WHAT? am I going to eat

I just got some test results back. No surprise, I have high IGG blood test results for wheat and soy, meaning I have food allergies for those two foods. When I eat too much of either, my digestive tract pays the price. What happens when I eat just a little? Well, it doesn't cause me any visible distress, but is there a hidden price I am paying?

The problem is that I don't sense anything when I occasionally indulge in a slice of pizza or a veggie burger. It is hard to avoid wheat and soy when there isn't an immediate consequence.

And that brings me to my new dilemma. I just found out that I am also allergic to eggs! WHAT am I going to eat now? I am a vegetarian that eats fish (technically a pescetarian) but now can't eat wheat, soy or eggs. All of my staple foods are gone except for dairy! Fortunately for me, all of my dairy markers came back negative! As a girl from Wisconsin it is hard to fathom giving up cheese!

The other part of this dilemma is that I do not notice ANY reaction to eggs when I eat them. Ironically I have never been a huge egg fan. I can't eat them for breakfast as they gross me out but I would eat them in restaurants and sometimes for dinner at home. I think I can give up eating what I call "overt eggs" pretty easily. The problem for me is that eggs are seemingly in everything including all of the gluten free breads I have looked at including Rudi's and Udi's. I can't imagine giving those up. Plus, I love to bake and let's face it, baking gluten free is enough of a challenge without throwing in the added obstacle of baking with no eggs!

So, after a consultation with my doctor on Monday, I am going to have to decide the impact of still eating those hidden eggs in products, versus trying to not eat ANY eggs and still be a vegetarian.

Those pesky ethics that are keeping me from eating meat! I often wonder how much easier my life would be if I ate meat? Especially when traveling and dining out. Menus always boast a host of salads with a chicken breast on them. A steak, baked potato and steamed broccoli - easy. If it only were easy for me. But even eating meat doesn't solve my bread and baking with eggs issue.

So, I am left to ponder . . . WHAT am I going to eat?

Nature Valley Granola Thins

Aside from being able to eat pizza and sandwiches in restaurants (I can easily make these things gluten free at home) I think I miss treats the most. Cookies, cakes, pies, donuts, etc. It somehow seems cruel to take these away from us, even though no one should be eating much of them anyway.

This week I found a new treat to enjoy - Nature Valley Granola Thins. Now, it is not labeled gluten free so if you are either a highly sensitive gluten intolerant or celiac (they have malt extract) you may not be able to enjoy them. They are made with oats and rice flour.

If you are a fan of the Girl Scout peanut butter sandwich cookie Do-Si-Dos, you will enjoy the peanut butter flavor. I found them very similar in flavor and texture to the Girl Scout variety. There are also dark chocolate flavored thins which are tasty too.

Each package of one thin is individually wrapped and just 80 or 90 calories (depending upon which flavor you choose). I don't know about you, but portion control is a big issue so I like that I am not tempted to stick my hand in a box and eat one after another!

If you want more information, here is the website: http://www.naturevalley.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductId=37

P.S. I am in no way affiliated with Nature Valley, nor did I receive free product to sample. My sister told me about them, I ran to the store and bought them and loved them!

P.P.S. There was a coupon in today's Sunday paper for them!

Gluten Free Girl and the Chef

I am still raving about the Almond Quick Bread I made last week based off of a recipe posted on Gluten Free Girl and the Chef (http://glutenfreegirl.com/). She (Shauna) posted the recipe for Lemon Poppy Seed Quick Bread and I knew I HAD to make it right away.

I went to my kitchen and realized that not only did I not have any lemons, I also didn't have poppy seeds. Undeterred, I decided to modify the recipe using almond extract instead of lemon zest and ground flax seeds instead of poppy seeds.

It was quite literally one of the best tasting things I have ever made -- gluten free or not. My only issue was that it fell apart upon slicing so it really was easier to eat with a fork. I may need to experiment with my flour blend to find a combination that is more binding. It didn't matter to me though because it tasted so good - even my hubby enjoyed it!

I have since eaten it for breakfast, snacks and last night, with sliced strawberries mascerated in a little agave nectar. Oh my was that a good combination!

This success has inspired me to search around for more recipes I can't wait to try. Elana from Elana's Pantry (http://www.elanaspantry.com/) always inspires me with great recipes (I also have her cookbook and have her new cupcake one on my Amazon wish list) and just today I found a coconut lemon bar recipe from Simply Sugar and Gluten Free (http://www.simplysugarandglutenfree.com/). I have yet to try it (I still don't have lemons in the house!) but I will soon as I am a sucker for lemon AND coconut. In the process I also discovered Gluten Hates Me (http://www.glutenhatesme.com/), a fun blog on being gluten free.

I guess what I am trying to say, is thank you to the online gluten free community for your support, recipes, information and ideas. I am so glad I am not doing this alone!

P.S. Shauna, I am planning on trying the parchment wrapped halibut and asparagus this coming weekend. I love halibut but it is a little pricey for me right now. I saw Costco had fresh cod this past weekend so I will be going back to buy some to use instead. Thanks again for the inspiration!

Thanks Glutino!

I wrote in my previous post about shopping at different locations for different products. One product line that is worth a special trip to a store is Glutino. I started eating Glutino crackers when a friend offered me a cracker one day. It reminded me of dense saltine crackers -- certainly very different from those awful, (in my opinion) gummy rice crackers.

I have since discovered several beloved Glutino products including the lemon wafer cookies, regular pretzels, yogurt covered pretzels, and cheddar cheese crackers. Not everything Glutino is a success in my book. For instance, I hate the breakfast bars but then again I don't really like the gluten filled breakfast bars either.

I haven't tried any of the Glutino bread because Udi's and Rudi's make me happy. And I haven't tried any of the gluten free frozen entrees that have meat (because I eat vegetarian/fish only). The one I did try, the mac-n-cheese, wasn't as good as the Amy's frozen mac-n-cheese dinner as I found the Glutino noodles too al dente and the cheese sauce a little lackluster. But it is a reasonable option if that's all you can find.

That said, I am grateful to Glutino's for their many gluten free products. Because of them, it is so much easier for me to be able to enjoy being "normal" by having cheese and crackers or pretzels. If you haven't tried Glutino or would like more information about their products you can visit their website at: http://www.glutino.com/ or visit www.amazon.com and search Glutino because many of their items are sold on Amazon.