Brian and I hosted our second Gluten Free Living: Diner & Discovery party last night. My friend, Kim opened her (amazing) shop, Eclipse Holistic Fusion to us for the evening. It was so much fun!
It is exciting to be able to share all the things we’ve learned over the past two years of living Gluten Free. We’ve learned so much about our health and the influence that food has on us. We always knew that it was important to eat healthy… but what exactly is “healthy”… and how do you know if what you’re eating is doing you any good? I’d always thought that I had a fairly healthy diet… I just thought that I ate too much… or maybe it was the sugar? That donut couldn’t have been causing my headaches. A slice of bread wouldn’t make my knees ache… or cause my insomnia….. right?
Wrong! Sometimes now I want to run up to people and slap the bagel right out of their hands. “That thing will kill you!”
Mom keeps warning me that I sound like a televangelist… “Be gone foul flour!”
I just struggled for so long and felt so bad…. I would have never believed that wheat (and gluten) was causing so many of my health problems… until I was so bad that I was willing to try nearly anything. I eliminated wheat and suddenly I was on the road back to healthy…. after years of trying and struggling. For a generation that was raised on “healthy whole grains” it sounds insane….. “Healthy Whole Grains” were killing me.
Now I have the opportunity to share my experiences and help others find their way back to health too. Hopefully, through these classes we’ll be able to help others transition to a wheat-free life easier. Sharing favorite GF products and restaurants… travel tips and new cooking techniques…. how to incorporate more healthy fats and oils into our diets… healthy sweets!
In class I am pushing people to try things that they wouldn’t expect to enjoy. Last night we started with guacamole for our appetizer. There are healthy fats in the avocado that make you feel more satisfied… I’ve become hooked on guacamole. (One avocado and 2 tsp of Wildtree’s Guacamole Seasoning… YUM!) Several people admitted that they hadn’t expected to like guacamole…. but they did like it!
Salads in a Jar and How to Roast a Spaghetti Squash demonstrations followed. Neither recipe is difficult, but both were things that we’d all heard of or considered, but hadn’t tried for one reason or another…. I shared my tips and tricks and hopefully saved the others from making some of the same blunders that I made in the beginning.
An Avocado Brownie doesn’t sound delicious…. but it sure tastes delicious! It was easy to convince everyone to try the brownie… The coconut oil in their hot tea? Enh…? Peer pressure can be a good thing sometimes. No one quite believed me that it would taste good and not like a hot cup of grease…. but if everyone else was going to try it…. and darned if I wasn’t right! A teaspoon of coconut oil in your coffee or hot tea is a yummy way to get a bit of extra fat into your diet and help balance blood sugar, improve your metabolism and a whole bunch of other goodness! (Check out what Dr. Oz says about coconut oil.)
For our main dish we had Spaghetti Squash & Meatballs. Who knew that a squash could be substituted for our beloved/evil pasta… be be just as good, if not yummier? My class! They know first hand now!
Spaghetti (Squash) & Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb Ground Turkey (or Hamburger)
- 1 lb Pork Sausage
- 1 Onion, small, chopped
- 2 Tbs Garlic, diced
- 2 tsp Wildtree’s Garam Masala Blend
- Red wine or beef/chicken stock
Sauce
- 28 oz Crushed Tomatoes
- 1 Tbs Wildtree’s Hearty Spaghetti Sauce Blend
Squash
See how to roast a spaghetti squash HERE.
Directions
In a large bowl combine all of the meatball ingredients until thoroughly mixed. Roll mixture into 1 – 2 inch balls. Add meatballs into a hot pan. (Make sure meatballs are not piled on top of one another. They should all be touching the pan and have room to roll around. You will most likely have to cook them in 3 to 4 batches.) Add 1/4 cup wine or stock to the pan and cover. Allow meatballs to cook 7-10 minutes, giving the pan a good shake to roll the meatballs around every few minutes.
Meanwhile combine the crushed tomatoes and Wildtree’s Hearty Spaghetti Sauce Blend in a sauce pan and allow to simmer at least 20 minutes. (Longer if desired.)
Top the spaghetti squash with the sauce and meatballs… and cheese!
Freeze the extra meatballs to use later.
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