Quinoa--Your Must-Have Pantry Staple and True "Super Food"

Last night, I made a comment on Facebook about a new quinoa salad that I made and how I thought it ROCKED! And without looking, I'm pretty sure "rocked" was in caps on Facebook, too!  I'm not kidding--it was amazing!  But by this morning, it dawned on me again that not everybody knows what quinoa is...and that's okay.  Not many people do!

We've been eating quinoa for several years now.  I have no clue how I came across it...I just did.  Maybe it was in some magazine article or online health forum???  Anyhow, I eventually found it at The Merc in Lawrence and ever since then, I've been hooked!  It's affordable, super healthy and super yummy--what's better than that?!

Most people have two very basic, and to-be expected, questions when they first hear about quinoa.

First--how do you pronounce it?

Two--what IS it???

To answer the first question, quinoa is pronounced "KEEN-wah."  Go through the checkout line of the natural food store pronouncing it, "Kwin-O-uh" and the clerk is guaranteed to look at you like an idiot.  Trust me :-)  If it takes some time to get the pronunciation down, that's okay--there's days where part of me still wants to slip back into the kwin-o-uh days and then I remember the embarrassing stare...

Secondly, quinoa is usually described as a grain.  I even catch myself describing it as a grain, when in all actuality, it's really a seed.  It looks a bit like couscous and is as versatile as rice (one reason why I love it so much!), but it has a richer, nuttier flavor than either of them.

Quinoa is a native of the Andes in South America and it was first cultivated by the Incans.  They ate quinoa to supplement their diet of corn and potatoes.  European immigrants to South America were slow to incorporate the seed into their cuisine and it has only recently been 'rediscovered.'  So, if this is your first time hearing about quinoa, don't feel bad ;-)

Because if its nutritional content, quinoa is touted as a "Super Food."  It happens to be a complete protein, and has all 9 essential amino acids so it is actually a great staple for vegetarian diets.  Like I mentioned above, quinoa can be exchanged for rice in recipes and in my opinion, it's even better than rice :-)  And for those of you interested in the nutritional value of quinoa versus rice, check this out:

BASED ON A 1/2 CUP SERVING:

Carbs: Quinoa 63g, brown rice 72.8g, white rice 79g

Protein: Quinoa 13.1g, brown rice 7.5g, white rice 6.6g

Fiber: Quinoa 5.9g, brown rice has 3.4g, white rice 0

Fat: Quinoa 5.8g, brown rice 2.68g, white rice 0.58g (The two cereals have largely unsaturated fat which has nutritional and health benefits.)

Iron: Quinoa 9.25mg, brown rice 1.8mg and white rice 0.8mg

Apart from the health benefits already mentioned, quinoa happens to have a low glycemic index compared to other whole grains. The glycemic index – or GI – rates food based on how much they make your blood sugar rise. Keeping your blood sugar steady and balanced can help you to maintain weight and improve cholesterol – that’s why whole unprocessed foods that are low in sugar and high in fiber (like whole grains) are touted for their health benefits. Calorie-wise, quinoa also comes in about 50 calories less per serving compared to brown rice.

For the curious, this is what quinoa looks like as it's plant is grown...isn't it gorgeous?!  In fact, it kinda reminds this farm girl of milo!  My true-farmer brother would probably argue that comment down, but that's just my opinion :-)

When the plant and seeds are eventually harvested, this is what the quinoa looks like:

After you buy your quinoa at the store and prepare it at home, this is what the cooked version looks like:

Quinoa is generally sold in two different ways at the grocery store (that is, if your store carries it).  In the Little Apple, our bigger grocers provide both options.  Fortunately, our smaller grocers are starting to carry it but it's only available in the latter option. 

The larger stores will offer quinoa in their bulk section.  The price may vary based on the distributor, but you can expect somewhere around $3.49/lb (or $0.22/oz).

The other way is in a box.  Like I mentioned above, most stores will at least have the pre-packaged quinoa--but it comes at a premium.  Let's try an average of $6.99 for a 12oz box (or $0.58/oz) on for size!  The upside is that you can pick from a variety of colors when you buy the boxed quinoa.  A lot of times you have the traditional white, Incan red and even a black version to pick from.  But....we're cheap and we buy the traditional white from the bulk bins!

So, what do you do with quinoa???  Quinoa can be served on its own as a side dish, with a bit of butter or oil, salt and pepper, or other seasonings. It also makes a great breakfast dish mixed with dried fruit, cinnamon, milk, and maple syrup or honey. Paired with chili, stir-fries, beans or curries, quinoa is a healthy substitute for rice (it also makes a tasty pilaf). As a main course, use it to make meat-free burgers, mix it into stews or toss it into salads. Quinoa works as a baking grain aswell, and makes for delicious and nutritious breads and muffins.  Considering the nutritional benefits and versatility, you'd be silly NOT to make quinoa a staple in your pantry!

To make it even MORE tempting for you to give quinoa a try, here are some recipes worth trying!  Not only are the pictures incredibly appetizing, BUT the links are RIGHT THERE!  All it takes is just one click and you'll be captivated by a whole new world of super-food possibilities!  I have personally made most of the recipes below and I promise you, you won't be disappointed :-)

SEAFOOD SALAD with LEMON VINAIGRETTE

Quinoa, avocado, black beans corn & shrimp. yum!

http://iowagirleats.com/recipes/superfood-salad-with-lemon-vinaigrette/

QUINOA and SUMMER VEGETABLE SALAD

http://mychiclife.com/2012/03/07/quinoa-salad/
(this is what I made last night!  We used chicken broth, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, green onion, chickpeas and balsamic dressing and were in HEAVEN!!!)

QUINOA with PEAS

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quinoa-with-peas/detail.aspx

MANGO BLUEBERRY QUINOA SALAD with LEMON BASIL DRESSING

http://www.veggiebelly.com/2011/06/mango-blueberry-quinoa-salad-with-lemon-basil-dressing-recipe.html

BACON QUINOA with ALMONDS AND HERBS

http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/bacon-quinoa-almonds-herbs-recipe

CORN and EDEMAME QUINOA SALAD

http://eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/could-it-look-more-healthy/

BROCCOLI QUINOA CASSEROLE

http://eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/blast-from-the-past-with-a-new-twist/

SANDRA LEE'S QUINOA SALAD

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/quinoa-salad-recipe/index.html

Dallas For the 4th of July

Happy One-Week-After-The-4th-of-July, y'all!  We got in late Saturday evening from our trip to Dallas and as always, Dallas on the 4th of July was full of surprises!

Last time Justin and I went to Dallas for the 4th, we got engaged...needless to say, I didn't see that one coming at all, so it definitely proved to be a surprise!

This year, we decided to head down South again--the plans were somewhat similar to last time.  We would go to a family barbecue hosted by Justin's cousins, stay with his best friend Isaac (aka the "Brother From a Different Mother"), celebrate the 4th, go out and just relax.  Isaac and Justin first met when they lived in the dorms at K-State--Justin was on the basketball team, Isaac was on the track team.  Once they got out of the dorms, they moved into a house with two other friends and they are all super close to this day!  Anytime Justin and Isaac are together, you know there's fun to be had! 

And for the most part, our plans went exactly like that.

BUT--before we left, I felt our house needed to be a bit patriotic...and of course, if we decorated for the 4th of July, maybe people wouldn't think we were gone!  I had given up on buying buntings for our front porch--they're not the cheapest thing in the world and with me working a commission-only job, I didn't feel that we could justify the expense.  Until...Walgreen's had them on sale on July 2nd and I scored four buntings for $10!!!  I couldn't turn down a bargain like that AND we could leave behind a patriotic front porch!

We left Manhattan at 3:00 am on Wednesday morning...and yes, we're crazy!  We wanted to get down there decent time BUT we were worried about hitting the road after we both spent long days at work on Tuesday.  So, after supper we took a nap and left in the dark instead :-)

We arrived in Dallas at 10:15 am!!!  That included stopping in Oklahoma City for gas and letting the dog out to run and play.  Oh--and as it turns out, Mitzi does VERY well riding in the car for long distances!  She just laid in her crate and looked out the front window or she slept.  Guess we didn't need the doggie tranquilizers after all :-) 

Once we got to Isaac's place, we loaded up and headed to Justin's cousins.  They had just moved to a different house 3 months ago but they already had their house put together...it seemed more like they'd been living there 3 YEARS.  Wish I could have said the same thing about us when we bought our place!  Anyhow, we were pretty impressed with the house--especially knowing what the new-construction houses go for in that development.  This house came with a covered back porch, granite counters and professional kitchen, study, theatre room, billards room, and I can't even remember how many bedrooms and bathrooms.  It was great getting to celebrate their new home with all the family!

After the barbecue with Justin's family, we met up with one of Isaac's clients to swim and shoot fireworks.  Isaac told us ahead of time that their house sits on 40-acres in the heart of Arlington and is "pretty sweet" but let me tell you, I had no idea what we were getting into!

We got to his client's house and the kids couldn't wait to get into the pool!  It was actually cooler in Dallas (96 degrees) than in Kansas (105 degrees) but it was still miserably hot...I don't blame the kids for wanting to swim!

This little blondie is Isaac's son, Tristin.   I hadn't seen him since our wedding nearly two years ago and ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, do I love this little boy or what?! As he continues to grow, he just gets cuter and cuter!  I like to call him my blonde Eskimo baby which, eh, probably isn't the most racially sensitive phrase.  Isaac was born and raised in Alaska but he's actually Tongan--which makes Tristin Tongan, not Eskimoan.  If that's even a word!  But anyhow, we feel blessed to call him our nephew!  He has the "Uncle Justin" part down VERY well but he's still working on "Aunt Bria"--but, what kid doesn't struggle with my name?! 

Okay, so the pool at this place was freakin' awesome...check it out!!!  That building behind the pool is literally the "pool house."  There's a small pool in the walkway that flows down into main pool--looked like something out of a movie!

That was the awesome pool...check out the backside of this house!  It's not the best picture, but I was trying to sneak a shot while "acting" like I was looking at something on my phone ;-)  The main level is where the white columns are; the walk-out basement is where the brick columns are AND the upper level is above the railing way up top.  On the far left side of this picture are the stairs that lead up to the balcony and kitchen.  This place was absolutely insane.  The bathroom by the pool was pure marble and I kid you not--the bathroom alone is probably worth more than our entire house!  The "main" kitchen was one of those professional kitchens with a $30,000 gas range that was used by their private chef.  The fridge was one of those built-in all-glass units and at first, Justin thought it was a freezer.  I kept saying, "No, honey--we're not in the freezer aisle of the grocery store!   The thing is really a fridge!" and finally he noticed the pickles, mayo, eggs, whatever and took my word for it ;-)  There were also two other kitchens in the house that I didn't see, and that's probably okay!

The house sat on 40 acres of wooded land in the heart of Arlington and came with its own 9-hole golf course! It had multiple guest houses that put any house where we live to shame...there were also 20-foot tall stone gazebos scattered throughout the property.  And they had their own outdoor living room complete with a built-in fireplace and retractable window covers!  Did I already mention this place was insane?!  lol...

Our friend Isaac, with his son Tristin (the blondie)--and Tristin's brother, Braden, by the outdoor living room

Again, not the best picture because I didn't want to look like a tourist (!!!), but the super bright green area in the far back was where the golf course started!

Now, if a house has such a dramatic back-side, what can the front look like??? 

Isn't the front freakin' insane?!  If you walked out of the basement, you would come out through the little wooden door in the middle.  The driveway was all brick and as you can see, it's fairly large--and that's just HALF of the front parking area.  The driveway also forked over to the garage and then curved up the hill to the gated entrance.  Plus, if you can see on the left edge of the picture, they had a fountain!  Why would I be surprised?  Of course, they'd have a huge fountain out front!  When I told my friend Angie that this place was a "mansion," I wasn't kidding!  When she pulled up to meet us, all the two of us could do was laugh!  I mean, seriously--two Kansas farm girls spending their 4th of July at a mansion?!  Who woulda thought!  Oh, and should I mention I was wearing a $15 sundress from Maurice's?!  Ha!

Behind Justin's right shoulder you can see the archway to the garage...the little windows are also part of the garage structure!

Eventually, it was time to call it a night and reflect back on the independence that our country takes for granted and celebrate the sacrifices our service men and women make every day.  Right now, we have a good friend on his fifth--yes, fifth--deployment to the Middle East...with having a good friend currently deployed overseas, you really start to realize that how easy we have it here in the United States.

Anyhow, enough sappiness.

The next day, Justin and Isaac went to Six Flags.  You couldn't pay me enough to go there so Angie and I decided to hit up some thrift stores in the Dallas proper area.  Most of the stores were pretty lame but then we found the Salvation Army near the University Park area and holy cow--this place was like it's own little mall!  It had showrooms of furniture, home decor, home appliances, a whole room dedicated just to Women's Clothing...it was uh-mazing!!!  And the stuff was in great shape--now wonder the parking lot was jam-packed when we got there!

Finally, we just kind of spent Friday hanging out and running errands.  I had some work to get done so we made a Starbuck's stop and then--out of nowhere--popped up a Whole Foods grocery store.  Hello, danger zone!

I told Justin he could sit in the car and fry or come inside with me...and since it was hotter than Hades in Texas (but still 10 degrees cooler than Kansas), he agreed to tag along with me.  And he was glad he did!  We stocked up on our usual non-perishables (ie $2.99 bottles of wine!) and then we tried some new salsa and homemade peanut butter cups (only because they had his name on them--literally!).  Turned out, Justin LOVED both the salsa and peanut butter cups.  In fact, before we hit the road on Saturday morning, Justin requested one last stop at Whole Foods!  And then when we got back home, he said "Man, I wish we had a Whole Foods here."   Guess I won't have to fight him on going to the crunchy, granola-y stores anymore :-)

While we were out and about Friday, we ate at some awful Barbecue joint . Looking back, I should have trusted my gut--barbecue joints in nice buildings usually suck. It's the holes-in-a-wall that crank out the best food!

Once the sun set, we headed to the Uptown District to have drinks with some friends.  I could act like I know all about the Uptown District, but honestly, I don't know much about it!  It's in the heart of downtown Dallas and it looked like it was once the original business district.  The place kind of reminded me of Aggieville, but on steriods and a bit less trashy.  That said, is it even still comparable to Aggieville?!  lol...anywho, they had some really neat bars, valet parking (for only $5!!!) and fans with misting hoses, too! 

All in all, it was a great trip!  We never feel like we see enough of our friends and it makes the long drives worth every minute.  In just a few short months, Justin and Isaac will be back together for their former roommate's wedding.  We're already counting down the days until we see each other again and hopefully, Tristin will join us too!  Happy Week-After-The-4th-of-July, y'all!

Justin and His "Forever" Birthday

Yesterday was a big day in our house--it was J-Money's birthday!  And just not any typical birthday, at that.  But rather, it was his "forever" birthday...You know, the birthday where you stop counting???  For some people, the forever birthday is their 21st--for others, it's their 30th, 40th, whatever...but this year, Justin seemed to think this was his forever birthday and he wouldn't "age" in numbers beyond this point.  From this birthday on, he is always "29" years old!

If you follow my blog, you already know that Justin got his birthday present early.  In fact, only 2.5 months early!  Long story short, the smoker I was going to get him went on a major sale so I couldn't resist ordering it...and giving it to him as soon as it arrived.  I'm the absolute WORST at keeping surprises secret!

 This year, Justin's birthday fell on Father's Day and early on, we tried to figure out how we could celebrate BOTH occasions but without making one "guest of honor" feel slighted...After hearing that there would be a free concert in our City Park the eve of Father's Day Sunday, we knew what we had to do...we would throw a Blues & Barbecue party that Saturday night and we'd show-off Justin's birthday gift!

We gathered the family on Saturday evening and chowed down on pulled pork sandwiches.  After spending 18 hours in the smoker, they had an incredible flavor!

Then, we headed down to City Park for the grand finale of the annual Juneteenth Festival.  Of all the years we've been in Manhattan, this is the first time we have made it to ANY part of the festival and I'm so glad we could enjoy it!  The third Saturday of every June, people throughout the US come together to celebrate the end of slavery.  Even though the Emancipation Proclamation became official on January 1, 1863 it wasn't until two and a half years later (on June 19, 1865), that Union soldiers sailed into Galveston, Texas, announced the end of the Civil War and read aloud a general order freeing the quarter-million slaves residing in the state. It's very likely that none of them had any idea that they had actually been freed more than two years before. It was truly a day of mass emancipation. Thus, this date has become known as Juneteenth.  Only about one-half of the states recognize Juneteenth and I have to say that I am most grateful that our community has coordinated such a strong and vibrant celebration!

 

But back to the story!  The Juneteenth festival brought in the Daddy Mack Blues Band from Memphis, TN for their grand finale.  Daddy Mack is definitely your old-man electric-blues musician but between him and the three other guys in the band, they rocked the house!  AND the concert was free!  It's crazy to think that people travel to Beale Street to hear him play, but he was in the heart of the Little Apple jammin' for us :-)

Finally, the show was over and our guests headed home.  We called it a night because in just a few short hours, it would officially be J-Money's birthday!!!  That morning, we went to church and celebrated his big day by putting money in BESS.  BESS (which stands for Blessings Everybody Shares Spiritually) is a piggy-bank that members of our church contribute to anytime they have a blessing or thanksgiving to share--then, the money is sent to our sister-church in Haiti to help with outreach projects in their country.  It's pretty cool to think that celebrating Justin's birthday with our church family also helps out those in need!

After church, we watched the movie Acts of Valor--it was an amazing movie but I don't know how you could end that movie with a dry eye!  It really isn't the best movie to watch on a birthday because it shifts your mood from celebratory to reflective...all I could think about was how I was glad all our friends and brother-in-law have come back safe--and how I continue to pray that our friend who's currently deployed will come back safe.  In other words, don't watch it unless you have time to decompress a bit!!!

Once the movie was over, we took a quick nap and then got around for supper at Houlihan's.  Did you know that if you go online and sign up for their birthday club, they give you $15 off any entree during your birthday week?!  And as luck had it, their appetizers are discounted on Sunday nights so we ended up saving more than we spent!

Usually, we both want to face the door when we go out to eat but last night, Justin wanted to face the bar---???  Turns out, the NBA finals were on and he had a direct line of sight to the television if he faced the bar.  Go figure!!!  lol...

After Justin devoured his steak dinner, it was time for birthday cake!!!  Thank you, Coldstone, for making my man happy :-)

And to be sure that no other Justin walked out the door with our birthday cake, I made sure they personalized it just a bit more than usual ;-)

"I have frosting on my face???"

"Oh, yeah--I do!"

All in all, we had a great day and great weekend celebrating Justin's "forever" birthday and showing off his birthday present!  As the saying goes, he's another year older and another year wiser :-)

Our New Toy!!!

We bought a tractor!!!

Okay, well--it's a small tractor. 

And it's yellow.

For a farm girl that grew up surrounded by green tractors, this is a big adjustment for me to make!

Oh, and this tractor doesn't pull, plow or do anything else fancy.

This little guy just chugs along in our yard and waters our grass!

During the past few years, we have tried about every type of sprinkler available--except for this one.  Frankly, it was kind of nerdy and I wasn't about to have it roaming our yard.  Instead, we bought all the other sprinklers at the store.  Some sprinklers did an okay job spraying water for a while, but then they would turn into a big piece of junk before too long.  Or, the settings were all or nothing--so we either had to spend all weekend moving sprinklers OR watering the street plus the neighbor's yard.

And while my ADD is in full-effect, let me mention that the above grass is not OUR grass! Boy, how I wish it was because our yard is so far from looking like that!  I have to admit, within a year's time of owning our house, we had a pretty good lookin' lawn. We had significantly reduced the amount of crabgrass and weeds--BUT, we still fought the Bermuda grass that came with the property.

Being a natural competitor, my husband decided he was going to get COMPLETELY rid of the Bermuda--AND make our yard look better than the professionally-landscaped house two doors down.  And this is the house that he wants to beat...The natural realist in me wants to point out that we could work our tails off and end up with a better yard.  But, their house will always kick our house's arse!

Anywho, in his quest to win the very, VERY "secret" competition with the neighbors, Justin did a bunch of research on eradicating Bermuda grass.  In addition to doing his homework, my husband befriended our local Extension Agent, invited the agent over for site-visits and also made sure he befriended the staff at our local Horticultural Services store.  Long story short, we found it was best to spray Round-Up all over our yard several times in the Fall and then install sod in the Spring...if we did that, we had a pretty good chance of getting rid of all the Bermuda. 

We sat down with a pencil and decided we would kill off the yard, live with a big ol' patch of dirt, plant grass seed in the "better" spots and then lay sod in the "trouble" spots.  Justin would finally win his competition!  Which, in my opinion, I thought our yard already looked pretty good...but a good wife always supports her husband's hobbies, right?!  For those of you who are curious, this is what our yard looked like last June.

At the time I tried my best, but I just couldn't convince Justin that our yard just really wasn't that bad!  I was all about just sitting back (ie being lazy) and letting the yard take care of itself...but who was I kidding?!  I knew that I, too, would enjoy having a super-well maintained yard :-)

Well, as life usually goes, plans changed and we didn't get all of the yard killed off because we decided we'd wait until Spring to do that.  Then, Spring came and we realized that with me becoming a Realtor and all the costs associated with doing so, we weren't going to be able to re-do our yard.

Ahhh, gotta love when plans change, eh?!  And when you're consequently stuck with half a yard of dead grass!

At this point, our yard looks horrible!  The south side of our yard is pure dirt, we're missing sections of grass by our shade garden, we have a dirt patch by the garage and the northern section of the yard is very patchy.  Granted, we DO have grass in some spots--and some pretty good grass, at that.  But, overall, our grass looks awful.  Guess that's what happens when you get the cart ahead of the horse and put down crab-grass preventer before patching in your yard!

Now, the plan is to replant and overseed our yard in the fall...in the meantime, we're trying to salvage what grass we DO have and prepare the ground for when it's time to replant.  And like the rest of the state, we have had hardly any snow or rain this year so we have to water, water, water.

And this is where our little yellow tractor saves the day!

I had always noticed the little tractor driving around the yard of old people's houses and couldn't figure out what the attraction was.  Maybe, because they were old-people, they just liked the fact that it was a tractor???  And in their world, tractors were pretty cool pieces of machinery???

Again, after doing some research, we discovered that you form a path with your yard hose, attach your tractor to the end of the hose and put the hose between the tractor wheels, then it follows your hose until it hits its end-point.  Just like that--without ever having to go out and move the sprinklers--your yard is watered!  Sign me up :-)

With that, we went to the store and bought one.  And yes, they're everything they are cracked up to be!  We are able to adjust the speed and distance of the water--and it just chugs along until it's watered the whole yard!  We never have to step out to mess with the crazy thing :-)  It's seriously about the best thing since sliced bread and I can't believe I was so apprehensive (or too vain!) to buy one.  Now that we've figured out an easy way to get our grass watered, we just have to figure out a way to remember to water our yard on a regular basis!

The First 30 Days

Just a month ago, I blogged about the "new diet" that my husband and I started.  In the post, I explained that we were going wheat and lactose free after discovering that my body didn't tolerate either one very well!

Obviously, it's been 30 days since I shared that post--and at the time, we were about 2 weeks into the diet. That puts us about 6 weeks out since we went wheat and lactose free and it's going VERY well!

My husband has no problem with wheat.  He could eat a huge bowl of pasta and within an hour, he would be ready for more food.  In the past, if I tried eating a big bowl of spaghetti for supper, within an hour my belly was aching, I was nauseous and even come morning, things were still funky.  The last thing I wanted to do was eat more food and further aggravate my tummy.  My husband also has no problem with lactose--give him a pint of Ben & Jerry's and he's in heaven.  I, on the other hand, could treat myself to ice cream but within no time, well...I'll spare ya the details ;-)

Point is, his stomach is made of steel!  And mine sucks.  It's just that simple!

Fortunately, we have been able to maintain a normal diet--and it's been affordable, too.  Not only does that make me happy, but Justin's over the moon about it all!  In fact, he mentioned the other day that it doesn't even seem like we've had to make a big change.  We still eat plenty of meat (it's just not breaded or I just skip the bun if it's served as a sandwich), vegetables, fruits and we have rice/quinoa/potatoes for our starch.  On the rare occasion, I might prepare pasta or homemade bread that is wheat-free and my new cookie of choice is monster cookies.  Not only are they loaded with yummy peanut butter, chocolate and raisins, but they're something that never, ever called for flour!  Every now and then, I crave something crunchy and salty--luckily, a lot of chips are naturally wheat-free.  We're getting ready to host a Father's Day barbecue at our house complete with all the typical barbecue fare.  The cool part?  The only item that will contain wheat is the bun for the pulled pork--and who wants to waste precious stomach space on bread when you can fill up with awesome meat and homemade barbecue sauce?! 

I would say that over all, this whole "diet" thing has been super easy!  But, I have learned two VERY important lessons along the way...

1.  Forget about being "polite."  When people take the time to make or purchase special treats, I always felt obligated to take a bite so that I wouldn't come off as rude or inconsiderate.  Well, let me tell ya--I learned early on that it wasn't worth being polite and eating something I know I shouldn't eat. 

2.  Read labels.  For me, it's just not summer without the classic strawberry Twizzlers.  I remember buying them by the yard at the local swimming pool!  Well, last week they were on sale at the grocery store and I picked up several packages, came home and spent the next 24 hours snacking away.  By the end of the 24 hours, I was super sick and couldn't leave the bathroom.  The following day, I still couldn't leave the bathroom and I was in horrible pain...by bedtime that night, I was in tears because I was so frustrated with what was going on.  Ummmmmm, turns out--licorice is made out of WHEAT!   And how in the world would I have known that?!  Oh yeah, by reading the label--duh!  I've since learned that my Rolo's--another one of my favorite candies--also has a bunch of wheat in it.  Seriously?!  But at least I figured that out the easy way :-) 

All in all, the past 6 weeks have been pretty easy--and worth it!  My chronic headaches and migraines are gone, my stomach is 10x better, my acid reflux is greatly improved, I haven't had a single rash develop, I can think clearly, I don't crash in the middle of the afternoon, I'm sleeping better at night and my night-sweats have even disappeared, my joints haven't hurt any, I have enough energy to get to the gym...the list goes on and on.  I'm just glad that it's been so easy--we can keep eating normal food which means the husband is happy and now that I know what WILL happen if I eat something I shouldn't, it's pretty easy to stay on track :-)

An Evening With The Taste of Home Cooking School

Just over a week ago, my girlfriends and I did something I had always wanted to do--we went to the Taste of Home Cooking School when it came through town!

When I was a little girl, I loved looking through my Grandma Marcene's Taste of Home magazines...the recipes always looked SO good and I loved reading the anecdotal stories that went along with each dish.

And to this day, I'm still a Taste of Home fan.  But now I don't have to flip through their magazines--I just head straight to their website!

So when Jen asked if I wanted to go to the Cooking School when it came to K-State last week, I was game!

For just $10, we received tickets to the show, a tote bag full of samples, two Taste of Home magazines, bunches of coupons and chances at the door prizes.  Oddly enough, one of the coupons was for 20% off any hair service where I get my hair done--you can bet that I'll be using that when I'm due for another round of color :-)

Anyhow, our "chef" for the evening was Jamie Dunn.  She's from Oklahoma but based on her drawl, I would have thought she was from somewhere further South than that!  But she was great to listen to and I really learned a lot of great tips that she shared as she made the various recipes.

McCain Auditorium was transformed into a cooking stage for the night!

They projected the cooking area onto the large overhead screen so we could see everything Jamie did

Speaking of recipes, over the course of 3 hours, Jamie made a total of ten recipes.  Now, that's some really fast cooking!!!  Being the space-cadet that I am, I already recycled the magazine and I can't remember the proper names of the dishes, but I'll still try my best...

Chocolate Strawberry Shortcakes

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Taco Casserole

Johnsonville(R) Italian Meatballs

Mexican Shrimp Bisque

Asparagus Strudel

Gallo(R) Chipotle Lime Chicken

For the life of me, I couldn't find the other three recipes that she made that evening--and at this point, I can't remember what the names were, either!  Regardless, I do remember that when Jamie made them, they looked GOOD!

All in all, it was a great evening!  If you ever have a chance to attend one of their Cooking Schools, you definitely need to go and make sure you take your girlfriends with you.  When you combine great friends and good food, what could be better?!