Oh Wow, it's bread!!!

In the ongoing quest to eliminate gluten from my life once and for all I find that sandwiches are what ALWAYS brings me back.  Bread and wheat gluten and I are like dysfunctional lovers. I know it's bad for me.  He's going to make me feel like garbage, but he's SO delicious I can't stay away... 

It's really pathetic.  

Unfortunately, in the years I've been trying to break up with gluten I've tried numerous recipes and methods claiming to replicate what I missed most.  Most we're too starchy and crumbly, and often made me feel just as bad as wheat without tasting nearly as yummy.  Others just tasted bad.  Not one recipe for bread or pizza dough lived up to the hype.

That is until now!  

Behold:  Psyllium Husk Powder!  Most people know of this lovely stuff because of it's high levels of insoluble fiber.  This is the stuff in a lot of over the counter fiber supplements.  It's a dieters dream as it keeps you regular, can make you feel full, AND now, it's magically helping GF breads to taste, well, bready!  

Last night I tried a recipe from the website: www.mariamindbodyhealth.com

It was for her "Amazing Sub Rolls".  She's not lying!  They take 10 minutes to mix up, they cook quick, and they taste awesome!  Made with either almond flour or Coconut flour they're high fiber, lower calorie and relatively high in protein.  They're ALSO Paleo and Whole 30 compliant.  

I served them with Paleo meatballs and a little Daiya dairy free cheese melted on top... Oh. My.... My meatball sub dreams were answered.  

So check out Maria's website and her other recipes too'. This one's a keeper!

(Just an FYI:  This was the WHOLE sub!  It serves 2-4)

Creamy Chicken Tomato Soup- 6 month anniversary!

Friday was Mr. Bean and my 6 month anniversary.  Neither of us could believe how quickly it had gone by.  I find that marriage is the one thing that all of us are lied to the most about in the grand scheme of life.  We're sold a bill of goods that love and marriage go hand in hand, that they're glorious, and lovely, and never messy.  Then you get married!  I know he would agree that the first three months after our honeymoon were the hardest of our relationship so far.  So, when Friday came, and we realized that the battles had seemingly disappeared as we settled into each other it really DID seem like a reason to celebrate!

My heart felt like it would explode that day!

I find so much comfort knowing he's in my life.  My happy place is a quiet morning drinking coffee with him, kisses when he leaves for work, and BIG hugs when he comes home.  I'm content, and that is something that I've looked for all my life.  He's my anchor.  He gives me purpose, and I love him and the life we're fighting to build everyday!

That's why we started the Whole 30 to begin with.  I'm determined to have him healthy for a really long time, because we got started late in this thing called married life!  Sadly, we haven't stuck to the Whole 30 for 30 days.  Still, it's not a loss.  I'd frame our progress, especially his, as a success.  We needed more discipline at home, and on the weekends, and he needed a much more healthy awareness of how to feed his body for health and wellness, instead of purely for sport.  In that we've been successful.  I've given up artificial sweeteners, and wheat.  I've cut out dairy, and starches, and I'm getting better at eating healthy fats.  He's reading labels, and has begun to think before he eats.  So, where are we in it?

For us, the Paleo Diet is about 80% of what we want to do when we're at home.  The 20% that's left allows me to eat my oats, and have a little wine on the weekends, while making me slow up a bit.  I couldn't run train like I need to for marathons and lifting with only fruit and fat to fuel me. I bonked all the time.  That 20% modification will give me some room to fuel properly.  It allows him to have a baguette on a Saturday with his eggs if that's what he wants or pasta instead of spaghetti squash.  After all, he's not the one with the wheat issue.  For me, it leaves me feeling foggy and hungover- no more, thanks very much!

This recipe is one that follows the Paleo Weekday, at home diet we are adopting.  It was absolutely delicious, and like my favorite recipes, easy!  Feel free to modify the veggies you include.

Creamy Chicken and Tomato Soup:
Serves 8

Ingredients:
14.5 oz Can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
14.5 oz can tomato Sauce
6 oz can, no sugar added tomato paste
14.5 oz can Coconut Milk
2 lbs boneless, chicken breast
1 Onion, sliced
1 Zucchini, sliced
1.5 cups baby carrots
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T Italian Seasoning
10 oz bag baby Spinach
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:
In your slow cooker arrange chicken.  Season with salt and Pepper.  Add tomatoes, sauce, paste and coconut milk.  Mix together well.  Add sliced onion, garlic, Carrot, Zucchini and Italian Seasoning.  Cook on the low setting for 8 hours (give or take)

After cooking, remove chicken breasts from the liquid, and shred well.  Place back in the stew with the bag of baby spinach, and cover until the spinach is wilted.  Taste for seasoning, and adjust salt and pepper as needed. *If you find it's too soupy, and you want to thicken it to a more "stew like" consistency add 1 T of coconut flour and combine well.  Allow it to do it's thing, and in 5 minutes it'll be perfectly thick.