#8 Lead us not to temptation.

You know what? Sometimes temptation actually leads us to a new discovery. Like the time I poked my nose into the cupcake shop and found gluten free/ dairy free cupcakes! I'm pretty sure I shed a tear of joy. This weekend I followed my nose to a food truck and found gluten free hot dogs  -and not just gluten free, but made with locally sourced meat too. Okay, I know this is not exactly viewed as healthy eating, but you know what? We have to indulge sometimes. Once again I'm torn between the two emotions, thrilled, (for selfish reasons) and appalled. I'm alarmed that there are so many of us non-glute's that it's becoming a common thing to find gluten free food to go.

Gluten free street food!

One of my favourite things to do is to connect small businesses and people together. My latest personal accomplishments have included my attempt to connect a gluten free freelance baker http://www.glutenfreeepicurean.ca/ with the nearby cafe Delany's next to the library on Vancouver's north shore. A small upscale organic grocery store, with a local coffee roaster http://twitter.com/#!/rocanini and thirdly I tried to connect a local artisan who makes tile work, with a small gift shop. I love connecting people ! If only I could make a living at the things I'm enjoying now.
Open to suggestions.

Thanks for reading and always enjoy what you eat, and eat what you enjoy.

#7 A gluten free cornucopia

Lately I've been enjoying a 'harvest' of blessings in the form of good food and fortune coming my way. Friends have treated me to meals, two restaurants comped my meals, and I've just learned that I won a gift certificate for a meal of "sustainable cuisine" at The Refinery from Ethical Deal which I'm totally stoked about :)   

It seems to me that there has been an influx of gluten free products filling the shelves and labeling has become clearer. Even large local grocery chains have gf labeling going up. Here in Vancouver we even have a couple of gluten free dedicated shops. This is both exciting and alarming because it really shows how many people are affected by gluten.


 I'll keep this blog short today and offer you these words of encouragement: You are not alone! Reach out, find the support you need and know that it does get better. We will always have our setbacks and bad days, but as you go forward you will find that avoiding the pitfalls becomes easier. Be strong willed, practice gratitude and eat well.



 Here's another blogger's excerpt about the new changes in labeling. http://glutenfreepdx.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/the-fda-gluten-free-labeling/
This is what you get when you do a local search on Yelp for gluten free. http://www.yelp.ca/search?find_desc=gluten+free&find_loc=Vancouver%2C+BC%2C+Canada