This is by far my favourite way to eat: just bits and pieces on a plate. This afternoon's lunch, made in less than five minutes. And eaten in about the same amount of time. Please ignore the playdoh; that was not part of it. Oh and the plate was much more full previously, of course, but this was what happened when The Boy and I were picking while I was searching for the camera ...
Ham, cheese, avocado, arugula, apricots, strawberries, and blueberries. Before I know it, almost gone.One of the things I haven't ever mentioned on this blog is that I gave up eating gluten about ... oh, 10 months ago. December of last year, I guess it was. At first it was a kind of detox thing, but I noticed that my chronic stomach issues suddenly miraculously cleared up in three weeks. Three weeks back on, back they came. I hied myself to a GI doctor for the first time ever (despite chronic stomach issues for 15 years, yeah, I know.) who immediately said ... well, I think you have celiac disease. FUN. So far the results from the lab are inconclusive (some seem to lean that way, some don't) but there's one thing for sure:
I feel SO MUCH BETTER.
Seriously. No more stomach problems AT ALL, which for someone whose had a "nervous stomach" for 15 years, is nothing short of miraculous. WAY fewer migraines. More energy. Less stress.
Gluten, however, is in everything. EVERYTHING. Eating at home is not much of an issue. Gluten free is the newest fad, doncha know, so Vancouver is full of gluten free products (many of which are horrible, but still). I don't really miss bread; there are very decent baked goods to have in lieu. And lunch, as above, is completely gluten free. There's no starch in this meal, but any one of the plethora of manioc buns, corn thins, or rice crackers can easily be added. What's even better is that I find we're eating better, since packaged / convenience foods are pretty much all made with some kind of gluten. That whole "shop from the edges of the store"? Well, that's what we HAVE to do now. I haven't lost any weight, but I'm sure not gaining it either.
The only problem I have is eating out. It's impossible to get fast food without gluten -- fast food only comes in sandwiches, burgers, wraps, soups or salads, the latter two of which almost always have noodles / thickeners / dressings with flour. Nice (read: expensive) restaurants are all fine, they understand allergies, but taking a kid to those is difficult -- not to mention the fact that they don't work on weeknights, when time is limited between work end and bedtime. Delivery is pretty much impossible -- now we stick to Thai (which can be dodgy with sauces) or sushi (which is lovely but getting old).
And then there's this: This week we're having the daycare potluck. This whole gluten free eating is still kind of new to me, and I signed us up before I thought much about it, only to take a second look at the planned dishes for next week to realize that the only thing I was likely to eat was salad. I like salad; I'm a big fan. But ... lettuce is not dinner. I'm kind of considering not going, but the kid will be fed, and it's nice to meet the other parents, so ... I guess I can always eat when I get home.
I'm still really in denial about the whole thing, to be honest. Having read a fair amount about this and gluten allergy over the last few months, I am still working on the belief that I have merely an allergy, one triggered perhaps by pregnancy that will go away after a few years (not that uncommon, might I add). Every once in a while I still catch myself thinking, at work, oh, I'll just run and get a cookie / scone / pasty from the nearby store ... and work functions with food are rather torturous.
But at the same time, I haven't knowingly strayed from this diet in months, a level of dedication which is really unusual for me (trying to be vegetarian for three years was filled with lapses of meat eating!) All I really know is that once I've realized there is a way without the chronic stomach issues ... I just can't go back.
2 comments:
Oh, so do you know what I learned about a month ago? (I kept meaning to write about it on the blog, but I don't think I ever did.) I learned about food sensitivities! It's not an allergy, per se, I mean you don't break out in hives or have your throat close up, BUT your body does stage an attack of sorts on the foods you are sensitive to. That results in inflammation. In my case, it was inflammation in the intestines. Long ago I lived a relatively dairy-free life, but one day I said "this is dumb" and I went back to milk. Go figure - I felt noticeably worse. Last January I went back to no dairy and I feel great. I used to feel pressure in my intestines (where it was inflamed, the food would back up a little as it waited it's turn to get through the narrow opening) and it's been pressure-free since January. Oh and I learned this interesting tidbit about food sensitivities from a naturopath. :)
Another story of note: my mom had stomach problems and the doctors couldn't come up with a diagnosis. She cut gluten for an entire year and I think it reset the bacteria in her gut. She did go back to eating bread, etc, and while she does still have the occasional pepcid moments, it's never been as severe as it was back then.
Oh and I should mention that I am not lactose intolerant. I've been tested. I still eat cheese and it causes no noticeable effects. I possibly should not eat cheese, but since it's not having a negative impact, I say screw it. A life without cheese is a life not worth living. Part of me wants to have some blood tests done to see what else I'm sensitive to, but then I worry gluten will come up and the gluten-free diet intimidates me a little. You make it sound so easy!! What else do you usually eat? I might try it for kicks, see how it goes, save myself the money on the blood tests. :)
Post a Comment