My Journey Toward Gluten Free Eating

Last week I was detoxing. My brain was foggy for 2 days. I felt tired and irritable and I had hot flashes which I've never felt before. This was similar to my coffee detox in 2009 only worse. What did I give up that made me feel so icky? Wheat.

I recently started reading Wheat Belly and was shocked at all the health problems linked to this cash crop. The chapter on skin was what first convinced me try four weeks wheat free. I've had acne all my life and I'd resigned myself to living with it and just doing my best to limit it with the dermatologists help and my natural treatments.

Then I read in Wheat Belly about the numerous negative effects of wheat on the body. One way some people react to wheat is with acne. The author also mentions dairy and sugar as other foods that contribute to acne. I always thought this was a genetic problem and since my mom had bad skin I would too.

The author sites studies of isolated indigenous people groups with zero incidence of acne like the Japanese Okinawans who eat a very healthy diet which doesn't include wheat, dairy or sugar. When those foods were introduced, the incidence of acne among those peoples occurs at the same rate as the rest of the world.

The thought that I causing my own breakouts by making cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting appalled me. I immediately stopped eating problem foods and am now gluten and dairy free for at least 4 weeks. It could be forever.

This is a new journey for me and I don't know if I'll ever have wheat again. I'm also trying to transition my family to gluten free and I'm meeting resistance from my husband over giving up pasta and beer. My oldest son doesn't want to give up cookies or cakes but he's willing if there's a gluten free alternative. It's not something I want to fight about (yet) so I'm phasing wheat out of our house and not buying any more.

In the 11 years I've been a mom I've been trying my best to feed my family healthy foods that I make at home. I've avoided processed foods and focused on fruits, vegetables, whole grains and grass fed beef.  I'm now convinced that "healthy whole grains" are not healthy at all.

The thought of taking on something new is a bit overwhelming but I'm determined to try.

I share a full review of Wheat Belly here. If you've read it I'd love to hear your opinion. If you haven't are you interested in checking it out?

This post has been shared at: Wildcrafting Wednesday, Mama Moments, Clever Chicks, Homestead Barn Hop, Living Green Tuesday, Your Green Resource
(Note: The link in this post is my referral link. Read my disclosure policy here.)

Crockpot Garlic Chicken

I love to use my crockpot to cook dinner. It saves me so much time when I can put the meal together in the morning when my boys are gone to school and the house is quiet. Perhaps it's just me but 4-6pm is the craziest part of the day in my house between the homework & sibling fights.

I have three different slow cooker sizes, 1.5 quart, 4 quart & 7 quart and I love to give them each a chance to work for me. I even take at least one on vacation when I know I'll have to cook.

Crockpot Garlic Chicken
Adapted from Make it Fast, Cook it Slow
2-3 pounds chicken (I prefer thighs)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon pepper
10-20 garlic cloves, peeled, but intact

Place the oil, salt, paprika, pepper and garlic cloves in a 4 quart crockpot and mix. Add the chicken pieces and stir it together. If you want a one pot meal you can easily add baby carrots and new potatoes on top of the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours, or on high for 3-4. The longer you cook chicken-on-the-bone, the more tender it will be. 


I doubled the recipe when I was assembling and then placed half of it in a freezer bag for a future meal. I labeled it and put it in my deep freeze. I'm trying to do more of this to cut dinner prep time down whenever I can.



This post is featured at: Make Your Own Monday

(Note: some links in this post are my referral links. Read my disclosure policy here.)

February Menu

Strawberry Poppyseed Salad

This month I'm completely wheat and dairy free. I know I declared last month that I'd try out going gluten and sugar free and I sort of half heartedly did but around the middle of the month I had some candy and it spiralled from there.

I'm sure now that I really will be wheat and dairy free for February. No sips of Joe's beer, no baking muffins for the kids. I'm off the wheat and I'm going to stay off. I'm making some big dietary changes based on the book Wheat Belly which I'll blog about soon.

This month's menu is completely gluten and casein free as I try to transition the whole family toward wheat-free meals.

February
1 Grilled Steaks, baked potatoes, steamed green beans

2 Slow Cooker Kalua Pig, steamed broccoli

3 Crockpot Garlic Chicken with carrots & potatoes

4 Broccoli Beef in Crockpot

5 Sesame Tuna with Avocado, tossed salad

6 Chinese Crockpot Pork Chops, brown rice, steamed green beans

7 Tacos with Ground Beef

8 Grilled Chicken Skewers (from The Autism Cookbook), roasted sweet potatoes & apples

9 Leftovers for kids, Strawberry Poppyseed Salad for parents

10 Slow Cooker Pulled Pork, Honey Carrots

11 BBQ Crockpot Ribs, steamed broccoli

12 Baked Salmon, brown rice, steamed green beans

13 Dinner out for Joe's Birthday

14 Dinner on the road as we travel to WI Dells for the weekend

15 breakfast: Apple Flax Cake
lunch: pasta & salad
dinner: Crockpot roast, carrots & potatoes

16 breakfast: Bacon & eggs
lunch: Tacos with Ground Beef
dinner: Broccoli Beef in Crockpot

17 breakfast: oatmeal
Meals on the road as we head home

18 Crockpot Vegetable Beef Soup

19 Baked Tilapia, Quinoa, Steamed green beans

20 Crockpot Chicken Adobo with rice, steamed broccoli

21 Crockpot Carnitas in taco shells with toppings

22 Shredded Chicken with Asian GF Noodles (from The Autism Cookbook), steamed broccoli

23 Leftovers for kids, Strawberry Poppyseed Salad for parents

24 Crockpot Garlic Chicken with carrots & potatoes

25 Crockpot BBQ Beef Ribs, steamed green beans

26 Salmon Cakes, sweet potato fries

27 Tacos with Ground Beef

28 Slow Cooker Pulled Pork, Honey Carrots

Snacks for this month:

Theatre Style Popcorn
GF Coconut Delights
GF Mocha Walnut Brownies
GF Chocolate Pudding Cake

I'm still figuring out this new way of eating for our family so I'd love any tips or advice!


You can find even more menus at Menu Plan Monday.
(Note: some links in this post are my referral links. Read my disclosure policy here.)

Theatre Style Popcorn with Real Butter

My kids love to go to the movies and eat the popcorn. We recently told them there'd be no trips to the theatre this year as we decided to cut that out of the budget. (Just for the kids- Joe & I still have room in the budget for movies on date night!) After cries of "Unfair!" I determined the main reason for their disappointment was that they really wanted that greasy, buttery movie popcorn and my homemade stuff wasn't the same.

This prompted me to turn to the Internet for ideas and I found out that clarified butter, also known as ghee, is a real food substitute for the junky fake butter flavored stuff used at the theatre. The butter-flavored theatre oil has a lower water content than butter so it makes popcorn less soggy. Real clarified butter has the same effect.

Clarified Butter
Melt 1 stick of butter over medium heat. Once melted it will be foamy on the top. Skim off the foam with a slotted spoon. Continue to simmer the butter for 5-10 more minutes and remove as much foam as possible.
When the butter is clear and you can see to the bottom of the pan it's done. Cover the mouth of a jar with cheesecloth and pour the butter in. The cheesecloth will remove the rest of the milk solids and you'll be left with clarified butter. Wait for it to cool before putting the lid on. The clarified butter will remain a liquid at room temperature, or turn solid in the refrigerator. 

Theatre Style Popcorn with Clarified Butter
Mix 3 tablespoons of clarified butter with 10 cups of freshly air popped popcorn and mix together. Add sea salt for flavor.

This was a hit with all of us and we gobbled it down. I'm happy to have another real food alternative for my family and another homemade item for school lunches.

This post is featured on: Clever Chicks, Make Your Own Mondays, Homestead Barn Hop, Natural Living Monday