2013 – Gluten Free Living
A couple of years ago someone in John’s office challenged me to a “shopping fast” for a year. She had done it for the year 2010 because, in her words, she already had plenty of stuff, plenty of clothes, didn’t need anything for her house and she wanted to break the addiction to needless shopping. My conscience was pricked and I accepted the same challenge in 2011 and, except for some things we needed when moving in to our new house, I pretty well stuck to it. I backed off excess shopping last year too, only allowing myself a few indulgences.
The Gluten Free Challenge for Those who are Gluten Intolerant or Not!
This year I realized I needed another challenge–a food challenge or food fast if you will. I want to try to live the year gluten free to see if that will break my addiction to wheat and things made with wheat like pizza, desserts and sweets, breads, chips and crackers, pasta, pancakes, many casseroles (because of the toppings) and even flour used in sauces and soups.
Eating Clean and Healthy
Salads without croutons and not accompanied by a side of garlic bread are what’s going to be on my menu over the next year.
Soups without crackers, croutons or bread will be on the gluten free menu this year.
Meat will be on the menu in limited quantities and with no breading or sauces that contain flour.
Dairy will be on the menu.
Any kind of raw veggies are always on the menu.
All kinds of fruit are on the menu.
Sauteed veggies or stir fries are always on the menu.
Stir fry veggies and cooked vegetables are also on the menu.
The Gluten Free Challenge
I’ve noticed that eating anything with wheat seems to increase my appetite. Along with an increased appetite eating a lot of wheat-flour products like those listed above usually come accompanied by excess calories to boot! I want to dedicate myself this year to eating clean and leaving off wheat flour (I still plan to eat oatmeal, rice, corn and other grains on occasion). Saying no to gluten is not easy but I think it’s key to helping me get control of my eating habits and cravings and learn to live a life that’s not so self-indulgent or gluttonous.
This does not mean that I will refrain from making desserts, breads, casseroles, pasta or other foods made with wheat flour, because I will still be making those kinds of foods for company and parties. It means that I’m going to make a concerted effort not to eat it myself. Additionally, it means that you will find a lot of gluten free recipes posted on this blog during 2013. Finally, it means I will be eating lots of salads, plain fruits and veggies, soups (not using flour in the base or croutons, bread crumbs or anything else in the ingredients), meats (not coated with flour) and dairy. But I’m going to eliminate sweets, all wheat flour, and casseroles with lots of hidden and fattening ingredients.
As much as I love them, rich desserts won’t be on the menu.
Unfortunately, I have a great weakness for breads, but they won’t be on the menu either.
My favorite casserole won’t be on the menu because the cream sauce is made with flour.
My favorite fattening meal won’t be on the menu.
My favorite pasta won’t be on the menu this year.
My favorite family recipe won’t be on the menu this year.
Desserts with graham cracker crusts won’t be on the menu.
When John decided he wanted to go on a diet to lose 40 pounds this year I knew I needed to find some way to help, encourage and support him along the way. While I can’t afford to lose 40 pounds, I can apply the discipline of being gluten free for a year. Besides, I believe it will help me sympathize more readily with my friends in the blogosphere who struggle with gluten intolerance and help provide them with tasty alternatives and choices they may not currently have.
I know if God helped me through every assignment at seminary working on my Master’s of Divinity degree for four years He can certainly empower me to refrain from eating wheat flour (even though I’m not allergic to it) for a year, as well. So my challenge for 2013 is “The Gluten Free Challenge!” I have already learned lots of ways to cook vegan, so I’m sure I can learn lots of ways to avoid gluten. I’m not planning on substituting oat, coconut or other nut flours and continue eating sweets or breads, etc., rather, I’m choosing to eliminate that kind of food entirely and subsist on plain meats, dairy, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and some grains like rice and oatmeal. It’s a return to clean eating and laying off all the indulgences I’ve allowed myself the past year.
This clean recipe is a great one for the gluten intolerant. It has a delicious garlic and butter sauce and lots of herbs, but no flour is used.
Many of my vegan soup recipes are also gluten free.
If you leave off the croutons and don’t serve salads with bread they are usually gluten free. Eating plain raw vegetables is clean eating. Be careful of the dressings you use though. Some of them may cause problems.
I admit that Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Red Velvet Pancakes, Carrot Cake Pancakes, and New York Cheesecake Pancakes from IHOP are a real weakness! I love pancakes, I love donuts, I love breads and pastas, I especially love chocolate in everything. I love food, period! I find when I eat the gluten free way I don’t have a tendency to overeat, I don’t have all the sugar and wheat cravings, and I eat smaller meals but more frequently throughout the day which increases my metabolism and burns calories.
Perhaps you’re reading this and realize you would like to join me in the Gluten Free Challenge for 2013. Maybe your reason is because you have gluten intolerance or allergies, or you just need to shed some unnecessary pounds. Regardless, my commitment to you is to share new gluten free recipes every week that are tasty and delicious but also healthy, and low calorie. And, perhaps together, we will find that we can really live gluten free for an entire year!
Hummus served with raw veggies rather than pita bread is a great way to eat clean and gluten free.
If you choose to join me in the Gluten Free Challenge for 2013 I hope you will sign in and let me know via the comments at the end of this post and let’s encourage each other throughout the year.
Related articles
- The Skinny on Gluten-Free (massageenvy.com)
- Top 10 Gluten-Free Snacks (everydayhealth.com)
- How to host a gluten-free Thanksgiving (denverpost.com)
- Would You Go Gluten-Free in the Name of Beauty? (bellasugar.com)
- Gluten-Free Dishes Become a Lot More Tempting (nytimes.com)
- Sidestep the Side Effects of Eating Gluten-Free (everydayhealth.com)
- Will Going Gluten-Free Make You Healthier? (everydayhealth.com)
- Gluten free foods are tax deductible (pujablogs.wordpress.com)
- Living with Celiac Disease (katherinesimms.wordpress.com)
I was so happy to come across this post! I am quite health conscious and always looking for new ways to drop some weight. I have quite often reached a point in which NOTHING seemed to work and I would struggle to lose those few extra pounds. My new years resolution is exactly this! I need to get in the kitchen and take control of my food! I feel that it was quite serendipitous that I came across this challenge! I have quite a few friends who are gluten intolerant and have heard from a number of them that there are some amazing gluten free recipes out there that are delicious and extremely healthy (and assist with weight loss!). They have opened my eyes to the wonderful world of gluten *and even dairy free cooking* and I would highly recommend the website http://www.ninacucina.com/. I recently purchased her book, Nina Cucina: Your Healthy Gourmet and I have become addicted to gluten free recipes! I am not a great cook but I found this book (and website) so informative and so easy to follow. For every single recipe the author, Nina Pucillo, gives the nutritional value of each dish and step-by-step instructions on how to prepare the dish. All of the dishes featured in the book are totally gluten-free and Nina has included many recipes that are dairy-free too! Thanks for sharing! I hope my suggestion helps too
Good luck to everyone with their challenge! It’s going to be very rewarding for all
Thanks for the tip. Hope my recipes are of help to you and your friends.
It is so good of you to share your gluten-free recipes, and also to share your future experiences with maintaining a gluten free lifestyle! So many in the medical profession offer no help or advice to patients other than to say “Cut out gluten. See you in three months for a follow-up.” Not to take away from those doctors who are very helpful with this, but I got absolutely no help from my diagnosing doctor, and I felt like I was going to starve to death before I started getting help learning the ropes. There will be many readers who will benefit greatly from reading about this journey you are on, and I wish you the best of luck!!
Thank you so much Becky. I eat lots of Greek yogurt, cheese, and eggs. I eat meat in moderation – I just try not to coat it with bread crumbs any more or drown it in sauces and gravies (or if I make that stuff I will use a gluten free flour). I find that I do a lot better when I eat a little bit of meat for a snack during the day. Otherwise, I end up bingeing on foods I shouldn’t eat (bread or cereal!) or eating too much at one time.
I eat lots of fruits and vegetables, lots of salads, and lots of soups. I also enjoy eating raw veggies with hummus. It’s really back to clean eating. In other words, fresh foods without all the goop.
One thing is you really have to be prepared. I make stuff up ahead of time, and always have plenty of fresh fruit and veggies, nuts or seeds on hand for snacks. Otherwise it’s a recipe for disaster! If I’m going to be away from home for awhile I take fruit snacks and water in a small igloo lunchmate container with me.
I’ve got several recipes coming up and plan to make new things each week. I hope you and others find them helpful.
Looking forward to seeing your recipes! Always wanting to try finding things that are healthy as well as great-tasting!
Although I was blessed that my doctor reversed the diagnosis of celiac disease after four months (“Oh” (scratches head), “looks like you don’t have a problem with gluten after all.”), I continued to try and cut back on gluten anyway. There is a reason why so many people are becoming gluten intolerant when, back in the day, it was unheard of. Nearly everything has some sort of wheat, rye or barley product in it, at the very least in trace amounts, and our bodies are finally reacting to a lifetime of constant gluten overload.
I applaud you for doing the healthy thing for your family rather than taking the course of least resistance. Even after getting used to it, this diet was, for me, not easy to be on either in terms of the variety of food choices, or the cost. I can easily see how, if a person was on a fixed income, this diet would be daunting.
There are so many positive things I learned from the experience, and I wouldn’t take any of them back! Those of us who were never the made-from-scratch type of bakers and cookers learn to be, and find out how much better it is! You are right — it takes planning, and those of us who are perennially unorganized learn to get organized or else!
One thing you mentioned that was especially hard for me was to prepare for trips or being away from the house. I was so awful about that! Always getting caught without, lol — no wonder I was hungry a lot! Like I said, your blogging about this is going to be good for so many people — I’m so glad you have decided to take your readers on this journey with you!
Thank you, Becky, for such kind words. I highly recommend you read Sally Fallon’s book, Nourishing Traditions. She covers so much of this stuff. Although I recommend reading it with discernment because it’s usually not feasible to do everything she says in the book and it’s easy to put yourself on a guilt trip.
My personal belief is that the reason more people are sick is because in our highly industrialized society we no longer take time to soak and sprout grains before using them. Soaking releases phytates which are harmful for digestion but also releases enzymes that enable us to digest foods better. When you actually soak and sprout wheat (or any grain) and then dehydrate it and grind it your body processes it as a vegetable instead of a starch. There probably would be a lot less gluten intolerance or other sickness if we could get our grains processed this way. There are companies that do it and provide it (like azurestandard.com) but it’s cost-prohibitive for many.
I hope to do all I can to provide ideas and organizational tips that allow gluten sufferers practical ways to eat healthy. Thanks again for your encouragement.
I’m giving up gluten for at least the next 3 weeks to see if it affects me fo health reasons! I cant wait to see some of your gluten-free recipes!
Thanks. I’m going to have to start scouring the Internet!
I really should try since I am diabetic…but it will be hard. I love my breads…but I will give it the ole college try! I have already started cutting back on my bread and other starches so this make sense that this would be the next step.
I’m eating a lot of soups and salads, stir fries over rice, hummus with raw veggies, fruits, dairy, and some meats. There really is a lot to choose from but it certainly is a lifestyle change.
Thankfully I prefer fresh raw veggies, I love fruits but because of acid reflux I can’t eat most of them anymore. But dairy, cheese and eggs have become my staple along with veggies. It was a huge lifestyle change but not a difficult one, although I will admit I cheated tonight and had some potato chips.
Hi Teresa – I started the “Wheat Belly” diet right after Christmas – no wheat and only small quantities of other grains. Like you, I’ve found that I don’t crave food if I stay away from wheat and sweets. It is difficult, because bread, pasta and sweets are my favorite foods. After I have been wheat – free for a while I plan to try some Einkorn pasta and baking with Einkorn flour. They are supposed to be healthier and are expensive, so I won’t be able to afford them very often. I enjoy your blog and look forward to your healthy recipes this year.
Thank you so much for the kind words.I really hope these recipes are a help to others.
I think that a shopping fast is such a good idea. I have so much and buy so much more that I don’t need. Looking at all the pictures makes me hungry.
Yes, I certainly need to stay on a perpetual shopping fast!
Very nice post! I look forward to seeing your gluten-free recipes throughout the year. I recently went gluten free for health reasons, and it can be a challenge, but surrounding yourself with support really does help!
Well, I will be scouring the Internet for lots of recipes. If there’s anything you would like me to try, please send me a link.
I think this is wonderful. I cant promise anything, but I need to cut out as much sugar as I can this year, and I will be checking out your recipes all along the way, because when you eat gluten free you also cut out alot of sugar, so I am with you!!!! I make my own bread so I dont have all those preservatives and my hubby loves bread, so some things will stay, but the idea of not using croutons, and breading meat and such are great ideas and will be a big help. Thanks for posting this. Have a great day and look forward to new experiences in food this year!
Thank you so much for your support. I realize not everyone can do this, but even cutting down significantly is a good step. Even limiting your intake is a big step. I hope you will find my recipes helpful this year.
Can’t say I can do the diet, but I’m excited about seeing the recipes!
Me, too! The biggest thing for me is to learn how to cook meats without flour, bread crumbs, etc. But I won’t quit trying.