The title is Koine Greek for “it is finished” and is one of the Seven Last Words of Christ. I’m using it today because I’m having to stop my 31 Days of Writing series due to some things in my personal life that will be occupying a lot of my time in the next week or so. This was a fun project to take on but I didn’t realize at the time I chose to do so that I would be dealing with what is going on right now.
I’m still going to be eating gluten-free for the rest of the month most likely — just not blogging about it daily.
I’m over the halfway point of my experiment of avoiding gluten for a month and I’m running out of subject matter, at least on days like today when I’m sleep-deprived due to my wee bairn having sleep issues as a result of tweaking his ADHD meds. Anyway…
I’m starting to get some empathy for people who deal with food issues all the time because it is seriously hard to avoid gluten without having to cook from scratch or buy some fairly expensive foods that don’t taste “right”. It’s requiring more creativity on my part than I can exercise at this time of sleep deprivation and some pretty radical changes being made in my life.
However, I’m noticing changes in my mental clarity — I’m not as “foggy” as I usually am and I think I’m probably eating a lot better as a result. I’m definitely eating more protein and I’m actually thinking about how to balance every meal. I’ve also come up with snacks where I can sit and eat at the table with Daniel and that’s definitely a plus.
I’m sorry to admit that I’m planning out my first meal WITH gluten: a Jr. Roast Beef sandwich and fries from Arby’s. (I would have to stop somewhere else to get the Coke.)
When I was trolling the 31 Days website yesterday, I saw a banner advertising Thrive Market, which seems to be a mail-order company where you can order specialty foods catering to certain diets, allergy restrictions, or sensitivities. I thought their gluten-free selection looked interesting so I thought I’d pass on this information today! (Well… that and I have pretty serious writer’s block.)
As I sit here typing this, my mother-in-law is making beef stroganoff and it smells heavenly. I love it but the floured beef and the egg noodles are no bueno for me this month. Sure, I could put it over rice but I’d still have to figure out how to replace the flour that coats the beef. So… I thought I’d talk about the “company foods” I need to learn how to make gluten-free.
-beef stroganoff
-beef burgundy
-“Jimmy” chicken (a family recipe — it’s a twist on chicken parisienne that my dad created 45 years ago)
-goulash and spaetzle
-lasagna (actually, this one wouldn’t be hard but I still need to think it through)
What are “company foods” you would have to alter?
Oh yes… I was emailed by the 31 Days people last night and there’s a giveaway that you can enter as a reader of a blog where someone is doing the 31 Days. It starts tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it!
When I went to Girl Scout camp as a camper, CIT, and then counselor, there was a grace we used to sing:
In back of the bread is the flour.
In back of the flour is the mill.
In back of the mill is the wind and the rain
And the Father’s will.
There’s even a YouTube video of it:
Anyway, I’ve been thinking about Jon’s parishioners in Montana who were wheat and barley farmers. With all the crap going around the Internet about the dangers of eating wheat and how gluten-free life is superior, I think about them because the way I’m eating at the moment would mean the loss of livelihood if people gave up eating wheat on a larger scale. It’s why I haven’t read all the Wheatbelly stuff which smacks of new-agey Oprahesque science — cutting carbs is all well and good but there are people who raise organic wheat out there (I know many of them!) and aren’t dousing their field with pesticides. The Wheatbelly craze has the potential to affect them negatively and I’m not chill with that.
And again, I find the Wheatbelly stuff to be good medicine inasmuch as the quack Dr. Oz is good medicine, which is to say. NOT AT ALL.
I was half-craving Arby’s today and saw one I could go through while I was on I-5 heading home. I was all prepared to go through, order 2 Jr. Roast Beef sandwiches to dissect and remove the beef when I saw that they only served Pepsi products. As a Coke drinker, this is blasphemy and besides… Pepsi tastes like chemicals!!!
I was feeling all good about myself for feeling mindful of my eating and not wasting food until I ended up at Carl’s Jr. for dinner… and ended up dissecting the lettuce wrap they made me because I hate lettuce and could not stomach the thought of using it as a bun. Yeah Jen… way to not waste food!
Anyway, my adventures in *NOT* eating gluten have made me aware of what I *could* be eating on the road and why I should be avoiding it. Now to put it into practice…
One of the serious cravings I am having at the moment is for bread. It’s funny because I normally don’t eat much of it but I think the fact that I can’t have it is making me want it more. It’s severe enough that I almost mugged my mom for her sandwich yesterday!
The bread products I am missing are…
sourdough bread
potato bread
tortillas
buns (for fast food)
I head home from northern California tomorrow and I’m trying to come up with ideas for fast food on the road that don’t involve bread. Easier said than done!