The Gluten Free Journey: Gluten Free Resolutions

I love the start of a new year. What's in store for 2012? New friends? New awesome gf products? New exercise plans that I actually stick to this time? (Not holding my breath on that last one...)

My husband and I have talked a lot this year about our eating habits. For the first time in our entire five year marriage, we have the brain space to talk about food. We aren't moving this year, or starting new jobs. We won't be spending any of 2012 living in separate states (we have quite a history of doing this - and not by choice!). For the first time in five years, we won't be packing or unpacking boxes. For the first time in five years, we won't have to find new dentists, eye doctors, and veterinarians. We won't have to change banks and find a new mechanic.

Glory, hallelujah. And I don't mean that to be glib in the least. After six moves in five years to four states, five different jobs and seven internships between the two of us, it's no surprise things like creative cooking took a back burner.

So for 2012, we're excited to dig in. Plant some deep roots, both literally and figuratively. But we'll get to 2012. First, a review...

Since going gluten free, I've gone through quite a few phases:

2009 (August through December): Freak Out

This was the "Holy cow, what CAN I eat?" phase. I fluctuated between going without food because I just couldn't figure out what was actually gf (DARN you, hidden ingredients!), and eating TONS of junk food ("Well, at least Snickers bars, Lays chips, and Coke are gluten free!").

Needless to say, I spent the last four months of 2009 feeling lost in the wilderness of label reading.

Still, there were some great high points. I didn't feel sick, for one. How amazing are the first few months of gf life when all those nasty, nasty symptoms disappear? No more bathroom dashes. No more bloating. No more hurty, hurty, HURTY tummy. No more fatigue.  

I also celebrated my first gf birthday. Check out that delicious flourless gf chocolate cake! 

2010: The Year of Gluten Free Products

By 2010 I had begun to explore the world of gluten free specialty products. It was a revelation. I became a regular at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and the specialty sections of our local markets. I called my husband all the time while exclaiming things like,

"I found PIZZA!"

and

"Awesome pasta in ELBOW SHAPES!"

"They have gluten free OREOS!!!"

and

"BISQUICK!!!!" 

This was a year of discovery, but not a very healthy eating year. The thing I didn't know about gf substitutes is they usually pack an extra calorie punch. You can't just substitute half a gluten free pizza like you'd eat half a regular pizza.

Still, through the year I began to discover my favorite products. Some pastas were better than others; some chocolate chip cookies were lower in calories while still delicious. 

It was 2010 when I discovered my best friend Pamela and all her glorious products (check them out here, especially her baking mixes), and I said goodbye to baking brick-like banana bread and five-pound dinner rolls.

2011: The Year of Natural Foods

In 2011 I turned a corner on gluten free eating. I didn't have to just substitute a gluten free version of what I'd normally eat. Instead, I could eat things that were naturally gluten free.

Yummy, yummy Caprese salad! 100% gluten free - naturally!

I began learning how to cook new rice dishes, potato soups, grilled veggie entrées, and spaghetti squash. I gave up only using mixes to make desserts and discovered the fun of naturally gluten free apple crisp, cinnamon baked pears in butter, and the many flavors of sorbet.

By mid-year, my husband was on the green smoothie train and making us delicious breakfasts every morning out of naturally gluten free fruits, Greek yogurt, juices, and greens. Only a couple weeks into our smoothie breakfasts I began to notice a new pep in my step.

In the fall we discovered the delights of gluten free oats and began adding oatmeal with cinnamon to breakfasts. Filling, delicious, sweet, and amazing.

What are our eating resolutions for 2012, you ask? 

2012: The Year of Local and Organic

We live in some of the richest farm country in the nation. Our soil is black with nutrients, and almost anything we put into our garden grows. Last year we had a tomato harvest that kept us in salsa for six months. 

Everything in this salsa batch, sans vinegar, came from our garden. So ridiculously proud of that!

So this year we're going all out. We're planning a great garden harvest, but more than that, we're joining some local food co-ops, including a local meat delivery and a fruit-and-veggie CSA. We're buying only local eggs. We're striving to eat organically whenever we can.

This will take some recipe creativity, as we don't get to pick and choose our produce. By buying a half-share at the CSA, we'll be buying veggies with which I'm not very familiar (kohlrabi? bok choi? parsnips?). 

But if going gf has taught me anything, it's that the average American diet is in a huge rut and there are thousands of delicious foods that will soon become favorites just waiting for a taste. 

If you told me back in early 2009 that I'd be in love with quinoa, Swiss chard, and almond milk, I would have told you to have your head examined. Now I eat those weekly, and with joy.

So here's to local eating, to supporting local farmers, and to exploring a wider array of the food options available to us in this amazing country of farmland. 

And don't worry - I'm not going crazy. There will still be room for some Lay's Stacks chips and gluten free gummi worms in my life now and then. After all, without a bit of junk food, what is life?

Finally, I resolve to continue being super cool in 2012.

Yeah... not fooling anyone with that one... 

What's your 2012 resolution? Share!