First Post

Okay I must start by thanking a few folks. First I must thank my friend Michelle for turning us on to the gluten free world and for being a sounding board and food resource. Without you we would still be taking medication and would still be sick. I would also like to thank Clara for the idea to blog our journey and for making my blog look so cute. Thank you ladies, please know that you are valued.
Now that I have that off my chest I want to say that, until we realized that my hubby's stomach problems were not IBS or food poison or a medical condition we were not healthy eaters. I disliked cooking and we ate out 2 or 3 times a week. Veggies were not part of our meals. For me it was not that I did not like them (I love Veggies) it's that I just liked the yucky foods better. Where my hubby would not even touch a green veggie, ever..... Once our first daughter was born, almost five years ago, I tried to cook more but the menu was boring and I did not know how to use spices to make the food taste better. (sad because my mom is a really good cook) Hubby started grilling our meats but we still ate pasta and bread with every meal and hubby would be sick every single night. We would have spaghetti with french bread and sure enough he'd be sick for days. On the days he did not eat, due to work, he'd feel so much better. Other then being hungry that is :) He got to the point that he just stopped eating dinners. He'd sit with us and there would be food on his plate but, he just could not bring himself to eat the foods that he loved because, he knew, they would make him sick. We blamed the meats, the sauces, the spices and he took medications, because who ever heard of anyone getting sick eating pasta and bread, seriously? Well now we know, since eliminating Gluten from his diet, there has been a 180 degree difference. Everything changed. Energy levels went up, stomach aches went away (as long as he did not eat gluten), skin looked healthier and he lost all his belly fat. (not that it was alot but, with heart disease in the family, keeping his weight in check is important)
Just short of being diagnosed by a Doctor, are so very sure Hubby has Celiac, he had every symptom and had had them for the last 10 years. Test after test taken, an unnecessary and costly appendectomy, many doctors appointments and medicines taken, all wasted. If only he had one doctor suggest a food allergy. Well again now we know. Since the first part of January 2010, we as family have made a huge food change in our life. Hubby is 100 percent Gluten free and I try not to eat it in front of him and I try to limit my intake. The kids are a little harder to switch over but our younger daughter likes most g-free foods, where our eldest does not. We do our best where they are concerned. It's really sweet when our 3 year old asks if something is gluten free and knows that it would or would not be okay for her daddy to eat. I hope that with my blogs I can shed a little light on the struggles and fun that making such a profound change can have on a very average family. Here we go.......