Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Day 15
We are officially not completely gluten free--at least the rest of the family anyways. Although my oldest learned that she does have some things to think about with wheat; in 14 days she lost 2 inches in her belly, and an inch at the waist. And she isnt fat, and is good about eating her veggies and fruit over junk! so that pulled everyone back from a wheat gorge; we will be keeping it to a minimum. I definitely dont like the amount of sugar in everything, and I think I would prefer to keep things low carb completely, not just wheat. We did find new foods and new things we will keep--and grateful that we are not gluten intolerant!!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Sherri: Day 14: Reset, Take Two
Because I had about 5 gluten free recipes come across my eyes this morning, I am not done with this project yet, however I did have to take a step back to see what was not working and go from there. Here's my discoveries:
1) This time there is no allergy involved so I am going to take an observation and cycle-in/phase in approach instead of cold-turkey. I am going to see where the wheat is consumed and see what can be slotted or cycled in.
2) One form of starch was traded out for another and that did not work with my body in a lot of ways. Because I do well with high raw, I am using the high raw approach instead of substituting one starch for another.
3) Too many of the gluten-free recipes had more sugar (as in refined) than I like and I found myself wanting sugary stuff (unusual for me). Again, look for recipes that use natural sugar such as honey, dates, raisins instead of the refined stuff.
So today I had one slice of my homemade sourdough bread (wheat-based) topped with peanut butter and honey. That's it for my wheat today. Lunch was tomato lemon basil sauce topped on a mountain of zucchini noodles (a zucchini run through a spiralizer) and a non-gluten brownie. Supper will be gluten free as well.
Let's see how take 2 works.
1) This time there is no allergy involved so I am going to take an observation and cycle-in/phase in approach instead of cold-turkey. I am going to see where the wheat is consumed and see what can be slotted or cycled in.
2) One form of starch was traded out for another and that did not work with my body in a lot of ways. Because I do well with high raw, I am using the high raw approach instead of substituting one starch for another.
3) Too many of the gluten-free recipes had more sugar (as in refined) than I like and I found myself wanting sugary stuff (unusual for me). Again, look for recipes that use natural sugar such as honey, dates, raisins instead of the refined stuff.
So today I had one slice of my homemade sourdough bread (wheat-based) topped with peanut butter and honey. That's it for my wheat today. Lunch was tomato lemon basil sauce topped on a mountain of zucchini noodles (a zucchini run through a spiralizer) and a non-gluten brownie. Supper will be gluten free as well.
Let's see how take 2 works.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Sherri: Gluten Not Free Day 13
I made the executive decision yesterday to go back on gluten for a few reasons with the main one being that I was tired and lethargic and getting worse as the days progressed even after sleeping 10 hours a night. One might argue that it was detox, but I'm not convinced as detox usually happens the first to third day in with decrease in symptoms. With me there was no symptoms and then steady increase after day 9. However, after eating wheat I feel much more alive.
The symptoms I did start having: tired and lethargy even after 10 hours of sleep, not wanting to eat at all, my stomach was starting to get owly, increased sugar wanting, increased muscle crankiness, and basically I was getting cranky. Now I could have stayed on for the rest of the month, but would it have served me? Good question.
Was this experiment in vain because I didn't go the whole month? Not at all and I will be blogging more of my findings in my blog this week. I have gained a great amount of empathy for those who are gluten free as that is not an easy task if one chooses to substitute versus a new eating style. (I'm still cranky about sushi containing wheat starch!) Not only is it an eating challenge, but also a financial one as well as gluten free ingredients are not cheap.
I have noticed that gluten free baking can be higher in sugar. Very much a point to be aware of. Even though the blondie recipe I posted tastes good, I did not like the amount of sugar it contains so I revamped it. I replaced the 3/4 cup brown sugar with 1/2 cup maple syrup and added in a heaping tablespoon of black cocoa (use about 2-3 tablespoons of regular baking cocoa if you don't have black cocoa) with the result being a good tasting brownie that is gluten free.
After all is said and done, am I going to be eating wheat/gluten morning, noon, and night? No. I will be keeping my wheat low and having it as part of a balance with the rest of what I eat. This experiment did open options and also gave me a chance to further fine tune listening to what my body is telling me. Of course the key is paying attention.
The symptoms I did start having: tired and lethargy even after 10 hours of sleep, not wanting to eat at all, my stomach was starting to get owly, increased sugar wanting, increased muscle crankiness, and basically I was getting cranky. Now I could have stayed on for the rest of the month, but would it have served me? Good question.
Was this experiment in vain because I didn't go the whole month? Not at all and I will be blogging more of my findings in my blog this week. I have gained a great amount of empathy for those who are gluten free as that is not an easy task if one chooses to substitute versus a new eating style. (I'm still cranky about sushi containing wheat starch!) Not only is it an eating challenge, but also a financial one as well as gluten free ingredients are not cheap.
I have noticed that gluten free baking can be higher in sugar. Very much a point to be aware of. Even though the blondie recipe I posted tastes good, I did not like the amount of sugar it contains so I revamped it. I replaced the 3/4 cup brown sugar with 1/2 cup maple syrup and added in a heaping tablespoon of black cocoa (use about 2-3 tablespoons of regular baking cocoa if you don't have black cocoa) with the result being a good tasting brownie that is gluten free.
After all is said and done, am I going to be eating wheat/gluten morning, noon, and night? No. I will be keeping my wheat low and having it as part of a balance with the rest of what I eat. This experiment did open options and also gave me a chance to further fine tune listening to what my body is telling me. Of course the key is paying attention.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
day 9...
not going too bad so far. Havent noticed too much difference physically myself; kids are handling it quite well, the only 2 irks have been bread and its lack of good replacement, and that eating out is impossible. (Which we almost never do, and when we went to stop....oh yeah, everything we want has wheat. Crap!)
I am noticing that, be it rice pasta or wheat, sugar allowed or not, the carbs are definitely affecting me the same. It appears, so far, that a low carb existence works better for me (whether I like it or not). The rest of the family....we'll see! We have a much better appreciation for our food, and if thats all we get out of this....oh well!
I am noticing that, be it rice pasta or wheat, sugar allowed or not, the carbs are definitely affecting me the same. It appears, so far, that a low carb existence works better for me (whether I like it or not). The rest of the family....we'll see! We have a much better appreciation for our food, and if thats all we get out of this....oh well!
Sherri: Gluten Free Day 9
Hey it's Day 9 and I'm (Dennis too) still gluten free. Truthfully I'm taking this quite in stride as I did have a major overhaul when I eliminated dairy from my life and incorporated raw foods so I do have a fairly broad platform to start with.
I did have a thought that today I would treat myself to a sushi lunch, but alas, when I read the ingredients there was wheat starch in there somewhere. Plus soya sauce has wheat. So Bah!! Plan B.
Pepperoni: Freybe's has gluten free and lactose free pepperoni and it comes in 3 flavors. Good stuff!
Soy sauce: tamari is a wheat free soya sauce that is stronger than regular soya sauce and tastes very good.
I made tabouleh with quinoa instead of couscous and I like it! Very little difference actually.
Now, gluten free baking is a whole different kettle let me tell you! With wheat flour there is a "stickiness" to the batter or dough that is not there with gluten free baking. With gluten free, the ingredients are wet, that's it. Having said that, I made a gluten free Ezekiel bread full of sprouted quinoa, millet and sesame that's quite tasty (especially with peanut butter) and a chocolate chip blondie square that's pretty yummy (recipe below). I will say that the Ezekiel bread has more the consistency of a banana bread then a loaf of wheat bread.
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Blondies from Chocolate Covered Katie blog
1 540 ml (19 oz) can of chick peas/garbanzo beans well rinsed and drained
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
heaping 1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar (next time I'm using maple syrup and less of it)
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup ground flax
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup chocolate chips (I use more)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put all ingredients except chocolate chips and blend until smooth. Add inch chocolate chips and mix. Spoon into a greased 8x8 pan and bake 38-40 minutes. Blondies are to be a little underdone as they will firm up when cooled. I also found that they are more crumbly when warm.
Methinks this recipe may work as a brownie..... Especially with my hello-euphoria chocolate ganache as a frosting. Might have to try that...
I did have a thought that today I would treat myself to a sushi lunch, but alas, when I read the ingredients there was wheat starch in there somewhere. Plus soya sauce has wheat. So Bah!! Plan B.
Pepperoni: Freybe's has gluten free and lactose free pepperoni and it comes in 3 flavors. Good stuff!
Soy sauce: tamari is a wheat free soya sauce that is stronger than regular soya sauce and tastes very good.
I made tabouleh with quinoa instead of couscous and I like it! Very little difference actually.
Now, gluten free baking is a whole different kettle let me tell you! With wheat flour there is a "stickiness" to the batter or dough that is not there with gluten free baking. With gluten free, the ingredients are wet, that's it. Having said that, I made a gluten free Ezekiel bread full of sprouted quinoa, millet and sesame that's quite tasty (especially with peanut butter) and a chocolate chip blondie square that's pretty yummy (recipe below). I will say that the Ezekiel bread has more the consistency of a banana bread then a loaf of wheat bread.
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Blondies from Chocolate Covered Katie blog
1 540 ml (19 oz) can of chick peas/garbanzo beans well rinsed and drained
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
heaping 1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar (next time I'm using maple syrup and less of it)
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup ground flax
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup chocolate chips (I use more)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put all ingredients except chocolate chips and blend until smooth. Add inch chocolate chips and mix. Spoon into a greased 8x8 pan and bake 38-40 minutes. Blondies are to be a little underdone as they will firm up when cooled. I also found that they are more crumbly when warm.
Methinks this recipe may work as a brownie..... Especially with my hello-euphoria chocolate ganache as a frosting. Might have to try that...
Friday, November 4, 2011
Sherri: Gluten Free Day 2 and 3
Day 2 I was visited by a headache. Now this headache could have been the result of a barometric pressure change, hormonal events, gluten detox or a combination of the aforementioned. Or because we did the fitness test in class and I did squat thrusts, I was probably due to the squat thrusts. *grin* Now I will add that this is the first headache I have had in 6 months and it originated from a different place than where my other headaches originated, which has me consider detox. The good news is that symptoms were lessened by a nap, peppermint essential oil on my temple, and rest. Much better than 3-4 Tylenol 3 with a Coke Classic chaser.
Day 3 I'm back to my "normal". Baked another loaf of gluten free bread and it was better than before. Made the great discovery that Pinty's Buffalo Wings and Superstore's Salt and Pepper Wings do NOT contain gluten. WAHOO!!
Now a word about quinoa. Pronounced KEEN-wah. Quinoa is a gluten free ancient grain that is very versatile and is a complete protein which is good news for vegetarians and vegans. The taste is a little nuttier than brown rice and this great little grain can be used anywhere from breakfast to salads to main courses to there's probably a dessert out there somewhere. If you like tabouleh, you can substitute quinoa for the couscous, which is actually wheat pasta.
Cooking quinoa: very easy, much like rice. Soak the quinoa grains first for about 5 minutes to remove the saponins, drain and rinse well. 1 cup quinoa to 1 1/2 cups of water, bring to a boil, simmer on low until water is gone. I cook up a batch to have in the fridge for breakfast. Here's my breakfast: quinoa, sliced almonds, dried coconut, dried cranberries and a bit of maple syrup sugar. Yummy!!
Day 3 I'm back to my "normal". Baked another loaf of gluten free bread and it was better than before. Made the great discovery that Pinty's Buffalo Wings and Superstore's Salt and Pepper Wings do NOT contain gluten. WAHOO!!
Now a word about quinoa. Pronounced KEEN-wah. Quinoa is a gluten free ancient grain that is very versatile and is a complete protein which is good news for vegetarians and vegans. The taste is a little nuttier than brown rice and this great little grain can be used anywhere from breakfast to salads to main courses to there's probably a dessert out there somewhere. If you like tabouleh, you can substitute quinoa for the couscous, which is actually wheat pasta.
Cooking quinoa: very easy, much like rice. Soak the quinoa grains first for about 5 minutes to remove the saponins, drain and rinse well. 1 cup quinoa to 1 1/2 cups of water, bring to a boil, simmer on low until water is gone. I cook up a batch to have in the fridge for breakfast. Here's my breakfast: quinoa, sliced almonds, dried coconut, dried cranberries and a bit of maple syrup sugar. Yummy!!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Day 2
Day 2, still finding stuff with the occasional wheat that the kids are trying to weed out. They're actually doing quite well at being willing to be experimented on. The official vote on store bought gluten free bread--sawdust. The rice pasta went over well though, with all of us. We were given a recipe to try, and its not bad--kinda like a bran muffin texture. Kids liked it!
MUFFIN IN A MINUTE
1/4 flax meal
1/2tsp baking powder
1 package granular sugar substitute
1tsp cinnamon
1 lg egg
1 tsp butter
Directions:
1. Put the dry ingredients in a coffee mug(or small tupperware container). Stir. Add egg and butter. Mix. Microwave 1 min (or more)
2. Take out and slice, butter and eat.
Gotta love simple!
Sihing Lowery
MUFFIN IN A MINUTE
1/4 flax meal
1/2tsp baking powder
1 package granular sugar substitute
1tsp cinnamon
1 lg egg
1 tsp butter
Directions:
1. Put the dry ingredients in a coffee mug(or small tupperware container). Stir. Add egg and butter. Mix. Microwave 1 min (or more)
2. Take out and slice, butter and eat.
Gotta love simple!
Sihing Lowery
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Sherri: Gluten Free Day 1
Yay!! Day 1 of gluten free! My waist measurement has been taken. My big accomplishment for today was baking gluten free bread. I have attached the link for the recipe and do recommend watching the video as the dough looks and acts quite a bit different from wheat dough. Instead of wheat flour this bread uses a combination of brown rice, sorghum and tapioca flours. The loaf did not rise as much as expected (assuming baker error) and when cut looks like biscotti. However, it tastes very good and is quite filling. Not sure about the dunking in coffee, I'll leave that feature for someone else to venture on.
My friend with Celiac shared with me that gluten free bread is about $6 a loaf. After baking my bread, I can see why as the ingredients are more pricey.
Throughout this challenge I will be trying different recipes out and posting the ones I find tasty.
Sherri Donohue
Gluten Free Bread recipe http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/01/05/gluten-free-crusty-boule
My friend with Celiac shared with me that gluten free bread is about $6 a loaf. After baking my bread, I can see why as the ingredients are more pricey.
Throughout this challenge I will be trying different recipes out and posting the ones I find tasty.
Sherri Donohue
Gluten Free Bread recipe http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/01/05/gluten-free-crusty-boule
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