A Foodie Adieu

Hey Foodies! I hope that in the last few weeks I’ve taken you on an interesting journey into a new world of gluten free eating and living!

Living a Gluten-Free healthy lifestyle isn’t nearly as difficult as it is made out to be if you know where to look and what to do, but you have to be willing to try new things with an open mind and adapt to new needs, changes and experiences. The hardest part about switching to a gluten free diet in my experience is facing the fact that no, you can’t eat that anymore, and yes, you have to actually LOOK for your food now. Of course you don’t have to look too hard , but take it from me as a student who would grab practically anything and put it in her cart, it’s quite a change from the normal modus operandi when it comes to shopping for food. In my opinion though once you learn to look it becomes much easier to not only find food, but to also lead a happy and healthy gluten free lifestyle! I personally think that everyone should try living gluten free for at least a little while, if only because it instills good habits and also raises awareness of the rising numbers of food intolerance cases that have been happening every year.

 I might not have mentioned this at the beginning of this blog, but this has been my first experience with blogging, and let me tell you it’s been fun! Difficult, but fun! I began this blog as a project for a class in college, and I think I’ve learned a lot over the course of these 9 posts!  I’m afraid dear foodies that after this ninth and final post I will no longer be among you in the blogosphere, but fear not! For some day I might return, just not to this particular blog. I honestly appreciate all the readership, and comments that you’ve all posted here, and I wish you well on your own food related endeavors!

It’s a mighty delicious world out there, so enjoy it all! I hope that I left you with a new perspective, and perhaps a full tummy!

Friendly, Fun, and Fresh!

Many people who are first entering into the Gluten Free diet fixate on the lack of classic foods and grains that they are used to. Unfortunately this can cause a serious imbalance in their diet as often they continually eat grains and starchy foods to try and replace the simple carbs (white breads, noodles, snacks and cookies)  which are suddenly absent from their lifestyle.

Unfortunately, this sudden absence induced, carb crunching, starch stashing type of a diet is not a healthy way to transition into a gluten free lifestyle; it not only leaves a precedent for eating disproportionate amounts of starch, it is also a seriously unbalanced diet and is lacking in many nutrients and fibers.

I want to share some of my ideas for a friendly, fun, and fresh way to transition into a gluten free diet while beating those starch and carb cravings!

11)      Try eating brown rice!

Brown rice is higher in fiber than its starchier white rice counterpart, and has a slightly richer nutty flavor. Using brown rice in dishes such as fried rice, rice pilaf, or as a side can enhance flavor, satisfy your craving for starch and provide a greater amount of nutrients than using plain white rice would.

Here’re a few ideas!

Brown rice pilaf- cook brown rice with water and chicken broth (either on the stove or in a rice cooker), then toss on medium heat with some veggies of choice (cook veggies previously or use left overs!) garlic, onions, salt and pepper! Jazz up the recipe as you like, and serve with stir fry, fish, or some protein!

Brown rice Bake- Here’s a recipe that I’ve loved ever since I was little, my mom would make it for us all the time! In an oven safe container with a lid place a thin layer of rice (uncooked) a layer of chicken breasts (or thighs, boneless) and cover with another few cups of rice, then add a few cans of gluten free cream of mushroom soup and as much water as needed for the rice to cook. Now, bake the covered container in the oven for about an hour or as long as needed for the chicken to cook through without getting dry, at 350 degrees F. You can adjust the recipe for however many people you are feeding, we usually cooked about half a cup of uncooked rice per person!

22)      Grab fruits and veggies!

Bananas and Apples are delicious, sweet, and slightly starchy which make them a great alternative to grabbing a gluten free muffin or bagel! Squashes and yams also make good healthy alternatives to classic potato or rice starch breads. Making a refreshing fruit salad or eating a nice warm squash dish are both excellent ways to get good vitamins, minerals and fiber while still satisfying a craving for starchy simple sugars and carbs! Try tossing sliced apples and bananas with yummy vanilla yogurt or even topping a bowl of gluten free oatmeal (high in fiber) with some fruits as well! The oatmeal will help to sate a craving for nutty, creamy carbs while the fruit helps add just the right touch of fresh yummy deliciousness!

Try baking veggies to make yummy roasted veggie snacks (baked carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower are my all-time favorites) or thin slice carrots and bake with kale to make chips!

33)      If you just have to have that bowl of pasta, those pancakes, or that slice of toast try to jazz them up and balance them out!          

Pasta is delicious on its own, one of the classic ways to serve it is just plain with some sauce, but consider adding chopped veggies, serving it with a side, or jazzing up your classic store bought tomato sauce to add more nutrients, flavor, and deliciousness! We always like to ‘edit’ the tomato sauces we purchase at the grocery market; we usually like to combine our sauce with some yummy caramelized onions or lightly sautéed garlic. We also like putting chopped broccoli, julienned green beans, carrots, peppers, bell peppers, or peas into our sauces to add more flavor and more… well just more! Chopping fresh cherry tomatoes to top our plates adds a refreshing pop and dazzle to each bite, and adding green herbs like chives, cilantro, fresh basil, or any other herb really adds a nice flavor and a rich color contrast!

A great way to add panache to your pancake is to dress it up in style! Try making a home-made quick jam or syrup to top it! Try making a delicious strawberry topping by combining water, sugar, and chopped or mashed berries over a medium-low heat on the stove. Or top with a simple and delicious apple pie-esque topping by combining apple slices, cinnamon, a bit of sugar or honey, ginger and a starch of your choice in the microwave or on the stove! If you have dried fruits or berries on hand pop them in the batter with a small handful of chocolate chips for a yummy treat, or a small handful of oats for a filling oatcake on the go! (Gluten free oats please!)

Toast is a go to for a quick carb craving, but try making it into a real treat (and a healthier one at that) by adding a melted slice of cheese and some sliced veggies, or cream cheese with fruit! Peanut butter and bananas are a delicious, high protein option, which can settle food cravings and provide a satisfyingly sweet treat!

44)      Don’t be afraid to mix and match!

Combine as many of your favorite treats and eats to make a satisfying, high nutrient addition to your diet!

55)      And most importantly… Enjoy!!!!

NaOmi’s random cooking/baking tip: Remember that rice and beans form a complete protein, so if you want to make some yummy and nutritious meals try combining them! Lentil soup with rice is always a favorite!

A Tiskit A Tasket A Pizza in a Basket

You guessed it foodies! This is a post dedicated to a beautiful, versatile, delicious food (drum roll please!) PIZZA!! Yum yum  yum! I’m sure that you are by now aware that all things gluten have delicious alternatives hiding out just waiting for you to find them! In this case, it’s delicious pizza!

http://cbsnews2.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2012/05/07/7c7e0216-a644-11e2-a3f0-029118418759/thumbnail/620x350/ee00f5e2fae2003f4219d4e31253f29b/Pizza_GlutenFree_Small_Pep_.jpg

Gluten free pizzas and gluten containing pizzas have many similarities and many differences all at the same time! Gooey cheese? Check! Tangy, spicy, intoxicating sauce? Check! Toppings, toppings galore? Check!! So… what are the differences you might ask. The crust of course! Gluten is a protein that after being introduced to water and kneaded a bit forms strong elastic support structures. These support structures hold the shape of the bread as it rises, allowing breads with gluten in them to be chewy, yet fluffy and light. For foods that do not contain gluten in them however that elastic structure has to be built from some other ingredient. Eggs work, but they tend to color foods yellow and in large quantities can taste far to egg-y and be overwhelmingly dense. Enter guar gum. Guar gum is an edible, elastic substance which can help form the structural element in gluten free baked goods. Unfortunately guar gum isn’t as strong as gluten and has a tendency to collapse if not introduced to a recipe in equal proportions; it also tends to make foods a bit overly chewy. However it is magical in certain recipes.

http://threelilsisters.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/kinnikinnick-frozen-pizza-crusts.jpg

But I digress. Since many of the substitutes for gluten aren’t as strong, gluten free pizza crusts must generally be kept thin or else the dough may collapse under the weight of the toppings and create a dense, chewy well in the middle of the pizza. Are there alternatives? Yes, Amy’s has a delicious frozen pizza which you can also get with dairy-free cheese. This pizza does have a thin crust, but as the crust is flavorful it doesn’t detract. Udi’s, a well-known gluten free bread company has ready-made frozen or refrigerated pizza dough and pizza crusts available, and Pamela’s, a gluten free bakery that produces delicious baked goods has a pizza crust mix that, after being mixed with herbs and slathered with sauce, makes delicious pizzas or bread sticks, depending on what you want.

http://www.pamelasproducts.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Pizza-Mixes.jpg

Gluten free pizza crusts brown just as well as ‘regular’ pizza crusts, but they are generally thinner and a bit like a cracker crust pizza. Since the dough is generally unable to stand up to too much weight, the thicker the pizza, generally the heavier and denser the crust becomes. Unlike traditional pizza crusts which bring a yeasty, bread flavor to the pizza. Gluten free pizzas generally have a different (and sometimes lighter) flavor, so if they are enhanced with herbs they bring more flavor to the pizza themselves.

Both gluten free and regular pizzas are very delicious, but the crust of a gluten free pizza is thin and crispy while the crust on a regular pizza, although it is sometimes similarly thin (cracker crust), generally is fluffier than gluten free crusts.

Have you ever had a gluten free pizza? How was it? What is your favorite gluten free food or dish? (Veggie dishes included).

NaOmi’s random gluten free cooking/baking tip:

Always have a wide variety of grains and nuts and beans on your hands, if you ever need a flour, a snack, or a quick meal you can grind them up for flour pretty easily (blender or food processor work the best) or you can toss them together with veggies (and a protein selection) and voila dinner! Sautéed garlic almond chicken with steamed veggies and rice anyone?

Gluten Free is Good For… Me?

Interestingly enough, although the ‘gluten-free’ lifestyle, a universally beneficial and comprehensive diet, it is often touted as being incredibly healthy and fulfilling, not too many people are actually aware of what a gluten free lifestyle entails and how it can help them in their daily life.

                 

Whole Grains. Tell me foodies, how often do we hear that whole grains are good for us? You see it everywhere, from children’s cereal boxes to healthy living magazines. Whole grains seem to be the new definition of the food pyramid, but what does that mean? Where does whole wheat fit into this category? Many people think that whole wheat is synonymous to whole grains, but the two are not actually mutually inclusive, whole wheat fits under the umbrella of whole grains, but it can’t substitute for all of the different types of grains out there. How many grains are there really? Well….

   

http://kimberlysnyder.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/shutterstock_77590927.jpg

              

When it is recommended that you consume whole grains regularly remember that whole wheat is only one type of grain, and a gluten containing one at that. A variety of grains are available to supplement your diet; whole grain oats, whole grain millet, whole grain amaranth, whole grain teff, whole grain rice, whole grain quinoa, the list goes on and on, and each grain adds more nutrition and variety. People who think that whole wheat is the be all and end all are actually limiting their dietary variety and therefore the range of nutrition they should really be getting. By switching or experiencing a gluten free diet, many people expand their horizons and try new things; this actually allows them to discover many new (and delicious) facets of healthy eating!

                 

Many breads and gluten free cereals are actually created with blends of many types of whole grain flours, creating a rich variety of flavors, textures, and nutritional values.

                 

So we get that gluten free foods can have more varieties of whole grains in them, but how is eating gluten free healthier for me in the long run? This is the main question, right foodies?

Well, what if I told you that many gluten free products are made with organic ingredients, and that many don’t contain artificial or harsh chemical preservatives? Just glancing at any regular packaged gluten containing food item or snack box will likely show a disturbing litany of chemical additives, and even more worryingly a large amount of preservatives (like nitrites and sulfites) although these preservatives seem harmless, or perhaps necessary, many people actually suffer adverse reactions to them, and in overly large quantities they can cause health problems such as asthma like symptoms and potentially cancer.

http://colombod2.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/label10a.jpg

Tell me truly, do you read labels? Do you know what’s in your food? I won’t lie, I never used to. Label reading is a habit that is essential for a healthy gluten free lifestyle. People go around putting mono-chemical--what’s-a-who’s-it into their bodies, and they have no idea what it is, what it’s made out of, and what it might do once it’s in them. Worse, most people don’t care. Now I’m not trying to harp on non-label readers foodies (yes, I fit into the category myself sometimes) but not knowing what’s going in can have serious consequences. As it turns out, things like ‘modified food starch’, ‘maltodextrin’, and even ‘dinkel’ (yes I’m serious) are pseudonyms for gluten. If gluten, a naturally occurring protein can be labeled in so many ways, what about so many of the chemical additives we see in food?

             

http://www.180nutrition.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/180_nutrition_food_additives_list.jpg

    

Yes my dear foodies, eating gluten free can be very healthy in and of itself, but it also instills wonderfully healthy habits in you as well (obsessively reading labels) and believe it or not, just through that even just trying a gluten free diet can help you (yes you!) be a healthier and happier person!

                 

Do you try to regularly read labels? How do you feel about what you see if you do, and if you don’t will you start to now? Have you ever heard of BHT or of BHA? (Have you seen it listed on your cereal boxes for example? Or maybe your Quaker Oat bars?) Do you know what else contains it? If you don’t know, I invite you to look it up and put your reactions below!

  NaOmi’s random gluten free cooking/baking tip:

Did you know that processed white cane or beet sugar actually have extremely high glycemic indexes? That means that after you eat them your blood sugar spikes incredibly high very fast; leading you to actually go into a bit of a low energy depressive state once the sugar is metabolized (this also causes fat storage due to insulin spikes and increased hunger). Since these sugars are extremely easy to break down your body goes through them fast, and sadly that means that you…crash. To avoid crashing but still add some delicious sweetness to your foods and sauces try adding raw honey, or palm sugar. These sugars are natural and actually have a far lower glycemic index! This means that your blood sugar stays far more stable and (BONUS)  you still get to enjoy keeping your energy levels up with sweet treats! Try making a homemade teriyaki sauce with gluten free soy sauce, honey, garlic and ginger!

Nope, Nope, Not I! Not ME!

 Welcome back foodies! I realized that I never really talked about what gluten intolerance is and what the symptoms are! I can tell you that many people are actually living with some form of food allergy or intolerance right now, and they don’t even know it! Yup, food intolerances are often misdiagnosed, or exhibit general symptoms which could really be contributed to any number of things. Often people will ignore or disregard any symptoms that they exhibit, choosing not to seek help or find the cause of something so ‘minor’ that ‘happens all the time’. I implore you foodies, if you exhibit symptoms for a sustained period of time, go talk to a doctor or consider an elimination diet! Elimination diets,  dietary plans devoid of any potential trigger foods, are currently one of the best ways to determine if someone has an intolerance, however there are other methods which you could use as well foodies.

    

http://doctorhermann.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/elim1.jpg

             

You could have an allergy or intolerance right this instant! This very second your body could be rebelling and undergoing lots of stress, and you might not even know why! (I’m serious foodies! Don’t believe me? Read on!)

                 

Gluten intolerance is the inability of the body to digest a protein called gluten. This protein comes from wheat, rye, and barley, and is used for structure in many foods and other products. Intolerances to gluten develop when the body becomes unable to process something properly. In this case, the body cannot digest gluten, which can lead to malabsorption of nutrients and even dehydration. An allergy on the other hand is when the body actively (although mistakenly) attacks some particle of food or foreign protein. As soon as that item is identified as a foreign and unwelcome object, any particle no matter how small can trigger an allergic reaction (when the body responds to the ‘invasive object’ and attacks it). 

                 

So how can you tell?

                 

Symptoms are broad and varied, but often more than one symptom manifests itself when one is intolerant or having an allergic reaction. If you react in any of these ways to food, I strongly suggest you see a doctor and ask about potentially trying an elimination diet. If you have a particular dislike for doctors (or dentists, or just hospitals and medical facilities in general) number one, I won’t judge, and number two, you can try an elimination diet on your own, just make sure to keep your diet as balanced as possible for the duration!

                 

Common symptoms which may indicate intolerances or allergies to gluten include:

Diarrhea, constipation, and bloating. These symptoms manifest because the body is unable to digest the gluten particles in the food. Severe bloating or irregular bowel movements can cause sharp pain and acute discomfort, especially if these symptoms are chronic and are linked to a commonly consumed food item.

http://reachingutopia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/woman-headache.jpg

Chronic headaches, irritability, anxiety, mood swings, extreme tiredness, or exhaustion after eating. I grouped these all together because they have a similar cause. Unfortunately, the body’s inability to digest gluten actually leads to a general inability to absorb nutrients or water at all. This is extremely unfortunate since it can cause extreme stress on the body, and can even lead to severe health problems if left untreated. The body can expend large amounts of energy simply trying to digest indigestible food. This can lead to tiredness and sleepiness after eating, headaches, etc. Doesn’t sound like much fun, right foodies? I agree, that’s why I think that if you are prone to migraines, and notice that often they occur a few minutes to a few hours after eating a gluten containing meal, it would be beneficial to consider cutting gluten from your diet.

Lactose or other food intolerances. Interestingly, a good indicator for gluten intolerance can actually be the presence of some other form of intolerance.  In the case of lactose intolerance (a common companion to gluten intolerance) gluten may actually interfere with the lactase enzymes produced in the body, this interference can ultimately cause symptoms related to lactose intolerance.

Dandruff, skin rashes, lesions, irritation, or eczema like skin irritations can all be caused by gluten intolerance. These rashes can be caused by a lack of nutrients, or by improper nutrient absorption, this could be caused by poor diet, gluten intolerance, or any number of things, however, when the presence of a skin rash coincides with other symptoms indicative of gluten intolerance, it may be a good idea to try eliminating gluten from your diet for a period of time, ok foodies? Keratosis Pilaris is one common example of just such a skin rash. (a very common skin irregularity, keratosis is caused by many things and often goes away on its own. 

http://www.apmhealth.com/Portals/253839/images/treatments_FAST.jpg

 Joint pain and fibromyalgia are also commonly linked to gluten intolerance and other food intolerances.

If you have experienced these symptoms or have exhibited them for a sustained period of time; by this I mean days, weeks, or months, ok foodies?  Don’t just automatically say “Nope, I don’t have that, that’s not my problem.” Talk to your doctor and see if you perhaps have gluten intolerance. Being officially classified as being gluten intolerant (and more importantly being informed) is extremely important to your continued health and care! If you even so much as suspect that you may have gluten intolerance you should take steps to take care of yourself, and get yourself some support!

Have you exhibited any or many of these symptoms? Try taking gluten out of your diet for a few weeks to a month (it can take up to a month to clear out residual gluten in the digestive system) ((or relief can happen literally overnight, it just depends on the person, the case or the symptoms expressed)) and see what happens!

NaOmi’s random gluten free cooking/baking tip:

Today let’s go for a cooking tip, ok foodies? Corn tortillas are almost always gluten free (read the label!) and can make for a great dinner if jazzed up with just the right ingredients. If you’re feeling particularly nostalgic for flour tortillas however, there are many different recipes that you can try! Including this one. If you are looking for something more nutritious, or more flavorful, try looking for sorghum or a high fiber flour recipe (teff maybe?).  As seen in this recipe, try substituting brown rice flour for white rice four wherever possible since it has a higher nutritive value, and certainly more fiber!