Good Enough for the White House

Hello again!  Where did I go you ask?  Well, nowhere.

But you know those times when life is really overwhelming, the house is a constant disaster, and you are thankful for frozen leftovers because you don't have time to cook.  Yeah, that pretty much where I was...

Good news though, I just finished writing a final exam last night and think life might be a little more manageable again. So now that I have rediscovered what it is like to have some spare time, I get to cook and bake again. Yay!!

I have had my eye on this 'Biggest Loser' Salad that was served at the White House for some time now...

So along with a really delicious sandwich (which I will tell you all about in a minute), we had dinner.

Sorry for the half eaten sandwich...I have to remember to take pictures before I eat!

If you were to ask me a year ago if I thought I could ever have a sandwich again, I would have given a very confident NO!

Ask me now and you'll get a YES! paired with a big smile.  What makes this possible?  My gluten-free buns from Udi's and deli meat from May Family Farms which have g-free ingredients- both purchased at Save-On Foods. Tonight I added some bacon, spinach, and avocado and had one of the best sandwiches I have ever made.

Correction: I am taking all of the credit, the sandwich was actually 100% my husband's doing and it was so good!

The salad was simple to make and delicious.  I can get the credit for this part.  I do however regret the fact that I had to use tomatoes from Mexico, instead of a fresh, local ones.  But nonetheless, it was still really great!  My anti-tomato and onion husband even liked it...in fact he said "I am getting skinnier with every bite".  I don't know if that was actually true. 

Here is the recipe * (with my adaptations)- Serves 2

• 3 handfuls of baby spinach, big pieces ripped in half
• 1/2 cucumber cut in quarters
• 1 Roma tomato, cut into chunks
• Red onion (I used a very small amount..it's so strong!)
• A bunch of basil leaves cut up

Dressing**- mix together:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp lemon
• 1 tsp honey
• salt and pepper to taste

Notes:
*I measured my ingredients based on how much I like them...for the actual proportions, check out the recipe here.
**I didn't add the dressing until I was ready to serve.  Instead I made each part individually and refrigerated both until I was ready to serve.

Top 5 Ingredients I love!

People are frequently wanting to know replacements that I use and where I find them.  
Here is a list of my top 5 favorite and most used ingredients that allow me to eat like everyone else.

#5. Daiya meant that I can eat pizza again! Use it to replace cheese on pasta, pizza, nachos, I use:

Daiya Cheese

*You can buy Daiya at Save-on, Superstore, or any specialty food Stores

  

 #4. To replace butter and margarine in baking and cooking, I use: 

Earth Balance Vegan Spread

*You can buy Earth Balance anywhere, though I prefer to buy the large container at
Community Food Co-op in Bellingham, it's cheaper.

#3. I have tried a few different brands of Gluten Free bread, this one is by far my favorite. 

Udi's Gluten Free Bread & Buns

*You can buy it at most stores, but I like to get mine on sale or at Trader Joe's and freeze it

#2. I could live without coconut oil, but I don't want to.  I get mine at Trader Joe's, but it is sold in a lot of places.

I use it for all sorts of things: replacement for oil and butter in baking & cooking, spread on my bread and as a nightly face moisturizer.

Coconut Oil

* I came across this great post today on 52 uses for coconut Oil. 
Check it out here

#1. Quinoa.  I could not eat without Quinoa.  I eat it as is, as pasta and as flour.

Quinoa Flour, Quinoa, & Quinoa Pasta

* I buy the flour and pasta at Community Food Co-op and the bag of quinoa at Costco (4lbs for $9!).



I hope these ingredients can be as helpful in your kitchen as they are mine.