Going Gluten Free (and dairy free and on our way to sugar free)

In late June Chris and I met with a holistic practitioner - Dr. Margaret Christensen. Our journey to finding her and these past 6 months of working with her deserve their own post, so I won't go into that now. Suffice it to say she suspected I had a food allergy and, after 2 month-long cleanses, I was tested for gluten intolerance in October, with a positive result. (What I've learned about gluten intolerance, Celiac disease, the research surrounding testing, etc has been so interesting and also deserves it's own post.)


At this point the only way to deal with the intolerance is to eliminate from your diet items that contain gluten (there is research being done on a pill that would allow people with the allergy to ingest gluten without the nasty side affects, but it's not available yet). Gluten is a protein found in certain grains such as wheat, rye, and barley. Eliminating gluten from your diet obviously means no:

Bread
Crackers
Pretzels
Tortillas
Cookies
Cakes
Muffins
Donuts
Bagels
Cereal
Croutons
Pasta
Breaded fish or chicken
Pizza crust
Pie crust
Beer

However, wheat flour and gluten also show up in thousands of other products that you would never suspect such as:

Lunchmeats
Sausages
Hotdogs
Baked beans
Canned soups
Broths
Gravies
Corn tortillas
Potato chips
Oats
Candy
Gum
Cheap brands of chocolate
Chocolate milk
Hot cocoa
Custard
Pudding
Non-dairy creamer
Ice cream
Syrups
Salad dressings
Soy sauce
Flavoring and spice mixes
Malt vinegar
Mustard
Supplements
Toothpaste
Cosmetics

The items in the second lists usually or often contain gluten, but it is possible to get a gluten-free version, it just requires close label reading.

The real difficulty of eliminating gluten from your diet is actually being able to identify it. By law a product must identify "wheat" on it's label; however, other substances containing gluten, like barley, rye and oats and their derivatives are considered "natural foods" and can be listed under a myriad of different names, most of which give no clue that they contain gluten:

Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
Emulsifiers
Bran
Malt
Malt flavoring
Modified food starch
Monosodium Glutimate (MSG)
"Natural" flavor
Brewers yeast
Fillers
Thickeners
Stabilizers
Binders
Textured vegetable protein

Combine those three lists and you're left with a very small amount of processed, prepared, or prepackaged foods to choose from. Which, in one sense makes going gluten-free a blessing, since it eliminates food that probably isn't very healthy anyway and makes it pretty necessary to move to a whole food diet (e.g. Nourishing Traditions and Weston Price). But it does leave one longing for a simple piece of bread!

Thankfully, as more people have identified their symptoms as being gluten related and gluten intolerance awareness increases, the number and availability of gluten free products has also increased. It is now possible to get gluten-free crackers, chips, pizza crust and even bread and bread mixes from the average grocery store! And the availability of alternative flours has made gluten free baking quite simple.

Gluten free baking is certainly more involved than normal baking, but not too much more. Instead of the simple all-purpose flour, the gluten-free baker needs 3 or 4 different flours and additives. Once you've stocked your pantry with these items and have a reliable cookbook you can produce delicious, delectable dainties to rival any gluten filled bakery!


As the title of this post says, I am also going dairy free and attempting to go sugar free (or will be attempting after the holidays). In brief, the reason for going dairy free is that the protein in dairy (casin) is structurally similar to gluten and often, especially right at first when the body is attempting to heal from years of exposure to an allergen, the milk protein can be just as hard on the body. The reasons for going sugar free are many, but mainly have to do with allowing my body (i.e. GI tract) the chance to return to a healthy balance. (Here is Dr. Christensen's quick overview of GI health)

In an attempt to continue baking with these narrow parameters I recently purchased The Allergen-Free Bakers Handbook and Sugar Free Gluten Free Baking and Desserts. Together they provide a great resource for our kitchen. I am still learning the ropes of sugar substitutes (all natural substitutes, mind you, like agave nectar and stevia), but it's coming. For now I am learning about wheat flour substitutes and finding myself so thankful that they exist! The results of a gluten, dairy and (mostly) sugar free diet have been nothing but good, and in some cases seemly miraculous after years of living with the symptoms. More on that later.

Cheers

St. Andrew Christmas Novena

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment

in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary,

at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold.

In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God,

to hear my prayer and grant my desires,

through the merits of our Savior Jesus Christ,

and of His Blessed Mother. Amen

Our good friends Andy and Amanda Wegryzn gave me a St. Andrew Chaplet for my birthday. I have never actually consistently prayed a novena, since they always seemed to me to lean towards "bargaining" - "if you do this then God will do this" sort of thing. But, like I learned with the Rosary, a novena can be a beautiful way of offering our prayer and focusing our hearts on God. Elizabeth Foss comments on this particular novena here and expresses beautifully how a novena turns our eyes from ourselves to Christ.
Christmastime has been very hard for me the past few years. I feel the emptiness of our home and the barrenness of my womb more acutely during the holidays. After all, what we celebrate is a birth - a conception, 9 months of waiting, gestation, and finally, the arrival of a long awaited child . . . A long awaited child.
This year it was a bit easier. I was reminded every time I fingered the little beads that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. The baby we welcome is the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, God with us. Who can comprehend such Love? Hail and blessed be that moment - the moment in which the Son of God emptied himself (not considering equality with God something to be grasped) and came in the form of a helpless babe to save and redeem us from the curse.
It was also easier because every day, for a few minutes, I offered up a prayer, a cry of utter dependence, like a child. It's one thing to cry out in occasional moments of pain or desperation; it's another thing to lift one's voice every day, consistently, obediently, realizing one has nothing to bring - no bargaining power whatsoever - just a cry of dependence. "Through the merits of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, and of his Blessed Mother." It helps dispose the heart towards trust and a simpler faith. Also, St. Andrew is the patron of those trying to conceive. It was a comfort asking him daily to intercede on our behalf.

Thanks for the gift Andy and Amanda!

It's been a while

I know . . . it's been a long time since the last post. I've thought about posting quite a bit - but in the blogging world the thought really doesn't count. It's possible that the thought may get transcribed into an actual post one of these days, but for now I just wanted to share someone else's post and comments.

Catching Up

I've been away from the blog for a while, but, at the request of a few near and dear, I figured I'd revisit it.

SEEING:

The University of Dallas campus is in full bloom these days. The weather has been up and down - very inconsistent - but seems to have settled in the mid 70s with sunshine for now. It's beautiful.

DOING:

Mom and Dad came for a visit the last 2 weeks of February. They spent a week with us then drove down to Corpus Christi with some friends, then back up to Dallas for a weekend and finally drove home to WI. There was lots of chatting, eating, drinking of various brewed beverages and some nice walks. We took them to see the local wildlife and the imported wildlife and visited a few of our favorite restaurants. I think I can safely say it was a very enjoyable and refreshing for all parties.

The weekend after they left Chris and I flew into St. Louis to visit (best man) Andy Wegrzyn and his fiance Amanda. Also a very enjoyable and refreshing trip. It is hard to accurately describe the feeling of gradually leaving the city behind and slowly entering the peace of the country unless you've actually done it yourself - carefully noting the thinning of suburbia, the increase in groves of trees, larger and larger open fields, the flitting by of little country towns and finally settling in at a farmhouse, nestled in the hollow of a pasture. The air was cool and clean and fresh, the sun was warm (except for the few hours on Sunday when a tornado blew through) and the company most excellent. Needless to say, it was very rejuvenating simply to be there. We went on a tour of the Crane farm, which included a visit to the "shop" where the mammoth tractors and combines resided and a drive through 2000+ acres of corn and soybeans, with a stop by Amanda's Great Grandparents first farmstead. We also got to go shooting! Shot guns and clay pigeons followed by target practice with handguns. It was surprisingly very fun! as well as little amusing and delightful to see Chris shooting - perhaps because shooting is such a "country" thing to do, and Chris is not exactly "country". But, regardless of being country or not, he done me proud, knocking down 2 pigeons in one pull! He was certainly a better shot than I.

Home now for 3 weeks and then off again for back-to-back wedding weekends - Up to MSP for Jared and Trish's wedding and then a weekend road trip to Omaha NE for a "Hillsdale" wedding.

Also doing:

The Taxes - which I secretly enjoy!

Frisbee in the afternoon with Chris

Dinner with friends

The card game Golf - also with Chris

Mass at 5:00 every evening during the week

Needless to say, work from 6am to 3pm M-F

Watching some basketball and listening to some Cubs spring training games - mostly on the weekends.

and a few nice walks

READING:

Just finished David Copperfield. I joined a Dickens book club about 1 1/2 months ago. David Copperfield was the first book and now we are taking a little break over lent. Not sure what I'm going to start next. I've been picking and choosing my way through "God in the Dock" by Lewis to hold me over until I get going on something new.

I've also been reading 3 books on raising sheep - though only on Sundays because I gave it up for Lent ("why" you might ask did I give it up for Lent? A just question, answered below).

LISTENING:

The 2 Disc set Essential Bach, Vivaldi and, when called for, Michael Buble (Again, one may ask "when is Buble called for?" Answer = 9:30 pm doing a stack of dishes - Note 9:30 is my bed time)

OFFERING FOR LENT: 

Tea. Every morning I come into work, sit down at my desk and want a warm cup of tea. And every morning I say no to this little pleasure in the practice of submitting my desire. Practice, because in daily life, with more significant things, we are asked to submit our will, to the good and perfect will of God.  

Farm books. I have a stack of library books on various farming issues (mostly sheep at this point) sitting next to the couch which I am only reading as a treat on Sundays.  The reason I've given them up for Lent is to practice patients and trust.  My natural tendency is to forage ahead down the path of whatever has taken my fancy, making plans and counting on it coming about. But, becoming farmers is not my choice alone and I need to practice both patients - to give Chris the space and time he needs to process and make a decision - and trust - believing that God will direct our future.  Before I get us fitted out as shepherds, complete with crook and watch dog, I'd better be certain these other two so intimately connected with my life are headed/leading in the same direction.   

ENJOYING:

The warm sun

Little birds in the tree outside our patio door

Being Debt Free! (we paid off the last of our student loans at the end of February and are currently 100% debt free!)

My husbands blog

The flowers on campus

Talking walks during my lunch break

Baking bread and making Pizza with my stone and peel

LOOKING FORWARD TO:

The pool being open

Seeing family at the end of this month

March Madness

Driving across Michigan with Betsy

Opening day of Baseball season

Going to a lecture on Dante tomorrow night

Spending the evening with Chris

Being pregnant 

On that last note - yes, we are still waiting.  It's something that is constantly on my mind - a day doesn't pass that I don't think about it - some harder than others.  It requires a lot of patience too.  We saw an Infertility specialist about a month ago and have started a course of action, but it will take some time.  Still waiting; still praying; still looking forward to it.

Cheers!

The First of a Few

(Note:  I began writing the following few posts well before the election and I had intended them to be up before now.  But, even though late, I still think they are relevant)

 

The following few posts have been on my mind for a couple of few weeks and is a result of this article and training at the White Rose Women's Center.

 

 

 

I

 

Imaginary Question Posed to one of my coworkers: If Adolf Hitler was running in this election and he had the key to all the social and financial problems, would you vote for him?

"No"

"Why not?"

"Because, the guy was crazy.  He killed so many innocent people."

"Well, I know he killed people.  But what if he REALLY has the answers - not just a great plan that may work, but the actual answers. He will fix the whole issue with the market, he'll finish the war in Iraq, he'll significantly reduce poverty, he'll reduce crime, he'll make our schools better, he'll make sure everyone has health insurance, he'll ensure a comfortable retirement for all - in short, he'll will bring peace and give the American Dream to all. What do you say?"

"Well. . . I don't know.  I guess still no.  He killed so many people!  And if you made him president he would have the power to do a lot more killing if he wanted to."

"But just think.  All the people he didn't kill would be living the dream.  No more poverty!  No more people going with out healthcare!  No more homeless or hungry.  No more illiterate or people not getting into college because they can't afford it.  No more worrying about retirement.  It'd be amazing!"

"That does sound pretty good."

"But, I forgot to mention, he has stated he will still have one concentration camp in the country - only for "research purposes" though.  A random sampling of the American populous will go to the camp:  Every 7th Jew, 10th Hispanic, 20th African American, 80th Native American, every 103rd High School drop out, every 142nd woman with brown hair and blue eyes, and every 275th man that is 6'3'' in the US will be sent to the camp. Would you vote for him?"

"No way!  Dude!  If you had told me that to begin with!  Of course I'm not going to vote for him."

"Why not?"

"Because, you can't just randomly kill people! That's absurd! I don't care if he can totally fix the economy and give most people the American dream; killing people is killing people and not worth it!"

"Hmmm. Ok, fair enough. So, I guess you could say that some things are more important than others.  Like, not randomly killing people is more important than fixing the economy and making life comfortable for people. Or, to put it another way, human life is more important than economics."

"Well, yeah, I guess so. At least in that case. It's just not fair to randomly kill people, even if it means a better life for others."

 

-------------------

 

I've never heard any relativistic rot used when talking about Hitler.  "Well now, let's not judge.  Hitler had his views and we have ours.  We shouldn't force our views on him.  If he thinks Jews are sub-human and wants to kill them and use them for experiments, who are we to say he is wrong? Besides, we shouldn't force him to live with thousands of Jews (or Catholics or gypsies) if he doesn't want to.  That would probably make his life difficult.  And it would be imposing our views on him.  He has his rights you know."  

Absurd.  

Only the most blind and truly demented people could argue this way.

(If you haven't already, read the article I linked to above.  The author makes a similar point between slavery and abortion - which leads me to my next post.)

One Quick Take

The Gospel reading from yesterday:

Jesus said to his disciples: “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence. “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

Two things struck me as I listened to this. The first was my shock in hearing the last sentence - "how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" Why does Jesus throw this in there? He's just been saying that those who ask and seek diligently will receive. But then, like the turn at the end of a sonnet, he adds "you will receive the Holy Spirit." "But," one might say, "I wasn't asking for the Holy Spirit. I was asking for x." Father Tony explained that God does give good gifts to us - it just may not be exactly what we were asking for. And for those who are earnestly seeking, He will give the gift of the Holy Spirit to discern (or at least accept) the gift that Got is giving. The gift that is the Holy spirit is the gift of discernment, understanding, peace, gratitude.

The second thing I realized was that our current state of infertility is not a snake; it's a fish. I need eyes to see and a heart to understand - but the REALITY and TRUTH is that our not being able to conceive is a good gift from God.

(The thought of God handing me a fish makes me laugh. "Here you go - have a fish." "A fish? I didn't ask for a fish, I asked for a baby." "Yes, I know you asked for a baby, but I am giving you a fish." "hmmm, OK. A fish. Thanks. What do I do with a fish?" - I guess I'll have to figure it out :)

Quick Takes

I have this view of my blog that each and every post must be long and say something profound - therefore I don't post. So I'm taking my cue from Conversion Diary and offering short snippets:

--1--

Since I just introduced it, I'll start with the Conversion Diary blog. It is a new favorite. She is a fantastic writer and her conversion story is amazing. I would highly recommend taking some time to read through her story. Chris and I were commenting the other day on how powerful other peoples conversion stories were for us when we were considering converting and how we still so enjoy hearing them. It is so wonderful hearing how God calls other people to Himself.

--2--

I've been reading "Covenanted Happiness" by Cormac Burke. I'm not quite sure how to describe it except - AMAZING!!! It has radically changed my view and understanding of marriage and the family. It is seriously counter cultural. . . well, to clarify, the teachings of the Catholic Church are seriously counter cultural on these issues, and all Burke does is flesh out the teachings. As I read I keep thinking "I need to post on this! I want to share this with other people" but then I realize I probably would need to write a paper on it - or maybe a book - and then I realize other people have written on it much better than I ever could. But, since most of you aren't going to read through a stack of books on the topic, maybe I'll still do the post (or a series of them)

Here is the table of contents for the book - I'm only through chapter 9. The book is actually a compilation of a few different articles/presentations/essays by Burke, reorganized and edited to make a complete book. There are some chapters that cover the same or similar topics and the chapters don't always seem to be in the most logical of orders. It certainly isn't a book that needs to be read cover to cover.

The introduction and chapter 1 are a great overview of sexuality - or maleness and femaleness, "male and female He created them." (Anyone who doesn't think there is a difference between the sexes, try these sections on for size)

Chapter 2, Conjugal Love and Indissolubility, discusses why a life-long commitment to one spouse is a good thing - and increases happiness. Burke contrasts two views of man. "Secular anthropology" is based on an individualistic view of man and believes the "key to human fulfillment [is the] self: self-identification, self-assertion, self-concern..." "Individualism fosters a fundamentally self-centered approach to marriage, seeking to get from it rather than being prepared to give in it: will this - this union, this liaison, this arrangement - make me happy?" In contrast to this view, Burke offers the anthropology of personalism. "The essence of true personalism is expressed in Gaudium et Spes, no. 24: "man can fully discover his true self only in a sincere giving of himself". We can only "realize" or fulfil our self, by giving our self. . . Marriage represents the most concrete natural type of self-giving for which man and woman are made." Good stuff!

Chapter 3 is a more of an overview of marriage and family. Chapters 2 and 3 would be a GREAT reading assignment for a pre marriage class or newlyweds :)

Chapters 4 and 7 discuss children, the lack of children and contraception in marriage. WOW! Amazing! Chapter 7 is pretty philosophical and I had a hard time following all of it, but chapter 4 is great. The main point: Children are a great good in marriage - in fact, they are one of THE GOODS in marriage and should not be seen as "optional." They should be seen as one of the very good results of marriage and essential to the happiness of the spouses and family as a whole. With that said, the decision not to have children should be seen as a privation and and an exception. Having children is the norm of marriage (one of it's natural and very good ends) and only the gravest of reasons should keep a couple from pursuing/accepting the good that is children. (Did I mention counter cultural and changing my view! WOW)

Chapters 5 and 6 on divorce are fantastic. I found chapter 5 to be very powerful and another great read for a pre-marriage class (or for anyone who feels like their marriage is heading down hill or who has a friend who is considering divorce.)

Chapter 8 reiterates a lot of what is in chapter 4 and focuses on how we as a culture do not value children. Here is a long-ish quote from the chapter:

In seminars, when this matter comes up, I have at time asked my students to consider a small matter of comparative analysis. It goes something like this:

Family A: 2 Children 2 Cars 2 TVs 2 DVD The best Schools Holidays Abroad

Family B: 5 Children 1 Car 1 TV 0 DVD Second-rate Schools No Holidays Abroad

After putting this on the board, my first question to the students is: Which family has the higher standard of living? They all answer: Family A, of course. So I repeat the question: Which family has the higher standard of living? There may be the slightest hesitation, but they repeat the same answer. So I repeat the same question again, and a third, and perhaps a fourth time. Perplexity sets in, hesitations grow, until in the end someone "concedes": "well, of course, if you start considering children as part of your standard of life..."
"If you start"... It is indeed time that we started putting children down on the assets side, and not on the liabilities. On both, you say? OK; on both: like your motor car. A car is an asset and a liability. It costs money and effort and attention to acquire and to maintain: just as a child does. Your choice should begin by considering which is worth more, because to choose the other is to lower one's own standard of living [8].
"Which will give me more satisfaction?" is no doubt a utili­tarian rather than an idealistic viewpoint. Yet, even if a person wishes to apply that view to our subject, he or she would do well to consider the money and time and effort that people nowadays put into golf or computers or creative gardening, working at them, reading all about them, in search of a satisfaction they do not always get.
How come they do not think parenthood worth working at? How is it they do not study books (there are plenty available) on how to enjoy caring for one's children, on the satisfactions of being a parent? And how is it (our horizons broaden again) they do not sense the call of an utterly unique creativity, the adventure of being co-creators?

In Kenya some years ago, an African who had learned that the Western fertility rate averaged about 1.2, remarked to me: "Western couples must be very poor if they can't afford to have more than two children..." He was not a qualified "expert" in the Western sense; yet his words may be worth pondering. They could be complemented with another bit of "non-expert" wisdom, this time from the West itself. Some time back in England, I knew a recently married couple, a normal couple who wanted children. One child was born; but then there was an unwanted delay of three or four years. At last the mother became expectant again. Their first-born too was filled with expec­tations. But - a miscarriage occurred. The father had to tell the child he was not going to have that little brother or sister he wanted. "Look; Mom's not going to have that baby after all"; and, bowing before God's inscrutable ways, he added, "it's better that way..." The kid however didn't bow so easily: "But, Daddy, is there anything better than a baby?..." [7]. Computerized programs never anticipate the things that children come up with. The wisdom of children is part of the bonum prolis.

Chapter 9 is actually instruction and encouragement about educating and rearing children with strong moral values and with a well formed conscience.

(That got longer than I intended, but hopefully it whetted some appetites :)

--3--

On Tuesday after work I stopped by a local crisis pregnancy center to see about volunteering. White Rose Women's Center is located 5 minutes from my work and right next door to an abortion clinic. It is the only Catholic pregnancy center in the Dallas area and has a chapel, with the Blessed Sacrament, overlooking the entrance to the abortion clinic. Pretty neat. The visit was really a "this is what we do" introduction and actual training will begin next Tuesday. Besides offering free pregnancy testing, sonograms and counseling, the White Rose also has a large donation center of both new and used baby/child care items. The center puts together a "gift bag" for each of their clients full of the basics for a new mom as well as offers other items for those in need - like cribs, strollers etc. Their main targets are women considering abortions. The lady that gave the tour, Gerri, has been working at the center for 10+ years and is the main "on the floor" worker. From my initial 45 minutes with her she seems like an amazing woman.

--4--

Chris and I are hoping to spend a "fall day out" in a few weekends. This is our potential destination - old time Texas town!

Well, that's all I've got for now.