Trying not to fall off the DF wagon

vasseur

pixiechick99 wrote: »

Glad to hear you are loving the new house and are all settled in:beer:

I've had a manky cold bug for the last 3 weeks....and the crohns meds that I take suppress my immune system so it's really not shifting...so not much has been done in our house:o I've just about been managing to go to work and feed the girls...nothing more!

Still, it's half term now, girls have just gone to their dads til Monday so I must get the place cleaned up and properly sorted. I do need to buy bits but not sure what....we have no outdoor storage and my bro in law just plonked a few loft boards up there, but they're not secured so daren't go up and stand on them. So I still have attic stuff to go up, arghhh!

Still, better here than where we were before so will stop moaning:D

Hope you feel better soon. Stay in the warm and dry. I'm sure you don't need telling twice with this awful weather...

RosaBernicia

Fantastic, glad you are loving new house


Rosa xx

vasseur

I have been AWOL again.....

Lots has happened since I was last here. I haven't mentioned this before but for the last year I have been suffering with awful stomach pains and after visiting the GP for what felt like every month and being tested for gallstones and diabetes (both which came back negative) I finally decided to take advantage of my private healthcare and see a gastroenterologist.

Well, I wish I'd seen him sooner! He was lovely and I have had an OGD (tube down the throat) which was not the most pleasant experience but I was sedated and if I had to have it done again I would. Initially I was diagnosed with mild coeliacs disease (gluten/wheat allergy). I also had a CT scan just to make sure nothing was missed and the final diagnosis is a wheat allergy but not coeliacs although the action is the same. After 5 weeks on a wheat free diet I definitely feel loads better. I haven't had the debilitating pains although my £40 a week food budget has gone out of the window.....

I do think a lot of it was the stress of not knowing what it was but now I think about it after eating certain things (biscuits, bread, cake, couscous) I was in awful pain so the diet has definitely had to change. I cook loads from scratch now but all our pasta is wheat free and I spend a lot of time reading labels - wheat seems to be in everything! I still buy dd crisps and normal biscuits but mine are from the free-from ranges and are a bit pricey It's worth it though.

On the house front - I have ordered some beautiful bedroom furniture for my room - atm I still have a hanging rail and boxes. I have got a plasterer coming in on Monday to sort out some dodgy patches on the wall and also put some coving up, then it will be all systems go to decorate the room before the furniture arrives in 6 weeks and I still can't decide on a colour

All good fun though and for the first time in ages I feel really content

RosaBernicia

Oh sorry to hear about your diagnosis but it's really good now you know what it is... and the gluten free thing does get easier, honestly! PM me if you like.

I did things the other way round and tried not eating gluten before I went to the GP... have been off it for a year now and feel great, people I don't see often have been asking what I did. Now have to go back on it for 6 weeks to have the endoscopy - not looking forward to that but has to be done.

I have a couple of good gf cake recipes I can send you and btw the Almondy tarta things are gf...


Rosa xx

vasseur

Thanks Rosa. I had a feeling you were gf. I am getting used to it. Some things I am missing but I guess it's worth it to not be in such awful pain after eating certain things. I had lost a lot of weight (and I'm quite slim anyway) but I was starting to have real issues with food.

I am cooking loads more from scratch so if this turns me into a better cook then that can only be good.

I'd love some cake recipes if you have them.

In other news - my plastering has been done. I also got some coving put up on the landing so that needs painting now too. Good job I like decorating

RosaBernicia

CAKE!! :j

http://www.waitrose.com/home/recipes/recipe_directory/t/torta_caprese.html#.U02kiVVdXng
Totally fab chocolate almond cake, very popular with everyone whether or not they care about no gluten

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/clementine-cake-2559
I do this with lemons and it makes a lovely soggy lemony cake rather like a lemon drizzle. I've also made it with oranges and spices for Christmas. Don't listen to the bit about boiling the fruit for hours - stab it with a knife a couple of times and stick it in the microwave in a covered dish for a few minutes at a time. You can tell when it's cooked as it basically turns to goo!

Both of these are really straightforward recipes to make too.


I have found it a bit frustrating shopping for some stuff as eg bread really varies by make and I now only buy either Waitrose or Tesco bread, but eg cereal flakes from Sainsbugs - I end up buying certain things from about 4 supermarkets. The gf pasta is also variable, I like Waitrose stuff best for that. Then there's the weird stuff like remembering to check stock cubes (Kallo are gf) and crisps, and in my case the really dumb things like wondering why chocolate made me ill and then realising it had bits of cookie in it. *facepalm* But yes, it does help with the motivation to cook from scratch. I think in my case I just wasn't careful enough what I wished for - I spent years saying I want to be like a friend of mine who is a fabulous cook and eats really well, and then I realised she does that partly because she's coeliac... .

Oddly I don't really miss things any more - not sure if that's because I've found replacements or because I now associate them with being ill. The only thing that's really frustrating is not being able to just grab a sandwich when I'm out, and even most salads have pasta or couscous in. I am now Caffe Nero's newest fan because they are the only place that does a gf bread sandwich (only chicken and pesto, but it's nice and certainly better than no option at all) and they also do gf brownies.

My latest experiment with gf alternatives is sushi. Will keep you posted :rotfl:


Rosa xx

vasseur

Thanks Rosa - I will have a go at those.

I don't think it's certain foods I'm missing so much, more the element of choice.

With regard to bread I have discovered a breadmix that actually produces soft bread! I have a breadmaker so it's no hassle to just chuck it all in but you can use an electric mixer too. It does seem to deflate a little while it's baking so the loaf looks quite small but it still remains soft and makes lovely toast Anyway it's called Helen's Brilliant Bread and you can get it in sainsbugs.

It's handy to know which places sell gf stuff too - i have yet to find a gf sandwich so thanks for that tip. P1zza Expre$$ does gf bases but that's all I've tried so far!

RosaBernicia

Pizza Express seems to be about the only one that does gf pizza, though most of the Italian chains offer gf pasta (quality varies). The sandwich thing winds me up as even M&S have only a few gf options and even though eg Costa do wraps instead of bread, they make them with wheat - if they would just do maize ones then all those options would be gf with little change.

I haven't tried bread yet - still experimenting with the sushi - but I'm told the Doves Farm flour is good and will pretty much replace standard flour in most recipes.

It does feel a bit limiting at times but I confess I feel soooo much better that more than makes up for it.


Rosa xx

vasseur

We had a GF baking day on Thursday. We splashed out thirty quid in sainsbugs on eggs, maize flour (couldn't find it on the 'free-from' shelves - finally located it in the world foods aisle - top tip), gf baking powder, ground almonds, butter, yeast, chocolate etc etc.

We made carrot cake and stem ginger cookies. They were both delicious. Then dd made some chocolate cornflake cakes and it all went wrong in that they were so yummy that I pigged out on about half a dozen then had excruciating pains and realised that I can't actually have cornflakes because they contain barley malt extract which is on my GF checklist as a bit of a grey area. I've felt quite sore the last couple of days

We went to Dover Castle on Friday and it was really good except it was freeeeezing . We were very MSE and took our own lunch and sneakily ate it in the cafe to get out of the cold I did buy us some crisps and a pot of tea so we didn't get chucked out then we sat back and watched the long queue of people spend 6 quid on a burger and eight quid on a salad :eek:

We queued for over an hour to get into the secret wartime tunnels but it was well worth it.

Yesterday we went to a local farm (owned by a girl i was at school with) and met up with a few other classmates who I've not seen for 25 years!!! It was really nice despite the pouring rain (which seemed to have waited until we had a farm trip planned) and afterwards we went to my mum and dads for a family easter dinner which was lovely.

Today it is grey and really foggy but I don't care because I will be decorating. I have at least got to paint my bedroom ceiling and coving today so could well be sleeping on the sofa tonight. I still haven't decided on a colour scheme but am now thinking that if I go for a neutral colour on the walls I can just let the room evolve from there......

RosaBernicia

Hurrah for baking and decorating and :mad: to barley malt extract. (I am already annoyed with it because it's in bbq crisp flavours and I think I react to it too. )


Rosa xx