I haven't talked much about my weight loss journey, but since it's the season of over-indulgence, I thought I'd share. I was always on the heavy side and decided a couple of years ago that I wanted to be thinner. It was a warm day in late April in 2009, my shorts from the year before were too tight, and my family had joined a neighborhood pool that was set to open in 6-weeks' time. I finally felt like I had had enough and I was ready to do the work to change things.

Like everyone, I had barriers to eating better and exercising more. I have been a vegetarian for a long time, but I was eating lots of cheese and milk and ice cream, so my main approach was to cut out full-fat dairy, cut out snacking, reduce portion size, and start walking. I decided that walking could be sustainable, and that I probably wouldn't be able to keep up with something strenuous or unpleasant. I work full-time, and the only time I had to walk was very early in the morning, while my partner and two kids were still asleep. After a few days of walking and dieting, I felt like I was starving and went on-line looking for motivation to stick with it. I found a great site called PEERtrainer, which has a lot of great articles about changing one's approach to eating (not just about dieting). I got exposed to and began following the Eat to Live approach put forth by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. Eat to Live is heavy into high nutrient foods, especially green leafies, and low in animal products and refined carbs like breads. There is no calorie counting; you can eat all the fruits and vegetables and legumes that you want. I also joined some small on-line groups and teams through PEERtrainer, began logging my meals and exercise, and generally found accountability and support. I lost 30 pounds in 6 months, getting down to my goal weight of 125.

Through one of my groups I learned about a website call "Couch to 5K" and decided to give running a try, since I felt like the long walks early in the morning were taking too long, and maybe I could get the same or more benefit if I went faster. Lo and behold, I found I actually LIKED it! I'm still doing it, running 3.75 miles 5 days a week, sometimes longer or more often, so I guess it's pretty sustainable. I also joined a VERY inexpensive gym -- $10 a month -- so that when the weather is too cold or yucky, I can do a circuit workout or treadmill there.  And my other other back-up for days that I can't run and can't get myself to the gym are workouts at home. We have the Wii, so I do Wii Fit Plus or EA Sports Active workouts OR I do workouts that are in the On Demand section of our cable subscription. Some days I do really hard ones, like Jillian Michaels. Other days I do much gentler ones, like the walking series by Leslie Sansone. I try not to let myself off the exercise hook very often. It's so much easier for me to stick to the routine than to go day-by-day.

I got the celiac diagnosis a year ago and have gained back 12 pounds. Part of it is likely a function of a healed gut. The other part is that I'm eating more refined carbs. I think it's the psychology of deprivation. Since I can't eat most of the refined carbs in the world, when one crosses my path that I CAN eat, I have a hard time saying no. The good news is that Eat to Live is VERY compatible with a GF diet. I also slacked off on the frequency and intensity of my workouts. I just need to get refocused on why I want to be thinner and return to doing what works. In some ways it's a hard time of year, since there are so many temptations. But in some ways it's easier for me because I know the temptations are everywhere and I can have my healthy eating plan ready to implement when temptation crosses my path.

I hope you'll check out the links above for extra ideas and motivation. I couldn't have lost the original 30 without them, and groups like this one and the ones I mentioned will be key to my re-losing the 12.  Oh, and none of them cost me any money. They all do seem to have something to sell, but I used nothing but free content at the websites and got books from the library. (I did buy the EA Sports active for wii, but my kids use it too!)

I recently made the following post to the Celiac listserv. (I highly recommend you join if you have Celiac -- it's a great forum. Go here to learn how):

Hi all. In the last two months I have gotten a crazy itchy rash on my neck like I've never had before. It doesn't look too bad (thank goodness!) though it is a little red and blotchy. I've tried topical hydrocortisone and topical and oral benadryl. Nothing seems to help immediately. Each time the rash has subsided after a couple of days, though it has never gone back to completely normal. My web search didn't yield anything particularly helpful, though it doesn't look like DH at all, and I've been on a strict GF diet for more than a year. I know it could be stress, it could be something new I've introduced to my environment. I know auto-immune disorders run in packs and I just thought I'd throw it out there to see if any of you have ideas before I start making appointments for medical intervention.

I got 31 responses from currrently or previously itchy people, which tells me at least 2 things: 1) there are a lot of itchy celiacs out there, and b) there are some very helpful itchy (or previously itchy) celiacs out there. The suggestions broke down into three sorts of catagories:

I. External environment: Something I wore, shampoo I used, new detergent, something like that. Could have been that fuzzy neck pillow duck I borrowed from my younger son on my trip to Albuquerque last month.

II. Something I ate not related to gluten: perhaps a sensitivity to soy, corn, sugar, dairy. My guess would be soy -- I ate edamame before my last two airplane trips when this happened, and a big dinner of broccoli, yellow peppers and tofu the day before my current round of itchiness.

III. Some sort of gluten contamination that caused Dermatitis Herpetiformis, that special skin condition reserved just for us celiacs, or celiac-related malabsorption of B vitamins, causing a scary looking condition called pellagra. Gosh, I hope it's not either of these! I did run afoul of some gluten on the plane on the way back from Phoenix earlier in the month, but I was already rashy by then, and otherwise I have been quite strict.

Here are some remedies and suggestions for dealing with it:
^Use pure aloe on top of hydrocortisone to treat the rash (done)
^Shampoo with Head & Shoulders (done) or use athlete's foot ointment on the rash
^Switch to hypoallergenic shampoos, lotions, etc. (before or after I finish a regimen with Head & Shoulders?)
^Try Sarna cream
^Keep irritants off my neck as much as possible until it completely clears up
^Try to isolate a dietary cause (I'm thinking soy, so I will not have any more until the rash is completely gone, then will monitor when I reintroduce it)
^Eat buckwheat for B vitamins (had it for breakfast) and nutritional yeast
^Take flaxseed oil (ate flaxseed at breakfast with my buckwheat, will have to get some oil)
^Go to a dermatologist, though LOTS of people who responded got nothing useful from their dermatologists and stumbled across a cure on their own.

If you are an itchy celiac, know that you are not alone! Like I tell my kids -- don't scratch, it only makes it worse! I'm developing a LOT of empathy for people who get rashes.

I've been a vegetarian for many years. When I got the Celiac diagnosis, the only real change to my holiday fare was to exclude Tofurkey, which many omnivores think is a terrible idea anyway, and modify my other recipes. Lots of people are thinking about this right now, so I'm sharing my menu and some other ideas that might inspire you. Plenty of recipes live on-line that you can search and find. If I've got a good one, I'll share the link. If you've got one, share it with me and I'll tell everyone else!

Menu:
Baked acorn squash, stuffed with rice lentil pilaf with chopped nuts, dates and bits of tofu
GF green bean casserole
Oven roasted root vegetables
Cranberry sauce (homemade by my co-worker TL)
Store-bought GF rolls, warmed in the oven
Impossibly Easy Sweet Potato Pie
Apple crisp (crisp part made with GF flour)

My family will be eating Tofurkey with gravy and Pillsbury crescent rolls, but otherwise, we're all eating the same thing. The most important thing is to stay healthy, enjoy the company, and be thankful!

My mom passed away in 1988 when I was at the tender age of 24. Some of my most vivid and happy memories of family gatherings and parties and dinners include this soup. The smell and the taste of it take me back quicker that anything. I thought the recipe was lost forever, but it turns out that it lived on in my sister-in-law's recipe box. It's delicious! In the photo below you can see my sister-in-law's copy which I've typed up here, and I've noted modifications to make it vegan, still very tasty, and leave the carrots with a little structure.

Sylvia's Split Pea Soup

1 package of split peas
3 boullion cubes (I use gluten-free and vegetarian G Washington's Seasoning and Broth packets, but you could replace some of the water with GF veggie broth too)
4 cups of water
1 onion, diced
3 stalks of celery and tops
1 large clove of garlic, or 1/8 tsp of garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp salt, and seasoning salt to taste
5 whole pepper corns
6 whole allspice
1 bay leaf
2-3 drops of gluten-free liquid smoke (if you aren't using meat)
Gluten-free ham or ham bone (optional)

Bring peas and boullion to a boil in a large soup pot. Add ham or ham bone (if you must) to the boiling water and add remaining ingredients. Simmer for an hour and a half, stirring frequently. As soup thickens, continue adding water to desired consistency. I added a full four cups of additional water to the peas the last time I made this.

My modifications to mom's recipe: Saute the onions and garlic in the bottom of the soup pot in a little olive oil for a few minutes before adding water and peas. Add all the ingredients except the carrots; after the soup has simmered for 45 minutes or an hour add the carrots so that they retain some personality.

Enjoy!

There are TONS of great websites with GF recipes. I like to cook, but I've got a handful of my favorites that I go to again and again and they please me very much. Sometimes I go on-line to find a new recipe that fits the ingredients I have in my house, and a new favorite is born. Such was the case when my India-born boss gave me my first bag of red lentils. I found a terrific recipe for Spicy Red Lentil and Kale stew which I've modified enough that I can call it my own, so I'll share it in a future post. For now though, I'm sharing my completely made-up recipe I've cleverly named Spicy Edamame Black Bean Roasted Corn Tomato Salad because of a FaceBook conversation about ideas for cold lunches for school.

Bag of frozen shelled edamame
Can of black beans, drained and rinsed
Cup of Trader Joe's Frozen Roasted Corn (or regular frozen corn, if that's what you have around)
Can of Rotel Lime and Cilantro Diced tomatoes with juice (or a can of regular diced tomatoes, but you'll probably want to throw in a small can of green chilis too to make it more interesting and to live up to the "spicy" claim)
Tbsp of Olive Oil
Salt and pepper (I use cayenne) to taste

Boil and drain the edamame. Combine with all of the other ingredients. Eat.

It really is better with the Rotel tomatoes and the roasted corn. When I've made it with the substitutions, I keep adding more and more salt and pepper, and it never quite gets there. If you are a better cook than me, I'm sure you will have some ideas! Feel free to share in the comments. I've also thrown in other ingredients, like cauliflower and broccoli and used pinto or kidney or garbanzo beans instead of black. Its advantages are that it makes enough for multiple meals, has enough interest to be a lunch I look forward to, it's fast to make, and it's healthy.

I'm traveling for work and thought I'd demonstrate my approach to happy GF traveling. Go here to see it:

http://www.youtube.com/user/clairebakerOK#p/a/u/1/Heu3xsldmWE

Then come back and tell me your travel tips (or any on-camera tips, like make sure you aren't standing near a mirror so that everyone can see that you are shooting the vid yourself on your iPhone...)

I work at a place where celebrations are fairly common-place. And the celebrations usually involve food. There are birthdays and wedding and baby showers and retirement parties and congratulations on your new job parties, and Yay that project went well and now it’s over parties and staff potlucks and holiday festivities and more. We are always celebrating something. And mostly I just know that I will have a cup of tea and remind myself that my pants will thank me later for not making them fit tighter.

If I’m really wanting to join in the eat-fest, I break out a gf cookie from my stash in the freezer at work. (I know that not everyone works at a place where there is a freezer that you can stash a dozen cookies, so this may not be a solution for you.) After a number of over-the-top apologies from co-workers about there not being gf desserty food at a celebration, I have empowered them to get one of my cookies and put it on a plate and give it to me to enjoy while others are eating cake. For some reason, this doesn’t sit well. The people I work with are generally very sensitive and caring and really want me to be included, so they go out of their way to get or make gf treats for the party. This usually turns into extra time and money spent on little ol’ me, and I confess that the caretaker in me doesn’t want them to make a fuss. And, the gf stuff is usually IN ADDITION TO the regular food, so there's a lot of it with only me eating it. I end up eating way too much gf cheesecake or some such because I know it’s especially for me and I don't want to be rude. And honestly, I LOVE to eat and I don't have a very good off-switch once I get started.

I recently shared my website with a friend and colleague who reports directly to me who has in fact purchased expensive gf desserts or mixes on my behalf (hi TL!). She suggested I put together a list of “What to make your gluten-free boss for the office party.” Excellent idea! I will list a few ideas here, and expand on them with recipes when I add that page to the website.  My goal here is to note things that are comprised of ingredients that people are likely to have around anyway or are readily available. Before preparing anything, make sure you wipe down your counters (I use Clorox wipes) to make sure any errant crumbs or wheat flour particles don’t accidentally contaminate the gf foods you are taking such pains to make. In terms of planning, wipe or wash down everything that you will use to create the party food and do your gf food prep and wrapping before you start any regular baking. Some folks are very sensitive to even the trace amounts of gluten that might find its way into the gf product by way of flour in the air.

So, here are a handful of ideas for party food made from ingredients that are readily available: Sweets: Custards and puddings; crustless pies; baked fruit with chopped nuts on top; crustless chocolate cake things (I don’t eat chocolate, but I know I'm in the minority!); I've seen plenty of peanut butter cookies that have no flour in them. I just googled up this tasty looking flan. Yum.

Salty/savory snacks: GF Chex mix (regular recipe but leave out the Wheat Chex, sub in GF pretzels and leave out the bagel chips--and I'd use GF tamari sauce since worcestershire sauce isn't a vegetarian product); nuts; peanut chili dip (made with tamari instead of soy sauce) with carrots; tortilla chips and salsa; crudités with hummus and other dips. On the fancier side, one of my colleagues recently brought stuffed endive leaves to a party. I'm not a meat-eater, but I note that people will wrap bacon around anything -- I saw dates, prunes, apricots and more on a quick search.

Leave a comment with your favorite regular ingredient party food ideas!

Got this on a recent visit to a farmers market. Yum!

Thanks to everyone who took a few minutes to answer my survey. I'd love to hear your story too. Take my survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9ZGDJC3

Here are a couple of responses about people's experiences with/relationship to gluten.

"I was dealing with a lot of GI issues, so starting 2 years ago I started making changes to the way I was eating."

"Husband is celiac, I just get crippling migraines."

"I never realized that gluten had such an adverse affect on sufferers of epilepsy- no esteemed doctor ever made me aware of this fact. However, since eliminating gluten from my diet, I have felt a marked improvement in my health and over all well being."

"During an elimination diet, I experienced significant digestion problems and joint pain when I reintroduced wheat and cow dairy products."

"I am somewhere between Celiac and Intolerent. The older I get the worse the intolerence becomes, to the point that I know have developed other auto immune disorders that are a function of digestive side effects."

"I believe in switching up grains, and providing more variety to myself and my family. 'Balance in everything.'"

"I'm also gliaden intolerant."