I read an article the other day, Dilemmas of a Gluten free convert. It really made me think. First of all the social aspects of it is so true! As a person who grew up with a hearing loss, I know way too well what it feels like to not be a part of the crowd. Now the whole gluten/casein free diet has made it even worse. Mostly because it now makes me feel left out among family and friends!
What hit me even more was the elimination of corn in her diet. While my casein and gluten levels were above 28 my corn was 5.6. The paperwork says anything over 2 is considered an allergy. Because of how low it was, my doctor had told me not to worry about corn. To focus on the two high ones, which I have done for the last 5 months or so. However, I don’t think it’s enough. So I decided maybe I need to eliminate corn for about 6 weeks and see what happens. After getting rid of gluten and dairy, it shouldn’t be a problem, right?
Wrong! Have you looked at your labels lately?
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Modified Corn Starch
- xanthan Gum
- maltodextrin
- dextrose
- vegetable oil
- and many more!
I actually thought I just needed to stop using cornstarch, and no more tacos or corn chips. Boy was I delusional! I found it in my steak sauce, canned peaches, gluten free broths, baking powder, honey mustard sauce, all my dressings, my jam, and the last place I would ever have thought. My peanut butter has corn syrup!
I really should have dug further before shopping on Friday night. I bought a lot of things not realizing they had corn in them. However, I also bought loads of fruits and veggies. At least they are safe!
I started off today with some eggs and sauteed veggies. For lunch just before heading out I made a huge batch of brown rice and quinoa. Had some of that with Pollock and spinach. I think I messed up cooking the fish. I am really not familiar with preparing fish. Today I picked up some Swai to try out. I have no clue how I am cooking that!
Angel and Anna both got a burger at Burger King (gotta love those dollar burgers) and I was fine with it. Not hungry at all. Dinner ended up being corn because we had already marinated the steak. Since steak is a rare treat I was not passing it up today. On the side Angel decided to sauté some onions, mushrooms and spicy peppers with fresh green beans. It was great. I really wish I had taken some pics.
Angel made some beef jerky last night that I grabbed a few pieces of. I had to sample some before I get serious. I also had some peaches. I had bought a big can of it without realizing they are not usually made in their own juices. I have really been clueless here.
Tomorrow will be a much better day. I have chickpeas that I soaked since this morning for hummus. It’s simmering I the crock overnight and I will make in the morning. I have lots of carrots to eat with it instead of corn chips. I have a bag of chicken breasts, lots of eggs, fish, and veggies. I don’t remember seeing that much veggies in my fridge. I even went back out today and purchased some Jam and peanut butter without corn syrup. It took a bit of digging but they were there. I also bought some corned beef. To be honest, I looked it up first to make sure it had nothing to do with corn. Sounds crazy but I figured you never know!
Although I keep telling myself this corn free diet could be temporary, I know deep down I am going to have to get this family off the high fructose corn syrup. I can see soda being a huge problem in the future. My husband loves his Pepsi and Maltza.
I will admit, I am going to miss the occasional root beer / cream soda. I don’t get it often but when I do, I love it.
Do you pay attention to your food labels? What would be the hardest food you would have to give up?
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