First GF Dining Out Experience

Yesterday was a very big day for me. It had been 56 days since I left our tiny town to run errands. It had been that long because first I was sick with a very bad UTI and then I thought my IBS was getting worse only to find out I have celiac. So yesterday I finally was okay enough to go out! It was amazing! It had been so long and much needed. After we did running around, we decided to stop by this restaurant that is almost 100% GF. They have amazing reviews from fellow celiacs and thus we decided it would be our first GF dining out experience.

Well I was terrified. Completely terrified I was going to get glutened. I didn't eat until we got home just in case I got sick.

Well, it was DELICIOUS. And I didn't get sick! I am so glad to have the option of eating out again. I thought that was gone forever!

There it is! In all its delicious glory. :)

Learning to bake gluten free

One of my biggest concerns about being diagnosed as a celiac was baking. I love to bake. My grandmother harbored the love of baking in me since I was little. I couldn't imagine a life of not baking. When I first did some research I heard all of these different flours that people using when baking GF and honestly I was intimidated! How am I supposed to know which flour to use? I thought that I would never enjoy baking again. I was devastated especially since I had plans to open up my own shop at the farmers market selling cupcakes. But then I found an all purpose gluten free flour and figured that would be a good place for me to start!

My first two projects were to be chocolate chip pumpkin muffins and apple cider doughnuts. Just because I am now gluten free, I do not want to take away some of our family traditions! So I was determined to make it work.

I was really happy with how they turned out and completely thrilled that I can still bake, have tasty treats and my son thinks they're amazing!

I promise to post recipes soon. I want to try and lower the calories on both of these first!

Meatloaf

Loaf Ingredients
- 1 large pack of 93% fat free hamburger meat
- 1 cup of smashed rice chex cereal
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp mustard
- 3 tbsp ketchup

Glaze Ingredients
- 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 tbsp mustard

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine all ingredients until all is well incorporated.
- Put meat mixture in to a loaf pan. (I made mine in a pyrex dish and spread it out more so it would cook faster. Kiddo had to eat before football practice!)
- When meat thermometer shows it is about 10 degrees away from being done, mix your glaze together and spread on top of your loaf.
- Finish cooking until meat thermometer says it is done.

Lemon Garlic Chicken with Sweet Potatoe Side

Lemon garlic chicken is a common staple in many homes for dinner time. Although many make it, I figured I would post it here as a reminder of how yummy it is!

Chicken Ingredients
- 1 pack of chicken tenderloins (boneless/skinless)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped onions
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 lemon peeled and sliced
Olive Oil for cooking

Chicken Directions
- Heat up some olive oil in your pan.
- Add in your minced garlic and onions.
- After they have cooked a bit, add in your chicken and salt and pepper each side. Then add your lemon pieces in.
- Cover and cook.


For the sweet potatoes I just slice them thin, drizzle olive oil on them and add a bit of salt and pepper to them and a teaspoon of light brown sugar. Toss until they're all covered. Cook at 350 degrees until nice and tender.

Pumpkin Chicken

My usual ways of cooking chicken are either not gluten free or I do not have the ingredients right now. So I decided to concoct something that sounded yummy in my head. I sweetened it up a little bit, but you could add some plain greek yogurt instead of the brown sugar to add a zing! (Amount of ingredients may need to be adjusted depending on the size of your chicken breasts. I used the ones sliced very thin.)

- 1 package of chicken breasts
- 1 cup of pumpkin puree
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 cup fat free milk
Olive oil for cooking


- Put olive oil in your pan and heat it up
- Slice chicken in to cubes and place in pan to cook. (Picture shows them whole because I made it a second time for lunch tomorrow because I forgot to take a picture the first time!) Season with salt and pepper.
- When chicken is finished cooking add in the rest of the ingredients and mix together. Let simmer for 5 minutes and then serve!

For a serving of about 3 oz of chicken it came to about 234 calories.

So Many Changes!

When I was diagnosed just a few days ago, I knew my life was about to change drastically. I envisioned immediate relief from this constant pain I experience almost daily and I figured it would be easy. I was so wrong!

I never imagined there would be gluten in so many things like mustard, canned beans, lunch meat, chapstick, shampoo, nail polish and so much more. I also did not realize that I would end up calling tons and tons of manufacturers to question them about their products since so many are not labeled for easy checking. Nor did I imagine that I would have to get rid of about 75% of the food we had in the house, buy new pots, pans, cooking utensils and even new appliances.

I imagined there was a huge variety of gluten free foods and that was all I had to change. I didn't think that it would be all that different. My grocery store has only a few gluten free items spread thinly throughout the store. Since I am still sick, I am unable to travel very far to get the things to restock our home. Thankfully my husband and mother have been helping me out to grab the items that are too far for me to go to get. They've been wonderful.

There have been so many changes since becoming diagnosed that I every so often I feel very overwhelmed. Something as simple as taking my son out to eat on his birthday has become scary to me. Sure there are a handful of restaurants that have gluten free items, but, I am completely terrified of cross-contamination in the kitchen there. Also the thought of having to make my son his birthday cake and make cupcakes for his class has becoming so daunting. How on earth am I to figure out new recipes with just a couple of days until his birthday? But then I take a deep breath and realize that it will all work out and compared to the many, many benefits? These little worries are nothing.