I fell in love with the art of baking at the age of 20. I had just bought my first home when my amazing grandma (my Nini) called me up, asking if she could come over to teach me to bake bread. First, we had to make a shopping trip to Good Will- because that's how we do. :)
After she showed me bread, I was instantly hooked! (I found kneading very therapeutic) From that delicious classic, I expanded to cinnamon swirl raisin breads, pumpkin breads, cupcakes, and so forth. It was my happy pleasure to bake delicious and inventive treats for my friends and family.
In early 2011, I began a friendship with an extraordinary woman named Kathy. We met for tea and a chat and I offered to bring something baked and wonderful along. She politely said that as much as she would love that, she did't think there was any thing I could make that was safe enough for her to eat. Huh?
To me that seemed a bit extreme but I said ok :) While we talked, she shared with me what gluten is and how Celiac had effected the last decade of her life. As she described some of her symptoms to me, my wheels started turning.
Before this point, I sort of just considered myself a bit of a hypochondriac. I had all of these seemingly unrelated issues- strange weird peely eyebrows, and migraines that would take me out for 3 days, tummy troubles, and other things. Because of these issues (especially the skin and tummy stuff), I thought that perhaps I had a food allergy. I had started tracking what I ate and how it effected me with a food diary. But I had no insight yet. I didn't realize that something like Gluten could be in so much!
Kathy had planted the idea in my head and encouraged me to be tested as well.
In April of 2011, I was diagnosed with celiac disease. Although there is no cure for this disease, the solution to effectively treat it, is to follow a strict Gluten Free Diet. So on May 1, I began a completely gluten free diet. I found out quickly that there were Many things in my current diet that I could no longer eat. But I suddenly began to see things labeled as gluten free at almost every grocery store I went to! These items, though a bit more expensive, gave me hope. The more research I did, I discovered that you can create or purchase a gluten free version of just about anything
What's more, in just one short month of eating carefully, I felt like a brand new person! It was a long time until I had another headache. My skin cleared up, my tummy was happy, and any other symptom remedied itself. It is incredible how soon my body bounced back. After all, I wasn't born with the full-blown disease. It lay dormant in me until I had a stressful situation or a surgery (for some ppl, it's a pregnancy or emotional trauma, or extreme weight loss or gain) sort of woke it up.
But now that I'm here, now that I know how to fix it, I do whatever it takes.
I have an incredible husband. We were still dating when I was diagnosed. Without his support and encouragement, without his willingness to taste test my trial and error creations, I highly doubt I could have made it this far. He also knows how important it is to help our sweet son understand the challenges he'll face eating gluten free in this gluten-filled world.?
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