A bitter sweet farewell… to gluten

After realizing that Trent’s health concerns fit the description of a gluten allergy, and mulling over the benefits to us all, we have decided to say our goodbyes to gluten. While I will greatly miss some of my favorite desserts and dinner rolls, I’m looking forward to the health benefits of a GF diet.

I was quite overwhelmed at the grocery store yesterday and even called up one of my gluten free friends to ask her a couple of questions. It wasn’t until my shopping had gotten underway that I realized just how much our diet would change. Gluten seems to be in everything and replacement alternatives are rather pricy, especially in quantities large enough to feed our family of seven.

Up and down the isles, reading every label and weighing cost verse quantity…

After nearly two hours at the grocery store our fridge and pantry is now completely gluten free, high fructose corn syrup free, free of most dyes and low in sugar.

I woke up excited to begin our new healthier lifestyle and served my family kale and banana shakes for breakfast. The kids loved them and can’t wait for strawberry shakes tomorrow.

(2 bananas, 4 cups chopped kale, 1 cup milk, 2 Tbs flax seeds, 2 tsps maple syrup)

I’ve been online a ton and have discovered or been directed to a couple of terrific websites and blogs. The one thing that I find a little annoying is that being GF seems to be a bit of a fad and so many of the site I’ve come across have recipes that based on the photos and price of ingredients seem like they ought to be served in a gourmet restaurant. While a fancy meal is fun every now and then, I’m looking for quick and simple foods that I can serve to our large family and that won’t break the budget.

I typically meal plan and shop for two weeks at a time, and now that the initial pantry makeover is done I’m hoping that we won’t need to adjust our budget too much. I firmly believe that meal planning is definitely the best way to keep your budget down no matter what diet your on, I know that I am just going to need to get a little creative. I think that the most challenging thing is going to be lunch ideas. Our bread intake is dramatically decreasing and fixing a quick sandwich isn’t going to be an option.

Today we had rice cakes (Hy-vee brand) with PB and J (from Walden Farms which produces sugar free, fat free, no calorie, no carbs, gluten free products that are delicious and reasonably priced compared to the organic sugar free PB and J we were already buying), plain fat free yogurt with GF granola and strawberries, and string cheese sticks. I figure we will try making mac and cheese, quesadillas and sushi this week as well, but those are about the only ideas I have. And since GF pasta is so pricy, mac and cheese will only be occasional.

In my enthusiasm this morning I already made a jar of applesauce, tried out a GF flour and have both pie crusts and waffles stocked in the freezer. I will be searching for a less expensive flour though and am looking forward to the Better Batter that a friend is going to let me try out. I feel like we will be doing a lot of “trying thing out” over the next month or so as we work out what best fits our family. I will say though that I love the Mary’s Gone Crackers that a friend gave us in a GF goodie bag. They are especially good with hummus and make a delightful evening snack.