Food Lush

Gluten-Free Corner: Pre-Workout Snacks

by Slynnro

After years of having an internal debate about when to eat relative to my workout schedule, I've finally adopted a later dinner time. This was a HARD FOUGHT battle.I'm finally able to wait until 8:00pm, after my classes are done, to eat dinner. But at around 5:00pm, when I start to get a little hunger pang going, I'm always looking for something to take the edge off, but that won't make me feel overly full. I've found a few good gluten-free options (which I also often eat for breakfast) that make for great snacks. Also, I try to have a few good gluten-free items in my bag when I travel, or in my desk at work for harried trial days when I don't have time for a real meal.

My newest find is Orgain Energy Drinks:

I like these because they are not particularly thick in texture (more like skim milk) so they don't feel heavy, and they taste chocolatey but not too chocolately so that you don't feel like you've had a milkshake or something.

My hair lady was very concerned the other day when I told her I would be headed straight to the gym without eating anything and insisted I eat one of her Kind Bars. I mentioned Kind granola a while back, but I had not tried the bars because I typically don't like bars that are heavily nutty. These are great though, and the almond coconut is my favorite (and I don't even like coconut!):

Unlike those pesky regular Luna bars (MISS YOU GUYS!), Luna Protien bars are gluten-free and delicious! My favorite is the chocolate peanut butter, but they are all delicious. And they are relatively low in calories for a bar, 190 calories compared to 250 for my beloved Think! Thin bars:

So what are you guys (gluten-free or otherwise) eating as a pre-workout snack? This is always a conundrum for me because I don't want to eat more calories than I would burn in the workout, but I also don't want to PASS OUT.

In other gluten-free news, I posted my recipe for the perfect gluten-free pizza english muffin on my blog. Check it out!

Gluten Free Corner: Late July Green Mojo, and a Bonus Snack Idea.

by Slynnro

I've waxed poetically before on my blog about my obsession with Late July chips, and Caitlin has blogged about their ranch chips on Food Lush as well (confession: I'm the only sorority girl on earth that hates Ranch things). I have quietly been inhaling bag after bag of Sea Salt by the Sea Shore chips. And, lo, they are delicious. But then....I bought a bag of Mild Green Mojo and my life totally changed.  

I've been trying to come up with a way to describe the flavor of these chips, but honestly I cannot. Except to say my obsession with them is such that I have to MEASURE OUT SERVINGS and put them in bags so that I don't accidentally eat the entire bag in one sitting. We are in serious love, Mild Green Mojo and Me, and will be personally offended if you don't go buy some of these chips posthaste. I usually get mine at Whole Foods, but I actually did see them recently at Albertson's, so hopefully they will be available at more average grocery stores at a more reasonable price. Regular price is around $4.99 for a bag, but I am having good luck spotting them on sale for $2.99. Not only are these chips perfect on their own, I have been enjoying scooping up my Chipotle salad with them lately as well.

Beyond my obsession with these chips, I have a new dirty little snacking secret. I have always loved Annie's Graham Bunnies, and there is always a box in my bag when I travel. My favorite of the lot is most definitely the Ginger Snap variety:

Now, I AM a sorority girl in that I am always trying to find myself some kind of low cal sweet snack, and I have eaten an embarrassing number of tubs of Cool Whip with a spoon. I spotted some Tru Whip at Whole Foods and decided to give it a try. This stuff is leaps and bounds better that Cool Whip -- it has a very ice-creamy consistency. And in a moment of inspiration, I combined my Annie's Bunnies with my Tru Whip and my own little low calorie McFlurry was born. After discovering the deliciousness of this combination, I took my snack ambitions a step further and stirred a (large) amount of Bunnies into a Tru Whip container and put it back in the freezer.  

OH WOW.

This snack is not something to tell your nutritionist about, but its something to enjoy on occasion without any guilt. It's addictive. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Gluten-Free (And Diet-Friendly!) Corner: Seasons 52

by Slynnro

Last night, I dined at a Seasons 52 for the first time. For those of you unfamiliar with their dining concept, all dishes on the menu have fewer than 475 calories. Seasons 52 refers to itself as a "Fresh Grill," and they do so with serious conviction when your waiter comes to the table. They say "fresh grill" as though it were a commonly accepted thing, which gave me a small chuckle. ("It's not a thing!" was my rant). But the concept is something I can get behind--fresh foods, cooked in a healthy preparation. BUT WOULD THE PORTIONS BE ENOUGH? That was the big question I had, and the answer is a resounding yes!

To start, we shared the chicken skewers and a pork carnitas flat bread:

I only nibbled a bite of the flatbread because, uh, bread. But it was quite tasty, and rather large for 470 calories. The chicken skewers were also excellent:

The chicken was flavorful and juicy.

For my entree, I had the pork medallions, which are on the Seasons 52 gluten-free menu (there is also dairy-free, lactose-free, low-sodium, vegetarian, vegan, and, ultimate sadness, garlic-free menu options):

This was delicious! And as you can see, the portion was generous. This dish came in at 470 calories, and it was perfectly filling.  Aaron had a grilled chicken dish:

which was also filling (for a 6'3" boy!), and quite tasty as well.  

When we finished our entrees, we both had a sense of being perfectly full--not overly so, as is often the case when eating a multi-course dinner. In addition to our appetizers and entrees, we both had salads, which were fresh and perfectly lightly dressed. After years of ordering my salads with the dressing on the side, I recently decided to be brave and not request the dressing on the side. The salad was so overly dressed it was inedible. But these salads were dressed just enough to flavor the greens, but lightly enough that you could still taste the vegetable goodness. This was the feeling on all of our dishes--we didn't feel overly full because our entrees weren't covered in butter and oil, and you could really taste the ingredients. It was a refreshing change.

We both agreed that, for once, we were truly excited to have a nibble of dessert, without dreading the painfully full feeling we often get when indulging (but which for some reason, we cannot avoid subjecting ourselves to). I forgot to photograph them, but we shared two mini-indulgences, which are desserts in shot glasses, peanut butter & chocolate mousse, and a pecan pie indulgence. Neither were gluten-free, so I just had a little nibble and both were delicious!

After a four-course meal, I did a calorie tally, and my huge dinner was a mere 950 calories. Seasons 52, you'll be seeing me again!

Gluten-Free Corner: Kind Granola

by Slynnro

Even prior to going GF, I generally avoided granola (not granola bars, I love those, but Granola GRANOLA) because holy crap, one second you're enjoying a delicious healthy snack and then two minutes later, you have just inhaled 750 calories and 50 grams of fat. However, over Thanksgiving I was at a recently GF relative's house (she's GF because of migraines and has had great success, if that's something you're dealing with now!) and I was advising her on various gluten-free goodies. She was showing me what was in her pantry and one of the things she had tried and liked was Kind Healthy Grains in Dark Chocolate and Cranberry cluster. Now, as a fruit hater (yes, I hate all fruit, and yes, even strawberries) I don't normally taste such things, but I was starving and downed a handful. And my lord, was this stuff delicious. Not fruity-tasting at all.

 

It comes in a variety of flavors, and the nutrition facts are surprisingly reasonable. There are 130 calories and 3 grams of fat in 1/3 cup. Much to my shock, I was actually able to consume a reasonable serving and be satisfied. Which is good, because at around $5/bag, this stuff isn't cheap. I picked mine up at Whole Foods, but I have seen it at regular chain grocery stores as well.  

Kind makes a variety of other bars and granola flavors, and I eager to get to tasting!

Gluten Free Corner: Plentils Lentil Chips

by Slynnro

Well, after a brief work-induced hiatus, I'm back and from now on I will be bringing you my favorite gluten-free finds (and anything I find that is NOT worth the investment). Hopefully, the finds I bring here will be delicious enough for the non-gluten intolerant amongst us, as well!  

So this week's featured product is Plentils, delicious lentil chips!

 

These chips are made by Enjoy Life, and well, I haven't always enjoyed their wares. But these chips are awesome. They have a lightness in texture that for some reason reminds me of FunYuns (do those still exist? Are they gluten free? FunYuns taste like my childhood), without the horrific onion breath after.

I've had a lot of luck with products that are lentil-based when gluten-free goodies hunting, and these were no exception. They'd make a great sandwich side, and I've also crushed them into tomato soup and put them on top of a salad in lieu of croutons. These are also definitely yummy enough that I'd serve them to someone without gluten issues without my typical "gluten-free good" warning -- gluten-free good meaning, they're good . . . for being gluten free. These are just straight-up good. I picked them up at my local Whole Foods. They are also available through the Enjoy Life website for $3.74/bag, which is about what I paid in store. They also sell a small indiviudal serving bag online, and I haven't been able to find that in store.

31 chips has 130 calories, and 6 grams of fat, which is a bonus -- gluten-free chips and especially pretzels tend to have pretty high calorie and fat content. They are also dairy free.