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.

D-I-E-T.

And I don’t mean the typical, weight-loss kind, although I could use that 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 put everyone to bed and ran to Kroger that night, hungry for cheaty goodies I could have. The results:

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.