Don't let the skeptics get you down.

There's been a LOT of information about gluten-free living in the last year. Some of it is awesome: different manufacturers are making gf products, more restaurants have gf menus. Then it hit me:

A lot of people are doing this like it was the Atkins diet. Remember when everyone jumped on that bandwagon?

Nobody really thought it was a good idea, but restaurants and producers aren't idiots. If they can make something that's going to sell, they'll do it.

Most people that haven't been gluten-free think it's a total waste of money. Those of us that have an intolerance understand that we're really doing better for not having gluten in our lives. Why, then, do so many posts just undermine what we already know?

Because people will do anything for weight loss, and they'll follow whatever fad yells the loudest. Are people that dumb? No. But they are that desperate. About a year ago, I had a friend who "was interested in the gluten-free thing for weight loss." That person proceeded to order cheese tortellini covered in alfredo sauce.

Gluten-free isn't a weight loss diet. Brown rice, tapioca, and millet flours are actually more calorically dense than crappy white bread flours. Granted, nutritionally they are very dense, so you need less of them, but I digress. I've lost a total of maybe 6 pounds in the last year on a gf diet. Yeah.

Moral of this story, don't let the media tell you it's hype if you know you're doing/feeling better. Not everyone reacts the same way, but it doesn't mean that you're wrong.

Grocery List

Well, we made it.

We made it through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Past the crazy family, crazy schedules, and food that we thought was trying to kill us. Now is the time to make changes.

Did I say "Resolutions"? No. Eff that. I said CHANGES. Because, let's face it. You're not going to go to the gym every day. You're probably not going to lose all the weight that you'd like to lose in the next six months.

But you can make yourself healthier. That sounds easy.

Until you hit the grocery store.

Grocery shopping in general is enough to make even the most hardened of Green Berets cower in a corner holding a doll and crying. There's a reason I think kids cry for things in stores: they hate going. They hate going almost as much as the grown-ups forcing them to go. They just get to whine about it a tad more because they're kids. Having a baby and going grocery shopping is like planning for the D-Day invasion and Tete Offensive at the same time. So, when you go, do yourself a favor and make a list.

If you are just starting out, these are a few things you can put on your list.

* Gluten-Free pasta. I use the Heartland brand found at Walmart. It's pretty good, fairly inexpensive, and works the exact same way as regular pasta. My husband can't even tell a difference.

* Gluten-Free bread. This is usually found in the freezer section, as gf bread goes bad much faster than regular bread. On a side note, it goes bad faster BECAUSE THERE IS LESS CRAP IN IT. Ahem... anyway.

* Gluten-Free pizza crusts. Again, also in the freezer section. They are a lifesaver: bake with some garlic and olive oil and use as a dipper for hummus. Top with spinach, artichokes, and tomatoes, and you've got a quick pizza. I also shake some nitrate-free bacon pieces on there.

* Corn tortillas and/or taco shells. Most of the time, these are naturally gluten free. I usually just get corn tortillas since I can make them into tostadas, chips, etc. and they're more versatile. But I love taco shells, so on occasion, they're pretty awesome.

* Eggplant. Sounds crazy, but if you trim the skin off an eggplant (and, provided you don't also have a dairy allergy) you can use these as lasagna noodles, and they're ahhhmazing. Gf lasagna noodles do exist, but they can be hard to find, and quite expensive.

* Olive oil. If you don't normally buy this stuff, give it a whirl. It can replace butter in just about every recipe, and combine very well with the above mentioned pasta. Add some basil, tomatoes, and grilled chicken (even those pre-sliced grilled strips work in a pinch) and you have a great meal in about 12 minutes.

* Spinach. If you replace your regular lettuce with baby spinach, you will double your calcium intake for that day. Not kidding. Use it everywhere you'd normally use lettuce, and jolt your immune system as well as your mineral intake.

* Bag of grilled chicken strips. I like the John Soules version, and you can get them in bulk at Sam's. They're terrific for super fast meals. Heat them up, put them on the spinach with some cranberries and raw cheese or feta for a super quick salad that's amazing. Heat with olive oil, basil, tomato, and garlic and toss over fresh pasta for a chicken pomodoro in about 12-15 minutes. Put on a pizza crust with spinach, artichoke, and garlic (Shut up. I love garlic.) for a great pizza in about 15 minutes.

* Natural peanut butter. Go ahead and compare the ingredient list between a natural peanut butter and the regular brand, and then ask me why it's on here. It's a great source of protein. Couple it with gf toast or an apple, and it's a great snack with lots of energy potential.

* Eggs. Do I really have to explain this? Cheap, fast, protein.


Bottom line. Look at the ingredient list, but most of your products shouldn't have one. There's no ingredients in the produce section. Few in the meat section, and maybe a handful in the dairy section. If you're having to do dairy-free as well, then go towards eggs, spinach, broccoli, and almond milk for calcium sources. If you're breastfeeding, make sure your calorie content is high enough not to stress your body, and consequently reduce your milk supply. Good fats: advocado, olive oil, peanut butter, and flaxseed are necessary! This is about fueling your body, not stripping it down. Give your body the energy to make it through the day, and it will thank you.

Is It Worth It?

You go into a restaurant, scan the menu for tell-tale vocabulary words like "corn tortilla, grilled, served with toast OR FRUIT" and it can be maddening. If you go to a restaurant and ask if they have a gluten-free menu, you feel like you're labeled instantly as one of "those people" and everyone thinks you're insane.

Are they right?

What if this is really in your head, and you're just wanting an excuse to change something, to feel more in control?

I remember the first few weeks I realized I really needed to do gluten-free. It was hard. A year into it, it's totally second-nature. I know what to look for, what to avoid, and what substitutions I can ask for, without making myself sound crazy to the waiter. Now, realizing that I really, really, really need to do dairy free. Sometimes, it feels worse. I find myself forgetting, then remembering, and then forgetting to make changes. Some are easier than others, and you would think that knowing this is in my son's best interest would make it easy as pie to change!

But it's not.

Partly, because I wasn't fully convinced that's what the problem was. Babies cry. Babies are gassy little creatures by nature. So, there would be some days (regardless of my diet) that he would be suuuuper fussy - and days where he wasn't. And partly just out of habit. I had consumed large amounts of cheese and dairy while pregnant because it was high in calcium, and it was cheap protein. Now, I was faced with changing a whole new habit.

It's worth it. It's worth it to try. Little One is a different Little One when he's not being fed things his body can't tolerate. The least I can do is not eat something that doesn't hurt me so that it doesn't hurt him.

Dave Ramsey repeats the phrase, "Live like no one else, so that later, you can live like no one else." and it totally rings true. If you can get through the hard part, the life detox, and build new patterns, then the possibilities are endless.

Coffee Cake Muffins: Gluten and Dairy Free

But AWESOME

Ingredients:

1 box gluten free yellow cake mix (that would be the cheating part)
3 eggs
1/2 cup of either an oil of your choice, or I used (this time) 1/2 cup of Earth Balance. Either one is dairy free; either one works.
3 tablespoons of vanilla (or more, if desired)
2/3 cup water
2 of the most overripe, disgustingly soft bananas you can find
1/4 cup milled flaxseed
Cinnamon - to taste
Ground Cloves - to taste
1/2 cup-ish of brown sugar.

For the muffins: I totally cheated. Deal with it.

Mix the bananas, eggs, and butter first. There's nothing special about that, it's just the three hardest to mix.

Add the water, cake mix, flaxseed, and cinnamon/cloves to the mix. I used exactly 4 dashes of cinnamon and 2 of cloves. That's super-scientific measuring for ya...

It will be a lumpy batter of brown, delicious goodness.

Grease your muffin tin: this will make 12. I've used both cooking spray and a paper towel of earth balance; the cooking spray works better, but I was out. Go with what works.

Fill the cups almost full.

For the topping: Optional, but Ahhhmazing...

Use either oil or Earth Balance for this, too.

Mix about 2 tbs of butter or 1tbs of oil with the brown sugar. The mix should be crumbly. If you want, you can add some more cinnamon and cloves to this, too.

Sprinkle liberally on top of muffins.


Bake at 325-350 for about 20minutes. Set the time for 18minutes just to be on the safe side. The muffins are ready when you can put a toothpick through them and it come out clean.

Technically, you're supposed to let them cool. But that's stupid. They're amazing. Grab a couple, and get some coffee.

You're welcome.

Gluten-Free Shopping Without Going Broke

If you haven't been paying attention, I had a baby about two months ago. I was a very adept housecleaning machine. I love to cook. I could spend HOURS on a really good dinner, that would no doubt be enjoyed for an hour, possibly with a glass of wine, and definitely with a good episode of our favorite show: Bones.


Hey! I'm new here!

Enter, The Little One.

I am a very adept milk-making machine. I love to cook. I could spend MINUTES on a possibly edible dinner, that will definitely be enjoyed in segments, possibly while breastfeeding TLO, and definitely after a diaper change.

It's not that I'm a different person; I'm just... well, I'm tired. Also, keeping TLO happy and in love with me is far more of a priority than making sure the home looks like something on Pinterest at all times.






So, instead of giving you a s-ton of recipes with ingredients you'll never find in the store, let alone will actually use; here are a few of my staples.

Gluten Free Pasta: Heartland makes a great fusilli, penne, and spaghetti. The fusilli can make a mean mac n' cheese. The penne is great for salads. And spaghetti is Jesus' perfect food.

Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix: I've yet to actually make a cake with this stuff. I have turned into muffins, coffee cake, and corn fritters.

Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Mix: Makes a damn fine cookie.

Gluten Free Wraps: Usually found in the bakery with the deli meats. These things double as flour tortillas. So you can use them as flour tortillas. Yes, it actually tastes pretty close to a flour tortilla. For those of you who haven't gone a full year without a flour tortilla, you have no idea how excited your Celiac counter-part is right now. So, I'm going to say it again and let you bask in it: Flour Tortilla.

Corn Tortillas: I make them into chips, tostadas, and taquitos.

Things To Watch Out For:

* Very, very few of those pre-packaged spices are gluten free. The rest that are, are usually not dairy free. McCormick makes some that are in a clear package that literally are just spices, and they're wonderful. You will have to make your own taco seasoning, as almost all of them contain whey.

* Barbeque sauces are also tricky. Head Country barbeque sauce is our go-to. And it's amazing.

* The cheap tomato sauces sometimes contain gluten, and frequently contain dairy.

* Lunch meat: get it AT THE DELI from a brand that advertises gluten-free meats. Most of them will also not have nitrates and other fillers/chemicals as well.

* Bratwursts are best purchased at a grocery store with an actual butcher. I use the Homeland by our house, because their brats are actual meat: no fillers, spices, or 'extras' that can be found inside a casing.

I used to LIKE grocery shopping??!!

Recently Diagnosed Gluten Intolerant or Celiac Disease?

Freaky, right? I mean, it's not a fatal diagnosis (although it can feel that way knowing that Auntie Ann's, Cinnabon, and Subway are off the table) but it will forever impact the way that you live your life. If you're like me, and you live in a city where if you close your eyes for a second and concentrate, banjos are indeed playing everywhere, then your task may seem impossible. Bigger cities offer more options, and it will take some time for every store to "get there."

So, now, you stare at your grocery list and either weep, panic, or a little of both. Also, if you're like me, your grocery budget didn't adjust itself the day you realized you had to do this. So now, you have to do the same meals as before - or risk mutiny at the dinner table. You also have to spend roughly if not exactly the same as before. Oh, and it can't taste like cardboard.

Well, this should be interesting, shouldn't it?

Relax. Honestly, it's not that hard.

Realistically, though, it will take some time.

We did the piecemeal approach, and it worked for us. Healthwise, it may not have been the best idea. Budgetwise, it was genius. Instead of going to the grocery store and spending $400 all at once (after having already spent money on groceries for the month) on "new stuff" we just slowly replaced things as we ran out of something that wasn't gluten free.

As we ran out of spaghetti noodles - I got gluten free ones. As we ran out of bread, I bought gluten-free bread. As we ran out of flour tortillas, I cried. Then I bought corn tortillas.

Then, at our next month's grocery shopping extravaganza, we did gluten-free hard(er) core. Again, if I wasn't out of it, I didn't buy a replacement yet, unless it was something I could use immediately. If you have the finances to go do the whole thing at once, then by all means, go for it. But it also slowly worked me into changing my entire lifestyle. THAT was much harder than I though. There was no more running to Arby's for their magical sandwiches that can warm even the coldest heart. There was no "I-hate-shopping-but-the-pretzel-makes-it-better" time at the mall.

In short; food becomes only something you do because your body needs it to live. And it stops becoming everything else.

Why does cooking suck so bad?

Why is it honestly such an ordeal every night?

 
We live in the most blessed nation in the world. Our version of being "out of food" is rarely that the cupboards are bare. Usually what we mean is that we're out of our "favorite foods" and will have to make something from scratch, rather than putting a pop-tart in the toaster.
 
I really want to change that.
 
Some things you should know about my family:
 
I have a gluten intolerance, and we have just discovered that my sweet little boy has a dairy allergy like his daddy. Now, while Daddy doesn't mind the congestion and side-effects from eating ice cream, Mommy is not content making a two-month old have those same nasty side-effects.
 
So Mommy has to do things a little differently. No gluten or dairy, for starters.
 
Also, we live just above the poverty line for a family of three. Not "poor enough" to qualify for assistance, but not "rich enough" to always be able to do whatever we want at the grocery store - or the gas station.
 
I wouldn't change it for the WORLD.
 
First off, both of us grew up with very little, and learned early on that life isn't about you. I had my first Little Debbie snack around age 29. We just didn't buy that garbage. Not always out of financial reasons; mostly because my grandmother refused to pay money for something we could make ourselves. We also hardly ever had soda; with the exception of root beer (that was my Saturday treat after I helped my grandpa with the garden, the chickens, etc.) it was never in the house.
 
So, we both learned to be creative. And we learned to cook. And slowly, life taught me how to cook. Then I learned that cooking is kind of awesome. Now it's something that I actually enjoy; because I've learned how to enjoy it and not make it so much of a chore.
 
Most of my recipes on here are going to be very inexpensive. Most of them take a regular recipe and with a few quick substitutions are gluten free and dairy free.
 
The pictures aren't going to be professional pictures. They will come from my kitchen that will probably look like a disaster in the background. I'm okay with that.
 
I'm also a HUGE proponent of organic, hormone-free, non-GMO, love-a-bunny-hug-a-tree kind of cooking. I would rather have less of really great ingredients then buy a bunch of garbage. Right now, I'm feeding a human. My body. Crazy when you think about it, but MY BODY is making food for another human being. So everything that I'm eating - he's eating. Every pesticide, hormone, chemical, and nutrient. All of the good and bad. That's enough for me to watch what I eat. And while not every person is in my situation, it's my desire that people care enough about themselves that they want every organ in their body to do its best, to feel their best, and to have energy after they eat something.
 
So, welcome to my food blog. In the near future, I will probably have a Facebook page up, and most of the advertisements (at a later date) will be at my discretion; meaning the gluten-free ads will be ones that I put up there, stuff I actually use.