Eating Gluten-Free at Conferences

Last week, I wrote about the challenges of being gluten free and dining with groups. This week, I am going to talk about another group dining challenge: conference meals. I will state for the record that even if you’re not gluten free, meals at conferences tend to be, well, okay. It’s hard to make a thousand or so meals that meet a wide and diverse range of attendees…interesting (and affordable). Continue reading “Eating Gluten-Free at Conferences”

Overnight Crockpot Baked Beans

While I will admit to a fondness for baked beans, I’ve always shied away from the canned version because I am not a fan of sweet foods. Sure, I’ll indulge if I encounter the canned version, but I won’t buy them unless I have a serious craving.

Yeah, I crave baked beans.

If the craving is minor and time is plentiful — or I know I need a killer dish to bring to a barbecue — I go straight for my crockpot and let the beans cook overnight. The slow cooker does all the work of cooking the beans through while developing a rich sauce that is just sweet enough with some tangy and spicy flavors to balance that sweetness. Best of all: no soaking required! I just toss everything into the crockpot, and let it work while I catch up on TV and much-needed sleep.

Group Dining: The Biggest Gluten-Free Challenge

Recently, I discussed the fact that the gluten-free diet is not boring. Maybe a better way to put it is that the gluten-free diet is as boring as any other diet in the world: it’s what you put into what you eat that defines boring or exciting. I personally prefer exciting, varied, and adventurous. When I eliminated gluten from my diet, I made it my mission to eat very, very well.

Recently, I had an email exchange with an individual who indicated that a certain city continued to disappoint her when it came to gluten-free dining. Surprised, because I’d managed to eat a wide range of gluten-free meals in various corners of that city, I contacted this person for more information. It turned out it wasn’t the city, it was the diners involved. Continue reading “Group Dining: The Biggest Gluten-Free Challenge”

Gluten-Free Product Review: Saffron Road Simmer Sauces

It has come to my attention that when it comes to lengthy, complex meal prep, I am an outlier: I enjoy spending an hour or so chopping, dicing, mincing, blending, and preparing ingredients for a recipe. Often, I gain more satisfaction from the prep work than I do actually eating.

Probably because by the time the dish is served, I’ve tasted and tasted to the point where I’m full! Continue reading “Gluten-Free Product Review: Saffron Road Simmer Sauces”

Gluten-Free Ingredient Crush: Lentils

How do I love lentils, let me count the ways….

At the risk of shaming my mother, I grew up in a lentil-free household. Yes, it’s true, there was nary a lentil to be seen in our house. We were not adventurous eaters (in my mother’s defense, feeding four plus children on a daily basis while working full-time was challenging enough). I was a registered adult before I had my first, delicious, addictive lentil. Continue reading “Gluten-Free Ingredient Crush: Lentils”

Avoiding Dogmatic Diets

If I were to sum up the diet trends of the past few decades, it would be something like this, with all apologies to Michael Pollan: eat more vegetables, eat less meat, eat whole foods instead of processed foods.

Pretty simple, and it’s a philosophy I practice (almost) every meal. I don’t like dogmatic approaches to diet — I mean, except the part where no gluten will ever be part of any meal I eat. That’s not so much dogmatism as it is keeping me healthy and alive. Continue reading “Avoiding Dogmatic Diets”