A bit of Normal and a bit of Gluten-free.

Hello all!
I can't believe it is Friday once again! The weeks just seem to whiz by lately!


Today I thought to share some information on being wheat and gluten intolerant. So if you think you may be one or both, please read the whole post. If you are not interested in that bit, just read the part that says "the normal bit" and skip the "the gluten bit".

The Normal bit
Enjoyed some baking with the kids. They wanted to make monster cupcakes. So I used little zip lock bags for the different colored icing. First I snipped about half a centimeter off one of the corners and  then pushed a piping bag nozzle into the corner tightly and then scooped the icing into them, zipped it close, and it was ready to use! I don't recommend filling it too much (you can see the yellow bag in the photo was filled too much and when I squeezed it, the nozzle shot off at lightning speed and I ended up with icing all over the place!) The bag in the front is filled to the right amount. Use your thumb to gently squeeze the icing into the nozzle while twisting the bag round and round to avoid it bursting out the zip lock!

Or just use a normal piping bag! ha ha. I didn't have one (was ripped) so I came up with this idea.
By the way another cool idea I saw on TV was to roll your icing in a piece of plastic to form like a sausage, twist both ends of the plastic. Snip one end and then put that into your normal piping bag-then you can just throw away the used plastic afterwards and your normal piping bag stays nice and clean.

I also attempted to make a little house...was just playing around..

 My daughter's cute monster cupcake

 My one...

 And my son's are there too...

The Gluten bit
More baking this week...
My first gluten-free bread.
I am wheat and gluten intolerant. I don't eat bread, rolls, pizza and while I can handle the occoasional muffin, cup cake, piece of cake and pasta, I try and avoid it all together. I also cannot eat any wheat based cereal or anything with oats as oats contain gluten. I am used to it as I have been this way ever since I was a child. Although as a child we didn't know I was suffering with an intolerance, it was only later on, after I had my first child and in desperation to shed all the extra weight I had picked up with my pregnancy, I cut out wheat altogether.  Well not only did the weight just drop off, but I felt the most healthy and energetic I had ever felt. No more lathargy, listlissness, no more headaches and constipation and bloating.

I realized there must be a connection.

Going back further than my first child, I had started to eat differently as well, trying to stay off bread as I realized it did not agree with me.
So began a whole new way of eating for me. It has been about 15 years now of cutting out bread and 12 years of not eating wheat. The gluten part I only realized about 3 years ago, when for two weeks I ate cooked oats every morning only to suffer for about 3 weeks afterwards! I realized it must be the gluten in the oats as it was the only thing at the time I was eating differently.

I can eat small amounts, like a muffin or a piece of cake, but not on a daily basis. Pasta is fine too if I only eat it once a week, although I try and use gluten free pasta (maize pasta). I stay clear of all bread and rolls though as they are the worst for me and cereals and muesli with oats in.

I am so used to it now, it doesn't bother me anymore nor is it something I even think about. I eat a lot of yogurt and fruit, I stick to maize based products like maize cracker bread, rice based products too and of course I can eat any fruit, veggies and meat.

I am not a fan of rye products at all. I don't enjoy the taste nor the texture. (and rye contains gluten!)
I cannot tell you how many wheat-free or gluten-free breads I have tried over the years, and have never enjoyed any of them. They never had the right texture or taste. Always heavy, stodgy, doughy and left me feeling heavy. Bread is a wonderful thing-soft, light and fluffy...(the stuff of my dreams!)

I made this gluten free bread and was very pleasantly surprised. It was easy to make (like a cake mixture) no kneading involved, just mix and pour into a loaf tin and cook for 45 min.

It is dark, but so light! Slightly crumbly, but altogether a pleasant texture and taste. I found it didn't toast well but I enjoyed it with peanut butter and even later on some ham.

If you suffer from any or a combination of the following I urge you to simply start cutting out wheat/gluten based products from your diet and see how you feel:  abdominal bloating, excessive flatulence, constipation, depression, a general loss of well-being, fatigue, breathlessness, weight loss or weight gain, anemia, excessive flatulence.

Most people who are wheat or gluten intolerant do not even realize they are or that there is something you can do about it without it being a costly and life-changing thing. These days there are so many gluten-free substitutes that you can still eat as normally as possible. Sometimes along with being gluten intolerant comes being wheat intolerant. Normally they go together, as in my case. Fortunately an intolerance is much better than an allergy and can be controlled simply by watching what you eat.

I can still eat crisps, pasta and the odd croissant for example but let me do that two days in a row or even every day for a week and I pay the price for weeks to come! If you notice that after eating anything with wheat or gluten in, that within 15 minutes you are bloated, feeling tired, sluggish, get a headache, you are probably intolerant.

If you would like any more information or tips and advice on what to eat/substitutes, feel free to email me.
Here is also a great article to read .

Have a great weekend!