I have been gluten free and egg free for over 12 years and dairy free for more than that. As a child I could never digest milk by itself and had a hard time with too much cheese or other dairy products. However, it wasn’t until I became very ill from food poisoning will visiting Mexico in 2000 that I began to have serious stomach problems. The doctors gave me very strong antibiotics and it went away.

However, upon returning to the USA I began to realize that my stomach was not the same. I would get very bloated and have terrible stomach aches for days. After speaking with a friend of mine who is an acupuncturist I decided to try the elimination diet. I had heard of gluten sensitivity and I was terrified that I would find that was what my problem was. I knew it would make life more complicated because gluten is in everything. Sure enough, it became very clear that gluten, eggs and dairy which I already knew about were causing my stomach aches. While this was sad news for me, it was also a revelation in my life. I stopped eating these things and I felt like I walked out of a fog. I had not only stomach aches, but what felt like a permanent brain fog.

So after 12 years and a few slip ups here and there I remain gluten free. I found out there was a celiac test they could do with your blood about 8 years ago, but I had to eat gluten and then take the test. When I eat gluten I have a stomach ache for a week and there is pretty much never going to be a day I can afford to purposefully give myself a stomach ache for a week to find out if I have an actual disease or just a sensitivity. My conclusion was, it doesn’t matter. Either way, I am not eating any more gluten.

So that is my story on how I ended up gluten free. I know a lot of people who have had similar experiences and challenges. We all find our ways to work around it. I exchange tips and tricks with these few folks and it has been helpful.

I decided to write this blog because after having a child I began to realize how much harder it was getting to just make a meal. I found myself making two separate meals and the amount of time and work was getting out of hand. So I challenged myself to open my mind and find a new way to look at it. Thus the blog was born. It forces me to come up with new ideas and recipes to work for me and my family and hopefully you and yours as well.