It's mine..ALL MINE!!

The Celiac's Cupboard

                                  This is the final result from my cupboard organizing to
                                  make me my own gluten-free cupboard. These are most of the
                                  essentials that a gluten-free diet needs in order to eat healthy
                                  or to even cook your own meals.
                                          

                                   Starches and Gums that are essential when it comes
                                   to making gravy, sauces, glazes and soups.

                                       Flours, GF pasta, rice and quinoa

                                          A chart that I made and put inside my
                                          cupboard door. It is a list of flours, gums,
                                          starches and rice with their purpose, substitutes,
                                          and what they can be used for.

First off, thank you to Jeff for taking yesterday afternoon off to have a father/son day with Colton so I could get out by myself and do some research and get some ideas for cooking and baking on my challenging new diet.
I started off yesterday afternoon with a very disappointing Dietician appointment. I went all the way down south planning on being in my appt for about an hour and coming away totally overwhelmed by all the info I would get....WRONG! I was in and out in 15 minutes. I was so upset and frustrated that i came away with absolutely no information to help me out in my new little journey. I was referred to another dietician who should be calling me within the next 2 weeks to set up an appointment..and then another month before I actually get in to see her..grrrrrrr.
Anywhoooooo...I was glad that I didn't have to rush home after my appointment(which is what i usually have to do) and could spend the afternoon touring health food stores. I actually came away having learned alot during my afternoon of being 'on tour'. I literally read every label so I could educate myself on what I can and should be eating. I was able to stock up on all the essentials that i need to start cooking and baking and succeeding at it.
Looking forward to making my first EVER loaf of bread tomorrow......thanks to a bread machine. I'm thinking that the next time I am home in Sask I need to spend an afternoon with my grandma, who still makes her own bread, and learn some tricks on bread making.
OH YA! I just about forgot...the best thing from my 'tour' was that I found bread that is light and fluffy and just like REAL bread. I was so excited that I went out to the car and ate 3 pieces of bread in a matter of 30 seconds per slice. It was so delicious that I was just about in tears. I had myself a toasted tuna sandwich today for lunch, just b/c I could. You people out there that can eat wheat bread, enjoy and be thankful for every bite you take b/c chewing on gluten free bread is depressing! Looking forward to breakfast tomorrow morning when I can lather my light and fluffy bread in honey..mmmmm



                                                    

Turning the page

So, this was a rather quiet weekend which I welcomed with no problem. Actually, it has been a quiet month with my day home kids still away. I have been so thankful for this month to get my life and health back in order. I have had more Dr. appts in the last month than I have in all of last year! GULP! I am a little nervous on when the kids are all back and we are back to routine. I feed all of my DH kids and there are alot of pasta dishes, grilled cheese sandwiches with crackers and cheese for snacks.(yes, I serve fruits and veggies but i can eat those)so this will be a real challenge to not sit down and eat 'bad food' with them like I usually do. It has been a real challenge this past month just buying 2 grocery orders for the three of us, let alone now having to shop for 8 of us. I didn't realize how expensive this Gluten Free diet would be. A dear friend dropped off her bread maker for me so i could start making my own GF bread instead of spending $7.00/loaf!
 It is funny how things come along at the right time whether they are for the good or bad. Regardless, they are to teach us a lesson or to prove something to ourselves. I LOVE food and sweets are my major weakness. I get stressed..I eat sweets, I am angry..I eat sweets...and so on. I think this GF diet is what I needed and to prove to myself that I can control what goes into my mouth and that there are other ways to de-stress...a more healthy way to de-stress. God wouldn't put this challenge in my lap if he knew I couldn't do it. I know that I can do this....and I AM doing this..TA DA! Baby steps Jen..baby steps.
My first big eating challenge is still to come next weekend. Jeff's Christmas party is on Saturday night and I haven't eaten out since my diagnosis of Celiac Disease. I am a little nervous about it and I really don't want to spend the night in the hotel room curled up in a ball moaning in pain( how ironic is it that bread in French is 'pain'). Thankfully we are able to make the banquet hall aware of any food restrictions if necessary. Shouldn't I be worried about what I am going to wear to this shindig and not what I can and can't eat at it? What's wrong with this picture?! :S
Hope you all have a great week!

Withdrawl

Oh boy! This is going to be a long day. I am going through some serious comfort food withdrawl. It is all i can do to keep myself from hopping in my car and driving to my favorite bakery and buying the biggest and freshest loaf of bread that I can lather in honey and devour! I am literally doing circles in my kitchen looking for something filling to eat. I am stuffing my face with fruits and veggies for snacks and rice cakes and tuna for dinner....but I can't get full. I went to have a big bowl of mushroom soup for dinner today and realized that I can't even eat mushroom soup.(insert tears and a whimper here) I am so irritable today and so hungry. I now understand why it is so hard for people to quit drinking or smoking or kicking any other habit. This is definatly a  major self-control day...and i feel like I'm losing. I need to go for a walk or something to clear my head and get back into the 'I- can- and- will -do- this' mode!

stay tuned...

Today has been a day of ripping apart my kitchen. Cupboards have been emptied, washed down and re-organized. I have designated a cupboard for just me and all my Gluten-free food and snacks. This new diet is a challenge that I look forward to taking on....learning how to eat and cook again...should be fun. : ) It will be complicated learning how to bake again and all the changes that will need to be made to favorite recipes. Maybe my dream of always wanting to have my own little bakery can happen....a Gluten-free bakery perhaps? Stay tuned for some pictures of my 'new' kitchen...

Sick days

Thankfully Colton waited to have the flu until we returned home from Christmas in Melfort. The two of us spent the day on the couch watching cartoons and movies and enjoying a cuddle-filled day. : )

Challenge for 2011

One week before Christmas I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. I have been feeling awful for a full month and the Dr. couldn't figure out what the problem was. I went through a number of tests checking for ulcers, gallbladder problems and acid reflux... and came back with nothing! My final blood test he decided to check for Celiac Disease and it came back positive and my numbers were through the roof! My Dr. informed me that as of this minute I was no longer able to eat bread, any kind of grains or anything that contains wheat flour! My first thought was a rush of relief that it was nothing  too serious and my second thought was my deep freezer FULL of baking! I shed a little tear for all those shortbread and sugar cookies I couldn't sink my teeth into.(sniff sniff) So I went out that day and bought myself a couple gluten-free items to try. I purchased a loaf of raisin and cinnamon bread and headed home to try it. Well... I needed two hands to carry the loaf b/c it was so heavy and it tasted like stale cardboard. Not that I've ever tasted stale cardboard that is what i imagine it tastes like! *SIGH...tear*  Oh boy..this is going to be fun!
This Christmas was VERY hard when it came to grazing the baking table that was set up 24/7 and the delicious meals that my aunt slaved over....no gravy, no cheese sauce, no pies, no wifesaver for breakfast and...well you get the idea. But, I came away from the weekend very proud of myself that I had the self-control to not cheat and realizing that I could control if I wanted to spend the evening curled up in a ball on the floor in pain over eating a piece of pie or if I wanted to enjoy the day playing boardgames and visiting b/c I chose to not cheat and have something different to eat.
 I have spent the last couple days doing alot of research on eating and living gluten-free and realizing that I can do this. This coming up year is going to be a challenge but I can do it and if i can make it through Christmas and not have any problems, then I can do this everyday for the rest of my life.
My aunt made a very delicious dessert over Christmas that I was able to eat and I devoured..who would have thought that I could eat Pavlova (meringue dessert)?!! I CAN DO THIS!
Here's to all of you that want to try something new this year and don't think you can do it....If you really want it, you CAN do it and think of how proud of yourself you will be once you succeed. Let me know what you would like to do and we can encourage each other to keep going.
Happy New Year!!

Christmas Crafts

I found this nifty little craft on Etsy and decided that it would be a great gift for a few people on my Christmas list. It was so much fun and easy to do.....now I need to become friends with the person that makes Scrabble!   If you know of anyone looking for a replacement Scrabble board just let me know...tiles not included (i used them all) : )

I made these Scrabble Coasters for my aunt and uncle that hosted Christmas for all 19 of us this year. I used all of their immediate family names.