Lightening Online

I can’t believe it’s already 2 weeks into this exclusion diet.  The 2nd week has certainly had it’s ups and downs.

Day 8

I was out all day today.  Finding that my energy levels seem to be a bit more even now.  There hasn’t been a big boost in energy but I’m not having the same dips in my energy.  Took Ryvita’s and cheese for my lunch.  That worked fine.  Even came home and cooked tea which is unheard of for me if I’ve been out all day (usually collapse in a heap).

Day 9

Feeling flat and sluggish with headaches.  Not a great day at all.  Really struggled my way through netball training.

Day 10

Feeling a lot better.  Had lunch out at the pub.  A nice big juicy steak.  Discovered the local pub’s chips have wheat in their coating (they’re SO yummy too!!!! ).  So they are “off the list”.  The steak was good though.

Day 11

Had my first attempt at cooking Quinoa which turned out really GREAT.  Had to do lots of cooking for the Youth Group Progressive Dinner.  We are hosting mains and I’m cooking mornays.  Realised that a lot of “buffet” style food has wheat in it.  Did make a fried rice which I could eat (and had some leftover for the freezer).  I now have 3 meals (2 fried rice and 1 quinoa) in the freezer for days when the family has something I can’t have or I need to take my own food somewhere.

Helped out with sheep work in the morning (lifted 180 odd lambs for tailing).  Was exhausted when we’d finished and not sure how I’d get the rest of my days tasks done.  Found that after a period of sitting down resting, I had enough energy to get going again.  In the past, once I get tired, I’m usually tired for the rest of the day.  My body doesn’t seem to regenerate very quickly so this is a good outcome.

Day 12

Another pooled lunch at church so took my own again.  I do feel like a bit of a freak bringing my own food.  Some friends seem to be more supportive than others of what I’m trying to do (some just think I’m a nut I think).  The hardest thing I find with bringing my own food is that it makes me look “different”.  I’m not comfortable drawing attention to myself in any way (says she who shares her life with 100s of strangers LOL).

Day 13

Had a session with my trainer at the gym.  My wrist is sore from lifting all the lambs but I was happy with what I was able to achieve regardless.  Have lost 2 kg since I started on the wheat free diet.  I’m not sure whether it’s anything to do with the wheat or that I’ve been forced to eat more healthily.  Still, I don’t mind what causes it.  Hope it continues!!!!  One thing I have noticed is I don’t seem to need as much food to be satisfied anymore.  I used to get this gnawing feeling that I thought was hunger but now I’m wondering if it was caused by a reaction to the wheat in my food.  I’m not getting it now.

Discovered that our local supermarket stocks quite a range of gluten free foods.  Even though I don’t have to stick to “gluten free” as such, gluten free foods are free of wheat which means I can eat them.  Bought a packet of gluten free pastry to try.

Day 14

Got more housework done today than I have in a long time.  The house is looking good again which helps me to feel good.  Decided to make pasties for tea using puff pastry for the family and making up the gluten free pastry mix for myself.

My gluten free pastry was a big FLOP!  It turned out hard and not very nice tasting at all.  :(  I was pretty disappointed.  Found out that larger supermarkets stock ready made gluten free puff pastry so I will try that when I get a chance to buy some.

Day 15

Another disappointing failure today when I went out to lunch with friends at one of my favourite cafes (in a regional centre about 2 hours from here).  I spoke to the staff about wheat free options which all seemed fine.  I was told to order whatever I liked and have the cashier mark it as wheat free and if I had ordered something with wheat in it, the kitchen staff would let me know and offer alternatives to make it wheat free.

I ended up ordering a fish dish with cous cous.  Not having had cous cous before, I had no idea it was made from wheat and the kitchen staff didn’t let me know so I ended up eating it.

Had a stomach ache within an hour.  Nothing too serious.  Just that gnawing, hungry type feeling and some sharper cramp type pains.  Had it on and off all day.  Noticed that when I ate, it abated for a while but would return a few hours later.  No wonder I was confusing it with hunger when eating makes it feel better.

On the plus side, I think we can conclude that the wheat free diet is having a positive effect.  And I found out that that particular cafe can make gluten free pizza bases if I call ahead to let them know I’m coming.  Have to decide whether I should ring and complain about the cous cous though.  Feel a bit stupid that I didn’t know it had wheat in it.

Had afternoon tea at a bakery and they had a couple of gluten free cake options.  I chose an apricot slice and it was DELICIOUS.  Gluten Free eating seems to be getting easier and easier these days so that’s another plus.

I was able to buy some gluten free flours, gluten free pasta and some more quinoa.  Going to try cooking the quinoa dish for the whole family this week and see how it goes down.  Most gluten free products are rather expensive though so I probably won’t introduce them to too much of my food.  I’m not sure if it’s more expensive to make or whether it’s just not made in big enough bulk to make it cheaper.  Once I get more settled with what products I do and don’t like, I’ll have to do some research and see if I can find cheaper sources for them.

Day 16

I haven’t lost any weight for a few days now so that side of things may have slowed down considerably.  I guess it could be down to the drastic change in diet that I lost the first 2 kg.  Then again, my weight can fluctuate quite a bit so we’ll only know over the long term what the weight loss effects of the diet are (and they’re a secondary thing - a bonus really).

I am a bit tired today and my body seems to be working hard to expel anything inside of me.  It may be the result of the wheat I ate yesterday or could just be my body (you can never really tell with my body).

As I type this, I have some gluten free chocolate brownies in the oven which smell magnificent.  I hope they taste just as good.  Will let you know how that goes.

For those not familiar with the word, it’s pronounced “Keen-Wa”  rather than “Kwinoa”.

I’ve known about it for a while but this wheat free diet has given me the motivation to actually get around to trying it.

Apparently, while often used instead of grains, Quinoa is actually a seed.

Do you know what?

Wheat is actually a seed too isn’t it?  LOL.  Wonder what the difference between a grain and a seed is?  Not that I really care enough to actually find out.  I’ll just believe them when they say one is a grain and one is a seed.  Whatever.

Anyway, plenty of people seem to be raving about it.  What makes it so good?  I did a little bit of research and this is what I’ve found:

1.  Quinoa is Gluten Free

There appears to be a growing demand for Gluten Free foods.  While I’m not actually on a “gluten free” diet it would seem that gluten free products are naturally “wheat free” so I’ve started following the “trend” in an attempt to find more variety in what I can actually eat.

2.  Quinoa is an Alkaline Food

I’ve only recently learnt about this but apparently an “acidic body” is actually on it’s way to becoming a corpse.  A lot of Western foods have an acidic affect on our bodies so most people are in need of more alkalising foods.  It’s not as simple as avoiding foods high in acid either.  From what I’ve been told, Lemons are actually an alkalising food.

3.  Quinoa is a Complete Protein

Quinoa has all the essential amino acids (9 in total) needed by the body to build muscles.  (Source)

From what I can understand, it’s quite rare to get a plant source with all 9 of these amino acids.

4.  Quinoa is high in fibre

I think we all know the benefits of increasing fibre in our diet.

5.  Quinoa has high amounts of Magnesium

Magnesium is a great muscle relaxant and increasing magnesium in your diet can help with migraines, muscle cramps and energy levels.

It also helps the body deal with insulin and blood sugars so can be beneficial to those with type 2 diabetes.

6.  Quinoa has higher levels of nutrients than many grains

Compared to other grains, quinoa is higher in calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, and zinc than wheat, barley, or corn. ^(source)

7.  Quinoa acts as a prebiotic

It helps feed the good bacteria in the intestine.

There are plenty of other “claims” when it comes to the benefits of Quinoa and diseases it can help prevent.  These are the ones that seemed most relevant to me.

Of course, it can have all the benefits in the world but if it isn’t tasty to eat, who’s going to eat it?

I have to admit I was a bit unsure when it came to trying it.

I’m not exactly what you’d call adventurous when it comes to trying new foods.

So I tried to stick with flavours I enjoy.

Basically chicken and broccoli.

It was DELICIOUS!!!!

CHICKEN & BROCCOLI QUINOA RECIPE

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1 chicken stock cube (check it’s wheat/gluten free if required - not all are).

1 chicken breast

2 cups of broccoli (or more if you like it - I added heaps!)

cream to taste (I used 3-4 heaped teaspoons)

Rinse quinoa well under running water (some websites suggest presoaking but my packet didn’t say anything about that so I just rinsed it thoroughly).  Add quinoa to water.  Crumble stock cube into water.  Bring to boil then allow to simmer until all water is absorbed.

Cook broccoli and chicken breast.  Chop into small pieces.

Fluff quinoa with a fork.  Add broccoli and chicken.

Stir through cream if desired (for a low fat option, leave cream out - but it does make it YUMMY!!!!).

***

This amount was enough for 3 serves for me.  You might want to adjust the quantities to suit your own family.

I did find it was much nicer fresh than reheated, even though I added a bit more cream when I reheated it (the quinoa absorbs the cream).

My next challenge  will be to make this for the whole family and see if they’ll eat it!!!! 

* Disclaimer: I’m no expert and this is just what I’ve found in my research.  I can’t guarantee the accuracy of anything written here.

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