How's a girl supposed to bake in these conditions ?

So for those of you that don't know I have developed a liking for baking in recent months. Well I guess I've always had a bit of a liking for it but its only in the last 6 months or so I've learned how to do it without wheat or sugar (coconut sugar doesn't count) and actually produce pretty delicious results and I've been ticking along quite nicely thank you very much. I probably would have kept going indefinitely happy as a clam that enjoys baking but a book I've been waiting (not so patiently) on arrived the other day and It's insisting I tackle my diet head on. Stupid book.

Before you ask I haven't completely taken leave of my senses. I suffer from stomach problems and a few months ago I decided to tackle it head on by trying this diet called a low fod map diet. Fodmap is an acronym for different types of sugars that certain foods contain and it has been shown that for some people, eating foods that are high in these can cause all sorts of discomfort and unpleasant symptoms but this is not a medical blog so I'm not going to bore anyone with the details. The point is I think this would be helpful to me but last time I tried it I found so much conflicting information about what I should and shouldn't be eating that I found myself very confused and hungry. I ended up cutting out some foods that were actually fine and continued to eat some that were not. To save my sanity I ordered a book that would clear all of this up and then found out it wouldn't get published for another three months.

That brings you firmly up to date. So I was feeling much better because now I can do this properly once and for all and after two months I can gradually reintroduce foods to see whats really the problem. All well and good until I start reading the definitive list of high fod map foods and right at the very top is barley flour. For those of you that don't think this is a big deal, firstly you are wrong and secondly, In the last two years I have given up wheat, really cut back on sugar and have just cut lactose out of my diet so I know how to make a sacrifice in the name of my health but I was really enjoying baking cookies and buns and pancakes and guess what the main ingredient was, barley flour. So yes I was fairly gutted that I'll have to do without it for the next two months and depending how my reaction is when I reintroduce it (gulp), maybe forever.

Now if you look online for gluten free recipes they will frequently recommend flours or flour blends that allegedly make delicious baked goods but I am somewhat mistrusting of this information because during a recent barley flour drought I was forced to mix in a bit of a blended flour and noticed my buns had a distinctly rubbery texture (yum) so I'm hoping someone will come to my rescue with a wonder flour that will win barley ( it worked so well I should have known it contained gluten, stupid gluten)  flour's place in my heart and I will bake my way into next year but just in case that doesn't happen I'm having one last stand before the elimination diet begins. Let's hope the fact that I will be really ill afterwards won't take away from all the deliciousness.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The darker side of romance

Image
  For some reason I felt compelled to write about a corner of my past that hasn't been part of my blog before. a heads up to anyone who might be upset by this topic I will be delving into emotional abuse so feel free to stop reading now if you don't feel able to carry on. When I was in my late 20's I met a guy on a night out. He was a few years younger than me and honestly looking back threw up a couple of red flags early but I didn't trust my own intuition plus I was only a few months away from finishing college and planned to move to Edinburgh in a few months so it wasn't like it was going to be anything more than a brief fling. However as time went on I became more infatuated with him, there was an intensity there and he seemed sweet but damaged. Like a perfect modern fairytale I thought I would be the one to fix him. somehow plans changed and he was going to follow me over to Edinburgh, get a job there and we were going to live happily ever after. at this point
Read more

Help, I think I'm autistic

Image
 So I, at the age of 41, have come to the realization that I am autistic.  Growing up I always had a feeling something about me was a little bit off. I never quite fit in and I wasn't sure why. It was like everyone had been given a book of rules of how to exist in society but no one had thought to hand me a copy. Looking back with hindsight the signs were there. I was a super sensitive kid, a sensitivity I have not lost in adulthood, I cried very easily and felt every emotion very deeply. I was a picky eater and very particular about the textures of different food. I was very sensitive to light and noise and the feel of different fabrics. I was never a hugger. all of these things are as true about me now as they were when I was younger. I am socially awkward, I don't make friends that easily and will joke I am an acquired taste. Eye contact is something I have to actively work on and small talk feels like torture.  I thrive on alone time, I am incredibly sensitive to the moods
Read more

Sometimes I open my mouth and my mother comes out ..

Image
I have been told on more than one occasion that I'm sarcastic. Often that I'm too sarcastic (as though there could be such a thing) and I have retort up my sleeve for such occasions which is if you think I'm sarcastic you should meet my mother. No, really you should because my sarcasm is but a pale imitation of hers. Every so often though I come out without something that makes my friends or other family members pause because sometimes when I open my mouth, my mother comes out.  It's funny how people always take the words you are turning into your mother as such an insult because the reality of the matter is it's a both a good and bad thing. Obviously there are certain qualities I am perfectly happy to emulate and others not so much and on the whole I am not entirely sure how much control I have over it. It's not quite a pick and mix counter here. I think there are some habits you are not even aware you have picked up until someone else kindly points it out.
Read more