Gluten Free Awareness Day

Gluten-free cherry brownie bites

Today is Celiac Disease Awareness Day.  I don't know for sure if I have celiac disease.  The tests that were done were inconclusive and further testing has not been done.  What I do know -- absolutely -- is that certain conditions have cleared up and I feel much better eating gluten free (GF).

What I like about eating GF:  Fewer food choices.  It's easier to read a menu and navigate through a grocery store or pick something from a cookbook.  It's a relief, actually.  I am a fan of limitations.

What I don't like about eating GF:  Social occasions, parties and church dinners.  The challenging thing is being perceived as "difficult" &/or "special needs" even though I can always find food to eat. 

What not to ask someone with a health-related dietary restriction:  "What happens if you eat it?"  In my particular case, the answer is not so much gross as it is technical.  Either way, it's not the best dinner conversation to have.

My favorite GF meal:  Enchiladas, baby!  Divine providence spared my favorite soul food because it's naturally GF, when GF sauce is used.  I want to experiment with making my own sauce from scratch with dried red chiles.  For dessert:  Gluten-free Cherry Brownie Bites (photo above) from Carol at Simply Gluten Free.

Some of my favorite finds:

• Betty Crocker GF cakes and brownies ~~~ My chocolate birthday cake was delicious, but I had trouble finding wheat-free icing.  I kid you not.  Semi-sweet chocolate chips melt well onto a warm cake, I discovered.  I am looking forward to trying gluten-free Bisquick, too, but I haven't seen it yet.

• Bob's Red Mill ~~~ They have an extensive selection of GF ingredients, mixes, and flours.  I recommend the  GF hot cereal to anyone who is bored with the same old same old.

• Larabars ~~~ Nuts, fruit, and spices made into a delicious to-go bar with two to nine all-natural ingredients.  My favorites are the coconut cream pie and the cinnamon roll, but I have liked all of the flavors I've tried. 

• Gluten-Free Goddess ~~~ Karina won a contest for budget recipes at Whole Foods Market with her Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas.  That's just one of the reasons we call her a goddess.

• Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef ~~~ Her tagline:  Food. Stories. Recipes. Love.  'Nuff said.

I'm glad to know:  In the blogosphere, there are many, many kindred spirits ready to share their world of living with a galaxy of life circumstances, even if that circumstance seems, at first, like a limitation.  

And that reminds me of Becky's blog about the Blob, which is not GF but more FG (fun and games).   Enjoy!

News Fast, Day 4: The Joy of Limitations

Here I am on Day 4 of my self-imposed news fast.

What I miss the most:  Commenting on Facebook posts about news or news-related things.

What I don't miss at all:  Morning TV.  I have replaced that with music and podcasts from my iPod.  Nice!

What I love the most:  The limitation!

With "news" off the table, there are actually more things to explore.  I have downloaded podcasts to my iPod that I am now listening to when I would have been listening to, watching or reading the news.  I recommend Stuff You Missed in History Class.  (The link is to some top podcasts, including that one.)  OK, so I'm technically listening to old news!  How about A Crash Course in Miracles?  (Future news?)

Another limitation I have learned to truly enjoy is living gluten free.  There are so many things in the grocery store I just don't have to look at now.  I have enjoyed getting to know much better the international foods aisle and the health food aisles.  I didn't miss anything delicious in last night's dinner of Spicy eggs diablo on polenta.

Imagine other possibilities for creative limitations:

• Calorie limitations:  Dr. Oz promotes "extreme life extension" through a limited calorie life-style.  He calls it a "diet"; I prefer to adopt a "life-style."  Think of it as life extension rather than deprivation!

• The ability to say no:  Seven Simple Ways to Say No (from Zen Habits blog)

• Edited to add:  Haiku Productivity:  The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential (also from Zen Habits blog)

To be continued ...

No News is Good News

I had to quit watching the news.  Something about losing my marbles ...

The whole not-at-ground-zero not-a-mosque thing finally got to me.  It wasn't just that so few people seemed to remember the reason that Civics and American History were required courses.  As a pastor, I marveled (in horror) at how Bible stories about God's love and "who is my neighbor" were either long-forgotten or had become irrelevant to so many self-identified God-fearing Christian people.

I kept watching the news for evidence of a higher level of discussion, some bridge-building, rational thought, or "liberty and justice for all" responses worthy of "the greatest nation on earth."

I began to hear the "We just don't want them ... here ... now" reason sounding very much like the "ick factor" justifying homophobia and the "we're just not ready for that ... yet" of 1960's anti-segregationists. 

I felt helpless and bruised.  I ached watching people of faith (any faith) killing each other, even with words.  I had gotten too tense.  I had come to feel too responsible for helping people "see the light." I found little comfort in the news coverage, much less joy.

My soul clamors for more calm.  I need to breathe more deeply.  

Today I begin a 6-week news fast.  

From now until October 5, I have given up talk radio, news programs, and news sites.  I will not post on Facebook about news events.  Ditto for news tweets and re-tweets.  I suspect the world will go on just fine without me.  News of all kinds will continue to be made even if I am not there to hear it or see it or be involved in it.

I will watch a little Stewart and Colbert.  They are humor, people!  I could use the laugh.  I also will take some time Saturday to pop in on my favorite news blog, but only to catch the FireDogLake book salon with Frances Moore Lappe about Getting A Grip 2: Clarity, Creativity and Courage for the World We Really Want hosted by Christy Hardin Smith.

Today, as I drove around doing pastoral calls, I listened to lots of XM Radio Margaritaville.  Tonight, to really unwind, I tuned into AMC and watched the first Nanny McPhee movie.   And I blogged this! 

Monday Morning Movie: The Food and Climate Connection

I was inspired this morning by Christy Hardin Smith at her blog Home Celebration.  She got me thinking about ways to connect some dots about food, health, and justice.

The Food and Climate Connection from WhyHunger on Vimeo.

The video is a beautiful introduction to justice relating to food production.  I am challenged to be more intentional about my part of the food cycle:  choosing what to eat and where to buy.

I recommend Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life.  It's about a family's year-long commitment to eating only locally-produced seasonal food.

My next book to read is Frances Moore Lappe's book Getting A Grip 2: Clarity, Creativity and Courage for the World We Really Want.  I plan to participate in the discussion when Christy hosts a FireDogLake Book Salon with Frances Moore Lappe on August 28 at 5:00 p.m. ET.

These are steps I hope will lead me to live in a healthier way personally and to participate in a more just world.  I'm sure I will have more to say about healthy living after my great big yearly checkup appointment on Wednesday.

P.S.  Found Back to Basics, a site that describes itself interested in some of my favorite food-related things:  "gluten free, vegetarian, and agricultural policy issues, reviews and news."