going gluten free

It all started when I was in France and my mom found out that she has Celiac disease, which I'm sure most of you know means that she can't eat any gluten. She has been getting iron infusions because she had been so tired all the time, but they weren't working, and her blood levels were agreeing. Her body wasn't absorbing the iron. Eventually her doctor ran tests and concluded that she has celiac disease. She is really frustrated with being tired all the time so she is taking it so seriously! So much, that I found it amusing at the lengths she would go to. She completely cleaned her house of any gluten. This means no flour, bread, pasta, etc. I couldn't believe that she wasn't going to bake a Cold Oven Pound Cake with me anymore! That's my Nana's recipe that we bake all the time- you can't mess it up! She also replaced all of her pots and pans (teflon can hold gluten in the scratches) and bought a new cutting board and a toaster oven. Every plate, bowl and each piece of silverware had to go through the dishwasher on sanitary to make sure it was gone. So hearing her explain it to me, I couldn't help but laugh! I thought she had completely lost it.

Once I came home, she was constantly preaching gluten free, because celiac disease is genetic. It was very frustrating to me because I absolutely love food. I always have. I had no interest whatsoever in giving up my favorite foods. Mac and cheese and I have a serious relationship. My brother started saying that she had drank the koolaid. I could eat something with gluten and then sneeze (not related in my mind- I have terrible allergies) and she would immediately tell me it was because I ate gluten. I was being watched constantly! According to her, my allergies, skin problems and mouth ulcers would go away and my anxiety would go down. Sounds good! But I can't have my favorite foods.

Eventually, I decided to give it a try. I think she just wore me down. I went 10 days eating "gluten free." I say it like that because I wasn't eating obvious things like the bread, pasta and cake, but I wasn't being over the top and researching hidden ingredients, so I'm sure that I was still eating gluten. On the 10th day, I had a meltdown. I was frustrated and just wanted my good food back! So I broke the diet for 3 days.

Today, I decided to get back on track and I had my mom go grocery shopping with me. She has been GF for almost 2 months, so she knows all the little tips and secrets. We came home with a cart full of groceries, so I should be able to stay with it! We didn't get many fruits and veggies because my mom signed Bradley and I up for the Savannah Food Co-Op. Each week we will get beautiful, organic and local produce. Earlier today we went online and placed our order. We can't wait to get our box of food!

Let's all pray that this is worth it! Who knows, mom could be right! Tomorrow, I am going to post about what we got at the grocery store, so if you want to start you'll know some delicious picks!