Ross Family Adventures: Gluten free

Gluten free...WHAT?! no way!! That's what I'm saying. Josh has been having some ailments for a while now and after testing everything, including a muscle biopsy, the drs have no diagnosis. They have no label to give us for all of his problems and the reason he feels crappy most days. Gluten intolerance has been in the back of my mind for a while and I've done research on it a few times. Everytime I mention it, he writes it off...until NOW. See, his mother has decided that FIL has a gluten intolerance and they are all gluten free (not 100% I've seen their pantry). I guess now since she thinks that might be the problem it could be. Now, I'm not going to say anything to my precious husband b/c that's not nice but DUDE...sometimes I know things too. I digress. Symptoms...oh yea, let me get back on track. Symptoms of people that have an intolerace to gluten include:

Weight loss or weight gain
Nutritional deficiencies due to malabsorbtion e.g. low iron levels
Gastro-intestinal problems (bloating, pain, gas, constipation, diarrhea)
Fat in the stools (due to poor digestion)
Aching joints
Depression
Eczema
Head aches
Exhaustion
Irritability and behavioural changes
Infertility, irregular menstrual cycle and miscarriage
Cramps, tingling and numbness
Slow infant and child growth
Decline in dental health

The ones that are in bold are things that Josh deal with daily...and more so on days when he consumes lots of grain products (sandwiches, pizza, spaghetti...you get the idea). He is on medication for severe acid reflux b/c of the gastro-intestinal issues. He's had muscle biopsies for the aches in joints/muscles. One of the first things I told him (a year ago) when he started showing an interest in medical help was that maybe he had a gluten intolerance. I guess he really likes his bread :)

Let me be honest, I am NOT afraid of going gluten free. Many, many of the foods that I ate (I won't say eat b/c I just can't stomach good foods right now and I know eating is better than not so I eat and even if it's junk, I'm eating) were gluten free. Clean eating doesn't involve a lot of whole grain products (carbs). It does include complex carbs though. Me, I'm not scared and we could totally do it. Josh, on the other hand, will have a hard time with it. I cook with little to no grains. Rice...yea, already gluten free. Potatoes...gluten free, veggies...gluten free, lean proteins...gluten free, fresh fruits...gluten free. I think the only thing that may have contained gluten was my oats but I got those from Trader Joe's so they might be the GF variety.

We don't eat a lot of baked goods around here (I eat them all b/c Josh doesn't like them, weirdo) so I don't bake often (poor kids). He will have a hard time w/snack-y foods (cheez-its, crackers, chips) but he will have to get over it....if he wants to really try it. I'm going to talk to him more in depth tonight and if he's up for it, he has to do it for 30 days, otherwise how will we ever know if it will work?

I went to my FAV place for clean eating recipes and look at these...all GF!