Gluten Free Girl???

This is for those of you that have been asking about how that "gluten free" thing is going... The title IS a rip off of the real Gluten Free Girl, and if you are interested in GF cookery, read her blog. She's engaging, funny, brilliant and also married to a chef. (We've got that chef thing in common...)

I've been gluten free for nearly three months. Not ONE bite of Rob's breads, ravioli or gnocchi. Not even any cinnamon roll goo (just in case). Certainly no Girl Scout Cookies (torture, I tell you). And how is it going (you may have already asked...)

Well, it didn't change my life. I've heard stories of people losing 40-50 pounds in a year after going Gluten Free. Me? I gained weight. WTH? So, was it fair of me to expect that making a small (although in my world SIGNIFICANT) dietary change would transform me? Probably not. And I did notice that my congestion significantly diminished, my joint pain wasn't quite as bad (despite that extra 7 pounds - again, WTH??) and my mental fog was a little less... prevalent. Also my "tummy trouble" that has plagued me for a LONG time... was better.

So this weekend, while Rob and I were at the coast for nearly 48 hours of downtime (it took us about 26 hours for the realization that we really weren't going to be disturbed and we had NO obligations to do anything for anyone, anywhere), we had dinner. Not just any dinner, but we splurged on two MONSTER Dungeness Crabs from Local Ocean Seafood, where we had lunch. (I had the Garlic & Crab soup and Crab Cocktail. No such thing as too much crab, right?).

Our usual accompaniment for such a treat (pre GF me) would have been a really good loaf of sourdough. Well my friend Lisa told me about a bakery in Nye that might just have such a loaf... of course she didn't realize I was GF at the time... but I threw caution to the wind, grabbed a couple of mini boules (one whole wheat, one not), a bottle of Elk Cove Pinot Gris for Rob and headed back for the feast. (The bread is dead center at the top...)

The crab? Amazing. So sweet and TONS of meat. The bread? Just as good as promised. So SO yummy. I only had two pieces, since my crab was so freaking HUGE... and I felt good about just indulging a tiny bit. And yesterday? I felt fine. So I was thinking that maybe I can get away with a little every now and then. Now, I wasn't thinking I was going to toss back saltines or manufactured cookies (I'm looking at you, Thin Mints in the back of the freezer...) just for the heck of it, but for something really REALLY good? I'm in.

This morning? Oh. My. God. The pain. (anyone not interested in my tummy trouble should move along now...) For those of you keeping score, we are currently at Janet: 1 (the bread was so good!), Gluten: 5 (payback is a bitch). So today, I've been feeling pretty bloated and none too social (my kids have to love me, right?). Also, it could be my imagination, but the brain fog seems to be creeping in (or it could have been here all along, hell, I can't remember...).

Back on the Gluten Free train for me I guess.

Unless it was the crab...