Spring Break 2012 go crazy

Everyone with digestive disorders needs to take extra vitamins, and here are some reasons to love gummy vitamins:

• you can eat them on an empty stomach with no pain/queasiness
• one jar lasts over two months
• they come in multivitamin, iron, calcium, etc.
• they actually taste really good

*certain brands may contain gluten so check the label*

Easy Vegetable Stew

• 1 cup small diced (1/2 in pieces) crunchy vegetable (carrots, onions, celery, etc.)
• 1 cup large diced (1.5 in pieces) soft vegetable (yellow potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, etc.)
• 1 can “cream of” soup (cream of celery, golden cream of mushroom, etc.)

Mix all ingredients together in a medium sized casserole dish. Add water if needed so that all vegetables are coated. Cook at 350 degrees for one hour.

Yields about 3 servings.

Gluten free bread take #2

2 Ingredient Snacks/Sides

• Rice and tomatoes
• Applesauce and Cinnamon
• Pears and Peanut Butter
• Hard boiled egg and Asian dressing

I made Bob’s Red Mill’s gluten free bread this weekend and it was surprisingly easy. It tastes great and highly recommend it. I definitely over filled the pan, though, which is why it’s so deformed. I suggest buying a carton of egg whites (I know Egg Beaters makes one) because it needs about six egg whites and only one egg yolk.

Better Bisquick Pancakes

The gluten free Bisquick mix makes pancakes taste like cornbread which is great and all but I want my pancakes to taste like pancakes. If you add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter, they come out tasting more pancake-like.

Banana Bread

recipe (slightly altered) from Bob’s Red Mill

1/3 c oil

2/3 c brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 t vanilla extract

3 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 3/4 c all purpose gf flour

2 t baking powder

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
2. Cream together oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in large bowl. Add bananas. Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Beat until smooth.
3. Pour into pan and bake for 50 minutes. Cool into pan for 15 minutes, then remove from pan to cool the rest of the way.

Fried eggs and ham

Honey Nut Chex, soy milk, and berries

Super Cheap Superfoods

Original article here, but these are all of the Chron’s-friendly foods.

Golden Raisins
31¢ and 125 calories per 1/4 cup serving
Never mind trying to count your wine as a fruit; choose golden Thompson Seedless raisins instead. You can feel smug about their price and their antioxidants (called phenols), which protect you from aging and disease. Raisins are also a natural source of inulin, a fiberlike carbohydrate that helps support the growth of the good bacteria that can help keep your digestive system healthy.

White Potatoes
70¢ and 110 calories per 1 medium potato
White potatoes are often passed up, but one medium russet potato will set you back only 35 cents, and the calorie price tag is minimal too. One of ‘em also packs about two grams of filling dietary fiber and more potassium than a banana. Plus, when cooked then cooled, they’re loaded with resistant starch, “a unique kind of carb that’s been shown to naturally up your body’s fat-burning furnace,” says Cynthia Sass, R.D., author of Cinch! Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds and Lose Inches.

White Button Mushrooms
Less than $1 and 21 calories per 1-cup serving
Although white button mushrooms are found on even the lowliest of fast-food salad bars, don’t write them off. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University found that just a handful has about 12 times more L-ergothioneine, an antioxidant that does DNA damage control, than wheat germ, and four times more than chicken liver, previously thought to be the best source.

Frozen Berries
As low as $2.10 and 70 calories per 1-cup serving
The Brazilian açai berry has been called a super-anti-aging food because of its high antioxidant level, but eating a grab bag of frozen berries (yes, frozen berries retain their nutrients) will give you a better range of antioxidants and is a lot cheaper than a bag of the freeze-dried açai berries. “The more variety in color, the better,” says Tina Marinaccio M.S., R.D., C.P.T. Raspberries and blackberries offer ellagic acid, which reduces risk of cancer, while the phenols in strawberries lower risk of heart and neurodegenerative diseases.

Fried Mushrooms with Rice

4-5 whole mushrooms, washed and stems removed
1/2 c rice flour
1 t garlic salt
2 t baking powder
1 egg
1/4 c water
1/4 c oil
1/2 c white rice, cooked

1. Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
2. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl. In another small bowl, combine the egg and water.
3. Dredge mushrooms in flour mixture then egg mixture 3-4 times.
4. Fry in oil for about 4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
5. Serve over rice with soy or teriyaki sauce.

Shrimp Pad Thai Serves 3-4

4 oz rice noodles (half of box)

3 eggs

4-5 precooked jumbo shrimp, diced

6 T Pad Thai sauce

3 green onions, thinly sliced

1. Add noodles to boiling water. Cook for 4-5 minutes. Drain.
2. While noodles are cooking, add eggs and shrimp to large skillet. Stir until eggs are cooked, about 3 minutes.
3. Add noodles and sauce to skillet and combine. Top with green onions.

I really love how easy these noodles were to cook, and they taste great. The sauce has a little more tomato flavor than traditional pad thai, but the dish still tastes good.

Turkey Enchiladas (no gluten or lactose)

• 1/2 lb ground turkey
• 10 oz Mild Enchilada sauce
• 1/4 c mayonnaise
• 5 6-inch corn tortillas

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease sides of 9x9 pan.
2. Fully cook turkey in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain and place back in skillet. Mix in mayonnaise and a few tablespoons of enchilada sauce.
3. Stack tortillas and microwave for 30 seconds to soften them. Fill tortillas with turkey mixture and lay in pan seam side down.
4. Pour leftover sauce over tortillas. Spread sauce around so there are no dry spaces on the tortillas (dry spaces will burn when cooking).
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until sauce is bubbly.

Guacamole yields 1 cup

• 1/2 fresh avocado, diced
• 1/4 c tomato, diced
• salt & pepper to taste
• Italian dressing (optional, replaces fresh cilantro and garlic)

1. Mash together all ingredients. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Turkey is more easily digested than beef, and replacing cheese with mayo will keep everything creamy and lactose-free. Guacamole will counter-act the acidity in the enchilada sauce, so people with acid reflux can still have this meal.