Not My Day

Today is not my day. I had my washer start leaking into my basement, my three year old cut into a quilt I've been working on for over a year, and I just discovered that I left a dirty diaper in my 9 months old crib.... Lets just say the dirty wasn't in the diaper any more

Now I just need to figure out what to make for dinner. Preferably some sort of comfort food...

The Diet is OVER!

Well folks, our diet has come to an end. I decided to celebrate by taking my husband out for our anniversary (two weeks late). It was nice to not have to stress or worry about anything other than gluten. Especially since the two places we went to were very educated about gluten free and very helpful and hospitable. So I got italian and some frozen yogurt without making a mess in my kitchen and without kids demanding things of me the whole time. And even better, the baby slept the WHOLE time for the babysitter, so leaving my kids was essentially guilt free as well! I really just tried to focus on enjoying my food, my comany (a cute husband), and the peace and quiet. We also had some of my family over for dinner tonight who had been doing the clean out as well, so that was a lot of fun to celebrate with them.

 I probably over did it this weekend though, because I'm feeling a little yucky. My sinuses are a little clogged and my stomach isn't awesome, but then again... I had those problems during the diet as well. So who knows! Such is my life, a constant guessing, questioning game, but I'm here to WIN! Even if it's just by trying to have a good attitude.

Anyway, to those of you who did the diet, congrats on a job well done. I know it wasn't easy, but I hope it helped some of you in some way. I know one of my friends was able to help her daughter go for more than 2 weeks with out a stomach ache, which has basically never happened! So that's great. I will begin to post some of my other, not-so-diet-but-hopefully-still-kind-of-healthy-and-definitely-gluten-free recipes. :) And hopefully I can remember to take pictures of them all!! I'm also going to work on a few goals I've made for myself in trying to eliminate some of the stress associated with food and eating. I'll let you know how it goes. Feel free to share your stories and thoughts about the diet and ways you work to mentally accept the challenges you face in this glutarded world.

Tasty Protein Bars

So after the past 4 weeks I decided I could try this little recipe found on Mutritious Nuffins.
I made them and probably ate too many. But they were quite good. I didn't have the right sweetener for the chocolate so I added just a tiny bit of sugar. It was still pretty bitter. But it wasn't bad because of the stuff on the bottom. I also was out of coconut oil so I just used olive oil. They aren't as pretty as the ones on the blog, but they did taste pretty good. I also don't have a food processor, so I used my blender to mix the bigger things, then I used my kitchen aid to add the wet ingredients. They were a little crumbly, but real tasty. ENJOY!

Fall Comfort Foods and Comfort Words

The past couple of days have been dinners of comfort food. Another beef stew with left overs from Sunday's roast dinner and biscuts, and one of my FAVORITE fall meals - Pumpkin Dumplings! I feel a little guilty for adding somethings back in, but yesterday I was so physically tired, I just need some more carbs. So I've added in rice, potatoes, and my brown rice flour mix. But basically there's only a few days left anyway, for those of you doing the diet, so if you don't try this recipe this week, be sure to try it next week.

Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed by food, and so many emotions attached to it, that I wonder if maybe I'm causing my own stomach aches just with all the guilt, worry, stress etc that goes along with eating it. I'm sure many of you have experienced the anger, the sorrow, the pain, and the confusion that accompanies the life of a glutard, or any other allergy stricken individual.

This month has brought on a lot of confusion, and frustration. Thinking that my body should be feeling better, and not have any somach issues etc. And yet there have still been many. I've been tired and sluggish (although that could be due to the insane amount of times I get up with children at night). But today as I was listening to President Monson's Conference talk (thanks to my three year old who saw his picture on the computer and asked to listen to general conference), something he said really touched me. He asks us to look for the blessings in our lives, not dwell on the negitive. Which is no easy task for me, as I tend to be somewhat negative. Then he reminds us that if we pray for answers we will get them. He also reminded me that NO need is too small or insignificant. As I thought about what I consider to be my "insignificant" issues - fatigue, stomach aches, food complexes etc. I felt the confirmation from the spirit that, like President Monson said, "Our Heavenly Father is aware of our needs and will help us as we call upon Him for assistance." No matter how small we think our needs are. It may not be in the way, or time that we would like but he will. I have been praying a lot lately, but sort of without faith and without recognizing the small answers that have been sent to me. So here are a few of the blessings I've found in my life the past couple of days.

• Yesterday when I was to tired that I didn't know if I could make it home from the library that was only 10 minutes away, I prayed that my kids would take naps so that I could get some rest. Well 30 minutes after falling asleep the baby woke up and my 3 year old was still playing in her room. I was upset that my prayer wasn't answered, but then I stopped and realized that I HAD gotten a nap, and I DID feel quite a bit better. I also told myself that I would do what I could with what energy I had, and then not worry about the rest.
• Despite getting up 2-3 times last night, I wasn't too tired this morning.
• My husband was home last night to help me jump the car (one of the kids left a light on), bathe the kids, and get them in bed, then proceeded to help me fold laundry.

Well sadly that is all I can think of right now, but I'm sure there have been countless others. I'm grateful for the learning experiences I have each day, and I hope that you all know that even for someone who has been dealing with being a glutard for years, I still have hard days. That's not to say it doesn't get easier, but I hope some of these ramblings are things you can relate to and help bouy your spirits.

Pumpkin Dumplings

This recipe has been adapted from "Cooking for Isaiah" By Silvana Nardone. It might sound a little weird at first. When I first made these for my family everyone was a little wary. But even my dad and teenage brother liked them. Although they wanted more of the bacon. :)

1 can Pumpkin Puree (15 oz)
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cup Brown Rice Flour Mix
Salt
1/2 Onion chopped
1/2 cup Spinach chopped
3-4 Tablespoons REAL bacon bits (or you can cook up real bacon and crumble it)

• Bring a large pot of water with a little salt to boil.
• Mix the pumpkin, eggs, flour and some salt all together. (I like my dumplings a little more firm, but if you like them a little more mushy use less flour)
• Then using two spoons scoop up some of the dough, then use the other spoon to slide it off into the boiling water. Do that to about half the dough.
• Let them boil for 2 minutes. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon onto a plate
• Repeat for the rest of the dough
• In a large pan cook your onions in some olive oil until they are translucent.
• Add the bacon and spinach and dumplings. Cook until the spinach is wilted and the dumplings are a little brown around the edges.
• Stir them carefully otherwise it can turn into a big goopy mess.

* if you like spice, add a little red pepper flakes to it.

This picture does not do this meal justice, but you get the idea.

Brown Rice Flour Mix

This flour is essential to my pantry! I use it all the time for thickener, cookies, brownies,, muffins, sweet or flat breads etc. I usually mix up a large batch and just keep it in the pantry. This is what I will be using for most of the recipes I post on here. 

 Here is my large batch recipe:

6 cups. Brown rice flour
2 cups potato starch
1 cup tapioca starch/flour
4 tsp xantham gum

Mix it all up in a container. I store it in my pantry because I use it fairly quickly. But supposedly it stays better longer if you store it in the fridge or freezer.

Learning

This cleanout diet has been a real challenge and eye opener for me, as I know it has for many of you. Over the weekend I've been doing a lot of deep thinking and pondering over food. Sometimes I think I obsess and stress a little too much over food. But after going to church and talking about it there, and talking with friends and family I've just come to realize a few things:

1. There is SO much information out there. Diets, quick fixes, different healing foods, foods that are bad for you etc. Some days I feel like every single thing I put in my mouth could be linked to some "government conspiracy", or is "genetically modified" or could ruin this or that part of my body... the list goes on.
2. It's important to be educated. Read, study, find out what's out there.
3. Pray. Pray to be guided to the answers you need. I've been trying to pray more about being guided to foods that will not hurt my stomach. Then focus on enjoying the ones I CAN eat. (I could DEFINITELY still improve in this particular area.
4. Everyones bodies are different. What works for my body, may not necessarily be the exact answer for someone else. I feel like the person I am and the place I am at nutritionally is a compliation of many different sources of people, doctors, nutritionist, literature and internet advice.
5. Real food is intended to nourish our bodies, our gifts from God. I think that as long as I do my best to take care of that gift, even though it won't be perfect, He will bless me for it.
6. Take time to get to know your body and may you be blessed in finding what works for you.

So good luck to everyone, and I hope you are all doing better and feeling good on this diet. I'm excited for it to be over!! :)