Saturday, December 28, 2013
Flashbacks and Whatnot
Without warning and with fast and furious power, flashbacks have riddled my mind with a sense of reality I thought was long gone.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Celiac and the Junk Food Junkie
This was my lunch today:
I read articles. I looked at pictures. I pinterested. I read blogs. As I realized converting my recipes over to gluten free was going to take a while, that strange thing I eluded to as this started happened. I began to eat fruit and raw vegetables. Finally I tried roasting some veggies with olive oil and a little seasoning, and a beautiful new relationship began. Never did I realize the burst of flavor that comes from a bite of roasted cauliflower with olive oil, fresh garlic, tomatoes, and seasoning. I had no idea the lusciousness baked zucchini with tomatoes and mozzarella held! What a wonderful (foody) world!
And breads. Yes, breads are coming along. These rolls were made using Gluten Free on a Shoestring Nicole's recipe from her cookbook:
Much more to come, stay tuned!
We were at a family party yesterday and there were leftover veggies--I suppose maybe it was the drool dribbling down my chin that clued my niece to ask if I'd like to bring them home.
WHO AM I AND WHAT DID I DO WITH ME?
Me. Drooling over fresh vegetables. Me. The person to whom everyone would send all the cookies and cakes and candy leftovers. Me. The person would be perfectly happy with a day full of cookies only for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Oh Celiac, look what you've done to me!
Not a day goes by that I don't have some type of fruits or vegetables. This is astounding! I'm still sorting through this new world of being gluten-free and certainly still have my doubts and concerns, but something about this must be good. I'm reading labels and increasingly avoiding those that have things that are too hard to pronounce or soy which I believe is more of a culprit in our health than gluten but that's another story.
My first steps into gluten free cooking brought me to the store and this was my cart:
My eyes were crossing, my head was spinning and my wallet was CLEANED OUT. The pizza I made wasn't bad but definitely needed improvement.
I've tried to concoct and improvise:
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| First bread attempt, only weighed about 50 pounds lol! |
I read articles. I looked at pictures. I pinterested. I read blogs. As I realized converting my recipes over to gluten free was going to take a while, that strange thing I eluded to as this started happened. I began to eat fruit and raw vegetables. Finally I tried roasting some veggies with olive oil and a little seasoning, and a beautiful new relationship began. Never did I realize the burst of flavor that comes from a bite of roasted cauliflower with olive oil, fresh garlic, tomatoes, and seasoning. I had no idea the lusciousness baked zucchini with tomatoes and mozzarella held! What a wonderful (foody) world!
Don't worry, I've discovered Cup4Cup flour and through experimenting with it, I've been able to have my cookies, too--and no one can tell they are gluten free!
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| White Chip Pumpkin Muffins |
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| Cream Cheese Cookies |
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| Chocolate Chip Cookies |
Much more to come, stay tuned!
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
I am a Celiac
I can say that and begin to finally accept it, simply because, ya gotta admit, it sounds like something goofy that I would say when I'm just goofing around. Only it isn't goofy and I'm not goofing around.
Celiac disease isn't a diagnosis that is considered to be horrific, and it is usually controllable through extreme vigilance in anything and everything a person ingests. Here's the problem I see with it: so many people are being flippantly diagnosed that the disease (or syndrome, properly) has taken on an almost cavalier type of dismissal. I am guilty of being a naysayer. My mom was suddenly diagnosed this past spring and, while it did seem to make sense because of the painful esophagus problems she has had for years, it did NOT make sense to me to be tested as she kept insisting. My mom learned more about Celiac and went to support groups and went gluten free. Her doctors and new support buddies told her Celiac is genetic and that her kids should be tested as should their children. I scoffed. I read a little, considered it, but put it all off. I didn't have stomach problems after all, how could I possibly have Celiac? Mom told me, and I read, about people that have no outward symptoms yet Celiac was silently doing damage to the intestines and/or laying the groundwork for cancers to form. Still I didn't get tested, even after my own initial bloodwork showed I was ANA positive. (ANA testing is an initial marker, and somewhat debatable test, for autoimmune disease)
No stomach problems, I insisted!
Those pains I'd get that would leave me doubled over in pain and render me immobile?
"Oh, that's just gas," I'd say.
The awful and embarrassing flatulence (that's right, I'm using the correct word) and burping?
"That's just me being me trying to be both the woman and the man of the house," I'd say. Embarrassed.
The sores in my mouth? The cavities and messed up teeth?
"Not enough vitamins," "It was the asthma medicine that did it," I'd rationalize.
Vitamin D ridiculously low (it has been as low as 7, is now "up" to 17, normal is above 30) and severe anemia?
"Um, well..."
Aches and pains 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? 'Fever days' as I've called them with low fever for a day or as long as a week or 2? Inexplicable dizziness? Exhaustion that feels like hitting a a steel enforced concrete wall?
Okay, it was time to follow up and find out what was going on, even though I was still skeptical because I had a reason/excuse for every problem that had popped up. When I went in to get the results of the Celiac screen lab report, I'm not sure who was more surprised--my Dr. or me. Not only did I test positive for all antibodies, I scored out of the park on a couple..typical overachieving test-taker, I always was in school.
Stay tuned, more to come.
Celiac disease isn't a diagnosis that is considered to be horrific, and it is usually controllable through extreme vigilance in anything and everything a person ingests. Here's the problem I see with it: so many people are being flippantly diagnosed that the disease (or syndrome, properly) has taken on an almost cavalier type of dismissal. I am guilty of being a naysayer. My mom was suddenly diagnosed this past spring and, while it did seem to make sense because of the painful esophagus problems she has had for years, it did NOT make sense to me to be tested as she kept insisting. My mom learned more about Celiac and went to support groups and went gluten free. Her doctors and new support buddies told her Celiac is genetic and that her kids should be tested as should their children. I scoffed. I read a little, considered it, but put it all off. I didn't have stomach problems after all, how could I possibly have Celiac? Mom told me, and I read, about people that have no outward symptoms yet Celiac was silently doing damage to the intestines and/or laying the groundwork for cancers to form. Still I didn't get tested, even after my own initial bloodwork showed I was ANA positive. (ANA testing is an initial marker, and somewhat debatable test, for autoimmune disease)
No stomach problems, I insisted!
Those pains I'd get that would leave me doubled over in pain and render me immobile?
"Oh, that's just gas," I'd say.
The awful and embarrassing flatulence (that's right, I'm using the correct word) and burping?
"That's just me being me trying to be both the woman and the man of the house," I'd say. Embarrassed.
The sores in my mouth? The cavities and messed up teeth?
"Not enough vitamins," "It was the asthma medicine that did it," I'd rationalize.
Vitamin D ridiculously low (it has been as low as 7, is now "up" to 17, normal is above 30) and severe anemia?
"Um, well..."
Aches and pains 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? 'Fever days' as I've called them with low fever for a day or as long as a week or 2? Inexplicable dizziness? Exhaustion that feels like hitting a a steel enforced concrete wall?
Okay, it was time to follow up and find out what was going on, even though I was still skeptical because I had a reason/excuse for every problem that had popped up. When I went in to get the results of the Celiac screen lab report, I'm not sure who was more surprised--my Dr. or me. Not only did I test positive for all antibodies, I scored out of the park on a couple..typical overachieving test-taker, I always was in school.
Stay tuned, more to come.
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