I'm in a weird place, and I can't figure out why. I've been living on soup, grilled cheese, and yellow cupcakes at lunch for about the last two weeks. The grilled cheese isn't bad, it's all organic cheese, and the bread is homemade. But the soup has been good old Mrs. Grass' and I'm going through it like it's water. The yellow cupcakes? I figured out how to make a single cupcake in the microwave using a boxed cake mix. I'd be less worried if it was at least organic, and not topped with the canned frosting.

I've also been in a place where I'm not hungry, except at breakfast. I've been making myself eat, and my exercise schedule is not really out of whack. I made a pot of stew, knowing I'm looking for hearty, cold weather food, and since I had to make it gluten free, I'm finding it kind of repulsive since it's not comforting or satisfying at all.

I've been able to get a few salads down, usually at dinner time, but my disinterest in food also includes veggies. (So not me, since I inhale asparagus, broccoli, and other "odd" veggies like they're about to go out of style.)

To make it all worse, I (who claim to be the queen of rice lovers everywhere) tried to make myself like lentils by mixing a small amount in a huge batch of brown & wild rice mix. I'm at the point where I can taste every single lentil and am almost unable to even enjoy the rice anymore. And I have a good 5 cups of the mix left.

I really tried to eat my lunch (technically dinner since I was eating at work) today, I had the afore mentioned stew and rice. I couldn't do it. I picked out the beef & mushrooms, pitched the veg, sauce, and rice mix, and headed to McDonalds (the closest place to grab anything before I had to be back at work). At least I limited the damage to a plain fish sandwich (first one in a good 2 years) and yogurt parfait.

Nothing sounds good anymore, no veggies, some fruit is tolerable, and if it's not white noodles, grilled cheese, or soup, forget it, I'm not eating it. I wonder if it's the cold weather, the readjustment of my body to the thyroid medication, that I'm a texture eater and all of the gluten free meals I've been making just don't cut it for me because all of the textures are off from what is "normal", if it's because I'm still stuffy from the bronchitis, or if my body's just being a pain in the rear.

If anybody has any ideas, feel free to throw them out there. I'm at a loss to fix this, and I know I can't keep training (I'm in half marathon maintenance mode for the winter now) on all this not so great for me food.

quote:

Originally posted by CatherineM:
Seriously, if you need any advice on gluten-free cooking, all you have to do is ask.

Thanks so much Cate. I really appreciate that offer. I think we've got it down pretty well now, DH is pretty happy with what he's been eating. (Although apparently he hated the hamburger buns we bought this past weekend.)

I will definitely holler if I get stuck.

No on the pregnant. That's not even a remote possibility.

The gf thing is my weird need for certain things to have certain textures. Since dh is the one who's gluten intolerant, it's not that the stew was bad, it tasted okay. It's more the "slimy" texture of the tapioca that I used to thicken it that got to me. I always have been a texture snob, and have trained myself to not eat something that doesn't taste good. Unfortunately, either I make two derivates of each meal for the house, or one of us has to live on boxed soup and sandwiches. (Lately it's been me , so DH now has a ton of leftovers.)

I don't mind the gf pasta that is just corn based or corn & quinoa based, but my body doesn't like corn (or rice flour based items) and that is making things harder. Either I eat it and am miserable, or I make two kinds of pasta, and the later is looking like my best solution (plus I eliminate the texture thing).

I decided to give DH the rice/lentil mix. I'm going back to my normal stuff. He doesn't care as much about textures, he just wants fed.

Thanks for all the thoughts. It dawned on me last night that I've had three big tests three weeks in a row, and haven't had a free weekend in two weeks. I suspect tomorrow about 11am I'll at least be a little less stressed out and will (hopefully) head back into somewhat normal eating.

I would agree with everyone else that it's probably some combo of your bronchitis and the medication. If the Mrs Grass's soup is tasting good, why not try to health it up, by making some homemade chicken stock and adding some veggies and rice, then there is no gluten issue, you can have the rice you actually like.

As for the rice and lentil thing, I say pitch it. I don't like lentils either. If you can't afford to pitch it, freeze it in one cup portions, and save it for another day when you can mask the flavors in soup or with a sauce.

Could you try some of those vegetable/fruit juices just to get you by? I know that they are not as good as real veggies, but it is probably better for you than some other things. If you need a sweet treat, you could pour them into freezer pop molds. Or you could pour some in a shallow pan and make granita. KD's tangerine granita is great. I love it when I am feeling under the weather.

Could you add a slice of tomato or some bacon to your grilled cheese to up the veggies, or protein? I just saw a cooking show where they added pear to a grilled cheese, and depending on the cheese that could be great. Apple would be good too.

If you haven't already, check out the glutenfree girl's website. http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/
She has lots of wonderful looking recipes for when you are feeling better. Most of them are things that wouldn't have had gluten in them in the first place, so textures and expectations wouldn't be an issue.

Good luck. I hope you are feeling better soon. My food has been a mess lately too, I think I see the wagon ruts, but the wagon is long gone...

I've also noticed that being stuffy affects me.

I'm surprised you were not able to make a good gluten-free stew... hmmmm... I use red wine in mine with a mixture of cornstarch and tapioca, (sometimes potato flour)what did you use to thicken it? I've never been a big fan of the bean flours for stovetop use, they don't cook enough to get the 'beany' taste out. Mac and cheese is difficult, because the pasta is so different. There is one brand I like, Bionaturae. Some gluten-free pastas are HORRIBLE. Seriously, if you need any advice on gluten-free cooking, all you have to do is ask.

Could you be pregnant? I know that was one thing that changed my tastes dramatically.

quote:

Originally posted by Sandy:
Hugs, Laura.

I hate it when food is not satisfying or even acceptable! When that happens I often end up overeating to try to satisfy myself.

I've had to make a lot of changes regarding the foods I eat. I have removed almost all the fat from my diet. So many of my old standbys just don't work any longer. For example, I used to make a low fat, ww version of mac and cheese where the only fat was from 2 ounces per serving of low fat cheese. When I tried the recipe with fat free cheese, I ended up throwing the batch away. It was bad. Some things just can't be morphed AND be satisfying. I really felt for you around the beef stew : (

Sounds like you have a lot going on with being sick and starting meds. Hang in!

I hear you on the mac and cheese, that turned out to be a gf experiment that was very unpleasant last weekend (and was supposed to be the one dish I picked for a really late birthday party, which made it even more depressing). I was really, really disappointed. Maybe I should try and make a batch of the real stuff, mac & cheese is still one of my absolute favorite things...

Hugs, Laura.

I hate it when food is not satisfying or even acceptable! When that happens I often end up overeating to try to satisfy myself.

I've had to make a lot of changes regarding the foods I eat. I have removed almost all the fat from my diet. So many of my old standbys just don't work any longer. For example, I used to make a low fat, ww version of mac and cheese where the only fat was from 2 ounces per serving of low fat cheese. When I tried the recipe with fat free cheese, I ended up throwing the batch away. It was bad. Some things just can't be morphed AND be satisfying. I really felt for you around the beef stew : (

Sounds like you have a lot going on with being sick and starting meds. Hang in!

quote:

Originally posted by Brie:

I think I would have a very hard time going back to my winter standbys and having them be altered.

Would it help finding some totally new recipes that don't taste like anything else so you aren't comparing the non-gf to the gf recipes?
Could you make yourself the non-gf version or is cooking two batches of food just undoable?

I've been trying to avoid making two meals, since cooking is a challenge with my schedule this semester anyway, but I'm starting to think I'm going to have to.

Apparently my thyroid meds cause a change in appetite, but it's an increase. I guess I might have to run that one past the doc when I go in next week for my first check in appt.

I tend to make a shift to warm foods when the weather gets cold too. The most noticable meal for me is lunch when I go from salads to soups and warm wraps.

I think I would have a very hard time going back to my winter standbys and having them be altered.

Would it help finding some totally new recipes that don't taste like anything else so you aren't comparing the non-gf to the gf recipes?
Could you make yourself the non-gf version or is cooking two batches of food just undoable?

I also think that if you aren't totally over your bronchitis, it could be affecting your taste buds.

Hang in there!

While I was reading this, I was thinking, didn't Laura just start some new medications? Is loss of appetite or appetite change one of the side effects? I'd check with your doctor. Seems that's the most likely culprit.