go with your guts.

3 eggs with cheddar cheese &ketchup

1 cup coffee with cream &sugar

1 8oz soy hot chocolate

3 spoonfuls cottage cheese

~6 large strawberries with cream and sugar

2 small o’henry bars

1 orange

1 serving stirfry

1 handful+ jalapeno cheesies (GF)

2 cups tea with cream &sugar.

I just downloaded Waterlogged, which is a handy little app that lets you record your water intake for the day. If you’re anything like me, you never drink enough water even though it seriously helps every facet of your health. I’m hoping that this little guy helps me be more cogniscent of my water consumption!

afternoon homework-avoidance reading:

google gluten intolerance vs. celiac disease (because this is an area i have embarrassingly little knowledge about, and it is one that very much affects me):

Celiac disease is, by definition, a condition in which the intestinal wall is damaged as a result of eating gluten. Celiac disease is the result of genetic and environmental factors. We now know two HLA markers (DQ2 and DQ8) for the predisposition for celiac disease². […]

On the other hand, gluten sensitivity is characterized by antigliadin antibodies. This condition afflicts at least 12% of the general population⁴ and is found in patients with a wide variety of autoimmune diseases. In some studies of neurological diseases of unknown origin, a majority of patients show signs of gluten sensitivity⁴. These patients are mounting an immune response to the most common food in the western diet, yet many practitioners consider gluten sensitivity to be a non-specific finding, frequently counseling patients to ignore these test results. This is particularly unfortunate since a strict gluten-free diet has repeatedly proven helpful to patients who are fortunate enough to consult a practitioner who is versed in gluten sensitivity and its connection with autoimmunity.

from Gluten Sensitivity: What’s the Difference? by Ron Hoggan.

auto-immune disease?  check; gluten intolerance?  check. 

heathermck:

iamtalia:

ovarycat:

rebloggingrecipes:

 

Hurry Up Alfredo
Makes 2-3 Servings

1 Cup Soymilk
1/3 Cup Raw, Unsalted Cashews
1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast
3 Tbs Low-Sodium Tamari or Soy Sauce
2 Tbs Earth Balance Margarine
1 Tbs Tahini
1 Tbs Fresh Lemon Juice
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp Paprika (smoked is awesome)
1 Pinch Nutmeg
2-4 Cloves of Garlic, optional
Black pepper, to taste

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. This may work best in a high-speed blender (like a Vita-Mix), but you can definitely make it in a regular blender. Just blend extra-long, or perhaps strain if if you want it perfectly smooth. Tiny bits of cashews won’t hurt anyone though!

If you’re making this sauce for pasta, drain the pasta and return it to the hot empty pan. Pour the sauce over, place on medium heat, and stir until heated through. Serve with lots of fresh cracked black pepper. I love it with steamed broccoli added in!

[Image: A bowl of shell pasta (Is that what it’s called? Anyway, the pasta that looks like little shells.) with alfredo sauce and a sprig of basil on top, resting on a wooden cutting board with a knife and various herbs around it.]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

AARON!@

YUM, this is so on the menu for tonight.

i am going to make the heck out of this soon.

just under 1/3 of the onions for GF/lactose-free french onion soup i’m making tonight.  i’m crying like a baby.

gluten, en français.

ce trimestre je suis un cours du français oral et je dois faire une présentation demain.  j’ai choisi pour mon sujet l’intolérance au gluten et le régime alimentaire sans gluten, et je passe ce dimanche soir en lisant sur ceux en français.  j’espère que mes camarades de classe ne dormiront pas tout debout…  l’information est un peu plus scientifique que j’aimerais.  dis-moi merde!

unsafe cosmetic products.

so, i’ve been feeling crazy lately - crazy being the catch-all term i use when i’ve been glutened: i experience ADD symptoms, fatigue, anxiety, and so on.  also, my digestive symptoms have flared up and my eyes have been irritated.  i haven’t been able to figure out why, though - my diet’s been clean, i’ve been sleeping, i haven’t had more than a glass of wine or so in the past week…  i attributed it to school stress, but that really wasn’t holding any water. 

tonight i figured it out!  (and i feel like a moron.)  my eye make-up remover pads (andrea eye eye make up remover pads for waterproof makeup, pictured above) contain wheat germ, which is not celiac safe as it has - you guessed it! - gluten. 

i am going to take this as a lesson, and make this my one and only new year’s resolution: read all labels.  every label on everything i eat and put in - or on! - my body.  clearly, i never know where allergens could be lurking.

(and for now, i’ll go back to use grape seed oil to remove my makeup until i can get back to the drug store to thoroughly check all labels.)

my staple take-to-school lunch: plain corn thins topped with hummus, sprouts, goat brie, and freybe gluten- and lactose-free salami. 

breakfast foods.

the semester begins tomorrow, and it promises to be a busy one - ridiculously so.  as such, i’ve resolved, as one is wont to do in januaries, to begin eating breakfast even during the week.  oatmeal was always my favourite breakfast - especially in the winter - and i refuse to spend five dollars on a box of gluten-free cereal that won’t really fill me up, so i’ve decided a good compromise is rice pudding!

you’ll need:

2/3 cup white rice (long or short grain);

5 cups milk of your choice (i used half coconut and half almond);

1/4 tsp. salt;

white sugar (the recipe i used calls for 1/2 a cup, but i think that’s far too sweet for breakfast…  try 1/3 a cup instead);

2 tsp. vanilla extract;

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon.

instructions:

put rice, milk, and salt in a saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil.  reduce heat and simmer until rice is tender (roughly 25 minutes), stirring frequently to prevent milk and rice from sticking to the bottom.  once tender, add sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.  return pan to heat until rice pudding thickens (about 5 to 10 minutes).  allow to cool a bit before spooning into containers to be stored in the fridge.

makes 4 to 6 servings.

for a good breakfast, add sliced banana or dried fruit (e.g. raisins, apricots, or papaya), nuts, and, if you want it a bit sweeter, some maple syrup.