What I Ate Wednesday #61

 

Hello, and welcome to What I Ate Wednesday #61.  Thanks for stopping by.  Mid April makes me so happy.  Finally past taxes and the weather is getting better.  It was quite a busy week for me. I spent it spring cleaning and rearranging rooms.  You know, spring forward, out with the old and in with the new.  Meals were almost secondary to the changes I worked on this week. Being gluten free for the past five weeks has stifled my creativity in the kitchen.  People always think that being vegan is hard, but vegan is easy compared to gluten free!  If we were further into spring/summer, I think it would be easier because fresh fruit and veggies would be more abundant and easier to make simple meals.  But, alas, I did make it through another week. 

The fifth going on six week gluten free experience has resulted in, ZERO headaches and clear skin.  I have not had any miraculous weight loss and I still feel bloated sometimes, but my skin and occasional headaches seem to benefit the most.  Please bear in mind, I am not allergic to gluten or intolerant, I did this originally to support Andy in an elimination diet to see how gluten effects him, and also as a cleanse to see if and how it would effect me. Since I read it can take up to six weeks to notice a difference without gluten, I plan on sticking it out another week.  I do believe that I will implement a reduced gluten diet if I return to eating it at all.

Breakfast:

I am sharing two breakfasts.  The first is my attempt at gluten free strawberry pancakes.  I blended two types of protein powder with oats, coconut milk, a dash of arrow root and baking powder, and some fresh strawberries and lemon juice.

They were not fluffy or pancake-y, but they were tasty. They took forever to cook.  I tried to flip the first four too soon and ended up with one big blob.  The next four I waited longer and added a bit of coconut oil to the pan.  Although tasty, I recommend using a real recipe!  They did keep me full until lunch.

The other breakfast I enjoyed this week was gluten free bread toasted and smeared with a thick layer of avocado, then topped my tofu eggs with just a touch of Daiya cheese on top.

Lunch:

Corn tortillas have been a staple in my meals while being gluten free. This meal was tortillas toasted on stove, smashed avocado, hummus, black bean and corn salsa, shredded romaine, tomatoes, and onions. 

Two for 250 calories!  That leaves plenty of calories for an after dinner nutrient rich shake!

Dinner:

One dinner I ate twice this week was a bun-less veggie burger loaded with the works.

I also made a big pot of garden vegetable soup.  Tons of fresh veggies, beans, cabbage and tomatoes were the base of this soup.  It is quite filling and only 180 calories per bowl.  Which means a slice of avocado toast on the side is absolutely acceptable!

Since I did not subject Mya and Andy to the gluten free dinners, I will share one of their dinners as well.  While I had the soup, they had some vegan Mandarin chicken and broccoli over jasmine rice with some veggie eggrolls on the side.

Desserts were not on the menu this week, but much soul searching was. A friend of mine who is also a coach, De Yarrison, of Essential Shift, had a workshop I attended called “Life By Design”.  During the three hour workshop, my focus became clear. I know I need to complete my eBook and turn it into into a workshop as well.  I was able to finally get the title and cover art from my head onto my computer,  that was a huge break through for me.  For all of you locals on my list, when De gives this workshop again, I will be sure to let you know.

It put me right on track.  I came home, spent three days reorganizing my office and making myself a new writing space, and now, the ideas and writing has been an unstoppable flow. 

Thanks to De and all the lovely ladies I met at the workshop. I will be posting my book cover soon along with all the fun details! 

Thanks again for stopping by. I look forward to telling all more of the exciting details of the book each week! 

Have a great Wednesday!

XOXO