The Challenges of New Foods

I'm finding one of the most challenging things about eating wheat-free is that I'm having to re-learn how to cook.  It's taking much longer to make meals now since I'm not able to use many of my tried-and-true favourites!  I am going to work on adapting them, though. 

I actually didn't crave any wheat today, except at lunch when we made our kids Kraft Dinner and I really wanted to have a spoonful of it!  Instead, I enjoyed my spinach salad with egg, turkey, cheese, mushrooms, garden peas, tomatoes and raspberry vinaigrette dressing.  It sounds so much better than Kraft Dinner when I type it here, but I really, really wanted that scoop of goopy pasta! I'm very proud of myself for holding back!

I made hamburgers for supper, which is one of our family's favourites.  Usually I put bread crumbs in to hold the meat together, so I had to improvise.  I used an egg, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, tamari soy sauce and some Epicure French Onion dip mix (I usually use Onion Soup mix, but I threw the box out, so I didn't have the list of ingredients to check if there was any wheat in it - that's on my to-do list!).  They actually held together really well on the barbecue, so who needs bread crumbs?  I topped my burger with a little grated cheddar and some guacamole.

Another new thing tonight was that we had portobello mushrooms for the first time.  I found this recipe and we decided to try it.  My husband is an avid mushroom-hater, but he decided that for this month, he will try anything at least once.  And he actually LOVED these mushrooms.  He ate a whole one himself!  we also topped the meal off with some baby potatoes roasted in the oven in olive oil and Epicure Garlic Dill topper (YUM), along with some steamed cauliflower that I mashed with some grated white cheddar and a little nutmeg, so it looked like mashed potatoes.

Our kids have not been overly impressed with our wheat-free experiment as they are also having to veer from their comfort foods that I normally make (we're not making them eat wheat-free, but we are insisting that they try at least a bite of everything we're eating so they get some new taste experiences).  They covered the portobello mushroom bite that we gave them with mustard and ketchup, but at least they ate it! 

Day 4 - The Fog is Lifting!

Well, I'm finally feeling somewhat normal.  I don't have the flu, so apparently all my symptoms this weekend were from wheat withdrawal.  Kind of scary, isn't it?

I can think more clearly today, and I actually haven't had many wheat cravings yet, but I still have to get through the evening!  My husband always finds evenings difficult, as he usually eats a bowl of cereal before bed.  He's had to resort to eating nuts instead!  He's actually doing much better on this plan than I am.  He's lost 4 pounds already, and is feeling great (I'm trying not to be bitter!).

I went grocery shopping again today to find some wheat-free flavourings for my food.  Now that we're getting into this more, I need more variety.  I was shocked to learn that soy sauce has wheat in it, so I bought some tamari wheat-free soy sauce, along with some wheat-free teriyaki sauce.  I also found some crackers made with rice instead of rice flour, and I made guacamole today for dipping my veggies in.

For lunch, I made a "sandwich" using iceberg lettuce as the bread.  I spread some guacamole on it, then layered on some turkey bacon and cheese.  YUMMY!  I also made sure I had lots of veggies along with it.  (It doesn't look super-appetizing in the photo, but it really tasted good!)

And as promised, here's the recipe for last night's Parmesan Pork Chops:

- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1/2 cup ground almonds (almond flour)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- garlic powder & onion powder to taste (about 1 tsp of each)
- 4 - 6 pork chops

Whisk together the egg & milk.  Combine the almonds, parmesan, garlic & onion powders in another bowl.  Dip the pork chops in the egg/milk mixture, then dredge it through the almond/parmesan mix.  Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and brown the pork chops (about 2 - 3 minutes per side).  Remove the pork chops from the skillet and bake them in a 350 oven, covered, for about 30 minutes.

Day 3 - Still Not Great

Today wasn't much better than yesterday.  I actually ended up having to stay home from church because I had flu-like symptoms.  I'm not sure if it's from the wheat withdrawal or if I actually have the flu, but I slept most of the morning and part of the afternoon, and I feel a bit better now.

Since I wasn't feeling well, I just nibbled all day (no wheat, though!).  It was tough because I always like to have graham crackers or toast with cinnamon and brown sugar when I'm feeling sick, so I wasn't able to have any of my "comfort foods".  I ate some fruit, veggies, cheese and nuts, though.

My husband made a really yummy pork chop dish for supper that was encrusted in parmesan cheese and almond flour with some garlic and onion salt, along with rice and balsamic roasted veggies.  I picked at those a bit as my stomach is still not doing great, but it tasted pretty good.  I'll post the recipe when I'm feeling better.

I guess I'll find out soon if this is withdrawal or sickness.  My husband feels great, though!  He is very excited about our new way of eating, and his only withdrawal symptom was a mild headache on the first day.  I'm glad one of us feels well.  I just need to push through and hopefully I'll start feeling better this week.

Day 2 - Full-on Withdrawal

I'm feeling very foggy today, and it's actually taking some effort to write here.  I'm completely unmotivated to do anything.  I slept in until almost 11:30, and I've accomplished nothing today.  I have a to-do list, but I really don't feel like doing anything on it.  I hope these withdrawal symptoms go away soon!  When I read the following in Dr. Davis' book, I didn't believe it could possibly be that bad, but I'm amazed (and a little frightened) by how going off of wheat is affecting my moods and my ability to think clearly:

"The closest parallel to wheat withdrawal is the nicotine withdrawal that results from quitting cigarettes; for some people, the experience is nearly as intense.  Like nicotine withdrawal, wheat withdrawal can cause fatigue, mentail fogginess and irritability.  It can also be accompanied by a vague dysphoria, a feeling of low mood and sadness.  Wheat withdrawal often has the unique effect of diminished capacity to exercise that usually lasts from two to five days... What causes wheat withdrawal?  It is likely that years of high-carbohydrate eating makes the metabolism reliant on a constant supply of readily absorbed sugars such as those in wheat.  Removing sugar sources forces the body to adapt to mobilizing and burning fatty acids instead of more readily accessed sugars, a process that requires several days to kick in... Depriving the brain of wheat gluten-derived exorphins also adds to the withdrawal effect, the phenomenon that is likely responsible for the wheat cravings and dysphoria." (Wheat Belly, pp. 200 - 201)

This describes me exactly!  I'm having a lot of trouble even typing this - I've made several spelling mistakes that I've had to go back and correct, and I'm finding it hard to make my fingers move where I want them.  Scary.

My husband, on the other hand, feels great today!  He had a mild headache yesterday, but today he feels fine.  It's good that one of us feels good because I'm pretty useless today.

Day One

Well, I've almost survived the first day without wheat.  I was fine for the morning and through lunch, but around 3:00, the wheat cravings really hit me.  I snacked on nuts and cheese and veggies, but nothing was what I really wanted.  I didn't give in, though, and I've made it so far.  I'm also really, really, really grouchy and irritable and tired (and no, it's not PMS!). I think I'll be going to bed early tonight.  My husband has been fine, though he said he had a headache before supper.

For breakfast, I had Apple Walnut "bread" made with almond flour instead of wheat.  The recipe was in the Wheat Belly book.  You can find the recipe here, but it has applesauce, walnuts, almond flour, flaxseed and a few more healthy ingredients.  This is what it looked like when it came out of the oven last night:

It was very tasty, but wasn't quite as sweet as I expected.  It also crumbled and fell apart when I took it out of the pan, so I think next time I'll bake it a bit longer (or if you have any suggestions to make it stay together, I'd love to hear them)!  I added a bit of butter to it, warmed it in the microwave and ate it from a bowl this morning like a crumbly cereal.  It was a very filling breakfast, and I wasn't hungry at all until lunchtime.  Here it is after it came out of the pan (and after my husband and I had gotten to it!):

Lunch was a very satisfying spinach salad with strawberries, mushrooms, egg, cheese, nuts and a home-made olive oil and raspberry vinegar dressing made with Epicure Selections Italian dressing spices.  I'm very happy that most Epicure Selections spices and mixes don't have any wheat in them; they really enhance flavour.  Doesn't that look yummy?

As I mentioned above, around 3:00 I started getting "hungry" - not that I was really hungry, but I really wanted some wheat snacks - crackers, chips, anything!  But I made it through until supper.  I made a taco pizza with a cauliflower crust (another recipe from Wheat Belly).  It was very filling as well, and the crust tasted like cheese, though it had more of a frittata consistency than that of a crust.  Here's the recipe:

- 1 head of cauliflower, steamed until soft
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
- 2 eggs

Once the cauliflower is soft, mash it until it has the consistency of mashed potatoes.  Add the olive oil, cheese and eggs and mix them all together.  Press the "dough" onto an oiled pizza pan and bake it at 350 for about 30 minutes.  Then top it with pizza sauce and your favourite pizza toppings (we had taco meat, tomatoes, green peppers and more mozzarella).  It was very tasty, and my husband had three helpings!

So it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be.  If we can get through the first week, apparently the cravings are supposed to subside.  I'm really shocked by how irritable I'm feeling, though.  Everyone is annoying me (and they're not doing anything wrong!).  Hopefully that will lighten up tomorrow so my family won't hate me!

Grocery Shopping, Last Meal and Withdrawal Fears...

Since we're going wheat-free tomorrow (yikes!), we went grocery shopping today to stock up on our wheat-free products.  I don't think I've ever bought this many vegetables at once!  My husband commented that it actuallly looks like this will be do-able with the variety of foods we bought today.  There are tons of veggies, nuts, cheese and meat here, so I'm excited to get started!

We carbo-loaded today, visiting the "Taste of Edmonton" summer fair and eating tons of stuff that was not only full of wheat, but also full of fat.  We had pizza for dinner and cupcakes for dessert as well!  Kind of like a last meal for prisoners!

I'm a little nervous about going into wheat withdrawal.  I understand that the symptoms can last for up to two weeks and include headaches, irritability, cravings for wheat and fatigue.  It's kind of scary when you think about it.  What other food can you stop eating and go into withdrawal from (besides caffeine, which is a chemical)?   I don't get headaches from not eating spinach or meat...  Makes you think.

I'll let you know tomorrow how the first day goes!  I'm baking Apple Walnut "bread" tonight to have for breakfast tomorrow (more details to come on that), so we're all set!  Here we go!

T-Minus Two Days!

Tomorrow we will be going grocery shopping to prepare for our new wheat-free life, which begins on Friday.  My husband and I have decided that the kids will continue their diet as normal, which includes wheat, until we see how it affects our health.  (I won't be cooking separate meals for them, but their breakfasts and lunches will remain the same.)

We'll be going to some new-to-me stores tomorrow, including Bulk Barn for almond flour and other ingredients, and T & T to try some different Asian ingredients.  Should be interesting! 

What's Wrong With Wheat?

I'm fascinated by what I've read in Dr. Davis' book, and as I said previously, I'm very interested to see whether or not his claims are true.  Here is a quote from his book, Wheat Belly:

"Whole wheat bread (glycemic index 72) increases blood sugar as much as or more than table sugar (glycemic index 59)... So when I was devising a strategy to help my overweight, diabetes-prone patients reduce blood sugar most efficiently, it made sense to me that the quickest and simplest way to get results would be to eliminate the foods that caused their blood sugar to rise most profoundly: in other words, not sugar, but wheat...  After three months, my patients returned to have more blood work done.  As I had anticipated, with only rare exceptions, blood sugar had indeed often dropped from diabetic range to normal... Many patients had also lost twenty, thirty, even forty pounds... They reported that symptoms of acid reflux disappeared and the cyclic cramping and diarrhea of irritable bowel syndrome were gone.  Their energy improved, they had greateer focus, sleep was deeper."  (pp. 8 - 9)

I am fascinated by this.  Dr. Davis goes on to explain the relationship between blood sugar levels and insulin production in the body and the cycle of visceral fat that is created by this (I'll go into more detail on this in a later post).  It goes against the conventional thinking of "healthy whole grains" to say that wheat increases blood sugar levels more than sugar!  (And yes, he's talking about whole wheat and grains, not just refined white flour.)

As I mentioned before, I'm skeptical, but curious to see if there will be any change to my overall health (not to mention weight loss!) if I eliminate wheat from my diet.

Four more days until our journey begins!   I hope you'll stay tuned!

Why Go Wheat-Free?

Although I have been tested for food allergies, I am not allergic to gluten or wheat.  But when I mentioned on Facebook that I was going to try eating wheat-free to see if I possibly had a wheat sensitivity, a friend recommended that I read "Wheat Belly" by Dr. William Davis.  I read the book on our holiday last week and I was blown away.  If everything Dr. Davis claims about wheat is true, then we all need to stop eating wheat.  But his claims go against conventional diet and medical advice, so I am still skeptical.  I read a lot of the book aloud to my husband, and we both agreed that we need to at least try what Dr. Davis says to see if it makes any difference to our health and weight.

Among other health problems that my husband and I and our children face are:
- Headaches (I have a perpetual low-grade headache almost every day, often flaring into a big one, and my husband frequently suffers from headaches)
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Stomach pain/heartburn
- Fatigue
- Numbness in limbs
- Insomnia
- Difficulty staying asleep
- Lethargy
- Overweight

Will cutting wheat (and other quick-burning carbohydrates) from our diet relieve our health problems?  Will it help us lose weight? 

I currently weigh 168 pounds (*gasp - did I just admit that to the whole world?), and I am 5' 6".  I gained forty pounds with my pregnancies, and I have not been able to take the weight off despite numerous dieting attempts.  I easily lose 5 pounds, only to gain it back again right away.  I think I've lost the same five pounds at least twenty times over the past six years!

Our journey will begin on Friday.  We are still on holidays this week, so we are mentally preparing for going off of wheat (and foolishly indulging in our favourite wheat-filled treats!).  Thursday will be spent grocery shopping (we'll have to completely restock our pantry), so we can begin the next day! 

I'm curious to see if Dr. Davis' claims are true and if they will work for us.  In the coming days and weeks, I'll fill you in on some of his claims as we adjust our diet.  I'll be posting our trials, experiences, strategies, successes and failures, and recipes that we enjoy during our journey.  Thanks for joining us as we see if going wheat-free works for our family.  Who knows, if this is successful, we may be wheat-free for life!