Yes, you SHOULD play with your food!!

The main reason that I didn't go gluten free a year ago (when I'd initially started considering this might be the problem), is that I was totally intimated by my own kitchen.

The thought of going in there, and cooking something that might or might not taste good was just completely intimidating!

You've got to realize that I never considered myself as someone who can cook, bake, whatever. I swear, I could burn water (and have). But the more I forced myself into that kitchen, the more I realized it didn't matter if it burnt. It didn't matter if it tasted awful. All that mattered is that I learned that that didn't work.

I accidentally made buttermilk biscuits instead of hamburger buns last night! How bizzarre. They were perfectly moist, fell apart in my hands, and if I hadn't molded them into hamburger buns, who would've known?? LOL! That recipe to come ;).

It's such a learning process to go gluten free, especially when you're cooking for more than just yourself. At least the 4 y.o. will get the benefit of my years of experience once he's old enough to start baking, and the 2 y.o. will get the benefit of having helped me in the kitchen from such a young age! There's nothing that the little one likes more than getting covered in flour :D.

GF/CF Pumpkin Bars

This was my version of granola bars. I used to make granola bars all the time for the boys, because it was a great way to sneak veggies and fruits in their diets. But, we can't have the oatmeal anymore... so since we are out of, well, everything today (and grocery shopping isn't for a few more days!), I decided to experiment with some puffed rice cereal. These wound up being a HUGE hit with Mr. Picky 4 Year Old!! While the 2 y.o. has barely eaten 1 full bar, his brother has eaten all but 3 of them, lol!

GF/CF Pumpkin Bars
(also egg free, peanut free, tree nut free, etc)
2 cups of puffed rice cereal (I used Arrowhead Mills Organic Brown Rice)
1/2 cup of garbanzo bean flour (can sub any kind of GF flour as needed, I just grabbed the first one I saw, lol!)
1/3 tsp of xanthan gum
2 Tablespoons of brown sugar
1 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
dash nutmeg and ginger
2 T of canola oil
1/2 cup honey
1 cup of mashed pumpkin

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add oil, honey and pumpkin. Mix well. Pour into a square baking dish and smooth the top. Bake at 350* for about 15-20 minutes or until the top starts to turn golden brown.

My boys loved these, and they were gone in minutes!

Nov. 30th, 2009 - The First Blog

Well, everyone and their brother has a blog (and I know mine does, lol). I might as well jump on the bandwagon at some point, though I know I'm way behind the times by this point. I've attempted it on Facebook, but its just not quite the same - and everybody is in your business ;).

So, this is about me, but more about my adventures in this fun-filled, fast-paced allergy world.

I've had some understanding about allergies for years. I had allergy testing as a child, and while I can tell you that dogs, cats, birds (down), mold, and grass were definite issues for me, I had no idea that there was more to it than that.

For instance, I've suffered for years with an allergy 'fog'. Previously thought to be related to my many environmental allergies. Ah, no my dear Watson, its more than just that! So, how possibly could my 'fog' be related to my constant joint and muscle pain? Well, that just can't be. Or how about my migraines? Constant nausea? Well, perhaps...

My son, now 4, suffered from many allergies since birth. It took forever to figure them all out (and we're still a work in progress!), but by the time he was a year old we thought we'd gotten most of them under our thumb. Since I was breastfeeding, I'd cut out all wheat, rye, barley (also known as Gluten, get used to that word!), eggs, dairy, peanuts and tree nuts, most soy (but not all), and seafood. He seemed to be doing good. Now, since we did not know what he was actually allergic to (this diet was a Total Elimination Diet - I ate brown rice, most meats, fruits and veggies), when he was 11 months old, I gave him a 1/4 teaspoon of yogurt. He had an immediate anaphylactic reaction - and I felt HORRIBLE. Got him an epi-pen, and FINALLY got the boy to an allergist. She did testing, proclaimed he was simply allergic to dairy and peanuts, and everything else could be added back into 'our' diets. So, we started eating semi-normal again... and I started feeling awful again. I didn't put two and two together til recently...

A year ago, I complained to my doctor about exhaustion and migraines. He figured it was my wild children, lol, because they spent the whole time running circles in his office. But, even as the year went by, I knew that it was possible to feel human, because I had felt so much better when on the TED (Total Elimation diet) - I had energy, the black circles under my eyes went away, and I slept great (despite not getting a full nights rest b/c the boy woke up several times a night at that point still). Something was wrong with me... and ding ding, it was probably food related dummy, lol...

So, I spoke to my doctor and my husband, and was convinced to start the diet again. By this point, I was so nauseated all the time I could barely stand it. Actually got sick a couple times too. The migraines were horrible, and turned out to be attributed to chocolate! What the heck?? No wonder I never liked chocolate as a kid... But the big kicker was the gluten.

Once I cut the gluten out, the nausea went away in 2 days. In a week, all my joint and muscle pain went away. The debilitating leg pain? Gone. In 2 weeks, I was sleeping better, the dark circles under my eyes looked better, and my tummy issues were starting to get better as well.

So, the moral of the story? If something isn't working for you, find something that DOES. You might have to go on your own and figure it out.

I will probably never know if my son and I suffer from Celiac disease (oh yeah, he's got the same gluten issue, more on this later!), because we went gluten free before we could get the testing done (who knew you had to be eating gluten for the test to be accurate?!?). At this point, I cannot intentially poison my body for the sake of a diagnosis. Based on my symptoms... and my son's symptoms, I think its entirely possible. At some point in time, I want to get the genetic testing done - but that's awfully expensive so its got to wait!