you know what's pretty nice?

As you probably know I am gluten-free, and have been for quite sometime. When my mom first came up with the idea that gluten was my whole health/eating problem I initially resisted. Oh did I resist. I don't even think I seriously gave it any thought for a good year. At that point in my life dairy was just not my friend. This has since changed a lot, I mean I still can't really just eat straight up ice cream or milk, but I can eat most kinds of cheeses and really that is all that I need in the dairy section of life. At the time I was pretty much off dairy, which was particularly sad for me because cheese is my favorite, favorite food ever and my family always has the most tasty wonderful choices stocked up in the cheese drawer (my sister even jokes that cheese is her favorite spice, which cracks me up while I simultaneously couldn't agree more). I just could not fathom having to give up such a massive group of other things that I loved (gluten), and so I just flat out didn't even entertain the idea. How unfair would it be if I couldn't eat both dairy AND gluten? I didn't want that to exist and so I just didn't do anything about it. Cut to the beginning of lent five years ago (?). My dear mother had been patiently learning to wade through the sea of the non-glutens for a while by then and once more put out the idea that I might get a lot of benefit from the diet as well. She somehow convinced me to give up the gluten for the entirety of that lenten season. Cue music swelling in the background because it was literally two or three days into lent that I felt so much better than I could ever remember feeling. Ohhh the glory of food digestion, eh? Something you probably haven't thought much about if you have never had food allergies, but let me tell you that it is indeed a wondrous thing. Of course, being the stubborn person that I am and that maybe you would even be if forced to give up THE GLUTEN in your life, I valiantly tried experimenting with "how much is too much" games. I would eat a little bit in the morning and see if that was something I could do, or I would eat a little bit only once a week and in the evening. The logic is something that might seem bizarre to you, but I can almost guarantee that most of us food problem people have done it in some form or another. Because seriously people, I can't eat gluten ever. Ever. The concept of which took my some time to grasp but eventually I did. Once grasped I fairly quickly realized that being a vegetarian was no longer the best option for me as I was reduced at most restaurants to plain salads with no croutons and no dressing. Blech. But this bring me to the entire reason for this post, other than making you rush into your kitchen and grasp onto your delicious crusty french bread that is probably sitting on your counter and give it a hug. Since giving up the gluten things have steadily improved on the commercial front! Every time I go into the grocery store these days, the real grocery store mind you not just when I am at the co op, there is something else on the shelf that is gluten free! I mean seriously, bisquick has a pancake mix that is gluten free and hamburger helper has a chicken stir fry mix that is gluten free too! These aren't necessarily things I would buy, but those are some big ol' brands that are finally getting on the gluten free train! It makes me really happy to walk down the aisles now and see those words popping out on many different items now. It's not just grocery stores either! To my house, to my door step I can have a gluten free pizza delivered from not one but TWO different places! Whaaaat? Yes, yes it's true. And almost every restaurant that I have been to recently has either a separate menu for me or things marked directly on their real menus! For those of you out there that don't really know much about the gluten free lifestyle, this is a really, really big deal. I sometimes, almost, for a very short moment in time forget that I can't eat like most other people around me, and to me that's pretty nice.