The G Diet

I was just showing EB this video (here) of Elizabeth Hasselbeck talking about her diagnosis and living with Celiac's Disease. It is always encouraging for EB to hear that other people live with this too. The exciting thing is that there is more and more awareness of Celiacs now. Lots of yummy things you can make that are gluten free! I am definately going to check out this new book.
We are in the middle of a kitchen renovation, but as soon as we are finished, I plan to post lots of my yummy recipes that we eat!

Yeah Betty Crocker

I am so excited! I just have learned that Betty Crocker is coming out with some gluten free mixes. I am hoping the price point is good too! Can't wait to taste them! You can check it out
here. I have found some really terrific recipes for cookies, cakes and brownies, but you just can't beat the quick mixes when you don't have the time to make it from scratch.

Giving it another shot

Ok, I have not been blogging much over the last few months. I have been spending much of my time on other people's blogs trying to learn how to save big on my grocery bill. Going gluten free is very expensive. Buying all the different types of flours, mixes and such. I have learned a lot more over the last few months and would like to share some of my recipes and favorites. I will also probably throw in some money saving tips as well, as this has become a way of life for me. Please check back soon as I will be updating more often. Hope this helps you on your journey's to be gluten free and maybe debt free!!

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Since going Gluten free, I think breakfast and lunch are the hardest. We used to eat chocolate chip muffins, pancakes, toast, toaster strudels, waffles, oatmeal, grits, biscuits, etc... all of which are off limits for someone with Celiacs. I have been searching to find some good substitutions for these things. One of which is the chocolate chip muffin. I have used this mix several times from the gluten free pantry, each time tweeking it a little until we have come up with something we really like. Even I like it. It is really tasty. The kids love it and don't know the difference from the old ones. Here are some pics.




To the mix I added an extra 1/2 teas. vanilla, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/3 cup cocoa, and 1/2 cup chocolate chips. YUMMMMMM!!

Diagnosed with Celiac's Disease

I know, I know, here I go again. I really don't have time to keep up my other stuff and now I am starting yet another blog! Well, I am finding out that there is a lot to living a gluten free life and I have been keeping a notebook with all my information, I might should keep a blog to keep it all together.

The diagnosis:EB,7, and my oldest was having stomach aches for 2 years. She was being treated for reflux. She was on 3 different medications bid and was still having stomach aches. Finally, this summer, her GI doc. did some blood work which showed a positive marker for Celiac's Disease. Then Aug. 1, 2008 she had an endoscopy and it confirmed the diagnosis. For the first couple weeks, I was torn what to do...just put her on the gluten free diet and all the rest of the family eat normally, or put the whole family on a gluten free diet. I tried for several weeks to keep it all separate but have found it to be much too challenging. You would have to have a separate toaster, strainer, peanut butter and butter tubs, I think you are getting the drift. A person with Celiac's cannot have anything with wheat to come in contact with something they may eat. This became too challenging to keep separate. Plus, in my reading and research, I found that eating a gluten free diet, you can help a lot of conditions. Chris, my husband has a very bad back and sees a chiropractor weekly. When he mentioned to her about EB, she said she eats a gluten free diet and it would truly help him as well. We have all been doing much better sticking to the gluten free diet. EB gets NOTHING with gluten in it. We are doing our best to eliminate it from our diets as well. EB is doing fantastic on it. She has always had "itchies" on her skin and it felt really rough. Well, now her "itchies" are gone and her skin is as smooth as her baby sister's. She will ask me when we are somewhere, please mommy, I don't care if my tummy hurts, I would like to have a brownie. I have told her we have worked too hard to get to this place and I think it would not be a good idea to go and mess it up. She understands. She has been such a good sport about it.