My First Grain-Free Thanksgiving

Most days, my food allergies are manageable. There's a regularity to what we eat, how I prepare for business trips, and navigate going out to eat. Staying safe while consuming food is not something that I have to battle anymore, just calmly prepare for and execute.   

Until the holidays arrive.  

For anyone with food sensitivities, the holidays can wear down even the most seasoned allergy warrior. No matter how much you try to normalize your restrictions, you will run into your limitations in full force. Every family gathering, holiday party, company potluck, and even meals while traveling can be a mine field for contamination. 
   

Freedom from Want by Norman Rockwell

For some, there's also a twinge of longing when surrounded by foods that are off limits. The regret doesn't come from a superficial craving for a frosted sugar cookie, but a desire to take part in family traditions. But if you have to forgo certain foods, there's a little piece of your heritage that you're missing out on.  

For me, my aunt's peanut brittle, my mom's recipe for Red Velvet Cake that we had at our wedding, and my family's Pennsylvania Dutch sugar cookies (flavored with almond extract) that will only be tastes in my memory.

But this is not a sob story about food and the holidays. This is about rising to the challenge of food allergies and turning compromises into yummy substitutes. This is showing people that no matter what is off limits in your diet, there's a wealth of beautiful, wholesome food that will tickle the taste buds and delight the senses.   

This is an ode to creating new memories.

William Lockhart Made the First Thanksgiving 1621 by Jean Leone Gerome Ferris

Last Thanksgiving, I was on my way to cutting out gluten. I had scaled back greatly but was still indulging in small quantities of wheat here and there. In fact, Thanksgiving was my deadline for going gluten-free. I was going to enjoy one last meal without hesitation and make the final plunge from there. 

Now that I'm well into eating not only gluten-free, but grain-free, I saw that Thanksgiving this year was going to be complicated if we went anywhere. Wheat would be easy to avoid, but figuring out if corn had gotten into anything?  Almost impossible unless I made the meal myself. Sending a family member a long list of "can't haves" and then quizzing them on every brand and ingredient that went into each and every dish? Couldn't stomach the idea.  

So we decided to stay rooted at home and were joined by my parents. Thus began a few weeks of exploring recipes and a few trial runs before settling on the final menu.

I've actually never seen a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving ...

I feel very fortunate that grain-free eating actually makes a traditional Thanksgiving meal impossible. I didn't have to mess with trying to adapt stuffing, rolls, pie crust, or gravy. I cannot imagine the stress of those trying to force rice, coconut, and almond flours into something that bakes and tastes like their traditional counterparts. For me, the challenge was to have a multi-course meal that fit everyone's tastes.

We started off with a cheese and fruit tray, filled with smoked gouda and Edam cheese (courtesy of Aldi's for $2.99 a brick) and grapes, clementines, and chopped apples that my mom supplied. 

Taking a page from Mike's Thanksgivings growing up, we did a brined turkey. It surprises me how many people have never tried this before! You simply give the turkey a bath in a salt and water solution for a few days (Alton Brown explains the process in an easy way to understand).

You can add a million flavors to brines, such as sugars (regular or juice), citrus peels, fresh herbs, and whole spices. We kept things simple and did one cup of salt, one cup of white sugar, and enough water to cover our 12lb turkey. Our bird hung out in the bath for a day and a half and was drained over night (which did produce the crispy, golden skin as promised but mostly on the top). Didn't even bother to stuff the cavity with anything either.

Don't let his face fool you, Mike is excited for turkey!

To complement the star dish, I made an apple-cherry salad.  This recipe is so simple and it's in our regular meal rotation (I'm on onion hater, so we skipped the red onions). I offered dried cranberries or cherries, shredded parmesan (which came from a block that I grated myself), green apples (though any kind will do), and used a mustard made from apple cider vinegar in the dressing. It's an excellent mix of zippy, sweet, and salt.

In the background, loaf of a bread from a local bakery for the normal folks.  

You can't have Thanksgiving without an appearance from potatoes, so I made a gratin (I kind of threw mine together, but this is a close version). I used half and half, a touch of leftover evaporated milk from pie (see below), and threw some extra parmesan on top at the end. It came out well, but took longer than expected.  Should have realized that most gratins bake at 400 degrees and I put mine in the last hour of the turkey, which was at 325. I also used red potatoes instead of Russets, which apparently have a longer cook time (difference in starch levels, perhaps?).

I also made my first homemade cranberry sauce. I, like many others, grew up on the canned stuff but never cared for it.  Mike grew up with cranberry relish or chutney and I was converted the first time I tried his mom's. I decided to give a plain sauce a whirl and could not believe how stupidly easy it was to make. I consulted several recipes and found that the cranberry to water + sugar ratio varies wildly.  

So I did 12oz of fresh cranberry (a whole whopping $1 at Aldi's), a cup of water, 1/2 cup of white sugar, and the peel of a whole orange. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. That's it! Most of the berries will burst on their own, leaving lots of juice to thicken the sauce and little chunks for variation. Look at the beautiful color! Next time I'd like to add a touch more sugar and maybe some cinnamon sticks. 

If everyone wasn't stuffed by then, I also made sure there were two dessert options. I love pumpkin pie and it's ridiculously easy to make pumpkin custard. You can take any pumpkin pie recipe and simply make it without the crust - no other changes!  

I made this maple-cinnamon one and use evaporated milk instead of regular. We used fresh pumpkin puree that we made ourselves (you can roast whole pumpkins and then blend the innards using this method). I also got heavy cream, threw a little maple syrup in it, and made real whipped cream to dollop on top.

Because there must be at least two dessert options, I also made a flourless chocolate cake. My mom and I are chocoholics and Mike has a Gollum-esque penchant for chocolate desserts, particularly cake. This recipe is super easy to make and is basically sugar, chocolate, cocoa powder, and eggs (I skipped the ganache). I replaced maple syrup for vanilla to achieve a comparable background flavor and skipped the liquor in the recipe for fresh squeezed orange juice (the other end use for the whole orange - waste not want not!).    

All in all, we had a delightful, low-fuss Thanksgiving. I estimate the meal was around $35. Aside from the turkey, nothing was really a premium ingredient. By comparison, a traditional meal (so not gluten free) for 10 people is around $50, according to the Farm Bureau.  

We used the HyVee coupon for buy a ham, get a turkey free, spending $23 on almost 30 pounds of meat (the ham is being donated to the food bank).  

Turkey (12lbs).........$11.50 (with HyVee coupon)
Lettuce....................$2
Parmesan...............$3
Apples....................$3 (but only used 2 from a 5lb bag)
Gruyere..................$3 (only used half block)
Edam.....................$3 (same)
Baker's chocolate..$2.50
Bread loaf..............$2
Heavy cream.........$1.50
Orange..................$.50
Cranberries...........$1
Miscellaneous........$1 (for all the butter, spices, sugar, maple syrup, eggs, oil olive)

I think we did a good job with keeping costs low without sacrificing quality. Mike and I also had a manageable amount of leftovers for two additional meals. I'm pretty sure we could feed two additional people for the same price, though there would be no leftovers in that case. 

Spot the cat

What did you eat for Thanksgiving this year?

Why Avoiding Corn is a Nightmare

I would never in a million years wish a corn sensitivity or allergy on anyone.

Out of all of the foods that make me sick, corn is the hardest to safeguard against.  It's easy to avoid whole corn, tortilla products, cornmeal, and the likes because you can see with your own two eyes that something has corn in it.  Cornstarch, dextrose (once you know it's a corn product), and high fructose corn syrup are easy to spot as long as you have access to an ingredient list.  

But its corn derivatives that are called by a different name or foods you'd never think would have a corn byproduct in them that are the hardest to track down.  This list from the Gluten Free Society is the most comprehensive I've seen about corn products - please read so you can understand just how easily it can hide in our food.  

And why being vigilent for corn contamination is driving me nuts. 

Before my diet change, we were always good about buying whole food products.  My rule was if I couldn't pronounce it or I wouldn't add it to a dish while cooking it at home, it shouldn't be in my food at all.  I certainly don't have decyl polyglucose or BHT sitting in my spice rack, do you? 

But what was a simple rule before is now a matter of my health and quality of life.  Even "micro" amounts of corn products can cause stomach distress, a runny nose, and a slew of sneezing spells.  And feeling a touch under the weather affects my outlook, mood, and productivity.  My right and desire for a healthy life outweigh anything my taste buds have to say.
       
The problem is that corn byproducts are everywhere - they lurk in innocent-looking food, keep good company with organic products, and commit foul deeds under another name.  It's a Where's Waldo every time I eat.  

I basically need to assume that corn is in a food until I confirm otherwise. 

  
This journey has really been eye opening.  Recent surprises that had me doing a double take:

• White vinegar - Most people are startled to learn vinegar is fermented from corn.  It's not like there's a vinegar tree you tap.  Just think of how many condiments use vinegar: barbeque sauces, ketchup, mustard, hot sauce, sweet and sour sauce, and salad dressings.  I never cared for pickles or sauerkraut, but those are swimming in corn too.  
• Spice mixes - Lawry's, Cavenders, McCormick blends, and those packets of taco or ranch seasoning generally have cornstarch or dextrose in them.  Example: I love lemon pepper seasoning and had been using Cavenders on a weekly basis.  I only last week turned over the container and found to my horror three corn products in the ingredients list: cornstarch, dextrose, and hydrolyzed corn soy protein - ack!   
• Virtually any medication, including vitamins - It's probably a good thing that I'm not a fan of pills in the first place, but even a simple capsule of Vitamin D or an aspirin will have cornstarch or corn oil.  Dextrose is also a key ingredient in saline IV drips.  Those vitamins added to your dairy products?  They can be sourced or bonded with corn and there's no way of knowing (other than to hound the company).
• Shredded cheese - Most brands use cornstarch for anti-caking.  I was short on time the other day, grabbed a bag of shredded cheese, and got halfway across the store before I thought to check "just in case" and there it was, listed right after cheese.  Another example of how you have to question everything.
• Pop - Even if a pop is made of real cane sugar, like those expensive ones in the natural foods section, it can still contain corn from citric acid and caramel coloring.  Goodbye Sierra Mist and Pepsi/Coke in glass bottles. 
• Processed meats - Since I can't eat sandwiches anymore, this one doesn't affect me too much, but many deli meats have corn syrup or caramel coloring.  Yeah, that "honey" ham?  That's corn syrup.  Some inferior brands of bacon will have caramel coloring added to them as well.        
• Whipped cream - The chemical concoction known as Cool Whip aside, even a brand that uses real cream (like Reddi-wip) has corn syrup in it.  If I want whipped cream, I'd better make it myself.  
• Candy - If it's not solid chocolate, it's a no.  I can manage a plain Hershey's bar, but hard candies, boxed chocolates, and all other candy bars are off limits, largely due to corn syrup or invert sugar.  I miss M&Ms.       
• Broth (chicken, beef, vegetable) - Doesn't matter whether it's Swanson's, Rachel Ray, Emeril, Aldi's, or one from the organic section, virtually all of them have dextrose, cornstarch, or monosodium glutamate. 
• Vanilla - Vanilla bean alone is corn-free, but vanilla extract is typically 35% alcohol.  Grain alcohol.  Get the picture? 

These are just a few of the many ingredients that are utterly common in an American diet yet I now have to watch out for.  Before a fork or spoon goes to my mouth, I've researched, googled, examined menus and ingredients lists, double checked ingredients lists (product formulas can change), and emailed companies or restaurants to make sure that what I'm eating is free of corn.   

There is not a day that goes by that I don't have to think about the safety of my food.  

The hardest thing is that I'm still testing just how far my corn sensitivity goes.  I know for sure cornstarch, caramel coloring, and dextrose definitely produce a reaction.  But I haven't cleared white vinegar yet.  I don't know if taking an aspirin does anything.  Or if potatoes fried in corn oil are a problem.  I'm hoping I can keep vanilla too, but I don't know for sure.  Do I need to worry about packaging and plastics made out of corn?  The wax on my fruit?  Corn in my toothpaste?  

The questions are endless.  It's one big science experiment as I subject myself, intentionally or by accident, to small amounts of corn products waiting for a reaction that may or may not develop.      

To be honest, all of this has changed my attitude about food.  At present, a lot of the joy has been lost because I have to expend so much energy and time making sure I don't get sick from food.     

There is not a single meal that I don't prepare from scratch and by hand.  It sounds so lovely, right?  Until you begin to count up the hours I spend grocery shopping, menu planning, cooking, and cleaning each and every day.  Let's not forget that I have a full-time job.  While I enjoy my kitchen, some nights I long for the easy out - the frozen pizza, the bowl of fried rice, the rotisserie chicken - but they're not an option. 

Going out to eat used to be one of my favorite activities; now it verges on stressful and depressing if I can't confirm what's in a dish.  The number of restaurants I can eat at is dismal - take out every fast food, chain, pizza, Mexican, and sandwich shop in sight.  The simple act of wanting ice cream sets off a research session to see what might be available.   Traveling requires me to vet restaurants well in advance.  There is no spontaneity with swinging into a new place.  At this rate, I almost need a smartphone for all the research I need to do.  

Potlucks and birthday treats at work?  Forget about it.  Going into someone else's home and having to inflict them with my diet?  Terrifying.  Even weddings are a problem.  We've got one coming up soon and I've had to email the bride to be put in touch with catering to see what I can eat.  I'm a problem guest now.

And let's not even broach the subject of GMOs, organic food, and sustainably produced meat.  It's important, it's on my to-do list, but I Can't. Handle. One. More. Thing.  I am overloaded with this diet change already and the thought of having to make more switches is not something I can deal with at this point.  

        
Right now, I fully recognize that I'm in a transitional period.  I'm only a matter of months into this diet change and I'm still adjusting, figuring out my strategy, and finding a new normal.  But when I think about how I must eat, words like rigid, anxious, endless, restrictive, limiting, and extreme come to mind. 

I myself have many questions - is this a corn allergy or intolerance?  Is there a genetic thing at play here?  Is this the result of being born in the 80s and growing up in a chemical bath?  The consequences of pesticide/fertilizer use and genetic modification?  I had a dreadful bout of illness from a virus in 2005 - is that the culprit?  Or have I always had this and the symptoms just manifested differently or worsened over time?    

I think one of the biggest issues with a grain-free lifestyle is how isolating it can be.  Particularly since I don't have an "official" test from the medical community to document my intolerance, some people can be dismissive.  Few people understand it, and some are even threatened by it.  Particularly with living in the Midwest and smack dab in the middle of the Corn Belt, what I'm doing is also very counterculture.  Trust me, I'm not out to take away your corn on the cob or your bowl of pasta. 

That being said, I know what I'm doing for my health is the best decision.  Every time I can push myself harder when I exercise, every pound I lose, every day that I don't have a stomach ache or sinus weirdness, every compliment I receive, every encouraging Facebook comment fuels me to tough this out.  It's your understanding and kindness that are helping me to sail through this adjustment period buoyed by support.  

New waters ahead.  There is no going back. 

What Is It Like to Live Grain-Free?

Going grain-free is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but it is the ONLY thing that has made a difference in my health.  I'm telling you my story in detail so hopefully someone out there doesn't have to waste seven years of their life feeling trapped in their body. 

Starting with Wheat

With no options left but to put my food choices under a microscope, I began the tedious and daunting task of questioning everything that went down my gullet.

In September 2012, I began to dramatically scale back on wheat - bread, pasta, crackers, cookies, croutons.  A slice of pizza or a chocolate chip cookie here and there was my cheat.  I began to mentally take notes about when I was experiencing digestive discomfort and worked backwards from there. I would avoid anything I had in the last two days and then go back and add just one of the suspected ingredients.  I was essentially doing an elimination diet. 

By Thanksgiving, it was obvious that wheat was a problem.  Cutting it out eliminated constipation, gas, joint and muscle pain, and ear aches.  But a few digestive problems remained and so I continued testing other grains.

Goodbye to the Rest

The surprise?  ALL GRAINS are a problem, with corn and wheat as the reigning twin terrors of my stomach.  Something as benign as rice (even as flour) isn't kind to my system, nor is an ancient grain like quinoa.

Corn, it turns out, was to blame for my diarrhea, sniffles, acne, and, this is gross, but hard boogers that would turn into a resin-like substance that was really painful.  Gluten and the other grains are easy to avoid (though not always to resist), but eliminating corn is a never-ending battle.  When they say corn is in everything, they are not joking.  I have to be constantly vigilant about it.  And my face, nose, and stomach blow up if I get a dose of it unintentionally.   

                   
And it's not just whole corn, like tortilla products or cornmeal, but high fructose corn syrup, corn oil, and cornstarch.  And all the corn derivatives out there, like vanilla flavoring, most grain alcohols, citric acid, and caramel coloring.

Benefits in Spades
So what do I eat since cutting out the foundation of the food pyramid?  Meat, vegetables, fruit, dairy, and chocolate, because lord knows I need a frickin' treat every day to handle all of this.  It's a good thing I like cooking and I'm good at it, because EVERYTHING is made from scratch and freshly prepared.  

And what have I gotten out this radical diet shift?

• I've lost 30 pounds and gone down two pant sizes and one shirt size.  
• I can exercise without joint or muscle pain. 
• I rarely have digestive distress.
• I no longer have ear aches, sinus infections, or even colds. 
• I have steady energy throughout the day. 
• I am no longer prey to vicious drops in blood sugar and overwhelming cravings.
• The frequency of my migraines has been dramatically slashed.
• My mood and outlook have significantly improved.
• I have gotten compliments on my skin (seriously, this said to someone who had acne so bad in high school that I couldn't wash my face because it was so painful and who now has a face riddled with scars).

It is so obvious to me that grains have been the root problems all these years.  Looking back, my life had become terribly hampered because I was in pain every day and I never had an escape from it.  All of that collective discomfort was lowering my defenses both mentally and physically.  It was a distraction I learned to live with, but it had become a black hole that sucked up any positivity.    

Complications Linger

The way my body has transformed makes it crystal clear that this isn't a temporary elimination - this is part of who I am now.  But it's not an easy or fast fix.  I still have more weight to lose.  While it was clipping along at 1 pound per week at the beginning this year, it's slowed down to a trickle and only 2 pounds came off in the last month.  I'm doing yoga and walking right now, but I need to step it up if I want to keep whittling my waist.

I still get migraines if I'm out of schedule.  I still have seasonal allergies (my goodness, this past week must have had a high pollen count!).  I sometimes have digestive distress simply because I'm stressed out and not honoring my need to decompress.  I still get the occasional pimple because my skin is just sensitive.       

I admit, I have had some royal meltdowns about this diet switch.  There are so few restaurants that are "safe" for me to eat at, and for a foodie, that can be kind of crushing.  You don't bother cruising the treat table at work. Potlucks or catered events are like russian roulette.   

It is stressful to always question food products, even when it's homemade by your mom.  It is disappointing to watch your list of "unsafe" foods keep growing with no end in sight.  It takes a lot of time each week to shop and cook fresh.  Days you don't feel like cooking are not an option.   

I'm a recovering picky eater, so it takes some real effort on my part to like certain vegetables.  My stomach turns at the smell of seafood.  Soy products (tofu, soy milk, soy sauce) give me really bad mood swings.  Peanuts will enter and leave my system within 30 minutes with some of the worst pain imaginable.  Beans (kidney, black, etc.) also upset my stomach and make me unbearably bloated.  I still need to test if I can tolerate other nuts, peas, or green beans.

And goddammit, sometimes all you want is a chocolate chip cookie! 

I really miss those.  Like, a lot.  If it wasn't obvious ...  

So what keeps me going?

Having a "quiet" stomach that graciously accepts foods without complaint.

Losing the bloated look I've been sporting the last seven years.

Feeling a sense of normalcy and control over my life.  

Someone telling me I look strong, happy, more relaxed, or healthy. 

Trust me, I'm not thrilled that this is what my body needs to thrive.  It's very limiting and restrictive, but it's the only thing that has truly freed my body.  I don't know why this happened or if some years down the road, I can have a yearly cookie without getting messed up.  

But for now, my path is clear - grains make me sick.   

How I Ditched Grains to Reclaim My Health

Going grain-free is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but it is the ONLY thing that has made a difference in my health.  I'm telling you my story in detail so hopefully someone out there doesn't have to waste seven years of their life feeling trapped in their body. 

My Health Goes Downhill

I've never hidden the fact that my physical and mental health has been a problem the last seven years.  Once I hit grad school in 2006, my weight started climbing.  I was stressed, didn't exercise, and ate out too much - I just didn't have time to take care of myself and thought I was reaping the consequences of a poor lifestyle.  

In 2008, I started experiencing digestive issues.  I determined that I had an oat intolerance, but it never occurred to me to see if other grains might be an issue.  Avoiding oats was pretty easy once you got in the habit of religiously reading all labels, but it didn't stop the weight gain, vicious mood swings, joint and muscle pain, reoccurring UTIs, ear aches, sinus infections, acne, depression, or poor sleep.  I was unhappy, sickly, and most of all, overwhelmed with frustration.  Exercising and eating healthy did nothing to boost my health.   I didn't know what I was doing wrong.

So I spent a few years without insurance living in misery and a few years with it but feeling too poor to use it.  Once our finances evened out two years into my current job, I started on a campaign of health tests in 2011 and 2012.  The first change was to eliminate birth control, which stopped the weight gain, UTIs, poor sleep, and the majority of feeling crazy on a daily basis.   It was the first time I felt like I had some control over my body.  Getting that little bit of relief empowered me to keep hunting.    

No Answers from Medical Testing 

I listened, eavesdropped, messaged, and asked questions of anyone I knew who also struggled with their health, hoping that if someone listed off symptoms like mine, I would have my next clue.  I learned about fibromyalgia, lupus, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, thyroid conditions, allergies, endocrine syndromes (one of which could have been a possible tumor on the pituitary gland and had me terrified while waiting for test results), Celiac's, and sleep disorders.  I got tested for a variety of medical conditions, but each one was a frustrating dead end.  

During my quest, I also stumbled across a few folks who had a gluten intolerance.  They swore up and down that eliminating wheat was the best decision they ever made, all of their health concerns vanished, and they were living a pain-free existence. But the people who had become vegetarians, ate exclusively organic, or were vegans all said the same thing.  

I was skeptical.  Particularly with wheat, it sounded like a magic fix, a radical move borrowed from supermodels to stay thin, and medically defiant in the worst kind of way.  It doesn't help that people can be very pushy, sometimes aggressive, about their diet advice.  But despite my reservations, I listened, considered, and researched. 

A Stomach Ache Every Day 

By the time I started medical testing, my digestive distress was full blown.  I was alternating between constipation and diarrhea, cramping and bloating from gas that would never resolve, little energy, lingering skin problems, and a growing dread of eating anything.  I was convinced my body had conspired against me.  There was no peace to be had from my GI system.  I was convinced the chest-bursting creature from Alien had decided to call my stomach home.  

I exercised and would be excessively sore for days on end.  I couldn't lose an ounce of weight to save my soul.  I was embarrassed and uncomfortable with my body in every way possible.  No matter how many feminist pep talks I gave myself about body confidence, I couldn't shake the self consciousness of being almost 200 pounds when I had been 60 pounds less in college.  I got rid of clothes that I had lost hope I would ever fit into again.  The aches and pains did nothing but draw attention to how my body was imprisoning me.    

Celiac's was the closest condition that fit my list of aliments, yet my test came back free and clear.  I had exhausted all other options for medical testing.  There was nothing left to do but go through my diet one food source at a time and see if anything was making me sick.  No doctor could help me with this task.  It was up to me and years of reading mystery novels to go sleuthing into my diet.  I was not looking forward to it, but by then, I was desperate to try anything that would leave my stomach and bowels with some peace and quiet.   

Click here to keep reading where my health journey took me.    

Going Grain-Free ... For Now

A full 9 months into this year and my medical quest to find health is at its end.  I have exhausted all options for doctors and learned much along the way, mainly about things that I don't have.  I do not suffer from high cholesterol, diabetes, a malfunctioning thyroid, nutrient deficiencies, a sleep disorder, any endocrine issues, allergies, or a number of gastrointestinal disorders.

My recent endoscope/colonoscopy revealed a relatively healthy GI system, with the exception of acid reflux.  Which is odd, considering I don't experience symptoms of heartburn.  Nonetheless, erosion to my esophagus lining was noted.  Nothing else was found.

It's a funny thing to know your body isn't functioning properly and have no diagnosis in hand to improve your health when the regular efforts of diet and exercise haven't touch your ailments.  At this point, I rather give up on finding a concrete reason why I can't achieve physical wellness.

But the search these long months has not been in vain.  Dumping birth control profoundly stabilized a number of issues I was experiencing and Vitamin D cut through the mess of hormones the birth control had created.

 
It will be interesting to see if taking Prilosec for the acid reflux will make any difference.  I'm not fond of taking medications long term, so the plan is to use the pills until the end of the year and then examine other options.  

In the meantime, I'm initiating my plan to cut out grains from my diet.  If I'm eating cleanly, then maybe I'll have better luck at figuring out what triggers my digestive distress.  I don't know if this will be a permanent diet switch and I'm certainly not being as strict as avoiding things with yeast extract or corn starch.  

I'm simply categorizing grains as a treat, something to have once in a long while.  Because I know this Casey's pizza lover will eventually cave.  At this point, drastically cutting back but not out is my approach.

Here's a recent dinner: 8oz of tandoori-spiced chicken, green beans with almonds, parmesan-roasted potatoes, and this amazing blend of orange-poached pears and apples (recipe to come since BHG doesn't have this online).  Paired with a glass of milk, my belly was comfortably full but not gassy and I have leftovers that will be the envy of my coworkers tomorrow. 

Do note that me avoiding grains isn't about vilifying carbs - it's about me trying to find what balance of foods is right for my body.  With oats a problem, whole corn a source of headaches, and rice recently making my tummy unhappy, it's very much worth my time to rid myself of related foods to see if that will help. 

On an ending thought - Did you know your insurance is unlikely to cover an endoscope/ colonoscopy if you're under the age of 50?  Me neither, though I doubt knowing that beforehand would have changed my mind about getting one.  Is $350 worth knowing that I definitely do not have Celiac's, IBS, or colitis?  I'm not sure if I could say either way. 

What are you doing as of late to improve your health?