About

ABOUT GLUTENHOLICS ANONYMOUS

Welcome, glutenholics! If you are reading this, you are either on a gluten-free diet or know someone who is. And admitting that you have a problem is the first step to becoming healthy. Just accept it, gluten is BAD BAD BAD for you! Don’t eat it anymore! I promise it’s not the end of the world. I’m here to help.

WHY WE’RE CALLED ‘GLUTENHOLICS’

I can’t even count the number of times that I have informed someone of my intolerance to gluten and he or she has said, “I could NEVER do that.”  Yes, eating the variety of wondrous gluten-filled foods available on this earth can seem like an addiction…something impossible to give up. Unfortunately, it’s not really a choice for most people on the diet and, fortunately, it is entirely possible to give it up, even without any major sense of loss. Try not to fret about it too much. There are so many worse things to have wrong with you than Celiac disease or a gluten intolerance/allergy. We are lucky that what we have is entirely treatable by diet alone. And if you are on this diet by choice, I have the utmost respect for your commitment and welcome you to the club: Glutenholics Anonymous.

OBJECTIVE

Gluten can turn out some amazing food, I’ll admit. But I believe I can turn out some amazing food as well, without gluten. And through this blog, I hope to help the nearly one in 100 eaters afflicted by this intolerance to move forward in life without gluten and, over time, with fewer and fewer questions.

In this blog, my plan is to offer a recipe each weekday, Monday through Friday. I’ll have a dinner, lunch or breakfast idea Monday through Thursday and a sweet treat or dessert recipe on Friday, in preparation for the weekend (when most people are free to spend a little extra time in the kitchen).  If there are any ingredients that may raise questions about presence of gluten, I will address that and offer shopping suggestions. I will build upon this site over time to include tips for gluten free breakfast, lunch and snacks; ideas for hosting a gluten-free guest; and news on gluten-free products or medical advances.

You are welcome to visit me occasionally when you become stumped for a recipe idea or (even better!) use me as a daily menu planner to help take the stress and uncertainty out of gluten-free cooking.

What is important to note is my recipes will certainly not all require special ingredients; not even the desserts. I will do my best to make the food on this blog fast, affordable and applicable to all skill levels, as well as interesting, diverse and delicious.

My menus will be based on cooking for two so that they can be easily utilized for a person cooking alone (with a leftover serving for the next day); as-is for a couple; or doubled and tripled for a family or dinner party.

Comments, suggestions and tips are welcome and appreciated, even if it’s “constructive criticism.” And please be patient with my amateur photographs. I will try to buy a professional camera soon, but at least you can see what the meals are supposed to look like in the mean time.

I know that shopping, cooking and eating gluten-free can be intimidating, confusing, even scary.  But it is possible to enjoy food and cooking just as much on a gluten-free diet as you did while still on wheat. And the small sacrifice will likely leave you feeling happier, pain free, and full of energy.

Thanks for reading, my glutenholic companions.

ABOUT ME

I was diagnosed with Celiac disease at the age of four. That was more than 25 years ago. There wasn’t a lot of information available on the subject at that time (there wasn’t even Internet back then) and gluten-free products were hard to come by and didn’t always taste so hot. So I became my own expert and my own chef. I have been experimenting with cooking and baking since I was young enough to use the stove. I “grew up” to become a reporter, which I hope serves as evidence to my readers that I am committed to sharing the most accurate and relevant information available. I take pride in my attention to detail and go to a great deal of effort to make sure each of my recipes is perfect.

I did not go to culinary school and I am not a registered dietician (so always refer to your healthcare practitioner for the final say on all things health-related), but a life full of eating and researching the gluten-free diet gives me a strong knowledge and passion for this way of life. I hope to share this passion with you.