Moab and a bit of blog love

Each spring, when the ski lifts stop turning but the snow is still falling there seems to be a huge influx of Colorado visitors to Utah. We joined the ranks a few weekends ago and hit Moab for some sunshine and relaxation with our two goldens along the muddy Colorado River.

This time we were well prepared for glutarded travels. We were camping with a small stove and planned to make most of our meals. Dave planned campfire potatoes with gluten free bun-less hot dogs for one night and Ancient Harvest quinoa pasta with gf sausage for the other. I brought a bit of Redbridge to enjoy by the campfire at night and lunches were easy thanks to Udi's Gluten free bread that tastes good even untoasted. Breakfast would have been a snap with jars of Artisans Pancake mix, a bit of butter, a 8oz travel soy milk and egg but instead I found this online and had to try it. I've become a big fan of just googling "gluten free" with the name of my destination.  

The Love Muffin in downtown Moab makes gluten free and vegan muffins. I had a GF Banana Muffin and was pretty happy. It was a bit dry but a solid muffin overall. We went back the next day and they were out of muffins so I had eggs & potatoes, they also had a warm quinoa salad for breakfast with honey and fruit but I just wasn't feeling it.

 Back at home I've been enjoying street noodles and working on my wok skills. We also found a recreation of my beloved but oh-so-far-away PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps from Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom.

Heidi broke it down and while we haven't tried the whole process we loved learning the trick of the rice noodles. Dropping the noodles in the hot oil is every bit of fun as she describes. I tried two different rice noodles and liked the thinner mai fun noodles better. We served with some rice and enjoyed the meal.

After I learned I had a problem with gluten we bought a rice cooker and it gets used at least once a week. Dave's always been a rice fan and we had been devoute rice a roni people until I learned that a lot the the seasoning packets weren't safe. If you invest in one be sure to get one that also has a steam basket as it makes great steamed veggies as well.

Udi's Love

I've always been a bit obsessed when I find a new product I like and a scan through my Droid photos reveals that right now I'm in LOVE with Udi's. I'd seen it reviewed on a few blogs and then stumbled on it at my "local" Natural Grocer's a mere 67 miles away. Since then I've been enjoying Peanut Butter & Jelly Bagels in the morning at work and had to confess to a co-worker that these bagels made me feel like I was cheating.

I made my first grilled cheese in over a year and went all out with colby jack cheese, turkey and peperoni. I made myself take a photo of it even though I wanted to just devour it.

I must confess that dairy and I have been struggling again. I went 96% dairy free for a while and felt great. I slowly brought it back into my life and have found that dairy and I do best if we don't spend much time together. I can have a bit of real cheese on my pizza or the occasional grilled cheese but forget about using a 1/4 of cup of real milk in Annie's GF Mac N Cheese (very bad afternoon). This leaves me going mostly dairy free with the occasional cheese treat.

I've also had a lot of untoasted Udi's at lunch, here is a delightful turkey sandwich with a side of nachos and artichoke & parm dip. I now keep a frozen loaf of Udi's in the full size fridge at work and pull out a few slices on sandwich days or toast mornings. My desk is home to a supply of tin foil so I can use the toaster oven at work and not worry. The worst part about Udi's is that the bagels fly off the shelf and I'm not always lucky enough to score a pack!