Udi's coming to Trader Joe's?

I've just learned via Facebook that Trader Joe's will soon be carrying Udi's products. Udi's is well-known and very popular in the GF crowd for their remarkably normal sandwich bread, bagels, muffins, and mini pizza crusts. And even if this is just a cruel rumor, you can find Udi's in the Delaware area anyway at both the Giant and Shop-Rite on Concord Pike, Wilmington and occasionally Newark Natural Foods on Main Street, Newark, or at Whole Foods (not in Delaware). Great to see that Udi's is becoming easier to find.

Last night I threw together a very easy and delicious pot of GF chili-mac, which made for a super tasty lunch at school today! Here's what I did (sorry, no pictures):

- about half a pound of cooked ground beef
- 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes w/ green chilies
- about half a bag of rice noodles - cooked, drained & rinsed (I strongly recommend Trader Joe's brown rice penne or rotini)
- half an onion, chopped
- to taste: chili powder, ground cumin, oregano

Failproof instructions: saute the onion in some oil. Add everything else and mix it up til it's all warm. I used roughly 4 shakes of chili powder, 1/2 tsp of cumin, and just a dash of oregano. Yum! (You could also add corn, beans, chickpeas, etc.)

Gluten Free Torts.

Being a first year law student means you have very little time to breathe, let alone recognize life as you previously knew it, attend to your blog (ahem), or, you know, eat. Stress and celiac disease are not a winning combination. You don't have time to eat as healthfully as you might; your stomach is going to react to your emotions; and of course being celiac already makes things a little more challenging. There's nothing I can really eat on campus, and there's only one day a week when I have enough time to go out and grab lunch between classes. Fun! Somehow I am figuring out how to get by, although it often means eating while studying or standing over the kitchen counter. Long gone are the days of experimental 3-course dinners for one.

So recently I decided to strike back with a crustless quiche - it's very quick to prepare on a Sunday, and then it's ready to reheat all week for breakfast or lunch. (And frankly, it's better for you than real quiche - without all those calories and fat from the crust and cream!) I adapted it from this recipe. It's super easy, phenomenally delicious, and you pretty much cannot mess it up. Here's how I do it:

Chop up some of your favorite veggies. (I chop veggies in advance when I have time and keep them in containers ready to deploy as needed. Or buy them pre-chopped at the store.) Some suggestions: peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, onions, scallions, artichoke hearts, broccoli, asparagus, spinach. You could also do cubes of ham or bacon or cooked turkey if you're into that kind of thing.

Saute your veggies for a few minutes in a small bit of oil, til they're softened and the color is nice and bright.

Meanwhile, crack 6 eggs into a large bowl. (The original recipe calls for 5; I use 6 because my quiche is so loaded with veggies.) Add a little water and beat. Pretend they are your professors if necessary. Totally optional, but I add about 1 tbsp of Pamela's GF baking mix to thicken.

Stir your veggie mix into the eggs.

Cheese! Use a bag of shredded cheese, any kind you like. Depending on how cheesey you are feeling, put in the whole bag or half the bag or whatever. You could use shredded soy cheese too.

Mix it all up. Add some kosher salt, pepper, and (optional) some dried basil.

Pour your quiche mixture into a greased/sprayed 9" pie pan and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until it's beautifully golden on top. Voila!

Some of my other favorite things right now:
* Apple season is here! (I love fall so much!) Organic granny smiths with peanut butter.
* Annie's deluxe rice pasta & cheese is the best (worst) mac & cheese since Kraft! It comes with a squeezy pack of cheese sauce so it couldn't be easier and it is just so yummy. By far the best commercial GF mac & cheese I've tried. (why yes, the time crunch means I have pretty much given up trying to be dairy-free)
* Progresso lentil soup - yup, it's GF! So tasty on its own, or add some ground cumin & garam masala to make it even more amazing (or try pureeing it a bit with a hand-blender and throw in some basmati rice - very filling and Indian-inspired).
* Baked ziti casserole with Trader Joe's brown rice pasta, red sauce, & shredded cheese
* Scrambled eggs with green peppers, onions & cheese (basically the even-faster version of my quiche)

Hope that gave you a few ideas for good fast food! And now I'm very late for a date with my BFF, my bed.

Why, Trader Joe? Why?

While stopping in to grab a quick bite from Trader Joe's today, I was informed that their fantastic Middle Eastern Lentil and Brown Rice Salad has been DISCONTINUED! Noooooooooo! Apparently it wasn't a big seller and they wanted to make room for new products. It's hard enough to find a GF ready-to-eat meal, so I'm dismayed that they've narrowed the field. (I do also like their Curried Chicken Salad, but still.)

In theory, this dish, consisting simply of lentils, rice, onions, olive oil, and sea salt, would be easy to recreate. It's mujaddara, recipes for which abound online. I have tried several times, though, and haven't been able to make my own version that tastes as good and has the same texture as Trader Joe's - not to mention the convenience factor. Lentils hate my guts, however, despite what my mouth thinks, so being forced to go cold turkey is probably a blessing in disguise.

In case you couldn't tell, today is one of the (few) days where I feel really frustrated about my food restrictions and the fact that so often I still don't feel good, despite being carefully gluten-free. In general I'm surprisingly positive and zen about it but every so often, especially when I'm stressed out, low blood-sugary, and cranky to begin with, self-pity does set in. On one hand, I'm really glad that I can never again succumb to the grossness of fast food, but on the other hand, it's such a pain when you just want to grab a sandwich, or a cup of soup and a slice of fresh bread at Panera, or a quick spaghetti dinner. Yet on the third and largest hand, I'm grateful and lucky that celiac disease is what it is -- an inconvenience, not a tragedy. It could be a whole lot worse.