First, though, some vacation pics, since I never posted any:
Our 20th summer at Blue Lake in eastern Washington. The boys invited a friend to come this year. Dasha’s a delightful young lady and the 3 of them had a marvelous time (in case you couldn’t tell.)
We are still (mostly) wheat free around here. The benefits are huge, so it’s a permanent thing. Little things like losing many of Logan’s temper tantrums and big things like clear skin and significant weight gain for Ryan (example: as of March 1, 2013, he’d been with us 7 1/2 years and had gained 21 pounds. Between March 1 and July 19—while we were wheat free—he gained just over 4 pounds. We LOVE that!) have been wonderful! Surprisingly, it’s not as hard as I would have expected. I’ve found a great all purpose flour substitute and (by accident!) discovered that it generally works as a substitute in my everyday recipes. Actually, we discovered it when I used my favorite wheat based recipe for pizza crust and grabbed the wrong flour container. Made it up with wheat free flour and it worked quite nicely. As a matter of fact, the general consensus that it’s BETTER with the wheat free flour! Not bad. Cornbread last night using my regular recipe and wheat free flour was just as delicious, and no one would know it was wheat free. Just the way we like it to be. Once in a while we find ourselves in a place where wheat free options aren’t doable, and it’s okay. Ryan’s got a nice little patch on the back of his neck that gets itchy when he gets too much wheat. Fortunately, it gives plenty of warning, and we’ve not seen him return to the ‘covered with eczema’ state of our wheat eating days.
I’ve heard from people who’ve tried wheat free for one person and talk about how hard it is. I can’t imagine doing this for only one person! It had to be an all or nothing thing around here. I’m not a short order chef, and I can’t imagine trying to manage meals with and without wheat. Fortunately, we’re not dealing with a life-or-death situation here, and if we get some wheat it’s not going to make anyone immediately ill. That certainly makes it easier. Nevertheless, we all eat wheat free. In the long run, we’re feeling healthier because of it, so it’s been worth the learning curve.
Now, to tackle the ongoing issue of developmental delays. And get started with another school year. Another day…and another post or two.
I'd love to hear more about wheat free flour....where do you find it? Brand, etc?
ReplyDeleteLisa, I make my own. I found a great recipe here: http://noglutennoproblem.blogspot.com/2010/04/artisan-gluten-free-flour-blend.html and I get the 'ingredients' at a little store about 15 minutes away. Definitely worth it for us. I tried a ready made mix that is very similar but I don't like it. The book, Artisanal Gluten Free Cooking by Kelli Bronski and Pete Bronski is pretty good. I don't use it as much now--I'm much more adventuresome! :) But the flour mixture is their's, and I love it!
DeleteWe've also tried going completely grain free. MUCH harder to do, and with the boys being only 8, much more complicated. I decided we'd stay wheat free and work toward being more grain free in the future. That being said, we don't eat anywhere near as many baked things as we used to, so it all balances out. Ice cream has become the dessert of choice around here, and that's fine with me since I can take it or leave it. Homemade is wonderful, store-bought, not so much.
DeleteOoh! I might have to snag your floyr recipe for those times when you just need something baked. :-) Although I am really trying not to do any of it.
ReplyDeleteI have had so many people tell me there is no way they could give up gluten, or dairy, or chocolate, or whatever...but it is so worth it every day when I feel so much better than I have for years.