123 I'm Gluten Free.

So a few months ago I was feeling down, My down days had got worse and I was in bed again more than I was out. Something clicked in me and I decided something had to be done. I was going to start eating healthy again. Now this is easier said than done. I have always said if you are going to diet whether for health or weight. Your head must be in the right place. So, I knew the time was right and this time the diet was not for weight issues. It was to see if I could get more energy!!  I knew I was going to try Gluten Free again as I had dabbled in this before and I did think my energy levels got better. What I learnt from last time is this;

• It is very hard!!

•  Having pain, Fatigue and trying to cook every night is almost impossible.

• What happens if you make these new recipe's and don't like it? You have no food and no energy left!!

• This is also going to be very costly and hard work getting certain ingredients.

 You really have to take it as slow as you can getting your store cupboard staples but also need so much to start. So I decided to get prepared and scoured the internet for some great Breakfast, Dinner and Evening G/F Meals. What I didn't expect was to find Deliciously Ella 

 

  *affiliate link*

Ella  was everywhere, How had I never heard of her before? Her book looked fantastic but I needed it now!! and it was 10pm. arghhh, but wait, when you look further she has an amazing website and ap that is full of Recipes and advise. I was extatic!! I paid for the Ap, which is just £3.99 and although I hate spending out I knew I needed an easy way to get some good quality meals and then set about finding out what I need. The good thing about Ella is that a lot of her Recipes use the same ingredients so although sound rather samey really are not. I made a huge Shopping list;

Pumpkin Seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Flax Seed
Chia Seed
Almonds
Walnuts
Cashews
Brazil Nuts
Pure Cacao Powder
Spinach
Butternut Squash
Brown Rice
Oats
G/F Pasta
Medjool Dates
Nutritional Yeast

and much much more ha ha. I put my list into sections that I knew would be more beneficial to buy as I knew I wouldn't be able to afford everything. So I knew Almond Nuts were going to be a huge buy as I wanted to make Almond Milk and Butter plus it is a staple in a lot of energy foods and snacks. One thing I didn't factor is once I got to Morrisons to do my Shop that they would have the Deliciously Ella Book on sale!!!
Oh no what to do, do I sacrifice some ingredients for a Book. Hell yes!!! haha I love Books.

So in it went to my trolley, I was so excited. It has been a huge life saver. What I didn't realise at first what I was doing was actually going on a Gluten/Vegan Rawish Free Diet. This just happened. I have since tried adding Meat and Eggs to my diet to see if I feel any different and am  now back on the Gluten/vegan root for a few weeks as I am keen to see if it actually affects me and will do a post on what I have learnt.

Almonds are needed in large quantities and I use a lot of Cashews :) A good staple to buy in is also Pumpkin and Sunflower seeds :) *affiliate links*

Ella's book is amazing and really well thought out. It has sections in her book on all the different food groups; Grains, Nuts and seeds, Pulses, Vegetables, Fruit etc and she gives really good information and nutritional advise on each. I have learnt so much about what I am eating and why I am eating it. She has her story at the beginning which is lovely to read about how she got to where she is. I am so glad I bought this book as it has helped me so much. I don't always follow the recipes as written as don't always have a lot of the items needed and I have made some really delicious foods and snacks and I want to share these with you. To maybe help you if you are on a journey like me or just to show that Gluten/Dairy free can be beautiful. My taste buds have opened and my food range has widened. Don't get me wrong it has been hard and I haven't been able to stick to it ridgedly as my illness has got in the way. It hasn't given me my miraculous recovery I was hoping for but I do think it has given me a better quality of life and made me stronger to hopefully start pushing myself more and more without crashing. I want to share this journey with you and maybe help people trying to do this themselves but I don't want this Blog to be all about illness and recipes. I also want to show the fun times I have. Times I spend with my Grandchildren and times I manage to craft. Share tips and advise and things I learn and I hope that is is exciting enough to grab you and want you to read more and follow me on my journey. 

My Book, Well read and tagged

 

 So back to Ella,  she has an amazing Blog and posts regularly on all different topics and is always adding recipes. The only downside I see to following Ella is that somethings she posts things that are very pricey. Some juices she Blogged about for a detox she did sounded fantastic and just what I felt I needed in my life but when I checked them out it was like £70 for a one day pick me up and I just dare not look how much a retreat stay was she wrote about was but I do totally understand if she gets given things she has to Blog about them. I know I would snatch the offer up. Also things like Medjool Dates. I started off using them because Ella rates them very highly but as the costs were rising I changed to just normal dates and although they are not as juicy, They do still work.  

See the difference in price! If you can afford them definitely go for Medjool but if not normal dates with a bit of Water, Milk or Date syrup work just as well.

So with my savvy saving and Ella by my side I am hoping to be in this for the long run.
I am so excited to share my Gluten free, sometimes Dairy Free diet with you and hope you enjoy reading. xx