What's For Dinner? Roasted Carrots

For fun, I am participating in the first week of a recipe carnival, "Wednesday, What's For Dinner?" graciously hosted by Linda, The Gluten-Free Homemaker. She is inviting anyone who would like to share ideas for gluten-free dinners.

I really like the feeling of community that this gives me. Since we are all facing the same dietary challenges and issues, it's comforting to surround ourselves with those just like us.

I have to tell you this little story. When we first subscribed to the Dish Network, I wanted to watch the Food Network, but usually felt an overwhelming sense of loss looking at all the wonderful dishes. I would think of all the foods I couldn't eat. I allowed myself to feel these feelings and now I am slowly accepting the challenge I put to myself, "How can I make this for my special diet eaters?" So knowing this, you understand my excitement to find a recipe that needed no revisions.

It is with great joy I share this recipe, Roasted Carrots, from The Barefoot Contessa. I like simple when it comes to vegetables and these roasted carrots are simply delicious!

We hope you decide to join the carnival. I think we will have lots of fun.


Roasted Carrots

Ingredients:

nocoupons 12 carrots ( I use organic)

3 tablespoons good olive oil

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper ( I will leave this off next time)

2 tablespoons minced fresh dill or parsley (It was fine without the fresh)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

If the carrots are thick, cut them in half lengthwise; if not, leave whole. Slice the carrots diagonally in 1 1/2-inch-thick slices. (The carrots will shrink while cooking so make the slices big.) Toss them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Transfer to a sheet pan in 1 layer and roast in the oven for 20 minutes, until browned and tender.

Toss the carrots with minced dill or parsley, season to taste, and serve.

Kid-Friendly Breakfast: Peanut Butter & Jelly French Toast

At our house breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. The food I choose for myself and my children will determine how we feel and function for the rest of the day. After the long night our bodies have been without food for 10-11 hours and we need to refuel with a healthy and nutritious meal, but quite often morning is the most difficult time of the day for my brain to focus. The challenge of mixing the many different flours required in most gluten-free recipes can be energy consuming and tedious for me in the early hours . This recipe is great, because it is simple and nutritious and my children really enjoy it, too.

Peanut Butter & Jelly French Toast

4 slices of gluten and dairy-free bread (our favorite is Anna's Bread)
1 extra large egg
a small squirt of agave nectar
organic peanut butter
organic fruit spread of your choice
Earth Balance Buttery Spread

Heat a frying pan on medium low heat. Start making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by spreading peanut butter and jelly on one side of a slice of bread and place another slice on top of it to make a sandwich. Repeat with the other two slices of bread. Slice each sandwich in half.

In a bowl with a flat bottom beat the egg and agave nectar with a fork or wire whisk until mixed together. Dip the sandwich halves into the egg and agave mixture and allow the excess to drain back into the bowl.

In the heated skillet melt Earth Balance Buttery Spread and place the sandwiches in the pan to brown on each side. Watch carefully, because the agave nectar will brown quickly. This makes a nice crust.

Serve topped with Earth Balance Buttery Spread and a drizzle of agave nectar or your favorite toppings.


Peanut Butter and Jelly French Toast

Celiac Disease and Environmental Illnesses

Once in a while I read something that propels my mind to a greater understanding of my body and this is one of those moments. Listed among "Related Conditions" to Environmental Illness was Celiac Disease and Candida. You may read my discovery at the Environmental Illness Resources website. I have included an excerpt that particularly interested me. The complete article is excellent and informative to those with Celiac Disease.

Celiac Disease and Environmental Illnesses

Those suffering from environmental illnesses may be at increased risk for developing celiac disease. The main reason for this being that those with environmental illnesses experience a much greater number of allergies and autoimmune conditions than do otherwise healthy individuals. For example, the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in the US reports that allergies are present in 75% of CFS sufferers, compared to only 10-20% in general in the population as a whole. Sufferers of all of the Environmental Illnesses often have a history of allergies before the onset of their illness and most develop new allergies after getting a diagnosis of CFS, fibromyalgia etc. There is also a substantial body of research demonstrating that the immune systems of environmental illness sufferers are shifted towards a Th2 type response. The Th2 response is aimed at extracellular invaders such as bacteria, toxins, and allergens, and a Th2 shifted immune response is associated with an increase in allergies and autoimmune diseases (7,8,9). As we have learned, allergies and autoimmune diseases are well recognized as increasing the risk for celiac disease.

Another possible connection between environmental illnesses and celiac disease involves the gut flora. Various studies have shown disturbances of the healthy gut flora in environmental illnesses and many doctors who specialize in treating them advocate treating overgrowth of Candida and bacteria in the intestines. Research published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet in 2003 proposed that Candida in the intestine may act as a trigger for the production of antibodies against gluten and the intestinal tissue which cause celiac disease. This assertion is based on the fact that the yeast Candida contains proteins that are identical and very similar to those found in gluten, including gliadin. Candida also triggers the same tissue transglutaminase and endomysial enzymes involved in celiac disease. It is therefore possible that changes in levels and behavior of Candida in the intestines may result in an immune response to the organism which is then transferred to gluten and intestinal tissues due to the common proteins they contain. The end result would therefore be celiac disease (10).

References:

7. Lancet. 1997 Jun 21;349(9068):1831-3. Gulf War syndrome: is it due to a systemic shift in cytokine balance towards a Th2 profile? Rook GA, Zumla A. Department of Bacteriology, University College London Medical School, UK.

8. Pharmacol Rev. 2000 Dec;52(4):595-638. The sympathetic nerve--an integrative interface between two supersystems: the brain and the immune system. Elenkov IJ, Wilder RL, Chrousos GP, Vizi ES. Inflammatory Joint Diseases Section, Arthritis and Rheumatism Branch, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

9. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2000;917:868-75. Altered glucocorticoid regulation of the immune response in the chronic fatigue syndrome. Visser JT, De Kloet ER, Nagelkerken L. TNO Prevention and Health, Division of Immunological and Infectious Diseases, P.O. Box 2215, 2301 CE Leiden, The Netherlands

10. Lancet. 2003 Jun 21;361(9375):2152-4. Is Candida albicans a trigger in the onset of coeliac disease?Nieuwenhuizen WF, Pieters RH, Knippels LM, Jansen MC, Koppelman SJ. Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) Nutrition and Food Research, PO Box 360, 3700 AJ, Zeist, Netherlands. nieuwenhuizen@voeding.tno.nlThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it