Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Odds and Ends: New Format! New Features Coming Soon!
Earlier today, I was experimenting with a new format for The Acne-Free Foodie and found this lovely template. With very little modification, I'm pleased to say that the new format and color scheme fits more with the my vision of what The Acne-Free Foodie is all about: easy access to good, clean, well-prepared food for a clear face, body, and mind. More features will be coming soon inspired by (or taken directly from) you, readers, as well some of my own ideas on how to make this more user friendly and attract more people to the site. Feel free to share more ideas in the comments below!
Cookbook, Edition #6: Curry-ish Beans and Rice
I have been meaning to try curry for a while simply because I had no idea what it was, friends rave about the stuff, and I've been bored with my other rice and beans concoctions. I'm happy to say that I tried making something like curry last night and thought it quite good. I doubt its close to authentic curry, but I liked it enough to share it with the world. It's vegetarian, and it cooks up quick, so I'll be making it during the regular school year too.
Ingredients
Rice
1 cup Brown Rice
1 1/2 cups water
A tablespoon or so olive oil
A pinch of salt
Curry-like Beans
A handful or two of fresh diced onion
A tablespoon or so of olive oil
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
A pinch of cayanne pepper
A heaping tablespoon of premixed curry powder
A pinch of powdered coriander
A pinch of salt
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans
A tablespoon or so of coconut milk
Rinse rice. Boil 1 1/2 cups water, tablespoon of olive oil, and pinch of salt in a sauce pan. While boiling, add rice. Simmer uncovered until water boiled off and/or absorbed.
While the rice simmers, saute chopped onion in olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Add remaining ingredients, stir, and let gently simmer until the rice is finished. Serve hot over rice.
You can substitute jasmine rice for the brown rice, adjust the spices to your taste, or substitute other kinds of beans, tofu, or meat for the garbanzo beans.
Ingredients
Rice
1 cup Brown Rice
1 1/2 cups water
A tablespoon or so olive oil
A pinch of salt
Curry-like Beans
A handful or two of fresh diced onion
A tablespoon or so of olive oil
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
A pinch of cayanne pepper
A heaping tablespoon of premixed curry powder
A pinch of powdered coriander
A pinch of salt
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans
A tablespoon or so of coconut milk
Rinse rice. Boil 1 1/2 cups water, tablespoon of olive oil, and pinch of salt in a sauce pan. While boiling, add rice. Simmer uncovered until water boiled off and/or absorbed.
While the rice simmers, saute chopped onion in olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Add remaining ingredients, stir, and let gently simmer until the rice is finished. Serve hot over rice.
You can substitute jasmine rice for the brown rice, adjust the spices to your taste, or substitute other kinds of beans, tofu, or meat for the garbanzo beans.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Cookbook, Edition #5: Using Your Old Cookbooks
While moving, I unearthed my old cookbooks and didn't have the heart to put them in the Goodwill pile. While struggling with a severe bout of food boredom, I started looking through these hand-me-down cookbooks and found that there were a lot of recipes I could have, some with no alterations, and some just a few tweaks. There were some recipes that were completely out of the question (i.e. stir fry recipes requiring soy sauce), but I was surprised how little work I would have to do to get out of my food rut and hop back into the gluten-free, soy-free, and dairy-free diet I had tackled in March. Of course, when you are cooking gfsfcf, it's always better choose recipes that are naturally gfsfcf compliant.
Some basic, recurring substitutions:
-Heavy Cream, Half-and-Half and Milk, esp. when used to make something creamy: coconut milk in various concentrations *
-Butter: Canola or olive oil
-Refined Sugar: honey, agave nectar, or (in some cases) fruit
I made lists of the recipes I can have with little or no work and hope to give a compilation to my parents so they can see what I can have.
* A word is necessary about using coconut milk as a gfsfcf substitute. There have been conflicting reports on whether or not coconut products are good for you due to their high saturated fat content. There are plenty of resources on the Internet to allow you to evaluate whether or not including coconut milk in your diet is a good idea. Personally, I don't have a problem using coconut milk as a milk substitute every once in while, so long as I know that I have been getting plenty of fruit, vegetables, grains, and beans and not too much meat.
Some basic, recurring substitutions:
-Heavy Cream, Half-and-Half and Milk, esp. when used to make something creamy: coconut milk in various concentrations *
-Butter: Canola or olive oil
-Refined Sugar: honey, agave nectar, or (in some cases) fruit
I made lists of the recipes I can have with little or no work and hope to give a compilation to my parents so they can see what I can have.
* A word is necessary about using coconut milk as a gfsfcf substitute. There have been conflicting reports on whether or not coconut products are good for you due to their high saturated fat content. There are plenty of resources on the Internet to allow you to evaluate whether or not including coconut milk in your diet is a good idea. Personally, I don't have a problem using coconut milk as a milk substitute every once in while, so long as I know that I have been getting plenty of fruit, vegetables, grains, and beans and not too much meat.
Media, Edition #6: Food Revolution Continues #2
This just in my inbox: the Washington D.C. area school food director recently announced that they are banning flavored milk (1). Also, Florida schools are considering a similar milk ban (2). Now, I can't have milk at all right now , but I don't mind advocating for those who can have the stuff. After all, who wants elementary school kids to have access to this sugary, flavored stuff while in school? When I was in elementary school, I chose the chocolate milk 99% of the time - and yes, they sold the stuff when I was growing up. So congrats, D.C. and Florida area schools!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Odds and Ends: I am (more or less) done moving
I have been dealing with moving and reorganizing stuff for the past few weeks, and it has made writing (not to mention cooking) difficult, if not impossible. I'm getting back into the swing of things though and will be writing regularly again soon - I've yet to get used to my new, otherwise beautiful, but pantry-less, kitchen. Rather than rehash all of the confessions I actually owe you, dear readers, I'm going to ask that we skip ahead to a new chapter in this gfsfcf diet: how to get through extreme food boredom and make this diet a semi-permanent fixture. I get my home Internet installed on Monday, so you'll be hearing from me soon.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Finances, Edition #3
I enjoy my weekly grocery store trip. There’s something about all the colorful food that makes me briefly forget about my worries. I also adhere to my family’s food-money philosophy: “You either spend money on food or you spend money on medical bills”. While I knew that my food bills would increase when I started buying all-organic fruits and vegetables, I didn’t think they would increase as much as they did - to $60, $80, sometimes $100 a week. To draw attention to the cost of good food, I’m keeping a cumulative tally of my weekly grocery bill and the tab from any time I eat out.
I did some more cutting corners last week, although early this week, I blew it because pesticide-free strawberries, organic blueberries, and organic mangos were on sale for the best prices I've seen where I live.
5/28/10
Organic Kidney Beans (15 oz): $1.39
Organic Black Beans (15 oz): $1.29
Organic Light Coconut Milk (15 oz): $2.39
3 Organic Lemons, $2.49/lb: $2.27
4 Organic White Peaches, 3.99/lb: $4.27
Organic Raw Hemp Seeds: $5.68
Organic Deget Dates: $2.04
1 lb pesticide free Strawberries: $3.00
1 lb pesticide free Strawberries: $3.99 (Interesting. The strawberries were supposed to be on sale - 2 for $6.)
4 Organic Mangos, 1.25 ea.: $5
Total: $37.41
Then, when I went back to grab something to eat before going on a nice drive, I saw that there were more strawberries, blueberries, and mangos for the taking, and they looked better than the ones I'd picked through the last trip.
5/31/10
4 1lb boxes of Pesticide-Free Strawberries: $12
4 boxes of Organic Blueberries: $12
4 Organic Mangos, 1.25 ea: $5
AmaZake Rice Drink (by Grainaissance), Original Flavor: $2.49
Peanut Butter Cookie: $1.99
Total: $33.65
Week's Total: $71.06
Blog Total: $192.17
I did some more cutting corners last week, although early this week, I blew it because pesticide-free strawberries, organic blueberries, and organic mangos were on sale for the best prices I've seen where I live.
5/28/10
Organic Kidney Beans (15 oz): $1.39
Organic Black Beans (15 oz): $1.29
Organic Light Coconut Milk (15 oz): $2.39
3 Organic Lemons, $2.49/lb: $2.27
4 Organic White Peaches, 3.99/lb: $4.27
Organic Raw Hemp Seeds: $5.68
Organic Deget Dates: $2.04
1 lb pesticide free Strawberries: $3.00
1 lb pesticide free Strawberries: $3.99 (Interesting. The strawberries were supposed to be on sale - 2 for $6.)
4 Organic Mangos, 1.25 ea.: $5
Total: $37.41
Then, when I went back to grab something to eat before going on a nice drive, I saw that there were more strawberries, blueberries, and mangos for the taking, and they looked better than the ones I'd picked through the last trip.
5/31/10
4 1lb boxes of Pesticide-Free Strawberries: $12
4 boxes of Organic Blueberries: $12
4 Organic Mangos, 1.25 ea: $5
AmaZake Rice Drink (by Grainaissance), Original Flavor: $2.49
Peanut Butter Cookie: $1.99
Total: $33.65
Week's Total: $71.06
Blog Total: $192.17
Confession, Edition #4
We all make poor food choices and I am no exception, so I am sharing the occasions when I break my own diet. In doing so, I hope to keep myself accountable in adhering to the diet; bring attention to the difference in cost between AFF friendly food and not-so-AFF-friendly food; and show where to find AFF-friendly food outside the apartment kitchen.
I went a week and five days without writing a confession! I know my detractors would say that if I were serious about clearing acne and feeling better permanently, I wouldn't have to write confessions at all. While they may have a point, I would prefer to be as honest as possible about my gluten, soy, and dairy-free (and industrial-animal-product-and-synthetic-sweetener-free avoiding) adventures and misadventures. Should someone of influence come across this blog, I hope they will see the benefits of maintaining high food-quality standards and just how difficult maintaining these standards is in today's food market - and maybe do something about it.
So, confession from yesterday. A friend (and my new roommate!) and I went on a day trip so that she could meet a professor who teaches at a school to which she's considering applying for her doctoral program. I went along because the school is also in my hometown and I would get a chance to see my mom.
Before we left, we had to get our cashier's checks and money orders to pay the up-front fees for our new apartment and sign the lease. While dealing with the mess that is cashier's checks and money orders, I bought tall coffee with soy milk at Starbucks and sweetened it with white sugar (soy, non-organic, processed sugar, caffeine). In my defense, I also got a Berry Blast Naked Juice for later, bringing the day's total sins to $5.29.
Then, after we signed the lease and paid our money, we stopped and got some more Starbucks coffee for free. Our new apartment offers free, fresh brewed Starbucks coffee in it's main office. Unfortunately, they don't have any fresh, liquid, non-dairy, soy, gluten, or artificial sweetner-laiden creamer. I do like black coffee, but I didn't resist pouring some hazelnut-flavored powder creamer (gluten, soy, dairy, non-organic, artificial sweetener/processed sugar, caffeine) to celebrate a new, beautiful apartment with a new, awesome roommate.
So, we drove down and found where she needed to be, with a few minutes to spare. My mom came and we went to the Starbucks near the campus. We both got the non-organic black tea without sweetener (non-organic, caffeine). It was Mom's treat.
When my roommate's appointment was finished and my Mom went home, we had a misadventure trying to pick up something for my roommate's boss. We had had nothing to eat besides coffee (and, in my case, tea and Naked Juice) and ended up at Red Robin. I was so hungry I didn't even really want to think about a salad with fruit. I ordered the Burnin' Love Burger with a Garden Burger for the meat (gluten, dairy, soy) and had marinaded cheese sticks and fried jalepenos with marinara and ranch (dairy, gluten, fried food). That total was $15.75.
For dessert (because my roommate's meeting went very well), I ordered an iced boba chai tea at a local tea shop for $5.55.
The day's total: $26.59.
I still need to write another confession for a few nights ago. I bought an organic pizza (gluten, dairy, soy) and had a soy-based cheesecake (which actually was quite good). The total was $14.93.
So maybe it's been less than a week and five days since my last confession . . .
This confession's total: $41.52.
I went a week and five days without writing a confession! I know my detractors would say that if I were serious about clearing acne and feeling better permanently, I wouldn't have to write confessions at all. While they may have a point, I would prefer to be as honest as possible about my gluten, soy, and dairy-free (and industrial-animal-product-and-synthetic-sweetener-free avoiding) adventures and misadventures. Should someone of influence come across this blog, I hope they will see the benefits of maintaining high food-quality standards and just how difficult maintaining these standards is in today's food market - and maybe do something about it.
So, confession from yesterday. A friend (and my new roommate!) and I went on a day trip so that she could meet a professor who teaches at a school to which she's considering applying for her doctoral program. I went along because the school is also in my hometown and I would get a chance to see my mom.
Before we left, we had to get our cashier's checks and money orders to pay the up-front fees for our new apartment and sign the lease. While dealing with the mess that is cashier's checks and money orders, I bought tall coffee with soy milk at Starbucks and sweetened it with white sugar (soy, non-organic, processed sugar, caffeine). In my defense, I also got a Berry Blast Naked Juice for later, bringing the day's total sins to $5.29.
Then, after we signed the lease and paid our money, we stopped and got some more Starbucks coffee for free. Our new apartment offers free, fresh brewed Starbucks coffee in it's main office. Unfortunately, they don't have any fresh, liquid, non-dairy, soy, gluten, or artificial sweetner-laiden creamer. I do like black coffee, but I didn't resist pouring some hazelnut-flavored powder creamer (gluten, soy, dairy, non-organic, artificial sweetener/processed sugar, caffeine) to celebrate a new, beautiful apartment with a new, awesome roommate.
So, we drove down and found where she needed to be, with a few minutes to spare. My mom came and we went to the Starbucks near the campus. We both got the non-organic black tea without sweetener (non-organic, caffeine). It was Mom's treat.
When my roommate's appointment was finished and my Mom went home, we had a misadventure trying to pick up something for my roommate's boss. We had had nothing to eat besides coffee (and, in my case, tea and Naked Juice) and ended up at Red Robin. I was so hungry I didn't even really want to think about a salad with fruit. I ordered the Burnin' Love Burger with a Garden Burger for the meat (gluten, dairy, soy) and had marinaded cheese sticks and fried jalepenos with marinara and ranch (dairy, gluten, fried food). That total was $15.75.
For dessert (because my roommate's meeting went very well), I ordered an iced boba chai tea at a local tea shop for $5.55.
The day's total: $26.59.
I still need to write another confession for a few nights ago. I bought an organic pizza (gluten, dairy, soy) and had a soy-based cheesecake (which actually was quite good). The total was $14.93.
So maybe it's been less than a week and five days since my last confession . . .
This confession's total: $41.52.
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