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.
Wow that’s intense! I’ve been told to look into a gluten free diet. It does sound like a lot of work! Hmmmm…
If it were just me, I think I’d be just fine. It’s just trying to get all four of us on the same page that’s hard. You really should try it, the health benefits are really great from what I’ve read (and see).
I’m going to do a few weeks of very low carb starting on Monday with my best friend, and I am SO NERVOUS about it. I know it will be good for me (to say the very least), but I honestly freeze up when I try to plan non-carby meals! All that to say, I don’t think you’re making it hard. I think it is hard. But it’s awesome to hear that it’s working for you, and as someone about to try a version of this kind of diet change, I appreciate the inspiration!
No carbs whatsoever is really hard! Let us know how it goes.
Hans and I have been eating “paleo” for a couple of weeks now.. which basically just means we eat meat, vegatables, fruit, and no grains products. Like you said, grilled chicken and vegetables does get boring! I know you’re not set out to eat paleo, but a lot of paleo meals are naturally gluten free and I have found a couple of recipe blogs that have really helped us spice our dinners up.
My favorite recipe blog is everydaypaleo.com. If you go to the search bar and type “fast shrimp” or “not-so-boring chicken stir-fry, those are two of our favs. Also if you search for “cookies,” a post entitled “One Crazy Week = Nutty Cookies” will come up. They’re made out of fruit and cocounut flour (but you could sub for a different, less expensive kind of gluten-free flour) and are very tasty.
forgot to include this website too: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/tag/gluten-free/
that link will take you to a list of this blogger’s gluten free recipes, but all her recipes are also egg and dairy free
I made two recipes from Katie’s site today 🙂 She’s really great. I’ll try the other one you posted. If you find some that are especially good, let me know.
Hang in there. The dairy free thing will be easier as you learn to substitute other milks for cow’s milk. We use rice milk and coconut milk – it depends on what we’re making on which one gets used because they produce slightly different results.
I have adapted a lot of sauces that call for cream or cream of anything soups by making my own. I’m sure you can do it gluten free using one of your substitute flours.
Check my FB notes – I have several recipes that I have adapted to be dairy free that you can also adapt to be gluten free pretty easily, I’m sure. In particular, look for my cream of mushroom soup – it’s a base I use for a lot of stuff.
Meal planning is hard in the beginning, but once you have a stable of regular recipes that you can rotate in and out it will get easier. And your grocery shopping will be easier, too, as you find the DF and GF staples that you tend to use the most and like.
Thanks, Jen. That cream of mushroom really would help. I think one thing that would help is starting a binder of recipes we actually DO like. I think there would be a lot more than I can remember at any given moment.
Amy,
Sounds like you are doing a great job! You are a fantastic mom. Just relax and give your worries and frustrations about this to God. It seems to me you are going over and beyond the call of duty. You’ll get the hang of this. So glad to hear you are seeing progress already! Keep your chin up!
Thanks, Carmen, really appreciate the encouragement!
Also, I realize our kids are much younger, but they get a different dinner still. I prefer that they eat something than that they eat what we eat. In the case of our picky eater, he would refuse to eat anything. He is already skinny enough that I would rather feed him stuff I know he’ll eat than fight the battle at dinner every night.
Here’s the quick and dirty “cream of whatever” base that I use when a white sauce or cream of whatever soup is needed. Know that it is not as concentrated as the cans of soup. And my measurements are estimated – I have yet to make this exactly the same way every time. You can make it vegan by using veggie stock or use chicken stock or use rice milk.
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 Tbsp GF flour
2 cups stock or milk or a combo of both
salt and pepper, to taste
Warm a saucepan over medium heat. Add your oil and flour and whisk until it combines into a paste sort of like wet sand. Keep whisking until it browns slightly, to a light golden color. (This is your roux.) Slowly add your liquid as you continue to whisk to prevent lumps. Don’t worry if you get lumps, you can whisk them out. Keep whisking until the sauce thickens to the consistency you like. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
I’m not sure how gluten free flours will work with the thickening process because I think that gluten does play a role in thickening sauces. If yours doesn’t thicken take 2 tsp cornstarch and 2 tsp cold water and mix them together to make a slurry then add it to the sauce and whisk until it thickens.
Oh goodness this does sound overwhelming to make so many changes at once. I feel for you Amy! I imagine once you get further into this new lifestyle you’ll develop meal plans & easy tricks. In the meantime have you thought about looking over Elizabeth Hasselbeck’s cookbook The G-Free Diet? I have a friend who uses it for her whole family & swears by it. I think the fact that it’s called a “survival guide” might help you as well! Best wishes – oh and Amy you are a TERRIFIC Mom! God bless you my friend!
What a great recommendation, I’m going to check out that book. And thanks for your kind words!
You know what? You are doing a great job! This is a MAJOR change for your family, of course it’s going to come with some ups and downs. When we first started our allergy diet, it was frustrating, but is now second nature. I have a food blog (link at the top of my regular one) that is completely dairy-free. Some of the recipes have gluten, but those ingredients could easily be swapped for GF ingredients in many of the recipes. It might help you get out of your rut. My daughter is pretty picky as well, so I can relate! Keep up the good work!
Alyssa, I’ll go check out your blog. Would love to see some new recipes.
You should check out Trader Joes. They have lists on their website of all the products they carry that are either Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, Fat Free, Low Sodium, Kosher and Sodium. Also, to make things easier while you’re shopping around they have little symbols next to their items that make it easy to spot Vegan, Gluten Free, and Vegetarian products. When I gave up Gluten for a month a few months ago, they were a great help! I know they also have a great return policy if you hate an item.
I love Trader Joe’s but it’s a good 30 minutes from us. Every once in a while my mom goes up there and will pick things up for me so I really need to scope out some products. Thanks!
Specifically regarding the breading of chicken…. I have always breaded in cornmeal and love the way it turns out. So that will maybe help with changing up chicken? Also, don’t know much about gluten free so I’m just guessing cornmeal is. don’t know for sure.
Good luck! Sounds like you’re doing really well. All those changes in a family would be so hard.
If you don’t know her already you might want to connect with Nicole, who has the challenges of diabetes and Celiac’s disease for her family. She has a lot of great ideas. She is @blondefabulous on Twitter and her blog is http://blondefabulocity.blogspot.com/
Thanks, Poppy! And yes, you were in the Spam folder 🙁