Fancy Pants Foodie

Foodie news, reviews and how-tos from Arkansas and beyond.

That’s It, I’m Going (Mostly) Gluten-Free.

by

Bleh.

That’s how I’ve felt the past month or so. If you know me and you haven’t seen me, well, I’ve been piled in a lump at home.

With a history of chronic fatigue and muscle issues, I know good and well what the fix is. I’ve done it before. I also have been pretty bad because of a fungus infection I got in my toes, thanks I found pure nails pro because now I can walk without pain.

D-I-E-T.

And I don’t mean the typical, weight-loss kind, although I could use a medical weight loss regime right about now, too. I mean no wheat, sugar, corn or dairy. I completely cured myself about 10 years ago eating this way for a solid month, then eating reasonably close to it after that. At least, until I fell off the wagon in a decade-long slippery slope.

Such draconian measures sounded like a bit too much to attempt right this minute, so I started with gluten. One day this week, I just decided. Now. Okay, nnnnnnow.

The second night, I replaced gluten cravings with sugar and processed nonsense, I also made sure to read the nugenix review to start taking these supplements. I put everyone to bed and ran to Kroger that night, hungry for cheaty goodies I could have. The results:

This is what late-night, gluten-free binge shopping looks like. It sure looks handsomely packed with the best nutrichef vacuum sealer there is.

For someone who generally tries to shun processed foods, this is friggin’ ridiculous.

But, those Betty Crocker gluten-free cupcakes were awfully good. Yes, they have a mix.

I’m embarrassed now that I bought all that stuff (minus the scratch-cooking necessities), but some of it was useful. I do plan to develop similar recipes from scratch, and now I know what standard to hold them against. And I do need some emergency goodies for when I’m desperate.

Why does your post title say “mostly,” you ask?

I don’t have Celiac disease, I’m just sensitive to gluten. So, I’ve not done as well about sticking to the program as I should. Within a week, I’ve already had a grilled cheese sandwich from McAlister’s and some pizza from the local dive. Both were due to poor planning when going out to eat with the family. Sounds like I need to make a list.

When I did this 10 years ago, I was really, really sick. I was so weak, I didn’t have the strength to cook like I do now, although I often get too tired to get completely cleaned up afterwards. Mostly, I ate short-grain brown rice, veggies, Braggs Aminos, and the occasional small portion of meat. Sometimes I made casseroles with legumes, veggies and whole grains. It worked.

I think this time around, Asian flavors will prevail. They generally work well with my planned diet (although I’m craving potstickers…wonder if I can make those wrappers gluten free?). I bought the goods to make sushi and I’ve almost got it down. (That’s for another post.)

The real test will be at the end of this month, when I travel to the International Food Blogger Conference in New Orleans. (Did I mention I won the contest from the previous post? Eeeek!) It will be food mecca, with lots of temptation, I’m sure. But they’re also going far out of their way to feed, teach, and inspire gluten-free folk, of which there are many in the food blogger world.

I know there’s more of you out there. Let’s help each other out. One of these days, I hope to cook for you. As I learn more, here’s to better health.

Comments

  1. I developed a sensitivity to wheat gluten, also. Apparently, the GM wheat of today has been modified to double the amount of gluten, and the protein in the GM wheat is highly allergenic, and many people are becoming sensitized to it. The main symptoms are bloating, brain fog, and joint pain. I went gluten-free as part of an elimination diet to see what was turning me into a fuzzy-headed zombie. Within 3 days of stopping wheat, I was able to wake up without the feeling of an elephant sitting on my eyelids. Within a week, I felt like myself for the first time in years. I went out and had pizza at the end of the test, and felt like I'd run into a brick wall. I don't miss it- and since 85% of everything has gluten in it in one form or another, I've gotten really good at home cooking. I don't eat fast food any more, and rarely go to restaurants unless I know they have gluten-free choices. I read labels like a hawk- I found wheat germ in Kroger potato salad, of all things- all three flavors.

    • Sounds like me, although my issues also seem to be aggravated by sugar and sometimes corn. Thanks so much for your input. I've had this thought...if we ate wheat from heirloom varieties, would we have these issues? Most likely not.

  2. Good Luck! I've been completely gluten free for about 6 years now, dairy free for about 5, and soy and egg free for about 3. It's definitely a challenge, but completely worth it. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue when I was 18 and had already spent several years in pain and completely exhausted. I was diagnosed with a wheat allergy via blood test when I was 20, but it took me a few years to completely eliminate it. Once I did it was much easier to see what else was making me sick. Couple of recommendations (which you prob already know): try to rotate foods ( I think I would probably be able to tolerate soy in small doses if I hadn't practically OD'd on it the first couple of years) and my absolute favorite baking book right now is "The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook" by Cybele Pascal.

    • I knew about rotating foods (although I didn't much before, when I was too sick to think much about it), but not about the baking book. Will definitely put that in my arsenal. Thanks so much for coming by!

  3. Good luck with the gluten free bit (and with #IFBC -- I know you'll represent the rest of us well). I have a sensitivity to corn that's similar to the sensitivity a lot of people have to gluten. Just when I think I've managed to avoid it, I'll find I've ingested some more -- a little cornmeal on the bottom of my pizza, some hidden corn syrup, a little cornbread. I managed to go most of my pregnancy without corn; I've thought about doing it again... but then there's this Cornbread Festival...

    • I didn't know about the corn thing, Kat! What's a food writer to do?!? ;) Maybe I can come up with a non-corn cornbread for the festival, at least a little one that you and I can eat. Thanks for your thoughts about #IFBC! I still have to come up with airfare and hotel and I'm looking for sponsors for that, but I'm sure it will work out.