Food of the Week

The biggest change I've made in my life to help me to LIVE with my fibro symptoms has been to cut out gluten containing foods. I first decided to go gluten free back during the summer of 2010 - at that time there were only a handful of items out there and companies making good tasting gluten free alternatives. Over the past couple years, the gluten-free options available in the grocery store have EXPLODED!! This is a good thing for those with the allergy (celiac) or those like me who have a sensitivity to it. I've had the blood tests (which were included with the numerous others taken to get to my fibro diagnosis) that indicated I don't have celiac, but my doc said that if it helps, go for it! So I took the plunge and haven't regretted a single minute of it!

So, I'm going to try to highlight one gluten free product, brand or food item that I've found and love. Since we all have different tastes, something I think is good may not be what you decide tastes the best, SO, I'm asking for input from each of you for food items you may have found (that might not be available in the stores here in Minnesota) so they can be shared with everyone else.

To start off the "food of the week," I am focusing in on Udi's Gluten Free Bread. I was introduced to this brand by my nephew (he happens to be autistic and has found relief by going gluten free also) a few months back and have decided that I completely agree with him that it tastes about as close to "normal" bread as I think store bought gluten free bread can get.

Generally Udi's bread is found in the freezer section of most grocery stores (at least here in Minnesota); however more stores are beginning to shelve it in the bakery section - I was able to find some very good information regarding the shelf life of Udi's bread depending on where you store it from A Spoon Full of Wellness' blog. Here's what she says:

Here is the recommended shelf life for Udi products:
*       At room temperature: 5-7 days
*       In refrigerator: 21 days (the refrigerator will only prolong the life of the bread but since it's bread, it may dry out)
*       In freezer: 6 months
Please note their breads do not spoil, as with any other bread products, it will mold.  So as long as it's not moldy, you can refreeze or refrigerate the product.

There are a number of other Udi products, but I'll cover those in the future - but definitely do try yourself some Udi's products, they just might suprise you (and make you almost think you're eating "normal" food)!!