I’ve been avoiding gluten the past week. I would be 100 percent, except I didn’t realize rye was just as bad as wheat. Apparently it’s rye, wheat, barley. I tried to go gluten-free a few months ago, without much success, but I’m taking it a lot more seriously this time. I’ve been reading that gluten is bad for IBS sufferers, which I am, so this gives me more confidence that gluten may be one of my triggers.
I’ve also been avoiding (less religiously) soda, refined sugar, coffee, alcohol, nuts, fried foods, and probably a few other things I have read are foods to avoid with IBS: http://ibs.about.com/od/ibsfood/a/triggerfoods.htm.
I made some delicious gluten-free cupcakes. Bob’s Red Mill definitely has the best gluten-free cake mix I’ve bought so far. The main flour was garbanzo, and I could taste the subtly hot, bitter flavor of the bean in the batter, but once they were baked and covered in frosting and sprinkles, the bean was barely noticeable.
My most recent goal is to make good gluten-free biscuits with sausage, and I guess some gravy too. I’ve been having fun attempting to make my favorite foods gluten-free now. I’ve given up on making my own bread, after a disgusting, dry product I made on Saturday. If I try again, I’m definitely going to use yeast.
I was excited to find some gluten-free vegan sausage, and I’ve also discovered that Tofu Pups are apparently gluten-free: http://www.bookofyum.com/blog/gluten-free-veggie-burger-reviews-576.html. I need to check to make sure this information is still accurate. But yeah, that would make things a lot easier.
Going gluten-free is like going vegan again, discovering all the products I can find to replace my previous diet. I’m finally looking at all of my food choices and how they effect my body. As far as I know there’s no one writing about the vegan IBS experience so maybe I’ve found my niche. We’ll see. I’m just glad I’m finally being pro-active.
