Gluten is a Sneaky Bitch

As you likely know, The Hubs and I recently decided to begin eating gluten free. What we didn't know was how incredibly sneaky gluten is!

We have been sans gluten now for about two and a half weeks, or so we thought. When we sat and thought about whether or not we were noticing any differences, we had to admit that we were feeling pretty much the same. At first we rejoiced thinking brownies and any restaurant we wanted were back in our grasp. What we soon realized was that The Hubs' protein powder has cookie crumbs in it and the chips he eats at work have barley flour in them. This caused me to re-evaluate what I was consuming. As far as I could tell, my eating had been impeccable. I resisted the urge to order a sandwich at Panera. I religiously read ingredient lists and called companies to make sure what I bought was safe. I sadly passed up the brownie samples as everyone else at knitting dug in. What I didn't do, however, was check the gluten free status of my beloved frappuccino.

When I realized that the only thing I hadn't checked was my frap, I quickly made my way to the Starbucks website where I found that they don't release allergen information online. Their feeling is that you should just ask in person. Their official position is that they do not consider any of their products to be gf due to the risk of cross contamination. Their representatives have also stated that "If there are concerns about this product possibly containing an ingredient that you do not wish to consume, we would recommend that product not be consumed." They very much dance around the topic of whether or not their products contain gluten, stating they cannot reveal any more than what their website lists as ingredients for "proprietary" reasons. I'm kind of put off by this! Fortunately, I was able to find an email from one representative who stated that the frappuccino base is not gluten free. So, after much searching and very little actual help from Starbucks, I think I know why I haven't noticed any big changes. I have to admit, I'm a little heart broken. I live for Pumpkin Spice and Egg Nog frappuccinos! I've seen rumours that the lattes are safe, but I honestly don't know if it is worth it.

So, we're starting over, again. Thanks, Starbucks!

DIY Deodorant

One of the things I definitely prefer to make at home (when I have the time) is deodorant. Store bought deodorant is too pricey and full of crazy chemicals for our taste. This version has only four ingredients, takes only 10 minutes to make, and is a fraction of the price. Not to mention, The Hubs and I prefer the way it smells to any other deodorant we've ever used. So, here it is!

8 Tbs Unrefined Coconut Oil

1/2 C Baking Soda

1/2 C Cornstarch

20 drops Essential oil of your preference

(I cut this last batch in half due to close to no cornstarch, so feel free to do the same.)

Put the coconut oil in a glass bowl and melt the oil (my microwave takes about 30 seconds to do this). 

Once melted, add the essential oil. We tend to do half cinnamon oil and half clove oil. 

In a separate bowl mix the cornstarch and baking soda. 

Slowly and thoroughly mix the dry ingredients into the oil. 

Set the mixture in the fridge to harden. 

When solid, pack the deodorant into an old deodorant tube, or use as is.

Be sure to store it somewhere cool since the oil has such a low melting point.

There you have it! Cheap and easy deodorant!

Day 21: Calm

The best way to deal with colic.

Day 19: Letters

A notebook full of letters written back and forth between mah best friend and I.

Day 18: Made You Smile Today

Enough said.

Food Review! Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter and Udi's Plain Bagels

When The Hubs and I first decided to go gluten free, one of my first sad goodbyes were to bagels. I've always been in love with bagels. My absolute favourite breakfast is a hot bagels smeared with slightly melty cream cheese. So, imagine my joy when I found gf bagels at Trader Joe's a couple of days ago!

The  pack of four bagels was 4$ at TJ's, and 6$ on Udi's site. The site claims their bagels are "soft, chewy, and yummy," and honestly, they aren't lying. I have heard absolute horror stories about gf baked goods. They taste nothing like bread, they're dry as saw dust, they're super hard, in a nutshell, nothing you would want to eat. These bagels gave me faith that gf eating will be anything but horrible. I normally toast my bagels, but seeing as our toaster disappeared in The Move, I had to try these in their natural state. I pulled one out of the bag, and gave it a good look over before taking my first nervous bite. My fear quickly melted into joy. They looked, felt, smelled, and tasted like a normal bagel. My only complaint is that they are a bit dryer than a regular bagel. This, however was fairly easily fixed by applying a healthy layer of TJ's pumpkin butter.

The pumpkin butter was a bit of an impulse buy. I'm mildly addicted to pumpkin, and will buy just about anything with pumpkin on the label. The Hubs was initially weary of the pumpkin butter due to his negative feelings about apple butter. Upon reading the ingredients, though, he quickly changed his tune. The ingredients are literally pumpkin, sugar, honey, lemon juice concentrate, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger! With the exception of the lemon, it's like pumpkin pie in a jar! I am not the biggest fan of lemon, and so I think the lemon could be toned down a bit. However, even with it being a little more lemony than I would like, it's still fantastic. It tastes like heaven and probably wouldn't be too hard to make. Although, at 2.29$ a jar, I don't feel too bad about buying it. I definitely see this becoming a staple in our home.

So, all in all, these two products thoroughly impressed me! The bagel's slight dryness is easily fixed with a spread and the pumpkin butter is fall in a jar. I don't think my first gf food adventure could have gone much better!

Day 17: Fruit

Day 16: Something You Wrote

Teenage writing.

Day 15: Dinnertime

Gluten free Panera :)

Day 14: Makes You Laugh

Day 12: On the Table

I considered cleaning it up, but I present real life. ;)

Day 11: Something Close Up

Day 10: Emotion

Anger

Sometimes he likes his gnome hat blanket, other times he hates it.

Progress and Grins

So, The Hubs and I failed at the birthday party. We expected R to have a meltdown much sooner than he did, and therefore were at said party much later than we expected. So, we caved and ate crappy Chuck E. Cheese pizza. We started over the next day and are now completing day two of eating totally gluten free.

Day one consisted of Cinnamon Chex cereal, I'm blanking on lunch, and chicken salad on tortilla chips. Today was a tea for breakfast, leftover chicken salad for lunch, and steak, quinoa, and salad for dinner. Snacks have been various fruits, yogurts, and spoonfuls of peanut butter. So, it hasn't been too bad. The pain is going to be knitting at Panera tomorrow night. I've been scouring their nutrition section, trying to find what I can have, and it looks like my options are going to be pretty slim. On top of that, I can't be sure that there won't be any cross contamination, but at this point I'm not going to be too picky about that. I think the important thing right this moment is cutting out as much gluten as I can. I'll be more picky about cross contamination once I've gotten this down.
My life saver so far has been www.gfoverflow.com. The Hubs' sister told me about this site, and I absolutely love it. If you aren't sure about the gf status of a product, you just type in the name and the site will let you know. It's really great for the hidden gluten in "natural flavours." Another site that I've been thankful for finding has been www.glutenfreegirl.com. This lady is married to a chef, so good food is very important to them. Because of that, they have worked really hard to de-gluten a lot of different things, posting the recipes as they go. Things are sorted into neat categories, so everything is easy to find. With the holidays coming up, I was beginning to get sad when I thought about the things The Hubs and I R would be missing out on, but thanks to these sites he won't miss out on anything. He can have most candies at Halloween, and I found a sugar cookie recipe for Yule.

Besides working on this whole gf thing, I have been working on getting smiles out of R. Gathering evidence  of said smiles is my primary occupation.

Day 9: Red

Day 8: Angle

A downward angle counts, right?

Day 7: Light

Taking the Plunge

In the last year The Hubs' mom was diagnosed with celiac disease and several of his family members have at least a gluten sensitivity. With that in mind, The Hubs and I have decided to also remove gluten from our diets. Due to the family history, R is predisposed, as is The Hubs, and we both have several issues that are said to be exacerbated by gluten, so what will it hurt to just cut it out?

We are now on day two of no gluten, and I'll be honest, it makes me feel a little trapped.Things have to change, and as selfish as it is, I don't want them to. I don't like that I can't make a quick stop at some fast food place if I'm out running errands and am starving. I don't like that I might not be able to get anything to eat when I go to knitting at Panera. I don't like that at the birthday party we're going to today I can't have cake or pizza. I don't like that since we have decided that this is the best option for our family, all I can think about are muffin, fresh bread, and all the fall treats I can't have. It's silly, and like I said, selfish, but it's frustrating.

So, now we're working on figuring out what we can eat and how to incorporate it into our lives. It's going to require me cooking a lot more, which is something that has seriously decreased since late in my pregnancy. It also requires me to plan my meals a lot better. I can't just wing things like lunch anymore. I think the thing I'm most worried about is food being boring. I've never been the type of person who enjoyed eating the same thing days on end, and it feels like that is what's in store. So far I've had salad, salad, and more salad.I know there is more I can have and do, it's just the process of figuring it out that seems daunting. I can definitely understand why The Hubs' mom was so depressed when she received her diagnosis, and I have no idea how his sister does it on top of being vegetarian! If they can do it, though, so can we. His mom is just going to receive a lot more calls asking what we should make for dinner. Also, if anyone has any suggestions for gf lunches that are easy to put together while dealing with an angry baby, I'm all ears.

I'll let you all know how this goes and if we see any improvements. :) Wish us luck!

Day 6: I'm thankful for...

My beautiful baby boy.

Even if he does drive me crazy sometimes. :)

Quick, while he's sleeping!

R is currently snoozing in his swing, and I thought I'd blog quickly before he realizes that I set him down.

As you can probably tell by the above sentence, he hasn't gotten much better about being set down. We have begun to be able to lay him in his swing for short periods, as long as he is asleep first. Otherwise, he is anti not being held. He is staying awake for longer periods, which means he insists on being held for longer periods. This was turning into a bit of a disaster, in regards to the state of my home, but I think I have discovered a solution. The Hubs and I dragged ourselves to a local baby wearing meeting today and got some help in regards to our wraps. As I said before, the mei tai was okay if R was asleep first, and I had a hand to support his head, and the moby was beyond my understanding. Well, ladies and gents, I might have figured out the moby! I was shown a way to get R in that gives him head support, allows him to look around (very important these days), and doesn't squish him. Best of all, he tolerates it while awake! I also discovered that I am in love with ring slings. A friend said she will add me to a fb group where people sell their used slings, and I'm hoping to be able to find one. If these continues to work, I can actually begin taking care of the house again! No more being tied to a chair because he refuses to be set down and requires two hands while being carried! I might even be able to go out and about while alone! This could open a whole new world of possibilities! :)

Last week we did our first real trip. We took a 7 hour car ride across the state to work at a Ren Faire, and it was amazing. R woke up every few hours to nurse and be changed, but he slept soundly for most of the ride. Upon arrival, he was a pretty good baby and after the first few hours of the first day, he slept most of the time. The miracle was that he allowed us to set him down while he slept. I was absolutely shocked by this, but R must have decided that was enough shock, because he has since resumed his stance on being set down while sleeping: firmly against. The trip home wasn't nearly as easy, but it taught us that while traveling we need to give ourselves a lot more time than we think we need.

This week was also amazing for teaching me which friends to turn to when having some baby trouble. I went to coffee with one well meaning friend who basically told me it's okay to practice the cry-it-out method. The gist was that sometimes babies need to stretch their lungs, I shouldn't be a human binki, and I need to be careful not to teach R that I will come and hold him when he cries. This might be something that other moms are comfortable with, and I fully support them, however, it isn't something I am comfortable with. I understand that there are times when you have done everything you can and baby is still crying. In those times I understand that baby is going to cry until baby falls asleep or is suddenly okay. I also know that in those times I want to show R that when he is upset, I will be there. I will be with him to hold him while he figures things out. I want him to know that he isn't alone when he is frustrated. I personally cannot make myself set him down and walk away when he is inconsolable. There are other mothers who can, and like I said, I support them, it just isn't for me. I get aggravated when R is having a difficult day and, sure, I complain, but I also understand that this is what I want. I could easily exclusively pump and bottle feed. I could easily set him in his crib and let him cry himself to sleep. I could easily set him down and let him figure it out while I get things done. I could easily use paper diapers. I could easily do a lot of things that might make things easier, but I choose not to because they don't feel right for me and my baby. There are some people who, I'm sure, don't agree with how I do things, and that's okay. That's what I'm really learning, it is okay if not everyone supports me. All I have to do is smile, thank them for the advice, and if I feel the need, simply inform them that that isn't something that works for us. I have plenty of people in my life that either seethe value in what I am doing or at least support that I am doing what I feel is right. That support is all I need, and I know it. <3

A little behind, again.

It's October, and since we aren't too far into the month, I'm going to start another Photo-A-Day.

Everyone should join me :) <3