The 11 Minute Breakfast

Just look at all that yummy, healthy goodness!!! It's gluten-free, it's egg-free...and it's packed with so many benefits! THAT is just one version of an 11 minute breakfast, inspired by my friend Verna. It's like an omelette without eggs! Rookies, don't knock it 'til ya try it. And if you're new to eating veggies cover it up with a little cheese until your taste buds adapt. ;-)

When you're a gluten-free rookie, one of the first BIG challenges is figuring out what to eat for breakfast. For most of us, our whole breakfast existence revolved around nothing but gluten! French toast, pancakes, waffles, toast, English muffins, bagels, cereals..the list goes on and on.

I cried over the breakfast thing when I was a rookie. Cried. I felt the world had ended. And so far, except for Erik's Deli Cafe, I am NOT a gluten-free bread fan. Plus, I can't eat a whole bunch of egg so between the bread and the eggs, I was at a complete loss over what I could now eat for breakfast.

Before Verna's idea, I had found a temporary solution to my breakfast woes by making smoothies. I found some recipes on other great gluten-free blogs like With Style and Grace (she has a beautiful limeade smoothie recipe I've just GOT to try) and Sure Foods Living (moms, check out her post called Spinach Smoothies That You and Your Kids Will Love!).

Smoothies are still great but, after weeks of smoothies, I was smoothied out! I also worried about too much sugar, even though it was natural sugar. But as soon as I get the chance, I want to fill you in on the benefits of all the GOODNESS for YOUR BODY that fruits and veggies, especially spinach are loaded with!!!

After racking my brain, I remembered my friend Verna talking about a Paleo diet she was trying (which is a really smart way of eating, I think, but I'm not 100% there yet!), so I asked her what in the world did she eat for breakfast? I don't think dear Verna knew how she saved me!

She told me that she basically puts Canadian bacon, zucchini, mushrooms, and spinach in a skillet! She reminded me that breakfast doesn't have to be all those breakfasty things that society has taught us to be so. When I think on a traditional English breakfast that includes BEANS and MUSHROOMS, I can't argue with that! 

Below is what Verna's original recipe looks like in my kitchen. (Well, almost original because I was out of Canadian bacon and the only thing I had to use for meat was prosciutto!!!! It was still tasty!)

So good for you!

I talked with Verna the other day, and she says she adds a little egg and tomato for her husband. She said it's really "whatever's in the fridge"! I love that! 

Taking that to heart, I used whatever was in my fridge this morning to make today's 11-minute breakfast. And when I say 11 minutes, I mean from washing the produce to putting it on the plate!

I love using Al Fresco chicken sausage because I know what all the ingredients are. No MSG and gluten free! This one is the apple maple, which is sweeter than regular sausage, but since it's all natural it's not too sweet. I had some zucchini and a yellow bell pepper. And spinach is SO good for you. It's such a pick-me-up. 

I put about half a tablepoon of olive oil in the pan and then started with the bell pepper, zucchini, and sausage on med-high heat.

When the sausages and zucchini are browned I then add the spinach with a tad of ground pepper, and stir now and then.

When the spinach is just wilted it's ready to plate! I don't like my spinach cooked too much.

Voila! I read that it's good to pair Vitamin C with protein, so I cut up half an orange.  Now if your kids just won't eat this...cook it for yourself while their gluten-free toaster waffles are toasting! And give them some of the sausage and oranges. :-) My favorite gluten-free toaster waffles are Trader Joe's brand. But at "regular" grocery stores, you can find good ones, too. If I can't get to TJ's, I get Vans. Vans has plain, blueberry, and apple cinnamon flavors. 

For those of you who don't like the sweetness of chicken apple, Al Fresco also has "country style" which is more herb-alicious.  :-) I'm thinking the kids won't like this flavor, but who knows!

Date Night: P.F. Chang's & Kara's Cupcakes

If you're heading over to Monterey for a date night and don't want to put much thought into worrying about what to eat, you might consider going to P. F. Chang's at the Del Monte Shopping Center.

The nice thing about P.F. Chang's is that they have a dedicated gluten-free menu within their regular menu (so you don't even have to ask!). Just be sure to tell your server that you are ordering from the gluten-free section. You will also get the same table sauces the rest if your party gets, but the gluten-free versions. If they don't bring your gluten-free sauces automatically, just ask and they'll bring them right away.

I should've taken a picture of the food, not just the menu! But I'm learning as I go. :-) 

Tonight, I had the Mongolian beef with brown rice. It was delicious! Mike took a bite and said mine was better than his (he ordered the regular Kung Pao chicken). 

After dinner, walk over two stores to Kara's Cupcakes. They offer a small selection of gluten-free cupcakes! 

Tonight, I enjoyed a gluten-free chocolate cupcake with white frosting and coconut. I have to say it was the BEST gluten-free cupcake I've ever had. Gluten-free baked goods can be tricky. This place rocks! 

Just to note: While I am allergic to egg, I still can enjoy a small amount if it, such as in a Snickers bar or a brownie. If I have the equivalent of two or more whole eggs all at once, then I end up getting an itchy, blistery rash. 

My (Very Long) Story

My road to gluten-freedom began with this journal. I now know I am allergic to wheat (& egg, too), but I didn't know that for awhile. It took time and investigating. ;-) And then finally a little medical proof. I am amazed I was able to come as far as I have, because let me tell you, I am not a disciplined person by nature. But the payoff was so worth it!!!!

My hope for this blog is to: 

• share helpful links to resources both local and elsewhere 
• links to local & chain restaurant gluten-free menus
• info on where & what to eat
• to clear up misconceptions about living gluten-free
• provide "tried & true" gluten-free recipes
• defining gluten
• favorite gluten-free products 
• favorite gluten-free websites/blogs
• tips on ordering at a restaurant
• traveling gluten-free 
• helping you (& your kids!) make the transition--my husband Mike is as picky as any kid! 
• create printables for you so you can take info on-the-go
• and anything else I can think of to remind you that if I can do it, you can do it! 

So here's my VERY LONG story (it might take a few days to read this!):

I started MY journal in January 2011 as a way to try to figure out how I could relieve and/or prevent what doctors told me was "eczema". I had literally tubs full of prescription and OTC creams, ointments, you name it--if it was for skin I could probably find it under my sink or in my medicine cabinet. 

I was sick of it. I didn't feel comfortable wearing short sleeves because I often had huge rashes on the inside of my elbows. I argued with my husband at night, convinced we had bed bugs---which we don't. Trust me, we searched AND he never had a mark on him, whereas I was getting bright red itchy dots on my abdomen and waist. Eventually, the rashes began breaking out on my legs which may or may not be from something to do with pedicures...the jury is still out on that one. 

I also would get 3-4 sinus infections per year. That was not fun. 

But....the main thing was....MY EARS ITCHED LIKE CRAZY!!!!!!!!!  ALL THE TIME!!! Mike, my husband, would say that I looked like a dog. Not kidding. Because I'd be sitting on the couch rubbing my ears non-stop. With my head to the side like a Cocker Spaniel doing his daily itch-scratch. It got to be so bad, that I was rubbing my ears at work, earrings jangling as I scratched away. The kids started to look at me funny. That was when I knew it had to stop. And those creams and such didn't help. Oh they cleared it up...for awhile. But I needed this gone for good! 

So I started doing my own research online. And I wrote down what I learned. I figured it had to be something I was eating. I looked up specific foods to avoid for eczema (much as I love them, I wished my doctors had a list of that instead of just writing out an Rx). I also made a list of foods that would help prevent eczema. In my journal, I refer to it as p.19:

From there, I began to write down when I had any symptoms and what I ate within 24-48 hours or less that could've been the culprit. I read somewhere that sometimes it would take awhile to affect you. 

In addition to my rashes and itchy ears, I was also having chronic lower right abdominal discomfort and inflammation---everybody (doctors, too) told me I was constipated, but I felt there was more going on than that. There were times when I would turn over in my sleep and the pain would make me catch my breath. I was scared. And no one had an answer. 

On a side note: A few years prior, I'd been diagnosed with GERD and had taken a medication for a year or two called Aciphex. I thought maybe the Aciphex caused the stomach pain (messing with the acidity and whatnot, I didn't know). I stopped the Aciphex, which was my one and only medication, and simply avoided the 4 foods my doctor said caused GERD: chocolate, fat, caffeine, & mint. Mike's first comment back then was "That's your peppermint mocha!" (I drank a whole lot more Starbucks, back then...Starbucks was not very clear on their fancy drink gluten-freeness at the time and I was being very careful, but I will check again soon!).

Okay, before you X out this screen in horror, I'll tell you that it was only temporary!!! I now have all of those things, but...in MODERATION. This means a little bit each day or every few days or once a week depending on what it is. But when I have too much of any of those things (or eek! a combo of all four!) my GERD symptoms do return. My point is, I'm pretty sure now it was the gluten that caused the pain, and not the Aciphex...because when I do eat a lot of gluten either by accident or by death to temptation I FEEL IT!)

But I digress...back to the investigation.

I did have one of this allergy tests when they prick you all over on your skin. The results came out that I was "slightly" allergic to egg and crab...oh, and dogs. I do have a dog.

All that to say, the journaling REALLY helped me. I was able to see patterns and common denominators.

Here are some of my early entries. They are not in order, but you can see that I DID NOT take the time to write down EVERY SINGLE THING that I put into my mouth. I just figured my symptoms seemed like an allergic reaction, so I just narrowed in on those foods that tend to be high allergens (egg, dairy, nuts, soy, wheat, etc.). My hurting gut was a mystery still, but it was very early on that I wondered about the gluten thing. I would feel just totally ICK after eating a lot of gluten.

I began to get really good at reading the labels on food and drinks. That is essential in this whole process...gluten, especially is SO sneaky! It's in more foods than I ever imagined.

This entry is really telling because it was my first Thanksgiving after being diagnosed with a wheat allergy. My first truly supposed-to-be-gluten-free holiday, in which I ate gluten like a glutton. Okay, I was TRYING to eat it in moderation and it still got to me. At this time, popcorn was a real killer for some reason, too. In fact, I went for months avoiding corn, as well. But I can eat popcorn and corn now...just not too much.

Here's a handy pic for gluten-free rookies. In fact, I think I might type this up as a wallet-sized printable that my readers can download. What do you think? I took this journal EVERYWHERE at first...restaurants, the grocery store. I could not remember it all! I eat corn in moderation. There's some debate on that, I think. I believe the main problem is that corn is an easy go-to in the place of wheat, and just like with most things, too much of something can overwhelm your body.

Carrying around a binder or a bunch of big books was just too much, so when I found info I thought I could use, I would photocopy it and tape it into my journal. Like these pages from Energy Eating The Vegetarian Way by Lucy Moll. I knew absolutely nothing about nutrition. I never ate my baggies or fruits. I literally grew up on fast food. So I had a lot of learning to do. Cutting out gluten and eggs meant reinventing my whole diet. And when I stopped eating what I was used to eating, I wasn't eating anything! So reading about what good whole foods can do for you was a real plus and SO empowering!!!! Instead of feeling wrecked that I couldn't eat the old stuff, I felt satisfied that I was on the road to a healthier me. By the way, I'm not a vegetarian. :-)

Soy sauce is a a real sneak. But I buy gluten-free soy sauce and if I'm going out to Japanese or Chinese I will take it with me. You can see that I started highlighting common factors. After awhile things were become in clear. I didn't journal when I DID feel good. I only journaled when I didn't. Once I started eating 90% or more gluten-free (and egg-free!). My symptoms began to clear up. I went from September to Thanksgiving with no entries, I was feeling so good and symptom-free. Here are some more early entries:

Over on the right page you can see that was when I found out I was allergic to wheat, verified by a blood test. I had been at my new doctor's office for something else that August (I forgot what), not for the blood test. I didn't even know you could do that. The conversation before the blood test went something like this:

Dr. P: "So other than [I forgot what] how are you feeling?"

Me: "Oh, I'm just pretty tired."

Dr. P: "Tired? Hmmm....do you know why?"

Me: "No, I've just been tired my whole life."

Dr. P. looks me straight in the eye, thinking. 

Dr. P: "Your whole life? Really? Have you ever been tested for celiac disease?"

Me: "No, but my aunt has it."

Dr. P: "Hmmm....well, you know it runs in families."

Me: "It does?" 

Dr. P: "Yes, would you like to take a blood test and we'll find out?"

Me: "Uh, yeah!!!" 

And I was thinking, I would've loved to take that darn test before I started my own research and eliminating foods!!!!! 

More revelations:

One last one, just for fun:

So, my test result came back that I was definitely allergic to wheat, but it was inconclusive on the celiac disease. I actually had blood drawn for three tests. One blood test was for wheat allergy and two separate ones for celiac, but which are used together to make a diagnosis. So one of the celiac tests came back positive and the other negative. But the doctor said I am a rare percentage of people whose antibodies can mess up the test (or something like that, don't quote me!). He recommended a biopsy which would be done by getting an endoscopy, and I really didn't want to do that. So he agreed that it would make sense that since I am allergic to wheat I could follow a gluten-free diet. Because diet is the only way to treat celiac disease anyway.

So that was about three years ago, and since I started eating gluten-free I've felt the best I've had in ages. No more rashes (except for two, which coincided with pedicures). No more itchy ears. No sinus infections. No more lower right abdominal pain. I am not as tired, I have more energy. I'm more alert. My cholesterol and blood pressure even went down. I lost about 40 pounds---without exercising much. I need exercise more. That's a current goal. 

But now, I've started this blog to help you out on your journey. I felt compelled (and excited) to share what I know because now that's its been a few years, I've started sneaking the gluten back in *gasp*. And I am feeling it! So I will begin by sharing some things to help you, but as I continue it will also help me get back in the saddle. 

If you're new to the gluten-free lifestyle remember this: Allow yourself time. It won't happen all at once. Gluten is sneaky, but it can be weeded out! Try new things. Be good to your body, your soul will thank you. Each wise, informed choice is a step in the right direction. You got this!

Good luck to you, and I would love to hear YOUR story! Each of us is unique. :-)