Hi, my name is Sarah and I am going gluten free

Okay, this is sort of not on the topic of fast healthy food and more on the topic of my new journey in the food department of life. I have been dealing with some major allergy issues the past few months. I've always had allergies and been super sensitive to stuff, but noticed it getting worse over the summer. I did some digging and discovered it could have to do with an allergy to Casein one of the proteins in dairy. Most of my issues happened after I ate something with dairy. So I, to my great sadness began a non dairy diet. (I really love cheese and yogurt) but since moving down to Florida and becoming busy with school I've noticed that while cutting out dairy has helped quite a bit with my issues it hasn't fully removed all my symptoms, so I did some more sleuthing and talking and found that maybe I might need to cut glutens out of my diet. O__O WHAT?! You mean cut out even more of my favorite foods?! Well I decided to try it because I would rather feel better...So yesterday I went out and pretty much restocked my kitchen (let me just say that not having a Whole Foods here in Daytona sucks) I had to go to 3 different stores to get the stuff I needed and boy did it cost me an arm and a leg!
Tonight I had my first gluten free dinner, pretty good. So far no major allergies or anything. I am hoping this will help with my headaches and the other various issues I have had that seem to relate to gluten intolerance. When I go back home in December I am going to have my Dr test me for both the casein allergy and gluten sensitivity, but in the mean time it's just the process of elimination to figure it out.

That brings me to my next point. While this blog is suppose to be geared to healthy living for the busy student type, it's going to probably shift for a while to healthy eating and learning to adjust to a gluten free life. Obviously I want to keep it focused on the easy meals and budget friendly because I am still a busy student...Just be aware that its gluten and dairy free from here! Also I plan to post my adventures to learning how to bake and cook my favorites gluten free now. It's a new journey one of many I am facing this year...when it rains it pours eh?

Big love everyone...and here are my frist gluten free baking/meal making experiences.

 Thank Jesus (or whomever you want) for Betty Crocker and their cake mix! I am impressed. The cupcakes I made with this turned out wonderful!

I made a batch of my normal frosting. It's a Wilton recipe and I think, not only is it perfect for cake frosting etc. but it is just the right amount of sweet for me. I hate overly sugary tasting frostings so if you want that recipe let me know. *nom nom*

Now for dinner tonight.
This was a SUPER fast meal to whip up and the only thing I had to worry about being gluten free was the tortila I used.
So in a bowl mix:
2(ish) Tablespoons of olive oil
2(ish) Tablespoons of lemon juice
then add 2 to 3 cans of tunafish. I only used 2...
now for the fun part! You can pretty much add anything
that tickles your fancy.
I chopped up some tomato and red onion
added parsley a little salt and garlic powder.
Then the recipe calls for pita bread so you can fill the pocket with your
tuna mixture, but I could not find gluten free pita bread so I used my
tortila bread, added a little lettuce and ta da fast, tummy healthy dinner!

Enjoy!
:)

Etsy...

I decided to try and sell some of my fine art photography prints on Etsy...I am also planing on creating a Etsy for my crafty arts soon...

:D
Sarah Raven Photography on Etsy

Vampire Punkins

Damn you Martha Stewart for being so awesome!!!
I made these guys today and let me tell you they are super fun! However I couldn't stand the idea of
just leaving their insides in to rot(I was using pumpkin pie pumpkins) so I pulled as many seeds as I could from each little guy to make a tasty treat, which I will share with you!

Toasted pumpkin seeds are super tasty, good for you and super easy to make!

For starters, after you gut that pumpkin (or pull it's innards out through its mouth in my case) clean the seeds off...

Once they're mostly clean lay them out on a cookie sheet and cover with sea salt. Heat your ovan to 350 and bake the seeds for about 15 min or so, it really depends, mine took a really long time because they were super soggy. Just keep an eye on them.

And there you have it! Tada! Crunchy, salty, not a potato chip ;)

And now here are my little pumpkin fellas! (I had to use black fangs I couldn't fine the big white ones)

xoxox

Cold and Flu Season Arsenal

Since I have been feeling under the weather today I thought I would post about my cold and flu season arsenal.

This is not my arsenal in full...There are other things too...but lets talk about the basics...
As soon as I either get stressed out or the weather starts shifting or people around me get sick I start in with the Echinacea...

My favorite would be the tincture they make at Castle Remedies in Ann Arbor because it's so fresh and freshness is the key with herbals and homeopathics. You can mix this in some orange juice or anything you want really. It is an amazing Immune booster!
EmergenC is also a godsend for an energy and immune boost. I swear by that stuff.

Now, when I absolutely feel a cold coming, you know that Oh My God moment when you wake up in the morning and you know you are doomed from this moment forward to suffer the effects of a cold? Well there are still a few things you can do to avoid the ick.  You have to act fast though...

Start with...
Aconite, I will blog later in more detail about homeopathics, but the short story is they are amazing and wont interfere with any other medications you might be taking, they wont cause side effects (except to maybe make you feel worse for a moment, but if that happens it means your immune system is responding and you are taking the right remedy) They are not like herbals so you can't have an allergic reaction to them...
Now, aconite is a great all around "first sign of a cold" remedy. You can find mass market homeopathics at most health food stores, like Whole Foods and even the little places. Take this as soon as you feel like you are getting a cold.

P.S. You don't need any more than a 30c

Next vitamin C! Now would be a good time to mix up one of those EmergenC packets (but remember to wait 30min before and after taking a homeopathic to eat or drink anything) Personally when I know I am getting a cold after I dose myself with Aconite the next thing I run for is and Odwalla C-Monster. Seriously, I have been to the point were I thought there was no turning back, I didn't get to the aconite soon enough and I drank a whole Odwalla C-Monster and BAM cold gone....

And now for another homeopathic, you've probably seen this one at Walgreens! 

I love this stuff, now you have to be careful with combo remedies because some homeopathics don't work well together and will cancel each other out, defeating the entire purpose! But this stuff works great to take the edge off without the funky fog a lot of cold medications leave you with. 

Speaking of mixing things...as a random note, you know how most cold remedies or immune boosters have vitamin C and Zinc? Well C and Zinc cancel each other out, so pic one or the other for your immune booster. 

Drink lots of water and tea, and eat foods rich in vitamins and good stuff. 

Also a day on the couch watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer doesn't hurt either. ;) 

Infusing Vodka....

 So I don't drink, but if you are looking to keep things a little more natural and fun, check this out!
Infusing your own Vodka!
;)

Lunch on the go go go

So I have been super busy the last few days. Running around for classes, doing homework, looking for respectable employment. I have this bad habit when things get like this of forgetting to eat things like lunch, but I am trying to change that because missing lunch is not the greatest thing to do. For yesterdays lunch...

So Delicious coconut milk yogurt and the healthiest granola I could find(I had to pay a pretty penny down here for it too :-/ )  But this was a yummy fast lunch, and healthy too. You don't have to do coconut milk yogurt if you don't want to, I just can't do dairy. I would stay away from brands like Yoplait that have lots of artificial preservatives. Go with a brand like Wallaby or StoneyFeild Farms.
I highly recommend eating yogurt though, it's full of good stuff for your body and immune system. Kefir is another amazing thing! I miss being able to have that because it was a life saver.

Today's lunch was Morning Star's vegetarian mini corn dogs. Pretty tasty. Though their ingredients list is rather long, I didn't see anything too alarming.

And finally, tonight's dinner is...A nice salad with the rest of my left over chicken tenders tossed in. Yum!

Chicken Tenders Minus The Fast Food Bag...

I don't know about you, but I love chicken tenders. They're easy to eat, and pretty darn tasty! But chicken tenders from a fast food place(where we all usually get them from) are not the best. I wont get to nitty gritty because by now most people know the kinds of things that get put into fast food, but it's safe to say there are a lot of things in fast food chicken tenders that are not very food like. So here is my slightly altered version of Giada De Laurentiis Spicy Chicken Tenders...

The prep time is about 15min and the cook time is around 20min.

You're going to start with well, chicken. You can usually find "chicken tender" cut chicken anywhere. Make sure it's boneless skinless. Now, I am a big proponent of organics; particularly with meat but sometimes you can't find it(like me here in Daytona). If you can't find organic just make sure it's antibiotic free, this goes for organic too, sometimes they sneak that stuff into "organic" meats.

1 1/2 lb of chicken. This is not an exact, you can add or take away.
Olive oil for drizzling
Salt (I like sea salt)
Breading:
1 Cup all purpose flour
1 Cup cornmeal, or breadcrumbs (I use bread crumbs)
3 eggs
3 Tablespoons hot sauce of your choosing
2 Tablespoons(ish) of cajun seasoning, or chili powder
Sprinkling of red pepper flakes

Spray a cookie sheet with veggie oil spray so they tenders don't stick, and set it aside.
Now for the mixing part. You'll need 3 pans or bowls. In the first pan mix the Flour and salt and set aside. Next mix the eggs and hot sauce, then in the 3rd bowl mix the corn meal and seasoning and pepper flakes.
Pre-heat oven to 425

Coat the chicken in Flour, then the egg mixture (let it drip a little) and finally coat in the cornmeal mix and set onto the cookie sheet. Once you've done that for all the chicken drizzle some olive oil over the tops and then place them in the oven and bake for 15-20 min until the chicken is fully cooked and crispy outside.

You can also make a honey mustard to go with it if you want. I didn't  because I just don't like honey mustard.
In a small bowl mix 1/3 of a cup of Dijon or whole-grain mustard and 1/3 of a cup of honey and blend until smooth.

I also made a salad and used a light vinaigrette and toasted a couple of slices of sour dough bread that I got fresh from the bakery. Just pop the bread in your broiler for a few minuets until toasty.

 

There you have it. Spicey Chicken Tenders that are not full of chemicals and didn't take you that long to make! With some easy side dishes you have a full, healthy meal, and left overs. You can even make up some french fries if you feel so inclined. Just make sure to read the back of the packaging if you're using frozen fries. My tip for the day is read the labels. If you can pronounce and know what the ingredients are chances are it's not to bad for you. 

Beware the long odd sounding words.

The price break down:
Chicken $4.71
Flour $2.00
Bread Crumbs $1.70
Hot Sauce $1.80
Bag o' Salad $3.00
Bread $1.81

Whole meal= $15.02 and if you divide that by the roughly 3 meals you get out of this recipe makes it about $5.00 a piece.
Plus things like the hot sauce, flour and bread crumbs are good for other things.

xoxo Enjoy!