Gluten-Free Holidays: Spring

Holidays are often tricky to navigate when you or someone in your family has to stick to a gluten-free diet.  In my house, two of us eat gluten-free and we're always trying to create some semblance of "normalcy" during holidays.  With Passover and Easter on the horizon, I thought I would pass along a few resources for celebrating, gluten-free style.

At GlutenFreeMatzo.com (pictured left), they provide a host of traditional Passover foods in gluten-free form.  This site was quite a find!  There is a helpful recipe section and they even sell a gluten-free Passover cookbook.  In addition, they offer gluten-free noodles, horseradish, honey and macaroons. All items are Kosher.  I especially like the gluten-free matzo.  Next, I have to try the macaroons (oh wait, I gave those up.  See - The Power of Sugar). If only they sold those little chocolate ring jell candies I adored as a child! I contacted the company for some information and to grab a box of matzo for my son and they were very helpful, courteous, generous and kind.  A great company all around.

Now, on to Easter....oh, Easter.  As a child who grew up in a house with Easter and Passover and now, an adult who is raising a family that celebrates both Easter and Passover, it is always so hard to get that Easter basket during Passover and have to wait until Passover is over to eat any of the goods inside.  Man, did I look forward to the chocolate bunny, Cadbury eggs, jelly beans and the Peeps.  Now that I have a little one, the Easter basket gets even more challenging by trying to make it gluten-free and low in sugar.  This year, since my son and I are also on the GAPS diet, I will be making homemade Easter treats - I'll let you know how that goes.  In the meantime, Indie Candy  is a great site to try if you need to make Easter an allergen free holiday.  Now, if I could only find some organic, gluten-free, low sugar Peeps!

Do you have special dietary needs?  How does it affect your holiday shopping?  Any recipes to share?  Leave a comment below.  Join the discussion!

The Power of Sugar

I recently attended a health conference in Long Beach where I was absolutely shocked to learn from one of the speakers that sugar is actually 4 times as addictive as cocaine.  What?  Four times more addictive than what!?!  I couldn't believe it but the proof literally is in the pudding.  With Diabetes escalating every day and waistlines ever expanding, it is not only clear in research experiments but also to the naked eye, that we have an addiction to sugar in the U.S.  

One of the quickest ways to get control of your weight and balance your body's blood sugar/insulin processes again is by cutting sugar out of your diet.  Even if you only eat "natural" sugars from fruit, honey, agave nectar, etc., you could be ingesting an enormous amount of sugar per day.  Now, I am not saying to cut sugar out of your diet forever.  Fruits definitely have some health benefits as does raw honey but by eliminating sugar from your diet for a short period of time, you let your body learn to regulate your blood sugar levels, get a better sense of when you're actually hungry, increase your immune system's ability to fight off illness and ward off Candida infections. 

Sugar is pervasive in our American diet.  All kinds of foods that you would not associate with sugar have been processed with this other "white powder." Did you know that taco seasoning and tomato sauce contain added sugars?  Can you see the hidden sugar in the picture above? In her step-by-step e-book, "I Quit Sugar," Sarah Wilson surprises herself by discovering how much sugar she actually consumed in a day.

A year ago, I quit sugar.  My health improved immediately.  Once you quit sugar, you don't crave sweets as much and when you do take a bite of dessert, a bite is all you actually need to feel satiated.  However, Valentine's Day was just a few weeks ago.  My husband wanted to be sweet and brought home a small tub of coconut macaroons for me.  It's really the only treat I can eat without having a reaction due to all of my food sensitivities.  It started out as one bite of one macaroon.  At first I thought they were too sweet.  I went back for another bite then another macaroon and then another. 

During the next few days, I was exhausted.  I started adding caffeine and more sugar to my diet to cope.  Within the week, my face had broken out with acne, I was severely dehydrated and I had a systemic Candida infection.  All of this from one bite of an ultra sugary macaroon.  Can you say addictive?  That's right, say it with me again - "4 times as addictive as cocaine!"  I was addicted.  And like most addictions, I had withdrawal symptoms for days after I decided to stop the sugar roller-coaster madness.  I've now been sugar-free for a week.  My acne and Candida have subsided, I'm able to sleep better and I'm full of energy.  Plus, I lost a few pounds off of the tummy tire I had acquired during my sugar binge.  

Well, I learned my lesson!  I'm not perfect.  I'm a Health Coach who fell prey to the siren call of sugar but at least I had the tools and knowledge to reign it back in quickly.  It's amazing the power sugar can have over your mind. Want to come out of your sugar fog?  Try my 30-day kick sugar program at The Healthy Plate. 

Have you ever quit sugar before?  Are you still sugar-free?  What were the results?  Join the discussion below.  I'd love to hear from you!