Gluten Free

I have made some drastic changes in my eating/drinking in the last month.  The first was to give up all carbonated beverages....no more caffeine free diet coke.  The second was to eliminate gluten from my diet...this one is hard because gluten is everywhere.  The obvious culprits are baked goods, gravies and sauces, noodles, bread, breading on food ~ the un-obvious culprits are spice mixes, ketchup, ice cream, etc.  My daughter in law, Jennifer, has been a good resource as she has been gluten free for months.

I downloaded a little scanner onto my phone that you can use to scan UPC codes and it will tell you if it contains gluten.  Not a 100% accurate on items that could contain it but they don't have all the info. Red means don't eat it, green check means its safe.  I went thru all my cans and packages in my pantry scanning.  Lipton Rice mixes and cream soups are out ~ Greg and Will can eat them!

Going out to eat is very tricky.  Our beloved chick fil a has a great grilled filet and grilled nuggets ~ really good!  I have not tried the gluten free (gf) bun yet.  Their waffle fries are safe to eat because they are fried in a designated fry area ~ not in the same oil with the chicken nuggets.....Yay!  Eating at Ikea last week was a complete bust ~ there were 2 items with no gluten.....mashed potatoes, and salad.  I ate salad.  Not very filling for all that walking.  The website listed chicken meatballs as gf, but our Ikea didn't have any.  5 Guys was great...burger without the bun and their amazing fries.

I started a couple of new pinterest boards for gf ideas, tips, and menus.  Lots of my low carb recipes will cross over into gluten free land.  And I joined a few fb books groups for support, and recipes.  I will be posting some recipes that are successful and being honest about the flops.

I am getting to be a good label reader.  We are eating more home cooked meals, most made from scratch.  The Ronzoni gf noodles are really good (or as Greg says, taste normal).  Bobs Red Mill makes some really good gf mixes for home cooks.  I've made a loaf of bread (really good with pb&j), brownies, and a pizza crust.  Aldi and Kroger have a good variety of products.  I found a company that makes gf bagels and Publix is supposed to carry them ~ so that's on the shopping list now.

And have these changes benefitted me at all.....YES!  My gut issues have completely cleared up and that includes acid reflux,  I am sleeping better at night ~ really deep restful sleep.

I slightly panicked about Disney trips after going gf.  But come to find out, they are very accommodating to allergy issues - even to the point of having designated kitchen areas for allergy free cooking.  I will report on that when we go on our next trip.

If anyone has any tips or recipes to share....I would love them!