for those of you who don't know, Ryan has Chron's Disease. a while ago, his GI doctor suggested he try the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. which to us, seemed a bit extreme since it doesn't allow glutens, starches, or sugars. Ryan is a typical Irish guy - his diet consists mostly of meat and potatoes. how on earth was he (and I, since I live with him) going to be able to do this diet?
we never really pursued the SCD. I think it was just too overwhelming and we didn't know where to start. the only thing that we cut out of our diets at that point was anything heavily processed or containing HFCS (which Ryan still can't stay away from - Moxie doesn't come in a natural sugar version)...
lately I've had more and more (online and real life) acquaintances switch to a gluten free diet. I did some research and the benefits for Ryan would include some possible relief of the digestive issues he has from the Chron's. benefits for both of us would be gaining more energy and potential weight loss. gaining energy would be a huge help - the Chron's disease makes Ryan feel tired, and my stupid job makes me feel tired.
so after talking about it, we figured why not? can't hurt and the outcomes could really help both of us (but I'm hoping it'll help him a lot more than me).
today was my first baking venture into the GF world. I made cupcakes from a mix that we bought at our local grocery store (we'll probably make our own from here on out, but the xanthan gum we ordered online won't arrive for a few more days).
batter taste: cornmeal-y texture. didn't taste chocolatey. got a slight zing from the aftertaste due to the cayenne.
batter viscosity: once it was mixed, it looked, stirred, and poured like a normal cake mix would.
cupcake taste (the important part!): not too bad. I was still getting a cornmeal-ish texture. I mentioned it to Ryan and he said he wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't pointed it out. I think next time if we buy a mix again, I'd get the one without cayenne in it.
