Belle & Grace: Newly Gluten Free

I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't have stomach problems, headaches, migraines, and fatigue. I've always just told myself to tough it out, that I just had a sensitive stomach. Most doctors just told me to eat better and exercise more (duh). I've only ever had one that took me seriously and actually ran some tests, and even had me have an MRI. Everything came out normal (yay!). Recently though the headaches and migraines had been getting more and more frequent. Finally, rather than thinking of myself as weak, and trying to convince myself that it was all in my head, After reading an article that talked about all the symptoms of gluten sensitivity that aren't as well known as the stomach problems, like anxiety, migraines and headaches, depression, I decided to take action. I can't say that I have Celiac, because I've never been tested. And I know people that do have it, and my symptoms are not so severe. But a gluten intolerance of some sort was a definite possibility. Why not give up gluten for a while and see what happens?

I in no way expected this to be an easy task. I don't have the best eating habits, and never have. I grab and go a lot. And I happen to LOVE bread. All kinds of bread. And baked goods. Cookies, cake, donuts. How could I possibly live without white bread and donuts? I've actually kind of suspected gluten to be the culprit for my issues for several years, but tried very hard not to think that seriously about it, because I would NEVER be able to give up all my favorite foods. It seems like the gluten free products have really stepped up their game over the last few years. I did some research, read a lot of blogs on the subject, and decided to go for it.

Today marks two whole weeks since I put this into action. The first week was surprisingly easy! I had to put more thought and effort into what I was eating every day, but it went pretty smoothly. And y'all, I felt great! I can't attribute that to cutting out gluten necessarily, because this process has forced me to eat healthier in general, but I liked how I felt, and wasn't missing certain foods as much as I thought I would. Week two was a little tougher, but still not that bad. I didn't feel amazing like I did week one, but I did feel good. I tried a few new gluten free products. Some I liked, others were pretty gross. My favorite pizza place, Pieology, has gluten free crust, and it was just as good as the regular crust. Yay! I tried a French baguette by ....... , because I couldn't find the exact brand I was looking for, and was not a fan, But Udi's brand dinner rolls were awesome!

They actually tasted like bread! Yay again! Also, Betty Crocker brand gluten free brownie mix was a definite winner.

The fam actually liked it better than the regular kind! That one will stay on my list for sure. Over the weekend we made pancakes using Krusteaz gluten free mix, and I was pleasantly surprised!

The texture was just a little bit different than what I'm used to, and I may add some vanilla and maybe cinnamon next time for some extra flavor, but overall not bad! I'll use it again. There are a few other products I bought that I haven't had the chance to try yet, but I'll keep you updated on those. It seems easy

So, two weeks is not enough time to really know how my body will react to being gluten free. But so far I haven't had any stomach issues, no migraines, and only one headache. When it came on I started double checking the ingredients on what I had been eating lately, and found that a French onion dip I had had two days in a row did in fact contain gluten. Hmm.....Got rid of that one, and no more headaches! Interesting indeed.

So, I'll be keeping track of this little gluten free experiment on the blog. So far so good. But I know that long term this is not going to be as easy as it seems now. I'm excited to try more products and recipes though, and eventually add in some gluten here and there to see how my body reacts to it. Wish me luck! And I would LOVE to hear your stories and suggestions! I'll take all the advice I can get!

On a different note, sometimes you just throw on an outfit quickly and don't put any real thought into it, and it ends up being super cute. I love it when that happens! I'm a big fan of simplicity.