gluten free... for fun!?

I by no means want to insult or offend anyone who is unable to eat gluten due to medical needs, but I have been looking into mixing up my diet, and expand my cooking comfort level. One avenue I want to explore is a gluten-free lifestyle (not 100% strict, and only for a week so far). In doing research for this endeavor I was actually shocked to learn how prevalent gluten is not only in natural foods, but as a by product of food processing (ew... processed foods!).

I'll start with the positive - Allowed foods:

beans, eggs, fresh meats, fruits, vegetables, most dairy 

and grains, including: buckwheat, corn, cornmeal, flax, rice flour, hominy, quinoa, soy...

And then there is the NO list:

avoid all: barley, rye, triticale, wheat

but then wheat hides in other forms including most supermarket flour! (sneaky sneaky!)

Surprisingly, gluten can be found in: beer, bread, candies, cereals, imitation meats, pastas, salad dressings, soups and medications!

(Looks like I will have to drink red wine instead of beer... oh darn!)

My fridge is full of color and happy... can't wait to start experimenting in the kitchen!

So I have rounded up lots of yummy new-to-me grains and a slew of fresh veggies, and local meats to try my hand at some gluten free recipes this next week. I am not going to be taking in any less calories, will still be getting my daily dose of nutrients supplemented with a multivitamin, but will be consuming lots of delish, fresh, colorful foods that are new and exciting to my body. Just saying quinoa sounds exotic and fun!

 xx

Jessica