The Wheat-Free Experiment- Week 2 Wrap Up

We now have two weeks under our wheat-less belts.  And it is getting much easier.  I've discovered more tricks to going wheat-free, got into more of a routine, and I am no longer missing the bread aisle and the ease it brings to my life.

There's not much to report in the way of earth shattering changes. If you read the report from week one, nothing much has changed. Weight loss? Nope (Darn it all!).  More energy?  I don't know. Can a busy, homeschooling, constantly cooking mom of three ever have enough energy?  I will say, however, that I am really starting to believe that the relief of my leg pain is truly due to getting the wheat out of my life.  I mentioned this in my last post, but wasn't yet convinced. After another week of no wheat, I am almost 100% convinced.  At the end of some days, my legs feel slightly tired and I think "Oh, they should really be hurting and achy right now. My knees should be killing me. I should be ready to collapse and not get up." But I haven't experienced this in the three weeks that I have gone without wheat (I started this about a week ahead of the rest of the family).  If this is the only side-effect I experience, it is well worth the extra effort.

Feeding the family is getting easier, thanks especially to the Land O Lakes website, which introduced me to what I feel is the perfect gluten free baking mix.  Two cups of rice flour, one cup of potato starch, and 1 tsp of xantham gum mixed together and kept in an airtight container has been an excellent cup-for-cup replacement for wheat flour in my baked goods. I've made several types of muffins, chocolate chip cookies, pancakes, cornbread, and even a great yeast bread with this mixture.  Tonight, in honor of Pi day, I plan to use their gluten free pie crust recipe to make something yummy.  I honestly want to call the company and give them a huge hoo-rah  because this has made the experiment so much easier.  A week ago I bought three pounds of rice flour for 95 cents a pound.  I had ordered a case (4 -24-oz packages) of potato starch from amazon.  We haven't used all the flour mixture yet, but I'm estimating that for about $5 a week, we were able to have homemade baked goods and the bread we needed.  Considering that a premade gluten free baking mix can cost $5 for one loaf of bread, I'd say this is very economical.  Therefore, sticking to your budget on a special diet CAN be done. I realize the more specialized your diet, the harder it will be.  But expanding your grocery budget to insure your good health via good food is one of the best investments you can make.  Again, what is it worth to me to have legs that aren't killing me at the end of the day?  A lot.

Now that I've found a good bread recipe that tastes more like homemade white bread, I'm not getting as many comments from the kids about where our old food has gone.  One of my favorite things about this experiment, still, is the absence of food that is so easy to overindulge in.  Sure, baked goods like chocolate chip cookies and chocolate peanut butter no-bakes (Josh's favorite) can disappear in a day if we're not careful, but it's awfully hard to overeat rice cakes and peanut butter with a banana sliced on top.  Cheez-Its- that's another story.

One of my favorite recipes from this past week was from the Gluten Free Goddess. She made pizza night amazing!  Her recipe for pizza dough is wonderful. I followed it to a tee.  It was soft and very tasty and when reheated it didn't get rubbery like the usual pizza dough.  I HIGHLY recommend this recipe and would make this over traditional pizza dough every time, it was that good.  And easy, too.

I'm really starting to enjoy this experiment and all I am learning. I love being able to have people over for dinner that have a specialized diet, knowing I can cook for them.  Food allergies and special diets can be socially isolating.  Going to a restaurant with friends could be a nightmare if you are gluten and dairy free.  Taking your children to a birthday party with either or both of these allergies- forget about it.  As a girl who loves to make people feel welcome in her home, being able to cook for a  special diet  brings new meaning to "comfort food".  Food should bring people together, not tear them apart.