Going Gluten Free Day 7

You know, I thought I'd have a meltdown by now with so many things I can't eat.  Most of the food in my house has some form of wheat, but when I stood back and really thought about healthy food vs. junk food, I had a lot more food in my house I CAN eat.  Just like Shauna said over at Gluten Free Girl, after a while, it gets easier and then you'll get to the point where you WON'T want those old foods you used to crave.  You won't have to think so hard.  I think that's the best advice I could've gotten from the very start and encouraging.

So it's been 7 whole days since I've gone gluten free.  I have yet to have a meltdown and I have yet to be disappointed that my family is eating something I want but can't have.  Now, I'm sure that day will come and it's going to be hard.  I'm not kidding myself here, but I love to cook and bake so I'm confident that I will find some kind of recipe of the like to satisfy me.

I had made beef vegetable soup the other day.  When I went to grab my (organic) beef broth, I noticed it had wheat in it.  Yeah!  Beef broth has wheat.  I was not happy as I had extra kids in my house and my husband just got home from work and was tired, and I wanted to run to the store to buy gluten free beef broth.  Needless to say, I didn't get my soup for lunch that day but it was worth the wait for the next day's lunch.  While I was at the store, I found quinoa which is like rice but has no wheat or barley in it.  Oh I found my new-found food love!  That stuff is so good and it goes great by itself with a little bit of butter, and it also was great added in my soup.  It's a very versatile item but oh-so-expensive!!!

Ok, so they look more like cookies.  But I will say,
they are HORRIBLE the next day, even
warmed up in the microwave.  

Last night as I was eating the last of the soup, I made gluten free biscuits.  I was surprised how good they tasted.  They weren't fluffy and flaky but the taste was there and Marcella ate half of the batch.  You can get the recipe here if you're interested.  Baking gluten free, dairy free, soy free, etc is very difficult to do, I think because I don't have a clue of what I'm doing!  I know how to knead yeast dough to make a light and fluffy texture but working with wheat-free flour is a bit different.  I'm staying positive about all this because I'm taking it like a learning project.  A challenge.

How am I feeling?  Still down 3 pounds, but it's only been a week.  My jeans fit me better and I stopped craving sweets in the afternoons.  I'm not crashing on the couch as soon as I sit down and I've had a lot more patience for my kids in the evenings.  Is it a wheat thing? Probably more of a sugar thing.  My skin is healing, which is a wheat thing and I seem to be sleeping better, too.  I've had one craving so far:  chicken nuggets.  My kids eat those almost everyday and the brand that we have are my favorite.  I know they're good so it's hard for me to not take that last nugget off their plate when they're done eating.  Drinking lots of water helps and getting as much sleep as possible...which most times is almost impossible in this house!

Is there anyone out there with a diet challenge?  It's always nice to have a partner on a journey to help support each other.  Please leave a comment or contact me through email Jillzy @ columbus . rr . com 

I'd love to hear your story!