Gluten-Free Stuff

Well, it seems that more and more people are going gluten-free these days. It's a bummer to find out you can't eat that little protein found in wheat, barley and rye, but the good news is that there are so many good products out there now. I remember baking Christmas cookies the first year I was diagnosed and bringing them to Christmas Eve at my Grandmother's house. No one ate them. They were totally gross! Thankfully, that is not the case today.

A friend of a friend was asking for some good product info, so I'm just going to list products I know to be good.

Chebe Bread--is totally yummy, although not totally nutritious. It's a cheesy bread roll, crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. We only eat about half of it in a sitting, so we have taken to freezing the uncooked dough and it freezes well. It also makes good pizza crust, calzones, breadsticks, and if you roll it out very thin--cheddar crackers. We order it by the case. www.chebe.com

Bob's Red Mill--they make a few good bread mixes. We regularly make, slice and freeze the Homemade Wonderful GF Bread and the Hearty Whole Grain GF bread. We have also tried the cornbread mix, which is also good. I would not recommend the pancake mix or the all purpose baking mix. They taste bitter to me. The Chocolate chip cookie mix is another one I would not recommend. The dough is difficult to work with and I think the cookies are just too sweet. www.bobsredmill.com. The brownie mix is fantastic. Several people on unrestricted diets have told me they are the best brownies they have had. You can find a lot of these in the natural foods section of the regular grocery store, and the commissary is carrying them now, which is so great!

Pamela's--I buy the Pamela's GF Pancake and Baking mix in the largest bag available. It makes yummy pancakes, waffles and cakes (Pamela's also has mixes specifically for cakes, which are good as well). There are tons of recipes on their website (www.Pamelasproducts.com). You can make just about anything with this mix and everything I have made has turned out beautifully...it's great to have on hand.

Betty Crocker--I love that mainstream companies are going gluten-free also! For sweets, the Betty Crocker mixes are pretty good.

Pasta--Tinkyada is very good and so is Bionaturae. I would not recommend DeBoles.

Kid Update

Matthew is walking! He took his first unassisted step yesterday and will walk if he's holding on to someone's finger. He also has four words now: mama, dada (or daeeee!), hi, and--yesterday--ball! I think I may have heard him say "poo" at an appropriate time a few times, but I'm not sure. When will he say his sister's name?? We are trying to push his bedtime back so that he doesn't wake up so early. We are having some success so far, but the darn creaky floors are a problem. He can clap his hands, and signal when he is all done eating. When Matthew wants something, he reaches for it--both arms outstretched-- and he kicks his feet and says, "Mm, Mm, Mmmmm." It is pretty clear what he would like.

Ashlyn said her first official prayer on Monday. I was having a rotten day and was unbuckling her from her carseat, muttering about how we were running late, and she said, "Mommy, should I pray for you?" After I said yes, she said, "Dear God, please help mommy be nice to mommy." Can you believe that?? Sweet little girl! She knows all her letters and the sounds, with the exception of two or three that she mixes up, and she can count to 12. She also has a few books memorized...it is really cute to watch her read her version of Goodnight Moon or Fancy Nancy.

Choices

It is so hard to be a mom these days. Not that my mother and her generation did not have any struggles, just different ones. I am talking about the sheer amount of choice I am faced with every day in how to spend my time. Finding better, healthier recipes to feed my family, researching toys and activities to provide the most stimulating environment for my children, doing the basics around the house, organizing memories, sharing encouragement and information through a blog.

If one friend is very good at cooking, I adopt that standard for myself. And if another is very good at creating activities for her children, I adopt that standard for myself. And if another is very good at something else, I adopt that as a standard for myself too. Before you know it, I am trying to achieve the same standard that it takes five women's time and talent to do! Did the Lord place this yoke upon me or did I willingly take it from the world?

What does the Lord require of me? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with my God. That's it. Now that is a yoke that I can live with. Again, God's word breathes sanity into my life!