Treasures

It is nice when you find little treasures in your life that you would like to hold on to. It doesn't even have to be food related but something that opens your eyes a little bit wider and something that you don't want to forget. These treasures could be as big as your children or a dear friend, to as small as a song or a flower. Today, I have found a treasure, and yes, of course it IS food related.

When I was first diagnosed with Celiac, I of course went straight away to find recipes. I came across a recipe for pancakes at www.allrecipes.com. It is titled as Delicious Gluten-Free Pancakes. Delicious they are!! Honestly, I could not even tell they were gluten free. I can't wait for Geoff to try them so I can hear what he thinks.

Here's to the Treasures!!

Mmmm.....donuts!

Hey look!! I made donuts. Geoff came home the other night from grocery shopping. Guess what he brought home? Yep, Crispy Creme donuts. So unfair. They looked soo yummy, especially the creme filled and custard filled ones with their sticky goodness and plump......oh, sorry for salivating on this post. A few weeks prior, he bought some buttermilk so I can make a buttermilk donut recipe. Of course I had not made them yet and the buttermilk only had a few days left until it expired. Geoff kept asking me when I was going to make them so the milk wasn't a waste.

When he came home with the Crispy Creme donuts, I asked him if this was his way of getting me to make my donuts. He started responding by saying no, to which I quickly interrupted to tell him that he needed to say "Yes, of course that was my plan all along". I didn't want to hear a "No". I really needed any enticement to get off my behind and make them.

The next morning, as everyone was eating their donuts, I caved and somehow got a sudden burst of energy to make some donuts. If found the recipe at www.food.com. They were actually not too hard to make. The donuts were not too bad either. Next time I make donuts though, I will try to pay a bit more attention to the oil because I think it was too hot and so the insides of the donuts were a tad undercooked. If you like cake-type donuts than these are yummy. I do like cake donuts but I really like the yummy plump raised type donuts better. My next donut recipe will be more of the other....at least I hope.

Now I can say that I have made donuts before. There is a first for everything, right? Have you ever made donuts before? How did they turn out?

Must eat NOW

What does your body do when you can't get it food and it needs it? I have learned lately that my body hates me when I don't get it food when it wants it. I get headaches and I begin to get dizzy and light-headed.

Before my diagnosis, when I could eat everything without a care in the world, not eating right away was not good but I could handle it. Now, if I don't eat right away, it doesn't take long before my body doesn't handle it.

The good thing, now I know. Now I need to plan ahead. It truly makes it that much easier if I do. The past couple of weeks I have been making weekly meal plans. Do I always follow-thru with what I had decided to eat that night? Not always but for the most part I do. Having weekly meal plans have helped me tremendously. I am not feeling at quite a loss anymore as to what I should make for dinner. In fact, I am actually making dinner more now instead of leaving it for Geoff. For those that don't know, Geoff is the cook in my family. Not to say that I don't like to cook....he just sometimes enjoys it more and sometimes I just feel like being lazy. Also, he is definitely a good cook. *sigh* I am soo lucky!

The other good thing, we are trying out so many new recipes now that I don't feel like we are eating the same ol' thing all the time. It is fun! I have found some new things I like that I probably never would have made before. Majority of the stuff I make are also naturally gluten free.

Now I am curious?? Does anyone else have weekly meal plans for their family? Do you do it just for dinner or for all the meals? I mostly do it for dinner...occasionally I will do other meals too.

I like Food and Food likes me?

Yes, I know that my blog name is long. When I was thinking of a name, I wanted something that was personable to me, of course. Growing up, I had a motto. It was, I like food and food likes me. It is silly but I I loved it. I have never really felt like I had to control my food, er...maybe consumption?? I could eat what I wanted to eat, when I wanted to eat it. Food is enjoyable, comforting, and down-right good.

Just over a month ago, when I found out I was being tested for Celiac's Disease, I honestly did not think that I had it. I believed there had to be some other reason why I was feeling the way I was. Well, that just shows how much I know. So now my motto has changed. Apparently food doesn't like me very much....certain foods.

What are some of your favorite foods that you don't think you could live without?

It happened

I experienced family not truly understanding what I have to go through the other day. Although, after the fact, Geoff expressed the possibility of it not being completely directed at me.

We were at my in-laws and my Father-in-law was making spaghetti sauce. His sauce is soooo yummy. Thank goodness I can still have it. I had my special gluten-free noodles so I could enjoy the meal too. I was cooking my noodles in one pan and he was cooking the "other" noodles in his pan. Without thinking, he grabbed his spoon that he had just used to stir his noodles and stirred mine. Dang! All those noodles became trash. Good thing I had extra.

So, I started again. My Father-in-law left the room and so I was hoping that he wouldn't even notice that I had to start over because I truly didn't want to be confronted about it for the fear and him not understanding. After washing everything, I got more water boiling. He came back in and my husband(whom I was hoping would be there when my Father-in-law inquired about it) and temporarily left the room.

I did get asked. Oh no, here it comes. He asked why I was boiling more water. I told him I was making more noodles. (I was secretly hoping he wouldn't go further.) Then the question, "Why?". Aww dang, I have to answer. "Because you stirred my noodles after you stirred yours.", answered quite sheepishly. Then there was the huff and the tsk. I wanted to cry, and guess what, when Geoff came back, I sort of did.....just a little. It was hard. This is hard sometimes. Trust me, I would love to be able to not to make a big deal out of things, but with this, I have to.

Geoff pointed out to me a few days later(after talking with his family) that he almost thinks that his dad's response was actually towards himself. It is like my Brother-in-law has said. He told me right away that he wanted to apologize right then because there will be times, probably many, that they will do things and not even think. Frankly, I don't blame him. They don't have this disease. They don't have to think about this multiple times a day. It would be easy to forget all the little things that I have to deal with.

I can't blame my Father-in-law. Truthfully, I don't. I do, however, can look at it from a different light now. That alone, is helpful.

Did you know that...........

Did you know that imitation crab often has gluten in it? I didn't.

The other night we went out to a sushi place for my Mom-in-laws b-day. It is called Fuji Sushi. Now, I will tell you right now, I am not a big fan of sushi or most fishy things. What I do like when it comes to fishy things is Tilapia. Yum! If I did like sushi and if I wasn't restricted on what I could eat, this place is pretty good. That is coming from my in-laws, whom some people could refer to as food snobs. (I do say that in a good way). :)

I basically figured that I would just have to resort myself in to eating just the edamames. There is definitely no complaining about edamames though, I like edamames. Steam them a little, toss some(*alot*) of salt on them and you are good to go. After talking with the waitress though and the family, I decided that I would give some sushi a try. It was the Mermaid Roll. Imitation crab, some fish eggs, some other stuff that I don't know what it was, avocado, all rolled in cucumber with some vinegar. The waitress said that she knew that particular roll was gluten free, the family, as well as myself was sure it was gluten free. Maybe it was.

No, I can tell you right now that I don't like imitation crab. Yes, I have tried it before, multiple times. Remember though, I was being brave. The first couple were not that bad. Not fantastic but not bad. The cucumber and the vinegar helped hide the fishy taste pretty well. The third or fourth roll,(can't quite remember which) I thought I was going to hurl. I was done.

The following day I got a headache. It kept progressing until it turned into a full blown migraine. Getting headaches for me is nothing too uncommon but getting migraines is pretty rare. I felt miserable, sick, and nauseous. I was useless.

A couple days later I came across this site, MyGlutenFacts.com. It is a really good site, might I add. On this site, one of the facts was about imitation crab. I was baffled. I had no idea. Now, I am wondering if that crab I ate(which probably only equaled about 1 1/2 tablespoons, at most) did in fact, have gluten. Could that be what brought on my migraine the next day?

Needless to say, I will not be having crab again. Oh Darn! Haha! I honestly don't think that will be a problem. Now I have a good excuse for when people say, "Oh come on, just give it another try. Your taste buds may have changed. This one was cooked differently than the last one."


.........Well, now you know!

You know I'm starting to feel better when......

You know I am starting to feel better when I:

-Fold clothes

-Unload and load the dishwasher

-Hand wash dishes

-Do some loads of laundry

-Help girls clean the bathroom

-Take 8 bins of clothes down stairs to the storage room

-Deep clean a corner of the kitchen counter....with vinegar and cleaner

-Dance with the kids

-Play soccer in the living room with a child

-Go to the store

-Blog(haha)


I love that feeling of accomplishment! I believe I deserve a treat, Rocky Road Ice Cream!!

Celebrations

As of yesterday, I have known about my disease for two weeks. For my two week "celebration" I felt up to actually doing a load of dishes and getting a load of laundry in. In reality though, doing chores has never been a favorite of mine(then again, who really loves to do chores) but I love doing them and feeling that sense of accomplishment afterward. I love surprising Geoff with some sort of cleaning project that I did that day. Of course, after doing those few chores, I needed a nap. Ahhhh, sleep. Now that is what I call an excellent way to celebrate. Haha!

The rest of the day consisted of swimming and playing games with family. Overall, it was a pretty good day. There were of course some moments of yuckiness but not as bad as a lot of days have been.

While the in-laws decided to order yummy, delicious Pizza Hut pizza, I decided to make a yummy, delicious chicken alfredo pasta.

Breakfast: Marshmallow Pebbles- They are Fruity Pebbles but without the fruity part and have added marshmallows. Not my favorite but when I am wanting my favorite, Lucky Charms, I guess this is sort of the next closest thing, sort of.....well, not really.

Lunch: Taquitos, baked w/ cheese on the top. Homemade guacamole- Yummy!
Dinner: Spinach Salad w/ poppyseed dressing. Strawberry yogurt.- Yummy! (all from Costco)

New Discoveries

I have come to notice lately that as the evening starts to come, my body definitely doesn't like me. So, now is probably a better time to write something. Last night was weird! I wasn't feeling very well and then my body got super, super hot yet I was shivering because I was cold. Now, typically, with a fever(at least in my experience) you go from one to the other, not both at the same time. It was rather strange.

I made Betty Crocker's Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies the other night. They were OK but you could tell that they were gluten free. The cookies were a bit more crunchy and a little on the gritty side. I will be very excited when I can find a recipe that Geoff will like. That will be hard to come by though, especially since he makes the best chocolate chip cookies. Never fear! I figure I have the rest of my life to find a good recipe. Heehee! ;)

The picture of the cupcake up top is from a bakery that I want to try. It isn't that far from me either, just a few cities away. The cupcake you see is a Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Orange Cupcake w/ Orange Buttercream Frosting. It looks soo good. As soon as I test some of their things, I will let you know how it is. The bakery is called Sweet Cake Bake Shop. I loved reading her story on her website too.

New found discovery: I can still eat one of my absolute favorite ice creams, Rocky Road!!!

Goal #1

YES, pizza is too a goal! I have decided that one of the first things I want to discover and conquer is an excellent pizza dough. Just the end of last year I found an extremely good homemade pizza dough. WOW! Soooo yummy! Thank goodness that ended up being one of my last meals before I found out about my new change in life. You can get the recipe here. Although, I do have to tell you, instead of the cheesy garlic concoction for the cheesy garlic bread, use Little Ceaser's Garlic Dipping Sauce. One container on the dough, mozzarella, parmesan, and then half a container of the sauce on top. MmMmmm!

With this being said, I WILL find an amazing pizza dough recipe. When I do, don't worry, you will hear about it.

Lunch: Pepperoni and olive Pizza nachos. (The Fam had Digiorno's, my Red one wanted mine...I told her she better eat hers......I needed to live vicariously through her on this)

Dinner: GF Fusilli Pasta w/ Butternut Squash sauce and Rotisserie Chicken. Green Beans. Very delicious.


Oh yeah, Happy Valentine's Day! I almost forgot!

Realization

Obviously this disease is on my mind quite frequently lately. I look things up, I check out recipes, I study it, I ponder it. I have learned a lot already and will just continue to learn until it is all just a natural part of my life.

I have read over and over again that I should not cheat on this diet and that I should be extremely cautious of cross-contamination. I have read why, but admittedly, it does seem rather silly and over the top at times. Tonight I was thinking about that and talking to Geoff about that. Yes, some people get affected by even the smallest little itty-bitty crumb of gluten and others don't at all. Now, by affected, I mean it makes them feel sick in one way or another. OK, so what if I cheat and accidentally get that little tiny brush of gluten? What if I do and I feel fine? It shouldn't matter then if it happens, should it? YES!!! It does matter! Why does it matter? That was my realization.

CELIAC DISEASE IS AN AUTO-IMMUNE DISORDER! It is not a food allergy. Let's just think about your immune system. What does your immune system do for your body? If your immune system becomes compromised by even a little bit, your body gets affected. You are more susceptible to getting sick, like colds, fevers, etc. Well realize, a weak immune system does not just make you more susceptible to those things but to other things as well. Some other auto-immune diseases can be Crohn's disease, MS, Graves Disease, etc. and guess what? You can have more than one. I have Grave's and Celiac. I have noticed that there are quite a few people that have Celiac Disease and also have something else, or more.

So, even though having a brush of gluten may not affect me to the point that I notice it, my body will notice it. My immune system will notice it(yes, even the crumb) and will weaken and could potentially lead to other things. One of the biggest things it could lead to would be Lymphoma, yes, Cancer. Oh, and Cancer is not an uncommon thing in my family.

After giving birth to my baby, Geoff told me that there were a few times he thought he was going to be a single dad. Do you think that didn't scare me? It really put things in a new light for me.

You decide, what would you do? Would you cheat? Would you be a little lazy in the cross-contamination area? I can tell you right now, I want to watch my children grow up. I want to live a long and happy life with Geoff. The fact that my husband is admitting to me that he was worried about that........frankly, that scares me.

Withdrawals

I learned something last night. I know, about time huh?! ;) I was really starting to wonder if how I was feeling has had something to do with going off gluten. Why not look it up? It sounds to me that having gluten "withdrawals" is pretty common. That means my headaches, muscle pains, stomach pains(bloating, sharp pains, etc), being extra tired, being overly hungry, dizzy, light-headed, weak, etc are just my bodies way of having "withdrawals".

An article from www.LiveStrong.com states:

Withdrawal

Consumption of gluten triggers production of exorphins, which are opiate chemicals with similar results as endorphins---promoting feelings of calm. Pamela Compart and Dana Laake explain how in some people, gluten and/or casein can mimic opiates, such as morphine and heroin. When these foods are removed, intense cravings and even drug withdrawal-like symptoms can result. According to Julia Ross in the "Diet Cure," "going without one or more of the big-three allergy foods could land you in an unbearable withdrawal state, causing your body to start screaming like any addict's body does without its drugs...Even one allergy-addiction can easily become a nightmare of cravings, overeating, weight gain, mood swings, and guilt."

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/322978-symptoms-of-gluten-free-detox/#ixzz1m3cFpcbx



I ended up calling my Doctor's office the other day when I was getting my excruciatingly sharp abdominal pain. I wanted to talk with him because in my mind, I thought that since I had been on the diet for a few days I shouldn't be getting those pains, right? I got a call back the next day and my Doctor said that it can actually take about 6 weeks until I start noticing a difference. It also sounds like it will get worse before it gets better. Yay for me!!

Breakfast: GF Cinnamon Chex
Lunch: Baked potatoes w/ butter, cheese, and green onions.
Dinner: Bratwurst wrapped in cheese and broccoli.

It is so nice to see that there are still a lot of things I can eat that are the same as before.


P.S. Not sure why it is posting so funky

The Why

I came across this blog the other day. Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom. So far, I am really enjoying reading through it. I would recommend it if anyone wants or needs to look at more info.

I have to say, I do not, at all, look at this disease as being "the worst disease out there". For me, writing this blog, is just that....for me. It is a place that I feel is an outlet. If others read it, great. If not, great. Even though this is not "the worst disease out there" it still doesn't make it easy. Thankfully I am learning that there really are a lot of things that I can still have that I was eating before.

Today has been a lot better of a day compared to these last few. I still am feeling sick in the stomach and there were still some times that I was getting really light-headed. Who knows though if those things are from this or from a bug going around or.....still stress.

I did find a support group that meets once a month. I found it with the help of someone. (Which by the way, thank you everyone for the help and support you have all given. I don't know if you truly understand how much that means to me.) I am rather excited to go to this support group and learn many things and especially to meet other people that are going through this.

Here is a fun article from Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom about cheating with this diet. It was a good read and put some things into perspective.


Breakfast: Cinnamon Chex- GF and yummy!
Lunch: Spaghetti w/sauce and green beans- GF corn noodles. Good!
Dinner: Grilled Tilapia and Peas- Delish and no need for special GF products there.

GF pretzels are pretty good. Thank goodness for finding yummy snacks that are actually GF.

Day 3

I didn't have a lot of time to dwell on my disease today. I have been feeling yuck! Since I started this diet(that makes it sound like it was forever ago) I have had a continuous headache and my stomach has been yucky. The stomach yuckiness may not be part of the switch in diet because some of the family has had rumbly tummies too. I do think the headaches have been from it though. It could be my body getting used to the fact that I am not putting all the carbs in it like I was before or, like my sister said, I am stressed. What?! Me? Stressed? Never!!

My rumbly tummy has seemed to be a bit more than the families though. Ok, immune system is down so maybe that is part of it but I had an episode today of my excruciatingly sharp abdominal pain that brought me into the ER a few weeks that even led to the discovery of my Celiac Disease. I was reading today about my disease and it did say that about 70% of the people with this disease will start feeling better at about 2 weeks into the diet. It may just take some time.

Breakfast: Cinnamon and Raisin Granola- It was o.k. Nothing great. Would rather have non-GF
Lunch: Nachos- YUMMY! Nothing special about those, just everything I could have before.
Dinner: Rotisserie Chicken, Rice, and Edamames.- Good! No special GF items here.

The Disease

Wow! I was just diagnosed yesterday with Celiac Disease. I have to say, this is going to be hard. I have so many emotions running through my body right now. When I was being tested for this disease, I honestly did not think that I had it. I didn't think that my symptoms completely fell in line for this disease. Apparently, I didn't do much studying up on it. The symptoms for this can be so varied and soo completely different for people.

I missed a call from my Doctor(he is amazing by the way). His name is Dr. Doxey. I have been very impressed with him. Anyway, so the call was actually from him. It wasn't a nurse or secretary but from him. Uh Oh! That can't be good. Well, maybe good in the sense that I know what is wrong with me BUT I truly did not want this disease. I guess in the line of things, I can't pick and choose diseases, can I?

I called my Doctor back, and this time did talk to a nurse or secretary or whoever it was. Dr. Doxey wasn't available at that moment. She read his letter to me and said she would be mailing it out with a packet of info. It didn't really affect me too much at that moment. My first thoughts were "Divide and Conquer". I had decided right then to just accept it and move forward. So much easier said than done.

Geoff didn't believe it. He couldn't quite understand how I could have this disease(oh, which by the way is pretty much a gluten intolerance) especially since I wasn't getting sick every time I had gluten. There were so many questions. So I decided that I would call Dr. Doxey and make sure I talked to him. We talked for about 10-15 minutes. Can you believe that a Doctor would actually take his time and talk to me for that long?? Again, impressed. There were even times that I was ready to end the conversation and then he would think of something else and address it. It was really nice. Now, Geoff and I are in the acceptance stage.....as hard as that is and will be still.

OK, now this next bit is VERY important to know!!! A lot of people do not understand Celiac Disease therefore, if they are not the one dealing with it, they may not be as supportive about it. Please, please, if you will and are close to me, please read into it and understand it. For my sake, it would mean a lot. I feel rather alone in this and have so many mixed emotions with it that I truly need the support and understanding. Please read about Cross-contamination and also try to understand why I need to be on a strict Gluten-Free diet.

Thank you, thank you! I have started this blog so I can have an outlet. Basically it would be a way for me to note my frustrations and triumphs, learning and trials.