Gluten free aint easy!

Living gluten free is seldom easy. It's been over 4 years of re-learning how to shop and what to cook or prepare and I still experience moments of hunger filled anxiety.
Once in a while a delicious and fortifying meal comes along and in these moments I can honestly say I understand the terms "emotional eating'. I fall into a blissful state of gratitude. Happiness embraces my mind and body and I remember it for days, sometimes weeks and occasionally months afterward.

The thing is to be able to mix your diet up for variety. Variety is most definitely the spice of life. By the way I'm still enjoying avocado with nut butters and ajvar on Udi's gluten free toast in the a.m. Sometimes I boil a free range egg, just right, slightly runny... mmmm. Lunch and dinner are usually more diverse though.

Today I read that Lady Gaga is going on a gluten free diet to lose weight. Because I respect her I'll refrain from spouting off. Hopefully the press is the reason it's being called a gluten free diet and maybe she personally understands that being a celebrity of her stature has an immense and rippling affect in the world and this is a volatile subject.

More people need to understand that there are quite a lot of us suffering from gluten intolerance and Celiac disease. It's not to be taken lightly. Celiac is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine triggered by eating gluten. It's a painful condition and with a whole entourage of symptoms from abdominal pain and bloating to joint aches and infections in the intestinal track, cognitive malfunctions and a whole slew of skin conditions from head to toe. There are over 200 signs and symptoms of this disease. The immune system is taxed and thus the stress on the body is widespread. 

As you can imagine-- this is tiring! And depressing, and it's also taxing on our relationships as well. It's not easy to live with. 

As much as I love talking about food, (heck I'll admit I'm obsessed with food) and I love to remain positive because it's the same amount of energy to stay positive as it is to whine about it, only it feels a heck of a lot better to be positive but don't mistake this for the easy life. It aint easy.

So when you hear about someone "dieting" by going gluten free, do us a favour... help educate them a little?


Until next time, take care of yourself and the people around you. 
Cheers!