When we began our journey of living with and cooking for multiply-food-allergic children almost 8 years ago, one of the first things I learned was that the Standard American Diet is far more limited than I had ever imagined. When we started out, the list of things my children reacted badly to included gluten, corn, dairy, nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant), and meat preservatives such as sodium nitrate and nitrite (which are carcinogenic and not good for you under the best of circumstances). I was stunned to discover that almost all of what Americans, including myself, ate consisted of the first four things on that list. Remove gluten, corn, dairy, potatoes, and tomatoes, and you're left with....not much. Since the Standard American Diet (or SAD) was not available to us, I was forced to learn how to cook and bake all over again from scratch, and to look to other cultures for tasty and interesting cuisine that would not make my family sick. My kids have since grown out of their nightshade allergies, and we discovered several years ago that it was not the dairy itself they were allergic to - it was all the corn that most dairy cows in this country are fed that was triggering their reactions. When we began purchasing milk from a local dairy whose cows are grass-fed, they were fine. Gluten and corn, however, are still issues, and recently my husband has realized that gluten is at the root of the mysterious health problems he has been struggling with for years. As our household moves towards 100% gluten-free, I am finding that on the occasions that I do eat gluten (mostly to use up the few remaining products that still contain it), I feel much worse and less energetic than otherwise.
When we started our allergen-free journey, I got a lot of help and advice from other people moms on the Positive Discipline e-list. I also learned a lot through simple trial and error. Since then, friends who knew our kids were gluten-free have asked me for advice on how to go gluten-free, either for themselves or people they knew. Now members of our extended families are looking into gluten-free as a solution to their mysterious health and digestive problems as well, and turning to me for advice. It's my turn to pay the debt forward, and starting a blog seemed like the best way to share what I have learned with all of you who are just beginning to explore life without some of the most commonly used ingredients in American cuisine, and to provide a forum for folks to talk about what works and doesn't work, yummy discoveries, and the gluten-free/allergen-free life in general.
Why HAPPY food?
Since the Standard American Diet is SAD, it made sense to me that the opposite of SAD is HAPPY. Additionally, when you stop eating food that is making you sick, even if everyone else is eating it, you will find that you feel much happier - and when you are feeling happy and healthy instead of sick and cranky, the people who love you will be happier as well.
Going gluten-free doesn't mean you have to resign yourself to a life of eating tasteless, unappetizing, boring food. Join me as we explore the wide world of gluten-free, family-friendly cuisine, eat well, and be HAPPY!
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