Goodbye, Gluten

As you know a couple of months ago, I took on the challenge of giving up sugar in tandem with Lent. I’m happy to report I no longer feel sluggish and I’ve lost some weight. Now that I was successful with the sugar fast, I'm mentally primed for the next step, hence the spring cleaning of my personal health.

I'm liberating myself from gluten. During my journey to better health, I’ve discovered the protein, gluten, is not my friend. It's been one of the aggravating culprits to my chronic fatigue, headaches and bloat. Removing gluten may appear to be daunting because it's in nearly everything and it's also the "glue" that holds together my favorite breads, pastas, cakes and everything yummy and makes them so nice and fluffy.

But, going gluten-free (GF) is easier than you think. There are plenty of GF pre-made foods at the market that are comparable to the "real thing." However, they tend to be a little more expensive. So, I'm leaning on my passion for cooking to find the best gluten replacements.

There are a handful of GF flour brands that make removing gluten easy-peasy and with minimal withdrawals. I personally like brands like King Arthur and Cup 4 Cup to make an easy transition to a GF life. I am specifically looking at GF flours that are 1:1 or cup-4-cup (this means that the GF flour is used in the same amounts listed in a recipe as regular flour). And as I've been researching GF recipes in preparation for my gluten cleanse, I'm also finding some Keto recipes that look amazing, too.

One of the big challenges I’m facing with eliminating gluten is when I venture out into the real world. I am a hopeless foodie and love experiencing all the culinary masterpieces anywhere I travel. Most restaurants offer some sort of GF menu options. But, that might not be the case if I’m eating at the homes of friends and family.

I'm not going to require someone to cater to my digestive needs because I’ve decided to remove gluten from my diet. And I'm lucky to have other tools to ensure a happy gathering when I am outside of my controlled environment.

I always carry my little bag of tricks in my purse, which includes essential oil proprietary blends, like Past Tense, Digestzen and Deep Blue. Or this CBD Cream for immediate relief of headaches, aches, pains and bloating caused by Gluten. I also take a proactive approach before dinner at a friends' house with Inforce Gold and Inforce LP to support my immune system, liver and pancreas (I actually take this one daily).

Whether I use GF flour or Keto recipes, by spring cleaning gluten from my diet, I hope to become mentally sharper, have consistently dependable health and maybe get over the plateau I'm on and lose a little more weight. There are such good GF replacements that I bet my hubby wont even know the difference. I'm keeping my eye on his health and hopefully he'll benefit from the diet, too.

I can't wait to share some of the favorite recipes I find. Perhaps my recipes will entice you to discover how easy it is to eat GF. I think I'll start with something that I can make without gluten and that I really miss since I cut out the sugar—doughnuts!!! There are a few extra steps to making them, but, they’re totally worth it.

And anyway, life is too short to eat bad food.

Eat well and Stay Groovy! Amy