Gluten & Dairy Free Chicken & Dumplings

2 cooked chicken breasts, diced
1 small onion, diced
12 oz frozen mixed veggies
3 Tablespoon GF chicken bullion

Saute in dutch oven until veggies are softened a little.

Add 2 cups of water.

Mix 2-3 Tablespoons of cornstarch with 1 cup of water.

Stir into chicken mixture. Reduce heat to low and let simmer.

Mix 3 cups of GF bisquick with 2/3 cup shortening til it's mixed thoroughly. Add 1 Cup of chicken broth (I used water/bullion mix)  shape biscuits and place on top of chicken mixture. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until bicuits are done. They may not be golden even when done.

Enjoy!

Bummer...

I'm disappointed.  I'm starting to feel tired and run down again.  It could be a mixture of other things, but the feeling better was only temporary, I guess.  Tho I don't feel nauseous anymore or sick to my stomach... but I'm tired, my body is tired & my headaches are back.

I'm bummed...but I'm still staying away from gluten.  I'm happy enough with the results... I'm just not sure why I'm still feeling cruddy.

Dinner Time

Asian fried quinoa & garlic brown sugar chicken. All I have to say is yum!

Breakfast

I find that breakfast can be tough. I love eggs with english muffins. Or egg on toast. Or muffins. mmmm.

Greek yogurt is good and Matt found this granola for me. It's so yummy! 

Yummy Cookies

I made these gf cookies today. :) so yummy! 

These are the only ingredients it takes... 

Here they are just before I put them in the oven. 

Fresh out of the oven! Yum! 

Feeling Better!!

The absolute best thing about going GF has been the fact that I'm enjoying my kids again.  Even when they are driving me crazy, I handle it rationally, calmly and logically rather than being in a fog.

Last night we all ate the same thing together!!  Ok, so theirs was full of gluten and mine wasn't, but it was the same type of thing: Chicken Parmesan over noodles w/ a side of salad.  Yum!  It was so good and I made extra so I could have it for lunch today too.  I didn't even think to snap a picture so I could share here...  it was very tasty!

I seem to be over the hump of withdrawal... yay!  I'm uber tired today, but was up a lot last night, worrying about my 6 y/o who is very sick.  Otherwise, I feel as tho being GF is helping me in many ways.  Soon will be 2 weeks of this journey.... yikes!

My husband has been wonderfully supportive and completely on board w/ this...  he's even suggested I do GF for the whole family at dinner time so I don't have to make too meals.  It's a lot more expensive, tho, so for now I'll make 2 meals when necessary.

A Handy List of GF Foods!

Found this today when the hubster & I were wondering if I could have chocolate syrup.  I'm putting it here so it's easy access!  It looks very, very handy!!

http://www.celiac.com/articles/181/1/Safe-Gluten-Free-Food-List-Safe-Ingredients/Page1.html

Another Little yet Important Thing

It dawned on me today when we were all eating and laughing together at the dinner table & as I was reading numerous 'days" in "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" to my 6 y/o that I'm really enjoying my kids these days.  Maybe it's the weather a little warmer, maybe it's just a good time in my life, but it is unusual for me to enjoy my children this month w/out feeling exhausted and forcing the enjoyment.  (I hate to even admit that)  It used to be that I was counting hours til bed time, would shoo them away when I tired of their incessant rambling and encouraged them to find their own ways to occupy themselves... but now we start bedtime routine at the normal time or w/in a 1/2 hr of the normal time, but I don't pay attention to how long it's taking me to read to them or snuggle them or chat with them about the day.  I'm really beginning to enjoy them again and I hope that it stays that way because I'm starting to like who I am again... which is a good thing.

Another Little, but Important Thing

The Little Things

It's the little things I'm noticing that make me say "huh..."

I hate to admit this, but I am ragey.  Oh, if you met me you wouldn't believe me, but at home, I can go off on tangents now & then when the house is a mess and the children are frustrating.  I don't really yell, but I get angry and basically go off on a tangent.  I've been noticing that hasn't happened at all since I went GF.  I also feel more 'even'.  I had something happen that could have really set me off, but it didn't.  I was able to think clearly about it, see both sides of it and handle it well.  Interesting...  I never thought of myself as someone with mood swings, but perhaps I was & I was just in denial.

The fact that I can wake up each morning and feel ready to face the day is pretty awesome too.  I'm not dragging around everywhere.

I'm think I'm getting healthy.... amazing.

My first attempt at gluten free bread.

I'm posting from my phone. I love technology, but it is a challenge, but I wanted to post pictures easily, so here I am.

Matt brought home a mix to make GF bread. This is kinda cheating if you are like me & usually make bread from scratch, but worth a try since he paid $7 for it!!

So I mixed it up & it's weird. The texture is more grainy, thick muffin batter than bread dough.

So here it is in the bowl after mixing.

 

And here it is right after I put it in the pan.  The glossy look is because I put water on my fingers to smooth it out.

Here it is when it's done rising & ready to go in the oven:

And here it is done.. you can see where my 4 y/o poked it when it was rising! Lol!

I sliced into the warm loaf.... 

Then sauteed up some shrimp & cooked some beans & ate the bread w/ oil & vinegar.  Yum!! 

You definitely have to be more creative when GF, but it can be delicious (and I saved some of that shrimp for tomorrow. LOL! I cooked up more than I thought I was... 

8 Days In

8 days of being gluten free.  I'm sitting here not feeling sick... wow.  No real big headache.  Not extremely exhausted. So.... I think it might be working.  :)

Tonight I invented something for dinner.  I sauteed shrimp & peas in sesame oil w/ some garlic powder.  Then I tossed it w/ rice & sprinkled on some Parmesan cheese.  It was tasty! Yum!

Maybe I'll get the hang of this.  I made cheesy tuna pea wiggle for dinner for the kids and I drooled at the thought of it.  I love it... and miss it.  I miss gluten. I miss it every day.  But for some reason, my determination is stronger than my desire for gluten (and that isn't normal for me)

Hungry! (A good thing!)

I felt hunger today! Woah...  Usually if I need to eat, I feel sick.  I can't remember the last time I actually felt hungry without feeling nausea too.  I wonder if that's because I'm gluten free or if it's just a fluke... either way, it was pretty exciting!

(It's the little things, right??)

Ohh, the Muffins....

Matt brought home Costco muffins.  Moist, fluffy, tasty, yummy looking chocolate muffins.  Moist, fluffy, tasty, yummy looking banana chocolate chip muffins.  My 2 favorites.  I can almost feel the yumminess in my mouth as I look at them.  I picked up the package and took a long deep smell of them. ohhhh... yum....

And full of gluten. *sigh*

I put them down and grabbed a container of snow peas from the fridge and munched on those instead.  Apparently going gluten free is going to = going healthier right now.

Day 6 I felt better...  Not amazingly better, but no gut twisting, achey body, headache feelings.  Maybe I'm on the upswing and soon I'll feel amazing?

Today is Day 7.  I can't believe it's been a week since I started this journey.  It actually has gone pretty fast.  I've lost 6 lbs somehow.  I'm not going to celebrate because everyone says you often gain when going gluten free.  I can't afford to gain, I really need to loose, but I'm not focusing on that right now.  Right now I'm focusing on gluten free.  My brain can only handle so many changes at once!

The 5th Day

Yesterday was awful.  I was so miserable, yet I couldn't be because I was super busy. My body seems to be having a hard time letting go of the gluten... it was like withdrawal symptoms.  We had ballet,  pinewood derby with the Royal Rangers/MPact girls and I had to set up things for church today.  I left the house around 8:15 and by the time I got home around 4, I took a hot (HOT!) bath and crawled into bed.  I didn't leave bed except to snuggle my 4y/o to sleep until this morning.  Yep... in bed for about 14 hrs.  Can't remember the last time I did that.  I felt that awful.

Today has been better. not 100% and not the amazing feeling everyone says I'll feel once I'm off gluten, but  better than yesterday.  My brain isn't quite as fogged & my body not quite so tired.

Today is Day 5 of gluten detox.

I made sure to eat breakfast this morning.  Sure, nutella & a banana, but it gave me some protein and energy.  Lunch was blue corn chips w/ some cheese.  Dinner will be grilled burgers in a lettuce wrap and maybe something w/ tater.

I do need to get some gluten free soy sauce.  One of my favorite lunches is a bowl of rice w/ some melted cheese & soy sauce.  I have to admit that is one thing I've been missing the most.

Small thank yous...
Yay that coffee is GF!
Yay that nutella is GF!

We'll see what tomorrow brings... :/

The Detox

Oh my word... I feel horrible.  I am definitely detoxing off of gluten and it's NO FUN.  Every muscle in my body is exhausted.  I don't even know how to explain it, but my muscles feel uber tired and unable to function well.  My joints ache.  My head hurts. I'm so very tired & yet I have insomnia.

This had better be worth it.  My Mom and sister say it definitely is and in a few weeks I'll question why I didn't do it sooner, but right now I don't see it.  Right now I'm miserable and can't even eat the foods I used to enjoy.

Pushed Into It...

For many years now I've been struggling with feeling awful.  My symptoms are many, none that were too bad up until the past year or so:

1. Indigestion
2. Nausea (LOTS and LOTS of nausea)
3. Anxiety (Probably caused by the nausea... always so afraid to go out because I feel sick all the time.) 
4. Depression
5. Exhaustion
6. Muscle tiredness
7. Headaches
8. Migraines
9. Bloated after eating 
10. Craving Sweets and high starch foods. 
11. And more..

For about 6 months or so my gut (no pun intended) has felt that it's a gluten intolerance.  My Mom & sister were experiencing the same things and went to the Dr.  They tested positive for gluten intolerance.  That was over a year ago & I shrugged off my symptoms as just being a Mom of 5 kiddos symptoms.  But they've been getting worse over the past year.  My headaches, especially... Almost daily & migraines almost weekly.  MISERY!!

So instead of spending $ on an expensive test, I've decided to go gluten free for 2-4 weeks and see if I'm feeling any better.  If not, it's off to the Dr I go.  :) 

Today is Day 2.  It's not fun. It's miserable. I swear I'm detoxing.  I don't enjoy this one bit.  My husband is wonderful and went out to the store and bought some GF snacks for me.  I need to start cooking and baking GF to feel "normal".  Right now I'm just eating things like cottage cheese or corn chips... *rolleyes*  Super healthy...