Everything is not what it seems!

Things have been rather hectic and crazy this week! Fall is definitely underway! I am getting the house organized and enjoying cooking in my new kitchen.

I am now 6 days into my new gluten free and cow dairy free life. I have to say that it hasn’t been as difficult as I thought. In fact, I am rather excited with all the information that I am learning about gluten and dairy intolerance.

The hardest thing so far has been learning to read labels. Vanessa explained that it is extremely important to read EVERY ingredient label prior to eating a commercially prepared food product. I have been amazed at how many processed foods use wheat as filler!  Guess what the biggest shocker this week has been:

  

That’s right who would have guessed. I went out for Sushi thinking it would be a safe option. Of course, I called and talked to Q first to see if there was any hidden wheat/gluten that I should be aware of. That’s when I learned that some soy sauces are made from wheat.  Ok, ok don’t panic! You can buy gluten free soy sauce! It is called Tamari. Also, Q let me know that I needed to stay away from the imitation crabmeat in the sushi. Wheat is used as filler!!! With this information under my belt, I went out to eat for the first time gluten free.  Success!!!!

The second hardest thing that I have encountered is planning ahead. Shank and I are in the habit of eating out A LOT!!! This is suddenly changing. Don’t get me wrong, I can still eat out…. However there is no more swinging through a fast food drive through or ordering pizza. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the hospital cafeteria is not gluten/dairy free friendly. So, this weekend, I am planning a whole week of meals and cooking. Believe it or not, this is very exciting for me for several reasons. 1. Because I love to cook and 2. Because I won’t have to cook for the rest of the week!!!!! I don’t like coming in at night after working all-day and cooking and cleaning up afterwards. I am going to be able to just heat up 2 plates, eat, and put the plates in the dishwasher! I think this may be really good for my budget also! I will pack our lunches while dinner is being warmed up every night!

I will let you know what my first week’s menu was and how it goes in my next post!

I am really excited about my next meeting with Vanessa. We are going grocery shopping! She has promised me that for every item that I can no longer have, she will introduce me to a better tasting alternative! Wow, if I can truly eat better tasting things than I am accustomed to and FEEL better, this is going to be life changing.