Greetings! My name is Marcie and welcome to my blog about learning to navigate the world of gluten free.  I have been cooking gluten free food for almost ten years now, and have some great recipes, tips, and advice that I am more than happy to pass along to you. I will post some awesome photos, and hopefully videos as time goes by to help you in your gf journey.  Please send comments, questions, and suggestions, and I will be happy to answer them as soon as I possibly can.  If you are just beginning your gluten free life, you are very lucky.  Things are available now that weren’t even dreamed of in 2004. In my blog, I will also let you know which gf things (including brands) I like, which I love, which I adore, which I can’t live without, which I dislike, which I hate, and which ones to avoid like the plague. Good luck, thanks for joining me, and hang on for the ride!!!!

My gluten free life began when my husband David was diagnosed 9 years ago….  Well, the formal part of gluten free started there anyway.  It really started when my husband was a little kid, since Celiac Disease is genetic and something he was born with.

We discovered that David had Celiac Disease after he became so sick that he started turning a nasty gray color, and was running to the bathroom within 20 minutes, EVERY time he ate anything.  Not to be too graphic, but these episodes weren’t just ‘run to the loo and get your business done’ sorts of things, but the ‘sit there with violent stomach cramps, shaking, sweating, almost vomiting’ types of bathroom visits. These visits increased until he was almost in the bathroom more than he was out of it!  His stomach hurt all of the time, and he was eating massive amounts of bread and crackers to try to ‘soak up the acid’ as he called it.  That was probably the VERY WORST thing he could have eaten to  try to fix the problem!  On top of that, his hands were constantly cracking, bleeding, and peeling. I wondered if I needed to get stock in the bandaid corporation, as he always had three or four bandaids on his fingers.

As you probably already know, gluten is what makes bread and baked goods delicious.  It is what causes the bread to have the wonderful springy texture that it has, and my husband was eating mountains of it.  As David grew sicker and his stomach was having a major impact on our home life and his work, he finally went to a Gastroenterologist who suggested a blood test that would include a genetic screening for Celiac Disease (a very new idea in 2004), and low and behold… he came back positive. Our world was never the same after that. We decided to have our son Dan tested, since he was having similar problems but on a lesser scale, and he came back not only positive for Celiac Disease, but positive (genetically) for gluten sensitivity.  This caused us to have the entire family tested, which included our two daughters and myself.  As it turned out, I am the one with the gluten sensitivity gene (although I was asymptomatic) and I passed it down to all three of our children.  Luckily for the girls, they escaped the actual disease, but both feel much better when they adhere to a gluten free lifestyle.

When David  started eating gluten free, he hated the taste of everything, but over time he has adjusted to the tastes and textures of gf food.  Fortunately, I like to cook, and I have a gift for putting tastes, textures and flavors together, so at this point we don’t really miss gluten much at all. The best part?  David, the kids and I ALL FEEL BETTER, and live a healthier life since eliminating gluten from our diets.  It is not easy, but it can be delicious!!!

Having a fairly liberal grocery budget is a good thing since, as you will find out if you have not already done so, that gluten free living is NOT CHEAP.  In fact it is horrendously expensive.  If you have limited funds, I will also try to give you some tips to save money on gf things as well in my blog.  

Well, if you have come this far, congratulations!  You now know about me, and about my family.  We live gluten free, and with a little effort you can live happily gluten free too.  Thank you for joining me, you will get through this, and we will get through this together.

Disclaimer: All information presented on this website is for informational purposes only. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This website is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease and is not intended to be a substitute or replacement for any medical treatment. Please seek the advice of a healthcare professional for your specific health concerns. Individual results may vary.