Ode to Gluten!!

So I have been paying my dues this past week, since indulging in all things Wheat and Gluten over the Christmas Holidays: cookies, bars, cakes; those cute little Hors D' Oeuvres that you know always contain some sort of wheat gluten, Chinese Take-Out, especially all of those flour-coated, deep fried nuggets like sweet and sour pork balls and shredded ginger beef - I even had to have the Fortune Cookies, yup - I know. I ate buttery, flaky croissants for breakfast and fully loaded Pizza for lunch. Not to mention all of the sugar content - wine and beer and spirits - Oh my!! I feel like I need a full body transplant...

Because I have Fibromyalgia, I have to be careful with anything that causes inflammation, or I go into a full fledged flare. I am usually pretty good and carry a strict rule about staying away from my trigger foods. But this Christmas, for some reason, I revisited my somewhat rebellious teen years and just went for it. Ok my friends, now my disregard of simply 'staying away' from junk has sent my hips, shoulders and back into a frenzy and are screaming at me to go back on my diet.

I am considering starting a cleanse tomorrow to help purge all things gluten once and for all...maybe I should just stop eating altogether...? Note to self: this destructive behaviour has sent you back to square one...but trying to still be kind to myself I remind myself that I can once again be 'good' and get back into that healthful state and be Fibro Symptom Free...

On a positive note, today I visited my friend Jeanine's (The Baking Beauties) web-site to ponder a good recipe for Gluten Free bread, thinking I can at least enjoy a slice toasted tomorrow morning loaded with coconut oil and home made wild blackberry jam - its a start anyway.

I must tell you, I have been a sceptic - not about Jeanine's recipes, but of Gluten Free bread itself - you know the kind you buy for $8 a loaf at the grocery store? I buy all of my bread from an organic bakery and stick with the varieties that are not made with wheat - such as Kamut, Quinoa and Spelt breads. I love these dense, pumpernickel style breads eaten the European way with butter and deli meat or a thick slab of goat or sheep's Gouda. But I admit, I do crave that fluffy light sandwich bread fresh from the oven with some butter and jam. So I perused Jeanine's site and decided to make the Gluten Free Sandwich Bread she had listed under her 'breads' recipe section.

Remember I said I was a sceptic...? Well the ingredients were a cinch to assemble and once I got the loaf into the oven to bake, the whole house was soon filled with the sweet aroma of yeast bread and 40 minutes later I was indulging  in a little slice of heaven!

Jeanine's recipe calls for brown rice flour, tapioca and potato starch and flax meal. I added millet, chia seeds and sesame seeds to increase the fiber content. It rose a good amount (although I should have used a smaller loaf pan - next time) the outer crust is crusty - and the inside fabulously fluffy! My goodness I am in a bread stupor! Thank you so much for your amazing recipe Jeanine! All of Jeanine's fabulous GF recipes can be found HERE.

So I bid thee goodbye Oh evil gluten, I will NOT miss thee now or tomorrow or the next day...I have found my new vice!