GITNC (Gluten Is The New Crack)

Gluten Is The New Crack

Delicious, addictive, mind-altering, and toxic; Gluten and Crack are not far from each other on my list of dangerous and illegal substances. 

Of course, I'm asking myself why in the world I would have ever let myself slip back into the spiraling, black hole of death that is the ooey, gooey, stretchy, crunchy, euphoric Gluten?

I have no answer other than, I am a weakling. I gave in to my urges, mostly led by the lack of fast, easy, and healthy foods in the fridge. While struggling just to stay awake and function throughout the day, it's definitely not easy to prepare, cook, and eat nutritious meals/snacks 3-6 times daily.

(Graphic borrowed from here) 

While, I'd like to place 99% of the blame on my roommate who follows the diet of a sewage troll, it's all on me. I am responsible for the choices I make in my life, as well as the consequences that follow. And, I'm definitely paying for my bad decisions.

Today marks day 31 (the start of Month 2) of my new herbal treatment protocol for Lyme Disease and Co-infections. I'm relieved to say that this past month sort of flew by. I was very anxious about such a drastic change in treatment, and how my body was going to react. So far, I think I am tolerating it okay! I look back through this month, and haven't had any huge, scary Herxheimer reactions. Rather, I've been in an extremely increased amount of pain. (WRISTS, Ankle, Knee, Neck, Fingers, Head/Migraines.)

I think it's safe to say that these are actually a result of Glutenizing my body. I am majorly inflamed, bloated, EXHAUSTED, irritable, mildly depressed, and very, very dizzy. When someone hears about a food allergy they immediately think about an anaphylactic shock type of reaction, or stomach symptoms. NOT neurological or physical reactions. I've proven to myself through several highly experimental tests, that indeed, Gluten and food allergies are both detrimental to my brain and my body.

I'm not sure whether it is the temptation, or the skepticism that keeps me coming back for more. Regardless, I need help. It's gotten to the point of feeling like there are monsters inside of me controlling my food impulses. I FEEL like a monster. I can't stop. (I hate the word "can't", but I'm so far in a hole that I don't feel like there's a way out at this point.)

Do you want to know the sad part? I'm not even eating anything that spectacular. I'm eating toast. And LOTS of it. WTF is wrong with me?! You would think I'd be going for junk food, or decadent desserts, but nope. I am craving toast. Not just any toast, mind you...Sourdough toast. My Kryptonite. It's quick, easy, delicious, and poisonous. Not only is the gluten making me ill, but the yeast is surely feeding my Lyme and Candida. =(

Logically, I should just be able to tell myself "HEY, STOP IT!" Sadly, I've fallen too deep into the abyss. I'm actually at the point of looking for a new place to live because I cannot "Just Say No". I need to be in a clean and safe environment to be able to detox and get healthy.

It frustrates me because I know I'm not a weak person. I'd surely be dead, considering all that I've overcome; but throw toxic, mind-altering substances into the mix, and it's a whole other ballgame.

Welp, I've done it before, so I can do it again! Let's kick Gluten in the ass!

The Best Muffins

When it comes to muffins, I tend to think that I can't possibly screw them up! But, I'm going for perfection, here. This is batch #3? Within the last week and by far the best! The others were good, but were just not up to my muffin standards. (I ate them anyway, obviously!)

So, I went back to the muffin board, and got my creative juices flowing...I was hungry, and needed sustenance. And fast! I threw a bunch of stuff in the bowls and into the oven, and this is roughly what I came up with! Anyone care to trial these for me?

FYI:

T=Tablespoon

t=teaspoon 

*Table is bigger than tea ;)

Preheat oven to 350°F, make sure your rack is in the middle of the oven- it's easier to move when cool.

In 1 medium-large mixing bowl, combine and mash with fork: (no mixers/blenders, etc are used in the making of muffins!)

2 bananas frozen/thawed mushed

2 cups? Cooked Pumpkin (Thawed)- I have a bunch already cut and cooked in the freezer from my Halloween pumpkin massacre.

**4oz? Unsweetened, all natural Applesauce (1 tiny tub)

**2t Chia gel (I usually have a jar in the fridge of pre-soaked chias gelling for future culinary use)

1/2t Vanilla extract (I've tried it without, but it's better with.)

**1 1/2T Vinegar (*big T!) (add to bowl last)

In 2nd medium sized bowl, combine:

1 3/4c all purpose Gluten Free baking flour. (I used Bob's Red Mill-and boy, I didn't realize how pricey this stuff was! I used to bake a lot, gluten-style. But GF baking is semi-new to me.)

1/4 - 1/2c Brown sugar (Can absolutely sub for your fav sugar/sweetener. I've been meaning to buy maple, but I just don't know which kind to buy, and I don't bake or use sweeteners (sugar) very often.)

1T Raw sugar -Turbinado (Same as above, your preference- it's what I had on hand.)

1T Baking Soda

1t Baking Powder

1/8t Salt

2t Cinnamon

Dump dry ingredients into wet ingredient bowl, and lightly combine with fork just until moist. Too much stirring can cause TMF. (Total Muffin Failure.)

Fork into muffin pans, (batter should be forkably thick- do not want runny muffins!) I don't use paper muffin liners‎, because they seem to come out of the pan just fine without. GO GREEN!

Makes 18 small/med sized muffins.

Bake at 350°F on middle preheated oven rack for 15-20 min until browned on top. Middle may still be a bit moist-That's OK because we didn't use any eggs! 

Best when cooled! You may not think they're cooked all the way, but once they're cooled, they are! 

**Secret ingredients. These are pretty much necessary to substitute for the Almighty Egg. They're a secret because people will not believe ‎they're inside! You can't even taste them. =D But, you'll know, and you can giggle when your friends/relatives exclaim with delight how fantastic these VEGAN GLUTEN FREE BANANA PUMPKIN SPICE MUFFINS are!


P.S. The stumps are just as delicious as the muffin tops! 

Black & White Super Chili

Onion - 1 or 2 of your choice - chopped -cook first until translucent, then add the next 14 ingredients.
Black beans - 1 or two cans (You can drain/rinse if you want, I don't.)
White beans - 1 or two cans (You can drain/rinse if you want.)
Diced tomato - largish can
Tomato Paste - tiny can
Tomato Sauce - regular can (I prefer crushed tomatoes, didn't have any.)
2 Carrots - peeled, chopped or diced
1 Celery stalk - diced
Parsley - handful fresh, finely chopped
Water - as much as there is chili. Or to top of pot. It will cook down. (I've used organic vegetable broth many times. So yummy, but didn't have any on hand.)
1 can V8 vegetable juice - (Optional, but I add it for the extra sodium and delicious flavours.)
Cayenne pepper - to taste
Chili powder - to taste
Cumin - to taste
Salt (optional as beans are salty)
Pepper - to taste
*Quinoa - 1/2c dry, I used red, regular would be good, too.
*Spinach - as much as you can chop. Or frozen is fine, too!

*Add dry quinoa near the end, about an hourish left to cook. Making sure there is enough liquid left to be absorbed. (1c or so).
-May use already cooked/leftover quinoa. Add at very end so it doesn't get mushy.

*Spinach - add at the very end! =)

Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 3-4 hours. Stirring every 10-15 min so nothing burns/sticks to the bottom. I'm sure you could use a crockpot, too!

Usually takes me about 3-4 hours.

Yummm

So I'm discovering that basically anything is delicious with any sort of nut milk incorporated into it. I REALLY like hemp milk, but I don't often find it at a very affordable price. So....go nuts with your nut milk and throw a bunch of good stuff into your blenders and see what you can create!

Here's what I came up with

Apple
Banana
Grapes
Cucumber
Kale
Spinach
Hazelnut Milk

Quinoa Beanoa Salad

Black beans. Crushed red proper flakes. Cumin. Salt(optional). Cilantro chopped.
1/4c uncooked quinoa prepare as usual.
Juice from lemon slice
Spring mix, romaine mix, spinach
Tomato


The only thing I would add is an avocado, but sadly mine aren't ripe yet!

Makes a LARGE meal!

DetoxMay!

DetoxMay*

Black Bean Hummus w/ GF "Chips"

GF "Chips" w/ Guac & Salsa

So, it's been 11 days now of DetoxMay! I've been free of gluten and dairy since May 2nd and completely vegetarian since March 14, 2013, that's two months! I have to admit I definitely see this as a life-change rather than a "hip and trendy" fad. I think the main deciding factor is that I recognize the consequences I have to deal with when I make bad decisions.

Eggplant "Parmigiana" w/ GF Pasta

GF Pasta w/ Veggies & Herbs

Surprisingly, I've also recently (just today in fact) realized some positive effects of being gluten-free, dairy-free, and meat-free! (I should add that I'm also egg-free, soy-free, and corn-free for a while now.)

Here's what I've noticed throughout the past few weeks/months/year since I've changed my eating habits:

•Obvious large amounts of weight-loss (exercise included).

•*Huge* loss of bloating (face and stomach) This is a dairy thing. I have hip bones!? ...and a waist! Also, ribs/breast chest bone things?

Massive Veggie Stir-fry/Curry

•For some odd reason I've been waking up early. I'm attributing this to the lack of gluten. If you're gluten intolerant or have wheat allergies (or allergies of any sort), they physically wear your body down. Maybe now that my body is rid of gluten, dairy and meat it doesn't need as much sleep? Who knows. (I am, however, still chronically fatigued with everything else medically and physically going on, but I've been working on that as well!)

•I mentioned before that my mood directly correlates to what I eat. This continues to be proven by DetoxMay!!!

Green Smoothie

You might be wondering why I only write recipes for juices and smoothies, and if that's all I consume...Well, I'm here to tell you: I eat. A lot.

Here are a few staples in my diet as of recent.

Hummus
Black bean hummus homemade chips
Curry
Stir fries
Green smoothies
Eggplant pasta
Salsa
Guac
Big Salads
Teas
Lemon honey water
Horchata
Etc.,
Etc.,

*My "Detox" from a wide variety of foods. I'm on the Road to Recovery!