The Diary of a Gluten/Dairy Free Blogger

In January of this year (2012), I was diagnosed with a sensitivity to gluten.  I can tell you that while I was sitting in the doctor's office listening to my diagnosis, my head was spinning.  I thought to myself, "What in the world is 'gluten'?" almost too embarrassed to ask, but I did and my doctor was very thorough in his explanation.   He began to explain what a gluten overload was doing to my body, in medical terminology of course, so he may as well have been speaking Greek.  I had a lot of questions about foods I could/couldn't eat, what alternatives I should try, and most of all, how my life was going to change.  So I went home and used the most trusted source of information today: Google.
Now, let's backtrack to 2009 for a moment so that you can grasp the whole picture of what was going on.  In December of 2009, I had suspicions that I might be intolerant of lactose, so I went in and asked my doctor for a lactose challenge.  Five needles later, I had definitely had a challenge and it was more than I had bargained for!  My results came in and I was not at all surprised to find that I was in fact lactose intolerant (which is different than sensitive to it).  Ok, fast forward to January 2012, my doctor tells me the two 'allergies' are related!  He then orders me on a strict diet restriction of gluten and dairy for further monitoring.  So, boys and girls, this is where our story begins....
It is now November, so I have lived without gluten and dairy for about 10 months.  It has been one of the toughest things I have ever done in my life, to date.  When I first started, I didn't know which way was up.  I knew bread was to be shunned, but I would come to find that a dietary restriction like mine was so much more involved.  I had to learn everything again.  I am thankful for the experience because I can honestly tell you that since I've been gluten and dairy-free (from here on out referred to as "GDF" because let's face it, it's easier for all of us) I have felt wonderful.  I lost 25 (and counting) pounds and I have never felt so good about myself.  Things are dependable in my body again.  That's huge for me.
The purpose of this blog that I am establishing is to help people like me.  There are some great sites out there about gluten-free food and dairy-free food, but not a lot about the combination.  I've learned a lot about what foods I can enjoy naturally being GDF and even more about "substitution cooking," or making my food GDF.  I'll share recipes I find, articles I read, and helpful hints I learn along the way, but I hope if you're in the same boat I am, that this blog makes your transition into the GDF world a little easier than mine was.  Good luck and welcome to my blog!

Before and After GDF Living