Daiya Cream Cheese Style Spread

Every time I pick up a new pack of my dairy-free cheese, I notice all the other dairy-free products. It's crazy, isn't it? Butter, sour cream, cream cheese, you name it, you can get it dairy-free. I usually eye up all the options, and then buy only what I actually needed.

Cream cheese is my biggest weakness. I used to be a bagel-addict. I probably ate a dozen bagels every month, sometimes more. If I was out of cream cheese, I'd eat peanut butter or Nutella on them, but cream cheese was my very favourite thing.

I honestly have not bought a single pack of cream cheese since my diagnosis.

Not one.

How depressing is that? I consider it, every now and then, but what would I eat it on? Whenever I buy bread products, I usually have a plan for them. I'll buy a pack of gluten-free sliced ham and a loaf of bread and eat sandwiches for lunch a few days. Or I'll buy a package of gluten-free crackers and a little package of goat cheese. Bread products are such a luxury for me, that I haven't wanted to "waste" one on cream cheese.

But I caved. I bought a package of gluten-free sandwich bread and a little container of Daiya cream cheese style spread in strawberry flavour.

Quick Meals: One Pan Lunch

I love breakfast foods, but I very rarely eat breakfast, so what I really love is breakfast for dinner. Or lunch. You know, I think I'm in love with lunch. At lunch, you can eat breakfast or dinner or whatever you please and nobody judges you. Roast beef for lunch? Cool. Waffles with whip cream? Okay. Peanut butter sandwich? Awesome. See? Nobody cares. Lunch is the best meal of the day.

However, most people don't have a lot of time for lunch. I know I'm lucky by being able to go home every day for lunch, but I still have a limited time to prepare and consume lunch.

When you combine the love of breakfast with the lack of time, you end up with bacon. Bacon and eggs. Neither take very long to cook, and they're whole, real and a part of most clean-eating diets. I add in a potato patty because I'm still a little old-school and I like to see carbs as a part of my meals. Amazingly, I discovered that one egg, one potato patty and two slices of bacon all fits in one pan.

I add the bacon to a dry, heated pan, and let some of the fat come out, and then add the egg and patty so that they cook in bacon grease. Oh, so healthy, hmm? I like to cook my egg sunny side up or over easy and then soak up the yolk with my potato patty.

I like this meal because it's about limits. I can only cook two slices of bacon and one egg, even though my brain says I want two eggs and three slices of bacon. Also, without any added oil, salt or sugar (besides whatever the potato patty was processed with...), it is very nearly a clean eating meal! (Most clean-eating or paleo diets restrict potatoes, which is why I haven't managed a paleo diet yet.)

Quick Meals - Huevos Rancheros

I've been working two jobs for six months now. This means a couple of things. Primarily, it means I don't have a lot of spare time. And what spare time my schedule does leave me gets eaten up by fun, enjoyable things (like dancing! I've taken up ballroom dancing). This means that I either eat really poorly (hello, cans of soup) or really creatively. When I have that extra mental energy, I think up some pretty cool meals that take a minimum amount of prep time, and when I don't, I eat like a college kid.

This is one of my favourites. I bought a big bag of frozen corn tortillas at a Mexican grocery in Saskatoon, and they are quite the staple. I scramble two eggs and heat up three tortillas with a dab of butter and presto! It makes a great breakfast, a quick lunch, and a good dinner. Not that I eat it three times a day, but it's very versatile and I love it. If I have some salsa or guacamole on hand, I throw that on there too. Or a slice of avocado, if I haven't eaten the whole avocado before the eggs cook.

It's basically a super quick version of huevos rancheros. I love it.

Brown's Social House

A couple weekends ago, I decided to brave something unknown. Going to new restaurants makes me anxious, even when they have amazing gluten-free-friendly reviews. A new restaurant opened downtown not too long ago, and I haven't really heard much. I mean, I know people who went, and they said the food was good, the atmosphere was nice, etc, but they really aren't going to know how the place treats a gluten allergy. Suffice it to say, I was nervous.

But, feeling adventurous, I went to Brown's Social House! The service was incredibly friendly. The hostess asked if we'd been there before, and quickly explained their menu. The waitress was was friendly. I told her I had a gluten allergy, so she said she'd grab a manager. A minute or two later, a very nice gentleman appeared and walked me through the menu, bottom to top. Yes, bottom to top. I don't know why, but he even commented that he always starts at the bottoms of menus. Anyways, he pointed out every dish I could eat. They'd all need substitutions or accommodations made, but there were several options for me. Some of them sounded sub-par without the bread component, but a few sounded even better like that. Like the breakfast burrito I ordered.

Jerry's Artisan Burgers & Gelato

I'm quick to say a place is my favourite, but this place is my favourite. First of all, gelato. I shouldn't have to say more, but this place is so amazing, I do.

I was pointed towards Jerry's the first time, because I expressed a need to have ice cream, and M's new flatmates said there was a gelato place not far from their house. They have two display cases filled with ice cream, gelato and sorbet, all made by them. I did have a hard time finding two gluten-free chocolate-free gelatos, for my friend (who has a chocolate allergy) and I, but that is a little bit specific, so I don't blame them.

On my second trip there, I noticed their billboard advertising a gluten-free friendly menu, and a sign saying breakfast was served until two pm. I'm a serious lover of breakfast at all times of the day.

The Hollows in Saskatoon

The Hollows is this little gem of a restaurant, buried in an iffy area of Saskatoon. Driving by, it looks like a run-down Chinese restaurant. A out-dated neon sign reads The Golden Dragon. Underneath, broken neon lights list typical Chinese dishes this restaurant once served. The large window nearest the door has a new, white window decal that reads The Hollows.

Smitty's

It's been awhile; I know. I have all sorts of excuses: working a lot, being sick a lot, not sleeping a lot, and just plain laziness. Ultimately, I haven't blogged because I haven't baked anything new. At all. We've been eating tacos and pasta and banana muffins for too long. I need to get back to experimenting, I know.

Anyways, the reason I'm blogging now is because I officially had the worst restaurant experience. I've been pretty appalled before by the lack of knowledge waitresses have, and truly pathetic gluten-aware menus, and even having food delivered to me with obvious sources of gluten right on top, but this, I think, tops the cake.

The other day, I worked an eight hour shift on a Saturday, so lovely hubby had the day off. He met me for my break, like he does sometimes, and we decided to go eat at Smitty's, for it's convenient location in the mall.

I told the waitress right away that I had a gluten allergy, so she brought me the gluten-aware menu. I quickly settled on a spinach and swiss omelette, and ordered. The menu didn't have a plethora of options, but there were a few things that caught my eye.

The omelette came out to me with something creamy and white all over the whole thing. I asked if it was the swiss, and the waitress said, "It should be, but it looks like hollandaise. I'm sure it's fine, but I'll just go check." Starving, and with a limited amount of time to eat, I took two quick bites before the waitress came back and said, "Sorry, I'll have to take that back. It's not gluten-free." Say what? I ordered off the gluten-free menu, and informed you that I had a gluten allergy, yet you still brought me food that contains gluten?

She came back with safe food shortly, and apologized. She said she didn't know that the gluten-aware version doesn't have hollandaise sauce, so the kitchen added it, like they usually would. She also didn't bother to inform them of my allergy. She said, "Some people order off the gluten-free menu out of preference." Yes, but I told you I had an allergy.

So, I ate my safe spinach and swiss omelette, and enjoyed it, and got back to work in time, but felt minorly cruddy all day. Not like stabbing stomach pains, but the brain fog and headache. Not something that I was expecting to endure.

So does this top the cake? Well, my waitress didn't know anything, I had a pathetic gluten-free menu, and I had food delivered with gluten right on top. Yeah, I'd say it does top the cake.

Day 66: Shoppin' in the Big City

I went shopping for interview clothes today. For someone who works at City Hall, I have a surprising lack of dress clothes. Maybe because I could wear jeans and t-shirts to work everyday and no one would notice...

I haven't bought clothes for myself since summer time, except some pants when I need them. Mostly because I gained a lot of weight before being diagnosed (because my body stopped processing nutrients, and I had zero energy, but was always hungry), and I'm having a hard time shedding it now, because gluten-free things are higher in calories (more fat in flours like coconut and rice), and I'm listening to my body and eating when hungry rather than counting calories and forcing myself to eat a regulated amount.

So the point is, I promised myself I wouldn't buy clothes until I could fit the clothes I want to buy. I'm only a pant size or two away from a comfortable size now, so it's not totally far-off.

But.. my temp job that I've had for almost a year ends in two weeks, and I need to begin the job hunt. Part of that, is interviews. Which means I need a few well-fitting, classy, friendly, not-slutty dress shirts, and some well-fitting dress pants. I'm hoping I don't need to do too many interviews, but I do need to be prepared.

I took Banana with me, because I kind of hate shopping with a purpose for myself. I can shop and buy fun clothes, but hunting for a situation-specific shirt? Yuck. So basically, we'd walk into a store, I'd follow her around for a bit, and then just wander off and look at pretty things, and then come back and try on everything she grabbed. I might be the most spacey friend she has. She didn't mind though. It's much more fun to shop for someone else because you can forget about the insecurities you have about your own body. And you can make them try on ridiculous things. It's a barrel of laughs.

Ooh! I also went to Bath & Body Works, because they just opened one in the mall in the bigger city. Previously, the closest one was eight hours away, and mostly I just bought stuff there on our trips to the states to visit my in-law family.

Denny's Gluten Free Menu

I ate breakfast at Denny's - Pepper Bacon Avocado Omelette, with hashbrowns and no toast. They actually brought it out to me without avocado, so when I realized, they brought me a plate with some avocado on it. Mmm. I love avocado. They had a gluten-aware menu, but what I ordered wasn't on it, because it was a new feature dish, and the gluten friendly menu was old, but I checked all the bits and pieces.

And we had lunch at Wok Box, because they are amazing. Well, maybe not totally. They threw a fortune cookie in my bag with my takeout box. Which I know isn't a big deal, but it makes me wonder if the guy who made my food knew it was a gluten allergy, or if he just didn't think about it, because it's a habit.

Day 63: Humpty's

I feel like I've been eating out a ton lately. I don't think it's been more than once a week, which is actually less than I used to eat out, but more than I planned to, or than I did at the beginning. Also, eating out is such an ordeal now.

We went to Boston Pizza actually, but we mistimed it and went at dinner time so it was pretty busy. Instead of bothering to wait, we crossed the road and went to Humpty's. My husband has actually never been to Humpty's, but he always pictures Denny's when I mention it, so he never wants to go. But I got him to go, and then he realized he had never been, and was amazed at how many things looked good on the menu.

I tried to Google gluten-free Humpty's options, but I couldn't seem to find anything, so I just asked the waitress when she came by. She said the fritters were gluten-free. I always get confused about the many potato options, so those are the ones that are little potato chunks shoved together in a cylindrical shape.

I asked a million questions, and changed my mind several times, and ended up getting a Popeye omelette. Spinach, mushrooms, tomato and swiss. It was pretty good. Certainly not the most amazing breakfast in my life, but it was enjoyable. It came with toast too, which I had put on the side and Hubby-Darling ate it. Not that he minded.

The thing with breakfast is that eggs and most egg dishes are safe, but most of the extras are not. Ham, fritters, toast, wraps, pancakes and croissants are all (usually) a no-go. So if I stick to a plain and simple breakfast, I'm probably safe. I just have to stick with boring.

So the verdict on Humpty's is: It was breakfast. I couldn't find any non-breakfast options, so I'm pretty well stuck to eggs there. I will go if other people want to go, because I can eat something, but I won't be going out of my way to eat there.

Day 61: Breakfast Casserole

I made breakfast for dinner. Like many a human being, that was one of my favorite things growing up. My mom would make big stacks of fluffy waffles, and I'd painstakingly fill every single square hole with syrup. Or she'd have a big plate full of soft pancakes, and we'd cover them with sliced bananas, strawberries, whipped cream, and syrup. Waffles were more common. Either way, she'd freeze all of the leftovers and we would heat them up for breakfast in the weeks to come. Way better than freezer waffles.

I haven't actually tried either pancakes or waffles, yet, but I do have some gluten free waffles in the freezer that my mom bought for me.

Now that I'm an adult, I don't have breakfast for dinner much. Hubby isn't as big a fan as waffles or pancakes, and I'm not as big a fan as bacon. We would often (once a month or so) go for dinner somewhere that served all day breakfast because I wanted breakfast, and he didn't. But I wanted eggs and hashbrowns and toast and all of that.

Guess I can't do that now... Well, maybe I could. It'll be awhile before I do.

Anyways, we needed to have dinner tonight, and the only thawed meat in the house was bacon. I didn't really want bacon and eggs. I found hashbrowns in the freezer, so I searched for "hashbrown bacon" on Pinterest, hoping for something that used both, not literally hashbrown bacon.

I read a couple recipes and then came up with my own.

So here it is, my Breakfast Casserole. Or my Hashbrown-Bacon-Egg Casserole. Or my yummy food.


12 ounces (or so) frozen hashbrowns
1/4 cup butter, melted
6-10 slices of bacon
1 cup shredded cheese
3 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons Lowry's seasoning salt


You need enough hashbrowns to cover the bottom of your 8x8 pan. I measured out 12 ounces, but then added a few more to make it perfect.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Pour the melted butter over the hashbrowns and put them in the oven for about 25 minutes. You really just want them to be warm. I stuck them in (still frozen) while the oven preheated, and checked them every few minutes.

While the hashbrowns warm up, cook the bacon. You want it crisp enough to chop, but don't burn it.

Chop the bacon into small pieces, and set aside

Beat the eggs with a heaping spoonful of sour cream. I'd guess it was about 1/4 cup, but I just stuck a spoon in and mixed it into the egg. Add the seasoning salt now too.

This is my egg beater. Sadistic or no?

When the hashbrowns are warm, sprinkle the bacon on top evenly.

Add the cheese, and then evenly pour egg mixture all over dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a knife comes out clean.

Also fantastic with ketchup. Or at least my husband thinks so.