the hot seat… part i

Why did you stop eating gluten?

Because my body hated it. Okay in reality, I was having a lot of G.I. issues for a while (think 1-2 years), but kind of thought it was “normal” since it was happening all the time. I was feeling bloated all. the. time. I was tired, had migraines every day, and was a big whole mess. Then in November of 2009, I started writing down what I was eating and how I felt every day. One day when I ate a turkey sandwich (the last one of my life), I thought I was going to die my stomach hurt so bad. Eventually I went to my natural care doctor who did Nutrition Response testing on me, ruled gluten out of my diet. 

No, I did not ever get the blood test done to rule out if I am actually celiac or not because every time I eat gluten, I hate my life – eating it for 2-3 weeks would make me a horrible person.

What are your favorite gluten free brands?

When I first went gluten free, I used a lot of prepackaged gluten free foods as a crutch to get used to my new lifestyle. However, I don’t really eat too many prepackaged foods anymore. One of my all time favorite gluten free lines comes from Bob’s Red Mill. They have awesome flours and products for people who have gluten intolerances/celiac. I use their all purpose flour about 90% of the time when I bake, and I could not live without their gluten free oats.

Another brand I really like is Crunchmaster. I buy their multi-grain crackers in bulk from Costco and sit in my closet eating them when no one is around. Okay, that’s a lie, but I really do go through a lot of them. They’re great to dip in hummus or salsa, and I regularly bring them along to Mexican restaurants so I can still have the “chips and salsa” appetizer.

Before I started making my “own” pancakes, I used to buy Pamela’s pancake mix – they are to this day the Husband’s favorite pancakes, gluten free or not!

Why don’t you blog all of your food on a daily basis?

Because I’m lazy.

Okay, that among many other reasons. For one, I couldn’t imagine being able to come up with fun things to say every day about my eats.

Two, I tend to eat the same kinds of things over and over and over again. I’m a creature of habit. Oatmeal for breakfast? Salad for lunch? Some kind of concoction I’m trying to force feed the Husband? Doesn’t sound like too much fun.

Three, I’m lazy. Oh, I already said that.

roasted pesto potatoes 

Four, I would never want anyone to feel like they have to judge what they are eating against what I am eating. Although, if you haven’t eaten those pesto potatoes yet, I will judge you. Hard core.

We all are different, have a particular palette, and enjoy different foods. I would never want anyone to feel bad based on what I was eating on a daily basis. Although, I’m pretty sure you’d end up feeling bad for me – it’s kind of boring.

If you are really interested in the foods that I eat, you should take a peek at my millions of What I Ate Wednesday posts!

Do you have any dog training tips?

Sure – tip #1: train your husband first.

Once again, insert the sarcasm (maybe not…) into the above statement.

I am a firm believer in basically everything the Dog Whisperer says – being the pack leader, showing authority over the dog, etc. I’m also a lover though, and Charlie is my baby. He gets a lot of love, but some nice firm discipline.

Charlie does not run the show when I am around – although, it is definitely a different story when the Husband is around. Apparently, I’m going to be the bad cop parent someday. Ugh. Must be nice to be a pushover (and I mean that in the most loving, affectionate way possible).

I would definitely take any dog to at least some kind of training program. We only did the puppy class, but even just those 6 weeks was a good introduction for Charlie’s parents (me!) so we knew how to train him and control him. Obviously we still have some work to do because he still jumps like crazy. We were lucky to have an even-tempered, fun loving puppy to work with though!

Did you adjust your diet to help control your hypothyroidism?

In a sense, not at all. When I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, I already ate really well. I have so many restrictions with the dairy, gluten, and corn (not to mention being a vegetarian!).

The “hypothyroidism diet” would be just one more restriction for me to worry about. However, I have read that people who have thyroid conditions should not eat an excessive amount of soy and should try to eat foods that are high in iodine.

I already watch my soy consumption, and only eat soy when I eat tofu (organic, non-gmo, sprouted), which is really only 1-2 times every few weeks. As for iodine, it naturally occurs in saltier foods” – like salt (duh) and sea plants. I guess that means I should be eating more sushi!

Question: What other questions would you like me to answer?

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