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Gluten-Free and Long Run!

When I finished my sugar-free week , I posted about trying some different styles of eating a week at a time. When I eliminate something from my diet, it really opens my eyes to the ingredients in food and causes me to think about what I'm putting into my body. For me, this is so important since I'm often guilty of tossing in whatever sounds good at the time!

This week, I have decided to try eating Gluten-Free. I've read so much about people who live a GF lifestyle and I'm really curious to see how it works out for me. I love my carbs, so I was worried at first about eliminating things like bread, wheat tortillas, and pretzels. Once I started exploring though, I discovered just how many gluten-free choices there are for almost EVERYTHING! My recent purchases:
Rice bread instead of my normal wheat/rye
To replace Clif bars: Lara, Bumble, and Kind bars!
Gluten-Free pretzels!
With the basics covered, I'm really looking forward to the coming week of exploring new foods and paying more attention to labels.

Luckily, I'm not alone in this challenge. Cara from Eat.Pray.Run is also eating Gluten-Free this week and blogging all about it as well! I'm looking forward to hearing how she does and learning from her. She cooks and eats some amazing foods, so follow her to see how the week goes! She also happens to be ridiculously gorgeous. I'm not just saying that, really. See?


Today I had my last long-run before my half next Saturday, and finished at 8.61 miles. Random length? Yes. Hubs drove by and I just hopped in the car rather than heading home! I was so excited to finish in 1:19, so a 9:10 pace. That's my fastest long run EVER! To celebrate I made an asian-inspired (ish) dinner. Edamame, Thai noodles with peanuts (I can't call it Pad Thai, it was way too simple to be that!) corn, and tons of ginger. Pickled ginger is so amazing and I can't get enough of it!


Do you eat a gluten-free diet or have you ever tried it? Advice, suggestions, and products please!
This is the first time I've ever tried to avoid Gluten intentionally, so I could use your expertise. If you have any favorite snacks or meals without gluten, share the info!

Do you love Ginger?
If you say no we might not be able to stay blog friends. (Don't worry, we'll probably be ok) My favorite part of getting sushi is the ginger, so tasty!

Comments

  1. Awesome job on your long run! You seriously kicked some mileage booty!

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  2. I have heard bits and pieces on the gluten free lifestyle. Did a little research but I am excited to learn more and read about your personal journey. Great run!

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  3. I've done some reading on going gluten free, but I've decided that, unless my body is intolerant for some reason, I'm going to stick with eating wheat. There are so many nutritional benefits to it and eliminating that on top of not eating meat, is not the way to go for me. Good luck, though! can't wait to hear how it goes!

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  4. I have friends who have GF lifestyles, but Idk what all they really eat. I have thought about going GF because sometimes I feel sick when I eat certain Gluten things. Ive never had ginger so idk if I would like it

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  5. Great job on your run!! I've never thought about going Gluten free but I am interested to read if you notice any changes!! Looks like you had a great weekend!

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  6. I have never done gluten free, I love my carbs too! I think I would be lost without them :) You will have to let us know if what you bought will fill your carb needs.

    I love Ginger too, I have never bought it before. I usually only eat it when I am eating sushi but I should really just buy it.

    Nice Job on your run!!
    Sarah

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  7. I have never tried a GF diet, but my aunt is celiac and I helped her promote her GF section of the family farmstand, so I am pretty familiar with the choices out there.

    I definitely want to try a GF diet, I just didn't know if I had the discipline for it - but a week sounds like a reasonable time period to give it a shot, can't wait to hear how it goes! I might just try this out soon!!

    There are a bunch of recipes online to make your own Larabar type of snacks too, I know those bars can get a little heavy on the pocket.

    I am obsessed with ginger - my first week on my college field hockey team, I freaked everyone out when I chose the ginger infused icecream over a typical chocolate fudge brownie...I also eat the entire serving of the pickled ginger that comes with my sushi, whether I am sharing it with others or not...

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  8. The GF diet this week sounds interesting! I'm looking forward to hearing how it goes for you.

    Awesome long run! You'll rock your race!

    Also love giner, by the way :)

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  9. I never use the ginger on my sushie but I do like to put ground or minced ginger into some of my dishes. As far as gluten free I have never tried it but I do eat some gluten free items such a rice pasta.

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  10. I am gluten-free because of an allergy. It's really not an issue when it comes to eating at home, but when you want to eat out, that's kind of tough! Not many places can guarantee a gluten-free meal.

    The white rice bread is okay, but I prefer this brand: http://udisglutenfree.com

    I find the rice bread to be a little too thick, and it sometimes gives me heart burn. I do LOVE my Larabars, though, and pretty much everything from Glutino is good :)

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  11. I've had the gluten-free pretzels... so tasty!! :D

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  12. I've not tried gluten free myself, but several people I know have had a lot of success with it!

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  13. Good luck with your GF week! And nice run lady, you are going to crush that trail half this weekend!

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  14. I've never gone totally gluten free but I did eliminate a lot of gluten from my diet to help ease some of my IBS issues (it helped!! but cutting out all dairy definitely helped more) -- a couple of companies make gluten-free oats, which are a great carb, and I love bread made by the food for life company. Anything by Udi's is good too!

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  15. Congrats on an amazing run! You must be on cloud 9!! I did the gluten-free thing during my cleanse back in march... I found it expensive but not that hard to do, once you had the gluten-free options in your house! Hopefully it will be just as painless for you too :-)

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  16. I eat a gluten free diet. Food For Life makes AMAZING cinnamon raisin bread. It's really good breakfast bread. Also, Glutino makes a corn based sandwich bread that is so delicious. It's in the frozen section, so I just stick it in my toaster oven and have a warm sandwich. Tamarin makes a gluten-free soy sauce and other gluten free sauces, as does Annie's. Vans makes DELICIOUS gluten-free waffles and Udi's has yummy gluten-free muffins. However, don't get tricked in to thinking just because it says 'gluten free', that it's healthy. Plenty of the GF stuff is still junk!

    If you want to eat out, google the restaurant you're thinking of before you go. On celiac.com they have reviews and things of restaurants. I'd stay away from Asian cuisine as you never know what's in their sauces or what kind of soy sauce they're using. There's a lot of restaurants with gluten-free menus :)

    Ginger is ok - no love no hate so... it's ok. lol

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  17. I am curious to see what effects you find with your GF diet. I am pretty good with nutrition, but that's one area that I don't know that much about.

    Would you believe that I am 21 years old and JUST tried ginger root fo the first time? It was a Thai chicken recipe that I found on another blog. I LOVED it. My husband, on the other hand, thought it tasted like floor cleaner. I've gotta find other recipes to use it in!

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  18. wow vanessa what a long and fast run!!! you are amazing!

    I have some friends that do gluten-free but none that blog about it. I hear its a great way to live, but we are still too cheap to afford it :( maybe in 10 years? :) its still hard enough to convince the hubs we NEED fruits and veggies every day in our diets... way to go for going sugar free for a week! you have way more restraint than I do!

    PS. LOVE ginger...

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  19. I have a friend with celiac disease so I didn't gluten free for a week just to see how much work it is. Yeah, I like my bread and cookies too much. Even though I learned a lot and have added more GF things to my diet. Like sometimes using pasta that is GF.


    I eat crystallized ginger as a snack all day. I also cook with it all the time. I keep ginger roots in my freezer so they are quick to grab and grate in anything!

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  20. I can't wait to see how your week turns out!
    Good job on the long run!

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  21. I eliminated wheat (among other things) in my detox diet in February. I loved how my body felt! I posted on it if you want to check it out. I don't like eating the products that are created gluten-free---I just stick to things that are naturally gluten free like rice, beans, veggies, corn tortillas, ect. good luck!

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  22. I can't wat to see how your week goes. I don't think I could go gluten free. I have found when I cut something out of my diet completely I crave it and later end up binging.

    I did eat Vegetarian once for a week just to prove to myself that I could do it. The sense of accomplishment afterward was amazing.

    Good Luck!

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  23. Not a ginger fan. We should be better blog friends because if we ever share virtual sushi, you can have my virtual ginger. :)

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  24. Also, I have something for you over on my blog today! go check it out!

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  25. Congrats on the great long run.

    My sister-in-law is gluten-free, because of health reasons, and says at first the transition was hard, i.e finding gluten-free products in a small town, and the high cost of such products. Now, though, it's just a part of her lifestyle and the entire family has adopted it, too.

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  26. Kudos for your long run! Great time!

    I have never tried a Gluten Free diet. I need to do my research and find out what is beneficial about it. I've always been curious about that. Good job for having that control and discipline to cut that out of your diet. Can't wait to see how that goes for you.

    I am a mini fan of ginger. Sometimes I like it, other times it's too much for me. I'm all about Sushi though! YUM!

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  27. Great job on your run! I am so excited for your half this weekend and can't wait to hear all about it. :)

    Good luck with the gluten free diet. I have read alot about it and I am excited for you to try it out.

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  28. Nice run! You're awesome & speedy.

    I've never tried a gluten free diet, so I'm curious to here what you think of it.

    I'll admit, not a ginger fan! :-)

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  29. Way to go on your long run...so inspiring!

    runningtobeskinny.com

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  30. Great run!!!

    I've never tried to go GF. I think I would be eliminating WAY too many things from my diet if I tried that too! BUT blueberry LARABAR?!?! I have never seen that here before :( I think I would die. I need to go to the US pronot to stock up on flavours we don't carry here!

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  31. Goodluck on the Gluten free diet!! I tried it once, but I found it to be incredibley hard. Sadly I have no tips for you. Sorry!

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  32. I know some people who eat GF and I've tried a few of the products. It's actually amazing how so many places/companies are adding GF to their menus and product lines...I mean even Godfather's Pizza?!?! I think that's great because I'm a complete Carbo freak and feel bad for the people who couldn't eat many of them if there weren't replacements out there. I've only sampled a few, but what I have tasted seem to be pretty good. I hear Udi's is one of the best. Good luck and it'll be interesting to see what you think!

    As for your run CONGRATS...take confidence in knowing you rocked that last long run and will do great in your half! Good luck. :)

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  33. Love Lara bars! Haven't tried the bumble ones. I can tolerate ginger in small portions. I've considered trying gluten free but never really researched it. Keep us posted.

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  34. Here we go!!! I am looking forward to this week and i'm about to head to my local health food store to grab the neccessities! Thanks for the sweet shout out too - I'll be posting this afternoon!

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  35. I have never eaten gluten free, I'm kind of scared to try it, but I will be interested to see what the substitutions are. Please keep us informed!

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  36. Great run!!!! You are so ready for your race!

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  37. I really like GF rice noodles. Soooo good

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  38. I will love to see how this gluten free week turns out for you! I love my gluten filled foods I would have a SERIOUSLY hard time with this!

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  39. My SIL and her daughter are both gluten intolerant and so are some other members of my husband's family. So, I ate gluten free for one week, in order to see how difficult it would be to make the switch, if we ever need too, for his health.

    I found it fairly easy as I do tend to eat mostly 'clean' foods anyway. And if you want breads, pizza crusts, crackers, pancakes, etc. there are lots of gluten free products around now - you jut pay more for them, I think.

    Brown rice pasta is similar to the whole wheat.

    Have fun with it.

    Ginger? Yes, pickled, fresh ,crytalized, ground, tea, cookies....

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  40. Nice work on your long run, you're going to kick that half's butt!

    I also LOVE the pink ginger slices with sushi :)

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  41. Thanks for stopping by my blog today! I don't know a ton about gluten-free, however, it is something I am interested in learning more about. Any good information sources you know off hand?

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  42. I do gluten free, so I'm excited to see how it goes for you!

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  43. Re: ginger-- try grated ginger with some grated mint and agave in water (sparkling water is even better) for a reaaaallllly tasty/refreshing drink!

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  44. What a cool idea! I've been debating going vegan for a week just to see if I could do it and also to notice how many animal products I eat. You are definitely pushing me in that direction haha

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  45. Great pace for your long run!!

    I'm very interested to read how this week goes for you on your GF diet!

    Thanks so much for your awesome comments!!

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  46. i love reading about your attempts with different eating styles, cause i'm just way too weak to try them out even for a week lol.

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  47. My youngest is allergic to wheat and while I nursed her, I eliminated all wheat from her diet. It's not as hard as it seems, but eating out can be tricky. They do sneak gluten into things you would never guess. PS - there is so much better gluten free bread than that type. We use a tapioca bread, but my daughter also can't eat eggs or peanuts.

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  48. when i have sushi, i think i eat just as much ginger! i used to think it was gross, so maybe it is an acquired taste. i love it though!

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  49. i'm a little behind on your blog (sorry) but wanted to comment on this post. this seems like a great challenge and i wish you luck. i can't wait to hear how gluten-free effects your body (if at all). recently i listened to one of jillian michael's podcasts about GMO's and organic foods. she has an interesting perspective on the "gluten free" and while i can't stand to hear her voice, i think she's a very smart woman. if you're ever bored, check it out.

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