Only me...

For those of you who truly know me, you know I can be quite the ditz. Well a few weeks ago I had a 'moment'. I was getting ready for bed and decided that I was going to put lotion on. Now, I usually put on lotion after I shower but decided to switch things up that day and put it on at night. I also decided that I was going to use a lotion I hadn't used in a while. So, I put the lotion on, got dressed and went downstairs to brush my teeth. As I was flossing I realized that I still had lotion on my hands. I just shook my head at myself. Seriously, who puts on lotion before they floss their teeth. Don't you learn not to do that by the time you're 6!?! Oh well, the worst that happens is that it tastes bad right? Then I stopped... some lotions have gluten but it's not a big deal because you don't ingest it. Only, being the immensely intelligent person I am, I stuck my hands in my mouth right after I put it on, thus ingesting it. Well, still not a big deal, because most lotions don't have gluten, only a few. So, I just finished flossing and brushing my teeth. When I went back to my bedroom I decided to check my lotion bottles. The lotion I usually use was fine, completely gluten-free. Then I checked the lotion that I had used that night, you know the one I hadn't used in a while. Well, just my luck, one of the last ingredients was wheat-starch. So, just a recap... not only did I get a bad taste in my mouth but I also gave myself a gluten reaction (it came full force the next day). It's just another one of those things that makes me laugh at myself and shake my head saying, "only me, only me."

Feeding Pumba

Quinoa (pronounced 'KEEN-wa') is one of the new things I have tried, and love. It is actually a seed, though it is used like a grain. It is the only grain-like thing that has all the amino acids needed to build a protein, so it is very nutritionally sound. There are limitless ways to use quinoa, and it has become one of the staples of my diet (right up there with rice). I have tried many recipes using quinoa and have liked all of them. Here is one of my favorites. Black Bean Mango Quinoa Salad

1 red pepper, seeded and diced small

3 green onions, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 mango, peeled and chopped

1/4 tsp salt

1 can (15oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 cups quinoa, cooked and chilled

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and chill. Serve cold. I love this dish with warm crab or fish. It is absolutely delicious!!!

Gluten Free Review

You know how when you go to the grocery store hungry you come home with some crazy stuff? I really can't do that with the regular grocery store anymore, which is probably a good thing. However, there is still Whole Foods. I may have gone to Whole Foods hungry the other day. Things were just jumping into my basket, begging to come home with me. One thing in particular was very insistent on coming home with me. I must admit it seemed like the perfect thing. It was gluten free, I am gluten free. It was dairy free, I am dairy free. It had spinach, I love spinach. It was pizza and I have been craving pizza since the day I started this all consuming diet!!! And to top it all off, it was Amy's (and though I have been trying not to put my name on this blog, the coincidence was too great to pass it by. Yes, my name is Amy.) I was so excited to come home and try Amy's Gluten Free, Dairy Free Spinach Pizza!! It was meant to be, right?

I am not going to lie, I was a bit disappointed (although I should know better by now). It was edible, though. I may even get it again when I really want pizza. But it was not as perfect as it seemed to be in the store. So overall, I wouldn't recommend it, but it may take the edge off of some cravings.

Vendor Fair

A couple of weeks ago the local Celiac Support group held a vendor fair. It was amazing and huge!! I came away with a ton of information, gluten free samples to last me weeks, and some great ideas for food. The 70+ vendors ranged from things like local restaurants, country-wide grocery chains, local catering, or people just selling their product. Here are a few of my favorite finds...

 Whole Foods - I already shop at Whole Foods for some things. I had noticed that they had a store brand line of gluten free food. I never wanted to try because I wasn't sure how reliable it was. However, here's what I found out. Everything in the Whole Foods gluten free line is processed and packaged in a seperate facility, so it is completely safe. I was so excited to find this out because now I have a whole new line of stuff to try.

Gluten Free Catering/Bakery - There are tons of gluten free catering and bakery companies, especially locally! (Be sure to check their practices though.) I always wondered what I would do for big events (ie. wedding), now I know there are some options around.

Celiaccess - This cute local couple has started a website, celiaccess.com. I think that if people take advantage of this new resource that it could make living a gluten free diet so much easier. You can look up any product on this website and get information about it's status of being gluten free or not. This includes resources on where the information was found and what makes it gluten free or not. Here's the thing though. Products are put on by other people. So, once you find out about a product that you like, put it on celiaccess.

Like I said before, there were tons of samples there. I am not going to go into everything I tried but here are the two things that I found that I liked.

Pamela's Cookies - I tried one of Pamela's mixes before and I really didn't like it, so I was skeptical about trying Pamela's cookies. However, they were delicious. I tried several kinds. My two favorites were the Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chunk and the Mini Ginger Snaps. While I did enjoy these cookies, I am trying to stay away from sugary things (I'm not going to lie though, I really fell off that bandwagon with Halloween, oh well) so I'll probably won't eat them very often.

Bakery on Main Granola - I have always wanted to try this granola, but never had the courage to. It's not like regular granola, there are no oats. I tried 3 different kinds and they were all delicious!! I will definitely be getting them again. My favorite was the Extreme Fruit and Nut. Here's why... I love hazelnuts! So imagine my joy when I pour a handful of granola in my mouth and bite down to have the taste of hazelnut fill my mouth. That moment made me entire week!! So, that was the vendor fair. Definitely worth my entire morning. I can't wait till next year!!

Intestinal Issues

I once overheard a conversation that went something like this:
Guy: "Did you know that the average american farts 14 times a day?"
Girl: "No way."
Guy: "Seriously, I'm not making this up."
Girl: "Really, I don't think so. I never fart, so how can that be true?" 
Sorry everyone, I'm pretty sure I single-handedly skewed that statistic... for the entire nation.

I have had an array of intestinal problems. I won't go into great detail for the sake of those who actually read this blog, but I'll go ahead and give a brief overview. I've always had problems with gas. Since the time I was about 5 up until the present day. The past two years it got really bad. By the end of the day I was so distended that I looked 7-8 months pregnant. It got to the point that the distention never really went away and I was always gassy. I was uncomfortable all the time. I still have issues with gas depending on what I eat, but I am no longer permenantly distended and uncomfortable. As the bacteria overgrowth in my system works out I will have less and less gas. One day it is my hope to be like the girl in the conversation and say, "I never have gas."
When I was really young, like 5-7, I had issues with constapation. Luckily that worked itself out pretty quickly. Once I turned 13 I started having problems with diarrhea. I would occasionally have bouts of it but nothing to cause too much concern. I just figured it was the stomach flu or stress. When I started my junior year of college it started getting even worse. By the end of that fall semester I was constantly having diarrhea. Yes, that is right, I had diarrhea for 2 years straight. It was manageable most of the time. However, in my last semester of college it got really bad. I started having to plan around being sick. If I knew I had somewhere important to be or something important to do I just wouldn't eat. Even then I would sometimes be sick. After I finished college and came home I thought it would get better. I figured it was stress (even though I never actually felt stressed), or that I wasn't eating well (I'll get to that when I post about craving and continuous hunger). Unfortunately when I got home it just got worse. I was spending most of my time in the bathroom. It was so frustrating because I knew at that point that I wasn't stressed, plus I was eating better. Of course I had started snacking on Kashi cereals which are chalk-full of wheat, barley, and rye. It was finally the fact that I was constantly sick in the bathroom for 2 months that my mom made me go to the doctor. After starting the diet I immediately saw a difference. I still had diarrhea all the time but at least I wasn't in the bathroom all day, every day. Now I am back to bouts of diarrhea and bouts of being normal. I still have a ways to go to be constantly normal, but it has been a huge improvement over the last 4 months.

Stomach cramps; I get bad stomach cramps. Bad, bad as in, curled up on the bed crying, bad stomach cramps. I get cramps with gas, I get cramps with diarrhea, and sometimes I get cramps just for the sake of getting cramps. This was the one issue I talked to my doctor about when I was about 16. Here's how the conversation went...
Me: "I get really bad stomach cramps after I eat breakfast."
Doctor: "Do you get sick as well?"
Me: "No, It just hurts really bad for a while and then goes away."
Doctor: "You probably just have gas. Everyone has gas, just deal with it."
And so I did. I no longer have to curl up on my bed an cry, I just grit my teeth and 'deal with it'. 

Gasterointestinal problems are classified as 'classical symptoms' of celiac disease. Amazingly enough only 40% of celiac patients have intestinal symptoms. Usually, only patients who had onset of the disease in childhood have intestinal sypmtoms. Onset in adulthood usually manifests itself in 'atypical symptoms' like mood problems, rashes, body aches, etc. (basically everything besides intestinal problems). Ingestion of gluten, once on a gluten free diet, does not always manifest itself in intestinal distress either. I have found that if I only ingest trace amounts of gluten, like licking an envelope, I get really bad headaches and mood swings for a few days. However, when I get prolonged trace amounts of gluten or large amounts at one time I get really bad intestinal distress. Nausea, stomach cramps, diarrhea, the works. Mostly I just try to avoid any ingestion of gluten. That's when I'm happiest and I like being happy. :) Now you may be thinking, "Wow, that was way too much information for me." Just remember, that was the brief overview edition. You really DON'T want to know the full story.

Feeding Pumba

The question I get asked most is, "So... what CAN you eat?" My answer is always the same, "More than what I can't eat." I eat a large variety of fruits and vegetables, pure meats, beans, and whole grains (ie. brown rice, quinoa, corn, etc.) There is so much you can do with it all. I have a much larger diet now then I did before I was diagnosed with celiac disease. One of my favorite things to eat right now is Southern Stirfry. It is so easy, quick, and delicious!! Sorry I don't have a picture for it (I always like to see what I am trying to make), but I promise you it is good. Try it!!

 Southern Stirfry
1 can Black Eyed Peas (drained and rinsed)
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup brown rice (cooked and chilled)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cayenne pepper
2 cups fesh spinach leaves
 Warm skillet and spray with non-stick spray (gluten-free of course). Add all the ingredients except the spinach. Stir occasionally until warm through, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach. Stir occasionally, until the spinach is warm and wilted, about 7 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Update

It's been a while since I've written anything. I've gone back and forth about whether or not I'm even going to keep the blog, but I thought I'd at least write an update. I've been doing world's better the past few weeks. My mom found some amazing supplements that have been a huge factor in that. My stamina is slowly returning. I no longer take naps everyday, and when I do the are now 30-45 minutes instead of 3-4 hours. Also, I am no longer in constant stomach distress. My physical appearance is returning to normal and my mental and emotional stability is normalizing as well. I still have rough days and weeks, but overall I have made huge improvements from just 3 short months ago (although it sometimes feels like it's been years). I am so grateful for the chance I have to heal and for all the love and support that I have around me. I still have a long way to go, but now I can see what it will be like to be healthy again, which is something that I couldn't even imagine before.