Organize a boggled brain.. HA!

I must say, there is nothing like discovering you have a bunch of dietary "rules" and limitations. Trying to suddenly study up and learn all about how to do something that so contradicts the way you have ALWAYS done something.  I sat here at my computer for hours and hours reading all about gluten intolerance and how on earth to make the switch over to a gluten free diet. 

I worked for long hours on trying to make a grocery list until finally I just burst into tears. 

I LOVE to cook and to bake, it is one of my favorite things to do, and it was the one thing through all of my illness over the past months I had been able to cling to "most" of the time and actually accomplish. 

Now I learn that my cooking may be the cause of illness, it's just a lot to take in.

I took a full day to "throw a fit" yes, a complete and total tantrum. I didn't want to do this...

But then I pulled myself together, thankfully and I guess sadly I have several people close to me who are also gluten intolerant, so I have had the blessing of people to answer questions, and give me a starting place as to HOW on earth to actually do this. 

I then spent time recipe hunting... Every single gluten free website I could find. AND THEN, I figured out how the "substitutions" for gluten ingredients could be made in normal recipes.

I created a binder for myself with ONLY gluten free recipes, my other beautiful well used binder for cooking is resting on it's shelf. Something it doesn't usually do more than once a week.

I like to print my recipes off the internet and then I can scribble all over them with my add ons or opinions of how to change the recipe next time to make the flavors just "perfect".

I have learned more about nutrition and our bodies in the last week than in my entire life I think!

But I have discovered some wonderful news... 

GLUTEN FREE IS GOOD.

It isn't the tasteless textureless thing I thought it would be. 

I don't really even notice. 

I am having fun experimenting with gluten free flours, brown rice flour, tapioca flour, almond flour and such. 

I haven't made a recipe yet that my family hated.  (they are having to make the switch with me because as I've been reading I've discovered that my even touching wheat flour can make me sick.)

I thought I was going to have to give up pasta which was the BIGGEST whammy of it all, but little did I know that there is Quinoa pasta, and you know what, I like it BETTER than regular pasta. I've also got some brown rice pasta in my cabinet waiting to be tried.

I thought I was going to have to give up baking, but I have baked cookies and almond bread and you know what... I LIKE them! The chocolate cookies I made (above) were AMAZING. (you can't even tell there isn't flour in them)

I love to cook, and I love to cook everything from scratch, cookies, cakes, you name it, I don't like prepackaged foods so I am MORE than thankful to discover that part of my life has not changed, it has just taken a turn where there is even MORE to learn!

I started a thread on my facebook page asking anyone with gluten knowledge to post recipes, links to recipes and blogs dedicated to gluten free. I want to share here some of those places I have found helpful:

http://www.simplyvintagegirl.com/blog/index.php/gluten-free/

http://www.glutenfreehomemaker.com/

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ (not all of these are gluten free)

http://www.glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/glutenfree/

http://simplygluten-free.blogspot.com/

http://www.adventuresofaglutenfreemom.com/

The pasta salad above is a base recipe I found elsewhere but changed a bit because of personal dislikes of some of the ingredients it has:

Quinoa pasta
pine-nuts, hempseed, garlic (sautéed in coconut oil)
spinach
Broccoli (steamed just until tender)
and lemon juice over the top.
VERY yummy!
I found the original recipe here:

http://www.4littlemenandgirlytwins.com/search/label/recipes