of gluten, that is!
After a lifetime of tetchy symptoms which sometimes I haven’t even wanted to describe to my family doctor, after ER visits and colon surgery, after still more years of symptoms I finally got a brainstorm: why not go gluten-free?! The only other alternative was a colonoscopy—ASAP.
We have a granddaughter, Jamie, with celiac and her dad—our son, Eric—tested positive for that disease. Although Eric had no symptoms, he immediately went gluten-free upon receiving his test results. His other daughter, Nicole, had symptoms and has been thriving on a gluten-free diet for several years. These are my close-of-kin. It occurred to me that maybe the GI health issues started with my family line—so what not follow their dietary example?
It took thirty gluten-free hours for me to feel better than I can recall feeling for years. I woke up one morning, and simply laid there in the bed thanking God and being AMAZED at how relaxed and “whole” my body felt. I seemed (and still do seem) lighter than a summer breeze, and “float-y” without GI troubles. Never mind my ortho issues which, like true love, go on and on, When the gut is okay, other things fall into perspective.
And the food is GOOD! Of course fruit, veggies (including potatoes), rice, dairy, eggs, peanut butter, chocolate, honey, candy and syrups, cornstarch gravies, plus meats are gluten-free. Additional items—breads, cookies, crackers, gluten free pastas, flours, snack-y stuff, etc. are more readily available than ever before.
I make coffee cakes from rice, tapioca, and sorghum flours—with cooked rhubarb or overripe bananas, eggs, sour milk, salt, baking powder and baking soda, brown sugar, and sometimes chocolate chips. When I omit the chips, I drizzle a buttercream maple flavored frosting over the top. Can’t be beat!
And a favorite dinner, Shepherd’s Pie: a well-buttered casserole of cooked ground lamb and cooked mixed veggies mixed with gluten free gravy and topped with a humungous mound of buttered and seasoned mashed potatoes—baked until the potato mound is deliciously browned.
At this moment our Sunday dinner is in the oven: a Cornish hen stuffed with onion, brown rice, salt, butter, and white pepper—topped with gravy. (Gluten free packaged gravy is available, but one can easily bang out gravies and sauces with meat stock or whatever, and cornstarch.) A whole new world of fun in the kitchen!
Joe enjoys the food as well. I keep his sandwich bread plus ingredients for his favorite wheat flour desserts on hand. We are not huge eaters, so the extra expense for special food goes a long way. In fact, never having a full tummy is part of the solution for my GI comfort. An occasional piece of fruit for a snack, and tiny meals—VOILÀ. A new me, at age 82! ↓ (I’m the one with the long hair.)
Margaret L. Been — September 27, 2015
Living Abundantly with Illness and Chronic Pain 