Sans Gluten: The Food: Part One

photo via bzzagent.com

***Disclaimer's the same: this is MY plan, worked in conjunction with MY doctor.  Not to be substituted for real medical advice to fit YOUR needs with YOUR doctor.**


For this post to make sense, you might want to check out this post first.  I will also be making an additional split to this series: food will be broken into a couple of posts.

With the blessings of my doctor, and some ideas from my mom, I went in search of a diet change.

I quickly learned one of the biggest problems with trying to eat GF:  there are SO many forms of gluten hidden by different names.  Finding Wheat as an ingredient?  That's the easy part.  What about blugar, semolina, spelt, frumento, durum, kamut, graham, einkorn, farina, couscous, seitan, matzoh, malt, barley, and triticale?  All those wonderful premixed seasoning packets (a staple for novice cooks like myself)?  They use flour to bind the seasonings together...so, gluten. 

Before I headed to the store, I decided to check out my cabinets to see what I had that might fit the bill. Since I  had already been working to cook more of my own food and watching out for prepackaged, processed stuff, as well as reducing my carb intake due to the PCOS, it turned out that I had a great amount of spices and seasonings that could be used for cooking.  

It just so happened that the weekend I started my GF eating, I was craving chili.  I was heartbroken to learn that the chili seasoning I normally used was riddled with wheat, again to bind the other seasonings.  Not to be discouraged, I just went searching for a chili seasoning I could create myself.  Chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.  As I ate the first bites, I was so delighted to find that mixing the seasonings myself gave the chili new life for me.  It tasted so much better without the premixed, prepackaged seasonings.  

via deboles.com

The next week, I went in search of pasta.  What is it about the idea that you aren't going to ever eat something again that makes you crave it?  It's obviously a psychological response that I could pay someone to dissect for me, but eh, why not go with it?

So, De Boles was the first I tried.  Made with a mix of multiple grains, I figured that this would be a great starting place.  Yeah, not so much. I followed the cooking instructions to the letter.  What happened was not so yummy.  The penne broke apart after only a couple of minutes cooking, and the texture was beyond me.

via tinkyada.com

Not to be deterred, I went in search of another brand.  It was then that I discovered Tinkyada.  It's primary base is brown rice flour.  Gluten free and only containing one type of grain, I figured this might work better.  The package touts the ability to NOT overcook it.  Their recommended way of cooking (energy efficient as well) is to boil for two minutes and then let the pasta sit in a covered pot for another 20 minutes.  The result?  Perfect al dente spiral noodles...and a fix for my pasta craving.

via bobsredmill.com

Since I'm not a short order cook, and  I try not to have to cook several different meals for everyone, I thought I'd test out a GF pizza crust on my five year old. A GF eating coworker of mine mentioned Bob's Red Mill GF products, specifically their pizza crust.  It takes some time to prepare, as it contains yeast that has to sit for a couple of minutes and then, once the dough is mixed, it must be left to rise.  My only complaint is the lack of instruction.  The package literally states "a few minutes" when timing the yeast.  Since I am not a gourmet, a little more instruction would be nice.   In any event, the resulting crust is thin and chewy, which I love.  It was very, very good.  The five year old didn't care for the texture.  You win some...

Food is still a work in progress.  At the moment, I have been substituting GF items for some of my previously non-GF ones.  I know there is SO much more that could be uncovered.  I do have to start slow on the changes, as I want them to stick.

Even when I wasn't suffering from cluster migraines, I did still have a nagging pain at the back of my head. This pain has lasted for months, even after daily maintenance medication.   After less than a week, that pain was gone.  That would have been enough to make me never go back.  But, there was more:  two weeks into GF eating, my PCOS meds had stopped making me sick to my stomach, and I was waking up feeling more rested than ever (and requiring less sleep).

I can only imagine that other new GF eaters fall into the same trap I did about a week into it: failure to read the labels.  One fateful morning, another coworker mentioned beef jerky:  hello craving.  So, I ate some.  Within 20 minutes of eating it, the pain in my head was back.  At that point, I flipped the package over.  I know it could have been the preservatives, but there it was:  Product Contains Wheat.  Wheat?  In beef jerky?  Really?  And then I remembered:  seasonings = binding agent.  Well crap.

My other challenge has been eating out.  I don't know what has been used to cook the items I eat, so it has been a tough adjustment there.  I obviously avoid any bread items.   Sometimes, it comes by trial and error.  I don't know until I eat it, because ingredient information isn't always readily available.  

On the up side, this has led to a lot more at home eating.   At home eating means less money spent.  

Coming up:  more good eats...and more results.