And the official diagnosis....

Dr said that in my blood work it shows I am celiac.... So we know what's wrong it's me and its time to fix it!!! MY fix it of corse I do mean fix my body from feeling horrible so cut gluten ut completely forever....not horrible, totally doable, just gotta learn all I can :) unfortunately living in a s mall town me don't have the best nutritionists,I have an appointment in April with one in Victoria so hopefully she will be able to answer some questions :)

I got a few books, so ill start to read them.

I am going to call around to some drs in town to find out if any are more familiar with the disease to talk to them....

I got my other results back and I do not have Cushing syndrome which is also good news,
But I do her very severe anemia, so I start taking iron and glucosamine sulfate and we will see how that goes :)

In saying all this now I he to decide to raise my daughter gluten free or not, I will b discussing with her dr as well as the nutritionist :D

Butter tarts!

So I made the dough yesterday and today I tolled it out again and made butter tarts! Other than the fact that u filled them waaaay too full, they are deeeelicious!!!

I am however going to use salted butter next time for a bit added flavor :)
I found the recipe here http://glutenfreegirl.com/gluten-free-rough-puff-pastry/

And here are some photos!! Official dough inspection, out of the oven and on the plate!

Bread!!!

The verdict is in.... kinnikinnick bread tastes like....meaning a hockey puck....it's super dense and just not tasted at all!!! But Udi's bread is DEEEELICIOUS!!!!! It's light and fluffy and there's lots of variety of flavors!!! It tastes like real bread :D (toasted)

Tonight we made gluten free pastry dough found here http://glutenfreegirl.com/gluten-free-rough-puff-pastry/
Wasn't too bad too make but the true taste test will be tomorrow when I attempt to make butter tarts..... Eek!!! By Xmas is coming and I need some substitutions!!!

Non lasagna!!!!

So the craving all day was lasagna, and with no time to make pasta from scratch I had to find a solution...cooked up the ground beef with onion and garlic, I then mixed some cottage cheese with some spinach and cooked some of the corn noodles we bought, I layered the beef mix with the cottage cheese mix and then realized I forgot tomato sauce so when I topped it the noodles I poured tomato sauce over the noodles, and topped with cheese and baked it for half an hour .... The result...deeeelicious!!!!!!posted below are the pics of the pasta I used.... Very good!!! And the leftovers we have :) ( forgot to take a pic of it hot!!)

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Today I started seeing some changes in my body which Is aaaawesome! I've lost 3 lbs to start....the redness/blisters on my arm is no longer inflamed, itchy, or hot and the scabs are healing over! I no longer require an afternoon nap or caffeine fix as I am feeling much more energized! My "IBS" is gone (horray no more upset tummy!!!!) and I feel in general much less anxious about things :) I discovered today that all meat products by grimms are gluten free! Horray pepperoni! Their honey garlic is my fave!!!

I am adding a pic of a granola package ... So delish! I have to buy more tomorrow, gonna try a different variety :) the flavor is very well rounded and not flat... Perfect way to start mornings! I've been mixing it with ïogo lactose free yogurt :) yummm!!

Things I will miss...

Today I started thinking about the foods ill miss, though I've found some amazing foods with the upcoming Xmas season coming I know I will b missing some of my faves.... : butter tarts, pie, crumble, pizza pops!, chreesies, digestive cookies, the list goes on.....omg STUFFING!!!! And grandmas famous macaroni,,,,,I know I'll find great substitutes! But my brain just started going..... As promised a photo of the completed cake .... Recipe found here http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.ca/2011/03/gluten-free-coconut-layer-cake.html
Though i suggest regular butter not substitution in the icing .... Other than that its super moist and delicious! I ended up making a bunch as cupcakes to freeze so when we go out for dinner (if we go for dinner) at anyone other than my moms house.... She's awesome and went out and got gluten free dessert mixes to make when we go there.... I have a very supportive family :D

Coconut cake and brownies!

Quinoa is fantastic cuz it goes with everything!!!!! Italian dressing and veggies in quinoa salad is the best!!!

Last night for dessert we had the most moist and delicious brownies! Made from a premade mix
Added water eggs and it was so good!!!!!


This afternoon Scarlett and I baked a gluten free cake, coconut ... Got it baked and them someone started fussing so it'll get iced tomorrow! Posted starting pics!

Rice works chips are very good as well I had them and dipped them in peanut butter as a snack today, absolutely delicious!!!

Day 3 horray for me!

I actually don't find this so bad right now, I had delicious lactose free ïogo yoghurt with gluten free apple cinnamon granola for breakfast two days in a row!!! Lunch the last two days was shrimp ring and crackers with a gigantic salad...my body is happy!!! And dinner quinoa salad with pork chop!!!!yummm

Changes in my body: so far I have not had any of those "OMG RUSH TO THE BATHROOM" moments!! Which normally I had daily .... My skin blisters on my arm aren't as red anymore....but still a bit red....no new ones have developed! I feel like I have a bit more energy and don't feel so sluggish in the afternoons!!

So Far so good!

Keep on truckin!

Is Bacon Gluten Free?

Day 1 of being gluten free started with bacon eggs hash browns and lactose free yoghurt.....so good! If my husband was home every day this could be easy! Unfortunately it's back to camp for him tomorrow and so I will be making my own breakfasts, so it'll be getting much simpler.

Today was a safe on foods shopping trip, lots of label resting and discovering new exciting things....and a crazy amount of non wheat flours for baking... As I try the products I will post thoughts of corse :) I didn't know till I got done shopping but save on has a very detailed online list of gluten free products that they carry! Good to know for next time!!!

Dinner today was pork chops and broccoli and salad.... So delicious! Dessert was Glutino vanilla cream cookies....sooooo delicious!!!!! Very creamy! I highly recommend them :)

Giving up gluten until the official diagnosis

For someone who loves to bake the idea of living gluten free (as i have a few friends that do) has always scared me, like an allergy to peanut butter, I only thought, oh god i'm glad thats not me! Recently I have noticed my arms getting more little blisters/sores than normal, and they have been more itchy than ever....breaking out in little open sores everywhere, not only that but my un-diagnosed IBS has taken a serious turn for the worse...curiously my husband decided to look online at the symptoms of celiac or gluten intolerance and the dots just seemed to connect, the list of symptoms was very clear: abdominal pain, bloating, gas, anemia, easy bruising, fatigue or general weakness, fluid retention, infertility (took us 6 years to conceive), panic attacks, b12 deficiency, obesity, and skin blisters. I honestly thought most of these were normal. On my journey to weight loss I have found it difficult to lose weight even with constant consistent exercise and reduced calorie intake. I have had a few consults with a weight loss surgery specialist dr arson in Victoria, and he referred me to a blood specialist, and a respiratory specialist (I also live with very bad asthma, but it is under control). When visiting the blood specialist in October, he could not figure out why I was so highly anemic, so he sent me for more blood work. He wanted to test for Cushing syndrome and I asked if we could please add on the test for celiac. He agreed to and I had the blood work done today ( I realize its a month later, but I have an extreme needle phobia, so had to work up the nerve for all the blood taken!)
The results will be here in 10 days, but until then I am going gluten free to try and see what a difference it makes in my body. I may take this time to say also that I am EXTREMELY lactose intolerant and allergic to tomato seeds....though I take lactaid sometimes for the lactardedness

Step 1: rearrange the cupboards: of corse I don't expect my husband or daughter to be gluten free so I went thorough the cupboards and made one cupboard for all things that contain gluten, and one that contains none, let me just say the gluten cupboard looks delicious! I then went through the fridge and freezer separating things, and in the freezer moving all meals with gluten to the downstairs freezer.

Step 2: a grocery list: I looked up some gluten free recipes that I think I would like and created a grocery list along with a Meal plan (having a 2 month old makes it difficult to cook quick meals so I will be making food ahead of time and freezing dinners to make more convenience.

Step 3: figure out the extent I want my gluten free life to be. I will be doing this one on my own, however I'm sure my husband will probably have a pretty gluten free diet ( when he is home, he works a camp life of one week in one week out) but at this point I am not bleaching the kitchen and making it entirely gluten free. I won't be doing that unless its doctors orders. I like baking way too much for other people to do that!!!

So tomorrow I start eating gluten free, I will try and post daily and include as many photos as I can :)