At the advice of a friend and after doing some research on the subject, I have put myself under the care of a nutritionist. This doctor has me on a diet that is supposed to help with my MS symptoms. It has been a couple of months now that I have been gluten-free, dairy- free, corn-free and, basically, sugar-free.
This new diet has presented all sorts of challenges. First, I love bread--fresh bread, especially. My fresh bread. The one that comes with the fragrance that only a loaf of bread fresh from the oven can deliver. The one that comes with the delight of the first slice of slightly warm bread covered with a generous lather of cool butter that hints at melting into the curves and grooves of the bread. If not butter, homemade jam--apricot jam. Fresh bread fills the entire house with a feeling of love. But now pizza crust, muffins, cornbread, pies--they are off limits. Can you tell it has been a rough couple of months?? I'm in mourning.
Just this past week, I've been permitted to add millet, sorghum and oat flours to my diet. All of these grains are gluten-free. These along with buckwheat are my new bread and baking flours. I was able to find these flours at the best price on Amazon. The fancier Whole Foods and Trader Joes type stores are a bit of a drive and I'm not at all sure that these prices can be beat. It's great to have all this delivered to the door.
I am a bit anxious to try some bread. All the gluten-free sites I checked warn that this bread will not be what one is used to in the line of bread. I'll have to prepare myself.
When my mother-in-law died last year, we were thankful to have her Vita-Mix passed down to us. It sat in the basement for months, but it has been moved to a place of honor on the kitchen counter. I've been able to grind oats into oat flour, buckwheat groats into buckwheat flour and garbanzo beans into bean flour. Some things that I've made have not been horrid. The apple crisp has been good. The buckwheat pancakes need a different recipe...flat in every way.
While I wait to experiment with new flours, I have tried my hand at crackers. Since I am allowed seeds, I stumbled on a recipe for Flax Crackers. I was able to grind up some flax seeds and some sunflower seeds and then use some other seeds to make these delightful crackers.
These little goodies have helped to keep me sane. They are wonderful with hummus. (Not so much with peanut butter.) Good with goat cheese - yes, that's the dairy-free alternative (that takes a bit of getting used to, but it's good--different, but good. They have a wonderful, savory flavor and appear to have additive properties. (Yes, that is vintage Tupperware!)
If you are interested, the recipe with detailed instructions and pictures are on this site: Scratch Love. You'll find she has other gluten-free recipes to explore.
Each person has challenges they are called to meet. My hope is that this new diet will help in many ways to get my health a bit more on track. It is going to take time, I'm told, so we'll see where this road takes me.
Blessings!
