Gluten Free Donuts: a first attempt

Life hasn't been very conducive to blogging lately. Between job hunting (which is consuming most of my time), going away to visit my family, and all those little things that crop up that must be done, I haven't had a chance to post. I'm still baking and cooking up a gluten free storm, though - that part of life doesn't change. Usually I'm in too much of a hurry to take pictures of what I make, so I'll just have to wait to make them again before posting the recipes.

Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake

Hm, just discovered a post I started several weeks ago and never got a chance to finish. Here goes:

Yesterday was a gorgeous, glorious, sunny, warm spring day. I went for a 5 mile walk to the grocery store and back and got a whole bunch of strawberries. I was in the mood for some strawberry shortcake, so using a basic cake recipe* and the strawberries I had gotten along with some whipped cream to go with them, we had this for dessert. Who says eating gluten free is boring?

*I used this cake recipe, minus the raspberries.

Feeling Alive!

Something wonderful has happened in the past few days. For a whole month after I finished the gluten challenge I was exhausted all the time. I felt lots better than I had felt while on it, and the brain fog was absent, as was the whole body aching, but I just couldn't shake being tired. I was very worried about this: I thought it might never change, I wasn't sure it had been induced by the gluten. What if gluten was just part of the problem, and there was something deeper? Probably worrying about it made me even more tired. I was taking naps during the day whenever I could. I was sleeping at least 8 hours a night (though I'm not convinced my sleep was very good quality.

This week on Monday and Tuesday I got sick, in addition to being tired. Blagh. How was I ever going to have the energy to apply for jobs, and get all the other thousand-and-one things done that I wanted to do? Should I chalk this exhaustion up to depression? To being by myself all day every day? I just didn't know what to think.

I started taking vitamin supplements again (especially vitamin D), but with all the studies recently about the uncertainty of whether supplements do any good, I figured it was an empty gesture.

But then, on Tuesday afternoon after my nap (I was out like a rock for an hour), I started to feel like a new person! Maybe it was the nap? Maybe it was going out to see a friend right after that? I figured I would probably crash again, but I'd enjoy it while it lasted, and when Hubs came home from work, he was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with a much more cheerful wife than he'd seen in a while (especially at the end of the day).

In spite of very poor sleep on Tuesday night, my energy continued into Wednesday, and then yesterday as well. My cold came back suddenly, with a vengeance, but even that didn't drag me down! I feel GREAT! It's already 10:45am and I don't need a nap! And don't feel likely to need one in the near future, either. HURRAY!!!!

I guess it just took me a whole month to get over the effects of the gluten. Which isn't really a surprise, but I wasn't giving myself a chance to get better.

Huzzah for energy! It is amazing to feel alive again. And that gluten stuff is poison.

Best-Ever No-Boil Gluten-Free Lasagna

 (see this lasagna? It's gluten free. And I made it myself.)

When I was growing up, my Mom made the most *wonderful* lasagna. Moist and saucy and full of melted cheese. None of this dry stuff with a little sauce and a trace of cheese scraped between the gooey noodles. The other thing that I loved about my mom's recipe: no boiling the lasagna pasta before making the lasagna! There's plenty of of moisture in the sauce, and it just seeps into the noodles and cooks them as the whole thing bakes. No more painstaking pulling apart of boiled lasagna, hoping it doesn't tear (or cling together 3 pieces thick). It's crazy-easy!

Fact or Fiction #1: Eating Gluten Free makes you skinny!

I can't even count anymore the number of times people have said to me or about me, "oh, she's so skinny because there's nothing she can eat, with this gluten free diet..." 

NOT TRUE! Quite the opposite, in fact. Back when I was very sick from eating gluten, I was losing weight like crazy no matter what I ate. My roommates and I joked about the pizza diet where you could eat pizza three times a day and still lose weight. That's exactly what was happening to me (well, 2 times a day). I had a raging appetite, ate anything I wanted and ate it in large amounts. Actually, I needed to eat this much because if I didn't, my blood sugar would start dropping. People thought I had a roaring metabolism. It seemed like any girl's (or an guy's for that matter) dream come true. But I felt utterly miserable all the time, and I wasn't absorbing most of what I was eating. This was serious malnutrition.

See! It's Gluten Free! 1.2

 

My breakfast this morning: waffle with butter & apricot jam, cottage cheese, scrambled eggs sprinkled with parmesan.

Waffles courtesy of Trader Joe's. Their Wheat Free/Gluten Free waffles are delicious.  I don't remember what Eggos taste like exactly, but I'm pretty sure these aren't far off. And no, all gluten free meals do not have to involve eggs. I've just been enjoying eggs a lot recently.

Perfect Gluten Free Granola Bars

So I made granola bars last night because I've been craving something easy to make for breakfast, and cereal doesn't agree with me too much these days (well, the milk really doesn't agree with me). I was vaguely hoping for something healthy... but convenience won out once I found this recipe, and they *are* semi-healthy (I put flax seeds in them ;). I thought, "this is good, the recipe makes a whole pan and I can eat a couple a day and they'll last me a while."

I didn't reckon with Hubs and his munchies whenever I make something (although I'm flattered that he likes my cooking so much). I also didn't plan on how much *I* would like them. This morning I've already eaten 5! They are sooo delicious, though a bit on the sweet side. I might cut the sugar next time.