Olive Garden!

Ok, this may not be really "new" news in the Gluten Free world...but it is news to me! My friend Jillian just let me know that Olive Garden has a gluten free menu! I knew they had a gluten free menu already...and I thanked her for the knowledge but said I already knew that. She went on to say, however, that they now have a gluten free pasta! Previously when I had checked their website, I think they only had steak/chicken/salmon options! (But, again, I hadn't checked their website in a while)
Now, indeed, they do have a gluten free penne pasta with marinara option. Also, I noted that their yummy salad (without crutons, of course ;) ) is gluten free! I do love their house Italian dressing, so that was awesome to see :).
So, all of you GF lovers, go check out your local Olive Garden for some yummy GF eats! It's always fantastic to have another GF restaurant option :).
Click here for the GF menu :).

THANKS JILLIAN

(as with any Gluten Free-claiming-menu....be responsible and check with your server/a manager to ensure that measures have been taken to prevent cross-contamination.)

News....

So things have been busy...but I should get back into my old "blogging" habit! :) Recent happenings include, but are not limited to the following:

I attempted the "CORE" Weight Watchers diet plan with my friend Jillian for a week...talk about torturous. I craved refined sugar like none other!

I met my first "internet friend", Kristin, in person

I made some delicious gluten free chocolate mint cookies and sent 62 of said cookies with Jeremy to work this past week for a "food day"....to rave reviews!

I sampled (TWICE) the new GF Valencia orange cake from Starbucks...it's so good, it's honestly crave-worthy, as evidenced by my need to get one on Thursday for lunch! HA! Not exactly a balanced lunch, but it was delicious!

I discovered that Naturally Yours here in Bloomington carries fresh baked goods...including a delicious raspberry muffin that I gleefully sampled

I am still asked quite regularly what gluten is

I've made a number of gluten free meals here at home for a number of guests

....I found out I do NOT have Celiac Disease.........yeah! Weird, huh?! Well, I have
"gluten intolerance" or "gluten sensitivity"...so really, nothing will change in the arena of my diet/current lifestyle. But the knowledge that I don't have an autoimmune disease is a good thing.

Ok, so I had my follow-up appointment post genetic testing with Dr. DeWeert, a GI here in town, on Tuesday.....and....I don't (yes DON'T) have Celiac Disease....I don't have either of those 2 genes that predispose people to Celiac Disease! 35% of the population has at least one of these genes in some form and I have NOTHING! When I first went in to see Dr. DeWeert a few months ago he told me that he was pretty darn sure the genetic testing would come back showing that I had at least one of the genes. I definitely have gluten intolerance according to Dr. DeWeert, though, and I am not arguing with that! Gluten is definitely key in whatever was screwing me up for so long...eliminate it and I am suddenly basically fine. Also, I can definitely tell if I had something that was "contaminated"...or at least I think I can. What if it is in my head?! Well, I don't think some of my....err...SYMPTOMS ;)...can be just "in my head". So, now I am in this weird non-Celiac but still gluten-intolerant population. I did some reading about this recently, too, when it became apparent that maybe this was the category I fell into. People talked all tragically about how they feel "forgotten" since they don't have the "label" of Celiac Disease but still have the same symptoms...just don't have the auto-immune disease component/etc. I don't plan on being that tragic about it ;).
Well, like I said though, nothing for me is going to change...I mean, it's obviously good to have this information and I may even try something glutenous (since I know it won't permanently damage me) at some point...but the thought freaks me out!!! I don't know if I can really bring myself to do it. I mean, sometimes it sounds really tempting (bread bowl from Panera anyone?!)...Obviously I know what I was like pre-diet-change and don't really want to go back to ANY of that suffering! Plus, there is a tiny percentage of Celiac's who supposedly DON'T have the genes ;). I totally recognize it's a long shot...but I could be in that ;). HA! I hope people don't use this news as some kind of excuse to be less careful around me. It's still totally obvious that I get sick when I have gluten...boy oh boy. I have to admit, though, sometimes I do doubt myself...like, am I just some kind of hypochondriac who made all of this crap up!? Then I remind myself....um, no...not likely! This isn't exactly FUN. It's been incredibly hard and it's definitely not about getting attention or anything like that. I don't even LIKE being the center of attention/having something "different" about me! Not to mention the fact that, well, there's no way that practically pooping my pants after eating gluten can be just IN MY HEAD! HA!
I just read on celiac.com : In some rare individuals, especially some men, a negative genetic test may not exclude the possibility of celiac disease anymore than a negative blood test. Men more commonly have negative genetic tests and blood tests, especially older men with long-standing severe disease.
Well...I'm clearly not a man. And definitely not an OLD man ;). But who knows!!!
Well, for not I am content....I don't have Celiac Disease, but my body still hates gluten. That's fine...with all of the support I've been getting, I've been doing pretty darn well. I am finding things to eat that I actually enjoy and I am not suffering by any means! So, bring on the rice pasta and the Chebe bread! :)

Yummy dinner!

Thanks to JILLIAN for this awesome present...two boxes of gluten free mac and cheese from a recent trip to Trader Joes!! Jillian, a great friend I met at work, is just AWESOME and sooo generous! She always finds me little goodies...and I love her for it!!

I have a pot of water with one box of the noodles a'boilin' downstairs and can't wait to eat it! After that I am off for a pedicure...a silly indulgence, I know ;). It is in preparation for our trip to AZ on Thursday...my biggest trip yet while gluten free! It'll be an adventure, I am sure...but I am up for it! :) Time to go consume said mac and cheese....have a lovely night, all!

Lately...

First...I have successfully made it through 25 gluten-free days! Today is day 26 and I am still going strong. I think once I heard something about new habits...and if you do whatever you want to become your "new habit" for 21 days, it becomes a habit. Maybe that's way off. But, whatever, that's what's in my head right now...so I will just make myself think I have successfully formed a new habit...living gluten-free!

Let's see. Monday night after a long day at work (I left around 6:30), I came home and decided to make gluten-free home-made baked macaroni and cheese. I found a recipe in my trusty Carol Fenster book and got to work. I used corn elbow noodles I had purchased from Naturally Yours earlier that morning when I was on my way back to work from an offsite visit with a kiddo I had. It took a while, naturally, to make the sauce (basically rice milk, tapioca flour, a ton of cheese, and a tiny dash of hot sauce), but finally the big caserole dish full of cheesy noodles, topped with gluten-free bread crumbs...was in the oven! I was really pumped up, as I had been craving macaroni and cheese. Well, we were both sorely disappointed. It was terrible! We think the problem was the corn noodles....and maybe the tapioca flour in the cheese sauce. They tasted funky and were an odd texture. I felt terrible, but we threw away the whole thing. It was bad. Bad, bad, bad! I almost cried...and I definitely sat on the couch and sulked for a while. It was so frustrating to waste ALL of that TIME and MONEY on those ingredients! Jeremy pointed out that I can't win every time...but I still want to! I stopped sulking long enough to get ready to go to the gym...so off we went. I felt MUCH better after an intense workout. And, after I got back I popped some popcorn with our stove popper. I don't think I have mentioned yet how much I LOVE popcorn. It has seriously become the biggest staple of my diet in the past 3 weeks! Our stove-top popper gets quite the workout!

So, also on Monday...my friend AWESOME Jillian from work informed me early that morning that she had a treat for me. She led me to her office and pulled from her purse two bars and a cookbook she had checked out from the library for me...Gluten Free and Easy. How awesome is she?!

The bars...oh my gosh. They are AWESOME! They are called Larabars. Click on the link to check them out! She got me two different flavors: Peanut Butter Cookie, and Cherry Pie. I ate the Peanut Butter Cookie one that morning and I ate the Cherry Pie one yesterday morning! The Peanut Butter Cookie one seriously tasted like a peanut butter cookie...and the only ingredients were dates, peanuts, and salt! Are you kidding me!? These bars are AWESOME and have MINIMAL ingredients..and are all natural and organic!

When I went to Naturally yours later Monday morning to purchase the nasty corn noodles for that nights doomed dinner, I also looked around for Larabars. I found some...but not the Peanut Butter Cookie flavor, unfortunately! I purchased a Pecan Pie one, and also two Jocolate chocolate bars also made by Larabar...check them out below!

YUM! I can't wait to try those last three! Which one should I eat today?!