Sunday, April 22, 2012

Going Gluten Free or GF

For a very long time I have had digestive issues, wont go into detail, back in '98 I was diagnosed with IBS , then Croh's and now UC, so life has been interesting to say the least over the last 10+ years.
Even on the prescribed meds I still felt "off" and could not place it, so last month, in March, I decided to try going GF for 30 days to see if maybe there was some kind of link to what I was feeling and all that I had been reading on Gluten and Celiac disease.
Well, it took only about a week for me to feel a difference physically and my family to notice a difference in me as well.
I have not scheduled any sort of blood test to confirm whether it is Celiac or just gluten sensitivity, since I have now been GF for almost 2 months and I don't feel like changing the way I eat , AGAIN, just so that my blood work will give an accurate reading , plus I really hate needles :)
I feel that the changes I myself can feel in me are more than enough to keep on trucking with a new GF life.

SO, now I spend more time at the commissary reading labels, take extra time when planning my families meals, every two weeks, and have pretty much purged my house of all thing containing gluten, especially the things that I like to eat.
 Leaving only the items that I know my family truly likes to eat and that I either don't care for or can find or make in a GF form.
G.I Joe, being the supportive husband that he is, has taken it all in stride and been supportive, for the most part :) Until you mess with his brownies then there is an issue LOL!!
We have agreed that since I am the one who cooks and it is hard enough for me to make one meal while dealing with 3 kiddos that making  two would be a disaster and some one would starve, that our whole family will go GF with me.

I will not lie it has been some what of a challenge , there are many forms of gluten just lurking in our foods , especially the pre-packed/processed ones and going out to eat has been a HUGE challenge for me and some what aggravating for G.I. Joe.
And the cost of GF foods is WAY more than gluten containing foods that I have had to readjust the family grocery budget.
I have also started making quite a few things from scratch that I normally would have bought all ready made, bread being one of them.
But making these items from scratch has enabled me to find that joy of baking that I had lost and has given me back the feeling of contentment that I get from providing a meal or even homemade muffins for my family.

Yes, it is a BIG PAIN IN THE REAR and it does take me longer to do certain things, but when I see the look on their faces when I present them with homemade , GF brownies, bread, pancakes, pasta or whatever , it makes it all worth it.
And for them having me healthier, more energetic and overall just plain happier is more than enough for them to agree to, not only, being my test subjects ,but, also changing the way they eat too.



( I look forward to sharing this time in our lives and all the flops and successing of my GF life :))






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