To be, or not to be....

So, after much thought, research, and psyching up (I mean, REALLY psyching up), I decided to put my money where my mouth is and spent the past two weeks avoiding any foods with wheat - gluten, specifically. Why?  I won't go into the gory details...but suffice it to say, there are two symptoms that I can't overlook any more:  headaches and, putting it mildly, stomachaches.  Two very prevalent symptoms associated with a wheat sensitivity.  My dad says he suffers from it - my mom has thrown it around...I know it's a familial thing, so it just made sense.

So, the verdict?

I believe there is no "gluten-free" (specialty cereal billed as such in the natural foods section) cereal that is palatable.  I've not found any bread that tastes of anything other than plain ol' paper, AND I'm pretty sure the gluten-free pretzels I tried will last 100 years and never go bad.  HOWEVER, there were plenty of things I could have in lieu of all the bread, pretzels & crackers that have been staples in my diet.  Fruit!  Strawberries, grapes, oranges, clementines, kiwis, grapefruit, apples... Veggies!  Baby carrots, celery, grape tomatoes, red & green peppers... I found granola bars that were pretty good (Cliff Crunch), fresh popped popcorn (not microwave!), peanuts, almonds...the list could go on.  Instead of focusing on "giving up", I found I looked forward all the other great things I could have.  It's also been much easier than I thought - which has been the case with most of the food-experimentation I've done (but I did cheat a little and had some pizza twice...).

Long story short, while I don't believe I need to be very strict, I'll be avoiding wheat for the most part.  There have been no headaches OR stomachaches during my trial except after the second night I had pizza (argh!).  I suppose great tasting gluten-free pizza will be my next quest...but until then, here's a great wheat-free soup that I adapted from Canyon Ranch's cookbook "Nourish":

Tortilla Soup
Makes 8

8 cups chicken broth
Juice of 2 limes
4 skinless chicken thighs, cooked and chopped
3 med-small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3/4 cup chopped red onions
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup minced jalapeno peppers - no seeds or white parts unless you want to add heat!
Salt, to taste
Shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
Tortilla chips
1/2 avocado, chopped**


Bring the chicken broth and lime juice to a boil, then lower to medium heat.
Add the chicken, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, jalapenos & salt to the broth and stir to combine.  Once the ingredients have heated through, ladle into a serving bowl and top with 1/4 cup shredded cheese, 4-5 tortilla chips, and 1/4 chopped avocados.

Hope you enjoy!
 
**Did you know that when you prep avocado, whether it's chopping or mashing for guacamole, if you keep the pit and leave it with the avocado you'll prevent the avocado from turning brown?  It really works!