I have been (mostly) gluten-free for about a month now. It has not been as hard as I expected it to be. I have found some gluten-free replacements for my favorite gluten-based foods that are rather good. And some that really are not. I’ve also found plenty of other things to eat that are naturally gluten-free that I just didn’t eat often before. I have increased my vegetable intake and even tried a new one. Here are the veggies I’ve had this month:
Photo by Jonathunder via Wikimedia Commons
- Carrots
- Green beans
- Red peppers
- Mixed green salad
- Broccoli
- Squash
- Peas
- Spinach
- Artichoke hearts
- Yams
- Brussels sprouts
My homework for this week is to eat more greens and in different ways than just in salad. I do enjoy salad (especially with feta, Parmesan or Gorgonzola cheese and with dried fruit, walnuts and/or olives) but my health coach Mary wants to make sure I don’t get tired of salad and therefore give up on greens. She recommends eating greens every day, preferably every meal for their nutritional and detoxifying properties.
Some of Mary’s suggestions for eating greens are:
- Saute kale with butter or coconut oil, carrots and peppers.
- Saute Swiss chard, including the stems, the same way as above.
- Put a couple of kale leaves in a smoothie with 1 C water, ¼ C berries, some protein powder (she recommends Raw Protein) and ½ banana and/or some stevia.
- Get more ideas in the book “Greens, Glorious Greens.”
Other things I need to start or continue are:
- Preparing meals or meal components ahead of time.
- Getting in more root vegetables, especially sweet ones that can substitute for the sweet foods I’m no longer eating much of.
- Drinking more water.
- Finding exercise routines at Health, Self, Shape magazine websites for days when a full gym workout isn’t going to fit in my schedule.
- Asking about hidden gluten in foods prepared at restaurants.
So has going gluten-free helped me? I’ve not seen dramatic results. I still have a lot of itchiness, though probably not as extreme as before. When I rebelled last night by eating Papa Johns pizza for my mental health, my face, neck and arms got warm and itchy fairly quickly. It did not last long though. As for increasing energy and leveling mood, I think improving my overall diet will help with that but I’m not quite there yet.
Disclaimer: Mary Langfield is providing 90 days worth of health coaching in exchange for me blogging about my health journey.
Yay for veggies! I love sauteing swiss chard in a little olive oil, a little butter and a bunch of garlic. SO good. Try it!
And Women’s Health mag has good exercises and workouts. Check ‘em out.
yayyyy veggies… proud of you!!