Gluten-Free Black Bean Brownies

I have made the most amazing Gluten-Free Chocolate with the help of Whole Foods 365 brownie mix. What you do is take a can of black beans, drain the liquid, then fill the can with water. Puree the black beans and water. Place the brownie mix in a mixing bowl, then pour the pureed black beans and stir the mix together. Spray a baking pan with non stick, and pour in the brownie mix. Follow the baking directions on the box. I always cook them 5 minutes past being done, I prefer well done brownies. I think that the brownies taste better cold. So once cooled, place in the refrigerated for about an hour. You will not be able to taste the black beans at all and they are very healthy for you. I had one for breakfast this morning. Yum!

Gluten-Free Flu

Well... I have had the flu for the past 4 days. Who gets the flu in June! I have been struggling with what to eat. I have searched the celiac forums and found nothing. So, the past few days I have had Pacific's Gluten-Free chicken broth, and rice crackers, and sprite. Today though! I found Amy's organic soups, Chunky Vegetable. It was flavorful and healthy.

Mint Chocolate Chip Paradise

It took me forever, but I took pictures. I still need to do some touch up, hopefully I will get to that this weekend. If you look closely you can see orbs, a ton of them! One picture had 11. I know there is a high energy in my house, around me, I always blow light bulbs.

I used Behr paint from Home Depot. The green is Ryegrass, the brown is Woodencabin. I researched and researched painting with dark colors and no one! Not a one said that it would be difficult or that you should use a primer or a 2 in one. If I paint with this dark a color again, I will use the 2 in 1. It took about 4 hours and 3 coats of paint. I only painted 2 of the walls Woodencabin. I used the Ryegrass for the other 2 walls, the ceiling and the bathroom. I love, love, love the green! I like the brown, its different, and everyday get more and more use to it. I wish my room was large enough to paint all of the walls dark. I really wanted to do chocolate brown with white and orange accents. Maybe my next house will have a large enough room for that.

I definitly recommend using the blue tape to tape off. And a lamb paint roller. Also use a drop cloth. Although I now know how to get paint out of the carpet. If you use a water base paint like Beher, you can dump a bucket of water on the spill and get a steam vac to suck it up. Or you can get brush cleaner, use a white cloth, I never knew why they said use white, until I realized that colored will rub off on to the carpet. Make sure that the area is well ventalated and use a little bit at a time. Take turns with the brush remover, and soapy water and rub until it comes out. I even got paint from 2 years ago off.

My next re-model will be painting my cabinets very dark. I can't wait!

Re-Decorating

It has been 2 years since I decorated my house. And I have an urge to redecorate again. I really want to paint my bedroom a deep rich chocolate brown. I would like to do all four walls this color and do the ceiling an off white, with orange and white accents (lamps, curtains, vases) but I am very scared to do that because I don't want the room to look too small and I have dark furniture. So... I think I will do the wall to the north brown, then the wall to the west brown, and do the east wall, the south wall, and the ceiling a sage green or a gray, silvery blue. Then do white accents. I also want to paint the cabinets in my bathroom a deep rich brown, and do the bathroom the same color as the colorful wall with brown accents. Might be a little too matchy matchy? I am off to Ikea tonight to see what I can find in the way off accents, then I will pick paint colors. Very excited!

Eating out... Gluten-Free

I have turned down a lot of dining out invites the past couple of weeks, when I get asked I get high anxiety thinking about how I am going to order if they do not have a gluten-free menu. Well... I have been adventurous this week. I tried Boston Market, Outback, Pan Asia, and Olive Garden. Boston Market went fine and was really good. At Outback I had a gluten-free New York strip with green beans and a caesar salad. The steak was horrible. They did not even pepper it. It tasted like unseasoned ground beef. I was disappointed with it. I am not sure if this is how it is all the time, but not sure I would go back. Pan Asia is a sushi place by work. I had edemame, when the waiter said that is all, I decided to ask for a gluten-free menu, but the waiter said "What, no we do not have anything like that." It did not make me feel very comfortable. I had no idea that Olive Garden would even have a gluten-free menu because the first thing that comes to mind is pasta. I ordered the mixed grill. The waiter seemed very familiar and was very accommodating. It was much better because he did not make a deal about it and it did not cause a huge discussion and was able to enjoy dinner conversation and did not have to explain myself. I will definitely go back to Olive Garden.

Gluten-Free

As of May 2009, I have been Gluten Free. I have gone to the doctor many times over the past 4 years to find out what is wrong with me. None of my "symptoms" seemed to jive. They ranged from headaches, to fatigue, thyroid, and many other non-related symptoms. After "giving up" and just dealing with it, I met a nutritionist who is also a chef. I mentioned to her some of my symptoms and she asked if I had tried to cut anything out of my diet, I had not.

So that next day, I went g-free shopping and was very over whelmed. I did lots of web research, read a few books and feel more comfortable now. I feel so much better, I have more energy, my stomach does not hurt, I know what it is like to actually feel full, not just bloated after eating next to nothing. I am so happy. I have not had a craving for anything that contains gluten. I already ate about 6 servings of veggies and fruits a day. Now I eat at least 10. I have opted for not getting the tests. I don't want to eat gluten ever again and not too keen on the sampling of my small intestine. I feel better, so I will stick with it.

I haven't gone out eat at very much to any places without a g-free menu. I am just so nervous. In the morning the girls from work will say let's go here for lunch, and immediately I start running through my mind, do they have a g-free menu, do they g-free options, would I be able to create my g-free options with giving the proper direction? So I end up saying, no thanks, I brought today. I did try to meet some friends at Paradise Bakery. Although they were very helpful when I asked if they had a gluten-free menu, they did not but offered to explain the different options, I just ordered fruit. I did not mention my allergy, and when I got home I felt immediately sick. That was the only thing I had eaten all day. I wish that there was something you could do for yourself when you get glutened.

I like my new way of life. My family does not quite understand it. But in time they will.