Easy Hearty Soup with lots of fiber

When the weather turns cold and you are looking for something warm to eat, a great fall soup is an apricot lentil soup.  Years ago a friend and I decided to have a soup making night.  We found a bunch of different recipes and made several soups and it is the one I return to most often.  This is so easy to make and its a hearty soup.

Lentils cooking:

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup dried apricots

1 1/2 cups red lentils

5 cups chicken stock

3 roma (plum) tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped (optional)

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Saute onion, garlic, and apricots in olive oil. Add lentils and stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.
2. Stir in tomatoes (optional), and season with cumin, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Stir in lemon juice. Puree 1/2 of the soup in a blender, then return to the pot. Serve

The finished product:


*Recipe submitted by Karena on allrecipes.com

Gluten-Free Raisin Challah for Rosh Hashanah

The Mix




One big loaf and two little tasting loafs (raisin & plain)


Deliciousness:

In the Crockpot...

For dinner tonight, I put...

3 chicken leg quarters (defrosted)
2 onions sliced
2 cups chicken stock
1 apple sliced & diced
fresh sprigs of rosemary

...into the crockpot.  Set it on low for 8 hours.

Easy to make.  I expect it to be moist and flavorful.  Plan to serve it with a side of rice.

Hawaiian Bread

Last night I made a delicious gluten-free Hawaiian bread. Now it doesn't taste like the orange juice that was in there, but it is nice and soft on the inside with a crusty crust on the outside. Almost like a french bread.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for....

Every night we have a dessert of frozen yogurt. Our favorite being Edy's Slow Churned Frozen Yogurt



On our most recent grocery trip to Wegmans, we came home with an addition to our evening treat.

Cones!!!

From the Lets Do... brand line



Tasted just like I remembered...

Apple Peanut Butter Muffins

On Saturday we had plans for dinner with a friend. I wanted to bring a little treat for the friend to sample since he always asks me what I'm baking or cooking.

I whipped up something from one of my recipe books that seemed easy enough to throw together without using up too much of my day.

They are interesting, definitely a strong peanut butter flavor throughout. Probably will be a good high-fiber treat and another way for me to add some fruit into my diet.

Finger Food: Wings

Football season starts this week and with it comes all those finger foods. For a recent Redskins pre-season game watching experience, the hubby made gluten free wings! They were a little bit like fried chicken with enough spice to scare off the mild palate. Served with a side of cucumbers (in place of celery) and bbq sauce for dipping.

And voila!

GF French Toast

This morning my hubby treated me to some homemade gluten free french toast using the bread I made the other day. MMM. Seriously, i would like to find one person that could taste the difference between this and the full-of-gluten kind.

Celiac Disease in the News

An article in today's Washington Post about Celiac Disease helps raise awareness.  And it is followed up with a post  in their Health in the News blog.

I Can't Believe It's Gluten Free Pizza

I've made this pizza from scratch several times now, and it is SO good. I even made it for a bunch of friends (who aren't gluten free) and they loved it. Quote: "It doesn't even taste gluten free!"

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gooey...thin...deliciousness

Gluten Free in the News!

Israel and celiac disease

From ynet:

Gluten Free Beware the pasta! Photo: Dana Kopel

Raising awareness to Celiac disease in Israel Celiac disease is a digestive disorder that is gaining global attention as new research shows that it was previously under-diagnosed. On Celiac disease awareness month Tel Aviv restaurants will offer special discounted, gluten-free menus Stacey Maltin Celiac disease is an autoimmune digestive disease that destroys the villi of the small intestine when a sufferer ingests any form of gluten, which includes wheat, barley, and rye. It may not be swine flu, but the symptoms of Celiac disease can be varied and intense, and often take many months to correctly diagnose in suffering patients. Symptoms can include bloating, gas, severe diarrhea, headaches, skin rash, and poor weight gain, and can also lead to unexplained depression, infertility and attention deficit disorder. In a recent study conducted at the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, doctors found that previous statistics which suggested only 1:786 Israelis were Celiac sufferers was grossly incorrect and more realistically about 1:157 Israelis are affected by the disorder. This means that about 45,000 Israelis have celiac and may or may not know it. 2007: Celiac patients protest Osem's sweeping labeling of foods as potentially containing gluten (Photo: Eran Feldman) Celiac disease is often confused with irritable bowel syndrome, iron deficiency anemia, or intestinal infections. According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearing House, it can take years to correctly diagnose celiac disease as the culprit of a person's symptoms. To check for gluten intolerance, doctors can either perform a blood test for high levels of anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies or they can perform a biopsy of the small intestine. Keeping a 100% gluten free diet is the only way to treat Celiac disease. After going on the diet many people see their symptoms clear up immediately. Celiac in the IDF Beginning this year, celiac sufferers may be drafted into the IDF for mandatory service. Previously, Israelis who have celiac disease were not required to serve because of the difficulty of separating gluten free food from regular food. Some people with celiac disease are sensitive enough to gluten that if they eat French fries that were fried in the same pot as breaded chicken they can have an allergic reaction. A defense official from the IDF promised that celiac sufferers who serve on closed bases, will receive gluten free catering. Those who serve on open bases will receive a food allowance to buy gluten free food. Common foods that cannot be eaten include bread, pasta, cookies, most cakes, soy sauce, and beer. Gluten can also be found in many canned soups, pre-packaged rice mixes, and medicines, so it is always a good idea to check labels before eating. Gluten free in Israel May is celiac awareness month in Israel, making this a great month to be an Israeli celiac sufferer or a traveler with celiac disease. To raise awareness about celiac disease, many restaurants in Tel Aviv and across Israel will be offering gluten free menu options in addition to their regular menu. To find more information about eating out gluten free or buying gluten free products in Israel, www.celiac.org.il is very helpful. They have a list of restaurants that offer gluten free menus year round (though there are only a few) as well as the locations of health food stores called Beit Teva which sell gluten free items. The largest store in Israel for gluten free products is GlutenFree.co.il, an internet-based site in which every item is gluten free and kosher and can be shipped anywhere in Israel and abroad within days of ordering. The store itself is located in Petah Tikva and people can go and taste a variety of the items that they have on site and are also available for immediate purchase.

Do you know anyone with celiac disease?

The annual Celiac 5k Run/Walk is coming up!

1 in 133 Americans suffer from this autoimmune disorder (including yours truly). 
But there are many more people who are unaware that they suffer from it because it is multi-symptomatic.  To make matters worse, it is commonly misdiagnosed.

No, it is not an allergy.  If you have celiac, you must be on a gluten-free diet.  This means eliminating all forms of wheat, barley, or rye from your diet.  This is no fad diet here. Quick Start to a GF Diet [pdf]  And it ain't cheap either!

Currently there is no cure for celiac.  The race is to support research for Celiac Disease.

A few of the locations for the run/walk:
Baltimore, MD
Buffalo, NY
Dallas, TX
Minneapolis, MI
Rochester, NY
Sarasota, FL
Syracuse, NY
Tri-county Michigan

Think you might have celiac?  [pdf] 
Hint: Keep eating a regular diet, but talk to your GI about getting tested ASAP.