Part 3: Gluten Free With Fibromyalgia Series
Brain fog and cooking don't mix well. With the working-memory impairment that's common in fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, it's hard to remember the steps of a recipe and do the required multi-tasking. Since developing fibromyalgia, I've tried to keep cooking as simple as possible, but I still dread it.
Then, cooking got more complicated and there was nothing I could do about it. I became gluten intolerant, and I had to learn new ways to cook pretty much everything that was a staple in my house.
Gluten-free (GF) cooking wouldn't be bad if it was just me, but I have to think about my husband and kids as well. That means when I make spaghetti, I have to make 2 kinds of pasta. That might not seem like a big deal, but GF pastas have their own set of rules and require more attention. When I'm already browning ground beef, heating sauce (fortunately, a lot of canned spaghetti sauces are GF), and cooking regular pasta for my family, it's more multi-tasking than I can handle on some days. Some people have suggested cooking GF for everyone, but I don't for 2 reasons: it's too expensive, and I don't want to force food on them that's not as good as the regular stuff.
To some degree, I've just had to get used to it. I'm cooking more, and I'm doing more complicated things. The good news is that I've gotten more comfortable with cooking over the last several months, so this was probably the push I needed. Of course, I still have my bad days, when I can't face cooking at all. My solution is to keep a few frozen GF meals on hand, as well as some easy things for everyone else.
It takes awhile to adjust your cooking, but after awhile it does become routine. Then, you have to face the challenge of eating away from home -- that's coming soon.
Learn more or join the conversation!
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- Part 1: Living Gluten Free With Fibromyalgia: An Emotional Hit
- Part 2: GF Grocery Shopping
- Part 4: GF Foods I Like
- Part 5: GF Eating Out
- Part 6: GF Calorie Counting
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Cooking gluten free is a challenge, all right. I not only had to learn to cook gluten-free, but also dairy-free, soy-free, and vinegar-free. I have had to give up my vegetarian diet, but am still restricted in the meat department as I have allergies to beef, pork, and much of the sea-foods. I am cooking a lot, simply to have anything to eat. There are very few processed foods or ready-to-eat meals that I can purchase and keep in the freezer. There is invariably at least one ingredient I can’t eat. Thanks for bringing up this topic.
Has anyone else realised that half the problem with cooking is that we can’t stand for very long without ramping up the symptoms. I used to wonder why I felt so awful by the time I had finished cooking a meal. Finally I made the connection between the “standing still” effect and now I have included breaks in my cooking routines to compensate … but I still hate cooking.
I really think there is definitely something to standing in the kitchen too long and not feeling well as a result. I’m so grateful my husband pitches in when I need him to. I am gluten intolerant (with ME/CFS and fibro) and found that there so many people out there who are intolerant to gluten and just don’t know it (it particularly runs in families that carry the Celiac gene). I cook gluten free for my husband and I, grandkids, and anyone who comes to my house. Granted, we had to adjust to rice pasta’s texture, but it really does make things much easier all around for me, and particularly with cross contamination issues. I knew I was on my way to better days when I hosted a completely gluten free Thanksgiving dinner in 2008. Now, cooking gluten free just comes naturally, as well tweaking recipes to make them GF.
I am not gluten intolerant, but I am sensitive to wheat products. If I consume too many bread or milk products, I will get a lot of sinus-related symptoms. The two together increase both the amount of mucus in my head and sinus stuffiness. By eating both, my nose is not only running, but stopped up. Help! So because of this, I’ve learned not to each too many of these at the same time.
I believe this may be a problem for many people and the answer is often a rotation diet. It’s not a real allergy to a particular food, but more of a sensitivity. Not eating the same things over and over again, day after day, keeps our sensitivity meter down.
It works for me,
Cinda Crawford
I have FMS and lupus. My son has autism.
Here is an AMAZING site for GF/CF Diets: http://gfcf-diet.tacanow.org/index.htm
Be sure to scroll down and check the links on the left of the page. They list many, many receipes and ideas. It even lists restaurants, entertaining, and places to buy food and cooking ingredients.
The children’s link is a favorite of mine because it lists sweets and again has receipes to fill our (adult!) sweet cravings.
The receipe’s are generally quick and easy to prepare for families.
An important point which was not addressed in the GF Series here is that with a large family, it is important that everyone be on the same diet. We FMS sufferers are so tired, cooking a “regular” meal for the family, while we’re GF is next to impossible. This site, primarily for those with autism (which stresses autistic CHILDREN), is an INCREDIBLE GF/CF resource to feed the entire family.
I hope this helps!
A FRIEND TOLD ME ABOUT A BOOK,”WHAT TO EAT FOR YOUR BLOODTYPE”. I FOLLOWE IT FOR 2 MONTHS. ALL THE FOODS I LOVE WERE NOT ON THE LIST. AT THANKSGIVING, I ATE MANY THINGS I COULD NOT HAVE WITHOUT THINKING. I FELT HORRIBLE, MY ALLERGIES KICKED IN , I SWELLED. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I AM BACK ON THAT WAY OF EATING. iT IS A BOOK FOR ALLERGIES AND AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. IT MAKES SENSE TO ME WHEN YOU READ THE FORWORD. GO TO BARNES AND NOBLES AND JUST GIVE IT A GLANCE.