My Peeps...

I have a really funny "before" picture taken last summer of me walking my Aunt's dog on the beach. My sister says it looks like a papararzzi picture of when they are chasing the star for the 'fattie' picture. Yea...not posting that one. A few of you who did a diet challenge with Val last fall have seen it. If you join me I might just show you...or I might not.

Anyway, I love the above picture of me and two good friends Brenda and Elizabeth at Christmas but I want to loose some of those belly pounds that have packed on especially over this last year. I have a few BF's and these are the two I have known the longest. So, this is my 'before' picture. Anyone else want to share??

Went grocery shopping yesterday with menu made and list in hand. And when I got home I changed the menu! That is one thing I like about this diet- it is very adaptable to what I want to eat and what I have in the house. Good food!

PS...I have a secret desire to be a redhead which is why I surround myself with them.

Stepping on the Scale and Kid Tip

I already modified my menu on the fly yesterday and ended up making a variation on a theme for dinner. The salad had arugula mix with goat cheese, avocado, beets and a few pine nuts with lemon/EVOO dressing. I have a spiral slicer and as they say, you get what you pay for. Half way through making beet spirals, it bit the dust and I ended up making diced beets instead. When buying my slicer, I didn't really find a 'good one' on the market so if anyone has any ideas, toss them my way.

KID TIP: Roasted beets are so yummy when sprinkled with some EVOO and salt. Then roast them at 400F for 20 minutes or so. I buy the golden beets when I can find them and my son gobbles them up. They are not as strong as red beets and don't leave a nasty mess all over the kitchen. I 'sell' them as being similar to french fries.


Above is my mid-day snack. I found out though that smoked salmon is out of the picture. I had tried a small bite on Christmas but after eating them yesterday I started wheezing. Not a good way to start out a diet! Bummer..because I love smoked salmon. After while I'll probably try canned salmon to see if it was the 'smoke' or the salmon. This was even additive free! Oh well- still plenty of good stuff I can it!

Today I probably won't vary to much from yesterday since we are digging through the leftovers. I did however make some chocolate covered frozen bananas!!! Although I am sure making a daily meal out of them would not be advised, at the end of dinner, if I am still 100 calories away from 400, i can include those from time to time.

I did make myself step on the scale. If you want to join in on the fun, comment or email me and I'll tell you my starting point. I plan to post a 'before' picture tomorrow.

Flat Belly Diet...GFCF

OK...starting the Flat Belly Diet today. I don't have all the ingredients to do the 'official' 4 day start so I am just re-structuring my meals until I get to the grocery. The thing I love about this is that I eat this way already and it is very GFCF-able. Also, I think I can make a serving for four as indicated in may recipes, and Mark can eat three of them. Or I'll have an extra serving left over for lunch. It is a good way of eating.

I was able to take the general 'rules,' go into my fridge, and make breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. You can get the book, go to the website for the official rules but basically...

Eat 4 times a day
Eat every 4 hours
Eat 400 calories every meal
Eat a MUFA with every meal. (Monounsaturated Fatty Acid.)

Today's journey includes:

Breakfast:
2 Eggs fried in EVOO served with a toasted rice tortilla and bit of butter

Lunch
Gigantic arugula, pear and prosciutto salad with EVOO/lemon dressing

Snack
GF crackers with smoked salmon and avocado. Veggies and hummus

Dinner
Repeat of lunch. (I have oodles of leftovers. I don't plan to do repeats every day.)

I don't agree with 100% with the ideas in the book. They suggest buying cartons of egg whites. I eat whole foods as much as possible and think that the yolks have a ton of good ingredients. They use a fair amount of cheese and milk with meals for protein in the book. I have some goat cheeses that I eat from time to time. But I need protein for breakfast so I think I will be modifying even the 'quick start' which includes cereal and milk each say for breakfast. But there are oodles of meal and snack ideas that either 'fit' or are adaptable for me.

I'll provide pictures as I go along too. And I am giving myself a prize. After I loose X lbs, I plan to buy myself a Vitamix. I have wanted this for quite some time. And the pounds I need to loose are not a small number. I used to want to loose that 5 or 10... its more than that.

If you want to join up with me... post a comment. Could be fun!

Holiday Baking-Banana Bread

About a year ago Penny posted a wonderful 'template' for making GFCF quick breads. Today my holiday baking was 7 mini-loaves of banana bread! Here is the recipe I use, more or less, for a gigantic batch of batter.

Grease and flour (see note) 7 or 8 small loaf pans or two large pans.

Blend well the wet ingredients
1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
6 eggs
6 bananas

Mix together
1 package Trader Joe Gluten Free Pancake flour mix (minus the flour used to coat the pans.)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda

Add dry ingredients to wet.

Bake at 350 for approximately 40 minutes to an hour.


NOTES:

• I grease and flour the pans using the pancake mix. There is just the right amount to coat the pans and make the recipe in one 18 oz. package. Don't skip this step.
  
• I use Spectrum Organic All Veg Shortening. I tried 'buttery sticks' and much prefer the shortening.
• I have tried doing without eggs. They are 'ok' but if you can do eggs, I recommend that. Especially if you are going to give them away as gifts.
• I freeze bananas. Then when ready to use I partially thaw them in the microwave. The riper, the better.
• The loaves go from gooey to DONE very quickly. After 40minutes check frequently with a toothpick or knife.

The video below is for your stimming pleasure.