Weekly Menu May 20th

Happy Monday all!  I hope you all had a great weekend!  It was a little rainy here but we still had good family time.

The recipes from eMeals worked out so well last week I'm going to try a couple more this week.  It really is an easy system to use.  

Monday - Chicken pot pie 
Tuesday - Chicken of many colors- using eMeals recipe
Wednesday - BBQ Pork Loin slow cooker using Virtuous Living spices
Thursday - Green potatoes and ham - using eMeals recipe
Friday - Beef Non-Stew
Saturday - Grilling hot dogs and hamburgers

How to Have a Gluten Free Pregnancy

I have had two pregnancies - one filled with Gluten indulgences and one Gluten Free.  During my first pregnancy my Celiac Disease was still undiagnosed so I was eating everything I wanted.  I remember one trip to Chili's I ordered a side of fries and the chocolate lava cake for my meal!  There were also 11pm Dominos pizza runs. There is a reason I gained over 40 pounds during that pregnancy!

36 weeks with twins

My second pregnancy was with twins and I only gained 31 pounds.  I had been Gluten Free for four months when we found out I was pregnant.  There were times when it was very hard to be Gluten Free.  When a craving for a particular food hits and you don't have a safe alternative it is very hard to make good decisions.  But a safe and healthy Gluten Free pregnancy is possible even without the 11pm pizza runs!

Here are some survival tips:

1. Snacks - you will be very hungry so always have at least two Gluten Free snacks on you.  I say two because sometimes one of the options won't sound good to your pregnant stomach at the time.  I typically had a GF protein bar and some nuts with me.  Protein is good because it is a good filler.
2. Be prepared - have a good stock of fast and easy GF food items available.  Fill your freezer with store bought GF pizza, bagels, meals, cookies etc.   When you are seven months pregnant and hungry at 9pm you don't want quinoa and kale chips.  
3. Eating Out - have a list of safe places you can eat at in a pinch.  If you are out and hungry you need to know where you can go and get safe food.  Wendy's baked potato and side salad was my go to.
4. Junk Food - during my pregnancies I always wanted to eat junk food!  Pregnancy is a great excuse to eat whatever you want.  Make sure you know of some good, safe recipes for things like onion rings, baked potato skins or mug cake!  

Hospital Stay:

1. Bring snacks - As soon as I was in the recovery room they wanted me to eat.  Even knowing I had Celiac Disease the nurse was about to give me saltine crackers!  Luckily my mom had brought some GF protein bars.  Once in your room with your baby you will want safe foods that you can snack on.  
2. Communicate - Get a hold of the manager of the cafeteria and explain your dietary needs.  They may have a Gluten Free menu for you to use.  But be careful to always make sure they bring you the right food.  During my four day stay at the hospital I had at least five Gluten meals brought to me!  I cried and yelled twice!  

Nursing Gluten Free:

From the studies I read and the nutritionists I talked to we decided to keep the babies Gluten Free for the first 10 months then slowly introduce it.  I was told that you want to keep it out of their milk or formula until 10 months.  This was supposed to help them from getting Celiac.  Since the twins are only 18 months this is yet to be proved to have worked, but my fingers are crossed!

Regarding food I had to eat SO MUCH I actually got tired of eating.  I was nursing twins so that took a ton of calories but I also found that GF food didn't last long.  Meat and veggies aren't so filling!  Needless to say I ate piles of food.  

Good luck with your pregnancy and know it can be done Gluten Free! 

Kemnitz Family Kitchen Review

If your house, office and relatives' kitchen are not all 100% Gluten Free knowing what is safe can be hard.  Knowing which mayonnaise jar is safe to use or which dish at a pot luck is safe is tricky.  Kemnitz Family Kitchen has created fun allergy-friendly and Gluten Fre Labels to make knowing what is safe easy!  Their moto is to "Enjoy with Confidence".  

They carry a LARGE variety of labels, picks, and stickers for all seasons, holidays and all occasions.  They carry casual, formal and holiday styles. 

Susan and Ken created the company out of necessity to survive large family gatherings.  When you have many different allergies and food sensitivities it is hard to know what someone can eat.   They now enjoy family meals with clearly marking dishes and utensils.

I was first introduced to Kemnitz Family Kitchen at the GFAF Expo in Chicago.  They had so many creative ways to label items as GF or allergy free.  Some items included jars, tupperware, serving spoons, toasters and product boxes. 

Disclaimer: I was given the products to try and review at an Expo.  The pictures are mine and from the Kemnitz website. 

Gluten Free Product Deals

I wanted to share some great Gluten Free product deals I've found for Celiac Awareness Month!

First, Amazon has a ton of Gluten Free items discounted!
Glutino is 15% off 
Bisquick is 20% off
Betty Crocker is 25% off
Plus much more!

Second, if you are in NC, SC, or VA and have a Lowe's Foods grocery store close by go this week!  They have amazing deals on Gluten Free products!  I loaded up this morning on top name brands and everything was $1 to $2 off!  I got 4 bags full of products for only $50!  I may drop by again tomorrow to get more stuff!

Happy shopping!

Enjoy Life Foods Products

Enjoy Life Foods creates tasty Gluten Free snacks and it is clear they really care about their customers' needs.  All of their products are free of all eight common allergens plus Gluten, casein, sesame and sulfites!  There are also no trans fat, GMO's or artificial ingredients.  So what does all that mean you ask?  You can eat it and give it to your allergy sensitive kids without fear.  So many people I meet can't have Gluten AND something else.  Enjoy Life Foods is a great brand for the GF AND ... crowd.  If you are allergic or sensitive to it, chances are you won't find it in these products.

Their products include cookies, granola, bars, seed & nut mixes, chocolate chips, cereals, chips and chocolate bars.

My top three favorite products are the Seed & Fruit Mix - Mountain Mambo,   Decadent Soft Baked Bars - S'mores, and the Plentils - Light Sea Salt.  

Their website also has some great recipes available to include meatloaf and pizza boats!  Their products can also be found in most of the Go Picnic box lunches.  You can buy their products online or at many Whole Foods and coming soon to a Target near you! 

Disclaimer: These products were given to me at Expos and events to try.  The photos are all from the Enjoy Life Foods website.

Weekly Menu April 13th Featuring eMeals

I was just talking with one of my blog friends last week about how we are both in recipe ruts.  You know where you keep making the same things?!   It is during these times that I look for new recipes to try.  

A great resource that I have recently found is eMeals!  It is an online meal planning guide. 

How it works is you:
1- Pick your plan (yes they have a Gluten Free option!!)
2- Get great recipes
3- Shop and save
4- Relax and enjoy

I created my profile this morning and headed to the store to go shopping using their fun iPhone app.  It gives you a shopping list for the grocery store you choose!  I'll do a follow up review of the recipes next week once I've cooked them.  

Monday - Family - leftovers, me - dinner out
Tuesday - Sausage and Peppers - using eMeals recipe
Wednesday - Taco Salad - using eMeals recipe
Thursday - Chinese Beef and broccoli - using eMeals recipe
Friday - Cajun Chicken - using eMeals recipe
Saturday - Spiced Chicken with Tomato sauce - using eMeals recipe

Pascha Organic Dark Chocolate

There are two things in life that if they weren't Gluten Free I would eat anyway. Those two items are chocolate and red wine.  I also prefer to have them together!  I have had the opportunity to travel a lot and always seek out good chocolate from the various places I go.  When I went to Chicago I didn't think I would discover amazing chocolate, but I was blown away by Pascha.  Simon and his team were sampling their amazing chocolate at the GFAF Expo.  I have never had such smooth dark chocolate before!  

Aside from tasting amazing the chocolate is also free of all 8 major allergens plus Gluten!
  
Here are the details:
- 100% organic dark chocolate
- Certified fair trade
- Made in a dedicated allergen-free facility
- No GMO
- Preservative free
- Vegan
- Full ingredient traceability
- No artificial additives or colors

Their mission is to make the purest, safest chocolate without any allergenic ingredients.  

They have three levels for their dark chocolate: 55%, 70%, and 85%.  The 55% is the mildest and my personal favorite.  Simon says they made the 55% for the kids - I choose not to be offended by this:)  The 70% is good with a little kick.  The 85% was too much for me but I know many of my fellow bloggers liked it the best.  Apparently I have a kid's strength for dark chocolate!

I plan to come up with something fun to make with the 70%.  I'm leaning toward chocolate chunk cookies!

If you want to try this amazing chocolate you just need to check out the store locator to see where you can buy some.   If you see a bar in a store don't worry about the price just buy it.  Best dark chocolate that I've had - hands down!  If milk wasn't a major allergen I would try and convince Simon to make a milk chocolate version for me.

Disclaimer: The products were provided for me to try and review.  The pictures and opinions are my own.