Well, Hello

I have a bunch of new recipes coming up for y'all! I'm finally feeling excited about food again. I had a sad few months. My breast-fed baby has been suffering from allergies related to the food I eat. So, I've been on this very restrictive diet. It's pretty much come down to what CAN I eat, rather than what CAN'T I eat. Basically, I'm on a vegan paleo diet. Strange, but true.

Some of the things I've had to cut are foods that were bothering me as well, but that I'd never had the motivation to eliminate. (The things we do for our children!!!) The big two are dairy and wheat. Every since I was a kid, milk hasn't really agreed with me and outside of our weekly pizza night, I wasn't that big on cheese. Then we moved to Italy and I went on a dairy bender for about three years. When in Rome! Ha! I also ate a lot more wheat over there. Lots of delicious rustic Italian breads, delicate pastries, perfect pizzas. Yum. But consider that Italy also has the highest per capita rates of Celiac disease in the world. I started to suspect that wheat was not my friend. Like dairy, if I ate too much, I wouldn't feel so hot. Well, after cutting out both, I feel SO MUCH BETTER. It's really amazing. My stomach lost an inch or two as soon as I cut wheat, not from fat loss, just less bloating. I've also stopped having heartburn (which was partly from pregnancy, but I was still having it after the baby was born). I've also dropped a ton of weight. It's interesting how your body finds a new comfort zone when you eliminate the things it doesn't like or thrive on. So, as much as I'd love a cappuccino and some of the chocolate birthday cake I have stashed in the freezer, I honestly feel way better without it.

And then came the hard part. Beef. Pork. Turkey. Nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and POTATOES, y'all!). Citrus. Oats. CHOCOLATE. Seriously?! Seriously. It's awful. Cooking without tomatoes and lemon juice is difficult, frustrating, uninspiring. I'm hoping some of these "third tier" triggers can be reincorporated in small amounts. Especially chocolate. What did I do to deserve that?! But anyway, I've spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself and not wanting to cook because it's not fun with so many restrictions. Lately, though, I've made some really nice meals, gotten some good food "flow" going. And I've been instagraming it. Having other people share in the excitement of a gluten free vegan meal success really does help. I don't feel so alone and deprived. I'm feeling more optimistic about my ability to enjoy cooking with such limited ingredients. Tonight I made the most amazing kick-ass dairy free alfredo sauce. It was like a culinary pat on the back...everything is going to be okay. I'm up for the challenge!