Meal Talk Monday

I've decided to start this little thing called "Meal Talk Monday". Not because I'm a good cook and not because I particularly like cooking. It's actually mainly because up until about a year ago I was completely illiterate when it came to the art of food. I was baffled for hours watching "Guys's Grocery Wars" wondering how anyone could so successfully navigate this foreign thing called a grocery store.

My food life has progressed from being able to eat literally whatever I wanted through college without any adverse effect (aka McDonalds, rice/bean/avocado concoction, canned soups galore) to literally having to scour labels to make sure I can put something in my mouth. Let's just say it was a pretty serious change, and for someone who could barely boil water, it was a bit terrifying.

I went from trying to meal prep and deciding I hated everything I had made by Tuesday night to ordering meal delivery services which although provided fully cooked nutritious meals to my door also drained my bank account. The only other option was to seriously suck it up and learn some tried and true favorite meals. Also, lets be honest.... I should at least share the cooking responsibilities with my boyfriend who is actually a pretty awesome cook, he just is slow on the learning curve of cooking for Crohn's.

Basically, this segment is to share with you my successes and failures surrounding exploring Crohn's friendly meals that are as dummy proof as possible. All recipes are pretty much inspired by something I found on Pinterest which I will make sure to link to. I have tweaked things here and there based on taste and dietary preferences so feel free to comment with any questions you may have. Bon appetit!

Alfredo Zoodles

Growing up there was nothing more I loved than a pasta dish drenched in Alfredo sauce. And I mean drenched. For my birthday dinner I requested extra cheesy ravioli with extra creamy Alfredo up until the age that I realized that taco salads where my true calling and then had to alternate. Being gluten free and trying to limit my dairy intake definitely poses a problem for someone who dreams about ravioli. I had to find a way to combat this craving without completely ruining my stomach (and me fitting in my pants the next day). Lucky for me, Pinterest is full of enticing options and Wegmans is full of pre sliced zucchini noodles. THANK YOU!



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I basically followed this recipe completely by the book and it was rather amazing. The only complaint I had was that my extra Alfredo sauce that I stored in the fridge ended up looking like an elementary school clay project but hot off of the stove it was a dream come true. This ALSO was my very first experience trying zoodles which really were actually a great alternative to pasta. As a gluten free gal often times rice noodles or other equivalents are the go to but to me they honestly don't taste that great. Zoodles hit the spot as far as a pasta substitute and pack in an extra serving of veggies.

Overall I give this recipe an 7/10. Points deducted because of the clay like left over situation and the fact that it did make my stomach a bit uneasy... not as bad as the full fat, glutenous alternative though so hey 80% is pretty good!

Oh and this DID inspire me to purchase a spiralizer which I have now used to master quite a few more yummy meals. I recommend this if you don't want to spring for the KitchenAid one.... (I actually don't have a KitchenAide mixer and I am just waiting for my wedding to register for one... serious confession #dontjudge). Anyways, here it is! Inexpensive and works like a charm. It gives me a serious EZ Bake Oven vibe and I don't hate it. Enjoy!

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