Your LIfe is About to Change.

What if you found out that you had to quit gluten and dairy right now- like, this instant? Your health depends on it.  If you are like me and love you some crusty delicious bread (and I have no doubt that you ARE, what being a loyal foodie/reader of this silly little pet blog) this could be the challenge of a lifetime.  You might feel like your life is going to change drastically- and you'd be right.  You couldn't just saunter into all of the fantastic restaurants listed on this blog and order whatever you crave that day... you have to be careful, you have to be that dreaded consumer- particular.

Celiac disease is the name of the game- and according to Pubmed health it is a condition that damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents it from absorbing parts of food that are important for staying healthy. The damage is due to a reaction to eating gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, rye, and possibly oats. But, for many with this disorder it doesn't end with those foods, very often you need to lose the dairy too.  This disorder was largely un-catered to in this area, and there was very little knowledge until recently.  Others, who don't have Celiac disease, may chose to forgo the gluten and dairy for holistic or ethical reasons or ( to finally get to the personalized reason), to help internally heal and fight other types of infection that feed and thrive on those delicious little wheat germs.  Mark Hyman, MD is a practitioner of “functional medicine” (a holistic branch of medicine), the founder of the UltraWellness Center in Lenox, Massachusetts, and the guru behind the series of best-selling “Ultra” self-help books. He argues that the cause and the solution for many psychiatric disorders begins with what we are putting in our bodies. I won't list all the details on our blog (snore!) nor will I say whether or not to get you should get holistic (I'm a stinkin' music teacher!, but you should check it out his thoughts here. 

Getting to the POINT (you know I like to drag my feet) Someone who I love very dearly has recently had to adopt this diet because of a late-stage lyme disease diagnosis and in a moment of less-than clarity I declared I would try it too- to encourage and support him.  Scary right? I'm easing into it- but he doesn't have that luxury.  So, we're trying out new meals and learning about some of the alternative flours and cooking aids.  Check out Manifest Vegan once you get the itch to cook outside the box- I just made their yummy Basil Gnocchi- (I've never made homemade pasta EVER and being me, I choose to start with gluten free!) Check it out! (Also pictured nutritional yeast which adds a tasty flavor and packs a punch nutritionally, and some of the alt flours).

I have to give a shout out to Everything Natural in Clarkes Summit and Wegman's too- they do a great job with providing our community with gluten-free alternatives.  Also, if you're jonesin for some delicious gluten and dairy free treats we have The Grainless Baker right in Lake Ariel.