gluten-free me

almond flour biscuits

It's finally happened.

You know, I've always sort of wondered if this day might come.  I've collected recipes from time to time; as you know I've even gone grain free for a period of time.

But it was always my own idea.  It was always a sort of elective experiment.  An attempt to lose weight, mostly.  Always my doing, and truthfully I may have been a little proud of that fact.  I didn't have to avoid grains, I was doing it for a higher purpose.

And now...it's my doctor's idea.

Here's something, call it a newsflash if you want.  Or a confession.  Regardless, it's a fact: my health is not perfect.

Is anyone's?  Maybe, but I rather doubt it.  The truth is, all of us have ways we could improve, things we need to work on.  Even if you do "eat perfect" (and very few of us do, from what I hear), there are environmental dangers, toxins in our homes, and so on.  I try not to think too much about all of that because when I do, it freaks me the heck out.  Instead I do the best I can with my current resources, pray, and hope for the best.  Regardless, that stuff is out there.

I shudder when I think about the "foods" I used to put into my body, and on a regular basis too.  It absolutely horrifies me.  And while I try not to obsess about it, and try to give them some freedom to make their own mistakes, at times I've been horrified at the things my children have eaten.  I have learned so much over the past four years (just after I started this blog!) when our family's diet revolution began.  And honestly I've still got so, so much to learn.

So, I know that four years of (imperfect) improved eating doesn't erase all that came before.  And I know that I still have many kinks to work out in my personal eating habits.   There are things I'm battling, and I'd prefer not to go into here and now, but they're real and they're problematic.  Nothing too serious, certainly nothing desperate, but there nonetheless.  All of this brings me at last to my point:  my doctor wants me to try living gluten-free.

I'm still figuring out what that means for me.  Obviously I'm not consuming all the same things I was before, and I deeply regret the fact that I'll need to put away my sourdough starter for while.  But there are other issues.  What about cross-contamination?  How hardcore do I need to be here?  Should I have my own personal butter dish?

These are the questions that keep me up at night.

No, not really.  But they do have me wondering.  Clearly a call to my naturopath/doctor is in order.  In the meantime, I'm gathering ideas and recipes like crazy.  In a way, I feel God has prepared me somewhat for this moment.  Those times I've done the 40 days regimen in Jordan Rubin's The Maker's Diet?  My brief flirtation with a Paleo lifestyle?  Because the truth is, I've been gathering grain-free recipes for months, even years.  Perhaps I secretly feared this day would come eventually.  Maybe I liked the idea of variety in my diet, which has always included grains - and since our diet revolution, properly prepared grains (soaked, sprouted, or fermented) as much as possible.  Either way I'm glad.

If you're interested, HERE is a link to my Grain-free Goodness collection on Pinterest.  I think it shows real promise.  Some of the recipes here are tried, true, and kid-approved (I may have to arm wrestle my boys for the last almond flour pancake the next time!).  Some appealed to me but haven't been attempted yet.

I am thankful to have friends with experience to draw on.  I have a wise doctor.  I have the knowledge that I've done it before - even if on a very limited scale - and I can survive, even flourish while denying myself such things.  I'm grateful that this moment has come in a day and age when there are so many options out there.  So much of the legwork on achieving a fulfilling gluten-free diet has already been done.

And I'm thankful that I can still have other things I love: grass-fed meat, cheese, bacon, butter, honey, coconut oil, nuts, and other goodies.

So...wish me luck.  I'm stepping off a little here, into the unknown.  I'm hoping (I guess!) that it will be a good thing, that I'll see positive changes.  And that maybe it won't have to last forever.

One thing for sure: I know I'll be relying on those who have "gone before" in this journey.  If you're one of those, thank you!   And thanks for your support.  God bless you!