My Gluten Free Weekend

Thanks for all of your awesome comments on my last WIAW and guest post on A Dessert Diet! I was so excited to share a recipe with other members of the blogging world that I would never be able to reach otherwise. My chocolate cake ball recipe actually ties in with today's post which is all about being gluten free!

No, I am not going gluten free. However, I have still been having stomach issues and I can't get in to see my doctor until March 1. That's over two months now, so obviously I am getting a little anxious. And when I get paranoid I start looking for my own solutions.

First I cut out dairy. Since then I haven't had nearly the stomach pains as I had before. Now whenever I eat greek yogurt (which has only been once) or a sinless cake batter ice cream at Cold Stone (which has been way more than once) I can tell that I get more bloated.

Next I cut out fish. Both times that I had severe stomach pains was after eating tilapia. I also got very nauseous after eating tilapia and that symptom has greatly diminished too. And for those who think it may have been food poisoning, I made the fish myself on two separate occasions from two different packages. With fish I also had to stop eating tuna, but recently I have started adding that back in, and there isn't any noticeable bloating from that thank goodness. I can't survive without my low sodium tuna pouches!

The other thing that I have been limiting myself on is highly acidic food. At one point over the last two months my mom became convinced that I had an ulcer that was caused by some medicine that I had been taking. Hence, no oranges or tomatoes which can agitate ulcers and make the symptoms worse.

Wow, so what have I been eating?

Well, up until this weekend, a lot of carb-filled foods. Since tuna and my whey protein powders (which contain dairy so those were a no-go) were my main sources of protein, I have had to switch my eating habits drastically. That means more whole grains, and less protein, which means me = not happy. I do better on high protein diets where I eat at least 100 to 120 grams of protein a day. I have been trying to stick with 90 to 100 lately but it is getting so difficult and boring. I miss my protein powder which provided chocolate deliciousness while giving me over 20 grams of protein.

Now, based on my title, you probably thought I was going to be talking about going gluten free. And you'd be right (this is a very long post so bear with me).

Then I ate an innocent whole wheat tortilla for lunch one day. Instant bloating. Hmm... That my mind started to wander. I eat wheat all of the time, especially because I bake so much! Maybe I was reacting to wheat... or gluten?

So for three days I completely cut out gluten and wheat products, and I felt so much better! I think that might have been just a coincidence however, so I have gone back to eating wheat products, but in much smaller amounts and I'm feeling much better!

Anywho, tomorrow I go to the gastrinologist to figure out what is wrong with me finally! While there, I'm also getting to visit Whole Foods. Ahhhh!!!!! My favorite store in the universe. Would I rather go shopping for a prom dress (which I still have to do too) or go to Whole Foods?

Whole Foods, all the way.

Another positive thing came out of my gluten-free weekend: Recipes!

Unfortunately my laptop is on the fritz so I will share with you one recipe today. Forgive me for the terrible terrible photo quality.

Buckwheat Waffles/Pancakes

Makes 1 waffle or 3 small pancakes

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp buckwheat flour
• 2 tsp coconut flour
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp egg beaters
• 3 Tbsp almond milk
• 15 blueberries (for pancakes)
• Almond butter and jam for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat pancake griddle to 350 degrees or medium heat (or plug in waffle maker).
2. Combine dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix until combined. Let set for five minutes to let coconut flour fully absorb the liquids.
3. Spray your griddle with nonstick cooking spray. Divide batter into 3 pancakes or a waffle maker and spread out with a spoon. Place 5 blueberries on each pancake.
4. Cook pancakes for 2-3 minutes on each side, flip and repeat. 
5. Serve topped with almond butter and no-sugar added strawberry jam.

I topped these with strawberries!

Add extra protein with a ground turkey burger patty.

Super dark pancake pic...

 And a teaser picture for a future recipe:

Can you guess what this is?

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Any guesses for my recipe?


Do you find yourself with a lot of computer problems?

What would you buy at Whole Foods? I need more suggestions. So far I have chai seeds, coconut flour, PB2...