Feeling it

So we've been on a gluten free diet for a couple of weeks now, easing into it ever since the diagnosis and going completely gluten free on Jan 1, and we're starting to see some results. Most of the results so far has been a bit of frustration, some includes positive biological changes (some of us - me - have seen the opposite, but we won't get into details there). Nate has remained the same, so no real visible benefits for him so far, but I would expect that to take quite a while to manifest itself given that he never really displayed any of the typical symptoms in the first place.

So for those of you who are familiar with Natalie, you may know that she is a go getter and is always on the move. As a result, her eating truly is fuel for her lifestyle and if she is disrupted, it affects her negatively. We call it the hungry monster at home.

The younger kids are currently off track, so they are sometimes staying up late and sleeping in. Yesterday, Natalie slept in until after 10 am, and as a result, woke up with the hungry monster in full force. She started whining to Angie about needing to eat, so Angie asked her what she wanted for breakfast. Her response was "I just want gluten!" This was not said jokingly, she was very serious. It made for a pretty funny moment, but illustrates some of the challenges we're facing. Diabetes was a bear to get used to, but honestly, Celiac disease is going to be a lot harder to adjust to.

With diabetes, there is no change to the diet, you just need to count carbohydrates, test blood glucose, and dose insulin. Frankly, that is almost second nature to us now, so no big deal. With this diet change, you feel trapped and an entire large part of your life is completely different. You can no longer just jump in the car and go eat somewhere, you have to think about making sure there are gluten free options. That is good, in that I think it's forcing us to limit our discretionary spending on that type of activity, it just limits your options and can be frustrating. It highlights the luxury of living most of your life without having to think much.

So life will go on, and there are so many resources for us that we feel extremely supported. A couple examples of simple victories that we have had lately is last night we actually had pancakes for dinner. This is a big deal, as most of the replacement flours we have to use have distinct tastes and behave much differently than wheat flour. Most of our experiments with baking have resulted in a "that's not too bad" reaction, whereas this recipe was awesome! We all agreed that they may have been the best pancakes we'd ever eaten gluten free or not.

So to share, here are a couple of links to resources we are looking to that make our life easier. If you would like to check them out to try the recipes (many are surprisingly normal) just to see what we deal with, feel free. I also thought it might be good for family or friends who may dine with us from time to time so they could see what options we have available to us. Our worst fear is that we will be viewed as that weird family that makes odd eating choices and makes life difficult for those who sit at the same table occasionally.

The first link is to a Betty Crocker site (General Mills seems to be head and shoulders above the rest of the mainstream commercial food providers on gluten free options). I like this site because it's not just wacky gluten free products that require ingredient replacement, although those are also included. It simply lists hundreds of options for baked meals that don't contain gluten.

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Baking


The second link is for the pancake recipe that rocked our dinner plates last night. Allrecipes.com is a great resource for recipes that are tested and proven to be yummy.

Super Awesome Pancakes


So there you go. Aside from this challenge (which everyone is meeting with very positive attitudes, with very few exceptions, and doing a great job - it's really not that big of a deal), everything is going well.

Greg

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