So far this whole corn-free, wheat-free thing hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be. Sure, its tough to get rid of the foods in my kitchen that I bought because I wanted and can no longer eat. And yes, memories of that french bread from the weekend are still fresh in my mind. But overall, it’s a pain in the butt, but I’m not missing the corn and wheat that much.
Granted, ask me again in a few weeks and I may be singing a different tune.
In the meantime, I’m doing okay, and trying to find interesting recipes that can accommodate my newly discovered dietary restrictions.
I was pointed in the direction of Clean Eating Chelsey, who has similar restrictions. On her blog I found a bunch of interesting recipes and decided to give her tomato basil pancakes a whirl…with my own tweaks, of course.
Tomato Basil Pancakes with Avocado and Balsamic Drizzle
1 1/2 cups Bob’s Redmill Gluten Free flour
2 tbsp flax seed meal
seasoning of your choice (I used Jim’s step dad’s, of course. Recommended: salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary)
1 cup almond milk (or other milk of your choice)
handful of basil leaves, chopped
1-2 roma tomatoes, chopped small and dried (I just patted the pile with a paper towel)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 avocado, sliced
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add almond milk. Stir until combined. Add basil and tomatoes. Boil balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan and set aside (it will thicken as it cools). Heat a griddle pan (or non-stick frying pan) with a little bit of olive oil. Pour batter onto griddle. Cook each side until its golden brown. Stack pancakes, lay 1/2 sliced avocado on top and drizzle with balsamic. Makes two servings (approx 6 pancakes, as shown above).
I actually flipped these over again to brown them a little more. Just fyi.
This was the first time I’d used the gluten-free flour, even though I purchased it back at Christmas time to take a shot at making some gluten-free cookies for a few friends with celiac disease. I was surprised at how good these tasted. Even my husband enjoyed them. Of course, if you aren’t sensitive to wheat or gluten, I’d probably recommend whole wheat flour. That’s what I would have used a week ago.
After dinner, we went out and played some tennis, and I took Monday’s photo (I know, I know. I’m supposed to take one every day, but I forgot my camera and my phone and I wanted this one for the 14th photo).
Day 14: Grass
I know it’s not grass. It’s a dandelion, but I look at it creeping up through a crack in the tennis courts every day when we play and it somehow inspires me…photographically speaking. I couldn’t get the exact shot I was hoping for with the phone camera, but I wasn’t going to bring my nice camera out when we were going to be haphazardly whacking balls all over the place. Not a smart move.
Day 15: Love
This is a double love because I love my little nephew and I love strawberries! Oh, and my mom in the background. I guess it’s a triple love!
Today’s photo is “what you’re reading,” and you’ll have to wait for that one because my books are at home!
