Easy Ideas for How to Eat Grain-Free

Over the last two years I have transitioned from a pretty normal Western diet to eating grain-free. I discovered that my body functions better without grains. I did some two week elimination tests in order to come to this conclusion. For me, avoiding wheat is the most important, but I also don't eat oats, barley, rice, and corn. From time to time I eat a bit of rice or corn because they affect me the least.

Many people seem to be coming to the same conclusion as me. If this is you, or you are curious, here are some hints.

Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan [book review]

Our May book for the Kitchen Reader was Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan. It's hilarious. Here's a sampling of the delights.

Cheese and Gratitude

"There's an old Weight Watchers saying, 'Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.' I for one can think of a thousand things that taste better than thin feels. Many of them are two-word phrases that end with cheese (Cheddar cheese, blue cheese, grilled cheese)."

"In America we have gone way beyond sustenance. Eating is an activity. 'Why don't we get lunch, and then we'll grab some pizza.' Most Americans eat constantly. And when we're not eating, we're chewing gum. We are literally practicing eating. We chew gum with a swagger and purpose that says, 'Yeah, I got a big meal coming up. I'm training for Thanksgiving.'"

"My wife likes to pause before the meals with our [five] kids and say grace. While I think this is a great opportunity for our children to learn to appreciate the gifts God has given them, I view grace as kind of 'On your mark, get set...' and the 'Amen' and the 'Go!'. I am pretty sure that's the way God intended it."

Weekend Links #35

Weekend Links is a way of sharing all the engrossing things I see around the internet. I publish Weekend Links approximately every two weeks. As usual, I welcome your ideas and feedback.

food reading links:
--About food advertising and branding partnerships that target children (from Adventures in Local Food). Did you know that McDonald's recently had a computer game that to play you needed codes from Happy Meals? And it increased McDonald's overall American sales by 18%?
--"Are there really foods that we don’t like, or just foods that we haven’t liked yet?" A piece from the New York Times about coming to like foods you previously hated.

recipe links:
--Creamy and cheesy Brussels sprouts and shallot dip--an adaption of the classic spinach and artichoke pairing (from Minimalist Baker). A much improved adaption, in my mind.
--Noodles made from peelings of celeriac (from Mark's Daily Apple).
--Roasted cauliflower and parsnip hummus (from Summer Tomato). It's bean-free but includes miso and tahini.
--A grilled cheese sandwich, made with banana bread, brie, and chocolate squares (How Sweet It Is). Wowzers.
--I just leaned that it's cleaner (for your kitchen) to fry bacon with a little bit of water (from The Kitchn).

Weekend Links #33

Weekend Links is a way of sharing all the engrossing things I see around the internet. I publish Weekend Links approximately every two weeks. As usual, I welcome your ideas and feedback.

food reading links:
--Looking back on Elizabeth David's legacy (from the Observer Food Monthly). She has been described as the UK's "first lady of food" thanks to her 1950s cookbooks lauding fresh, mediterranean ingredients.
--Eating healthfully is easier when you have a bigger reason to do it than for yourself. Enter a Christian reason to serve God with your diet (from The Atlantic). The article also compares the church to Weight Watchers.
--The comments in this short article from The Kitchn elaborate on what "clean as you go" really means for a messy cook.

image source: My New Roots

Christmas Baking Dilemma

I stalled for a long time deciding what to make for my edible gifts this Christmas. The truth is I have a dilemma. I think the gift should be something sweet, but I no longer eat a lot of sweet things and have learned to like less sweet treats. In addition, I have almost completely given up grains over the last year.

Grain-free and low sugar desserts (like grain-free honey cakes) are expensive to make. And, let's be honest, they usually do taste a little bit different than the normal versions. They taste great to me -- but I know that my tastebuds have become accustomed and happy with a less intense sweet.

Weekend Links #32

Weekend Links is a way of sharing all the engrossing things I see around the internet. I publish Weekend Links approximately every two weeks. As usual, I welcome your ideas and feedback.

food reading links:
--How many times should you try a food before deciding you don't like it? At least once, argues Jay Rayner in The Observer Food Monthly. And in the case of tripe, many more times. (I have not tried it so I can't comment.)
--A detailed (but readable) analysis of 23 studies comparing low fat and low carbohydrate diets (from Authority Nutrition).
--"Don't bother going out to eat all the time"... and you will enjoy it more (from Casual Kitchen). The same goes for eating chocolate.

Weekend Links #31

Weekend Links is a way of sharing all the engrossing things I see around the internet. I publish Weekend Links approximately every two weeks. As usual, I welcome your ideas and feedback.

food reading links:
--How poetry can help you become a better food writer. Fascinating (from Monica Bhide).

recipe links:
--Burger buns made from spiralized sweet potatoes and eggs, formed in ramekins (a guest post on Paleo OMG from Inspiralized).
--How to use up a half cup or so of pumpkin puree (from Kitchen Stewardship). What a great problem to have!
--These espresso martinis sound killer - in a good way, of course (from A Beautiful Mess).
--Easy preserving if you have too many radishes (from Adventures in Local Food). Huh, has this ever happened to you?
--How to make a simple steamed bok choy salad (from A Veggie Venture). A simple entry to Asian greens if you are new to them.
--Simple and delicious pumpkin roasted with rosemary and onions (from BakingNCooking). This is just the kind of simple dish that makes cooking worthwhile.

Cucumber Salad with Cumin Vinaigrette

All last school year, every Monday I went to a group personal training session. A trainer came to work and a small group of us pushed ourselves through a punishing number of of press ups, burpees, TRX rows, and the like. I did this every Monday. Every Monday, that is, except one.

Weekend Links #30

Weekend Links is a way of sharing all the engrossing things I see around the internet. I publish Weekend Links approximately every two weeks. As usual, I welcome your ideas and feedback.

food reading links:
--Liking healthy foods is a choice, argues Zen Habits.
--In defense of posting pictures of your food on social media (from Inside Scoop SF). We do it because it's fun and it's what we actually like.

recipe links:
--I've decided that Sunday should become my roast chicken day. I was inspired by Nourished Kitchen.
--Ginger cilantro slaw sounds like a perfect summer crunchy dish (from Cave Girl Eats).
--When I last made muhammara (a roasted red pepper dip) it included a ground up pita bread. Now that I don't eat (much) wheat, I want to try this version from Paleo Non Paleo.
--An iced coffee frappucino recipe (from Healthy Green Kitchen, pictured above).

Weekend Links #29

Weekend Links is a way of sharing all the engrossing things I see around the internet. I publish Weekend Links approximately every two weeks. As usual, I welcome your ideas and feedback.

food reading links:
--A review of an article from The New England Journal of Medicine about seven myths of weight loss (from Weighty Matters). Number one myth: "Small sustained changes in energy intake or expenditure will produce large, long-term weight changes." Big changes are needed to turn your health around.
--On the other hand, here's an article about how recognising and celebrating small food wins can lead you to bigger ones (from Mark's Daily Apple).
--A blogger talks about oil pulling as a technique for oral health and overall health (from Kitchen Stewardship).

2013 Health Goals: Quarter One Check-Up

I'm using a little red diary to track my health goals this year. I've been food journalling and recording my exercise. Each day I use checkmarks to see if I've been successful with four goals:

• exercise each day
• eat no sugar
• eat no wheat
• eat no grains

Now that the first three months (one quarter!) of the year are past, I thought I should check and see how I am doing with each of these goals.

Exercise every day.
December was a bad month for exercise as I had a knee injury - as a result my marathon plans for January were scuppered. Then I had foot surgery on 9 February, and for two weeks after that I couldn't walk, let alone exercise. I had a pretty large scar that was healing and I only exercised two times (in quarter 1) since then. I went for my first run since then on 7 April and I am looking forward to a lot more exercise in the quarter ahead. Maybe I shall make my marathon debut in the summer.
Success rate: 19% (17 out of 90 days)
Success rate until 8 February: 38% (15 out of 39)

Weekend Links #28

Weekend Links is a way of sharing all the engrossing things I see around the internet. I publish Weekend Links approximately every two weeks. As usual, I welcome your ideas and feedback.

food reading links:
--This lengthy and thorough article (from the New York Times) examines why junk food is so addictive and how it is marketed. Eye-opening.
--Twelve best food movies (chosen by Serious Eats). Which ones have you seen? (The comments on this post are brimming with controversy about which films should have been included.)
--The Guardian explains that sales of horsemeat in restaurants and butchers in the UK has risen dramatically. It's healthy and tasty, too.
--Can you train yourself to love healthy food? The Guardian gives thoughts.

Weekend Links #27

Weekend Links is a way of sharing all the engrossing things I see around the internet. I publish Weekend Links approximately every two weeks. As usual, I welcome your ideas and feedback.

food reading links:
--A Christian food blogger talks about bread (from Kitchen Stewardship). She and her family are gluten-free for health reasons but Jesus calls himself "the Bread of Life". How does she reconcile life and faith?
--Are you a supertaster? This article includes a link to a quiz on the BBC Science website to help you find out (from The Guardian).
--A study links eating more fruits and vegetables with better moods (from Science Daily). Eating better today also improves your mood tomorrow.

Smart Chefs Stay Slim by Allison Adato

Eating healthy and staying slim are not things all chefs are known for. But Allison Adato, in her book Smart Chefs Stay Slim, set out to find out what slender chefs ate and did to stay healthy. This book was our Kitchen Reader pick for June, chosen by Aileen of 300 Threads.

Adato makes a good argument for listening to fit chefs about eating. Chefs won't eat boring or tasteless food, she asserts, so healthy eating chefs are bound to have some tasty ideas. Also, chefs are extremely busy, so their eating tips will be good for anyone who wants or needs to eat conveniently. And chefs are faced with temptations of unhealthy food daily - so how do they deal with the pressure to eat everything they see? I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It turned out to be well written and full of usable, insightful ideas.

Seven Foods for Healthy Hair

I don't know how to have a good hair day. I recently got a new hair cut and colour; sophisticated is going to be my style henceforth. However, "natural" (also known as "frizzy mess") has been my default hair style for many years. I had to go out and buy a hair dryer yesterday. And I am determined to have more good hair days.


I bought two "hair styling for dummies" books. Both contain a section about food for healthy hair. Of course, I gravitate to the food section in any book! (Plus, reading about food meant I could put off the nervous moment when I had to pick up my new hair dryer.)

Weekend Links #22

Weekend Links is a way of sharing all the engrossing things I see around the internet. I publish Weekend Links approximately every two weeks. As usual, I welcome your ideas and feedback.

food reading links:
--An analysis of the recent media coverage of Bill Clinton's veganism and other nutrition in the media (from Small Bites).
--A five part series about food photography by Gourmande in the Kitchen caught my eye, thanks to my brother sending me a link. I love the pictures which show balance in food photos, seen in part two.

weekend links #18

Weekend Links is a way of sharing all the engrossing things I see around the internet. I publish Weekend Links approximately every two weeks. As usual, I welcome your ideas and feedback.

food reading links:
--"What does a 2000-calorie diet look like?" from Eating Well. This is an informative article. But don't assume that the pictures are representative.
--Where can I get myself a ginger beer plant as a pet? It's like a sourdough starter but for ginger beer and it sounds intriguing (from The Guardian)!
--Here's a Channel 4 Food article about the best bread blogs, and it features our very own Fresh from the Oven! Neat-oh.

recipe links:
--How to make pizza dough with vegetables instead of dough: use potato or cauliflower (from LRX Cuisine and Your Lighter Side). I think you could also use spaghetti squash or onions in a similar way.


--Seared watermelon slabs (pictured above): a summer appetiser. Intriguing idea (from Herbivoracious).

off-topic links:
--We all know the two main components to managing our weight and health: eat healthy food and exercise regularly. The third essential behaviour is not as obvious: get enough sleep (from LifeHacker).
--Beautiful photographs of icebergs, including a video of an iceberg rolling (from TED).
--Mellissa at A Fit and Spicy Life recently provided me with some important wisdom about being more authentic and less "perfect" online. Good on her for her transparency; her humble cheeriness is very affirming.