30 Days Gluten Free!!

I made it through my first thirty days of being gluten free!!

There have definitely been a few challenges so far along the way (and I still have a long way to go to see if this is making any difference for me) but overall it hasn't been too bad. It gets tricky when eating out but thankfully more and more people, restaurants, and companies are becoming more aware of various allergies and intolerances and are willing to make the appropriate accommodations and offer acceptable alternatives.

This bread reminded me of cornbread. The other brand thats good is called Udi's.

Wegmans has a pretty good gluten free section of baking products. There is also an all-purpose baking mix (like bisquick) thats good for pancakes.

if you want to make baked goods from scratch go with Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 baking flour. You won't notice a difference! You can use it just like regular flour.

One handy thing I've learned, is being prepared goes a long way. The internet is a land of wonder in this regard. I can go online and look up just about any restaurant and get detailed nutritional and allergy information about their entire menu. Then I make a list, which I keep in my Notes on my iPhone, as to which restaurants have GF options for me to choose from. So when its Friday night and my husband asks me, "where do you want to go for dinner tonight? what can you eat?" All I have to do is pull up my handy-dandy list and say, "let's go here!"

Don's Wood-fired pizza has a gluten free crust. Only available in this size but you can get whatever toppings you want. Some people don't like it but I do. Its thin and crispy like a cracker.

This is my 5 Guys option...same burger, no bun, and all fresh ingredients! Their fries are GF as well (some aren't so you have to check!) And sometimes, just because a particular item is GF does not exclude it from the possibility of cross-contamination, so you have to check that too if you have a higher sensitivity or allergy.

Even eating at home has its challenges. There's a lot of label reading. And there are some GF things we've tried that my husband is willing to eat and other things, not so much. I have to admit, most GF foods have been just as tasty as the real thing, and some weren't but were still ok to eat, and then a few that even I'm like, not so much...like the french toast failure. I gotta work on that one somehow...

grilled cheese...yes!

french toast...no!

All in all, I'm staying on track and keeping my fingers crossed that it continues to go well.  Hopefully in a few months I can declare that I truly am gluten free as all this poison has worked its way out of my body and I can start to feel like a normal human being.

baked potato, veggies, and fruit!!

crustless quiche!

gf cornbread muffins

sauteed mushrooms as a Thanksgiving side!

Market Burger in Purcellville offers GF buns and fries!

Market Burger

Last weekend we went out to the country to get our Christmas tree as is our annual tradition. I have always had a real tree growing up. To me, its just not the same with a fake tree. Though when we moved into our current house, the previous owners left us a fake tree in the garage. Its not the prettiest thing but it does the trick for decorating the basement. I'm one of those people who likes having a little touch of Christmas in every room of the house whenever possible. I have our real, main tree in the library (always decorated with white lights and a different theme each year), the fake tree in the basement (decorated with colored lights and whatever favorite ornaments I want), and I even have a tiny white tabletop tree decorated with tiny glass balls in the main bathroom!! My husband refuses to let me put any Christmas decorations in the bedroom though...

Pablo gives his approval on the tree!

timber!!

my man lugging the tree up to the barn

But I digress...this post is supposed to be about food right?!  Here it comes...on our way back from getting our lovely fat tree, we stopped in a little town called Purcellville for lunch. There's a little gourmet burger joint there we'd heard about called Market Burger and Fries, right in the center of town.

my real tree...snow is the theme this year

Now as you may know, I've recently started on this gluten-free venture, which can make things difficult when eating out. However, sometimes it just takes a little planning to know where and what you can eat. I had already researched their menu ahead of time and noticed they had the option for gluten free buns.

my fake basement tree...bright funky colors!

Alot of their offerings...meat, veggies, cheese, etc... are from local farms, which is an added bonus. And lo and behold, I was surprised to find out their fries are gluten free also! Some fries are gf and some are not, so its nice to be able to have some that are!! They were the best fries I've had in a long time!

a few of the tables were covered with bottle caps!

We both to get their signature burger, the Market burger...cheddar cheese, bacon, egg, herb mayo, lettuce, and tomato. I got mine with the gf bun, of course, and sans egg.  My official review...4 stars. It was a good burger and a fun atmosphere, However, not as good as Melt, which is a top favorite, and its a bit pricey. Almost $40 for 2 people (and we shared the fries)! Don't regret it, its always nice to splurge a bit and have some good food, and try out a new place. But in the future, when we want a gourmet burger, we'll head to Melt!!

burgers and fries...gf bun has seeds!