Give Us This DayOur Daiy Bread

Whenever I talk to someone newly diagnosed as being gluten intolerant and just beginning the gluten free journey, the first thing they tend to want is gluten free replacements for breads and pasta. Let's face it, bread products have long made our lives convenient. Running late for work in the morning and no time to make breakfast? No problem. A quick trip through a McDonalds can bring us an Egg McMuffin, or a run through Burger King can provide a steamy hot croissant. Pizza restaurants are practically at every corner. Look at all the places you can get delicious pasta offerings. It's just so convenient! But now, you've just learned you need to live gluten free.

My first piece of advice is not to panic. You're going to be okay. In fact, eventually you'll be better than you have been for a very long time. But it's going to take some time, and you'll most likely make mistakes along the way. Keep in mind this new lifestyle takes about a year to fully adjust and adapt to.

My second piece of advice is just forget about bread and pasta for awhile. I know that sounds harsh, but your taste buds need to adjust. Gluten free breads and pastas have a very different taste and texture, and not all of the brands are good. And they are much more expensive than their wheaty counterparts. This is the time where the best thing you can do is concentrate on the foods that are naturally gluten free. Foods like meats, veggies, fruit, nuts, rice, dairy, eggs are just a few examples of what is safe to eat. (Remember too, you're going to need to read the food labels closely to avoid gluten in things like certain brands of soy sauce, broths, boullion, even corn meal. But that's good material for the next post.)

There are some decent gluten free bread, pasta and pizza products out there. I would love to learn to make my own gluten free bread, because it's so very expensive and there's only one brand I really like. I've gotten used to brown rice pasta in place of whole wheat pasta. But I do try to concentrate on naturally gluten free foods first.

One dish that I make about once a month is beef and chicken fajitas. I found the recipe for the marinade online, and it's absolutely delicious! I keep teff flour tortillas on hand, but often I just use lettuce instead of the tortillas when building my fajitas. Here is the recipe and instructions. I hope you make them and enjoy them as much as Eddie and I do!

Beef and Chicken Fajitas
Marinade:
1 pound skirt steak, sliced
2 boneless chicken breasts, sliced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Mix ingredients for beef, and same amounts of ingredients for chicken. Store separately in refrigerator for about an hour before cooking. To cook, put saute pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken strips using caution not to overcrowd pan, and saute on one side, then turn to other side. I store the pieces in a warm oven while I continue with the rest of the chicken strips, then do the same with the beef. It does not take long to cook, especially the beef.

Veggies:
2 red bell peppers, seeded and sliced into thin strips
2 yellow bell peppers, seeded and sliced into thin strips
1 large onion, sliced into thin strips (I like a sweet onion)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 tablespoons butter

Melt butter with olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add veggies and turn heat up a little, and saute veggies until desired doneness. I like them so they're nicely carmelized.

Guacamole:
Two avocados
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
Juice of 2 limes

Cut avocados in half, discard pit, and scoop out insides. Mix all ingredients together, smashing the avocado with a fork. Cover tightly with plastic wrap to help keep the guacamole from turning brown from oxygen.

Serve fajitas with the guacamole, diced tomatos, cheddar cheese, sour cream and Romaine lettuce. If desired, teff flour tortillas are gluten free and bend easily for wrapping.

Enjoy your fajitas!