Monday, April 16, 2012

This Blog Is Going Gluten Free!

Hello!  In my last post I brought up going gluten free.  Well, turns out I feel about a million times better when I'm not eating gluten.  Things that I thought were "normal" like cramping, bloating, and extreme fatigue after meals became non-existent after a month of being gluten free.  I'll admit I had some suspicions about gluten for quite some time before I did anything about it.  I just didn't want to give up bread!  But once my system cleared out and I started feeling the real "normal" sans gluten I found that I didn't even want the stuff.  Why eat something that was obviously making me feel like crap?  And finally, my decision to go gluten free was validated yesterday....
That's me, in Astoria, about to visit the Goonies house!  I grew up on the Oregon coast and have 2 friends that lived in the Goonies house at different times and I was a huge fan of the movie when I was a kid.
Do you recognize it from the movie?  Anyways... what does this have to do with my gluten free experience?  Well, while in Astoria we ate lunch at a cute little cafe that offered vegan and gluten free options.  Finding a place along the coast with vegan options isn't always easy, let alone vegan and gluten free.  What happened next is totally my fault.  I ordered something that I assumed was gluten free even though it wasn't advertised as such because I didn't want to annoy the person taking my order with more questions. Part way through eating we guessed that the injera (Ethiopian flat bread traditionally made with gluten free teff flour) was made with a combo of teff and whole wheat flour.  Like I said, I should have known better and I could have saved myself a lot of pain if I would have just inquired about the ingredients.

My second mistake was finishing the bread, but can you blame me?  Look at that pretty plate of food!  I kept eating, thinking "Ok, so I'll be a little bloated after this".   And sure enough, the bloating happened, plus more.  Waaaay more.  To the extent of missing the next day at work.  It was a miserable experience and a valuable lesson.  First of all, I'm committed to staying gluten free.  No bread is worth having to go through that again.  And second, I really should have just asked about the bread.  Sheesh.  Another thing I've been pondering is this:  If having gluten made me feel this terrible, what has it been doing to my body all of this time?  I'm happy to be rid of it.

So, from now on this blog is going to be gluten free too.  The food nerd in me is super excited to experiment with new ingredients and see what I can come up with that's tasty and makes me feel the best.  A good handful of my blog friends and blogs that I read are already gluten free, but if you know of any awesome blogs, books, or websites please leave me a link in comments.  I'm soaking up all the info I can get my hands on right now.

18 comments:

  1. Happy to hear that you are feeling better after eliminating gluten from your diet. I was in Astoria yesterday too! My dad was visiting and we almost went to the Goonies house, but my dad has never seen The Goonies (?!!!?), so we climbed to the top of the Astoria Column instead. Maybe next time!

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  2. Whoa! More parallel coincidences! We also climbed the column (after we went to the Goonies house). Yes, gluten free has me feeling much better, except for my little set-back yesterday. My digestive system is still feeling out of whack today but I hope it passes quickly.

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  3. Very cool, I'm excited to see yr gluten-free adventures! I'm slowly making the move but baked goods are still a definite weakness of mine. Do you think you actually have a gluten intolerance, or did yr body just change after eliminating gluten?

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  4. I think I have an actual intolerance based on the issues I was having before I quit eating it, how well my body reacted to not having it, and how horrible I felt after accidentally having it yesterday. I've suspected an intolerance for a long time (a few years) but didn't want to restrict my diet that much. I am a carb/bread/sweets fiend. But after not eating it and feeling so much better I wasn't having any cravings. I guess it was just the right time for me to let it go. I'm a little annoyed that I'll probably never be able to have it again, based on the extreme reaction. So that sucks. But the feeling good part is worth it. I'm sticking to the unprocessed stuff right now because I think my body needs some healing time, but I plan on doing some baked goods experimenting in the future. I'm still a baker at heart :)

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  5. Yay! Gluten free is the way to be! HA HA! My blog is GF now too! Amazing how much better you can feel from getting rid of it!

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  6. Such a bummer that you had to go through that yuckiness but it is great that you finally know the source of the discomfort and have made the change. Your body will certainly thank you! Welcome to the team, ha! Very excited to read about your gluten free journey!

    And PS your dress is SO CUTE!!!

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  7. It is amazing! I feel so much better. Your blog definitely helped nudge me in the GF direction :)

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  8. Yay! Team GF! I'm very happy to know what was causing the issues.

    Thanks! The dress is new and I love it so much that I wore it twice over the weekend :)

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  9. That's exactly how I felt going GF, after awhile my stomach healed and I didn't have all the awful bloating and stuff and I was better. Then my body realized very quickly that it was terrible for me and a mistake would get me quite sick. My body rejects it quite quickly. Yes you have to be vigilant when you go out to eat. Since it's for your health, don't ever feel like a bother or annoying for asking questions. It's your right to not be sick. Manifest Vegan's book is coming out this summer, I recommend reading that one, it's totally GF vegan and delicious!

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  10. also this site: http://xgfx.org/

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  11. Yeah, my digestive system was feeling so good before yesterday's gluten. I will not shy away from asking questions about ingredients in the future. The discomfort isn't worth it. And I'll watch out for MV's book!

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  12. Thanks for the reminder! I love that site. I actually got to do a guest post during MoFo, but haven't been back since I started the gf thing. I need to stop by and see what's new over there.

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  13. Your blog looks really cute! I love reading the info as well, so I am excited to see this GF development. I have just started an experiment to see how I feel without it as well. I got motivated after watching Eco Vegan Gal's video...GF eating really makes sense! I can't wait to read more of your GF adventures :)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glfy7u5a3io&feature=plcp&context=C4c29a62VDvjVQa1PpcFPwIFgmYA8aL2EIjnr_H4iCey19iz_gujY%3D

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  14. Cute dress! And so happy you found what works for you. It is hard giving up gluten being veg, but it does open up a whole new world of possibilities! Good luck!

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  15. Thank you Leslie! I hope you get some great results. I haven't seen EVG's video. I'll have to check it out :)

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  16. Thanks! I'm looking forward to the adventure! And to feeling better :)

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  17. Wow.. good for you! Not sure I could do it completely however I feel I eat that way most of the time. And I love the Goonies and Have been to the house! Love Astoria.. I wanna go back now:)

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  18. i love astoria!

    gluten free is the way! totally!

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