We've been careful not to cook with wheat and have found some pasta substitutes that work just fine and please almost all of the palates in our household. Just got used to that and then....
One of my colleagues recommended this book and suggested that it would benefit me, my sister and my son who all share the same genetic condition (Fabry Disease). The book is called The China Study and it was a fascinating read and promotes a plant-based diet to avoid heart disease and cancers.
But seriously, anyone concerned about heart disease or cancer should read this book. I was seeking a solution to my heart disease but also some digestive issues. This book answered a lot of my questions and the result? We are adopting a vegan lifestyle. However, my 19 year old son is convinced that he needs meat and my husband will enjoy meat when he can but sees the benefit of eating less meat.
In reality we had only been eating red meat about once a month but now I'm making a choice to leave it behind. The rest of our protein has been coming from chicken or fish. I suppose we aren't going 100% vegan because I do want to eat some fish but no more chicken and no dairy. Definitely dairy is out! What I read was very scary. The eggs are staying.
The same colleague who told me about The China Study lent me two cookbooks. The first one is called The Accidental Vegan and I cracked it open today and made Enchilada Pie (page 96).
And it's meat free, gluten free (corn tortillas) and dairy free. I used a cheese substitute that I found at Country Grocer which is dairy free and gluten free. There was a recipe for faux cheese in the cookbook but it contains wheat so I was glad to find the dairy/gluten free one already made at the store.
A lot of ingredients could be pantry ingredients had my pantry been full but we haven't gone grocery shopping for staples for awhile. I spent about $40 but that included some glutenous frozen cinnamon buns for tomorrow's Open House (cinnamon is my secret weapon during the Open Houses). I also bought some gluten-free cereal for my daughter which wasn't cheap. All in all, this meal probably cost me $26.00 which isn't cheap. It would have been cheaper had I cooked my own beans but I found the recipe today and didn't have the opportunity to soak them overnight and cook them up.
Here's the finished product:
And the best part of all??? The taste was amazing and it was only 5 points plus per serving! Bonus! It's Weight Watchers friendly too! My son loved it and had no idea it wasn't real cheese. I'm so glad they have other options available for food allergies.
I can hardly wait to show this masterpiece to my daughter who wasn't home for dinner.
Until next time,
Mavis
