Hello world!

Four years ago I stumbled into a gluten-free diet. My mom, who was already a 25 year survivor of Hodgkin’s Disease, had been going back and forth to the Dr., again. They thought she may have the “c” word again. During one of her visits she was tested for Celiac Disease and came back positive. From that moment on our lives changed forever.

I gave up gluten “temporarily” to support her and help her find things she COULD eat since pasta has always been a staple in our Italian-American family’s life. I use the word “temporarily” because I thought it was going to be a temporary thing.

Little did I know that I was gluten-intolerant and that first gluten-free week would change my life. My weekly (2-3 times a week generally) migraines disappeared, my digestive issues disappeared and I literally felt better than I had anytime in recent memory.

So that’s how it went. Suddenly I was in the same boat and freaking out because I had no clue what I actually could eat. I started diving into every book and website I could find.

Since then I’ve had several family members and friends who have discovered the same thing; they can’t digest gluten either. They always ask me “what can I eat?” OMG, “How do I live without bread?”

I tell the all the same thing; your tastebuds change (seriously!) and you barely even miss it after a while. I’m not saying that you never crave a bagel or a huge slice of pizza or a giant bowl of pasta. I do… but it gets easier as you go and if you look on the bright side you’ll be just fine.

The Brightside? Yes, there is one. Not only will you feel better, you’ll be healthier and if you like to explore new cuisine like I do, you’ll literally be thrown right into a whole new world of discovery.

Recently, I’ve been asked a lot about how I integrate my husband’s diabetes and my gluten-intolerance into cooking. I’ll be honest, it’s not easy. It can be really frustrating (and sometimes its more like REALLY frustrating) but if you do it right, you’ll always learn something new. I hope that my discoveries and ramblings will help you or someone you know to make it a little easier to eat healthy and gluten-free.