My NAVI Breakfast

Greetings!

Yesterday was Day Ten, the final day of the Sugar-Free Challenge. Minus that little (unintentional) slip up on Day One, I’m going to call it a success.

Want to know what I’ve missed the most? Ketchup.

Yep, ketchup. And I can’t imagine that’s something I couldn’t make myself if I really wanted to. Maybe I’ll try it someday. Or maybe there’s a sugar-free brand out there somewhere. Anyone ever heard of one?

In celebration of ten (almost) sugar free days, I’m going to reveal this NAVI (New And Vastly Improved) breakfast I’ve been going on about.

Let me start by telling you about my old stand-by breakfast. I love cold cereal. I’m a cold cereal freak. If I could walk hand-in-hand along the beach with cold cereal, I would.

One of the hardest things about going gluten-free for me was finding new cereals. Believe me when I say the options become much, much more limited. And when you cut sugar out of the mix, it gets even tougher. I found a couple of brands that I really liked. This was my one of my favorites:

Check out the ingredient list:

Three ingredients. Three.

Is it sugar free? Technically, yes. Not-so-technically, this is a carb-fest. It’s basically just corn. Corn is a grain.

Let me say that again: corn is a grain. Not a vegetable, as so many people firmly believe.

Now consider that, due to my dairy sensitivity, I no longer drink milk. Instead I pour either rice or soy milk (or more likely a combination of the two) over my cereal. More carbs. Soy has some protein, but rice milk? Not so much.

Corn and rice for breakfast. Grain and grain. Carb and carb. And without even the benefit of the fiber, were the grains whole.

The straw that broke this camel’s back came when the camel looked up the glycemic index of “cornflakes”. The glycemic index ranks foods from 1-100 according to the impact they have on blood glucose levels. Higher ranked foods can spike blood glucose, while low glycemic foods keep it steadier. A diet based largely on high glycemic foods can lead, over time, to diabetes and other ailments.

Examples of high glycemic foods? Bagels, muffins, white bread, white pasta and, of course, sugar. Basically, the typical American diet.

Another example of a high glycemic food? Uh, corn flakes. They comes in at a whopping 74. Ouch. The suggested target is 55 or under. Even adding fruit and nuts, as I always do, isn’t going to do much to level out that blood glucose spike.

So, what’s a cereal-loving girl to do? Especially one who loathes hot cereal. Oatmeal, with all of its lovely fiber, comes in at about a 54, which is decent. (Let me clarify that by saying quick or slow-cook oats are a 54. Instant oatmeal, which is processed and usually loaded with sugar, is an 84 – not good.)

The problem is, I detest oatmeal. I find it too hot and heavy in the mornings. (Wait, what?) And cold oatmeal sounded gross.

I decided to try quinoa. It’s lighter than oatmeal, might be okay cold and has a GI rating of 53. I got to work experimenting with a couple of different versions. Here’s a sneak peek:

Quinoa is easy enough to make. It comes in red grain or white, but they taste similar. You can buy it by weight, or in a box. I use this brand:

Just boil one cup of quinoa in two cups of water for about ten minutes. I prefer to let mine cool, but you can eat it hot, too. Makes about four servings, so you have breakfast for the next three days as well! Of course, the fun part is how you dress it. I’ll share my two favorite versions here, but feel free to play around and add what you like.

Version one:

Summer Breakfast Quinoa
Top with sliced almonds, a generous dollop of cold coconut milk (for sweetness) and fresh raspberries.

I also like to add a bit of soy milk.

I probably should have shown you a picture of what the quinoa looks like, but I was too busy smothering it in luscious toppings. Trust me, it’s under there in all of its low glycemic glory. You can see the small, round grain peeking out in spots.

Version Two:

Autumn Breakfast Quinoa
Top with chopped walnuts, pureed pumpkin, cinnamon and a generous dollop of cold coconut milk. Sprinkle with nutmeg and a few dried cranberries.

Don’t forget the soy milk!

Delicious!

How about you? Would you ever consider going sugar-free? Have you ever tried quinoa? And, most importantly, do you want to hear more about food on Mowenackie?

Oh, My Aching Bones

Today, Owie and I took this:

And turned it into this:

Which made us feel like doing this:

All of which explains why you won’t be getting the recipe for this:

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

At least not tonight. But posts on all of the above coming soon! (Except the sleeping part. Because that would be really boring.)

I’m know you’re on pins and needles and all, but you’re going to have to wait. For now I’ll just say that Day Five was a sugar-free success. Oh, and I came up with a nice sweet-and-tart salad today, too. But you’ll have to go to my Facebook page to see it!

And now…good night!

How about you? How did you spend your Sunday?

Day Three and a (Sugar-Free) Recipe

I’ve tucked another sugar-free day under my belt. Day Three of The Sugar Free Challenge and all is well. You know - except that I ate sugar on Day One. But that wasn’t my fault!

Mostly.

Breakfast was much the same as Day One: I had my NAVI (or New And Vastly Improved) breakfast. And lunch was much the same as Day Two, so I won’t bore you with those details. (Hey, I’m lolling in a drill weekend here, remember? Don’t bother me.)

Dinner, on the other hand, was a little slice of heaven. I had Bangkok Noodles with Spicy Tomatoes – one of our favorites. It’s a little labor-intensive, but well worth it if you have the time. It’s not hard to make. There’s just a lot of chopping.

Pretty!

Here is the finished product:

Bangkok Noodles

Well, almost. It’s not nearly as tartly and spicily flavorful if you don’t add these:

Spicy Tomatoes

Thai food with a twist. I’m swooning just thinking about it and fighting back the urge to go get another plateful. I’m stuffed to capacity, but it’s that good.

Here’s how to make it. I’ve added my notes because I can never follow any recipe exactly. If I were a Camp Half-Blood demigod, it would be my fatal flaw. It’s also the reason I can’t bake for beans. But my cooking usually comes out quite good. In this case, I felt there weren’t enough vegetables so I added more, but feel free to alter things as you see fit. You can also use chicken instead of tofu if, like my husband, your fatal flaw is that there’s never enough meat.

Bangkok Noodles (source: Vegetarian Times, with my edits)

• 1/3 cup vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 2 Tbs. soy sauce (Note: gluten-free, of course!)
• 2 ½ tsp. curry powder, or to taste
• Note: I ran out of curry powder, so I made my own:
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. coriander
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• ½ tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric
• 1/4 tsp. chile powder
• ½ tsp. cardamom
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions (white and light green parts)
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 ½ tsp. vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
• 1 small hot green chile pepper, minced (seeding  is optional)
• 4 oz. firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2-inch
  cubes
• Note: I used 5 oz. because that’s what comes in a package of Nasoya Tofu
• 1 cup mung bean sprouts
• 2 cups fresh spinach leaves
• Note: I added: one small summer squash, sliced; one small zucchini, sliced, a half a red bell pepper, sliced; one orange bell pepper, sliced
• 6 oz. rice vermicelli, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes and drained
• Note: I used 8 oz. because that’s what comes in a package and rice vermicelli are virtually impossible to divide up. I also boiled it for 3 minutes, then drained because I forgot to soak it. Worked fine.

Directions

1. In small bowl, mix broth, coconut milk, soy sauce, curry powder, scallions and black pepper. Set aside.
2. In large wok or skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Stir-fry garlic, ginger, and chile until fragrant, about 10 seconds.
3. (Note: Add all vegetables except spinach and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.) Add tofu, and stir-fry 1 minute. Stir in soy sauce mixture, and bring to a simmer. Add 1/2 cup bean sprouts, spinach and noodles, and stir-fry, about 30 seconds.
4. Add remaining bean sprouts, but do not mix into
   noodles. Serve with Spicy Tomatoes on the side if desired.

Spicy Tomatoes
(source: Vegetarian Times, with my edits)

Note: I usually double this recipe to have enough for all the noodles. Double all ingredients except the chile peppers. Add one more pepper if you like things spicy. The tomatoes are fire-breathing spicy.

• 3 small green or red hot chile peppers, seeded
  and minced
• 1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped (about 1/2
  cup)
• 3 Tbs. fresh lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 medium shallots, minced
• Note: You can substitute onions in a pinch. Not that I’d know.
• 2 tsp. soy sauce (Note: gluten-free, of course!)

Directions

1. In medium bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Tomatoes will keep up to 3 days, refrigerated, in covered container.

Enjoy!

And be sure to eat with chopsticks or it’s not really Thai food.

How about you? Do you substitute when you’re cooking? Or do you follow recipes to the letter?