Celebrating Gluten-Freedom

It's not very fair of me to say any of this since I am not the one who must adhere to a gluten-free diet, but I still wanted to write about the benefits of living in a mostly gluten-free kitchen. I know it's not easy for my husband to get enough calories (we're working on it), but I still want to share the bright side I've found in celiac disease.

1. Fewer processed foods. We still end up with more than I would like, but it is much easier and cheaper to buy whole foods and make things from scratch.

2. Less Junk Food. I do not want to buy a bag of Oreos if I am the only one who will eat them. Simple.

3. Focus on fruits and vegetables. I am far from perfect at this one, but I do think about it a lot more. Being more fresh-food conscious also comes from having children--we want them to love the best foods from the very beginning. All fruits and vegetables are naturally gluten-free, filling our kitchen with a beautiful, limitless sky.

4. I love a (baking) challenge. I have learned so much more about baking than I would have without the alternate ingredients. I've also found that creativity flourishes best with some boundaries.

5. Health food stores and alternative ingredients. Many gluten-free recipes I find use natural sweeteners and whole grain flours (just not the flours we're typically familiar with). Another number of recipes or foods happen to be organic. My education with these ingredients has been a slow process, but would likely be nonexistent without gluten-freedom.

6. A built-in excuse to try new foods. Going gluten-free is hard in the beginning, when you have to learn all the no's and can'ts of the diet. After a while these become second nature and you begin to focus again on all the yeses and can's. And there are so many delicious possibilities out there.
Even just five years ago I would not have pictured myself fixing baked sweet potatoes and quinoa with butter and parmesan. That's what I ate for lunch today, and it just so happens my baby liked it too. I'm grateful that eating gluten-free is so much easier these days and hope we can continue to find delicious options.