Going Gluten Free

This post makes me kind of sad.. mainly because after tonight I will be going on a gluten free diet.

Sigh.

Long story short, I've had stomach pains and problems for about as long as I can remember, and last year I decided to do something about it. Thankfully the results came back that I don't have Chron's or celiac disease, but my doctor mentioned that adopting a gluten free diet would be a good idea. Except I never actually heeded that advice, until now - after I've finally had enough of dealing with the symptoms!

This is going to be tough though, since so many of my favorite things have gluten in them (beer! pasta!), but it will be worth it. Also, since I know for a fact that I don't have celiac's (probably just a gluten intolerance I was told), then I know that if I really, really want that Corona - I can have it. We're also getting ready to go to Paris, and I'm sure a croissant and some baguette will be in order at least once.

But for the sake of my health and confidence I will be maintaining a gluten free diet the majority of the time. I've also decided to give up pork products - for really no other reason than they make me feel sick and I've lost the taste for them. I don't think I'd say no to the occasional piece of ham - but all other pork products I'm happy to say goodbye to.

For anyone who currently eats gluten free, do you have any recommendations? I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed at this point at the number of things that are now no longer an option, so any tips and tricks (and recipes!) are more than welcome.

Here's hoping this finally fixes all of the frustrating problems I've been experiencing for years, and years, and years...

Favorite Things From This Week

Oh Sunday nights, how I loathe thee... I had planned to write about our San Juan trip today (a photo heavy post), but the day has slipped by. So instead, how about a few of my "favorite things" from this past week:

1. This Superbowl commercial that I'm watching on repeat.

Over the last couple of years I've actually been pretty disappointed in the Superbowl commercials, but this year was a little better. This Doritos commercial was by far my favorite of the bunch, and in my opinion the best part is the goat "scream" towards the end.. it cracks me up every time!

2. This mascara.

I've never posted about beauty products before, but I'm seriously obsessed with this mascara from Benefit. It may be quite a bit more expensive than my usual drugstore choice (which is L'oreal's Voluminous - I highly recommend that as well), but it is worth every penny. Zero clumping, zero smudging, and amazing looking lashes means that I am a convert 100%. Buy it here.

3. Blizzard drinks.

While this over-hyped blizzard was taking place, Vlady and I were enjoying a casual dinner at our favorite diner, Good Stuff. It's actually become somewhat of a tradition for us to go here during "big" events: we came here before hurricane Irene struck, as it was the only place open. We also happened to be in the diner the day that Whitney Houston died, and we came here after we voted in 2012 to watch the election coverage. So it seemed fitting to be here during the blizzard as well - and I celebrated by sipping a drink that made me want to be on a beach.

4. And of course, what favorite things post would be complete without a picture of my all-time favorite:

(picture stolen from my sister)

Outfit Post (Plus My Favorite Jewelry Designer)

Hi guys! I received pretty good feedback from the last outfit post, so I figured I'd put up another one from recently. I wore the below to work one day a couple of weeks back - back before it got to be so freezing!

Seriously, this weather is insane. I've been wearing nothing but pants and layers upon layers for the past week... but back before it felt like it was -1 outside (not kidding) I was able to wear stuff like skirts and tights.

Is it spring yet??

Sweater: Limited (similar)

Skirt: H&M (similar in coral, similar)

Necklace: Amrita Singh 

Tights: DKNY

Shoes: Qupid (practically identical - and on sale!)

Also - I wanted to mention the designer of the necklace I am wearing here. Her name is Amrita Singh and she's an Indian designer who makes the most beautiful, colorful pieces! I've been buying her jewelry on Rue La La for a couple of years whenever it pops up, and I am in love with everything she does! Take a look at some of the other gorgeous pieces below - these are the epitome of statement necklaces. A link to her site is here, but her stuff isn't exactly cheap - which is why I recommend waiting for it to come up on discount sites like Rue La La and Gilt Groupe (although she's having an amazing sale on the site right now!).

Same necklace - many different colors!

Same necklace - many different colors!

I Actually Made Something From Pinterest!

I am sure there are many folks out there who can relate to the following statement: I LOVE PINTEREST.  I have spent many an hour pinning pictures of recipes, outfits and general pretty things, but I've never actually done anything with the pins. 

Until today! I came across a recipe a while back for raw cookie dough bites, and after following the link to the recipe I decided to give them a try. These scrumptious little bites of heaven were super simple and quick to make (they literally took me 5 minutes). Plus - they're much healthier than regular cookies, so there's almost zero guilt! Even Vlady raved about how yummy they are, and he's not a huge sweets fan. 

I will definitely be making these over and over, and it's made me want to give so many more of the Pinterest recipes a try!

Raw Cookie Dough Bites

Yield: 12-16 bites (depending on how big you roll them)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup raw almonds

2/3 cup raw walnuts

2/3 cup raw oat flakes

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 cup raw agave nectar

2 tsp pure vanilla

3 tbsp cacao nibs or dark chocolate nibs

Directions:

1. In a food processor, process the almonds, walnuts, oats, cinnamon and salt to a fine meal.

2. Add the agave nectar and vanilla and process to combine.

3. Next, add the cacao nibs or chocolate chips and pulse just to combine.

4. Roll the cookie dough into balls about 1 tbsp each (wet your hands if the dough is too sticky) and place them on a cookie pan lined with parchment paper. Place the pan in the freezer for about an hour to firm up. Store the balls in a tightly covered container in the fridge.

Notes from me:

- This recipe was made for people who only eat raw food, which I do not, so I purchased regular agave nectar.

- Honey could be substituted for agave nectar, but I think the agave gives a slightly caramel flavor that really made the bites taste like cookie dough. 

Ingredients

The finished product in the food processor. 

Yummm!!!!

One more thing: that cinnamon is the best I have ever tried (Vietnamese Saigon cinnamon), and I highly recommend the company that sells it. Savory Spice Shop has stores all over the country (including in Raleigh) but they also have an online store that I regularly order many of my spices and seasonings from. They even send sample seasonings with every purchase! Check them out - you will not be disappointed.

Outfit Post

I wouldn't normally do an outfit post, but I received a lot of compliments on my outfit today.. so I thought "why not share!". I snapped a quick picture when I got home with my phone, hence the not so great quality and darkness. I'd still love to get a nice camera one of these days.. But until then, what do y'all think?

Blazer: Similar

Tank top: Similar

Pants: Loft (on major sale right now)

Boots: Similar

Necklace: IMaccessories (on sale!)

Watch: Fossil (Christmas gift!)

That time I accidentally stole something

I have a confession to make: a couple of years back I stole a necklace. Thing is though, it was a complete accident!

I got to thinking about the whole incident today when I was going through jewelry to get rid of and was deciding whether or not to keep the necklace. The finish on the necklace was very tarnished, so I'm going to get rid of it, but how I acquired it was quite interesting.

Back when I lived in Raleigh I had gone in to a major chain store to buy a charm necklace for a coworker of mine for Christmas, after she had commented how much she liked one I was wearing. Inside the store the necklaces were displayed on the branches of a small, fake tree and the actual packaging was displayed below the tree. After not having found the necklace I was looking for already pre-packaged, I decided to grab one off the tree and put it in one of the empty packages beneath (there were lots). I was careful to open up the package to make sure it was empty, and it sure looked that way.

So I checked out of the store, went home and began to wrap the necklace. I decided I actually did not want to wrap the necklace in the stores packaging, and when I went to take it out I was shocked to find there were actually two necklaces in there! The original one was pushed behind some tape in a way that I couldn't see it just by looking in, but sure enough it was there... and I had stolen it.

Maybe taking it back to the store would have been the right thing.. but I thought of it more as a "buy one get one free" kind of deal.. right?

No?

Oh well. Now it will be heading on it's way to Goodwill (it's not in bad shape per se, it's just got more of a bronzed look than it used to.. not my favorite), and in case anyone is wondering, below is a picture of said stolen necklace:

The good news is that I've never stolen anything before that, or since! At least not that I know of...

Best EVER Buffalo Chicken Dip

Hi guys! Long time no see!

I feel like all of my blogs now begin with "I've been busy and haven't blogged in two months..", so one of my new years resolutions is to post WAY more often. Other resolutions involve going to the gym often (of course), and cooking more. Ever since we moved to NYC I've slowly been cooking less, and less and less.. It was getting to the point where we were ordering in almost every night. Yikes! That probably has a lot to do with the extra pounds that have creeped on.

But I don't only want to cook more so that I can be healthy, I also want to cook more because I LOVE it. I've already cooked twice this week, so I'm off to a good start (one of those recipes to come).

So I figured why not go ahead and share one of my favorite low-fat recipes EVER. I make this dip for almost every party because it is always a favorite amongst our friends, and I know people will devour it. I originally took the recipe from my brother in-law, so I have to give him the credit for first getting me hooked on this. Enjoy!!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 cup low-fat ranch dressing
1 cup Franks Original hot sauce
1 8oz block (1/3 less fat) cream cheese
1 package shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:
Boil chicken breasts on medium heat for 30-45 minutes, or until cooked through. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

While chicken is boiling, cut cold cream cheese into cubes and place into an 11"x8" baking dish that is lightly sprayed with Pam. Evenly sprinkle cheese on top of cubes.

Pour ranch and hot sauce on mixture and place in the oven, uncovered, for 7-10 minutes. Stir mixture and put back in the oven for another 7-10 minutes and stir until mixed well.

Shred chicken and mix into cheese mixture. Cover with foil and bake an additional 20-30 minutes.

*A note on shredding chicken: I prefer to shred the breasts using 2 forks, but I've read that throwing it in a mixer is much, much quicker. Perhaps I'll try that one of these days.

All of the ingredients.

Cream cheese in the greased pan.

With the cheese added.

Topped with the ranch and hot sauce (plus a few extra dabs of Franks - I love that stuff!).