Gluten what?

Since my doctor told me to cut down my refined carbs to one meal and focus on gluten free, I have been slow to change.  I didn't want to rush right out and buy a bunch of gluten free products that I was only going to eat at one meal a day.  Instead, I decided to cut down to carbs at one meal a day and use up some of what we have in the house.  I had also planned on being part of a pie and cake competition on Saturday.  They of course had a tasting after the judges had tried their pieces.  I wanted to taste the "competition".  Then proceeded to taste a couple of other treats.  My pie took second place...out of two pies.  The winning pie was apple and mine was peanut butter.  I don't think mine won because I work for the organization having the contest.  The pie that won was not as good as the ones my family has made.  Plus, everyone kept going back to my pie for seconds, thirds, and fourths.  That didn't happen with the winning pie.  Anyway, I brought a cake home from the cake & pie auction which we shared with our brother & sister-in-law.  I had a headache that evening and went to bed early.  I woke up with a terrible headache and upset stomach.  I blame it on the myriad of gluten products I ate the day before.  Sigh...anyway, it prompted me to change the dessert I had planned to make for our dinner party.  I was going to bake an angel food cake with strawberries.  Instead, I made a flourless chocolate cake and will garnish with whipped cream and strawberries.  Here is the recipe.  It tastes wonderful, but it stuck to the pan a little, so mine is a little funny shaped, like a pancake.  It was surprisingly easy to make. 

I was also happy to try some new gluten free crackers today.  I slept in really late this morning, woke up to breakfast in bed, and wasn't quite ready for a big lunch.  I decided to have some soup with crackers and cheese.  My Progresso Clam Chowder was gluten free and already in my cupboard.  I had purchased some sesame crackers that are really tasty!  My dear husband who is a carb lover, even likes my sesame crackers.  They were super crispy, salty, and delicious. I think everyone should try them!

What's up Doc?

Thursday morning I visited my regular doctor’s office.  I hate going to the doctor just to find out I’m a whiner or not really having any serious problems, so I save up reasons to go.  Today, I presented three.  One was my back pain, the second was my ears, and the third was a question about gluten.  I felt a little silly have three different issues, but I knew one would be super quick.  She checked my ears first, they were fine, I’m just congested from allergies.  I was glad they were okay, it seems like everyone locally has had ear infections!  My back is probably my sciatic nerve.  I had seen the same doctor back in January when I couldn’t stand up my back hurt so bad.  She gave me some exercises to do every morning to strengthen my lower back. She also put me back on the ice, rest, and meds campaign.  Hopefully, just a couple of days and I’ll be back to good. Regarding the gluten the doctor thought I might have an intolerance.  She gave me a few nutritional guidelines, not necessarily related to gluten intolerance.  She wants me to start each day with a protein source within 30 minutes of waking up.  She also suggested a half a grapefruit to aid with digestion, specifically the body processing fat.  I am suppose to drink at least 100 ounces of water a day, which I do usually anyway.  I am also suppose to limit refined carbohydrates to one meal.  She explained that a small serving of spaghetti with a couple pieces of garlic bread would be plenty for someone for a day’s worth of those type of carbohydrates.  She also suggested some gluten free products to try.  I guess we give this a whirl and see how it goes.  I found it mildly interesting that she said, “Don’t go crazy and cut all carbs out of your diet or do Atkins.”  Especially since I just told her I ate spaghetti for dinner a couple nights earlier! I love carbs, cutting them out is not an option in the forseeable future! Anyway, glad I’m okay and have simple changes to make.