Goodbye to Gluten (For Now)

Much to the chagrin of my family I greatly enjoy food trends, books on food and healthy eating and general food conspiracy theories.  I think it's hard for them to keep up with what I am and am not eating at any given time.  

A few days ago I picked up David Perlmutter's Grain Brain at my local library.  I popped the audio book into the car and OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS!  I AM GOING TO GET HORRIBLE DISEASES AND IT'S ALL GLUTEN'S FAULT!

Seriously though, the book has really made me think about what gluten is doing in my diet and how it could be detrimental to my health.  I can't say I vouch for any or all of the food warnings in this book, but I am just about convinced on the gluten/carbohydrate front.  So, I'm trying out a gluten free diet and to eat fewer carbohydrates.  This is day 1.

I got up this morning and didn't know what to do about my breakfast.  Cereal? No.  Oatmeal? No, Quaker oats aren't gluten free.  Toast?  Ah, nope.  Pancakes, waffles, muffins, french toast, croissant?  All off limits.  Obviously I needed to get to the store.  I settled on a bowl of peanut butter with macadamia nuts, chia seeds, honey and chocolate chips with some farmer's market strawberries and milk.  Not altogether bad.

Hours went by and I ate a Larabar, more fruit, eggs, cheese...and it soon became obvious that even though my body was nourished and I didn't feel hungry, I was craving gluten/carbohydrates.  And I still am.  It's probably safe to say that I'm actually addicted to it.  All the more reason to go without it for a while.  

I'll still be baking with gluten and possibly eating it again in the future.  But, I will try to develop some gluten-free recipes for those who are interested (and so that I can eat something that actually tastes good!!!)  This is not a food fad that I am going to force on other people.  I'll document a bit of this gluten free trial and let you know what good gluten free stuff I've found.

Gluten-Free Foods I've Tried

Decent but reminiscent of cardboard, messy, pricey

Delicious and definitely recommended, pricey

Much like Kit's, great ingredients, slightly better price...

Great taste, but I'm not thrilled about some of the ingredients (oils etc.)

More to come.  I'll be sure to start marking my gluten free recipes.

Food Swap: What to Eat/What Not to Eat

One may get the impression from this blog that I eat 2 things: sugar and pancakes.

I do eat those things, of course.  However, I am a firm believer in balanced diets, real food, portion control and exercise.  

I drink non-homogenized whole milk, which is the closest I can get to raw milk.  I eat peanut butter made of just peanuts.  I munch on fruit and unprocessed cheeses.  I run a few times a week and do simple exercises while watching TV.

It's probably fairly obvious that I love this book:

  

All of this is to introduce something I hope to occasionally write about on this blog.  It'll be about how my diet has changed since I first became interested in nutrition.  

Swap

Spoonful of Nutella for a spoonful of Peanut butter + a drop of honey

Oh, jar of Nutella *sniff* you're so beautiful.  

But let's be honest, peanut butter is cheaper.

Swap

Store bought for homemade

This goes for everything.  But I'll be specific.  

Special occasion cinnamon rolls for breakfast are great.  Take the time to make them yourself and sneak whole grains into your recipes whenever you can.

Another good substitute for Nutella is homemade chocolate almond butter.

Anything you'd like to see posted about?  How to make your favorite foods healthier?  Want some new recipes?  Leave me a comment.