I manage a country homestead and the lives of my 4 babies ages 10,8,5 and 3. I LOVE TO RUN and NEED to keep healthy and fit for my SANITY!! Seriously....All problems are solved when I am running.

Making MY health a priority allows me to be the mother and wife that I need to be for them.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Our gluten free/Dairy free journey... an update

Suffer from chronic pain and/or arthritis?  Carrying around some extra weight in your abdomen?  Try a gluten free and/or dairy free diet for 10 days.  The results just might AMAZE you.

A few months ago it was confirmed my son is allergic to dairy and gluten...Annoying yes, but it was the fire I needed to actually research dairy and wheat.

I have a hard time cutting dairy out completely. I have cut back, we buy almond and rice milk, and the occasional raw milk, but nothing beats cream in my coffee.  O.K so coffee is another issue  but whatever... I never said I was perfect now did I?

Anyway, my point is that cutting gluten out of my diet has been easier than I thought it would be.  In the morning I eat eggs (fresh from my backyard), spinach, tomatoes and the occasional bacon from a local farmer.  I simply cut out the toast.  
I find if I'm going to consume  gluten it is at lunch time. I love my sandwiches and wrap and have yet to find a gluten free bread that I like.  With the kids I've been able to get around sandwiches by serving up gluten free muffins and a fruit/veggie shake for lunch, or rice pasta with pesto.  I will admit that they also get the occasional organic peanut butter and honey sandwich with normal bread.  Whatever... it tastes good and again...not perfect here.

Anyway, my point is that I'm finding it easier than I thought.  I found a myriad of 'pastas' at the store and I'm happy to report that our family is loving the rice pasta.  I seem to alternate between rice pasta, rice, and potatoes to accompany whatever we are eating.  My kids don't do very well with casserole type of things. They would prefer to balk at all the nasty things I'm feeding them separately. lol
Here is an idea of what I feed my kids.  Please keep in mind that I HATE COOKING. This means my meals are simple, straight forward and relatively easy on my budget.

breakfast things:
gluten free and/or organic cereal  (yes I love cereal. too bad)
bananas
yogurt with fruit
organic oatmeal with frozen berries
eggs


lunch type of things:
raw carrots,cucumbers
shakes
muffins
yogurt and fruit
gluten free pasta with pesto for the boy...cheese sauce for the girl
sandwiches with peanut butter/almond butter/sunflower butter
fruit
gnocchi

dinner type of things:
potatoes cooked all sorts of ways
rice cooked in my homemade chicken broth that I freezer
rice pasta. We did not like the corn pasta
roasted chicken (ours)
chicken breast,or legs, thighs or wings (again..ours)
meat of some sort (again.our own meat)
frozen vegetable of some sort. broccoli,peas, edamame,
Salad, Salad, Salad, with whatever raw veggie is on hand
Homemade pizza...our dough is the white bread type. Again...not perfect.
Fish of some sort. salmon if I'm feeling rich, or trout from a local fish farmer

With a growing family of 6 I've noticed my eldest is developing a hollow leg. To help her in life I've noticed that I MUST make more starches to fill her up.  That is why I'm all about pasta/potatoes/rice.  It is cheap and feeds a poor but athletic family.  As long as she eats all her veggies, she is more than welcome to fill her toes with anything else.

I also will admit that milk is a big of a filler around here. We don't do juice, and there is only so much water a person can drink. 

That is all I have for today. Just thought I would share how we do things and how our gluten free/dairy free journey is coming along.  We are on a learning curve that is for sure, and I'm SURE there are things I've left out of our food list. But you get an idea.

Oh!!!! on another note, my horrible cold is gone, and I get to go for a run tonight after a 3 week hiatus.  I'm very excited to get back to my stress relief.

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