I Love My Villi

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T20:44:00.002-05:00

I haven't been posting much lately because I've been feeling pretty rough for the past week. My doctor ordered more blood tests to be done and they came back higher.. we'll see what she says now.

I can't keep living like this.

Maggiano's

2008-11-22T09:54:00.009-05:00

Friday night has generally been reserved for my friend Josh to eat dinner together.. At least since I graduated from college. The planning usually happens around 4PM on Friday when I realize we haven't decided on what restaurant we're trying or repeating. Sometimes I make dinner, but lately my gluten-free meals have not been mastered. Undercooked pizza crust? He ate it anyway and even the last piece on my plate.

We showed up at a tapas restaurant first and after learning of their hour wait at 7:30PM Josh decided we needed to go somewhere else. He called Maggiano's in the parking lot of the other restaurant to confirm I could eat something. They had the gluten-free pasta in stock so we were set. Maggiano's wait was 45 minutes and the waitress was missing a lot once we were seated, but at least her bubbly self never swayed so if we had to wait 10 minutes to get water that's OK!

The restaurant was jam packed so really I shouldn't complain. We were both irritable from the lack of food. The waitress asked if we had ever dined there before and while we both said yes I flew into my question mode not even allowing to explain the specials or whatever she might announce. We weren't there to enjoy a romantic dinner so we didn't need to order after the appetizer came out. I sent her on a mission to find out about the caesar salad sans the croutons and ordered the gluten-free pasta with alfredo sauce and broccoli. Then at the last second I remembered to order a Redbridge beer.

I tried a gluten-free beer my first night of being gluten-free and after two sips I decided I wasted the $5-6 I spent on it. Redbridge was different. For the first beer I've had in over a month it was very refreshing. It is a full-bodied lager with a rich taste. It was my appetizer while Josh devoured the loaf of bread by himself. I was a little jealous watching him soak up the chewy bread in a pool of olive oil. (see the photograph above that Josh snapped with his iPhone)

The salad arrived and we polished it off without any conversation. It was the best part of the meal. My favorite caesar dressing pre gluten-free isn't gluten free. Which reminds me to get back in the kitchen and make my own!

Dinner showed up and it looks like I picked out the kid's pasta with an adult portion. I'm not sure if they make a separate sauce or if the sauce is just absorbed differently with the corn pasta. It wasn't fluid at all. It needed to be topped with parmesan plus salt and pepper. The broccoli was a little undercooked, but amazing I was eating gluten-free at a restaurant where the server had at least heard of the word.

Leftovers for lunch today!

Five Guys Burgers

2008-11-21T14:28:00.002-05:00

With only one known gluten "oops" I've done pretty well being gluten-free for the past month. I've gone from wanting to hide under my desk M-F and sleeping as soon as I got home to being wide awake at 10PM!

Anyhoo... I had my second lunch out in a month (first was at Wendy's). I read somewhere that Five Guys was pretty gluten-free except for the bun. This morning I decided that is where I was going for lunch regardless if I had to go by myself. Luckily two of my coworkers were up for the 15 minute ride to grab a cup of fries and a messy burger with me.

When I started ordering I knew the cashier was going to yell out "regular!" as soon as I said I wanted a burger. I stopped him and said make sure they didn't make mine with a bun. He didn't even try to hide that I seemed nuts by rolling his eyes and then searching around for the "no bun" option on the register.

I ate my incredibly messy burger with my foil and left with a smile.

Yesterday I had a skin allergy test with the most obnoxious doctor and I found out a new food allergy: oysters. Luckily I don't mind...

Pomelo

2008-11-18T11:05:00.004-05:00

The photograph that I took above was taken in Hong Kong when I went on a business trip to China last February. One of my coworkers that works in China had his wife Pandora come along on my one day off to Hong Kong. Pandora and I walked the street market and I spotted these enormous green pomelo. At the time I had no idea what it entailed and Pandora called it a Thai grapefruit. She bought one for me to try. I was ecstatic.

Then I spotted one at Whole Foods this weekend. I grabbed one hoping this is what I shared with Pandora and her family after my farewell dinner. It was one of those moments where you share something so simple and yet you remember it for a lifetime.

A pomelo is like a mild grapefruit. It has pink flesh and an obnoxiously thick rind. Its a chore to remove the rind and sections, but worth the work to get to the fruit. Maybe it'll lose its novelty if I spot them every time at Whole Foods..

Sesame Chicken

2008-11-15T17:11:00.004-05:00

When I lived in Savannah there was a restaurant my friend Bobby and I went to practically every week. Neither one of us had to be begged in order to grab lunch or dinner there. The name of the place was Sakura and pretty much everything was Americanized Japanese food. They served sushi, udon, and the infamous sesame chicken that of course is only really served here in US. The sushi was cheap, but definitely not even worth it. For good sushi you had to go down the street to the ultra snobby Sushi Zen where there were no free refills.. (unheard of in Georgia!)

Anytime I had the opportunity to ask someone from Asia about the sesame chicken they'd roll their eyes and tell me it definitely wasn't authentic. It had a dark red sugary sauce with sesame seeds atop fried pieces of chicken that was served alongside a few pieces of broccoli and a fresh scoop of white rice. I haven't had it in a year a half since I last visited Savannah. Now I'm afraid I couldn't try it without getting sick.

I've tried making some Asian-inspired dishes over the years and something is always amiss. One thing I've learned is that oil has to remain hot and not to overload the pan with too much food at once.

Gluten Free Sesame Chicken

Ingredients

2 large whole boneless chicken breasts, 1" cubes
sesame seeds
vegetable oil - for frying
broccoli & white rice for the side dish

Marinade

2 tablespoons wheat free soy sauce
1 tablespoon sherry
1 teaspoon sesame oil
4 tablespoons of cornstarch (+ 4 more)
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking power
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Sauce

1/2 cup water
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon apple cider
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons wheat free soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon Cock sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

Directions:

Mix the marinade ingredients and marinate the chicken for 20 minutes. After marinating, add an additional 4 tablespoons of corn starch.
Mix together all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl. Pour into a pot and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. After the sauce has thickened, turn the heat and set aside.
To cook the chicken, add the marinated chicken pieces a few at a time (this is important!), and deep-fry until golden brown. Remove and place on paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Repeat until all the chicken is cooked.
Put all the chicken in the sauce and stir. Remove and place on a plate. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on the chicken. Serve with broccoli and steamed white rice.

Penne with Sausage and Zucchini Marinara

2008-11-13T19:27:00.004-05:00

One of the items I first picked up on my gluten-free shopping spree was a box of gluten-free pasta. I don't even recall the brand, I just remember it didn't taste good. I knew it couldn't be that bad if other people ate it with no complaints - there had to be a better brand. Luckily I found a better brand on first reattempt.

I made a marinara sauce to pair with the penne. Anything with sausage tastes better in my opinion...

Penne with Sausage and Zucchini Marinara

3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 Sweet Italian sausage links, sliced into thin sections
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons of Italian spices
Fresh basil to taste
1 bag of gluten-free pasta

Using a pan over medium heat saute the first six ingredients until cooked through. Then add the can of tomatoes, spices, and basil. Continue cooking the sauce for 25 minutes.

Boil a pot of water. Cook the pasta according to the directions.

Asian Inspired Beef & Tofu Salad

2008-11-11T18:47:00.003-05:00

Making a new recipe without following the directions is something that is fine by me.. until I need to actually record what I made on here.

On the drive home from work I thought about making pizza again. However, I didn't feel like driving to Publix to buy toppings - I knew my "International Farmer's Market" a few blocks away wouldn't carry what I wanted. So I opted for plan B - Asian inspired meal from my Kung Pao Chicken which I perfected last night - except didn't bother to photograph it so I'll have to share it later.

Ingredients thrown into a giant bowl:

Bean sprouts
Snow peas sliced in half lengthwise
Romaine lettuce
Peanuts
Sirloin steak cooked and thinly sliced
Fried tofu cubes
Green onion, sliced
Green pepper, diced
Cilantro
Thai Basil

Dressing

Wheat free soy sauce
Fresh grated ginger
Garlic clove
Sesame oil
Lime Juice

Glutino Pizza

2008-11-11T13:09:00.005-05:00

For lunch I tried a frozen cheese pizza by Glutino. The cheese actually tasted like cheese and the crust was tolerable. I think "thin crust" might be the way to go for gluten-free pizza, but I could change my mind.

Oops

2008-11-10T17:50:00.005-05:00

This weekend I drove past a health food store with an uncreative name like "Natural Foods" and I decided to pull over. Towers of gluten-free cereal greeted me when I walked in the door. If it looked appealing I might have actually picked up a bag or two. Some of this gluten-free stuff looks barely palatable for even Mikey.

As I walked each aisle I spotted orange stickers notifying me of all the gluten-free products.. or so I thought. Apparently I grabbed a bag of power-esque bars by Nana that were anything but gluten-free.

I bit into one for breakfast... "mmm this is too good, what's in it?" I thought to myself.

"Whole wheat flour.." ACK! I haven't had any major symptoms.. yet.

In other news I tried out some semi gluten-free friendly places this weekend - Rosa Mexicano and Chipotle. At Rosa's I had their killer guacamole made table style in a molcajete. For my my main course I had steak and chorizo over rice with dual sauces. I ate way too much food and didn't feel so hot the next day, but I don't know if it was what I ate or just dealing with whatever is still plaguing me.

On Sunday my mother treated me to Chipotle for helping her install a toilet and landscape lighting. I tried their hard tacos - both the chicken and the steak. It definitely doesn't compare to my beloved Moe's, but tolerable nontheless.

I also made wild rice and chicken soup this weekend. My friend said it was really good, but I felt like it was missing something. I would post the recipe, but I want to perfect it before I share it.

Apple Pie

2008-11-08T12:47:00.008-05:00

After making a half decent pie last week with my $1-bag apples I figured making the pie crust wasn't all that difficult. Wrong. I tried doing a mixture of half shortening and half butter. Waaaay too much fat. I threw the dough out and started over using the recipe below.

Crust

1 cup white rice flour
1 cup all-purpose gluten free flour
1 stick of butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. xantham gum
1 egg
cold water

Mix the flours, sugar, salt, xantham gum and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut up the stick of butter into very small pieces. Using a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour mixture until coarse. Next, add the egg and mix. Then add cold water sparingly until it forms into a ball - neither too wet or too dry.

Split the dough into two balls. Use one to roll out the bottom pie crust and the other to cut long sections for the lattice. Use extra rice flour to help roll out the crust.

Filling

5 golden delicious apples
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 stick of butter
1 tbsp. corn starch
1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
dash of ground clove
dash of ground nutmeg
lemon juice - for taste and to keep the apples from browning

Wash the apples and remove the cores and peels. I like to use the hole from the cored apple as a place to put my finger while using a vegetable peeler to peel the skin off. The middle of the apple will turn brown so you can either fill a bowl full of water and use lemon juice or just squirt the lemon juice directly onto the apple. After all the apples have been cored and peeled, use a mandolin or a very skilled hand and cut the apple into thin slices.

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a sauce pan, melt the stick of butter and mix in the corn starch. Add the remaining ingredients except for the apples. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add the apples and mix up until all the apples have been coated. Put the apple mixture on top of the crust in the pie plate. Using the lattice strips from the pie crust, layer over the apple mixture.

Bake the pie for 30 minutes or until the crust is slightly browned on top.

Lasagna is for Lovers

2008-11-06T18:33:00.010-05:00

When asked if I could live anywhere else in the world.. I always responded with my olive, wine, cheese.. and carbohydrate capital of the world: Italy. The only time I was in Italy was with my post-tonsillectomy crappy immune system contagious flu. I spent the week overdressed visually, but under dressed physically. I bared the freak winter storm, but ate the best food of my life.

I don't believe I managed to consume one bite of lasagna the whole trip. I had to die for saffron risotto at the best trattoria in Milan and the best damn chianti in Medona after walking miles in the freezing sleet. I wined and dined myself daily and took French prescribed medicine.. who knows if it was hazardous with alcohol consumption.

Getting off cloud 9 - tonight I made lasagna with rice lasagna. Using a recipe I discovered with my post-college roommate one night, we made lasagna for our double date. They ate it up. It was a meal of mmmmm. I've altered the recipe slightly, but I feel it fits my taste buds even better.

Lasagna is for Lovers

3 links of hot Italian sausage, cut up or ground
1 pound lean ground beef
2 zucchini, diced
1 container of sliced mushrooms
1 diced sweet onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
12 oz. can tomato paste
13 oz. can canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/2 tablespoon fennel or more (do not omit this!)
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 box rice lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 eggs
4 cups of mixed cheese - Parmesan, mozzarella, provolone, asiago, etc.

In a 5 quart sauce pan, cook zucchini, mushrooms, sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and tomato sauce. Season with fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375F.
To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top cheese mixture. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over cheese mixture. Repeat layers, and top with remaining cheese mixture. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

First Gluten Free Restaurant Adventure

2008-11-05T20:52:00.007-05:00

My sister came over to my house last night so we could swap presents. I received some really neat gifts from her honeymoon. She gave me a bag of "spizes" AKA spices, some killer looking pesto, and a beautiful scarf from Morroco. All gluten-free!!

I gave her a list of restaurants that were on my gluten-friendly list to eat dinner at and she chose P.F. Chang's. Having my own special menu was fun, but I kept eying her Ma Po Tofu that used to be my standard choice (though I haven't been in years!).

I ordered the chicken lettuce wraps as an appetizer. Delicious, but I think I can do better. I think the next time I make my lettuce wraps I'm going to add water chestnuts and maybe some mushrooms.

Our waitress was very helpful and when she didn't have the answer about the condiments on the table being gluten free she asked and brought back uncontaminated cups for my personal use. It was refreshing having someone as bubbly as she was for my first gluten free meal out.

For dinner I opted with a ginger chicken and broccoli. I think I'm going to tire of all my Asian inspired meals soon.

This weekend I plan on tackling some meals. I need to get new freezer friendly plastic containers. I would love to make lasagna and chicken and wild rice soup.

Breakfast of Champions

2008-11-02T18:05:00.005-05:00

Having out of town guests is a great excuse to make real breakfast. Waffles, eggs, and sausage patties. My friend Elizebeth and her daughter Carmen were there to help test out another new attempt and even show me how take better photographs. (Now if I can only resist the urge not to buy a digital SLR!)

I opened up a box of gluten free Cherry Brook Kitchen Pancake Mix from Whole Foods and made half decent waffles. I tried it without syrup first and it was tolerable, but of course a lot tastier with syrup.

The scrambled eggs seen in the photograph above are naturally gluten free, but I was lacking the energy to clean the pan from the sausage.. so they ended up being a little brown. Oops.

The photo above is courtesy of Elizebeth T.

Gluten Free Pizza

2008-11-01T17:06:00.006-04:00

Sometimes one craves beer and pizza. Impossible to give in once you become gluten free. Fortunately I picked up a box of gluten free pizza crust mix at Whole Foods last week. I haven't done a lot of reading on gluten free baking but I read enough that a lot of breads are anything but doughy.

Making anything from "a box" has never been my style. Though I knew if I didn't start out with some help I wouldn't have anything that looked like pizza. Therefore I modified the box recipe slightly - a little corn flour, Italian seasoning, and used pie plates instead of cake pans. The corn flour was so the dough wouldn't stick to me and so I could press it into the plate instead. The edges turned out a little too crispy, but I think if I bulk up the edges like regular pizza crust it should work better. I also tried several different pie plates - metal, metal with holes, and glass. The glass seemed to cook it the best.

I topped it with pepperoni and green olives. Not bad for my first attempt.

Best Dessert Ever

2008-10-31T20:38:00.005-04:00

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Sundae

Ingredients

1 liberal scoop Häagen-Dazs® Vanilla ice cream
2 Tbsp. hot fudge
Squirt of whip cream
2 Maraschino cherries
1 frozen gluten free cookie dough

Week 1 - Sour Cream Enchiladas

2008-10-31T15:48:00.005-04:00

Happy Halloween! If there is any recipe that my family has it would be sour cream enchiladas.

Sour Cream Enchiladas

Ingredients

2 cups cooked white meat chicken, cut into small pieces
1 lb. of grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 medium onion, chopped and sautéed in vegetable oil until tender
1 dozen corn tortillas softened by dipping briefly in hot vegetable oil

Sour Cream Sauce

16 ounces sour cream
¼ cup butter
¼ cup corn starch
2 cups chicken broth
2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped

Melt butter; add corn starch; add broth. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Add sour cream and heat until hot, but do not boil. Add peppers.

Assembly & Cooking Directions

Fill tortillas with chicken, onion, and cheese. Roll up and place in shallow pan. Cover with sauce and bake about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Day 5 - Mee Krob

2008-10-28T22:08:00.004-04:00

Delciousness!

1 bag rice sticks
vegetable oil
4 cloves minced garlic
2 large chicken breasts, shredded
1/2 lb. shredded pork loin
1 block of firm tofu, diced
3 tamarinds
lime juice to taste
1/4 cup fish sauce, or to taste
3 tablespoons sugar
Cock sauce
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
2 chopped green onions
romaine lettuce, washed and dried
2 eggs, beaten

I'm really not sure what you're exactly to do with making tamarind. I removed the gooey stuff from the pods and soaked them in a little water until they were mushy. Then I removed the seeds and smashed them up and added sugar to the concoction. I put this in a bowl and placed it off to the side.

I also mixed Cock sauce (amount depends on how hot you want yours) with the fish sauce and lime juice (to taste) in a separate bowl.

Using a deep fryer or pan heat vegetable oil to temperature. Add diced tofu until lightly browned and fried. Remove and set on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Keep the oil hot because you will need to make the rice sticks after the meat is completed. In another pan with a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil cook the minced garlic and green onions for about 2-3 minutes. Next, add the shredded chicken and pork until cooked through. Add fish sauce and cook for a minute. Then add the tamarind sugar mixture. Continue cooking over low heat.

In a small fry pan, cook eggs by laying a light layer - criss crossing as you go so that it is very thin. You aren't making scrambled eggs here. Cook the eggs and then add to the meat mixture. Mix and turn off the heat.

To cook the rice sticks you will use the hot oil. Break off some sticks - practice with just a few first until you get it right. Then drop it into the hot oil. It will poof up immediately. Be careful. Remove with tongs and place on paper towels to drain.

I put the rice sticks, meat, and bean sprouts on one plate and used a separate for the lettuce. Then you add little bits of each into the lettuce leaf and wrap it up.

Mmmm!

Day 4

2008-10-27T10:06:00.001-04:00

This morning I awoke feeling half decent. Then I began perusing the internet freaking myself out over the possibility of having multiple food allergies. I have a problem with too much time on my hands at work.

Here's my Want-to-Eat-List. Some will be slightly modified to work.

Kung Pao Chicken
Sesame Chicken
Gyro meat over salad with tzatziki sauce
Corn bread stuffing
Sushi - tuna!
Chicken Lettuce Wraps with crispy rice noodles
BBQ pulled pork
Pad Thai
Taquitos

My Story

2008-10-26T10:51:00.001-04:00

The best introduction is of course: My Story

In college I very rarely missed class - I'd go to class feeling well or not. I had tons of sinus infections and strange digestive problems. I'd take pills that caused me to stop and then pills that caused me to go. I was getting older I'd say. Drinking gave me headaches so I stopped for awhile. What kind of college student doesn't drink? So I drank and I felt lousy after one beer.

I worked out and couldn't lose a pound. So I joined Weight Watchers and lost about 2o lbs. Most meals were salad, veggies, and fruit. I rarely consumed bread or pasta. Then I wanted a sandwich really bad. I never went back to my diet.

In the summer of 2007 I went on a cross country road trip with my mother and sister. I was sick the whole trip. The first day my sister and I ate raw oysters in New Orleans. By the time we reached Houston we both were fighting over who got the bathroom. My sister began feeling better while I continued to sit in the backseat trying not to ruin our yearly trip.

I missed seeing the north rim of the Grand Canyon as I laid in the tent in horrible pain. My night in Vegas was spent in bed while my sister walked the streets alone and my mom won about $.37 down in the casino. We drove through scenic Utah and into Colorado while I sat in the back seat praying I would make it through the roads that exclaimed no services for 130+ miles. I ate boxes of raisins and pieces of fruit for breakfast hoping it would help. I bought pills and prayed it would work. Nope. It wasn't until we arrived in Kansas that I had to resort to other measures.

Over the year I gained back the 20 lbs. and then some. One morning I woke up and felt pretty rough. I went to work and by 10AM I had gone into the bathroom a dozen times but nothing happened. Someone offered me Tums. Sharp pains made me fall to the bathroom floor. I was in so much pain it didn't matter how grossed out I was about the dirty floor. I was freezing cold. I ended up under my desk with a portable heater while everyone went to lunch.

"Why don't you go home?" I knew I couldn't drive. Two coworkers helped me home. I spent the rest of the afternoon passing out again in my bathroom. I had no energy to take out the dogs. I had a friend take me to the doctor where I slept on the floor of the doctor's office. They pumped me full of fluids and gave me my diagnosis: Unknown, possibly viral infection

My weekend was spent in the bathroom and no one understood how much pain I was in. My mother graciously brought me bags of food. Nothing stayed in me. By Monday afternoon I knew I had to go to work. Who gets a stomach virus that lasts so long?

Months passed and I tried joining WW again. I felt weak and hungry all the time. It didn't last. My jeans were uncomfortable and I wore sweat pants whenever I wasn't at work. I was exhausted. I was dating a 4th year medical student and whenever I had an ailment his response was: ask your doctor. So when my ailments leaned towards any GI symptoms I kept it to myself. I was embarrassed and he was apathetic.

In February I came back from a China business trip wearing sweat pants. My boyfriend picked me up at the airport - not excited, but disgusted I was so dressed down. I felt miserable.

I continued having problems. I was exhausted and depressed. I came home after work only to sleep. Something was wrong, but what? I perused the internet. Nothing seemed to fit my symptoms.

At the end of July, I closed on my first home. I hired movers because I knew I couldn't carry more than a few boxes.

In August (2008) I went to my after hours doctor's office with severe abdominal pain, fever of 103F, and feeling like I was extremely constipated. The doctor said I had appendicitis and needed to go to the hospital immediately.

So I ended up in the ER at the hospital. After a CT scan they ruled it out and said I had terminal ileitis. They didn't know what was causing it and they sent me to a room to spend the night. I wasn't allowed to eat or drink. I was given dilaudid and anti-nausea medication and did bloodwork countless times.

In the morning I saw several GI docs and said I should get a colonoscopy. The colonoscopy was scheduled for the next day. I was allowed to consume chicken broth at that point. That evening I began prepping for the colonoscopy which really equated to me vomiting and spending the whole evening in the bathroom (until 4AM).. bloodwork again at 5AM. Colonoscopy was schedule at 7AM. After the colonoscopy the doctor told me I had Crohn's. While waiting to be wheeled back to my room the nurse let me see some of the photographs they had taken. Everything was bright red and not pink.

I was given a prescription for Pentasa from the doctor. I took the rest of the week off and resumed working the following week. I was extremely fatigued and didn't feel well. After the first few weeks I slowly had more energy.

My doctor told me that my labs showed that I did not have any positive markers for Crohn's. I scheduled another appointment to have my follow up visit and she suggested I have another colonoscopy in 3 months.

I continued having discomfort and so I contacted my doctor to see when I'd "feel better" or if this was normal. She suggested I do a pill cam to see really what was bothering me.

I did the prep for the pill cam - got extremely bloated (it took over 4 hours before I produced a BM with the horrible "cocktail") and prayed it would work.. because my stool was not completely clear like that want it for colonoscopy. However, they failed to tell me they gave me less because my stool didn't need to be completely clear like that for this procedure.

I took the pill cam and my doctor finally got back to me with my results. She says I do not have Crohn's and no way do I have cancer. She asked if I want a telephone appointment (our main communication is through email) and of course I obliged. I stopped taking the Pentasa that made me have diarrhea at least 4x a day.

When my doctor called I cried on the phone to her that I was in pain and that something was wrong. I told her I was upset and she began to play the role of a therapist, "Well what do you think is making you so upset?" I explained that I was given a diagnosis and now she has no idea what is wrong with me. She asked if I needed any medication for my pain. I declined. I did ask that I have another colonoscopy as crazy as it may sound. She kind of paused and agreed and the suggested I have another CT scan and more blood work.

I knew I wasn't crazy. I got the blood work taken: normal.

Then I went in for my CT scan: normal. What do you mean normal? That's what showed I had something wrong in the first place! I felt absolutely horrible after my first meal of fasting and the barium cocktail. Sharp pains and the desire to hide under my desk again. I left work popping an anti nausea pill and slept for hours.

I didn't have any normal bowel movements for 10 days. I used laxatives and enemas producing no results.

What was I going to do being the maid of honor for my sister's wedding? I began preparing myself. Of course nothing worked. I didn't feel good, but I wasn't in excruciating pain. I felt awkward requesting to go to my house the morning of my sister's wedding to take care of things. It worked enough - it got me through the day and down the aisle.

Everyone at the wedding knew I had been sick. I was at first bothered by so many people knowing. Then I was really touched that so many people cared.

I barely ate my dinner past the salad course. Nothing tasted right. I drank chardonnay and danced. Forgetting I was supposed to sample the wedding cake.

The next morning I felt horrible, but I knew I had to face everyone for the brunch. People began to see that I didn't feel great. My goal for the afternoon: sleep. After running a few mandatory errands I took a shower and fell asleep. I felt like someone hit me with a bowling ball.

My family and I went to dinner where I went to the bathroom three times during the meal. It was apparent and I couldn't really hide how horrible I felt.

The next day I prepped for my colonoscopy with the pills I demanded instead of the liquid. I started early because as a pro - I knew robs you of any sleep you desperately crave. I spent the evening camped out in my bathroom.

I had my colonoscopy the following morning. When the doctor came to present me with my results I was almost annoyed. What do you mean my colon looks normal? What's next? I was told to get blood work to be test for celiac disease. After searching for what could be wrong with me - I was all ready informed that meant no more gluten if these results came back positive.

I ate a sourdough bread bowl for lunch after the blood work. After fasting for so long it didn't matter waiting another hour. I resorted to my bed when I got home.

On Thursday I purchased three bags of flour. All-purpose, bread, and self rising. I had been attempting a sourdough starter for about a week. After I came home from the grocery store I had a message waiting for me from the doctor's office. Before I read the results I prayed I wouldn't be gluten intolerant - I just bought three bags of flour. Then I scrolled through the results: tissues were normal, but the gliadin anti-bodies were high. I freaked. What did that mean? I soon learned that I wouldn't be savoring another bread bowl again.

I spent Friday evening at Whole Foods with Christopher. After grumbling through the aisles he said, "Hey Tasha." His eyes motioned behind him. A huge sign screaming multiple shelves of gluten-free products sat in the corner. I squealed and went running. Pricey.

We made tacos with rice tortillas. I dumped my filling out and ate it with my gluten-free chips. I didn't feel like eating cardboard.

For brunch the next day we attempted gluten-free biscuits and gravy. It tasted like rocks.

For dinner I had the best gluten-free meal ever: white chili.

I'm beginning Day 3 of being gluten-free and I still have the same cramps, bloating, and fatigue. I know it will take time before I feel back to normal. I don't know if I'll resort to all the flour substitutes to eat items I once craved. Time will tell.