Food choices
So, I decided to go gluten free/dairy free as an experiment, partially because I'm still doing the DDPYOGA and Dallas recommends it. Not one to follow blindly, I've been reading as much as I can about the benefits of a gluten free diet. Lately, my body just hurts, particularly a shoulder and hip I injured a while back. I want to see if eliminating gluten will make the difference I heard it might.
The dairy issue is slightly different. The big issue there for me is the hormones given to the cows so they produce large quantities of milk. Not something I really want in my body. So I'm either faced with going dairy free or finding alternative dairy, which for a cheese lover like me is a really big decision. Goat and sheep dairy seem like a good option to solve the hormone problem and I am also looking at other options. I have basically replaced the milk I drink with Silk soy milk with very good results. For cooking things likes sauces or for baking, either the soy or the goat milk works well. Finding an alternative cheese has been a bit more tricky. Non dairy cheeses have a plastic mouth feel I really don't like. I think Daiya has the best "cheese" shreds I've tried so far. Th goat and milk cheese are good substitutes for me. Earth balance makes a great butter substitute that I can use as a spread and for cooking and baking. So far, so good.
Last night's dinner was baked "fried" chicken, macaroni and cheese and corn bread. The corn bread was from a mix from Bob's Red Mill and I used soy milk. This came out very tasty. I can't recommend Bob's Red Mill products enough. I like the texture of their products and they are truly gluten free. Also, their website is filled with good information and lots of recipes. The chicken was coated with Bob's Red Mill baking flour and some spices and came out delicious. The mac and cheese was made using Tinkyada brown rice elbow macaroni, Earth Balance butter substitute, Bob's flour, and goat cheese and milk. This was really, really good. The best part was that my family declared the meal a success.
The hardest part of this change so far is finding ingredients that the whole family likes; otherwise I'm forced to make two entrees at each meal. The easy thing about this is that now there are so many good gluten free choices out there that making the switch isn't really hard. I have two excellent natural food markets close to my home and I'll be checking out a third in the next week or so. Even my supermarket has gluten free brands now so that helps. For the pasta, the trick has been finding brands that have a good consistency. Tinkyada is the winner thus far.
I've only been doing this for about a week so I haven't felt major changes in my body yet. I did get a surprise when I stepped on the scale this week and found I was 2.5 pounds lighter and that was without really trying. Bonus! I'm hoping these changes help with my overall health.
The dairy issue is slightly different. The big issue there for me is the hormones given to the cows so they produce large quantities of milk. Not something I really want in my body. So I'm either faced with going dairy free or finding alternative dairy, which for a cheese lover like me is a really big decision. Goat and sheep dairy seem like a good option to solve the hormone problem and I am also looking at other options. I have basically replaced the milk I drink with Silk soy milk with very good results. For cooking things likes sauces or for baking, either the soy or the goat milk works well. Finding an alternative cheese has been a bit more tricky. Non dairy cheeses have a plastic mouth feel I really don't like. I think Daiya has the best "cheese" shreds I've tried so far. Th goat and milk cheese are good substitutes for me. Earth balance makes a great butter substitute that I can use as a spread and for cooking and baking. So far, so good.
Last night's dinner was baked "fried" chicken, macaroni and cheese and corn bread. The corn bread was from a mix from Bob's Red Mill and I used soy milk. This came out very tasty. I can't recommend Bob's Red Mill products enough. I like the texture of their products and they are truly gluten free. Also, their website is filled with good information and lots of recipes. The chicken was coated with Bob's Red Mill baking flour and some spices and came out delicious. The mac and cheese was made using Tinkyada brown rice elbow macaroni, Earth Balance butter substitute, Bob's flour, and goat cheese and milk. This was really, really good. The best part was that my family declared the meal a success.
The hardest part of this change so far is finding ingredients that the whole family likes; otherwise I'm forced to make two entrees at each meal. The easy thing about this is that now there are so many good gluten free choices out there that making the switch isn't really hard. I have two excellent natural food markets close to my home and I'll be checking out a third in the next week or so. Even my supermarket has gluten free brands now so that helps. For the pasta, the trick has been finding brands that have a good consistency. Tinkyada is the winner thus far.
I've only been doing this for about a week so I haven't felt major changes in my body yet. I did get a surprise when I stepped on the scale this week and found I was 2.5 pounds lighter and that was without really trying. Bonus! I'm hoping these changes help with my overall health.