Gluten-Free Breakfast Heaven!

I don't often eat breakfast. Actually for most of my adult life I did not eat breakfast.


But when I do.....


It has to be GOOD! The biggest problem for me, and for the kids though they don't want to admit it, is the belly ache that would often arise after mounds of pancakes or waffles.

These pancakes...

had me LOVING breakfast again. 

These fluffy, puffy, tasty, cakes from the pan...

had us all ooooo-ing and aaaah-ing over the taste and texture of these delightful little meals. The pure maple syrup and real butter didn't hurt, but they tasted incredible plain, too, and even though I pigged out on 3, I had no belly ache.

These beautiful breakfast delicacies that melted in my mouth...

are GLUTEN FREE! It's true, I swear. I found a homemade pancake recipe on allrecipes.com, then played around with it to make it work for us in our new GF world. My new adventurous spirit is completely thanks to Nicole at Gluten Free on a Shoestring and her amazing recipes that are building my confidence and the fantastic Cup 4 Cup All Purpose Flour Blend which, with very few adjustments, has proven a perfect substitute in most of my formerly gluten-full recipes. Happy happy joy joy.

The recipe:

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk, warmed slightly or at room temperature
2 TBSP white vinegar
1 cup gluten free all purpose flour blend (one that has xanthan gum, such as cup4cup, or you will need to add xantham gum)
2 TBSP white sugar
1 heaping tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
2 TBSP butter, melted

Combine milk and vinegar and let sit about 5 minutes. It will curdle, don't worry--that's what it's supposed to do, you are making sour milk (just like buttermilk).

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.

Add egg and the melted butter into your sour milk, using a whisk to combine. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients, whisking until smooth. It will be thicker than a typical pancake recipe! Let the batter sit for about 5 minutes.

Heat a frying pan or electric skillet over medium heat, pre-spraying with cooking spray if needed. Use a large spoon or ladle to place approximately 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. Watch them puff up quickly! When they begin to appear dry around the edges, flip and cook a few minutes more, until both sides are golden.

Enjoy!!

****
I forgot to mention my thanks to a new friend Kattie, who took time months and months ago to message me with tons of gf tips. I wasn't quite ready to take the plunge then, but it was because of her tips that I chose to use coconut milk rather than almond milk in this recipe!

Gluten Free and...whatever.

First I'm going to thank my friend Jacqui for mentioning Vitamin D supplement as the possible "feeling blah" culprit. (see my Nov 19th entry ) As soon as she mentioned that possibility, I remembered exactly why I stopped taking it last year--I FELT HORRIBLE! 24 hours after not taking it, I at least started feeling myself coming back. I was still tired into the afternoon that day and took a nap but I actually slept during the nap, and slept much less fitfully that night.

While I am still waiting for the great "wow" moment about being gluten free, I made the decision to remain a gf'er. Hmmm, maybe that should be a glufer. Herewith and henceforth I shall be known as a glufer. Until I change my mind again.

I must be honest and say I had one peanut butter cracker earlier today; it was that or faint, and while fainting would have made for better drama I chose the cracker. I felt like an addict breaking a sobriety that while I don't feel that I've reaped the benefits of said sobriety, I still felt guilty. I've forgiven myself and moved forward.

I purchased and cooked and even ATE the mysterious golden quinoa (prounounced keenwah, for those of you that are not as sophisticated as moi, because you probably pronounce it as kwinoah). It is delicious. In the funky world that is my mind I equated the description of the taste (nutty) with the texture, and that didn't sound right. I am proud to say I tried it anyway :D I could seriously eat it all day, and will be experimenting with all different flavorings.

The main part of my lunch today was zucchini mini-pizza! I sliced zucchini, tossed the slices with olive oil and garlic powder, seared them in a frying pan, placed them on a foil lined baking sheet, topped them with sliced tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, then baked at 350 for about 10 minutes. Yum! Thanks to my oldest for eating zucchini pizza first and suggesting I try it. She's brilliant.

Here are a few of my recent cooking adventures:

Pizza! Recipe from The Gluten-Free Goddess 

Bread dough after first rise

Finished Bread!

Pepper-Jack grilled cheese using the bread

Zucchini mini "pizzas"

Gluten Free and...BLAH

Once I post this, I'll brace myself for the backlash of naysayers and know-it-alls. I am two weeks gluten free and I feel..................NOT SO GREAT. I got my positive antibodies celiac panel results on October 29.

What is wrong with me? Article after testimonial after face-to-face after interview says, "you will feel amazing within a few day of being gluten free." I waited. I stuck with it. I ate fresh vegetables each day, made my own bread, and pizza dough, and even delicious chocolate chip cookies. I switched from my regular Cheerios to Chex. Not only do I not feel better, I feel worse, with a steady weight gain and feeling an overall sense of dragginess. I'm swollen more and my aches have increased, and I am not sleeping well, I'm foggy and emotional. I have not had one AHA moment. I just feel worse.

I'm frustrated and angry. People assume I'm just still eating junk food because I joke about it so much and because, well, I tend to be a snacker. (I can hear some people laughing right now at the minimization of that statement--oh, shut up!) I am screaming from the rooftops here, I HAVE BEEN EATING HEALTHY FOODS and NO gluten, save for 1 lone flour tortilla and a bowl of Cheerios about a week ago. This was supposed to be the Hallelujah choir awakening of my hidden, feeling better, self. I never expected to feel worse.

From all the reading I have been doing, and knowing my own body, I think it is safe to assume there are other foods I am reacting to. I know I have always had problems with corn and am just realizing there is some sort of corn (flour, meal, starch) in many things I've been eating recently. Sure, I could try to eliminate that as well; unfortunately I think there are others.  With 2 kids still in the house that are not gluten free, I don't see how I could practically track it all down. I'm not meaning to sound like a martyr (although isn't that my role as a mom??), I just don't feel that I can do this on my own, and continue to feel worse and wait up to 6 months to start feeling better.

I will continue to research and hope to find answers. I see a rheumatologist next month and hopefully that will narrow the possibilities into what is going on inside my body. Hey, I know what I need: OSMOSIS JONES! MAGIC SCHOOLBUS!! Hey Miss Frizzle, figure this out for me!

I am taking this seriously, trust me I want to feel better. I just don't see how this particular path is going to "work" right now.