Adventure update

Well, I've been gluten free for about 6 weeks now. It has been interesting. Since no one flour does the same thing as wheat flour, a blend of many flours and starches are used instead. I found a flour blend that is designed to be used as a cup for cup substitute in any recipe. I didn't like it. It had several bean flours and I didn't like the aftertaste it left in my cookies.

I was starting to ponder the idea of never having cookies again when I began talking to one of the moms at Steven's weather 4H club. She and her two sons are also gluten free. She gave me the best resource yet. A baking cookbook. Gluten Free Baking by Elizabeth Barbone. She had spent a lot of money and threw away a lot of food before she found this one. Elizabeth Barbone has a degree in baking. She was fascinated with the idea of baking without gluten, but was disgusted by the GF foods available. She decided to try to make food that tastes good. Because she is not gluten free herself, she was able to taste the real product side by side with her creations. It would sometimes take 50 tries before she got it right. She actually goes to the chemistry of the baking process.

She does not use a flour blend because cookies, cakes, breads, and crackers all react differently. And no bean flours. Her recipes use white rice, brown rice, and sweet rice flours, and tapioca, corn, and potato starches. Oh an xanthan gum; that is the stuff that hold it all together.

My first try was the brownies. Oh WOW! They were perfect!! That was the best brownie I have had since I lost my favorite recipe 7 years ago. I have so far made brownies, chocolate chip cookies, pizza, pancakes, waffles, and twinkies. All are wonderful. I have to try bread this week though; I miss my simple peanut butter sandwiches.

In a way I feel that I have gone backwards though. I have spent years using whole grains and grinding my own flour (sometimes even sprouting it first) in order to gain the best nutritional value. I am still using my healthy sugar options (it's all I have in the house anyway.) But still, I think I am mostly back to refined stuff. I'm not sure what to do about that.

The other day Jonny said that he was glad I received this diagnoses before he did (he hasn't; he must simply be anticipating ?!?). If he had to go off of wheat first he wouldn't have done it: "lay down and prepare to die" were his words. He is very happy I have found a way to make food taste amazingly good without wheat. Come to think of it, it is rather curious that I received this diagnosis first; he has reacted to my whole wheat bread for as long as I have known him. Maybe he just hasn't put it all together yet.

I will still need to figure out my food storage changes and put together a good GF 72 hour kit. Although that isn't really that high on my priority list right now. humm, I wonder if I can get away with that..

A New Adventure

As if I needed another one.

Last Thursday, my good doctor informed me that I now need to "avoid gluten." My test numbers are not quite Celiac Disease, but pretty close. I am still trying to figure out what this means.

There is gluten in just about everything: processed meats, colorings and flavorings, all sorts of things you wouldn't expect. Grains are easy: wheat, barley, rye, and spelt. Oats too but only because they are processed in the same plants as wheat is. Well, that is fine. I have been playing with grains the last few years and they don't really scare me. Besides, there are plenty of yummy non gluten foods to eat. But I have to wary of everything processed. I guess I have more food experimenting ahead of me.

What I didn't know was how easily gluten can be transferred. Cross-contamination is a huge deal. The gluten sticks to everything. If I cut a piece of bread, I need to wash my hands and all utensils before I cut my apple. If, while pouring the spaghetti sauce, the spoon touches the noodles and then goes back in the pot, the whole pot of spaghetti sauce is contaminated and is no longer gluten free. Gluten is that sticky. I have to now pay attention to the order of my preparations. That will probably be the hardest; more than preparing foods for my family that I can't eat, checking labels, and worrying about what to eat away from home.

Avoiding gluten is not like avoiding a particular food. A little bit does matter. It is more like an allergy. You have to stay away completely.

It wasn't until Saturday night that Jonny mentioned the Sacrament and what to do about that. I hadn't even thought about that. I skipped it this last Sunday and we will have to figure out what to do after this. We have been in several wards that alternatives were provided. Jonny forgot to ask last Sunday; I'll have to get after him about it.

I guess I am now officially high maintenance.