Friday, September 10, 2010

A Gluten-free Vegan

It's official. It has been confirmed that my tummy would be better off without gluten. I'm allergic to wheat, oats, rye, and spelt. At first I thought, "Hey, no biggie. I've been prepping for this. I've been avoiding gluten for months now." But then I was informed my tummy also doesn't like quinoa and millet, which are gluten-free and in my special Mary's Gone Crackers crackers. Dang. And I love cooking millet and quinoa together and eating them with black beens and zucchini. They'll have to be for another day.

And then I was told to stay away from soy as well. I took this a little harder because, well, soy has become a key player in my daily meals. But now I know why my stomach hasn't been so happy lately. Really what it comes down to is feeling the best that you can, and if eliminating these foods will help me, I'm all for trying. So I gave away my soy ice creams (vanilla and gingersnap) and my bag of frozen edamame, and crossed tofu, tempe, soy sauce, tamari, miso, and practically every processed food off my grocery list. Why does everything have soy in it? That's a good question. Anyone have any answers to that?

I went to a birthday party on Monday for my friend Josh, and Josh's grandma asked me, "Can you eat cranberries?" She looked at the ingredient list on the bag of Oceanspray cranberries, and instead of it reading just "cranberries," it read "cranberries, sugar, something else, and may contain milk, wheat, or soy." What? Aren't cranberries just cranberries? What else could be in those cranberries if the factory is worried about all their other food products contaminating each other?

4 comments:

Laney said...

Oh my gosh, Katie. I'm really glad you're systematically eliminating all the things your body doesn't like and that its helping you feel better, but I'm honestly and seriously worried you can't eat ANYTHING anymore and will wither away - but of course with a happy stomach. :) I'm so impressed with your rigor and commitment. I'd love an update on how you're feeling over all.

Sam Rushforth Taggart said...

Wow Kates! You are officially a "raw foodist!" You can do it though, it will be amazing how healthy you will become from eating this way. I've been reading the packages of my foods and am shocked to see what's in them, even simple things like cranberries...why do they have to put sugar with them?

Please Pass the Green said...

Laney, so far I haven't withered any since you last saw me—my weights been holding strong for the past 3 months I'd say. Mostly these food changes are straining my brains—I have to be so much more creative with my food! I experiment a lot more and don't care if it turns out a disaster . . . like 2 days ago when I made my own blender concoction of beet juice and zucchini. Worst aftertaste ever. But now I know.:)

As far as how I'm feeling, the past two days have been rough, but really I've been so good overall. My left hip got overused/strained on my walk to class on Wednesday, so walking was almost impossible the rest of Wed. and yesterday, and just a lot of pain. But today I'm feeling so much better. I just gotta be cautious—I never know what will get overworked. Thanks for asking!

Sam, I'm still not completely raw, but close. I still steam a lot of my veggies (e.g., butternut squash the rock-hard edible vegetable). But, yeah, it's exciting! I've never, ever been this healthy and it feels great. Cooking still is daunting sometimes, but it's all about setting up a routine and a menu.

Brooke said...

Hey, Katie!
I just updated myself on the blog. You are not alone! (My diet is the same as your Aug. 24th update, though I know yours has changed a little since.) I do feel better now being gluten & dairy free--and becoming more focused on greens and vegetarian eating. Take care & I hope you can feel the benefits of it soon!