Working on my lists . . .

As 2009 draws to a close I am working on my "What I want to accomplish next year" list - notice I didn't say "Goals for 2010" That didn't work for last year, so this year we will try a new approach. I'll get my goals post done over the next two days, for now that is much higher brain function than I am equipped to produce. After 3 days of being locked up in the house with the kids and almost 2 feet of snow I am reduced to one word answers, eating yummy gluten free gingerbread cookies by the hand full and naps.
I'll just leave you all with my beautiful pictures of our 100% homemade gluten free ginger bread house. (See sidebar recipe links for the WONDERFUL recipe I used!) I even made the templates, which would explain the questionable structural integrity of the house - but it will be fine, I used so much royal icing that house is NEVER coming apart!!
PS - Eli is doing great on his gluten free diet and we have seen improvements already in his behavior and stomach. I know it has to be the gluten free diet since he is about to explode with Christmas joy and he hasn't been able to play outside all that much since he has had a fever on and off for 4 days.

Parenting is tough business

This is me lately. A few months ago we put my 7 year old on a gluten free diet because he was generally out of sorts and having gas that would clear a room. I mean it was BAD. We had to make no farting at the dinner table rules. I would have written it off as a 7 year old boy thing, but he came home excited that he had only had to fart once during school one day. So, we went gluten free with him.
He was not happy. This was also an expensive endeavor because I was buying all the fancy gluten free food to try and make it easier on him. In the end he didn't like many of those things anyway.
After 2 weeks his gas was much better, so we did the check and gave him gluten again to see if that changed things. It didn't - right away. It was so much easier to let him eat school lunches and all the yummy things he liked. We were able to deny the antsy, agitated behavior as holidays. When the gas came back I was starting to see. Then last night the following conversation went on at bedtime:
Eli: Excuse me
Me: Oh my gosh - what in the world did you eat child?
Eli: Nothing, I didn't even have Doritos. (Doritos really send his intestines into a spiral)
Me: Does your stomach hurt?
Eli: My stomach huts a lot mom.
Me: (all in my head) bad mom, bad mom, bad mom for being lazy about putting him on a gluten free diet again. Crap.
So, head out of the sand, Eli is going gluten free again. This time I am going to try cooking things myself instead of relying on pre-made things. Good thing Eli wants to be a chef when he grows up!

Changes are a brew'n . . .

I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. I am also tired of having sub par races because I seem to ALWAYS get sick before my big races. SO, after reading a blog post by tridudes I have decided to make some dietary changes in the Derrick household.

After being gluten free for almost 5 years the whole cutting out gluten thing has become second nature. When folks ask me what I miss most I really don't have much. Feeling SO much better on a gluten free diet outweighs the taste of bread in my mind. Now I think it's time to take a hard look at the rest of my slack diet and try to change a few more things in an attempt to actually have a healthy immune system.

Really, a virus that my daughter kicked in 24 hours (and my husband never even got) took me a full week to recover from, in addition to wrecking havoc on my IM race. I'm tired of being known as sickly and am willing to make some culinary sacrifices to be a healthy person again! First things first, out goes the dairy and sugar. I don't do milk anymore, I have substituted light soy milk successfully, but I have been known to eat a serving or six of cheese in one sitting!

As for the sugar, it's time to step away from the kids' candy bowl and pick the carrots back up again. My focus is going to be simple, I am going to eat whole foods. I have the time to cook at this point in my life so why not stop getting the pre-made processed crap? I am also hoping that giving up the processed stuff will be easier on the pocket book as well. A lot of the pre-made gluten free foods are just outrageous!!

First stop - lentil soup for dinner! I am baking a pork loin that will be part of the lentil soup tonight, (but subbing pork for beef broth) then make pork BBQ tommorow night. Homemade pork bbq and homemade fries . . . mmmmm!!

Gluten Free Breakfast(s)

There seem to be two types of morning exercisers - those that MUST eat before they workout, and those that CAN'T eat before they workout. I fall in the first category. (plus I really like having two breakfasts!!) Tuesdays are easy for me because I get up at 5:50 and have some gluten free waffles. I have tried a lot of gluten free waffles, but I like the Van's mini waffles the best.

Toasted with a little bit of butter (REAL butter, none of that fake stuff, just a little though!!) I have an hour and a half of coaching swim practice for the JMU tri club then I swim. Perfect amount of time to digest before my swim! After the swim I come home and have my SECOND breakfast! I love training!
This week I tried something new. I almost always eat corn grits & egg whites for breakfast. (At least 5 out of 7 days a week) I found a package of Hodgson's Mill Gluten Free Apple Cinnamon and Flax Seed Muffin Mix at Walmart (sorry Diane!!). They had a pancake recipe on the back and I LOVE pancakes so I tried it.

I have always hated those muffin mixes with fruit pellets. What in the world in in the fruit pellets? These have two great things - real apples and flax seed. I have not made them as muffins yet, but as pancakes they are an acquired taste. No way I could pass them off with the kids, but for me they were fine. I love knowing they are healthy with whole grain and fruit and that outweighs the slightly funky taste. (having said that there was some butter and syrup involved!) Not light and fluffy but enough like real pancakes to make me happy!