Jack Keaton's

I was never one of those girls to order a salad and to tip-toe around a burger. I like real food. I love barbequed food. I love ribs, and pulled pork. I do enjoy my fancy shmancy quinoa and kale salads, but there will always be room in my heart for a slow-roasted half rack of baby back ribs. Always.

I discovered a restaraunt in Regina and I've been there twice now, but will definitely be going again. Jack Keatons BBQ & Grill didn't sound like the kind of place I could eat, but it is. Their BBQ sauce is gluten-free, and although they don't have any gluten-free bread, the only non-sandwich main I couldn't eat was meatloaf. The sides were a little more difficult, out of the eight or so normal options, I only had three GF options.

 The first time I went, I was starving, so I ordered the sampler plate, and I still took home some leftovers. 

Yam Fries

I am a huge fan of yam fries. Actually, I'm a huge fan of yams. Hubby doesn't like them so much, but I love them. I quite often order yam fries at restaurants, but I don't buy them often, because hubby doesn't love them. I did buy one recently, and I plans to boil and mash it for dinner some night.

Then one night, while hubby was working late, and I was home alone, watching Netflix, one of the bloggers I follow posted a pictures of her yam fries for dinner on Instagram. And suddenly, I decided I really needed to make yam fries. I've made this recipe before, and I'm pretty sure I've blogged about it before. So I found the pin, I sliced my yam, and I made yam fries.

And that was that. They don't take long to make, and you can prep them way ahead of time and let them soak. You're supposed to let them soak for up to half a day, but I let them soak for as long as it took the oven to heat up, because I was impatient.

Peel, slice, soak, shake, drizzle, bake. Easy-peasy, right? I wasn't totally satisfied with the texture of my fries, so I'll try to remember to slice them thinner next time. They were still delicious, and I whipped up a really simple dip which I love, but I know isn't for everybody. I just mixed mayonnaise with mustard. 

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.)

BBQ Chicken and Potatoes in a Slow Cooker

When I don't have much time to prep dinner, I steer towards my slow cookers, because I can put something together at lunch and then eat it a few hours later. When I don't plan for something specific (and find ingredients and a recipe), then I fall back on one simple guideline: Potatoes, chicken, flavour. It's simple, low-prep and fool-proof. I usually have chicken and potatoes on hand, whatever flavour I use can vary from spices to sauces, whatever I'm feeling or whatever's handy.

I buy baby potatoes, and we like eating them with the skins on. You could peel and cube larger ones, but slices of potatoes also works well. You want to cover the whole bottom of the pot.

Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes

I love sweet potatoes. I love the flavour, the texture, the colour. I love how they can be dressed up in brown sugar and cinnamon and taste like a desert or be covered in savoury spices and make a great side to a breast of chicken.

[Fun fact: A yam is a plant that grows large starchy tubers, and while sweet potatoes are large, starchy tubers, they are not actually yams, although places in the US call them that. Google it.]

Taco Pork Tenderloins

Something I've been trying to do lately is make a little extra for dinner and plan for leftovers. Often our leftovers just sit in our fridge until we give up and throw them out.

One of the best ways to do that is to make two meals at the same time. I saw a recipe in a magazine for pork tenderloins, and underneath it had a couple of ideas of what to do with the leftovers. One of those ideas was to shred the pork and put it on a sandwich, another was to put it in a taco. That one sounded brilliant.

So I put bought two pork tenderloins and put them both in the slow cooker for a day. We ate one for dinner that night and it was delicious, and the other went in the fridge. The next day, I shredded it, added taco spice, warmed it back up and we had tacos. It was also delicious.  I'm going to have to do more meals like this.

Melrose Place in Moose Jaw

A new restaurant opened up here. I'm not quite sure when exactly they opened, because they had an "Opening Soon" sign up for like two years. Last night, my in-laws wanted to take M and I out for a late birthday dinner for M and his step-dad (their birthdays were in August), and for a pre-anniversary dinner (mine and M's anniversary is Monday). They suggested Melrose Place, and I thought, "What the heck. Let's walk into another restaurant totally blind. I didn't get sick from the first one." I want to try new things, I don't want to be stuck going to the same two restaurants forever.

There used to be two Melrose Places in Regina, but one closed down, and now one opened here. My in-laws had been to the currently-open one there, but none of us had been to the one here.

The atmosphere is great. The restaurant is huge, and very nice. It's very modern, without being ultra-modern. It has an expensive feel, without making me want to backpeddle out the second I walk in.

The menu looked good, with a very Greek influence, offering things like spanakopita and souvlaki. I really had no idea where to even start, and I instantly had a bunch of questions. So when the waitress came with drinks, I told her I had a gluten allergy. She had a vague deer-in-the-headlights look that let me know they don't have GF-friendly menu. She offered to bring the chef out, so that was good, I guess.

The head chef came out, and, well... I was a little shocked. He managed to swear three times while he was standing there, and he didn't seem to have a high knowledge base of gluten. He told me that no BBQ sauce has gluten in it, and then corrected to say that his [stuff] doesn't. He basically did one of those "You could eat just about anything on the menu, then. Except bread." I hate those. Now I'm stuck staring at the menu, breaking things down, and sending the waitress back with a million questions.

Which is exactly what I did. The first one was about the potato skins, an appetizer that is baked with bacon, cheese and such. She came back to say, "You definitely couldn't have the potato skins. Potatoes are a starch." Oh boy. This chef really had no clue, huh? Was he going to say no rice, too? She also informed they are deep-fried, so that was still a no.

I ended up getting some lamb souvlaki, served on a bed of rice, with a side of veggies and a baked potato. Because I wanted my potato; take that, chef. It was delicious. Well cooked, the right temperature, flavourful, and presented well.

No one had any complaints, and nothing had to be sent back (not to say M and his parents are picky, they're just... selective. And, well, you know me).

On the way home, my mother-in-law asked everyone for a rating out of ten, and we all agreed on six. It was good food, good menu, good atmosphere. We had to actually ask to get a water refill, and although the waitress pretty much ignored us, we could see four or five waitresses just standing around. Oh, and the head chef had no clue what etiquette meant, or what gluten was.

I would recommend it to a friend, but I would recommend they don't get their hopes all up.

Shepard's Pie

I made Shepard's pie last night! I worked off of this recipe. This is honestly the first Shepard's pie I've ever made. I've had some at other people's houses a couple times, but my mom never made it, and I've never made it. I was kind of afraid of it turning out terribly, but it was actually really delicious. My one drawback was that it took a full hour to make, and I had to go out after work and buy some things, so I didn't start making it until six, and I don't really like eating dinner at seven.

I scaled this down a little bit, not exactly, just based on what we had on hand, and knowing how much we tend to eat. We still did have leftovers, though.

1 lb of ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups mixed frozen vegetables
1 lb baby potatoes
1 stick of butter, divided
1/2 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400F. Chop the potatoes roughly, and boil until tender (15-20 min). I leave the skins on, because hubby and I like mashed potatoes with skins, and it's easier, and has more nutrients.

While the potatoes are cooking, melt half of the butter (4 tablespoons) in a large saucepan over medium heat. Here's where I kind of messed up. I put the whole stick of butter in, and it started browning before I could get the onions in, but I think that made it way more tasty. I love browned butter. Saute onions in butter, and then add beef. When beef is just cooked, or almost cooked, add in the frozen vegetables. Here is where I realized I added too much butter, and needed 4 tablespoons still. So I strained off about 4 tablespoons of grease and fat.

Add salt, pepper and Worcestershire. Add some beef broth, and simmer on low, uncovered, for ten minutes. Add more beef broth as necessary to keep it moist.

Mash potatoes with remaining butter, or in my case, beef drippings, which made them super tasty too.

Spread beef mixture in dish, and spread potatoes on top. Rough up the potatoes with a fork so they brown well. Cook in oven for 30 minutes or until potatoes brown. You can broil for the last few minutes if necessary.

And bam! Yummy, manly food hot and ready to eat.

(I made this again, a few nights later. The second time, I went from memory. I managed to get the butter in the potatoes, but I forgot about the Worcestershire sauce and beef broth, and I didn't bother to simmer the beef. Turned out yummy and tasty. Honestly not as tasty as the first time, but quicker, and still delicious. Photos are from round two.)

Curry, a Delicious Meal in Photos

I mentioned last time that Banana made me curry, but I didn't elaborate. I couldn't tell you how to make it, because she starts with a package of curry paste from Thailand, and follows their instructions. But I will show you pretty pictures!

Curry paste and coconut milk

Stirred and added strips of chicken

Added slices of zucchini

Cooked down a little and added cooked potatoes

Curry is pretty food. It's all so orange, that the lighting looks awful, but it wasn't. I promise.

Day 73: Roast Chicken in a Slow Cooker

Well, today was the day of my big family dinner. It actually went really well, food was devoured, and forks were not thrown. My sister did throw a spoon at me, but at least it wasn't a fork. Or a knife!

I started the day around nine this morning, with three chickens in my sink.

I said that to someone yesterday, and apparently she thought I meant like dead chickens, but with their heads and feathers... Gross. No, I mean raw, ready to cook fryer chickens. My mother and I agreed on slow cooker whole chickens, because yes, I have three crock pots that will fit a whole chicken. And I have two more that are too small. I have a crock pot problem.

Anyways, I guess I actually started with potatoes and carrots. When slow cooking chickens, you need to put something between the chicken and the crock pot. You can quarter some potatoes and loosely wrap them in foil, you can throw some whole carrots down, you can chop onion, carrot and potato if you like. I opted for the last one, but I quickly discovered my onion had gone bad, so it was just carrots and potatoes.

I rinsed two pounds of baby potatoes, and roughly chopped a pound of carrots and divided them between the crock pots, so that all of the bottoms were covered.

Then I mixed up a few spices in a bowl.

I took each chicken one by one and rinsed it, patted it dry with paper towel, rubbed it down with the spice mix, set it in a slow cooker, and tossed two or three garlic cloves inside. I put two of the chickens with their breast bone up, and one of them with the backside up, and the only difference I noticed was that the breast-down one came out in one piece, whereas the other two came out in about twenty-five pieces. That could be several other factors too, but I would suggest putting it breast bone down.

And then I put the appropriate lids on, and turned them all on low. I put them on at 9:30, and the first chicken came out around 5:30, with the last one coming out closer to 7. Around 4, the chicken in the biggest crock pot (with the most room) starting falling apart, and within an hour, it had collapsed completely. It doesn't need to be that dramatic, but you should see the meat starting to pull away from bone. And that means you have juicy, succulent, fall-of-the-bone chicken, with little-to-no effort.

I also made mashed potatoes, and roasted asparagus, and served the potatoes and carrots from the bottom of the slow cookers. They were well cooked, and very savoury. I didn't plan on serving them, but we ran out of mashed potatoes and all the menfolk were complaining. They were delicious enough to have served them in the beginning though. Oh, and I also made gluten-free gravy with the chicken drippings from the slow cookers, and a gluten-free thickener I bought for stew (that I never made).

Roasted Chicken in a Slow Cooker

1 fryer chicken

2 cups roughly chopped vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions, etc.)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

2-4 whole garlic cloves

Put the chopped vegetables in the bottom of the crock pot.

Mix all of the dry spices together. Rinse the chicken, then pat down with a paper towel. Rub spice mixture all over the chicken, and under the skin of the breast.

Set the chicken on top of the vegetables, then place the garlic cloves inside the cavity.

Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or high for 4-5 hours, until the meat starts falling off the bones.





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.

Day 56: Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole

There are three things I want from the dinners we make.

1. Gluten Free, obviously
2. Delicious, or at least enjoyed by my husband
3. Healthy

Guess which one usually gets left by the wayside? Yeah... We're not so healthy all the time.

Tonight though, I won on the first two. I usually aim for easy too, and this was easy, but time-consuming. I found it on Pinterest, of course, and my hubby agreed to make it for his turn to make dinner, mostly because bacon was involved.

It's really easy, you mash potatoes, mix them with some cream cheese, other stuff and spices, put that in a casserole pan, and then sprinkle cooked bacon and cheese on top. I threw the potato mix in my KitchenAid, so they were whipped and creamy without any elbow grease at all.


5 1/2 cups mashed potatoes (I used 3 large baker's potatoes, and got 4 cups)
1/2 cup milk
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 slices bacon crispy cooked and crumbled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel, quarter and boil potatoes for 15-20 minutes, or until soft. Drain potatoes and beat with a mixer until smooth.. Add milk, cream cheese, sour cream, parsley, garlic salt, and nutmeg. Beat at a medium-high speed until nice and creamy.
Spoon into a 9x13 baking dish (I used an 8x8 because I had less potatoes) that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Top with cheese and bacon. Cover and back for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese melts.
Serves 12 people.


So yeah. I meant to halve it, which is why I bought three potatoes, but I had close enough to the right amount that I just added the same amount of other ingredients. It came out very very creamy, and made a ton. Hopefully we'll actually eat the leftovers...

Day 53: Stuffed Chicken and Roasted Asparagus

I made the most amazing dinner tonight. I have a hard time cooking classy delicious things that my husband enjoys. I'm a big fan of things like goat cheese, alfredo, parmesan... He doesn't like cheese that isn't cheddar or mozza.

But I did make something! Cream cheese and herb stuffed chicken breast with roasted asparagus. Hmm?

I also threw some potatoes on the side, because hubby didn't know if he'd like asparagus, so I made something else just in case.

I sliced open the chicken breast, and then spread garlic and herb cream cheese on it, and then spooned in some fresh herbs that I'd blended with butter, specifically parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Next time, I'd mix the spices with plain cream cheese, and use a little less. I stuck toothpicks through to keep it closed and placed it in a corningware pan and drizzled a little olive oil over top. Baked it for 30 minutes at 400F. It was hard to check for doneness because I didn't want to cut the chicken. The olive oil in the pan turned green because of all the fresh spices in the chicken.

After cutting off the bottom bits of the asparagus, I rinsed it and placed them on a pan. I drizzled about four tablespoons of olive oil over top, and then sprinkled sea salt and cracked pepper. Roasted them for about 15 minutes at 400F, until I could stick a fork in them easily.

The potatoes were baby potatoes that I quartered and then put in a frying pan with olive oil, until they were done. The temperature was pretty low the whole time, so I could time all the dishes for the same time.

All in all, delish! Really classy dinner, without a lot of work. The most work was probably slicing open the chicken. I have a hard time cutting straight.

Day 52: Malaysian Curry

I had curry again today! This is the third time ever, in my life. When I was fourteen or fifteen, a friend of mine made Indian curry and had a bunch of us over. It was really good, but she made it not so spicy and we had those yogurt drinks with it. And then three weeks ago, Banana and I made Thai curry, and I ate it while babysitting. And then today, I helped her make Malaysian curry. It actually has a different name, as I'm sure they all do, because each country makes more than one curry, but I don't know them.

It was really good! Insanely spicy, though. As in, I was actually sweating and my face was all red, and Banana found it tasty, and a little hot. I'm such a white girl.

I probably couldn't buy a curry mix from the grocery store and make it, because mixes like that usually have other stuff added in, but these were mixes Banana brought back from Thailand with her. The ingredients were all just dried and ground spices and peppers. Pure food, no crap. I love Asia.

It had potatoes in it, and I ate it over rice. Very filling, very delicous, very spicy.

Day 37: Easter Dinner

One of the things most celiacs seem to struggle with is holiday dinners. Your choices seem to be:

1. Go to a restaurant with your family, and hope they pick a safe one, or eat beforehand, and don't eat anything there.
2. Make the whole dinner yourself, and include little to no items with gluten.
3. Go to a home-cooked dinner and either risk it, or don't eat anything.
4. Help somebody make a dinner so that it is gluten-free and you can trust it.

I kind of think celiacs have trust issues...

So, I didn't actually decide to do anything with either side of family. I kind of figured if either want to make a meal, I don't want to complicate their lives, but I might show up. Instead, Banana decided to do an entirely gluten-free dinner with my help. She did make most of the dishes, but I was at a minimum aware of what was in them, and mostly just stirred things together when she handed them to me.

Tonight was the night, although we've spent much of the last week prepping (to minimize work today). The dishes on the table were:

1. Ham
2. Scalloped Potatoes
3. Mashed yams, with a glaze
4. Green beans
5. Spinach and strawberry salad
6. Deviled eggs
7. Rice casserole
8. And Trifle!

Okay, so everything was just so delicious that as soon as everything was ready we just dug in, and I completely forgot to take pictures for you! I took some after dinner, which might show you how delicious everything was... But really, I'm sorry this looks like somebody's leftovers. It was just too good to waste time taking pictures!

Ham is one of those sketchy meats that usually contains gluten. As such, we were hunting for one that said gluten-free, when we found a bone-in shoulder that said gluten-free. Not the usual type, but it was GF, so we were happy! We mixed up maple syrup, mustard and brown sugar and brushed it on the ham and then covered it and baked it for about six hours. It went in the oven just after lunch, and came out in time for us to carve and serve. We repeatedly brushed more glaze on over and over throughout the day. It came out tender, juicy and delicious.

Scalloped potatoes usually contain flour. I don't really know why though. You don't add it to the milk to thicken it, you put it as a layer between the potatoes and then pour milk over top of it. So we just scalded the milk a little longer, made it a little thicker, and skipped the flour altogether (as per suggestion of Banana's aunt). It was really delicious. There were of course layers of thinly sliced potatoes, and sharp cheddar cheese and swiss, and I think onions and spices. I didn't put it together, but I did supervise it's baking time. Which was until the potatoes were soft, and then remove the tin foil until the cheese browns. It was a very creamy, cheesey dish.

The yams are pretty self explanatory. We peeled and chopped a few sweet potatoes and then put them in the oven with a lid on until they were mashable, and then we mashed them. We boiled equal parts maple syrup and butter until it thickened (and tasted amazing) and then drizzled that on top of the mashed yams and cooked them a bit longer.

The green beans were put on the stove with a bit of garlic and some butter until they were cooked. And then we ate them.

The spinach salad was really simple. Spinach, sliced strawberries, slivered almonds, crumbled goat cheese, poppy seeds, and a raspberry vinaigrette. Very simple, but flavourful! And easy peasy to toss last minute.

We mostly made deviled eggs because I remembered I had a deviled egg plate I've never used. And Banana wanted to dye Easter eggs with her cousin, who is spending the weekend with her. So she dyed eggs, and then we deviled them. Mixed the yolk with mayonnaise, a bit of mustard and a splash of vinegar, topping them with paprika.

The rice casserole was probably one of my favourite dishes. We cooked up a bunch of wild rice and brown rice blend, and then mixed it with slivered almonds, dried cranberries, and slices of dried apricots. It was very colourful as well as sweet. Half an hour or so before dinner, we poured about half a cup of veggie broth over it and baked it. Chicken broth would be just as good, but we were also cooking for a vegetarian.

Ah! And my favourite dish! The trifle! I could probably devote a whole post to this one! Mmm... Layers of homemade lemon pudding, GF pound cake, freshly whipped cream, blueberries and raspberries! Does it get better than that? Okay, it might. I don't know. I haven't had every trifle ever. But this was perfect. Banana's ten-year-old cousin actually put this all together, that's how easy trifles are to make. She also decorated the top, which I just loved. 

I don't think the eight of us got even halfway through this thing, despite how amazing it was.

So! That's my gluten-free Easter dinner. Not as hard as it sounds, huh? I mean, if you're going to cook everything at home, you need to be careful about reusing bread knives, cutting boards and pans, but if you are aware of cross-contamination, and ensure things like mayonnaise and honey either come from a squeeze bottle or are brand new, you should be fine. Things like that tend to be things other people forget or don't think about, but if you help or remind them, it's sure to be simple!

Hoppy Easter, everybody!

Day 12: The beginning of chickpeas.

This morning, just after my husband left for work, he realized he forgot to give the dog her meds, and to take his own meds. Apparently he usually does them together so as not to forget either. So I gave the pooch her meds, and agreed to bring him his at lunch. I then texted my boss to let him know I'd be a tad late, because I slept in a bit. I have a really chill job. Then I texted the hubs to ask where his pills were. Awhile later, after wondering why on earth my husband hadn't texted me back, I opened my phone and discovered I mistakenly sent "Where are your pills?" to my boss. So it could have been a lot worse, but I was pretty embarrassed. When I got to work, he just laughed and said he'd once sent a slightly embarrassing text to one of the engineers instead of his wife.

So that's my funny story of the day. And the highlight of my work day. I have a very chill, very boring job.

For dinner I did some experimenting! I found a bag of baby carrots that are getting kind of old, and cooked those up and glazed them the way my mom always did. She'd always cook sliced carrots, and then stir them with some butter and some brown sugar. I once asked her how much, and she said, "Enough." So yeah, I know they're not "healthy" per se, but they are veggies, and they are delicious.

Feeling inspired by my pulse cookbook, I also cooked a bunch of baby potatoes, and then mashed them with some chickpeas. Someone said you hardly notice once they're mashed. I didn't taste anything different, but they were visible. We're out of milk, so the potatoes were dry in general, but that was my husband's only complaint.

I also fried some plain chicken breast with seasoning salt, another one of my mom's classics. Dinner was good, and felt healthy, even if it wasn't by "healthy eating standards" it was by ours. Ah, now you know. We've never eaten healthy. We're very unhealthy eaters. Have been since we got married. We're all drive-throughs and taco nights, and hardly ever have fruits or veggies in the house.

We went to Bulk Barn after dinner. I read a recipe for a gluten-free flour that is supposed to make things taste gluten-y, and I wanted to try it, but I didn't have any of the ingredients. So I bought about a cup of all the flours, and a very expensive bag of xantham gum, which I've read makes everything better when baking. I also picked up some gluten-free cookies, but shhh....

And actually! The cookies taste legit. Check them out. Kinnikinnick Food's KinniToos Vanilla Sandwich Creme Cookies. They're basically blonde oreos. I was gonna buy the chocolate ones (so normal oreos) but I was afraid of disappointment, so I bought ones that were more different from what I normally eat. I might try the chocolate ones now, though. I've heard good things about Kinnikinnick (if you can spell their name) on the celiac forums, and I might check out more of their products now.

Anyways... I mixed up that flour mix, but I just don't have the energy to make cookies right now. I want to make a batch of cookies with each of my gluten-free flours now, so I'll try to do that tomorrow. Oh, but the flour mix... One of the flours is oat flour, so it's really not like 100% gluten free. And the coconut flour smells amazing. I've never smelled flour that smelled so good. I just kept sniffing it. Mmm... I wanna make cookies with just that flour.

Day Six: The Potluck

I am so sick of this rollercoaster of feeling better and worse.

Actually, it would be a pretty lame rollercoaster, because I usually wake up feeling okay, feel good by coffee, feel a tiny bit worse by lunch, and then about an hour after lunch I just start declining until five o'clock.

Then, I either pump myself up enough to be in a good mood for my husband, or am feeling so cruddy that I'm just plain grumpy and can't handle the idea of dinner. After dinner, I usually balance out at an average "not so great" until bed.

It seems related to eating. When I don't eat, I feel okay. But I'm not eating gluten. Well, maybe today I did... But that's just today! The last few days, I'm completely sure I didn't consume a tiny drop of it at all. I know that it's going to take some time to feel okay again, and my digestive system will take awhile to recover, but I just want to not be sick anymore.

So, the potluck at work was today. I really only signed up to go because I haven't met most of the people I work with. My job doesn't effect anyone else's (except one) and their jobs don't really effect me, so I only meet people outside of my specific office space intermittently. And I decided a department-wide potluck would be a great idea. Mind you, that was before I got "dx'ed". 

All morning, I just sat at my desk, with these peanut buttery oatmeal bar things just smelling amazing, and me worrying about lunch. I brought a little container of gluten-free crackers, and a rice cake, in case there was cracker food and/or there wasn't much I could eat.

At noon, I wandered downstairs with my pan of dessert looking for a room of people I didn't know. Sounds like a great idea, huh? Well, I followed my nose and found it. And sure enough, I didn't know anybody. Haha.

Overall, it was actually pretty fun. One person asked me if I worked in IT, and what my name was, and then the lady who organized it admitted to not having any idea who I was when I emailed her to tell her I was coming. I've worked there since last May.

Everyone loved my dish, and most asked for my recipe, which is a sure sign of a potluck hit.

I really should have cancelled, or poked my head in and left or something. I shouldn't have eaten there. I avoided all the dishes with noodles, bread crumbs, and croutons, or any obvious gluten, but you know how many things have secret gluten in them. So eating a bunch of homemade unknown dishes is really not a great idea.

I had some coleslaw, some salads, some shrimp dip, some of a cheese ball, a bit of ham, and some spicy little meatballs. Honestly though, any of them could have been bad.

So, the lesson learned today is potlucks are bad. Except maybe a "gluten-free potluck". Wouldn't that be fun? Anybody up to planning one? Then I could find yummy safe dishes. Hmm...

It makes me sad. I've always loved potlucks; I even have a cookbook meant for potluck dishes. Ah well, just one more sacrifice, right?

I actually haven't felt any worse today than yesterday, though. So maybe I was safe. I felt a little groggy this afternoon, and had a hard time focusing on my computer screen, but I might blame that on my job being so boring my mind is going numb. 

For dinner, my lovely husband made bacon-wrapped sausage and fried mini potatoes. So my second lesson from today is that just because I can't have gluten, doesn't mean I have to eat healthy. ;)

I planned on making my potluck dish again, and taking pictures this time, so I can give you the recipe, but I felt pretty wiped after dinner. So, when I get around to it / when my hubby begs me to make it, I will share it with you.

Unhealthy, and gluten-free. Mmmmm....