Hello From Sw Washington

[Ewilson0215]

Hello everyone! I'm fairly new to the forums and this is my first post. I've been coming here and browsing the forums for a great wealth of information. I found out that I have gluten intolerance in November of 2009. We couldn't figure out why I was having migraines almost every day. My days consisted of getting up, going to work, going home and crawling into bed because I felt so crappy. Through the help of my naturopath/accupuncturist we determined that gluten intolerance was my problem.

I'm still learning the good things to eat and the not so good things to eat. Sometimes it's hard to give up the stuff you once really loved but I'd also rather not feel like crap everyday.

Anyway, I'm looking to connect with anyone but more specifically in the SW Washington/Portland, OR area.

[celiac-mommy]

We're in Portland. You couldn't be in a better place if you're going to be gluten-free! I'd love to help in any way I can

[macocha]

And I am just north of SW Washington - grew up in SW WA in fact. Now I am outside of Tacoma.

do I hear support group? lol

Welcome!

[Ewilson0215]

We're in Portland. You couldn't be in a better place if you're going to be gluten-free! I'd love to help in any way I can

Nice to meet you! Do you belong to any support groups in the area? I still consider myself in the learning phase. Quick dinners or quick lunches seem to be a problem right now. Any suggestions for quick meals?

[Ewilson0215]

And I am just north of SW Washington - grew up in SW WA in fact. Now I am outside of Tacoma.

do I hear support group? lol

Welcome!

Thank you! Lol, yeah I am thinking I need to find one.

[Jodi Mills]

From Puyallup, there is a group in south king county, unfortunately I was never able to make it to a meeting. I am sure there is one somewhere closer to Ya'll. I personally would like to find one in the tacoma/puyallup area...

[celiac-mommy]

Nice to meet you! Do you belong to any support groups in the area? I still consider myself in the learning phase. Quick dinners or quick lunches seem to be a problem right now. Any suggestions for quick meals?

We belong to the ROCK group....mostly 5-8 year old kids I'm more self taught. Lots of research and hours logged online. I made dinner in about 15 minutes last night--threw a bunch of organic chicken drumsticks into a pot with some teriyaki sauce (I used homemade but you can use a store bought gluten-free kind), brought it up to a boil, decreased to medium heat and covered. While that was cooking, I made some minute brown rice and threw together a green salad. I kept an eye on the chicken, turning every 5 minutes and when it started separating from the bone, it was ready! It made enough for lunches today.

We rarely eat out, even though there's a vast amount of options here, I just enjoy cooking. I'm also busy, so I look for stuff I can throw in the crockpot or whip up in under 30 minutes. Last week I took a package of lean pork chops, threw 'em into the crockpot with 1/2 a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce and a 1/2c of hot water, cooked on high for about 6 hours and when I went to pull them out of the pot, they totally fell apart! I served over pasta on day 1 and in corn tortillas with some basic coleslaw on day 2. They were amazing--or so my family told me (cuz I don't eat meat ), it smelled amazing!!

I do lots of salads, lots of fresh produce. My kids love PB, honey and bananas on the caramel rice cakes (Quaker--says gluten-free right above the nutritional info) and I have to say they are an amazing snack! I make a bunch of trail mix, just grabbing various boxes of stuff from my pantry and dumping it in a bowl.

I can totally help you with any recipe if you have something specific in mind. I'm all about cooking for a crowd-only feeding the 4 of us and freezing the rest or saving for leftovers!!

[Ewilson0215]

We belong to the ROCK group....mostly 5-8 year old kids I'm more self taught. Lots of research and hours logged online. I made dinner in about 15 minutes last night--threw a bunch of organic chicken drumsticks into a pot with some teriyaki sauce (I used homemade but you can use a store bought gluten-free kind), brought it up to a boil, decreased to medium heat and covered. While that was cooking, I made some minute brown rice and threw together a green salad. I kept an eye on the chicken, turning every 5 minutes and when it started separating from the bone, it was ready! It made enough for lunches today.

We rarely eat out, even though there's a vast amount of options here, I just enjoy cooking. I'm also busy, so I look for stuff I can throw in the crockpot or whip up in under 30 minutes. Last week I took a package of lean pork chops, threw 'em into the crockpot with 1/2 a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce and a 1/2c of hot water, cooked on high for about 6 hours and when I went to pull them out of the pot, they totally fell apart! I served over pasta on day 1 and in corn tortillas with some basic coleslaw on day 2. They were amazing--or so my family told me (cuz I don't eat meat ), it smelled amazing!!

I do lots of salads, lots of fresh produce. My kids love PB, honey and bananas on the caramel rice cakes (Quaker--says gluten-free right above the nutritional info) and I have to say they are an amazing snack! I make a bunch of trail mix, just grabbing various boxes of stuff from my pantry and dumping it in a bowl.

I can totally help you with any recipe if you have something specific in mind. I'm all about cooking for a crowd-only feeding the 4 of us and freezing the rest or saving for leftovers!!

Thank you so much for the suggestions, those are great! I keep getting ideas and think I'm just going to start putting my own recipe book together when I find stuff that I like.