GLUTEN FREE AT A WEDDING!

Boyfriend #17 and I went to a beautiful wedding last Sunday. The ceremony was held inside the Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach). This was probably one of the best/fun weddings I have ever attended. A couple of days before the wedding, we were pretty worried the wedding will not have anything we can eat. Boyfriend #17 decided to ask the groom about our food options and he found out we might be in luck! Without really knowing any details, I decided not to bring a brown bag to the wedding. (I previously thought about making some fried rice that we can eat at the reception.)

We ended up having a wonderful experience ordering from the staff once they found out we can't eat wheat. They were extremely helpful and checked with the chef what food items were gluten free. Boyfriend #17 also found one of the coordinators and he informed us we can have two gluten free entrees! HOW EXCITING!

Please compare the differences yourself! 

Gluten Free Entree - Two pieces of filet mignons per plate

Regular Entree - one piece of miso butterfish and one piece of filet mignon with sauces

The mashed potatoes were DIVINE!!! 

Best.Wedding.Ever!

-ThatChineseGurl

WHAT WE HAVE BEEN EATING...

... ALL GLUTEN FREE! 

Hope you are inspired!

Last Sunday for the Eurocup final, Boyfriend #17 made tater tots with mini sausages for breakfast.

Dinner dish - stuffed mushrooms with spicy sausages from The Farmers Market at The Grove. (Baked at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.)

Trader Joe's Corn Pasta Penne with sausage and artichokes

Homemade gluten-free BBQ sauce (sugar, gluten-free soy sauce, ketchup)

I marinated pork ribs in the BBQ sauce. 

Boyfriend #17 is recommending the Glutino Gluten Free Pretzel Twists with Cedar's Gluten Free All Natural Hommus! 

With all these new dishes/snacks... I am still very hungry. 


-ThatChineseGurl

HOT AS HELL

BLOG REDESIGN! 

I would like to thank boyfriend #17 who redesigned this blog. I think it looks great!! Yay! Thank you!

We went to our first summer BBQ yesterday as a gluten free couple. The theme of the party was "hot as hell". Many people wore red and black outfits to get into spirit. Once we arrived, the first food item I spotted were those mouth watering BBQ ribs. Without a second thought, I told myself, "Umm... I can't wait to try those!"

After getting our watermelon margaritas, I went straight to the food table hoping to get a piece of the rib. The more I stared at the grill, the more I reminded myself I couldn't have any ribs because I didn't know what type of BBQ sauce they used to marinate the meat. Instead of hungrily swallowing rib after rib at the party, I decided to have a simple hot dog without the bun. BORING! YAWN! I WAS VERY ANNOYED.

Boyfriend #17 reminded me that we can go home and cook our 2nd gluten free meal together. With two tray full of ribs sitting next to me, the thought of "making food at home" didn't sound that appealing. 

What I didn't expect is that gluten free dinner at home turned out to be super yummy! We had chicken fried brown rice! I sauteed the Trader Joe's Frozen Organic Brown Rice (after the rice was cooked in the microwave) in San-J Gluten Free Soy Sauce along with eggs, onions, red bell pepper, and fresh corns. I was relieved that the soy sauce tasted normal. 

I really need to get used to the idea of not eating much at friends' summer parties.

 - ThatChineseGurl

I THINK IT TASTES LIKE DIRT

Yesterday, my boss's assistant asked me where I suggested we should go eat our team dinner that night? The assistant emphasized the restaurant should be healthy. Of course, with my current situation, my immediate thought was Real Food Daily!

I quickly scanned through the restaurant menu and noticed they had some gluten free items. This is a REAL treat from my two days of eating a salad for lunch and a salad for dinner.  

Once I arrived at Real Food Daily, I mentioned to the waitress that I wasn't eating wheat. It was no surprise when she happily said "I am gluten free too!" I mean of course this place would have gluten free, vegan friendly, tofu lovers working here. Who am I kidding? 

For my entree, I decided to really soak up what Real Food Daily has to offer. I ordered the "Pizza Ya Can Eat-Za" (aka a fake pizza). The entree is wheat, gluten & yeast free with herb corn meal crust, sun-dried tomato pesto, tomatoes, spinach, basil, melted cashew and mozzarella cheeses, sauteed daily greens & cannelini beans. 

"Was it good?" my co-worker asked me. 

I paused for a second and the only sentence that came out of my mouth was "It kinda tastes like dirt." I took another bite... then told myself "the pizza toppings are delicious, but what's up with this weird aftertaste of the herb corn meal crust?" It was odd and definitely didn't taste like a real pizza. I was pretty disappointed with the result, despite the fact that I ate the entire faux pizza. I don't know if I will ever order it again. 

-ThatChineseGurl

GLUTEN CONFUSION

One of the most annoying things about going gluten free is you have to check the label on the box for various ingredients. I am just going to assume most things in a box I can't eat in the next three months. What I forgot last night was the fresh marinated chicken I had in the fridge from my local farmer's market. Of course my first instinct was "protein! chicken! no gluten!" Excited as I was chewing down the giant chicken salad last night without thinking, I suddenly asked myself "what was the sauce they used to marinate the chicken? Does it taste like BBQ?" I had no idea! 

I was flat out gluten confused!

Afterwards, I quickly realized I had marinated three pieces of Korean short ribs with the new BBQ sauce I bought from Whole Foods the other day. I became a nervous cow when I picked up the bottle to read the label. As I went through each item carefully, the word "wheat" was clearly missing. Not trusting my own eyes, I opened my computer and google'd the BBQ sauce brand. It was gluten free! Not only did I feel relieved, I felt very optimistic about this whole thing...
...until I got an e-mail from my boyfriend. (Let's call him boyfriend #17 on this blog.)

Boyfriend #17 is also going gluten free for three months due to his chronic joint pains. Go ahead, you have total liberty to call us "one of those couples". You can also add the word "obnoxious" into the sentence. So he wrote to me about his gluten free lunch yesterday. Boyfriend #17 made a rice cracker (from Trader Joes), turkey meat, avocado, cheese, hummus, Sriracha sandwich.   

I asked him: "Was it good?"
He said: "Haha. No. Not really. wasn't very good. Looks good tho."

So my optimism quickly demolished after reading his response. I guess there will be a lot more interesting explorations into this new world of no wheat. 

In the next couple of weeks, I will be reviewing new gluten free products that you can buy from your local grocery store. 

-ThatChineseGurl

I ALMOST TOSSED THOSE COOKIES

I really love Milano cookies. I like the regular ones, chocolate mint, and everything in between. 

A couple of weeks ago when Ralphs had a huge Milano cookies sale for $2 per box, I went crazy. I bought three boxes of them hoping that after a long day of work, I can sit on the couch and enjoy one cookie at a time while watching Bunheads. 

Going gluten free means no Milanos cookies. 

Today, I stared at the unopened boxes and asked myself...am I ready to give up on these? My inner cookie monster shouted "HELL NO!" 

Instead of tossing them, I picked up a plastic bag and decided to hide the cookies (which really just means putting them one shelve up so I can't see it.) 


When I got hungry around the late afternoon, instead of reaching for that delicious cookie... I busted out that half watermelon and threw all it into my juicer. 

What I didn't expect is how much juice came out of my Jack LaLanne Power Juicer Pro. Probably 6 cups of fresh watermelon juice!  


If you are thinking of investing in a juicer...it is totally an investment. I highly recommend the Jack LaLanne's Power Juicer Pro. The tricky part is you HAVE to clean the entire juicer right after you use it. If you don't, all the particles get dried up and stick to the metal. No bueno. 


-ThatChineseGurl

NO GLUTEN FOR THREE MONTHS!

Starting tomorrow, I will be gluten free for three month! This means no wheat, no generic bread from the grocery store, and no pizza.  NO PIZZA!

Why going gluten free all the sudden?

The answer is simple. Trying to find a health alternative to my current diet. 

Ever since Sophomore year of college, I was diagnosed with gastritis. I often feel bloated with chronic stomach pains. Often, the pain gets so excruciating that I have to go to sleep on my stomach. After the doctor told me I have Helicobacter pylori from my endoscopy exam at the age of 25, I started to take my health more seriously and cut down on some of the food that really irritate my sensitive stomach. No coffee, no caffeinated tea, and just say no to Sriracha! (Although I do have both the bottle Sriracha and the paste Sriracha in my fridge in case I feel the urge to sprinkle some on my fried rice.) 

For three month, I am telling myself I will try to cook more at home. I will become one of those really annoying customers at restaurants where they question the waiter/waitress all the ingredients in a certain dish.

I hope to feel better and discover new food I normally would never try before. 

It wouldn't be that bad if along the way I can loose five lbs in the next three months. 

So au revoir french baguettes, zia jiang chinese garlic noodles, ciao pesto linguine... I will see you on the other side!

-ThatChineseGurl