Food For Thought

Recently I’ve been reminded of how impossible it is to concentrate when life changes are taking place.  Food preparation has gone from a fun little hobby that I dive into every once in a while, to a flat-out obsession this past month.  At the beginning of September we found out that Sean needed to eliminate dairy from his diet for health reasons.  I had no idea how much dairy we consumed until I had to cut it out.  It seemed I only had about three dishes out of the thirty or forty that I regularly prepare that were cheese-free.  I had to start thinking outside the cookbooks on my shelf.

Enter: the Library.  Seriously, one of my very favorite places to be on earth.  I even regularly visit libraries when I’m on vacation – not bookstores – libraries.  They are such happy comforting places for me, no matter how big or small.  But I digress . . . The point is that after grumbling and groaning about all our new limitations, I started making friends with the idea that great cooking could happen without dairy.

Then something tragic happened. Gluten had to get the boot, as well.  At least for me.  And since I am the main baker/chef/shopper/nutritionist in our family, gluten-loaded products are rapidly disappearing from our shelves.  As annoyed as I was about the loss of dairy, I actually cried over wheat.  I bake a lot of bread.  Really, really good bread.  And while I still make it for my family in all of its crispy-outside-soft-fluffy-goodness-inside glory, I cannot partake.  Sigh.  Enter: the library – again.

Two things have stood out to me throughout this shifting process.  The first is how obsessively stressed-out this change has made me.  I pour over cookbooks every free moment I have, even my non-free moments.  I am in a constant desperate search to find amazingly good food that my entire family can enjoy without feeling deprived of two of the main ingredients in the American diet (the third one being sugar, which we are also on guard against, but which can be replaced more inconspicuously).  I feel like I’m falling in love or something, but I know it’s not love because I don’t actually WANT to think about any of this, I just can’t help it.

And the second thing that has practically slapped me in the face almost everyday is how grateful I am for people who know how to cook with these issues and are willing share their amazing food.  I have found current (meaning they were printed in the last two or three years) gluten-free vegan cookbooks to be heaven-sent. I like the vegan ones because dairy is automatically eliminated (because it is an animal product) and they are masters at creating foods that feel like dairy (rich, creamy sauces, etc.), without the actual dairy.  They also tend to steer clear of refined sugars, which is a big bonus for us.  Basically, in a gluten-free vegan cookbook, I feel am knocking out three opponents with one punch – gluten, dairy and refined sugars.  Plus, they really know how to make vegetables appealing.  And they tend to be good students of nutrition, ensuring plenty of protein through the combination of grains and legumes.  All of that really appeals to me.
My very favorite cookbook of the moment is Chloe’s Kitchen by Chloe Coscarelli.  And the book I credit with helping me discover all was not lost (I could make really yummy stuff without dairy and gluten) is Cooking For Isaiah by Silvana Nardone (she uses a lot of sugar, which we have to guard against, but her banana bread and chocolate chip cookies are easily the best I’ve ever tasted).
I guess I’m writing this post in the hopes that someone will find it helpful and comforting if your world seems to be crumbling like a gluten-free pizza crust.  I know that may seem a little dramatic, especially to those of you who have never had to undergo a dramatic change to your diet.  But it really is a big deal, especially when it involves keeping children happy.  That’s the part I agonize over more than anything else. 

I know it is for the best, though; my jeans are fitting better, and we’re all eating more vegetables and whole foods, and I simply feel better – much better.  I’m actually storing home produce this year because I can control the ingredients (which, as a side benefit, gives me that really happy proud-of-myself feeling). Now I just have to figure out how to stock-up a year’s supply of all those crazy gluten-free flours, or better yet, how to make some of them myself.  I hope you won’t mind a random food post here and there as we get used to our new way of life.  Happy cooking-baking-shopping-nutritioning to all of you.