A Gluten and Dairy-Free Lunch - Welcome To My World

Hi again!

You are probably thinking: Wow, two posts from her in two days? Crazy, I know! I aim to do more blogging this year ( might as well call it one of my new year's resolutions), just maybe not every day blogging, but just whenever I have something interesting to share. Now is one of those times.

I happen to be off for the first two weeks of January (YAY!) and since I have some extra free time now, I decided that today I would make myself an extra healthy lunch. Something I need to do more often :P

I mentioned in my last post that my husband is allergic to gluten and dairy, and I have just recently started having suspicions that I may have a dairy allergy too. Since we've been married, I basically adapted the gluten and dairy free lifestyle. It keeps me from buying junk food that I shouldn't have anyway, and helps me eat healthier! Plus, sometimes my eyes are bigger than my stomach, so it's nice to have a hubby who is willing to finish whatever I couldn't fit in :D So I might as well just make things that he can have all the time, right?

It's really not as difficult as it sounds. It was a little daunting at first, but as time went on, I got used to it. More and more restaurants and stores have been bringing in more options for people with those kinds of allergies. The prices on the other hand, suck BIG time, but you come to find that a lot of the stuff that you used to have, you can learn to live without.

So, today I'm going to share a little recipe that we make frequently:

~The Gluten and Dairy Free Wrap~

Here is what you start with:

In place of regular tortillas, we've found that Rudi's Gluten Free Bakery (Their products can be found at Krogers in the Natural section) has the closest recipe to the norm. And yes, they happen to be green! The spinach tortillas actually hold together better than the rice flour tortillas we have also tried out, and they don't crumble as soon as you fold it.

For lunch meat, I always use Nature's Choice, regardless of allergies. The more natural the better. Here, I used their Salami, and their new ( or new to me) Sun-dried tomato Turkey.

For lettuce, just get whatever you want. I happened to have the Private Selection Artisan Lettuce from Kroger on hand.

For cheese, we usually get goat or sheep's cheese, since he is allergic to cow's milk. I haven't really searched for a lot of different cheeses yet, I just get whatever is available to me locally. Here, I used Aldi's Honey Goat Cheese. It is unbelievably delicious! It isn't terribly expensive either, which makes me happy :)

And finally, a tomato. It's a kind of fruit, by the way ;)

All you have to do is spread the goat cheese onto the tortilla. Then place however much meat you want on your wrap. I used three pieces of each meat. Then put the lettuce on, and slice the tomatoes as thinly as you can without destroying them. This will make the wrap less bulky and less likely to break when folded. You can also put Italian seasoning on top of the wrap, but I felt that it was flavorful enough without it.

This is what it will look  like when its folded! Some (or all) of the tomatoes WILL plop out onto your plate while eating.

I also made a smoothie today, as you can see. It was really simple. It is also gluten and dairy free! I kind of made the recipe up as I went.

Strawberry/Banana Smoothie:

1 carton of fresh strawberries, chopped into rounds
2 ripe bananas
And about a cup of Orange Juice. (I didn't really measure with this one. I just poured it in until I liked the consistency.)

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until everything is mixed well. You will end up with a delicious smoothie!

                                 And here is myself and the half-eaten wrap. It was yummy!

See? Simple AND delicious.

Cheers!

~Mary