Pumpkin Pie

After a two year hiatus, I checked in on my blog and realized that it receives hundreds of views a month. So, new product reviews are on the way.

Health has been a struggle. The longer I've been gluten free (due to celiac disease), the more sensitive I've become to cross-contamination. While the headaches and stomach aches can be brutal, part of me is relieved to know if I'm being the slightest bit poisoned. Essentially, I'm a guinea pig for the less-symptomatic celiacs, who can still suffer long-term effects of the disease without always knowing if they've eaten gluten.

Rarely do I eat at restaurants these days, which means that I cook most of my meals at home. This includes my new favourite breakfast food: pumpkin pie. Sobey's sells "Wholly Wholesome" Gluten-Free Pie Shells 2 for $6.99!

I've probably made about 20 pies since September. It's very simple - just mix together canned pumpkin, brown sugar, almond milk, a bit of ginger, and maybe an egg. Bake it at 350-400 degrees until it looks/smells/tastes done.

Pie Shell: "INGREDIENTS: Brown Rice Flour, Water, Non‐Hydrogenated Palm Fruit Shortening, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Tapioca Starch, Potato Starch, Sea Salt, Aluminum Free Baking Powder, Xanthan Gum. Produced in a Gluten, Wheat, Dairy, Egg, Soy, Nut & Casein Free Environment"

Endless Color Nail Polish - Physician's Formula

When I was eight years old my grandmother told me, "always paint your toenails, it's good for them." For some reason, I took this seriously. Throughout high school, my nails were ever-painted, though each time I'd open up a bottle, my dad would say, "That stuff is toxic."

While nail polish is never "healthy," I'm always looking for brands that make it less toxic. Three years ago, I discovered that I have celiac disease, and I've paid close attention to the contents of food and beauty products ever since.

Until recently, the only "natural" nail polish that I'd used was Scotch Naturals. It chips almost instantly. While it is completely non-toxic, a tiny bottle costs nearly $15.

Gluten may or may not be in nail polish, but a new "gluten free" polish caught my eye last month at the grocery store. Not only is Physician's Formula Endless Color nail polish gluten free, it is also free from; camphor, toluene, formaldehyde, parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, petrochemicals, phthalates, GMOs, and triclosan.

I have no scientific background, but I'll include the ingredient list for anyone who may be interested:
Contains: butyl acetate, ethyl acetate, nitrocellulose, phthalic anhydride/trimellitic anhydride/glycols copolymer, isopropyl alcohol, acetyl tributyl citrate, stearalkonium hectorite, adipic acid/fumaric acid/phthalic acid/triclodecane dimethanol copolymer, citric acid, May Contain: ferric ferrocyanide, mica titanium dioxide, red 6, red 7, red 34, yellow 5.

Still, a lot of scary sounding ingredients. Chemists, please elaborate!

I decided to try the product, as it is guaranteed to be gluten-free. The colours are sold in thematic category trios for $12.95: Smokin' Haute, Three Shades of Grey, Trendsetter Chic, California Goddess, Fashion Icon, In the Nude, Bare it All, and Treat Yourself. I purchased the set "In the Nude," as the colours are neutral and chipping is less noticeable.

Physician's Formula Endless Color nail polish works just as well as any other nail polish (note: the colours are intended to be muted/neutral). On my fingernails, I used the rose-hued polish, and last week, I tried the lighter pink one. On my toes, I used the pastel purple. [Fact: I spent 10 minutes trying to take a flattering photo of my feet. Verdict: My feet are creepy].

While it is fantastic that Physician's Formula Endless Color Trios are free from petrochemicals etc., I will likely use the polish more often on my toenails than on my fingernails.

In contrast to the Physician's Formula polish, the Scotch Naturals polish has only 4 ingredients: water, acrylic polymer emulsion, butoxy diglycol, non-toxic colorants. This leads me to believe that there is a middle-ground polish out there that; has fewer ingredients than Physician's Formula and is longer lasting than Scotch Naturals.

Learning to Run

It’s been a month since my friend, Andrea, and I decided to train for a 10 mile race this summer. Neither of us are runners, and we have much to learn!

So far, we go to the gym three times per week, stretch/tone before & after our workouts, and jog on the treadmill. Canada is quite icy/slushy in February, and I can’t wait to get outside. However, the treadmill is helping me keep a steady pace until Spring. Having healthy snacks that are high in protein/carbs are necessary to combat my low blood sugar (see the Almond “Bounce” ball review below).

I’ve been consulting a variety of friends who are regular runners, and mixing their expert advice with internet info. Here are two of the most useful (paraphrased) tips so far:

From “M”
- Increase your running time SLOWLY - more so for your joints than for your lung capacity
[I made the mistake of increasing my time from 20 minutes to 45 minutes within two days and suffered a few days of leg pain]

From “Alex”
- His favorite tip: Make an iPod playlist of both fast & slow music. High-energy “exercise” music isn’t ideal for long runs.

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Songs from my own running playlist:

“Get Some” – Lykke Li
“Bigger than Love” – Benjamin Gibbard
“Lisztomania” – Wolfgang Amadeus Pheonix
“The Theory of Relativity” – Stars
“Paper Planes” – M.I.A.
“Dancing Shoes” – Arctic Monkeys
“Black, Black Heart” – David Usher
“Terrible Angels”  – Charlotte Gainsbourg
"Hold Me" - Yoko Ono
“Ne Me Jugez Pas” – Sawt El Atlas
“We Go Together” - Grease
“Rococo” – Arcade Fire
“Cecilia” – Simon & Garfunkel
“Escape Velocity” – Chemical Brothers
“Deny, Deny, Deny” – Joel Plasket
“Maneater” – Nelly Furtado
“Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas) – “Regina Spektor”
“Seven Nation Army” – The White Stripes
“Day to Day” – Amy Millan
“Numa Numa” - Ozone
“Life in Technicolor II” – Coldplay
“Windsurfing Nation” – Broken Social Scene
“Yer So Bad” – Tom Petty
“Never Give Up on the Good Times” – Spice Girls
“Fanfare Macvara” – Figli Di Madre Ignota
“Finding Something New to Do” – Hellogoodbye
“She Wolf” – Shakira
“Magdalena” – Brandon Flowers
“Straight to Hell” – Lily Allen Ft. Mick Jones
“Cemetery Gates” – The Smiths
“4 Minutes” - Madonna
“Move Over” – Janis Joplin
“Zeye Meyel” – Nass Marrakech
“What  You Waiting For” – Gwen Stefani
“Can’t Buy Me Love” – The Beatles
“Never Ever (All Stars Remix)” – All Saints
“Run On” - Moby
“You are a Tourist (The 2 Bears Remix) – Death Cab for Cutie
“Hey Ya” - Outkast
“Heartlines” – Florence and the Machine

"Almond Protein Hit" Bounce Energy Ball

After my run on Monday, I tried an "Almond Protein Hit" Bounce Energy Ball for the first time. It was so good - I've been carrying around the empty wrapper in my bag for four days in order to blog about it!

As I mentioned in my last post, my doctor recommended that I take in more protein and carbs to slow my super-fast digestion. Before this, I'd been suspicious of protein bars (remember the movie Mean Girls? Lindsay Lohan secretly tries to make Rachel McAdams gain weight using protein bars).  However, in moderation, protein bars can be handy and healthy. Each Bounce ball has 12g of protein and 210 calories.

It was delicious! The almond is like a thicker version of peanut butter, as it is mixed with whey protein. Not only does it taste amazing, but it's gluten-free, free of artificial preservatives, and GMO free.

Ingredients:

Almonds, Brown Rice Syrup, Frutrim (Grape Juice, Pear Juice, Brown Rice Starch), Whey Protein Blend (Whey Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Concentrate, Whey Protein Hydrolysate), Rice Protein Concentrate, Whey Protein Crisps (Whey Protein Isolate, Tapioca Starch, Calcium Carbonate, Sunflower Lecithin), Brown Rice Flour, Rice Bran, Natural Vanilla Extract, Guar Gum, Sea Salt, Natural Almond Flavour, Mixed Tocopherols. No Artificial Preservatives. Contains: Almods and Products Derived from Milk. May Contain Eggs, Peanuts, Soy, Sesame Seeds, and Tree Nuts.

Only question: Why does it taste like cherries? I was surprised that cherries were not on the ingredient list.

The bars retail at $2.49 - a bit expensive compared to other health bars, but I'm going to purchase one a week until I try MORE flavours!

[A COMMENTER NOTIFIED ME THAT NOT ALL FLAVOURS ARE GLUTEN FREE, SO CHECK THE PACKAGE BEFORE EATING]

- Cashew and Pecan Delight

- Coconut Macadamia Protein Bliss

- Fudgie Walnut Treat

- Peanut Protein Blast

- Spirulina and Ginseng Kick

Learn more about Bounce products at: http://www.bouncefoods.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=7

Cereal Review: Nature's Path "Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise" and EnjoyLife "Granola Very Berry Crunch"

Most breakfast cereals contain either wheat, barley, oats or rye - which are also the four sources of gluten. Even seemingly safe cereals, such as Corn Pops, use barley malt.  Here is a review of two gluten-free cereals that I eat often, and they're healthy too!

Nature's Path Organic's Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise is made without any preservatives, and is certified organic. The ingredients used are said to create, "Less soil erosion, less groundwater pollution, and improved farm biodiversity."  Nature's Path recently reduced the size of their packaging to save cardboard - yet the box still contains 300g of cereal! Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise is delicious. The vanilla flavour is not overpowering, and the mixture of gluten free grains create a unique taste.

INGREDIENTS: Whole corn meal*, evaporated cane juice*, brown rice flour*, yellow corn flour*, inulin*, quinoa puffs*, flax seeds*, natural vanilla flavor, buckwheat flour*, quinoa*, sea salt, amaranth*, molasses*, tocopherols (natural vitamin E). *Organic. Produced in a facility that uses peanuts, tree nuts or soy.

EnjoyLife's Very Berry Crunch mimics oat granola, but it is made primarily from brown rice flakes.  Though it is sold in a small bag, the cereal is very dense (365g) - which is 65 g more than Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise. Along with gluten, it is free of dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish, shellfish, sulphites, sesame and mustard (I didn't know that mustard could be an allergy until I read this). 

Very Berry Crunch is FULL of vitamins and minerals (ie: 35% of your daily iron intake, 20% of your daily magnesium intake). The dried strawberries add flavour, yet this cereal is definitely better with real fruit added. I recommend using plain unsweetened yogurt and blueberries.

INGREDIENTS: Brown Rice Flakes, Brown Rice Syrup, Evaporated Cane Juice, Rice Bran, Rice Crisps (Rice Flour, Rice Bran, Raisin Juice Concentrate, Honey, Salt), Water, Freeze-Dried Raspberries* and Strawberries*, Expeller-Pressed Vegetable Oil (Safflower Oil and/or Sunflower Oil), Natural Strawberry Flavor, Citric Acid, Ground Flaxseed, Rosemary Extract

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Both cereals are sold for around $6.99 each. 

If you are looking for the best natural and delicious cereal, choose Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise. But, if you are looking for something that is natural, AND full of vitamins and minerals, try Very Berry Crunch.

* Avoid Glutino brand cereals, they taste like chemicals.