Ham and Bean Soup

I've been absent from this blog for a long while as I found out I no longer have to eat gluten-free. My terrible pain stemmed from some medications I had been taking for the past 15 years and when I went gluten-free I switched medications so it was coincidental. I advocate eating gluten free as I lost weight and felt good but darn it- I craved bread. So I am back to eating regularly - and have gained a bit of weight in the process!

But tonight - since I feel guilty about not checking in here now and again- I made a gluten free Ham and Bean soup. Soaked a bag of beans for about 6-8 hours. Drained them. Chopped one onion, one carrot and a half pound of ham slices. Dearborn ham, mind you, one of the best here in the Detroit area. Dropped them all in the crock pot and added the beans. Put in a tablespoonful of "Better than Bouillon" Vegetable Base and a pitcher of water. Cooked for about 4 hours on high then simmered for another 2-3 hours on low. I was worried that there may be salt in the veg base and might screw up the beans but there isn't and they tenderized beautifully. The base has hydrolyzed soy protein and corn in it but no wheat products, so I think it would be OK for a gluten-free diet. Yum! Had a big bowl of it for dinner and I plan to bring my brother a big batch of it for tomorrow's lunch.

May your gluten-free quest be good. I know mine was hard but it seemed to take away a great deal of the stomach pain I had been having. I think it is good to take a break from wheat now and then so I'll try and check back in here a bit more often. Thanks for stopping by!