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.

Updates and Information...

I have not been posting much because I will be honest with you...I have not been running much and have felt a little less fit than usual.  I don't like to post the negative too much because I would much rather be inspiring than for you to read about my slump.

I've been running at least once or twice a week since taking the summer off of running. I've lost the 3 or so pounds I gained exercising too little and eating too much over the summer.  My body likes to run so I knew it would not be long before I felt comfortable in my jeans again.

I will admit to you that most of my slump has to do with not liking what I see in the mirror.  This age thing is not sitting well with me, and I would have MUCH rather have seen my birthday come and go without notice. Unfortunately the ever increasing grey hair, wrinkles and saggy skin just does not go away.  I know I'm being completely vain and that is a problem. I need to embrace my age as it is inevitable, but I'm just being honest here. I don't like my body right now but I have not yet found the motivation to begin the weight training that I know I should.
Weight training  is the ONLY thing that WILL help my muscles and skin tone. I know that. I guess I was and am still sort of hoping that I will be the only human being this rule does not apply to.  Running keeps me skinny, but skinny and flabby is not so pretty ;)

Moving on...

Other than wallowing in self pity for a few months I have also been doing a TON of research.  My son has been suffering from a SERIOUS rash since April of this year.  He has undergone a series of testing and we have concluded that he is allergic to both wheat and dairy.  This new information has sparked research on my part about wheat and dairy.

I have been BLOWN AWAY by the information I've acquired.  My new found knowledge is too vast for this one blog post so I will just say this....

The Wheat and Dairy industry is KILLING US.  That was pretty harsh right?  Well I have reasons for saying that but for now just trust me when I say that if you limit your wheat and dairy intake for a week or so you most likely will see HUGE improvements in your overall health.   That sounds a little better doesn't it?

If you don't believe me I urge you to read the book Wheat Belly NOW.  If you don't want to do that, go to YouTube and type in Underground Wellness and check out Sean Croxton's short and informative videos on wheat and dairy.

You will thank me later. ESPECIALLY if you are overweight in any way and are wondering WHY YOU ARE NOT LOSING THE FAT!! (yes I'm yelling at you ), if you suffer from depression, arthritis or any other autoimmune disease.

Moving on again....

This is what I get for not blogging in way way too long.

I do have more exciting news for you.

1) One, I had the opportunity to teach 2 health and nutrition classes in my kids school this past month. THAT  was probably the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me for so many different reasons...

2) It looks like the FULL MARATHON is now back on my event list for 2012. This I will definitely talk more about later as I'm doing it for a dear friend and her incredible boy and I'm going to be asking you once again to help me this year to change a life.

3) I've been working on giving up my addictions and crutches. This is a struggle for me but something I feel is necessary in order for me to become fit in mind body and soul.  You can pray for me on this one because let's be honest here...I'm a human being and I struggle just like you do.  When I'm feeling a little stronger I will blog about it but right now I feel like remaining a little more anonymous about my issues. 

That's it. I need to blog more often....

Perhaps soon.
Alyson