Product Review: Food for Life Rice Tortillas

Tonight for dinner I had myself a Food for Life Brown Rice Tortilla. I filled it with a tuna salad.

About the Product:

Made by the same folks who make Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted grain bread. These are the first available certified Kosher, all natural, Wheat & Gluten-Free tortillas and were specifically developed to fit the needs of individuals who are looking for Wheat & Gluten Free food options. The ingredients list includes only: brown rice flour, water, tapioca flour, safflower oil, rice bran, vegetable gum, and sea salt. They are about 8" round, and there are 6 in a package.

My Verdict:

Not too shabby. They weren't a bad substitute for a regular flour tortilla.

Pros:

Nice and big for the amount of calories in each.

A good source of fibre.

Wheat, gluten, and corn-free.

Cons:

They are a bit tougher than a flour tortilla, which I guess is expected, as it is with most gluten-free products.

Well That's Pretty Cool:

Each of the tortillas are separated by a piece of parchment paper to prevent sticking.

I'm Starting to Embrace the Comprehensive Elimination Diet

I posted a couple of weeks ago that my naturopath, Parissa, has put me on a comprehensive elimination diet to get me started on trying to figure out what it is I might be allergic to.

If you've even been on an elimination diet of any kind, you know it's not fun. I spent the first couple of days just wandering the organic and specialty sections of my favourite grocery stores, just looking. And feeling sorry for myself. I thought it was bad enough to avoid some foods I used to love because they weren't the healthiest of choices. Now I was tasked with trying to avoid foods I'd always known were healthy choices, specifically wheat and dairy.

While the elimination diet isn't fun to follow, it's nothing if it's not interested and an eye-opening experience. I've tried so many new, glorious and not-so-glorious products in the past couple of weeks I can't even tell you! But I'm going to try.

I'm going to start blogging about some of my new product discoveries. I hope it helps others with food sensitivities, or those who are avoiding a food for some reason.

Tonight's Meeting - Setting Goals and NSVs

It appears that my meeting has become one of the more popular ones in the city. I think it's because the meeting is the earliest evening we have and the first meeting after the weekend. Not that it matters to me why it's popular, I'm just happy that it is.

Tonight's topic was about setting goals and non-scale victories. These topics are usually a bit difficult for me. For some reason when I talk about goals in my meetings, my members have nothing to say.

Clearly, they all have a goal. The only conceivable reason why they may have walked into a Weight Watchers meeting without a goal is because their doctor has coerced them into doing so. Otherwise, they have a goal, maybe not a specific goal, but a goal nonetheless.

It was important that I drive home the importance of regular goal setting to my members tonight.

I begin by asking them about their goals. I get great response from the young married couple, Angela and Kevin. They're so great - I wish I could let them know how much they enrich my meetings. They're always so upbeat and refreshing, and they're never afraid to talk in the group. Most of my other members stay clammed up.

I knew that in order to get them talking about their goals I would have to push them. So I did. I wasn't giving up this time. Goal-setting is the most important thing you can do for yourself. I asked them about short-term goals, goals they're shooting for in terms of general health goals, and vanity goals. Lo and behold, they started talking to me.

I heard, "I have a goal." *cue angelic music - LAA!* "I'm going on a cruise." Yes! A goal to shoot for! Then, "I have some new fitness goals", followed by, "I'm getting married next year." Goals, people! Goals!

For those of you who don't have a goal - find one, figure it out, and think about it all the time. Do what you need to do to keep it in the forefront of your mind. Use post-it notes, put a picture on your refrigerator, keep it in your iCal. Just do it, remember it, and think about it all the time. Change it up, keep many goals on your mind, one for today, one for this week, one for this quarter.

Don't be discouraged when you have a setback. Please remember that setbacks are part of the process. No one is perfect, and no one ever made it to a goal without a setback or two. We're human after all.

No Wheat and No Dairy

Makes Tara a hungry, cranky girl.

I went to visit a naturopath on Thursday. I went because my family doctor is really dropping the ball on me, and I'm completely discouraged. Anyway, I am concerned about the acne I continually seem to fight with, as well as my elevated heart rate and ever-changing allergies.

Now I'm convinced most of this is all related. She's testing me for any allergies I really have. I've had traditional allergy testing done many times, with the pin prick test and the scratch test. She is testing me via blood sample, and I should have the results in a couple of weeks, which I'm very excited about. Then I'll finally know what is causing me issues and what isn't.

She also thinks I may be having issues with digestion. She thinks this is why I have a low B12 level. In most young people who have a low B12 level, this usually means you're missing an intrinsic factor in your stomach that is needed for the body to absorb B12. I told her I had asked my family doctor to proceed with testing to find out if this is my issue, but my family doctor refused to test me, and told me to just take a daily B12 supplement instead.

For now, the naturopath has asked me to try a diet that will allow for minimal effort by my digestive system. So no dairy, no wheat (two high-incidence allergens), and she has asked me to not eat raw fruits and vegetables, since they are difficult for the digestive system to process.

Now being a vegetarian, cutting out wheat and dairy is seriously challenging. I'm like a celiac vegan. Not fun. Fish, rice, and cooked veggies. Booooorrriing!

And to any celiacs out there, I now understand what it's like to try to live the way you have to. It must be terrible. Hugs to all of you.

Teed's 1st Annual A-Z List for Foodies!

Hello fellow foodies!

I've decided that I would put together a list of all things foodie 2009. I'm hoping to continue the list on an annual or semi-annual basis. I'll try to post a new letter every single day. Now that's dedication!

Stay tuned!

Moosewood Recipe - Puffy Pancake from New Classics

This week I'm on vacation, so I'm going to be cooking and baking up a storm. I'm taking every opportunity to embrace this new way of eating. And besides, I love being in the kitchen.

This morning I made the Puffy Pancake from Moosewood New Classics. I made a few changes. The original recipe calls for apples and an apple sauce made from apple cider.

I substituted with pears for the apples and added mini chocolate chips, but kept the rest of the ingredients the same. I didn't make the apple syrup either, we served with maple syrup.

The pears and chocolate were divine, but the next time I'll make a custard or english cream to serve this with.

A definite hit though, we'll definitely be making this again.

I Think I'm Officially a Lacto-Ovo-Pescatarian

What a mouthful. A mouthful of vegetables.

We stopped at the Country Pumpkin on our way home from the camp today. It was so great. This is why I love living in the country. Our bounty:

Which in turn yielded a dinner of corn on the cob with blue cheese butter and beets and shallots (a Moosewood recipe):
Delicious!

This is Why I Love Living in the Country

Gardening, and reaping the benefits of others' gardens.

I can't believe how much it's grown, especially the cucumbers! They grow fast! And they were actually an afterthought to the garden, so we planted them in pots on our patio.




Look at our teenie little broccoli!

Tea Time!

I decided today that it was time I learned how to brew a proper cup of tea. I went to Trinitea's, on Regent Street here in Fredericton, for a lesson in brewing.

They were so nice to me! I learned that you use about 1 tsp per cup for a regular tea, but maybe 2 tsps per cup for a light flavoured tea. You brew green tea for about 2 mins per cup and black tea for 4-5 mins per cup. Good to know!

I picked up some organic gunpowder green from China and some strawberry cream green from Japan.

I can't wait to try them!

Book: Skinny Bitch

I read the majority of this book, written by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, yesterday. I'll say that I'm mostly disturbed by the content.

I didn't expect the book to be about veganism or vegetarianism. Or animal rights or animal slaughter. I cried.

I do try my best to incorporate a lot of vegetarian meat substitutes into my diet, and we often eat completely veggie meals. And when we buy meat, and other products, we choose organic and free-range as often as we can. And in all honesty, I'm sure the book was more of a portrait of what happens to animals in american slaughterhouses rather than what takes place here in Canada.

But I think it has changed me a little. If I've ever considered being completely vegetarian, and I have many MANY times, I've never considered it as strongly as I do today.

But is there really anything wrong with drinking milk, or eating other dairy products or eggs? I don't see anything wrong with this, as long as the animals from which these products come are treated well.

This is going to be a bad thinking day.