Becoming Gluten-Free Gabo: A Daily Struggle

I feel very tired today and my body hurts. I also feel a bit sad and I could easily cry. My stomach is bloated too.

If you are around me often, you know that this is not an unusual thing with me. You see, my body is sensitive to gluten and this is how it reacts to it (kinda like having a gluten hangover).

I wasn't aware of my body's intolerance to gluten until last Spring, so for a couple years before that I was constantly sick and didn't know what was causing it. The worst part was that my partner at the time didn't believe I was sick -- he thought I was making it up!

It is hard to justify a sickness to someone else when there are no visible signs or (apparent) logical explanation. So for a while I felt isolated and misunderstood for I didn't know how to explain what I was experiencing or what was causing it.

But in the midst of desperation caused by the debilitating symptoms, I ended up reading about the possibility of being gluten sensitive, even if one wasn't fully allergic to gluten (i.e. celiac disease). So I experimented for a week by not eating gluten, which included not eating my favorite snack: Stacy's Pita Chips :( but wow, I was surprised by how great I felt that week! Since then I've been transitioning to a gluten-free diet, but most of the time it is still a struggle.

It's a relief to know what is causing my body and mind to feel this way. And yes, I could get rid of these feelings by not eating gluten but, you see, it's not that simple. This is my daily struggle. And sometimes if I don't plan in advance or if I have no other option when eating out, I end up eating gluten-full meals (basically anything that contains wheat and some other grains).

Besides, I'm still learning how to eat a balanced gluten-free diet. Not eating wheat based products means that I'm not consuming enough of certain nutrients, like fiber, iron and vitamin B. And so far I haven't been too good at taking care of that. It's a struggle, especially being in grad school and working part time -- I don't have time to worry about all this shit. But I know I can and will overcome it.

So today as my body hurts and I feel weak, both physically and mentally, I know it is not because I'm crazy or lazy or I'm making it up. Most importantly, I do not have to justify my symptoms to anyone. This is fucking how I feel and if you are not willing to believe me then I don't need you in my life.

In other news, I'm getting my first tattoo today :)

Bailey's Meatloaf

I made up my own recipe for meatloaf tonight and it tastes delicious! So I thought I should write it down so i dont forget. I named it Bailey's Meatloaf because my friend Bailey was here while I made it and he gave good suggetions! Thanks man!

Ingredients:
1 lbs. ground beef
1 green bellpeper
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
some cooked white rice with corn (i put as much as i had in the fridge :P)
2 eggs slightly beaten
Enough sweet bbq sauce

Preheat oven to 400° F. Mix all ingredients together (except for bbq sauce) and spread on casserole dish. Cover with a layer of sweet bbq sauce. Bake for 20mins or until meat is cooked.

Yay, I've never written a recipe before! So exciting haha... :)

Apple Cider BBQ Sauce!

Yes, ladies an gentlemen... today, in my first attempt to making my own BBQ Sauce, I created this delicious thing that tastes just like apple cider but is made with a base of tomato sauce! Ok, dont make "yucky" faces, 'cause you have to try it to be able to judge it! And c'mon, I dont have bad taste in food... so you can trust me when I say it was ~pretty tasty~

The ingredients are the following: 1 cup of tomato sauce, 1/2 cup of tomato paste, 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar (hence the flavor!), some no-calorie sugar, lots of cinnamon!!!, a bit of garlic salt, and a bit of paprika (i'm not sure how much the paprika added to the flavor, but it def didnt make it worst hehe)

So there you go, pretty simple sauce and great flavor!

I thought it was a good idea to start blogging with this story because it touches on a topic that has become very relevant at this point in my life: cooking and eating healthy!

Thinking back to my years as an undergraduate (2005 - 2008) I dont think there were many days in which I ate three meals a day, especially since I was "afraid" of cooking! Not only did I eat in such a random schedule, but I also ate very unhealthy. Unlike what you might believe, eating baby cereal (i.e. Nestum) isnt recommended for a 20-something!!

In consequence, I got very sick in my last semester in school which ended up with a surgery to remove my gallbladder last year. Then, once I started taking medicine and eating more regularly: I gained a lot of weight ('cause I was still very unactive). This made me feel very unhealthy and I knew that I was walking into dangerous spaces... Finally after seeing what an extremely poor diet can do to you, I started being more physically active and more importantly: I became more conscious about what I ate.

Last weekend I got really excited to notice that I have lost around 10 pounds in the last 3 or 4 months. On one hand this is a result of me being more active (walking around 25 to 60 minutes a day). On the other hand, I achieved this, not by following any diet, but by becoming more conscious of my calorie in-take--I've tried to make sure that I burn more calories than I eat.

Choosing to eat and live healthier has finally forced me to cook! I swear at some point I was afraid of cooking and messing things up! But since I have had no other alternative I have at last started cooking, with a little apprehension at first, but to be honest now I love it! The idea of "creating" my own food fascinates me, plus it makes me feel really accomplished when it actually tastes good (which surprisingly is very often).

Basically, what I learned is that eating/living healthier is not impossible, but it requires determination from your part. I'm sure I'll be sharing more food-related stories in the future. For now I hope that I at least inspired you to start taking active care of yourself.

If you wanna learn more: the US Govt has a really good website that explains, in a very simple manner, how to eat a balanced diet that would help you reach your goals (whether it is to maintain, loose or gain weight). Check it out:

http://www.mypyramid.gov/STEPS/stepstoahealthierweight.html