Hello!  Thank you for coming to visit my blog once again.  In this busy time of year, many want to LOOK their best for the myriad of functions they might be attending and even more importantly, FEEL their best. In this blog post, we will discuss going gluten free.

A client recently told me that she fasts every Christmas season.  Now, that is willpower!  Interestingly enough, she knows she doesn’t have willpower!  She does not allow herself to eat any treats the whole season because she knows that if she indulges a little, all hell will break loose and she will end up eating treats non-stop.  Instead, it is easier for her to just not go there.  I, on the other hand, am often at my slimmest just before Christmas season, knowing that I am going to indulge over the holidays.  Then I get back on track after the holidays.  There are a slew of ways to handle the festive eating that goes on over the next few weeks.

I think that this year, my approach will simply be to go gluten-free.  It is the gluten that is so hard to digest.  It is the gluten that causes so much bloating for us and fatigue and moodiness.  Did you know that gluten is one of the biggest contributors to acne?  It also causes or worsens the following symptoms and conditions:

• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Joint pains
• Headaches
• Nervousness
• Depression
• ADD
• Dermatitis
• Psoriasis
• Bedwetting
• Celiac
• Crohn’s
• Colitis

Gluten is added to pastas, breads and baked goods to make it light and fluffy.  The more light and fluffy it is, the more we eat and the more we buy.  There is now 5 times more gluten in wheat than there was when it was originally made!  We do not digest gluten well unless we have a very strong digestive system – an anomaly in this day and age unfortunately.

So what are the low gluten, easier to digest foods?  Spelt and kamut are two great-tasting examples.  If you bake with spelt flour versus wheat flour (1: 1), your guests would be hard pressed to be able to notice the difference.   And where can you buy great tasting spelt and kamut bread, bagels and even pie in this area?  Bagel Flame on Wellington St between Yonge and Bathurst in Aurora.  But don’t expect to pick up a loaf of this bread, take it home and leave it on your counter for a week.  This bread is as healthy as it comes – there are no preservatives!  There isn’t even any yeast as the bread is made from sourdough culture.

And what are the gluten free grains?  Rice, quinoa, millet, amaranth, sorghum, arrowroot and a host of others.  That’s sounding like too much work to you at this time of year? Well, where would you obtain gluten-free ready-made foods in our area?  You have two main options: Nature’s Emporium in Newmarket and Reesor Farm Kitchen in Stouffville.  Each store has a cornucopia of options for you to choose from.  I recently discovered Ressor Farm Kitchen, where I was delighted to find and thoroughly enjoy ready-made chili, butter chicken, chicken pot pies, vegetable curry, jambalaya, quinoa salad, four bean salad and a host of delicious soups.

Now some of you might be asking, “But how do I eat at a Christmas party if I am going to try this gluten free thing?”  Well, you would stay away from all the pastas, breads and pastries offered at the parties.  And you can indulge in the meatballs and other meats (yes, there is a small amount of gluten in these foods), the shrimp platter, the devilled eggs, hummus, salsa and other dips, chickpea salad, the vegetables and fruits, the pickles and olives…well, you get the idea.  I recently attended my social media expert’s wonderful open house and found that there were plenty of these gluten free foods to indulge in and I would bet that she didn’t consciously choose to put out an array of gluten-free alternatives.  There are plenty of options naturally!

But please don’t think that cutting down on gluten or cutting gluten means no pasta or grains for you.  We need grains for energy!!!!  Please ensure that you indulge in some of the healthier grains that I have mentioned and feel your mood stabilize and your energy levels rise.  And, if you have any of the symptoms that I listed as being caused or worsened by wheat, watch your symptoms slowly disappear.  Returning to health begins with one step at a time.  This Christmas, give yourself the gift of health.

I’d love your feedback! Here on my blog, you’ll get commentluv. This is a wonderful opportunity to leave a link back to your own blog when you leave a comment.

Until next time,

Meredith