Easy Gluten-Free Banana Walnut Quick Bread

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Michelle

Gluten-Free and Delicious!

If you’ve ever tried gluten-free foods you may have found they don’t always taste great – that certainly poses a problem when going gluten-free isn’t an option but a health necessity. Though there is no celiac disease in my family, there is wheat intolerance – so that means getting creative with some of my family’s favorite recipes.

I’ve taken my recipe for banana nut bread and made it gluten-free. It’s so yummy you’ll never miss the wheat! Enjoy!

Click to continue reading “Easy Gluten-Free Banana Walnut Quick Bread”

Diet: A Dirty Four Letter Word

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Michelle

This is a Writer’s Workshop writing prompt. The task: Describe the worst diet you ever put yourself on.

You are What You Eat

I’ve never been one to put myself on fad diets. I’ve always been the health conscious type, you know carrot sticks instead of candy bars. I believe in eating whatever I want as long as it healthy (or at least moderately so), and in moderation.

With my lifetime of pretty decent food choices, you would think I would be in perfect health, right? Wrong! I’ve been pretty sick my entire life, and as an adult (I’m only 33) I’ve faced a lot of health challenges. None more so than this past year. I’ve made the rounds to all kinds of specialist who cannot seem to hit the nail on the head with me. So, being the DIY kind of gal that I am, I’ve taken my health into my own hands.

Gluten-Free Diet

I’ve always been the kind of girl to read up on health and medicine (I briefly toyed with the idea of going to medical school when I entered college), so I’m not without some pretty firm medical knowledge. I’ve read pretty extensively on the subject of Celiac Disease, and with my symptoms paralleling those of the disease, had myself tested. Of course the tests take about a month to come back, and while I was waiting, decided to try eliminating all gluten from my diet – I wanted to try to get a little relief from my woes.

Eliminating gluten from my diet meant eliminating breads, pastas, and anything else that may contain it. This was EXTREMELY DIFFICULT – I love a good muffin or slice of homemade bread for breakfast! Of course, there are gluten-free bread and pasta alternatives, but in my experience they’re pretty lousy (except for some delish gluten-free chocolate muffins I came across).

Candida Diet

Luckily, after my month without gluten my tests showed no Celiac disease – yay, except now I’m back to where I started – what the heck’s wrong with me? So more fervent researching…now I’m pretty positive I’m dealing with an overgrowth of candida albicans within my body. So in order to get a handle on it I have to eliminate a TON of foods from my diet – far more than going gluten-free. The irony, however, is that I’m now back off breads and pastas, and a bunch of other foods I love to eat – Whoopee (if you missed it, that’s a very sarcastic “whoopee”).

I haven’t fully committed to the candida diet yet – I need time to prepare myself, although I have already begun eliminating certain foods. But, if I can finally begin to heal my body and live a somewhat normal day to day life, then depriving myself of a few foods is totally worth it. Believe me when I say good health is worth far more than a serving of pistachio Haagen Daz or a piece of focaccia bread!

What about you? What’s the worst diet you’ve ever been on? Feel free to leave a comment.

Mock Pizza in A Bowl

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Michelle

The War on Gluten

I’ve been completely gluten free for nearly two weeks now. It’s been a necessary decision for me. I’m pretty sure I have Celiac Disease – I have all of the classic symptoms of it, so now it’s hurry up and wait for my test results to come back. I’m certainly feeling that a gluten free diet is what I’ve been in dire need of this past year-and-a-half of severe, inexplicable illness.

It’s been a tough few days – I’ve always had a passion for gluten. Breads have been a comfort food all of my life. I usually began my day with a slice of whole wheat toast or a yummy piece of homemade bread. Giving up my old gluten-filled favorites, and opting for gluten free alternatives has been a challenge. Lots of label reading, sacrificing, and patience. I think in the long run it will be worth it, especially if Celiac is confirmed – that means gluten free for life.

Mock Pizza in A Bowl

Last night my husband and kids had pizza for dinner – it’s smelled wonderful, better than usual I think because I knew I had to skip it. So today for my afternoon snack I made a little “mock pizza” by tossing together some California sun dried tomatoes and some feta cheese. Not a grain of gluten in sight, and it was still satisfying. I got a little of that pizza flavor without making myself desperately ill.

Going gluten free means getting creative. Maybe my culinary skills will improve, who knows? It’s definitely an exercise in determination and will power, and I’m determined not to be so sick anymore. I’ve been scouring the internet for gluten free recipes, looking for gluten free bread alternatives (that’s been an interesting experiment), and trying very hard to make this dietary change work for me. I know I can do it, but some days it sucks.

Here’s my “mock pizza” recipe. It’s super duper easy, and satisfying too.