Favorite Gluten Free Recipes

I’ve been very neglectful of my blog lately. Unfortunately, when I get busy, it’s one of the first things to slip. Just a lot of things going on, not the least of which is learning to live gluten free. (It has made a huge difference in my health and quality of life, by the way.) It’s been a challenge, but also fun at times. My mom and I have been doing so much baking and making things we would otherwise have bought at the store. I don’t know what we’d do if we did not have the internet. There are so many great recipes, so I decided to share a couple of our favorites we’ve discovered in the last few weeks.

Best Blueberry Muffins

Source: artofglutenfreebaking.com via Molly on Pinterest

These muffins are AMAZING, and that is coming from someone who LOVES muffins. I was so sad to think I’d never get to enjoy my favorite muffins again, but these definitely cheered me up. They are probably the best muffins I’ve ever made, GF or not. I didn't take time to make the jam for the top, and I just used frozen blueberries, but they tasted delicious anyway. 




Hamburger Buns

Source: artofglutenfreebaking.com via Molly on Pinterest

This recipe comes from the same lady as the muffins. (She has amazing GF recipes!) I love a good cheeseburger and needed to find some good buns to go with it. A lot of GF bread is dry or too dense, but these buns are wonderfully soft just like they should be.  






Focaccia Bread

Source: glutenfreehomemaker.com via Molly on Pinterest

 These were the first hamburger buns we tried. I thought they were too dense and not soft enough for hamburgers, but for sandwiches they are excellent. They have a wonderful taste and smell divine when you’re mixing up the dough/batter and baking them. A very tasty and simple recipe, especially if you were to add some spices.





These are just a couple of the recipes. There are many more we plan to try. We have a few birthdays coming up so I’ll be looking for good cake and pizza recipes, and I'll be sure to share what I find. :)

Gluten Stole My Ambition

It’s been a while. My strange post title is part of the reason. About a month ago I discovered that I have celiac disease. I can’t have anything containing gluten. Ever. That’s something that takes a long time to wrap your mind around. You would not believe how many things contain gluten besides bread and baked goods. It hides everywhere! It’s pretty overwhelming when you realize you’ll never be able to have an Oreo cookie again, or buy your favorite birthday cake, or bake anything normally. And I can’t just have a taste here and there. Nope. Even the smallest, invisible trace of gluten will make me sick (I’ve already experienced this). And it’s not just an annoying allergy. Gluten actually damages my small intestines, so it’s basically poison to me. Crazy, huh?

However, once I got past the mindboggling ramifications of going gluten free for the rest of my life, I was glad to know I had celiac. The thing is, I’ve been sick for almost three years. I suddenly got really nauseated one day, and it pretty much never went away. I had good days, but never felt normal. At one point, it got so bad that almost all I ate was crackers (which I now realize were just poisoning my body) and was down to 95 lbs. It was a scary time, and no one could tell me what was wrong! All my blood tests showed I was perfectly healthy. I eventually started eating more again, but the symptoms just wouldn’t go away. Then, last summer, I began struggling with depression. It lasted through the fall, winter, and early this spring. I’d completely lost all creativity and ambition, and even felt like I’d lost the ability to write! Now there’s a depressing thing for a writer. I was tired all the time no matter how much sleep I got. I attributed it to Seasonal Affective Disorder (which I get in the winter), but it didn’t go away with springtime and longer days.

Finally, and I think this was God stepping in after months of desperate prayer, I looked into celiac disease a little over a month ago. After reading through this page of symptoms, I knew that’s what I had. I found symptoms on there I never would have connected to my stomach issues, but it all started to make sense. I’ve been gluten free for four weeks now, and I’m noticing a huge difference. I don’t remember the last time I felt so healthy. My stomach problems have begun to disappear, as well as other symptoms, particularly symptoms I always thought were just bad allergies. And I’m even more sure gluten is bad for me after accidently glutening myself last week. I went from feeling amazing to being tired, depressed, and more stomach problems within a day. I’m finally now starting to feel better again.

So, now I have an answer to all those months of inactivity and lack of ambition. Never want to go through that again. I may mourn the loss of many of my favorite foods, but none of them are worth feeling sick all the time. My ambition is finally coming back. The problem now is how out of practice I am in my writing. It’s been a struggle to really get back into it again, but I’ll keep working. I’m sure it will get easier and easier to get back to normal the longer my body has to heal. It’s been a lot to take in and learn, and I’ve still got a long way to go, but I am so thankful to finally have answers and understand what’s been going on. It’s definitely something God has used to teach me patience and trust.