Change of Diet ~ Entering the World of Wheat Free and Limited Dairy....

*Image courtesy of logo-kid.com

Yes you read the title right!! For various personal reasons our Dr. has suggested that we try a Wheat Free Diet with limited dairy. Now if you know me (or have looked at the amount of recipes I  have under the pasta section!) you'll know that giving up wheat (albeit temporarily) is a b-i-g thing for me. Without doubt one of my favourite things in the world is a big bowl of Spicy Tomato Pasta and as for French Bread.... don't even get me started! However I am more than willing to give this a go so I thought if I'm going to do it I would share my experiences with you.

Now I know going Wheat Free isn't exactly a new thing and for many different reasons millions of people have jumped on the Gluten Free Band Wagon, I just didn't think I would ever be one but here I am! I'm not going to lie, when I initially started doing some research and looked for delicious wheat free recipes that were also limited in dairy it was overwhelming. My moods have been up and down over the past 5 days but I finally think I am getting there.... well to grips with it anyway. I still have a long road ahead and know I will have my cravings but today I am definitely feeling positive about things.

So what have I done? Well for starters, I haven't thrown out every item that has wheat in it. For now it's just been put to one side and instead today I replaced it with some gluten free alternatives. After doing some research I decided to try Corn Pasta rather than the Rice Pasta (which I have had in the past and really didn't like). I have also stocked up in Gluten Free Crackers (which I have yet to try) and lots of super crunchy Rice Crackers which I absolutely love anyway so no issues there. Since toast features heavily in my breakfast routine I've had to come up with some new ideas so today I made a giant batch of Granola* for us as well as some Granola Energy Bars courtesy of Dorie Greenspan's wonderful book Baking Chez Moi. I also have plenty of eggs in the fridge and this morning I had a delicious breakfast of Scrambled Eggs with Spring(Green) Onion, Tomatoes, Chilli and Coriander (Cilantro) with some Avocado on the side. It was delicious and I certainly didn't feel like I was missing out! A lot of Smoothies and Juices are going to be appearing so today I also stocked up with plenty of fruit (including frozen fruit for things that aren't quite in season yet), spinach and kale as well as Pomegranate Juice, Coconut Water and Almond Milk. I also bought some Coconut Yogurt which is another new item for me and yet to be tried (I'll let you know how I find all the new things!).


By coincidence I was about to start reviewing a new book called Everyday Grain-Free Baking by Kelly Smith so I have been scouring every page and bookmarking what recipes I want to try first. The first recipe to be put to the test is Easy Everyday Bread which I am really excited about. I just hope it's good as I know Gluten Free Bread is probably the hardest thing to get right. If it works I'll be pairing it with some Chunky Minestrone Soup for dinner tonight.**

I did spend quite a large sum of money today on my Wheat Free Shopping quest but I am stocked. The biggest expense by far was the Ground Almonds/Almond Flour but I did buy a lot. I also added Coconut Flour and Coconut Sugar to my pantry which are more firsts for me.

So there you go - as of now (well 5 days ago!) I am officially in the Wheat Free Club! I'll try and share some recipes that I make - both my own and ones from other sites and if you are also eating a Wheat/Gluten Free diet then please share some of your favourite recipes with me! It's definitely a big adjustment but I'm excited to see how I feel. In honesty after 5 days I'm definitely feeling less bloated than normal so that's a definite plus! As for now, it's time to make some Wheat Free Bread!



*Although Oats are considered to be Gluten Free they can be contaminated with Wheat products so if you have allergies to Wheat make sure you buy oats that are certified Wheat Free. Some people who are following a strict Wheat Free Diet will eliminate Oats however we have decided not to.

**After writing this post yesterday I made the bread and it was a complete success!! As with most Gluten-Free Breads it is quite heavy so you don't need much but we were both very happily surprised by this. Success!