Gluten Free and Living to Blog About it

Amazing article...

2010-08-19T13:01:00.000-07:00

I found this article today. It's what I've been looking for the last four years. Having had the celiac biopsy test and it being negative I have had a hard time keeping myself on a gluten free diet. Even though I know I feel drastically better, it's been a challenge to say the least. I've continued my research in hopes of finding more info on why I (a negative celiac tested, gluten sensitive person) should be on a gluten free diet. This article has convinced me. I'm done with gluten.

One GF road trip down, hopefully many more to come.

2010-08-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

So, our road trip went wonderfully. The food was amazing! I didn't get painfully puffy like I normally do (I often have to ice my feet/ankles when I arrive at the end of our trips because they swell so much and hurt). I'm not sure if it was the lack of gluten or less sodium (than fast food) or the combination...but I don't care, it was great! We also shaved lot's off time off our drive since we weren't stopping for food at mealtimes.

I've been on vacation now for two days and have stayed gluten free. We went to our favorite pizza place here in MT for our first dinner in town (I know a typical GF nightmare) but I took my frozen gluten free crust and they were awesome to cook me up a spectacular pizza on my gf crust. I like the Kinnikinnick frozen crusts. (I am excited about trying the Udi's gf pizza crusts too though, I'll let you know how I like them once I try them)

Whohoo! Gotta love accommodating and understanding restaurants. They didn't have Redbridge gf beer so I drank a diet coke and had a gf beer when I got home.

There you have it. My first road trip without gluten was a success, which means, you can do it too.

Road trips are scary territory!

2010-08-15T17:12:00.000-07:00

I'm heading out in a few hours on a 20 hour road trip leading into a two week vacation. We'll leave the vacation aside (it's also scary) and just discuss the road trip for now. Anyone out there that is eating gluten free is probably scared at this point. Rightfully so (in my mind anyway). Not that you can't eat salads at McD's or a burger without the bun at BK, etc...

I don't know about you, for me though a road trip means a sausage biscuit for breakfast, followed by another equally bread"y" fast food lunch and then donuts or a cup cake for dessert. Yeah, it's no wonder I usually feel like crap when I'm eating gluten.

Today/tomorrow I'm trying something new. I spent many hours today baking fresh gluten free bread, making egg salad, cutting up cantaloupe, watermelon and gouda cheese. I've packed gf tortilla chips, hummus, almonds and a little gf cake. Ok, so I realize that I'm not gonna lose any weight on this trip but my only goal is to avoid gluten during what has previously been a gluten fest.

So, wish me luck. I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm going to feel so much better and enjoy the food even more than my normal fast food fare!

Ha!

2010-08-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

So, the last attempt at going gluten free (yeah, the one I posted about on 12/17/09...yes, my last post on this blog...yes it's now August 15, 2010) went so spectacularly horribly that I never posted again *until now* and I quit and gave up for 9 months. Now, I'm back and have been gluten free for about three weeks and have learned several things this time and again am planning on making this a life change from here forward.

For those of you out there that have tried and failed, tried again, failed again, etc. *I think you get the picture* there is hope! There's always another chance, another day a clean slate, so to speak.

I have been baking this time around. I now have an english muffin recipe that I found and feel that I've mastered. And this english muffin recipe makes into an amazing loaf of sandwich bread as well. Mmmmm! How I've been missing bread and butter and a grilled cheese, but no longer! I'll share the recipes soon...

Right now, if you've tried going gluten free and felt better but just can't quite make yourself stick to it, just do it! You'll thank yourself and you can do it.

Looking forward to a new year!

2009-12-17T13:39:00.000-08:00

I'm looking forward to a fresh start. A new year that will hopefully be filled with gluten free success and full of health and life!

Frustration with Baking

2009-12-14T14:01:00.000-08:00

So, if any of you, who are new to going without gluten have tried baking ... you probably know what I'm talking about. Maybe not though, because I'm one of those people who loves cooking and hates following a recipe. So, while I'm used to throwing this or that into a recipe containing gluten and having it come out alright, I have yet to bake a recipe (following it or not) that is gluten free that hasn't left me in frustrated fits over it.

I just want to be able to throw it together and make something yummy and gluten free. Well, the learning curve for me is still in the twisty turny section of that curve. Someday I'll be able to do just this, but for now I guess I'll fall back on prepackaged goodies and Betty Crocker's Gluten free baking mixes in between my total flops and failures at baking gluten free from scratch.

On the upside, I've had great success with cooking gluten free. It's much easier than baking, for me anyway.

Denial

2009-12-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

When I don't eat gluten I feel great! When I eat gluten I feel exhausted, moody, like I'm coming down with the flu and any other number of annoying symptoms. Yet there's still this part of me, call it lazy or craving normalicy (is that a word?) or normality (I think that's the real word there) anyway, there's this part of me that decides in my brain that I'd rather eat what I know and love then what my body loves.
Crazy huh?

I end up in this vicious cycle of eating gluten free & feeling great and then deciding I'm tired of working at eating gluten free and or I just really want a cheeseburger or quesadilla or _______ fill in the blank.
I think to myself, I'll just eat this one meal with gluten and then go back to being gluten free. Yeah right. I then slide down the slippery slope and find myself a week or a month later thinking, yuck! I feel horrible and I'm too tired to do the things I want to do.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!

I am still in my cyclical state of denial at the moment, eating gluten and feeling mediocre because it's the holidays and I don't have the inner strength right now to keep myself eating what I should be while traveling and spending the holidays with family. I like to deny that I should obviously be eating food that makes my body feel well. Thinking instead that I'm eating what I've always eaten. And unfortunately, I feel the way I've always felt. Tired, achy, moody and like I'm coming down with something.

I've searched the internet, books & articles, looking for someone like me. Someone who has been tested and does NOT have celiac ... someone though who can tell an incredible life changing difference when they don't eat gluten. Someone who could help inspire me to live a gluten free lifestyle even though I don't technically have to. I haven't found anyone.

So, I started this blog in hopes that if there's someone else out there who is a non-celiac gluten sensitive individual, they might find this blog and relate to my struggles and be encouraged to start or to continue their effort towards being gluten free and finding a happier, healthier version of themselves. I am also hoping that blogging about this aspect of my life will encourage me to get it together and find that happier, healthier version of myself!

All about me ...

2009-12-12T15:41:00.001-08:00

This blog is about me, a non-celiac gluten sensitive individual, who is trying to give up gluten without a celiac disease diagnosis to spur her on. I have had celiac disease/gluten intolerance symptoms for as long as I can recall. I've tried going gluten free and felt amazingly better but without the diagnosis telling me that I HAD to give up gluten I eventually revert back to old eating habits.

** I had the biopsy test done to detect celiac and it came back negative. My doctor told me that since my body responds favorably to not having gluten that I should go ahead and just eat that way. Easier said than done, for me anyway.

This blog will record my effort to go low to no gluten to see what happens if I give my body enough time to really function without gluten. My goal is one year ... we will see.

I will try to post daily with recipes, gluten free products that I find or other things I find noteworthy.

***If you have celiac disease please check recipes carefully as I am trying to go low to no gluten but am not cutting out every speck entirely as a celiac diagnosed person must do.