Talk of yesterday

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Brad + I recently went on a little urban "staycation" around Chicago. We used a gift certificate we received last year for Christmas. On Sunday afternoon, we walked to the nearby bus stop and went on an adventure. We walked 4-5 blocks at the other end and just like that... we arrived at the Inn.

It was lovely.

... we explored the nature museum & watched roach races as part of "Bugapoloza"... uh, gross. {we also visited the butterfly haven}
... went on a fall hike around Lincoln Park and North Pond {heron sighting}
... had a lovely Italian dinner {gluten-free menu options!}
... tried some raw cheesecake {also wheat-free}
... walked around several Chicago neighborhoods
... relaxed in the city that we both love

Wheat free update

**Long post alert...

I'm not a girly girl. I'm practical, sensitive, artistic... But I would definitely not call myself a shopper. I hate clothes shopping. I have short legs and finding tops and bottoms that work is an ordeal. You can buy pants that are labeled "short" or you can get items altered. Apparently, the clothing industry thinks that all women are approximately 5'-8". What does this all have to do with wheat free eating??? Well, I've lost some weight. Isn't this a thrilling post... hahaha... My nanny kiddos went camping last weekend and I had a little extra time on Friday; I was on a mission. It went alright which is surprising considering when you're actually looking for clothes, you NEVER find anything you actually like.

But I digress, back to wheat free eating... it is going well. I've spoken with my doctor and for the moment, we're treating it like a wheat allergy verses something more involved like the diagnosis of Celiac disease. I've been wheat-free since about mid-April. I've spent the last few weeks trying to educate myself on the topic. Gluten-Free Girl's blog has been a great resource of stories, links and recipes. I do all the grocery shopping for our home and will take the extra minutes to read ingredient labels. All of them.

I don't seem to have a problem with oats. If I was on a strict g-free diet, I couldn't consume oats {or I'd have to acquire special g-free oats}. This is good news because Brad and I are currently obsessed with these {Irish} oatmeal pancakes. I substitute the flours with a wheat-free/gluten-free flour. And how can you go wrong with honey and Greek yogurt- yum! {My friend Vana makes her own Greek yogurt.} We've been enjoying stuffed potatoes, too. We top the potatoes with CSA farm veggies. You can use the Greek yogurt as sour cream. Brad and I are both from the Midwest and we enjoy our middle-America comfort food. I have a mac-n-cheese recipe that I still use. I just substitute the wheat noodles with corn noodles and use wheat-free flour. Tacos- with corn tortillas- are okay for a wheat-free diet, too. I made a yummy blueberry + banana bread last weekend. Again, same recipe just different flour.

I took a clothes shopping break and checked out Rose's Bakery + Cafe last Friday. It's a gluten-free establishment. The soup and g-f french roll was pretty tasty. But I wasn't quite sold on their other goodies. I brought a few treats home to sample.

All in all, I am seeing improvements. I've lost weight, my stomach doesn't ache after almost every meal, I have more energy and my skin has improved. Though I think it is a combination of going wheat-free, drinking lots of water, walking more and maybe taking a gluten-free multivitamin {Trader Joe's}. I've learned that some vitamins contain wheat, who knew.

Check Please!

Brad and I have been fans of Check Please! for awhile now. It is a television program on Chicago's local PBS station. Each week, three people recommend and review three restaurants {in the Chicagoland area} and then gather at the studio to share their reviews. Each person on the show visits each other's recommended spot. We've tried many a restaurant reviewed on Check Please! In fact, it is how we found this little Costa Rican eatery that we love {their oatmeal milkshakes are AMAZING}. Before he became the President of the United States, Barack Obama was even a guest on the program!

One of the places featured on last night's episode featured a gluten-free ITALIAN restaurant. Hmmm, seems a bit like an oxymoron, eh? I have been exploring a new way of cooking, these last few weeks, with the notion that I have an allergy to wheat. The owners have seven children- five of whom have Celiac Disease. They have two kitchens and offer a separate gluten-free menu. Good to know! I guess I won't be eating too many {Costa Rican} vegetarian burritos anytime soon. sigh. Maybe just the veggie part, though- ha!

Midweek cross section

It was a rainy evening in Chicago. I made this {gluten-free} bean and Canadian bacon soup recipe. Brad and I ate a late dinner and watched Rick Steves tour Vienna. Consequently... hmmm... someone is daydreaming about Europe. Actually, traveling in general. sigh. In June of 2004, Brad and I rented a house IN TUSCANY! with nine of our friends for a week! It was the perfect graduation gift we could have given ourselves. Daydreaming about that vacation got me through a lot of lloonngg nights in the architecture studio. We often considered "Rick" to be the 12th member of our group. {how nerdy is that?? very}

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My refrigerator is overflowing {okay, I might be exaggerating a little} with fresh vegetables. Every Wednesday, "Farmer Vicki" delivers her CSA farm shares to our local site. I am loving the whole CSA {Community Supported Agriculture} experience but at times, I feel the pressure to cook with- or freeze appropriately- all the veggies before the next delivery. Hence the soup this evening!
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I have been on a mostly gluten-free diet for a few weeks now. This has been several years in the making as I grew tired of feeling like crap... and not fully knowing the root cause. So I am exploring a new way of cooking. And goodness, gluten is in A LOT of foods! I've been reading a lot lately- books, g-f blogs, food labels at the grocery store {more intensely}. Though if you have some information to share in the comment section, I'm all ears!