I'm trying a gluten-free diet

About four days after stuffing myself silly over the holidays I felt heavy, tired, and bloated, and my digestive system was out of whack. These feelings coincided with a post on a blog I read regularly, Karina's Kitchen, about how many people have a gluten sensitivity and don't know it, and that our bodies were not designed to consume large amounts of the high-gluten products our modern food industry produces. If you want a light fluffy Wonder bread, add more gluten! Our bodies are just not designed to handle all this, and it wreaks havoc on our system in ways we may not realize.

So this got me thinking. I should try a gluten-free diet. I read the article posted on Karina's Kitchen one evening, and the next morning I determined to go gluten-free (but first I had to let the two frozen chimichangas I'd JUST eaten work their way through my system).

This was not as hard as it sounds for three reasons, number one: We have been serving Chloe a gluten-free diet for a year and a half now, and so the recipes, crackers, cereals, flours and grains were already on hand. I mean, literally, already in the house.

Number two: I'm starting to train again for a sprint triathlon in May and I need to lose weight; if I am not eating gluten then I am not eating flour tortillas, cinnamon rolls, crackers, and cookies that are loaded with sugar, fat and calories.

Number three: I wanted to take a glimpse into Chloe's world.

It's been eight days now and I can honestly say I don't miss gluten all that much. I recognize that I already feel healthier because I am choosing healthier food to put on my plate in the absence of gluten--fruits, veggies. For example yesterday the cafeteria at school was serving my favorite meal: chili soup, cinnamon rolls, and mac n' cheese. I usually eat all of that plus crackers and some broccoli and peaches. Yesterday without the mac n cheese, cinnamon rolls, and crackers, my plate looked more colorful, lighter, and fresher (as fresh as canned fruits and veggies can be).

Right at the moment, I am actually craving some of Chloe's blue corn and oat pancakes with a big dollop of applesauce on top.

Snacking has proved more of a challenge; I let the m&m supply run out because of the aforementioned weight loss goals, and what's left are triscuits, knackebrod, bread, and ginger snaps, all off-limits to me right now. So I stirred up some gluten-free chocolate teff pudding which both Chloe and I loved--it's the recipe right off the bag. My new favorite snack is brown rice cakes with sunbutter spread.

After all the reading I've done on eating consciously--whether you are vegetarian or vegan with a moral objection to eating animals, or have food allergies or care for someone with food allergies where eating consciously is a matter of life and death--the gluten-free attempt fits.

One of my friends newly blogging about vegan cooking mentioned that she is an all-or-nothing person. I am not like that--I prefer to do the best I can and leave it at that. I have many things going on in my life and my nature is to enjoy them all in their myriad imperfections, eating consciously included.

However, gluten-free eating is not like that. Gluten inhabits your gut and affects it long after you've eaten the last crumb of Cheez-Its. It takes many days for your system to recover from gluten--the little hairs in your small intestine take weeks to regain their springiness after being laden with lava-like gluten. Gluten-free eating IS an all-or-nothing prospect. I've read enough to know that if you have celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity, you can't even ingest a crumb left in the jam jar by your spouse.

One reason I'm not missing gluten all that much is that some of my favorite foods are naturally gluten-free: California rolls, tamales, taco salad, and yes, blue corn and oat pancakes and chocolate oat brownies with chocolate frosting...mmm...

I still make bread in the bread machine for my family. I've got two teenage boys in the house who love to make various sandwiches with homemade bread, but I make it for them and put it away.

My husband was very supportive of this effort. He is in support of anything I might do to make myself feel better, happier, so that I can give back to the family.

By eating this way, I do feel a kinship with Chloe in that we are both eating consciously.

What are your favorite gluten-free recipes?

Holiday Menus

Our family was very successful this Christmas at cooking healthy, delicious allergy-friendly food, which all of our family and guests enjoyed, too. Some of the things we enjoy, such as homemade bread, are not allergy friendly but we simply don't give it to Chloe.

She is starting to look at food that others are eating and ask, "is that safe for me?" But that's for another post.

Here are the holiday menus:

1. Christmas Dinner
Relish plates, one completely allergy-friendly with pickles, summer sausage, and olives, the other non-allergy friendly with cheese and crackers which we kept away from Chloe
Roast turkey--place chunks of onion and carrot inside, truss, drizzle with olive oil and herbs
Crock pot ham--place ham in crock pot, sprinkle with brown sugar, push button
Peas with pearl onions--saute onions in olive oil, add peas and sea salt
Glazed carrots --braise carrots, drizzle with maple syrup and heat on low heat until liquid is gone and carrots are coated with sweetness
Roasted fingerling potatoes with olive oil, garlic and sea salt
Non-allergy-friendly homemade bread which we didn't give to Chloe

2. Christmas cookies
Rice krispy treats made with whey-free margarine, with cinnamon candies mixed in and green sugar sprinkled on top
Allergy-friendly oatmeal jammer cookies with strawberry jam
Allergy-friendly chocolate cupcakes with candy canes on top
Non-allergy-friendly oatmeal chocolate chip cookies which we kept separate to avoid cross contamination

3. Big family breakfast once Oma and Opa arrived
Bacon
Cuties
Scrambled eggs which we didn't give to Chloe
Allergy-friendly oat-buckwheat-blue corn pancakes with syrup, applesauce and stewed blueberries for topping (I made a double recipe for eight people and there were only seven pancakes left)

4. Huge family dinner with two sets of grandparents and two extra teenage boys (twelve people in all)
Baked potatoes
Chili--meat, beans, tomatoes, and spices
Leftover diced Christmas ham
Grated cheeses which we didn't give to Chloe
Frozen sliced peppers
Homemade black beans
Roasted assorted squashes with roasted red onions
Allergy-friendly homemade chocolate caramel corn for dessert

5. Post-Christmas turkey soup dinner
Turkey soup made with turkey broth, meat and rice (my husband and our exchange student prefer soup without veggies)
Assorted veggies on the side to put in soup
Cheese toasts on homemade bread which we didn't give to Chloe
Locally made warm corn tortillas with honey

6. And finally, the Great Pizza Compromise
Before we had Chloe, Daniel and I made homemade pizza all the time. Once Chloe got old enough to eat regular food, we simply stopped making homemade pizza in favor of menus that were safe for everyone. I tried allergy-friendly pizza crust once but it was awful, and what good is pizza if it's not really pizza? Our months without homemade pizza seemed a little less colorful. Now that we have reached the compromise, I feel a sense of relief that for now, we have a solution that pleases everyone.

So the Great Pizza Compromise is, we make homemade pizza as usual (bread machine crust, a little garlic and herbs, some seasoned sausage and gourmet pepperoni, good mozzarella), but we save some tomato sauce, pepperoni and sausage and make Chloe a bowl of rice noodles with pizza toppings (minus cheese of course). We call it Pizza Noodles, which Chloe eats with gusto while we devour the pizza.

What are your favorite allergy-friendly holiday menus?