adventures in baking/cooking

As I type there is a batch of wheat-free, egg-free, dairy-free, soy-free, corn-free, potato, tomato, coffee, nut and kitchen sink-free muffins baking in the oven. It's my 3rd try with this pumpkin streusel muffin recipe, I keep messing it up! There are so many options for substitutions for all the regular baking ingredients, I haven't found the magic combo yet. Getting closer though! Does persistence count?

I used to think I was a great cook and baker. I take alot of pride in making lovely nutritious food for my family. But here I am, my pride decimated as I'm feeding them tasteless, weird-textured stuff. Steve and Ryan snuck out to McDonalds 3 (yes, THREE) times this week. The look on Caitlin's face when I spooned the quinoa/rice milk/blueberry breakfast combo into her mouth was priceless! Then she spit it out and smeared it around her face so the hunk of quinoa sticking on her nose looked like a booger. Yum Yum! She is back to the Cheerios while mummy soldiers on with the new food plan. Ryan and Steve both flatly declined to even taste it. And it actually wasn't half bad compared to the millet puffs I ate yesterday! I defy ANY GOOD COOK to make food taste good when you have so many limitations on ingredients!

Despite all that, I'm going to do this. I just need someone to tell me that I CAN, a bit of encouragement. My spouse prefers McDonalds to my cooking, it's in his interests for me to go back to being a good cook with things like wheat, dairy and sugar. But I need to figure out what is causing my digestive system so much distress and I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. But it's harder than I thought it would be. Maybe the brutal PMS and no sleep/sick kids combo wasn't a great time to start this... but then is there ever a good time?? I confess I had 3 sips of coffee with milk in it today. But surprisingly it didn't really taste that great... back to the green tea.

The muffins are out now, Ryan is asking to try one - he says they look good. Wish me luck! :)