Chocolate&Gluten-Free Lent! Day 3

It's day 3 of lent and that means the third day without ANY chocolate or gluten products. When I set these rules for my 40 days of lent, I wanted to choose things that I knew were going to be a challenge. And while eating a chocolate donut, I realized what I needed to do...

So far, it has not been too shady. Just taking more time to read the labels to make sure no sneaky wheat/gluten ingredients were used in making the food I am consuming. Thank goodness for Trader Joe's gluten free breads and protein powders, I have been able to still make tuna fish sandwiches with only natural tuna fish, organic mustard, jalapeno salsa, and veggies for my take-to-work lunches. I've also been enjoying more salads topped with seared fish or white bean soup with quinoa.

 I have also been able to have tasty desserts like peanut butter and honey on race cakes and gluten-free frozen yogurt .

But this morning, I ran into a terrible craving for pancakes... and since it is hard to think "pancakes" without the fluffy flour that makes up these breakfast staples, I had to be creative... So I came up with this recipe to suffice... And it was no compromise. Just a tasty alternative!

GLUTEN-FREE VANILLA PROTEIN PANCAKES 

...WITH PEANUT BUTTER TOPPING

Ingredients-
Pancakes:
3 Egg Whites
1 Tbs Chia Seeds
2 Scoops Vanilla Raw Protein- Whole Foods
1 Tbs Almond milk- unsweetend
1 (mashed) Banana
Peanut Butter Topping:
1 Tbs Natural, Organic Peanut Butter
1/4 cup Fage 0% Greek Yogurt

Combine PB and yogurt into a small dish. Set aside.
Combine all pancake ingredients into a large bowl. Mash banana into the egg white mixture until creamy. Heat small skillet on medium high and spray light layer of non-stick cooking spray. Place dollop of mixture on skillet, flip after 2 minutes or until bottom is brown. Repeat. 

Top with PB/yogurt topping and indulge in a healthy pancake breakfast!
(Makes 3-4 small pancakes)
Calories per small pancake w/o topping- about 92
Calories w/ topping- about 120

Happy Weekend, everyone!

So Here Comes Lent!

LENT:
Noun

The period of 40 weekdays that in the Christian Church is devoted to fasting, abstinence, and penitence.

 

Today is fat Tuesday! Which explains the bag of chocolate chips and massive peanut butter jar next to me at this very second! But fat Tuesday leads way to...
ASH WEDNESDAY:

Noun

The first day of Lent

 

Usually I give up french fries, or soda for Lent... but since moving to the Queen City, I have noticed that I am not consuming these foods on the daily. And Lent is supposed to be about choosing something hard to give up- something that represents the decision to fast and give up the things we find necessary every day.

 

That's why I have decided to give up two things that I usually eat at least once a day-

CHOCOLATE

  &

 

GLUTEN

 

Chocolate is pretty self explanatory... But for those of you unaware of what gluten-free entails, it means no:

• White Flour
• Durum Wheat
• Graham Flour
• Triticale
• Kamut
• Semolina
• Spelt
• Wheat Germ
• Wheat Bran

Foods that are usually made with wheat include:

• Pasta
• Couscous
• Bread
• Flour Tortillas
• Cookies
• Cakes
• Muffins
• Pastries
• Cereal
• Crackers
• Beer
• Oats (see the section on oats below)
• Gravy
• Dressings
• Sauces

This may seem like a long list, but there are gluten-free versions of these foods available in most grocery stores. You just have to look for them!

Gluten Surprises

You may not expect it, but the following foods can also contain gluten:

• broth in soups and bouillon cubes
• breadcrumbs and croutons
• fried foods
• imitation fish
• lunch meats and hot dogs
• matzo
• most chips and candy
• salad dressings
• self-basting turkey
• soy sauce
• rice and pasta mixes

(LIST OF FOODS FOUND HERE)

Updates are to follow. Recipes, creative work arounds, and so on... Bring it on Lent! It's time to get raw and real... Literally!