This Thanksgiving I am THANKFUL FOR...

I am thankful for the bun in my oven! Yes, that is right, we are expecting a baby! I cannot wait to share my gf pregnancy experience with all of you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Weekly Recap from WEEK ONE!

Well, Week One wasn't quite what I wanted, to be honest. When I hit the gym I hit it hard. However, I have health problems that keep me from wanting to go. Two days I didn't make it to the gym because I had migraines that kept me from seeing straight. I actually vomited from them. I napped instead. So, I felt slightly defeated. I am fessing up. I still did the workout videos and  I worked it hard when I did go to the gym. I also clean daily so I think house work is aerobic. I also went to the pool a few times this week. That is body movement. Does that make up for missed gym time? I sure hope so! Week Two will be posted in the morning. I will also be posting the workout videos that are my favorites shortly! I love the email feedback I have been receiving. Everyone keep up the great work! Don't be shy, become a Facebook fan too!

Where have I been?

Hum...good question. I have been around and cooking. So, yay for you all! At first I got into a major food funk, which I tweeted a bunch about. This is when I was still a vegetarian. Yes, I think my vegetarianism played a part in my funk. I never knew what to eat. Going out to eat, which is sometimes a challenge as a gluten free lady got a trillion times harder at some establishments. Eating became mundane and I became more tired than usual because even though I am taking a multi-vitamin, I was still missing out on some protein I needed. I hated eating and I hated food. As a glutton, I was not enjoying the gluttony that I had in the past. So, I was grumpy about food. I would complain in the supermarket and I hated to cook. I recently stopped being a vegetarian and I am ready to make my blog return! TADA!!!

Sorry if you missed me, I missed you all too! New food post in a few days!

Gluten Free Pantry French Bread & Pizza Mix

It doesn't matter if you are new to being gluten free or not,it is still probably hard to pass by the bakery or bread isle problem on some days. The smell of fresh bread still is especially hard. Sometimes I just want to grab a croissant and shove the buttery flavor in my mouth knowing that it would cause me to have  dash into the bathroom, because  it will ultimately lead to being glutened and me crying on the toilet! Who am I kidding? Sometimes having to lead a GF lifestyle sucks.  So I have to resist all of those amazing foods in the bakery and  and search for equally amazing gluten free products. Most of the time I can find awesome products and I let you, my wonderful readers know about them.

It really sucks when I have high hopes for a product and it lets me down. I cannot tell you how badly I wanted the French Bread & Pizza Mix from Gluten Free Pantry to be delicious but I cannot lie, it sucked. It did not rise well. It was not fluffy like French Bread is, so it did not have the potential to make an amazing sandwich that I had been dreaming up. I was pretty bummed out.

This product will never be purchased again. Ever. I am still on the quest for GF French Bread. Anyone know where I can find that?

Today Marks A New Day

Today is the day that I become a gluten free vegetarian. Why? Well, for several reasons....

1. Gluten free? I have Celiacs. I don't really see that as a choice.
   
2. Vegetarian? I have a plethora of reasons. I was a vegetarian for years as a teen but I developed a protein deficiency because I did not fancy the foods my body needed to do it properly. I was also a vegan for around 4-6 months too then. I loved my time as a vegetarian. I was a vegetarian for animal rights, I would always say that I couldn't eat anything with a mother or with a face.
   

I gave up red meat in September but that was not enough. A few months ago I saw this teen hit his dog when I was walking with my boyfriend. It upset me so much that I felt ill. Animal cruelty in any form really upsets me. I thought to myself that I would go vegetarian once I could figure out how to do it well with the whole gluten free aspect.

Then last week I was driving home late at night with my son and I accidentally ran over a bunny (yes, Stephanie...it was just as traumatic as years ago when it happened to the both of us) and I cried all the way home. Even though I tried to avoid hitting the rabbit it was awful. I knew people that had rabbits so I would play with them so I know how loving rabbits can be. I just couldn't eat meat anymore after that.

There are many health benefits too when you are a vegetarian...

I am not trying go get anyone to join me. That is not why I am writing this. I am just writing this down so I remember my anniversary of going back.

How does this change GLUTEN FREE GLUTTONY?

1. It really does not!
2. I will still review products! Just not ones with meat.
   
3. I will give meat recipes I just cant vouch for if it is good or not.
4. We are all on this gluten free journey together and we are here for each other!
5. If you are a gluten free vegetarian, do you know of any fake meat that does not contain wheat? I am having the hardest time finding good fake meat!
   

How I celebrated!

``I warn you. This post is long. There is a lot of back story...and maybe some unnecessary ones but hey, it is my wheat free anniversary and I can reminisce if I want to!

Today, as I have stated several times already is my WHEAT FREE ANNIVERSARY! I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do to celebrate this momentous occasion in my life. I know that it may sound silly but living wheat free is a big part of my life. Taking the wheat out took a lot of pain out of my life (not all, once I took the gluten out, I felt a million times better!) but it it was a start. So, I needed to do something to celebrate. Well, as a food blogger, naturally I would turn to food. I love to bake, so I figured I would bake. I started to think about foods that I loved. You probably assumed an eclair, since I am always raving that I need one. But I think I would have a melt down baking that, so I am saving that for another day.

There is a food item that is a comfort food for me. I don't eat it often but I can actually recall big moments of my life where I did eat it. NUTELLA. I remember the first time I ate it, I was back in my home state of New York visiting my Dad. He sent me to day camp and I was homesick for my Mom. My Grandmother would make me sandwiches with bread and Nutella. It was delicious.

From time to time, I would eat this sandwich, each time thinking of day camp. The next time I craved Nutella was when I was pregnant with Jacob. I actually hid Nutella throughout my house. I have no clue if my ex-husband knows. I was a Nutella addict when I was pregnant.

I am even part of a Nutella group on FACEBOOK called "Nutella Is Sex In A Bottle". I wanted the desert that I was making to be an orgasm with one bite! I needed Nutella to be a part of it!

I hadn't had Nutella since my pregnancy. I knew that Nutella had to be a part of this celebration. I ended up purchasing some Nutella for the cupcakes I was making and I couldn't even wait for today. I ate a ton of it. Nutella, you and me...we click.

I literally baked cupcakes all day! Jacob had a blast.


I made a ton of cupcakes! This isn't even all of them! There are some that are being sent to my Mom's work and some that I am sending to my friends and family!



RECIPE FOR MY BIG O NUTELLA CUPCAKES!
365 (Whole Foods Brand) Chocolate Cake Mix ( any mix will d0) & items to make mix
Nutella
White Chocolate Shavings
Make the cake mix according to the box. Then line the cup cake pan with the liners ( I used heart liners because I love being wheat free/ gluten free!) and bake. Cool thoroughly. Using an injector for frosting, inject desired amount of Nutella in each cupcake on the top of each cupcake. Be careful not to put too much because that can cause the cupcake to rupture. Do not worry about the hole being visible, the frosting will cover the hole! Using the chocolate butter cream frosting below, then frost the top of the cupcake and garnish with white chocolate shavings!


Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting Recipe:
-1 ounce chocolate chips melted
-1 cup solid white vegetable shortening
-1 teaspoon Flavor (Vanilla, Almond, or Butter) {I used Butter}
-2 tablespoons or milk or water {I always use milk, it makes it creamier}
-1 lb. pure cane confectioners sugar (approximately 4 cups)
-1 tablespoon Meringue Powder


Cream shortening, flavoring and water. Add dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed together. Blend for an additional minute or so, until creamy.

Jacob is bummed out because I cut him off from cupcakes. Poor kid. Stephanie came over to enjoy gluten free cupcakes! So did Melissa who called me to say that they were awesome. She then Twittered that "@Michelle2008az Your gluten free cupcakes were amazing! They could even rival Sprinkles (and you know how much I love Sprinkles)." Thanks Melissa!

It was an awesome night! It was a great year of being wheat free :) Cant wait for the many years to come. I believe that this lifestyle is the best for me, thanks for reading me and watching me on this journey!

Happy Anniversary To ME!

This is what I wrote on April 23, 2008 my first day being wheat free ever:

Today was day one on my new wheat free lifestyle. I have not gotten one stomach ache, head ache, cranky moment or tired moment. Even though I will have to say goodbye to a lot of my favorite foods, it will be worth it if I feel better.

You can find that on my Endless Possibilities blog. The next day on the same blog I wrote about my first experience ordering food wheat free:

I spent time with my friend Kelly today. She and I have been friends since 9th grade. She is a lot of fun and I am totally excited for her because she and her husband are expecting their first child! We went to lunch at Johnny Rockets and I stuck to my wheat free diet by ordering a hamburger with no mayo and no bun. Afterwards, we went to Whole Foods and did some shopping. The day was great and I totally cherish the time that I spend with her since we both lead pretty busy lives. Kelly enjoying her french fries.

A year later I am still wheat free ( I celebrate my gluten free anniversary in August!) and I cannot be happier. I love the choices that I have made for myself and my health. I was told by some friends that maybe I was allergic to wheat. My best friend Stephanie has celiacs but I didn't want to think that I could possibly have it too. When I did get the diagnosis I got on the ball and took charge of my health. I will be celebrating all day this change in my life. Check back later to see how I celebrated this change in my life! Oh, and the no mayo thing was because I was on Weight Watchers at the time, not because of the wheat intolerance.

Confessions of a gluten free gal...

Sometimes it is not fun being gluten free. There are time where I miss eating what everyone else eats. I miss that time in my life when I was not reading every label. I miss not feeling like a pain in the ass when I go to a restaurant. I feel high maintenance.

There is a lot that I love about being gluten free. The pros far out weigh the cons. I love not getting sick when I eat ( unless I get cross contaminated. I love how healthy I feel and knowing that my intestines no longer hate me. I love how my body loves being gluten free. I just have had a hard few gluten free days lately.

My boyfriend and I went to Texas Road House on Tuesday night, we have eaten there before and I always get the steak. I had a craving for french fries and a burger. I asked the server to please find out if they cooked the fries in a dedicated fryer that was only for french fries because I was allergic to wheat and gluten. She came back and told me that it was a dedicated fryer. My exact order was for the fries and a burger with no bun. She then came and told me that the management was nervous and they wouldn't feel comfortable with me getting french fries. I was really bummed out. I ordered a salad with no croutons and dressing just lemon. She then (not knowing anything about gluten allergies) asked if I was allergic to eggs and cheese! I never mentioned a dairy allergy. After she left, my boyfriend asked me if I wanted to change my order to steak and I told him no, but I was bummed out. I am sick of going out to eat and more often than not feeling unsatisfied.

Our food comes and it is just a burger with no pickle (like it stated on the menu, and I LOVE pickles) and no lettuce or tomato. I just looked at my plate. I am sick of feeling high maintenance or like I am a complainer. I am sick of explaining my allergy to people that just don't get it. I cant even tell you how many times I have said wheat allergy to someone and they tell me that they can make me a sandwich on white bread! Um...no! So, then my boyfriend calls another server and gets me my sides. I was happy he was there because I may have cried.

The following morning I was dying for some trail mix with nuts and m&m pieces. It sounded so good and I had watched my boyfriend eat Nutter Butter's. I wanted something sweet. We went to the store to see if we could conquer my craving. All of the bags had the cross contamination warming on it. I was so bummed out. I couldn't even get my trail mix.

I must sound so whiny. I love living gluten free most days. If I didn't, I wouldn't blog about it so much. I love cooking, baking and learning about how to prevent further damage gluten has caused my insides. I just wish the world was more gluten friendly. I wish more restaurants and food were gluten free friendly. I know that more and more restaurants are developing options I am just frustrated!

There are so many foods I miss. I am missing eclairs again in the worst way. Am I the only one that has moments of missing gluten?