Welcome

I was informally diagnosed with Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance by my dietician in the late summer of 2010. Currently, I have gone without gluten for 25 days. Why? Because I was overwhelmed with the thought of no bread, no pasta, no cakes, no Ben and Jerry's, no soy sauce, no restaurants, no fast food.... ever again! A little backgrounding for you. I have an addictive personality and I have several addictions. My last vice was food. So, here I am, abusing food, mostly fast food, and some crackpot says..."You need to give up all of your favorite foods and you will feel SO much better!!" I said "YAY, that's great!" Ok, not quite. I went off and on gluten several times. I would lose weight (bloating is extreme in my particular case, everyone is different though) and I would feel my mood calming. Then I would eat a sandwich or something unassuming 'just this once' and off the wagon I would fall. My symptoms are~ bloating, fatigue, depression, extreme irritability and bad skin. Everyone is different with Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance which is why it so difficult to diagnose. As a matter of fact, you can't medically be diagnosed other than to go off of gluten and see how you feel. Or exploratory surgery... I think I'm okay with not being medically diagnosed :)

I am using this blog to reach out and hopefully show others who may suffer from Gluten Intolerance that it is possible to stay gluten free without spending all of your money on groceries or losing your mind planning menus. I work, have a 3 yr old and run my household my myself (at this time I am not in school, but will be returning in the fall) and I can find time and the means of staying away from gluten. Anyone can.

In this blog I will include meals that I cook and reviews of restaurants (that "claim" to have GF selections). I will be happy to answer any questions that I am asked. I also intend on having guest bloggers that have the same type of issues with Gluten. Welcome to my blog :)