Usefulness! Chicken Noodles with Peanut Sauce

I'm inspired to be somewhat useful here instead of my recent lamenting. So here comes my new favorite meal: a twist on a recipe in Danna Korn's Living Gluten-Free for Dummies, the perfect book for people like me :) I tried the recipe for Steak and Peanut Pepper Pasta and have since changed beef to chicken, used different pasta and veggies etc... the sauce is pretty much the same.

Chicken Noodles with Peanut Sauce

Chop chicken into bite size pieces. I used 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. That's what I had in the freezer.

Make sauce/marinade:

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
4 T. GF soy sauce
4 T. peanut butter (I used natural PB, the kind that is just ground up peanuts. Novel idea.)
2 T. fresh cilantro
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 t. crushed red pepper

Blend together until smooth (no need to chop if you're gonna throw it all in the blender anyway). Use part as a marinade if you have time. Save the rest for sauce.

Cook chicken. I believe saute would be the correct term, but I'm not sure. So I'll go with: stick it in a skillet on the stove, turn up heat, and stir occasionally until done.

Soften some rice noodles (Mai Fun), use your judgment as to how many. I'm bad at that part.

Add some thinly sliced/chopped veggies. I personally like broccoli, carrots, and cabbage. I cheated this time and bought broccoli slaw mix. It was really good.

Mix the above together. Eat. Yum.


This is a very out-of-the-ordinary recipe for me. I'm pretty traditional. Once I got over the fact that it was a pretty unique flavor, I fell in love with an easy recipe. It's made even easier if you make lots of sauce and freeze it.

Enjoy!

Renewing my vows...

I did it again. I ate food that other people, in their kindness, prepared with me in mind. Now I'm paying for it.

I am so tired of taking tiny risks and dealing with the huge consequences.

In response to this, I am renewing my vows to Gluten Freedom. I feel as though I need to define my commitment, though long-term, by setting some short-term goals. I post this for my own benefit... So for the next two weeks:

1. I will only eat food that I have made myself or have personally supervised its preparation by someone who understands cross-contamination. (Like my mom!)
   
2. If there is any question in my mind, I will err on the side of caution.
   
3. I will not take risks because "I already feel terrible- what more can it hurt?"
4. I will eat fresh fruits and vegetables.
   
5. I will cut out as many dairy products as possible, as I know that they particularly bother me post-glutening.
6. I will also avoid soy with the exception of tamari. I like soy, but it does not return the sentiment.
   
7. I will exercise despite my fatigue.
8. I will get as much sleep as possible.

Now, I just have a few hurdles to address for the above, the first being the conference I'll be attending next week. The people in charge have graciously offered me a meal card that would request gluten free meals. How much do I trust this? Am I willing to put my health into the hands of strangers? How difficult will it be to take all my own food and eat out of a hotel room for three days? Can I do a little bit of both? (like use my own food as a back-up in case I don't trust the food?) I see snack bars in my future...

To achieve #7, I need to go to bed. Good night.

Getting Glutened

What to do, what to do?!

You know that sinking feeling you get when you realize you just got glutened? It's terrible. I feel the effects of a mild glutening for weeks.

In the last almost 2 years since my celiac diagnosis, I have had a total of about 3 weeks where I have felt like my old self. Those weeks were amazing. I was a believer in the GF diet.

Unfortunately, I feel like I alternate getting glutened and getting sick. It seems like as soon as I start recovering from gluten, I come down with the latest fad virus. As soon as those symptoms go away, I'm back to being glutened. I wonder if they are related?

Maybe I'm willing to take more risks with food when I feel better?

I wish I knew of something constructive to do when I get that glutened feeling. I mostly just make sure I have plenty of coffee on hand to help me survive the next many mornings.

Easter is going to be interesting. I'm about a week post suspected glutening and 3 days post virus. I REALLY don't want to take any chances, but I'm not very good at telling people no-- especially when they have gone out of their way to (try to) meet my dietary needs.

Sorry for the downer post. I'm sure other sensitive celiacs can relate. I don't know how much more careful about being GF I can be unless I sit at home and constantly munch on fresh vegetables... Now there's an idea!