Archives for March 2012

OK it’s been about 10 days since we started gluten/milk free (technically 12).  I told my mom two and a half weeks this morning.  Clearly I am delusional and want this over fast.  Speaking of, we go back at the end of this month for a check-up to see how it’s going.  This week I started to get super frustrated with all these changes.

On top of simply going gluten/dairy free I was also introduced to the book Wheat Belly.  Has anyone read/heard of this book?  I haven’t read the book but just a few articles and perused their Facebook page.  And they say no grains at all, even the non-gluten ones and of course, sugar is a no-no too.  Oh and I read another article that said I shouldn’t be eating spinach because it’s bad for people like me who have thyroid issues.  After a week, I thought I was starting to make progress on finding new recipes and spent all this money on new flours only to be finding out I probably shouldn’t be having those either.  So frustrating!

But a few friends talked me down and made me realize I just need to concentrate on one change at a time.  Gluten free first.  Then if we decide, we can eliminate more grains later.

But even still, going gluten and milk free is not all rainbows and puppies. 

My biggest frustration is dinner and that Lexi is super picky.  And I hate.  Hate, hate, hate having to make two meals.  I was always very insistent that Lexi ate whatever we all ate.  Usually it was something I knew she would like but she was just being picky.  But now, I’m fixing things like gluten free, dairy free spinach pizza and ya’ll, I just can’t make her do it.  So I’ve been fixing two meals on many nights.  And really I just mean I fix Lexi a quesadilla while the rest of us eat soup or pizza or stuffed peppers.  I guess I could keep it really simple and just have baked chicken and two veggies every night but everyone knows that gets tiresome. Plus, the other thing is there are a lot of sauces you can’t use because of the gluten and dairy.  Who wants bland baked chicken every night?? I could do BBQ sauce but Lexi hates BBQ sauce.  Anything creamed is out because of the milk.  Anything breaded is out because of the gluten.  We all love steak but it’s expensive and I’m trying to stay away from red meat because that is known to lead to cancer.  It’s just frustrating to be honest.

Lunches at school are really hard too.  That first day they were home and serving fresh fruit is really easy.  But for whatever reason, they never eat it if I sent it to school.  We bought several lunchbox friendly gluten free items like fruit bars but they aren’t too into them.  They end up eating their PB&J and cookie and then come home starving. 

Afternoon snack and desserts have been the easiest though. I’ve found great banana and zucchini breads and old standbys like deviled eggs, tuna salad and popcorn do the trick.  Dessert is a cinch.  Did you know gluten free desserts are pretty easy to come by?  In fact, I have found A LOT of gluten free recipes use a lot of sugar.  It’s kind of ridiculous actually.  We easily found a dairy free ice cream and even gluten and dairy free donuts that are to die for.  Yum.  Dessert is definitely not an issue.

I think in general too my two biggest frustrations are that I HAVE to meal plan and we can’t eat out like we used to.  I have said on multiple occasions how bad I am at meal planning and just having to think about dinner all the time is hard and that has absolutely nothing to do with the diet changes.  I’m just being forced into meal planning and I don’t like it.  Whine, whine whine.  Plus, I miss Taco Bell, darn it.

BUT.

Emma has only had two stomach aches since we started.  Both were mild and after eating boiled eggs.  She’s had scrambled eggs and eggs cooked in things with no problem.  She’s also had softer stool even though it hasn’t been as regular as it should be.  (Sorry for TMI) Scott has had no acid reflux and his gas has certainly decreased.  I asked him if he was just being polite around me and he nearly laughed.  I definitely can tell a difference.  His whole attitude has been generally better too thanks I suppose to the serotonin spray.

So all that whining to say so far it’s really been worth it.

But also?  All that to say it really is hard at times. I didn’t want to leave with the last post sounding like it was simple because it’s not. Or maybe it is and I’m just trying to make it difficult.  In any case, cooking is my main priority.  I’ve been spending lunches cooking breads, desserts and even dinner and the evenings finding recipes.  Let’s not even get into the cost of this.  But like I said, it’s worth it.  We’re only 10 days in and already seeing changes.  And who knows what changes there are we can’t see.  I just have to believe it’s worth it.

And on that note, if anyone out there has some ideas for dinner that might work for Lexi, please lay it on me.