wheat-free

I’m going wheat-free for the next two weeks.

No, I don’t have an allergy, nor am I jumping on the low-carb band wagon. I’m simply experimenting.

I recently read Wheat Belly, by William Davis, as part of the Western New York Dietetics Association’s book club. The group was actually started by a friend who is a senior in the dietetics program at Buff State, and she invited me to join in. I’m not a member of the WNYDA yet, but I’m sure I will be once I actually some initials after my name 😉

Anyway, I loved the idea of a book club exploring the latest and greatest fad diets, since as ‘food and nutrition experts,’ we need to be informed about what our patients and clients are reading. About 15 of us met at a local juice bar in Buffalo–about half current dietetics students and half RDs–to discuss the book.

I’ll be honest–there wasn’t a lot of positives to talk about in the book. (Sorry to burst anyone’s bubble.) In short, the book was an attack on modern day wheat and Dr. Davis (who is a cardiologist) asserts that it can be blamed for just about every ailment known to man. Have acne? It’s wheat’s fault. Diabetes? Definitely wheat, not those jelly beans. Obesity? For sure it’s your wheat bread intake that’s making you fat.

While the book appeared to be well-researched, it really wasn’t, yet Dr. Davis’s charismatic language and fear-inducing claims are sure to hook gobs of people looking for a quick fix for weight-loss or various gastrointestinal issues.

Now, were some of his points interesting? Sure. I agree that the wheat we eat today is definitely NOT the same wheat people were eating hundreds of years ago, thanks to genetic engineering and hyper-processing. Could that have nutritional implications? Sure. Is being in a state of hyperglycemia (too much sugar in your bloodstream) good for you? Definitely not. But should we eat candy before we eat wheat bread (as Dr. Davis says)? Goodness no.

In short, I definitely do not recommend this book and I would caution anyone to take a very critical look at any diet that eliminates (or severely decreases) an entire food group. To read the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ review of Wheat Belly, click here.

That being said, I was still intrigued by some of his assertions. While I don’t have any aches, pains or acne, nor am I overweight, lethargic or suffer from GI problems, I’m curious to see what eliminating wheat will do. Or not do. Dr. Davis says many of his patients lose tons of weight after following their new wheat-free diets for just a week or so. (Of course they lose a bunch of weight! They give up all that processed crap they were eating in favor of carrot sticks?)

Really, I’m just curious. This is a ‘diet’ that will encourage me to eat more fruits and vegetables, curb what little ‘junk’ food I do eat, and I may even feel a little better afterward. Because you can replace the vitamins, minerals and fiber found in wheat with those found in vegetables, this diet (especially in the short term) won’t have serious nutritional ramifications. In the end, it will be a challenge, it’s fun and gimmicky, so why not?

This morning, I had my first wheat-free (on purpose) meal: a banana, almond milk, yogurt, avocado and protein powder smoothie. Not bad. A friend has been adding avocados to her meals lately and she’s loving it. Avocados are full of healthy fats and vitamins and fiber, so I thought I’d amp up my intake, too.

Verdict: This smoothie kept me full til noon. In my snack-every-two-hours book, that’s impressive.

I planned our meals this week using some recipes included in the book–some of which are wheat ‘alternative’ recipes such as a pizza made with a cauliflower crust (that’s for tomorrow) and a stir-fry with wheat-free noodles, and others are simply meals without grains, like a meat entree and roasted vegetables or a smoothie. I’m even going to try some of the baked recipes, like the banana-blueberry muffins or apple-almond bread. For baking, almond meal, flaxseed meal and coconut flour make many appearances.

And remember that wheat isn’t just breads–it’s cereals, pretzels, cookies, snacks and it’s even hiding in lots of things. Dr. Davis encourages readers to give up just about anything that will send your blood sugar soaring, like anything with fructose, corn and other grain products. He also limits rice, beans, fruit and starchy vegetables, like white potatoes and corn. (Think Atkins.)

I don’t know that I’ll be drastically limiting my fruit intake, but I am going to try to cut out all wheat products in the interest of the experiment. The diet relies heavily on vegetables, dairy, meat and nuts, which will give me plenty of protein and will encourage satiety–both good things. While I was on spring break this past week, I kinda took a ‘vacation’ from my normal healthy habits (there might have been some Ben & Jerry’s…), so I’m ready for a diet jump-start right about now!

So long, wheat! See you in two weeks 🙂

St. Paddy’s Day

Did you know it’s ‘St. Patrick’s Day’ or ‘St. Paddy’s Day,’ but not ‘St. Patty’s Day?’

I didn’t, until yesterday. Good thing I’ve always gone with the full name out of ignorance. For a moment there, I felt like I did as a kid when I found out that my ‘ValenTIME’ was really ‘ValenTINE.’

I have no idea why I like March 17 so much, since I’m not Irish nor did my family ever do anything special growing up, but nonetheless, I love it. I wear my green and make Irish Soda Bread without fail.

(Andrew always comments when I wear this shirt on St. Patrick’s Day… I get to wear it ONE out of 365 days a year! What, does he think I’ll forget and not wear it?!)

We started our day with shamrock shakes.

(Points for green apples and a green mixer in the photo, too!)

My soda bread was cooling on the counter by 7 a.m.

Before leaving for school, I prepped and loaded the crockpot with the goods for corned beef, cabbage and veggies. I think the addition of potatoes and carrots technically makes it a ‘New England Boiled Dinner,’ (according to Betty Crocker) but I’m going with Corned Beef and Cabbage.’ It’s more Irish.

The corned beef turned out wonderfully, which was an added bonus since it was my first time attempting it.

The soda bread was perhaps my best. I’ve been using King Arthur Flour’s Irish-American Soda Bread recipe the past couple years, but I started out using Martha Stewart’s. Both are great.

On the side, we had the boiled veggies and cabbage. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but the cabbage wasn’t very good. Perhaps it was a bit overdone? It was mushy, as opposed to just slightly crunchy.

Mr. Nye joined us, as Mrs. Nye is currently out of town. Mr. Nye even came sporting a green clover-leaf necklace. Way to get into the spirit! Hadrian’s ears are back there, too.

For dessert, I SO wanted to make some sort of green-mint-chocolate concoction, but Andrew would never go for it (which would just leave me with a ton of leftover dessert) so I opted for another ‘Irish’ favorite: apple crisp. Not exactly sure why so many apple crisps came up when I googled ‘Irish desserts,’ but it’s got to be the oats. I went with Ellie Krieger’s Apple Crisp from one of my cookbooks, and I’ll be honest–it wasn’t that great. Don’t get me wrong–it was sweet and warm and tasty–but if you’re looking for an amazing apple crisp, it’s just not it. (For amazing, try Barefoot Contessa’s Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp.) It’s just too darn healthy. I did like that it used three different kinds of apples WITH their skins (more fiber!) and I ended up using hazelnuts in the topping instead of almonds.

So what does one do with a too-healthy dessert??

They top it with ice cream and GREEN whipped cream!

And tonight, we’re having REUBENS with the leftovers!

to Africa and back

Awhile ago (as in, I don’t even remember how long ago), my friend Regina (at least I think that’s who it was) recommended a recipe for a sweet potato stew to me. I don’t even remember why she thought to tell me about it. I’m just all sorts of forgetful these days, aren’t I?!

Anyway, the recipe for African Sweet Potato Stew with Red Beans has been in my to-make pile for awhile, and I thought it would be perfect for Meatless Monday this week. (Except that we ate it tonight, which is indeed Tuesday, but whatever. It’s the thought that counts.)

I’ll admit, I didn’t have super high hopes that Andrew would like this dish. It has beans in it, after all.

So you can imagine my surprise when he announced that, in fact, he did like it. According to him, the red beans “didn’t ruin in by making it too dry.”

In fact, “You can’t even taste them,” he said. Whatever works, right?

To go with it, I made Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day’s ‘Msemmen,’ which is an Algerian flatbread. I thought it would go nicely. It was super easy and absolutely amazing. Basically, you make their basic dough recipe, roll it out, spread a spice mixture on it as if it were pizza, then you roll the dough into a log and swirl it into a cinnamon roll shape before letting it rest for 20 minutes. After that, you simply roll it out again, which causes the spice mixture to create layers in the dough. Then, pan-fry in a skillet.