Going gluten free

Hi all! I am slowly getting better at keeping this blog updated weekly. That's my goal! The last month i went dairy free as sort of a mini elimination diet. I am sick of constantly having an upset stomach, being bloated and embarrassingly gassy. I am done with feeling like crap. So with the help of my awesome friend Naomi i am doing a series of mini elimination diets to figure out the culprit. She is taking (and almost finished) the Registered Holistic Nutritionist course here in Moncton. I am her first case study and a GREAT one to learn from i think with all my stomach problems:)


So what i did for the dairy elimination was cut dairy out for 21 days and then slowly reintroduce it. Day 21 i had a serving of plain yoghurt, which i seem to be ok with THANK GOODNESS because i love it. I then had to wait 3 days (did you know it can take up to 3 days for a reaction to occur?!?!?!) i then tried parmesan and my stomach hurt pretty soon after BUT in looking at my food journals Naomi thinks gluten earlier in the day was the culprit. I tried old cheddar last night and so far so good! Yah. I'm not bothering with milk because it has bothered me since i was little and i haven't had much of it over the years. Prior to dairy elimination i had it in my cereals. But i have since switched to unsweetened vanilla and chocolate almond milk YUM!


I wasn't going to do the gluten elimination until i got back from our mini vacation in St. John's, NL. But decided with my stomach hurting a fair amount lately i don't want to wait. I have 2 weeks to do gluten free and then i can slowly re-introduce while in St. John's which will make things easier! The biggest thing i will miss is beer:( I know they have gluten free beer. Which i am sure i will try! I just had brown rice bread this am for breakfast and it was pretty good. Not the same wheat i am used to but it'll do:) Today's mission is get some non-gluten contaminated oats. I have Robin Hood oats now and they are definitely contaminated as i know they cause me issues already and since they are cheap and Robin Hood makes LOT'S of flour i don't they have a separate oat making facility. This means more expensive oats:( Gluten free will be pricey. But for my health it's worth it! Here's to feeling better and being stomach ache and gas free..ha ha. 


Here is a great dairy and wheat free recipe i made for the first time last night! And Shannon loved it too! Yah! He doesn't always love my healthy cooking. He grew up with a dad who was a awesome cook so he's used to sauces and lot's of butter!

Holy guacomole cream pasta

INGREDIENTS

* 1 16oz pack of brown rice spaghetti – I used Rizopia
* 1 avocado
* 2 garlic clove
* 4-6 tbsp almond milk [I used 5 tbsp but could have been good with 6 as well. It depends on how thick you want the sauce]
* 2 tbsp cashews, soaked overnight (I didn't have any on hand or have a chance to soak them overnight. Didn't miss them)
* 4 tsp lime juice
* 2 tbsp fresh cilantro
* 1 tbsp jalapenos
* 1 tbsp hemp oil – I used Manitoba Harvest (I had olive oil so i sub'd that)
* 1/2 tsp herbamare
* 1 plum tomato, chopped
* 4 green onions + more for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine avocado, garlic, milk, cashews, lime juice, cilantro, hemp oil, and herbamare. Pulse until smooth.
3. Add tomato and 2 green onions and pulse for 2-5 seconds until just combined.
4. Mix guacamole sauce in with pasta and serve with green onions sprinkled over top and herb and garlic socca crackers to the side.