Gluten Intolerance

I've been having digestive problems most of my life, but especially so for the last two years. I originally started trying to eat more gluten free grains in order to have a more rounded diet that included a variety of grains, but I've noticed that my digestive system has been a lot better. I've tested it out a couple times - eating gluten after not eating it for several days - and I would very quickly start to have a lot of pain in my abdomen. This has pretty well confirmed that I have developed a gluten allergy. (My doctor has tested me to be sure its not Celiac.) So, I am going to be continuing my exploration and learning about how to successfully bake with gluten free grains (just more balanced with protein and vegetables than I have been lately) and will be posting the knowledge I gain through these experiments.

I am also in the process of developing some key resources for gluten free cooking and will be posting them and updating them as necessary.

Too Many Carbs...

I received in the mail today my new bamboo bathroom scale from Amazon.com and weighed myself and solidified the thoughts that have been going through my head recently: I'm too obsessed with carbs these days.

I've been very excited to learn all this great new information about baking gluten free that I've been whipping up pizza after pizza. It can be easy to forget: even though its gluten free it still has carbs in it. And all these carbs I've been experimenting with, well, it hasn't exactly been living life either spherically or moderately. Thus, I am going to be cutting out the carbs for a few weeks, to reset my metabolism - my body is clearly very much addicted to the carbs right now and I have to put it through carb rehab. I'm not going to start today; I need to go buy healthy carb-free groceries first. Plus I have just purchased the ingredients to make something I've been dying to try - Gluten Free Naan! But I have it marked on my calendar: 17 November, 2012. No more carbs, end of story. At least for two weeks - just long enough to get my body over the carb addiction. Then I'll start adding them back into my diet in healthier qualities and quantities; spherical and moderate carbs.

I'll be posting more about my understanding of carbs, metabolism, and health in the next month or so. Plus updates upon my success in getting back into my clothes from before I got really sick two years ago and started this decent into carb addiction (my body did literally need tons of them for a while, but not for a while now).

I have a recipe on my radar for a rutabaga and edamame dish, as well as leek and mushroom soup. I have some favourite carb free recipes to pull out for you as well. Start looking forward to more amazing veggie-based recipes!


Update:
Even though I had good intentions, this hasn't happened. That being said, I am trying to eat far less carbs and more protein and vegetables. I will hopefully be able to do this full metabolism reset come January 1st, I've realised that I just have too many other factors in my life right now to commit to something like this. (11/23/12)

Binding Gluten-Free Bread & Pizza Dough

Simply swapping regular flour for gluten free flour in a pizza, or any bread recipe, simply will not work. Period. End of story. This is because it is the gluten itself that binds the flour and makes it sticky and stretchy the way these doughs need to be to form them. In order for gluten-free bread and pizza doughs to work that gluten needs to be substituted with something that will give the dough a similar binding effect, otherwise you'll just end up with a crumbly mess.