals. My goal for this week is to have a clean house.  I will spend at least 2 hours cleaning today and Weds, and be very mindful of the amount of mess I make.  And it would delight me to come home to a clean house.  And for me to get my tush to the pool on Friday, too.

Onward to food!

Monday:
Soba leftovers (much sexier than this sounds…think yummy Malaysian curry…mmm)

Tues:
Braised turkey with celery, onions and carrots

Weds:
Garlicky Quinoa with Sauteed Arugala

Thurs:
Sniffle Stew

Friday:
Leftoevers

Baked yum:
something from GF on a Shoestring, and ideally, something from Amy’s book, too.

Posted in menu plan | 6 Comments