Getting Rid of Gluten

We have been bouncing all sorts of ideas around in our house on what might be the best diet life-style choice for us.  Back in September I posted about feeling the need to do Something but not knowing what or where to start.  I made the decision after some research and documentary watching to cut dairy milk from my diet and the mini's diet.  We are still enjoying cheese (a lot of goat cheese though instead of cow), but we are drinking almond milk exclusively.  I know I have mentioned on here before the frustration the hubs feels from working out and working out and working out and not seeing any results on the scale.  Yes, the exercise is great for him and brings on lots of NSVs, but sometimes you just need the gratification of seeing the numbers slide down and away.

It has really made us look at all sorts of factors and what could be holding him us back?!?!  I have the same issues at times where I bust my butt and see no numerical results.  It's hard to stay motivated when that happens.  Both the hubs and our oldest are lactose intolerant.  In doing some research I have found 1 constant...gluten. I have been feeling like gluten could be a culprit for a while, but needed to find something more concrete before poo-pooing a MAJOR component of our everyday diets.   I have found that gluten intolerance goes hand-and-hand with lactose intolerance for a lot of people.  I have found that hypothyroidism and hashimoto's can be helped with eliminating gluten.  I am not a medical doctor...but I think this may be worth a shot. 

With the holidays coming up (and a full pantry) we have decided to gradually scale back the gluten until we can cut it (without being wasteful).  So I have decided to start experimenting.  It sounds so scary at first, gluten free, but then when you really research it there isn't THAT much that you have to give up.  You have to be smart about reading labels, and we can SO do that!!!  So, in the spirit of proving to my hubby that this will not only be doable but yummy...I decided to make a completely gluten free dinner last night!  Thank goodness I had my little chef to help.  We decided to make chicken strips with roasted veggies. 

how stinking cute is my helper?!?!?!  Love her SO much!!!!!

First we assembled our ingredients (well most of them).  We bought fresh, free range boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rice chex (did YOU know they are gluten free), fresh brussel sprouts (my hubs fav) and we had some fresh taters our friend Jack grew and gave us.

(sorry they are blurry...chef on the move)  My little chef went to work on smashing up the rice chex for our chicken coating.  This was FUN.  She smashed and danced and laughed...my own little iron chef in the making.

While she smashed I cut up and prepped the potatoes and brussel sprouts.  Those also went into large Ziploc bags with a little extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and a touch of garlic powder on the potatoes.  Once in the bag and ready, my sous chef mixed them all up to make sure they were all coated.

We laid them out on a baking sheet with the veggies separated (little chef is not yet a fan of the brussel sprouts), and put them in a 400 degree oven with the timed set for an hour.  Then we moved on to our chicken.

I we sliced up the chicken taking the small amount of excess fat off, and put them into nice bite sized pieces, put through an egg wash and rolled them in the chex mix (which we added a little more salt, pepper and garlic too).  Then the chicken was added to the same 400 degree oven for the last 45 minutes

The completed meal was delish!  The hubs and I had a brussel sprout/potato mix with our chicken bites, while the little chef opted for just taters, chicken and applesauce.  I am always over the moon if I make something new (especially with no recipe) and the hubs likes and this was a definite hit. 
Delish, nutritious and completely gluten free! 

 

What are some hints, tricks, recipes you do to keep out the gluten?!?!