Spark Notes to the rescue

Quick snack before heading to see Richard the III at the Old Vic. We stopped at Pret a Manger to get a crayfish salad for muah and a duck hoisin wrap for him. Since I already had some avocado in my guacamole earlier in the day, I gave most of it to the hubs. Avocado is healthy fat but its best to only eat about 1/2 or less than 1/2 because it is high in calories!

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the theater but Kevin Spacey and the rest of the cast were AMAZING in the play. I'm always blown away by Shakespearean acting because of the raw emotion and passion the actors always seem to have......BUT, I admit I couldn't follow everything, haha. This definitely helped piece together any missing gaps
http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/richardiii/summary.html

after 3 1/2 hours, I was S-T-A-R-V-I-N-G! Quick, what's gluten free and open at 11:30 p.m?? CHOP CHOP NOODLE BAR!! I got the usual- King Prawn fried rice

Singapore Thai Laksa and instead of the noodles, I substituted brown rice at home- YUUM!!!

Today's Tarek's big cooking and my cleaning day!! We're having guests over tonight for a huge lil dinner partay. He cooks and I clean, fair trade right?

 

I had some GF cereal to start my morning. Dove's Farm is a popular UK gluten free brand and their products are pretty darn tasty!

I also tried this for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised at its light sweetness and awesome puffy texture. Delish!

I used 1/2 unsweetened alpro soya milk and lightly sweetened almond milk.

After cleaning the house and cooking all morning, we stopped to have a quick tuna sandwich lunch w. some chips and salsa on the side.

I also needed an afternoon protein smoothie to tide me over until our guests arrive at 7!

• almond milk
• huge handful of spinach
• squeeze of agave nectar
• frozen blueberries
• frozen 1/2 a banana (for creaminess)
• small handful of ice (I like mine extra cold and icy)
• Toppings: Bakery on Main's maple and cranberry GF Muesli, dark chocolate chips

Moro restaurant

We went out to dinner at Moro last night and I tried my best to be GF but I sort of had a don't ask don't tell policy going on.. I didn't ask if the food was GF and I didn't tell anyone (well.. besides the hubby) that I was on a GF kick. Sometimes its better not to get other peeps involved! Besides, I'm pretty sure the food was 80%GF

First, I started off with some sweet potato fries at home since our dinner reservation was at 9:15p.m.!

• sweet potatoes peeled and cut into fry like pieces
• rubbed with love and olive oil
• sprinkled with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper
• in the oven max temp for 20 minutes, flipped midway through

Back to dinner

We ordered a bottle of this lovely Spanish Tempranillo wine. It was a nice sipping wine and also complimented most our dishes. I'll let Wikipedia describe the wine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempranillo

charcoal grilled sardines with harissa

piquillo peppers

These were very mild yet delicious peppers. I could seriously eat a whole small plate full of em!

white pork sausage with a bean puree

patatas bravas smothered in mayo and tomato sauce.. Drool worthy fo sho!

Wood roasted mackerel with lentils, gem lettuce, piquillo peppers, fried garlic and sherry vinegar

I loved this mackerel dish! The fish was perfectly cooked and the saltiness of the fish was well balanced by the creamy lentils, roasted peppers and greens.. Yum!

I also took a few bites of T's lamb with eggplant and rice. The rice was so buttery and delicious that I had to be reminded that it was the bone marrow not actual butter!

We went out for a couple cocktails at VOC after dinner and then called it a night. I woke up this morning with a huge hankering for T's special sunny side up eggs with all spice and cinnamon. My body was also craving bread since I didn't have any last night with dinner. It's actually easy to say no to the bread basket for a change since I have a set goal to go GF for only a month. I would highly recommend setting realistic goals in order to prevent slip ups in the future. For example, I probably wouldn't be able to stick with the no bread rule if I didn't have a timeline as to when I could start eating bread again. I can give up bread for a month-easy peasy!

GF bread that is :)

with some pure Olive spread. 

• No dairy
• No hydrogenated oils
• No artificial additives
• No GM ingredients
• No gluten

this is just what my body was craving this morning!

I crawled out of the house and into the gym. I did not want to go to but I literally forced myself because I knew my body and mood would thank me afterwards!

Workout: Tone it up's Sandcastle workout

• warm up 10 minutes jogging on the treadmill

3 sets

• lift straight leg out with dumbbell fly (3kg weights) 10 reps, switch legs
• curtsy lunge with bicep curl (4kg weights), 10 reps, switch legs
• single leg deadlift with upright row (5kg weights), 12 reps, switch legs
• hee haw- lean back while doing a dumbbell front raise (2 kg weights), 10 reps *my quads were quivering!!*
• tummy tuck on hands with glute lift, 10 reps, switch legs
• stability ball hamstring curls, 10 reps
• Stretch 10 minutes

I picked up lunch at Chilangos on the way back from the gym. Their chicken salad is the perfect guilty/healthy pleasure.

• lettuce
• pinto AND black beans
• chicken
• mild and hot salsa
• guacamole
• I added in some brown rice and cottage cheese for some extra protein at home

I also doused it in more hot sauce..

This should keep my full til dinner!!

I'm SUPER SUPER excited to go see Kevin Spacey in Richard III at the Old Vic tonight. Sam Mendes also directed the play! Shhh.. don't tell anyone but I used to have a massive crush on Kevin Spacey.. I think he's weirdly hot, hahaha!!

lean like a cholula

Eating gluten free has been pretty easy so far. The only downside is that I have to check labels just to make sure there isn't any hidden gluten..it's so much easier when things are clearly labeled such as the Naked Cashew Cookie I ate after subbing Zumba this afternoon.

I ate it on my walk back home or else I would have taken a picture of the actual bar. It was surprisingly pretty good for not containing any of the three ingredients. The texture sort of felt like eating a really chewy granola bar. I could definitely taste both the dates and cashews. Yum!

My class was amazing this afternoon!! Perks:

• big smiles
• huge gym
• no problems with locked doors or showing up early and having to wait outside
• being able to rehearse for 30 minutes prior to start
• small, intimate class
• speakers that allow for loud music

love love love!!!!

Back to yesterday's GF meals..

Lunch was very strange but somehow it worked for me. I had leftover chicken breast with brown rice, refried beans and asparagus wrapped in thinly sliced prosciutto.

I don't know what possessed me to do this...but it was tasty!

some yummy GF chips to snack on prior to teaching Zumba

I love veggie chips and salsa! I couldn't even tell the chips were GF, thats how good they were!

Dinner last night

beef with salad, spinach, brown rice, beets, and lots of siracha

I swear if I didn't already crave lots of hot sauce I would think something very suspicious was going on! But trust, its just my love for siracha!! :-P

I came home to this lovely pizza for lunch. I was lazy and SUPER tired from all that moving and shuffling going on this week. Rehearsing Zumba routines AND maintaining my own workout is hard work dude!

back to pizza..

As you can tell, I like my pizza slightly overdone. I took off the pepperoni slices because the fat grams (5.9g saturated fat per 1/2 pizza!!) on this me no likey!

tried to balance the unhealthy with some slices of raw peppers ;)

I took a few bites prior to dousing it in Cholula hot sauce and it was super tasty.. I mean for a GF pizza and the crust actually tasting like a normal pizza, I was extremely pleased! The hot sauce definitely gave it that kick it was missing though since I had taken the salty pepperoni off.

For more sources of GF products, check out this website!
http://www.coeliac.org.uk/gluten-free-diet-lifestyle/products-and-services

We're going out to eat later tonight and I'm a bit nervous about trying to keeping GF.. I mean its easy enough doing it when you're out with your significant other but when other people are involved, its a whole other ballgame! We shall see!!

Brown gluten free bread

gluten free lunch:

• brown rice
• kale and spinach sauteed in siracha (btw-I looked up siracha and apparently its GF!) and soya sauce
• oven roasted chicken w. herbs and butter

Thank heavens for veggies and BROWN rice! I think if rice had gluten in it, I woudn't be able to go GF..Gasp!!! I'm Asian and I can't live without my rice!!

After Zumba, I came home to dinner.. oh dinner where are you underneath all that red sauce?

I had a little bit of this and a little bit of that

• veggies
• chicken
• beef
• brown rice

Yes, I had two meats but I made sure they were both the size of my palm!!

smothered in sirachaaaaa

After dinner, I watched the Zin 34 cd. As Zumba instructors, we get new dvds/cds every other month with new songs and choreography (for the dance routine challenged like ME!!). This month's dvd featured the live class from London that I just happened to MISS because I went back to the states---sad face :(. Beto made a surprise appearance too! I was a bit surprised I liked the music because it didn't seem like many people were fond of it. Maybe its just the American in me but I love, Love LOVE the hip hop and reggaeton tracks! Oh and the Latin tracks are amazing as always! Can't wait to start memorizing the steps...

I woke up this morning ready to tackle the day with my Gluten-Free bread I ordered from Ocado yesterday. Sweetness!! I love trying new products. Lots of love today..

I had the standard eggs, hummus, and bread for breakfast.

 

hey! the bread is pretty pleasant tasting. I definitely noticed a different texture but it still felt like I was eating regular bread. I think its meant to be dipped in something like hummus ;) or maybe spread with jam. This GF experiment for a month just might not be that bad!!

Song of the day:
Trey Songz feat Drake- Unusual

Gluten Free is the way to be?

My Gluten dilemma
I'm giving some serious thought into going Gluten-Free or at least minimizing Gluten for about a month to see how many body reacts. I haven't been tested for a Gluten intolerance but I'm curious about the GF lifestyle. I am in no way minimizing the harsh realities of those living with Celiac's disease but I think it would be useful for me in my future career to know what life is like to go GF.

For Women
I also found some interesting articles that highlight a possible link between gluten sensitivity/intolerance and fertility issues. 
http://www.everydayhealth.com/blogs/the-/infertility-and-miscarriage-associated-with-gluten-sensitivity
http://www.gettingpregnantnow.org/Articles/Gluten_Allergy_and_Getting_Pregnant.html

How to go GF
Gluten is a protein found in grains such as Wheat, Rye, and Barley. It's what gives bread its wonderful texture (sigh..) I must avoid all products that contain these ingredients and others such as spelt, semolina, malt, kamut, etc...Oats are safe to eat but some oat products might be contaminated with wheat so make sure the product says "Gluten Free".

What I can eat

• fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices
• meats, fish, poultry
• quinoa, rice, millet, buckwheat, corn, corn meal, corn tortillas, soy
• Gluten-free flours (rice, soy, corn, potato, bean)
• nuts, raisins, seeds
• butter, cooking oils
• honey, jam,sugar, yeast
• whey powder- yay! made from milk so its acceptable
• dairy- milk, cottage cheese, cheese (unprocessed), creme fraiche

Some helpful links
http://www.celiac.com/
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/living-glutenfree-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html
http://www.coeliac.org.uk/gluten-free-diet-lifestyle/the-gluten-free-diet
http://www.coeliac.org.uk/sites/files/coeliac/Gluten-free_Checklist_0.pdf

Back to FOOD

I had a protein smoothie yesterday afternoon to tide me over from teaching zumba to going to salsa class and then having a late dinner at almost 10 p.m.!! I don't recommend doing that but it just worked for the hubs and I last night. Into the vitamix:

• frozen berries
• almond milk
• agave nectar
• 1/2 a large banana
• ice
• scoop chocolate whey protein powder
• toppings: muesli, dark chocolate chips, crumble of 1 speculoos cookie (goodbye to speculoos on a GF diet!)

Dinner was SUPER tasty last night. T popped in a Waitrose beef with horseradish crumb topping into the oven and dinner was ready! He also made one mean homemade guacamole using my leftover mushrooms and onions as well as other crafty ingredients. It was ammazeballs!

the beef was good but I needed something on the side so I dipped it in steaksauce :-)

we also had some Waitrose ready made cous cous, leftover Mediterranean roasted vegetable pasta, and hummus with vegetables to dip.

GF breakfast this morning!

this almond milk is lightly sweetened by agave- its a really nice almond milk!

I happen to already be topping my protein smoothies with this wonderful tasting GF Muesli. I love Bakery on Main's different GF muesli's!

with sliced bananas on top. My breakfast was really sweet this morning.. not sure if I'm quite a fan but separately, I like all the ingredients.

sliced strawberries for a little fruit action.

Agenda: PUNCH class, study, teach Zumba, relax! I'm fortunate enough to be teaching a class tonight for a really great cause. A girl taking my class asked me if I would take part in a fundraising Zumba event for her climb up Kilimanjaro and I was honored she asked.
http://childreach.org.uk/challenge-events/climb-kilimanjaro-4-kids