I had to break off a love affair last week. I loved them, but they didn’t love me. It’s been five long days since I kicked the fluffy goodness of gluten to the curb.
For giving up one measly ingredient, I sure had to sacrifice a lot of what I?love.
Garlic bread, pizza, muffins, wraps, subs, spaghetti, and (sob) beer, all on the obvious no-go list. But I’m now checking ingredients lists on boxed chicken wings, condiments and dressings, munchies, drinks, everything. They sneak it in everywhere, even deli meats for crying out loud.  
It’s a good exercise though, slowing down and taking the time to pay attention to what I’m shoveling into my face.
It’s also a good exercise to expand my horizons in the kitchen. We’ve always eaten from a varied menu, but now we have to shake it up a bit. On the weekend, I made a gluten free pizza crust, my first experience using yeast. I used a conventional recipe, but switched the all-purpose flour up for a gluten-free flour mix. It said the dough would rise after about two hours to double its size. It rose about two millimetres. No matter, I rolled it out on the butcher block and stretched it, topped it, and baked it. When I took it out of the oven, I?went to slip it back down on the butcher block, and it dropped with a heavy thud. It weighed a ton. But my ever supportive husband ate it, and praised me for it. It tasted pretty good, just heavy. I guess I just have to keep practicing.
My decision to go off gluten was kind of a light bulb moment. It was kind of like the time when?I realized I was allergic to my goose down duvet. I was sleeping with it for almost three years and I honestly didn’t know why my nose would immediately get itchy, achy, and stuffy when I crawled into bed. Then it hit me like a goose in the face, I’m allergic, duh. Just like this gluten sensitivity – I’m tired, I’m crabby, I’m sluggish, my stomach hurts after eating, and come 3 p.m., I’m ready for another extra large coffee.?I?have a friend who has been off gluten for a while, and she said almost immediately she felt better. So I did some research, and yep, everything rang a bell.
It was almost immediate too, that I started to feel better. It could be a combination of no gluten and the fact that I’m reaching for celery instead of a cookie in the afternoon, but one major difference is that I have more energy, and I didn’t need, or even want, coffee for a couple days at a time (which is huge for me).
So I think I’ll stick with it. It’s a whole new culinary world for me now. One where I?have to take care and time to make sure there’s no evil lurking in my meal.
But it’s not too bad, though I really miss beer and garlic bread. A few Walkerton stores have a great selection of gluten-free goodies. And it’s a good thing I love rice.