You you're a sugar addict when...

Yesterday, I was getting my Starbuck's and the barista described to the lady behind me what it was and was in it...I'm thinking "oh a little coffee and milk with syrup" No...it was vanilla syrup and 3 Tbs of Caramel and about 12 ounces of whole milk. Candybar in a cup for breakfast... "only people don't give you a nasty look when you're drinking it out of a cup instead of chewing on a wrapper"

Yes, that is what I said. We all laughed but as I was walking away, I thought, "that's kind of wrong..."

I've always known it was akin to a milkshake and didn't think much of it, especially since I don't get one often - once every couple weeks, as a treat.  But, it did set me to thinking about all the sugar I eat, again.

I've been thinking about sugar a lot the last few weeks.

Ok, so here's the scoop. I've never had problem skin, but recently I've found myself getting really bad breakouts.  So, I was thinking about the things that have changed to cause it. I'm using Clinique facial stuff now...that might be irritating, although unlikely since they pride themselves on being the skin gurus. And my cupboards are starting to see an increased amount of sugar. 

If you have heard of Kris Carr or Suzanne Somers, they will pretty much tell you sugar is the devil when it comes to our hormones (second only to artificial sweeteners and dyes) and can really wreak havoc on our health. But ooooh it tastes so good! and it gives a nice little high when you're feeling dumpy. And it's super duper addictive!!

And, here's my point. I've become addicted.

For the last week I've been meticulously tracking my food on Spark People and noticing trends...sugar. Mostly in drinks. 

This troubles me because there was a point in my life, about a year ago when I rarely had any sugar. Of course, I was addicted to Diet soft drinks instead.

But this week...every day I was having 2 cans of Pepsi Throwback (150 cal each), handfuls of mini marshmallows after lunch, rice Krispie treats for breakfast, 3 times I stopped at starbuck's for my Macchiato, and then came the quarts of grape Koolaid I love, and Bailey's on coffee cubes every night. Believe me, Bailey's has SUGAR!

The moral of the story? I'm coming up with a sugar reduction plan. I tried cold-turkey this morning but for 5 hours all I could think about was rice krispie treats and Bailey's and got kind of shaky and seriously mean. I did a little research and because of it's addictive nature, most people have severe withdrawal, akin to heroin withdrawals...so my best bet is probably a replace/reduce action plan.

If you have any experience or suggestion - PLEASE leave me a comment. Being gluten free and staying off the artificial sweeteners rules out a lot of the "usual" options like chewing gum and sugar free candies or filling up on whole grains for a slow carb energy spike. 

In case you're curious here are the nutrition facts on my Caramel treat, from Starbucks.com:

Caramel Macchiato

Freshly steamed milk with vanilla-flavored syrup, marked with espresso and finished with caramel sauce.

Short 8oz Tall 12oz Grande 16oz Venti 20oz  Nonfat milk Whole Milk 2% Milk Soy (United States) 

Nutrition Facts Per Serving (16 fl oz)

Calories 240	Calories from Fat 60
	% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7g	11%
Saturated Fat 3.5g	18%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 25mg	8%
Sodium 0mg	0%
Total Carbohydrate34g	12%
Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
Sugars 32g
Protein 10g
Vitamin A 10% Vitamin C 2% Calcium 35% Iron 0%
Caffeine 150mg**
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
**Each caffeine value is an approximate value.

Weekly Meal Plan - Thanksgiving version

You know that most of this week is going to be Thanksgiving leftovers...so I'm making them good!

I have had great success and accolades the last couple years making the maple roasted acorn squash from the gluten free goddess blog, so I'm not going to mess with a good thing!  http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2008/11/maple-roasted-acorn-squash-and.html

For the corn bread I like Bob's Red Mill Gluten free Corn Bread Mix. It makes a nice soft bread that isn't too crumbly, so it holds up well during the mixing.

The curry might sound a little crazy non-traditional for a Thanksgiving dinner, but trust me - it's delicious and no one will think anything of it except the aromatic spices bring out a nice contrast with the apples and cranberries. YUM!

Then there will be the usual staples:

Turkey - I plan to try my famous roast procurement method (http://cocoasglutenfreeplace.blogspot.com/2012/04/look-i-made-roastand-fab-gf-find.html).  Boar's Head has so many yummy sounding options- how will I choose?

http://boarshead.com/products/turkey

Baked potatoes - which can be mashed with milk/butter for the more traditional, then you have leftover baked potatoes for the rest of the week, which adds a little flair to the 3 day turkey sandwich scenario

Green Beans

Pie

Cranberry Sauce - homemade, of course. It's seriously faster and better than opening a can, unless you just crave the jellied kind (I understand!)

Salad

Raw Mushroom Gravy - to supplement whatever sauce I get from the Turkey. I adore Ani Phyo's recipe: http://aniphyo.com/blog/cauliflower-mash-mushroom-gravy/ No, it's not going to taste like meat but it's savory on potatoes and you'll love it, I promise!

Wild Rice

Random Sides as needed

Wine, Gin and Kool-Aid

For the beginning of the week there's Tuna Salad, Steak and Zucchini Parmesean.

What are you having for Thanksgiving?

Chipotle style barbacoa - in the crock pot

 So, I love Chipotle's burrito bowls...but I find it a HUGE pain to go there and try to convince the non-English speaking employees that they need to change their gloves and not fondle the tortillas before they fix my food so that they don't poison me. So, I thought maybe, just maybe, I could make it myself at home.

An in-depth Google search yielded several copycat recipes, all very similar, so I settled on this one:

http://www.food.com/recipe/chipotles-barbacoa-copycat-recipe-472445

I halved it since my roast (London Broil) was only about 2 pounds. Was it good? I'd give it about an 8 on a scale of 10 (high). Personally, I didn't like the strong clove taste- I would probably go for a couple sprinkles instead of spoons of it. Otherwise, it was spicy and went pretty well on rice.

I don't go all out for company ;0)

 I forgot to tent it with foil, so it go a little dry...

But, it took me exactly the time it took the oven to preheat to put this dinner for 6 together and only about 45 minutes to cook.

You guessed it - a Boar's Head roast Beef from the deli, I sliced it into thick pieces and then dumped a bag of frozen "Stew" vegetables in.  There are small potatoes, onions, celery and carrots in the mix.  It was really good!

DANGER PUDDING!!

 I made Danger Pudding...in the Crock Pot...so I'm not sure if you can call it Danger Pudding anymore.

But, have you heard of the Sweet Potato Queens' Book of love? If not - go get it. I have lots of books but none loved so much as that and Gone With the Wind.

So, there are recipes in this book full of everything you need to know. Not so many gluten free but, Danger Pudding is one of them!

Jill says to boil your can of sweetened condensed milk on the stove to make Danger Pudding...but it's dangerous. So much so, that the manufacturer puts a warning on the label...duh.

So, one dreary evening I was scouting Pinterest and found a recipe for making "Homemade Caramel" in the Crock Pot. I didn't repin it -sorry. 

Honestly, I kept thinking it cooked for 2 hours so I started it at 8 PM and then thought better to check the instructions again and after an hour of searching my Internet history found it and it said cook 8 HOURS, cool 2 hours in the fridge. It is apparently crucial to cool it. I cannot vouch for that personally as I haven't done much experimenting. But, guess who had to set her alarm clock for 4 am?

Was it worth it? 4 am wake up call? No.  But, start it in the morning and have it for dessert? Yes.

P.S. the water looks gross in the crock because the can rusted a little during the cooking. Weird, no?

Hot Chick salad aka a pound of spinach

So, I read this book and I would recommend it.  It got some mixed reviews - lots of haters out there. But the general philosophy is worth checking out. Plus, it's pretty funny and uplifting. Every single girl everywhere should read it.

And of course after a day of eating nothing but cookies, ice cream and Fritos, I had to have my pound of spinach with a ton of Parmesean cheese, Balsamic Vinegar and NO EVOO!! As prescribed in the book.

It was delicious.

So, you'll notice me incorporating more of their tips into my rotation. 

Like how to build a salad (chapter 2) and 10 things that are secretly magic (page 51).

Have you read this book? I know it's old...but sometimes old advice is good advice. Let me know what you think!

Do you use dehydrated chopped onions?

I got a container of dried chopped onions a while back for a recipe that I never even tried. Since then, I've been wondering what to do with them and then...

I was making a little salmon salad from canned salmon, mayo, salt and pepper and it needed something else.

So, I put in a bunch of the onions. It was great! Since they were still dry the distracted me from the fact that there were a few little bones in that salmons till (which I hear is good for you to eat - high calcium and all). The next day (of course there were leftovers!) the onions had soaked up some of the liquid and the flavor had melded so nice!

I'd highly recommend this little recipe - then let it sit in the fridge for a while before you serve.

Good stuff!

Don't forget to put a bunch of spinach in your sandwich too. Even better!

Look Ma! I made bread!

Welcome to installment 2 of Cocoa's slide show instructions :0)

Step 1. Put the ingredients in the bread machine pan.

Step 2. Put pan in machine - don't push down too hard or it will get permanently stuck and you will have to pry it out with tools - which is not the manufacturer's intent.

Step 3. Choose option 9, if you have my machine. It lives under the cupboard so I had to use a mirror to get some light on it for the picture.  

Step 4. Close the lid. Don't forget to press "Start"...yes, I went to check on it an hour later and was stupefied.

Step 5. Store in airtight container.

When I make this bread I remember how much I miss Macaroni's Grill bread, then I remember it's not the bread I missed from Macaroni's - it's the dipping and go drizzle some evoo and balsamic in a plate with a dash of S&P and I'm happy again.

  What do you miss?

"I fake it homemade and I'm proud" roast ala Chez Cocoa

$12.49/ pound. That is how much my roast cost. Then I put 

in in a pan and served it, see?

Ok, so maybe I cut it out of the wrapper first and let all the bloody juice puddle around it.

Kind of hard to imagine it's fully cooked and this is what the deli slices up for you, eh?

Slicing it up makes it "cook" faster.

Tenting it with foil helps the "gravy"

Good alone or smothered in BBQ sauce.  
Also featured instructions on how to procure said roast here: http://cocoasglutenfreeplace.blogspot.com/2012/04/look-i-made-roastand-fab-gf-find.html
Have a nice weekend!

What do you think of Rice Cereal?

 I keep a box of Cream of Rice cereal in the cupboard but I hardly ever cook it...I have mixed feelings that stem from the fact that if you try to make it in the microwave it will boil over, no matter how careful you are, plus...cooking! I don't dig cooking in the morning.

Weekends are different though. I can cook breakfast like a mad woman - mostly because breakfast on Saturday is always after 11:00 AM.

 I went nutty today and made 4 servings, in an attempt to have prepared breakfast for the next couple days. Since it's a nightmare in the micro I made it on the stove in the biggest pan I had, just in case it was prone to boiling over. It wasn't...because the directions are different...which I found out afterwards when I decided to read the instructions! Ha ha. Boil the water then add the rice...but it works if you do it all at once. Evidence:

Big pan, little blob of cereal, but 4 days of breakfast - so Yay!

It is surprisingly filling and I found that it really doesn't require as much syrup as say...grits or oatmeal, to taste sweet enough. Probably because rice itself is fairly sweet.

So, I'm on the fence about it. I kind of prefer my instant packet of grits for simplicity but there is just something nice about a soft bowl of warm goo in the morning.

What do you think?

Skinny Muffins & Fat Muffins

So... I'm on Pinterest. Heard of it? http://pinterest.com/dizzycocoa/ So many great things on there to try...

So I saw this picture for 1 minute skinny gf muffins that sounded simple and fun and I tried it (recipe here: http://heathereatsalmondbutter.com/2012/03/01/one-minute-flourless-muffin/). Mine ended up looking like this:

and did not taste good, but I can't say it tasted bad either. It didn't stick to the cup (as promised). It was definitely full of fiber though - I wouldn't recommend eating before something like a long car trip...

You can find the original recipe and various options here: http://www.thebellyfatcure.com/funnel_events/21708-jorges-skinny-muffin?pt=wKb9CpcscsF0YRVnFBnL&art=http://www.kajabi.com/admin/funnels/10159/

So, I think I'll stick to my 20 minute fat muffins:

 I use Pamela's baking and pancake mix and they are always delicious and never make me double over with stomach cramps.

Look! I made a roast...and a fab gf find!

Mmmmm...looks good right? I made it all by myself with a little help from Boar's Head and King Soopers.

 Now, you do have to put on your big girl panties and be brave if you're going to do it... but here's how you fake a homemade roast for your next dinner party:

Step 1: 

Go to the deli counter where they carry Boar's Head meats. Pick out the roast you want in the window based on how many people you're feeding and what seasonings you want. Go here to pre-shop, if you're so inclined: http://www.boarshead.com/digicatessen.php

Step 2: 

Tell the deli person that you'd like the whole roast "un-cut, un-opened". They will weigh it, as usual, and put the label on it with price etc. I chose the All Natural, Cap Off Roast Beef because it comes in a smaller chunk (around 3 pounds) and it's organic, cruelty free etc. I'm sure any other type of roast would be good too and they come in various seasonings.  The best thing is that Boar's Head brand are all gf so you don't have to grill the deli person on ingredients.

Anyway, I have done this a couple times and find that a man give you a tentative stare, smile, slap the sticker on it and wish you a nice day. A woman will ask you what you're planning to do with it. Be prepared to say "Eat it." and smile.

*Bonus* Getting it unopened will also protect you from any cross-contamination issues that run rampant in a deli.

Step 3:

Take it home, cut it into thick slices or chunks (like you'd do any roast), tent with foil and put it in the oven to heat. 400 degrees for 30 mins or so will do it. You could put it in the microwave but then you'll miss out on the drama of taking it out of the oven and the authentic roasting smell. :)

Step 4:

Once your guests are assembled around the table, take it out of the oven with great panache and serve with flair. 

While you're at the store also pick up a package of pre-washed veggies like greens (organic), grape tomatoes, sugar snap peas, baby carrots and toss together for a beautiful salad. I'd also recommend instant mashed potatoes with some sour cream stirred in and whatever other favorite sides you like.

So that's my secret to feeding a ton of people in 30 minutes or less without looking like you catered it.

In other news, I discovered a fab find. Gimball's candies! They are allergen free according to the website: http://www.gimbalscandy.com/allergen-free.html and so yummy!

Crock Pot Meat Balls

Once in a while I cook...a lot of food...all at once...and freeze it. This happened with beef soup and meatballs in the Crock Pot.

My store had a BOGO deal on Laura's ground beef so I took full advantage of it and so thankful for my giant crock pot so I could cook all 4 pounds at once, and probably could have fit another 4 in it too! So I chopped up about 2 large onions and a couple cloves of garlic...

 Got out my 4 pounds of meat...

Put on my gloves 

and my fancy cooking shoes (they get me up high enough to make mixing in the c.p. easier)...

 Put it in the crock and mixed it all up with some salt & pepper.  I was going for fairly plain here since I expect to use the leftovers as burgers, meat sauce, meat loaves etc.

Then I divided it in half again and again until I had 8 half pound balls - effectively 2 servings each...

Then I dumped in 3 cans of Contadina tomato sauce so the cooker would be full enough to work...

And after they were all done I put them in baggies in the freezer. I use baggies instead of my containers because of tomato sauce stains, and I'm going to reheat in glass anyway.

Nestled in with the containers of beef soup * I made the day before. That's like a month of dinners, right there! Woo Hoo!

So, do you do a big cooking day to stock the freezer? Any favorite recipes?

By the way, if you're curious, each 8 ounce meat ball is 8 WW points, including the sauce.

 *Beef soup recipe: 2 pound roast, small baggie of baby carrots, 2 onions quartered, 1 tsp each rosemary, thyme, salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, couple dashes of red pepper flakes and water to fill the Crock Pot. It was too simple to blog alone
:)

The most pathetic lunch ever?

Seriously, when I have 15 minutes for lunch...this is what I come up with. Amy's GF dairy free mac & cheese (cook time 6 mins) and a can of tuna, not drained with S&P (5 second pop-top).
What's your fastest lunch idea?

Spinach Artichoke Dip

This was possibly the least healthy thing I have had in...years.  Rightly so since it was basically annihilating my no dairy rule.  I was feeling brave, what can I say?

So, I got the recipe here: http://www.food.com/recipe/spinach-artichoke-dip-1209

It was part of my grand freezer-purge so, I defrosted the package of spinach in the microwave...

 Chopped up my can of artichoke hearts...

 Stirred in all the goopy ingredients in a casserole large enough to fit (2 quarts)...

 Put it in the oven (this picture is just to show off how clean it is)...

 And of course, something had to fall on the floor...

 When it was all done it looked like this...

 But I had to cook it longer because I'm at a high altitude and then it was done.  The End.

Don't try this if you have any dairy sensitivity at all, unless you like drinking Pepto Bismol 3 times a day, like I do. Ha ha.  Plus, it was bland but then again I've never really been a dip kind of girl.