A Month of Gluten-Free

For awhile, I've planned on taking one month to go gluten-free, just to see if it makes any difference for my health. I've also been planning on trying to eat healthier, such as more organic, more fruits and veggies, more whole grains, less refined sugar and flour. Of course, I'm waiting until after Christmas and New Years. I figure this will be the best of both worlds - enjoy the Christmas goodies and then go g/f to lose the Christmas goodies weight! ;-) My mom is gluten-intolerant, and this often runs in families. While I'm at it, I'm also going to try my best to cut way back on refined sugar for the month. This is going to be QUITE the challenge, as I do like my breads and junk food. I figure I can do it for one month, and then if it makes a noticeable difference, the health benefits will be motivation enough to keep me at it. Truth be told, I'm really hoping that I won't have to be gluten free forever. If I do decide to eat gluten again, I'm hoping to grind organic wheat for bread and soak my grains whenever possible. Here's a rough plan for the next month. I've brainstormed some recipes that are gluten-free that I'll plan for for the next month. I'll refer back to this list when I do my weekly menu plan.

Breakfasts: Instead of my usual toast with coffee, I'll probably try having a rice cake with peanut butter, piece of fruit, egg/omelet, yogurt.

Lunches: I'm usually eating leftovers for lunch. Or, I often have a yogurt and fruit smoothie with crackers and cheese/tuna or something like that. For this gluten-free month, I'll probably stick with the same thing...just using rice crackers instead of regular crackers.

Supper: Here are a few gluten-free meal ideas I've been brainstorming

*Note: Although I'm trying my best to go truly gluten-free, there are some things (such as soy sauce and some canned soups in casseroles) that I'm just not going to worry about whether or not it's truly gluten-free because I am not celiac - I'll just try to use these in moderation*

Black Bean Soup, Sweet Potato Fries
Lemon Turkey Rice Soup
Lazy Cabbage Rolls
Turkey Casserole
Curried Beef Stuffed Squash
Pan-Seared Salmon with Thai Rice Noodles,
Flatlander Chili
Chicken Enchiladas made with Corn Tortillas
Slow Cooker Beef in Pomegranate Sauce, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Zesty Chicken Oregano, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Easy Curry Chicken and Rice
Spinach and Tomato Topped Salmon with Potato Wedges or Rice
Lemon Dill Baked Salmon
Asian Broccoli Chicken Stir Fry
Potato Soup