I used to believe that if i just didn't eat wheat, I was gluten free. Then I found out i needed to avoid oats, barley and rye. Anyhow a lot of breads that say "rye" are wheat plus rye. Then I started finding out how many places wheat and gluten are hidden- soy sauce, shampoo (!), envelope glue, sauces, whipped cream, oy! Here I was having given up so many foods I love (pizza, pasta, cake, sandwiches) and I was still eating gluten and not even knowing it. That made me really mad! Then, of course I adjusted.
Eating out has been challenging, but I have found a few places near me that have great salad bars (stick to oil and vinegar dressing to be sure you're not getting hidden gluten), no croutons, no crackers. One chain I have found that is extremely gluten-free friendly is Uno's. They have a gluten-free menu that includes, among other things, PIZZA! It still has cheese, and people, we shouldn't be eating tons of cheese, but as an occasional treat, once every couple months, it keeps me from falling off the wagon after watching everyone around me eat whatever they please all day long.
I think if you join their page on facebook you can get some coupons, sometimes really good ones like buy one get one free entree.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/UnoChicagoGrill
Showing posts with label gluten-free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gluten-free. Show all posts
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Gluten-free does not have to mean flavor-free
Well, it was so nice today, I decided to eat lunch outside.
Actually, there were 2 reasons I ate outside.
1) it was nice out
2) I was getting new tires on my car and I can't stand sitting in the waiting room smelling all that rubber. It's so offensive to my senses, it must be bad for you. I used to go to a bluegrass jam session in a bicycle shop back home, and it reeked so bad of rubber I thought my sinuses were going to burst into flames. I try to be aware of what I am exposing myself to. Which brings me back to my "picnic."
I had my little beach chair, a book, and my lunch.
I've been gluten-free for a couple years now and I must confess that at first, I was not very creative with the whole gluten-free thing. I would get rice cakes, rice crackers, rice bread, and slap some hummus on them. I really like hummus, but nearly every day? Besides, that is awfully carb-heavy, all those crackers and breads. Lately, I've been making smoothies with fresh fruit, rice milk and wheatgrass powder. (even though it says "wheat"-grass, it is gluten free. confusing, but true). Packed with nutrients and fiber, and easy to digest.
Today, since I was "picnicking" I went back to hummus for the afternoon, because it is so portable. I brought some vegetable chips (beet chips, yam chips, carrot chips), a little hummus, and a couple dolmas (stuffed grape leaves), and some homemade iced green tea with stevia. Quite nice.
What book was I reading? How nice of you to ask. I'm reading The Superstress Solution, a really great book about minimizing/ undoing stressful habits, written by an MD. I checked it out from the library after getting booked for a gig where they want me to include a message about dealing with stress. I quickly realized I was fairly unqualified to talk about dealing with stress effectively! So I'm studying up. Since I have no wisdom of my own to share, I'll just read a bunch of books, add some humor, and pass along other people's wisdom.
Now what kind of tasty gluten free dinner shall I have?
-Carla Ulbrich, The Singing Patient, is a comical singer-songwriter and author of "How Can You *Not* Laugh at a Time Like This?: Reclaim Your Health with Humor, Creativity and Grit," coming out Feb. 1, 2011. www.thesingingpatient.com
Actually, there were 2 reasons I ate outside.
1) it was nice out
2) I was getting new tires on my car and I can't stand sitting in the waiting room smelling all that rubber. It's so offensive to my senses, it must be bad for you. I used to go to a bluegrass jam session in a bicycle shop back home, and it reeked so bad of rubber I thought my sinuses were going to burst into flames. I try to be aware of what I am exposing myself to. Which brings me back to my "picnic."
I had my little beach chair, a book, and my lunch.
I've been gluten-free for a couple years now and I must confess that at first, I was not very creative with the whole gluten-free thing. I would get rice cakes, rice crackers, rice bread, and slap some hummus on them. I really like hummus, but nearly every day? Besides, that is awfully carb-heavy, all those crackers and breads. Lately, I've been making smoothies with fresh fruit, rice milk and wheatgrass powder. (even though it says "wheat"-grass, it is gluten free. confusing, but true). Packed with nutrients and fiber, and easy to digest.
Today, since I was "picnicking" I went back to hummus for the afternoon, because it is so portable. I brought some vegetable chips (beet chips, yam chips, carrot chips), a little hummus, and a couple dolmas (stuffed grape leaves), and some homemade iced green tea with stevia. Quite nice.
What book was I reading? How nice of you to ask. I'm reading The Superstress Solution, a really great book about minimizing/ undoing stressful habits, written by an MD. I checked it out from the library after getting booked for a gig where they want me to include a message about dealing with stress. I quickly realized I was fairly unqualified to talk about dealing with stress effectively! So I'm studying up. Since I have no wisdom of my own to share, I'll just read a bunch of books, add some humor, and pass along other people's wisdom.
Now what kind of tasty gluten free dinner shall I have?
-Carla Ulbrich, The Singing Patient, is a comical singer-songwriter and author of "How Can You *Not* Laugh at a Time Like This?: Reclaim Your Health with Humor, Creativity and Grit," coming out Feb. 1, 2011. www.thesingingpatient.com
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Gluten-free pizza!!!
hey you gluten-free pizza lovers!
I just got back from Uno's Chicago grill, where I had my first pizza in a restaurant since going gluten-free last fall.
Uno's is a national chain and they are doing gluten-free pizza right- they take it very seriously. The chef has to change gloves before working with the gluten-free ingredients; the sauces and other toppings for the gluten-free pizza is kept entirely separate from the toppings for the regular pizzas, and the manager personally brings the gluten-free pizza to the table. With all that care, once it arrived, I felt like i was getting the Hope Diamond.
Since going gluten-free, I've been restricting myself when eating out to either eating Japanese food- and i have to bring my own gluten-free soy sauce (most soy sauce has wheat in it for some reason) or mexican food (but not burritos or quesadillas- only tostadas, tacos, rice and beans and corn chips). I also go to Charlie Brown's steakhouse (they're like wildflowers in new jersey)- they have a great salad bar and delicious salmon.
But now I can have pizza. So can you and all your friends with celiac disease or other gluten sensitivities!
Not only that, it gives me another national chain I can search for when traveling.
Thanks, Uno's, for doing this, and doing it right.
I just got back from Uno's Chicago grill, where I had my first pizza in a restaurant since going gluten-free last fall.
Uno's is a national chain and they are doing gluten-free pizza right- they take it very seriously. The chef has to change gloves before working with the gluten-free ingredients; the sauces and other toppings for the gluten-free pizza is kept entirely separate from the toppings for the regular pizzas, and the manager personally brings the gluten-free pizza to the table. With all that care, once it arrived, I felt like i was getting the Hope Diamond.
Since going gluten-free, I've been restricting myself when eating out to either eating Japanese food- and i have to bring my own gluten-free soy sauce (most soy sauce has wheat in it for some reason) or mexican food (but not burritos or quesadillas- only tostadas, tacos, rice and beans and corn chips). I also go to Charlie Brown's steakhouse (they're like wildflowers in new jersey)- they have a great salad bar and delicious salmon.
But now I can have pizza. So can you and all your friends with celiac disease or other gluten sensitivities!
Not only that, it gives me another national chain I can search for when traveling.
Thanks, Uno's, for doing this, and doing it right.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The Sin of Gluten-y
Just before New Year's I went back on the gluten-free dairy free (GFCF) diet. I'm making great progress with regaining my health. I have almost no headaches anymore- didn't even get my pain meds refilled last time.
I'm also doing Chi Gong, which is somewhat similar to Tai Chi. It is a healing art, adn you don't need to be strong or young or even flexible to do it.
So when I posted on facebook the other day that I was making a tasty batch of gluten-free dairy-free bread in my bread machine, i got lots of questions about gluten - what is it, why am i not eating it, should they stop eating it, and what's my recipe for bread.
My recipe is to buy a bag of Bob's red mill bread mix (available in many grocery stores in the organic food section or at www.vitacost.com ), add rice milk instead of milk and olive oil instead of butter, put it in the machine and wait 3 hours for extremely tasty bread. So much easier (and tastier) than when i went gluten free in 1994!
Many people assume I have celiac disease when I mention I'm eating a gluten-free diet. I do not feel obligated to tell them that I have a lupus diagnosis, and I prefer not to mention that diagnosis, esp. since my blood tests now say otherwise. So I just say (because I think words matter),"No I don't have celiac, but i have a history of other autoimmune problems, and this helps prevent a recurrence." It's not that I think I'm cured, I just believe that I am free from disease at this moment and i want to stay that way- and I know I have to be vigilant in order to stay that way. Not just in what I eat, how I manage stress, but also what I say.
But the interesting thing is Celiac is *also* an autoimmune disease! And according to the book "Alternative medicine" (future medicine pub.) 100% of lupus patients have food allergies.
As to why I chose the gluten free/ dairy free diet, it was originally suggested to me by an MD (who is a pretty progressive guy, is into nutrition and chelation therapy and other stuff that other doctors would give him a hard time for). I had a food allergy blood test and i did come up sensitive to wheat- and cheeses and milk. Other practitioners have since brought it up (after I fell off the wagon). I've done it 3 times now, about a year the first and second times, and it really works. My energy returns, my face clears up, my headaches disappear and other symptoms improve as well.
So if you're intrigued and wondering whether you might have a gluten sensitivity, and therefore could improve your health b y eliminating gluten from your diet, here's an article to check out:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Gluten-Intolerance-Symptoms---How-Do-You-Know-If-Gluten-Is-Making-You-Sick?&id=479404
and here's Bob's wonderful bread mix:
Carla Ulbrich
The Singing Patient: Author, Speaker, Humorous Songwriter and Entertainer
www.thesingingpatient.com
www.facebook.com/TheSingingPatient
www.twitter.com/singingpatient
www.youtube.com/user/carlaulbrich
www.linkedin.com/in/carlaulbrich
http://tinyurl.com/348hroc - Carla's book "How Can You NOT Laugh at a Time Like This?"
I'm also doing Chi Gong, which is somewhat similar to Tai Chi. It is a healing art, adn you don't need to be strong or young or even flexible to do it.
So when I posted on facebook the other day that I was making a tasty batch of gluten-free dairy-free bread in my bread machine, i got lots of questions about gluten - what is it, why am i not eating it, should they stop eating it, and what's my recipe for bread.
My recipe is to buy a bag of Bob's red mill bread mix (available in many grocery stores in the organic food section or at www.vitacost.com ), add rice milk instead of milk and olive oil instead of butter, put it in the machine and wait 3 hours for extremely tasty bread. So much easier (and tastier) than when i went gluten free in 1994!
Many people assume I have celiac disease when I mention I'm eating a gluten-free diet. I do not feel obligated to tell them that I have a lupus diagnosis, and I prefer not to mention that diagnosis, esp. since my blood tests now say otherwise. So I just say (because I think words matter),"No I don't have celiac, but i have a history of other autoimmune problems, and this helps prevent a recurrence." It's not that I think I'm cured, I just believe that I am free from disease at this moment and i want to stay that way- and I know I have to be vigilant in order to stay that way. Not just in what I eat, how I manage stress, but also what I say.
But the interesting thing is Celiac is *also* an autoimmune disease! And according to the book "Alternative medicine" (future medicine pub.) 100% of lupus patients have food allergies.
As to why I chose the gluten free/ dairy free diet, it was originally suggested to me by an MD (who is a pretty progressive guy, is into nutrition and chelation therapy and other stuff that other doctors would give him a hard time for). I had a food allergy blood test and i did come up sensitive to wheat- and cheeses and milk. Other practitioners have since brought it up (after I fell off the wagon). I've done it 3 times now, about a year the first and second times, and it really works. My energy returns, my face clears up, my headaches disappear and other symptoms improve as well.
So if you're intrigued and wondering whether you might have a gluten sensitivity, and therefore could improve your health b y eliminating gluten from your diet, here's an article to check out:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Gluten-Intolerance-Symptoms---How-Do-You-Know-If-Gluten-Is-Making-You-Sick?&id=479404
and here's Bob's wonderful bread mix:
Carla Ulbrich
The Singing Patient: Author, Speaker, Humorous Songwriter and Entertainer
www.thesingingpatient.com
www.facebook.com/TheSingingPatient
www.twitter.com/singingpatient
www.youtube.com/user/carlaulbrich
www.linkedin.com/in/carlaulbrich
http://tinyurl.com/348hroc - Carla's book "How Can You NOT Laugh at a Time Like This?"
Friday, January 30, 2009
Test results back: No More Lupus!
I just got back from the rheumatologist and my tests for lupus all came back NEGATIVE! Negative ANA and Negative for double-stranded DNA. I'm not sure they've ever been negative in the 16 years since diagnosis.
If my doctor was a jerk, he might have said I’d been misdiagnosed and never had lupus in the first place. It’s hard to say that in the face of my having had pretty much every lupus symptom a person can have- and yet there are many doctors who do this.
The idea that someone can test negative after years of testing positive- or that someone can get completely better from a disease that in their minds has no cure- it just rocks their world. So, many doctors just decide to negate your entire experience – both the pain and suffering and the hard work you did to get better- by saying you never had lupus in the first place.
Thankfully my doctor is not one of those folks and his pen was actually moving while I babbled about Chi Gung and the gluten-free dairy-free diet. And this is how we start a health revolution: taking care of ourselves, and letting doctors know when we find a non-drug therapy that works. Doctors get information from drug reps and patients. We may not feel like it sometimes, but we are just as important as those drug reps.
If enough people start mentioning Chi Gung or gluten free diets, or any other effective alternative treatments, doctors will start taking it seriously and suggesting it to their patients. And patients will start taking back control of their health. That alone is a revolutionary act, which will lead to a better sense of well-being and hope. Those patients will fare better, thus raising the doctors’ eyebrows again about these methods of self-care that we can use to supplement whatever they prescribe, and he/she will open their minds even more to the idea of using complementary medicine.
I just called a friend of mine to tell her my tests came back negative. She and I were hanging out just a couple weeks ago and I was telling her “My tests are going to come back negative for lupus and some doctor is going to claim that I was misdiagnosed, even though I’ve been diagnosed by probably 20 different doctors by now, tested positive consistently for 16 years, and been through every lupus symptom in the book. And it’s going to make me mad, but in the end, the important thing is I’m recovered from the illness and I know the truth in my heart.” I also have the truth in my reams of lab results.
The biggest leaps in my recovery this time have come since quitting drinking diet soda, starting Chi Gung, and going on the gluten-free/ diary-free diet. The final piece of the puzzle was my declaring and steadfastly believing that I would get the lab results to say “NEGATIVE” for lupus, and they did exactly that today.
How to celebrate? I joked to my husband that we should go out for gluten and diet coke. I thought his face was going to shatter to pieces with all the contortions it was going into. Nope, I’m not going back to my old ways- I’m moving forward, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate being strong and healthy than to go to Philly and run the Rocky steps! Today, the great lab test results- tomorrow, the world!
If my doctor was a jerk, he might have said I’d been misdiagnosed and never had lupus in the first place. It’s hard to say that in the face of my having had pretty much every lupus symptom a person can have- and yet there are many doctors who do this.
The idea that someone can test negative after years of testing positive- or that someone can get completely better from a disease that in their minds has no cure- it just rocks their world. So, many doctors just decide to negate your entire experience – both the pain and suffering and the hard work you did to get better- by saying you never had lupus in the first place.
Thankfully my doctor is not one of those folks and his pen was actually moving while I babbled about Chi Gung and the gluten-free dairy-free diet. And this is how we start a health revolution: taking care of ourselves, and letting doctors know when we find a non-drug therapy that works. Doctors get information from drug reps and patients. We may not feel like it sometimes, but we are just as important as those drug reps.
If enough people start mentioning Chi Gung or gluten free diets, or any other effective alternative treatments, doctors will start taking it seriously and suggesting it to their patients. And patients will start taking back control of their health. That alone is a revolutionary act, which will lead to a better sense of well-being and hope. Those patients will fare better, thus raising the doctors’ eyebrows again about these methods of self-care that we can use to supplement whatever they prescribe, and he/she will open their minds even more to the idea of using complementary medicine.
I just called a friend of mine to tell her my tests came back negative. She and I were hanging out just a couple weeks ago and I was telling her “My tests are going to come back negative for lupus and some doctor is going to claim that I was misdiagnosed, even though I’ve been diagnosed by probably 20 different doctors by now, tested positive consistently for 16 years, and been through every lupus symptom in the book. And it’s going to make me mad, but in the end, the important thing is I’m recovered from the illness and I know the truth in my heart.” I also have the truth in my reams of lab results.
The biggest leaps in my recovery this time have come since quitting drinking diet soda, starting Chi Gung, and going on the gluten-free/ diary-free diet. The final piece of the puzzle was my declaring and steadfastly believing that I would get the lab results to say “NEGATIVE” for lupus, and they did exactly that today.
How to celebrate? I joked to my husband that we should go out for gluten and diet coke. I thought his face was going to shatter to pieces with all the contortions it was going into. Nope, I’m not going back to my old ways- I’m moving forward, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate being strong and healthy than to go to Philly and run the Rocky steps! Today, the great lab test results- tomorrow, the world!
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