Simple Gluten Free Living

Hi My name is John and I have been living and cooking gluten free for the last 25 years.  The whole purpose of my blog is to help you to manage a gluten free diet more easily.

Take a look at my book for a complete guide to gluten free living >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I don’t know much about you but I do know that for whatever reason you are looking for ways to live gluten free without being too restricted or having to spend your whole time thinking about food and your diet.  Simple gluten free living really is possible.

You will have your own reason for wanting to move to gluten free living, there are plenty.

• Perhaps you or someone close to you has been diagnosed as a Coeliac (or Celiac if you are one of my USA readers).
• You may have had digestive problems even if you are not Coeliac and isolated wheat or gluten as the main cause.
• You may have come across the gluten free diet to combat continual bloating

My Gluten Free Living Story

I had to learn gluten free cooking and living after meeting my future wife over 25 years ago

One of the first dates we had was a picnic in my university town – Cambridge

I had packed an impressive picnic.  Katy had told me she was vegetarian but failed to mention that she was Coeliac (Celiac).  She felt her diet was just too complicated.

Fortunately I noticed she was only selecting cheeses and fruit.  I’m not sure where my knowledge came from, gluten free diets were not well known in the mid 80′s, but I asked “are you on a gluten free diet”?

You could say it was living gluten free that brought us together.  Katy was suitably impressed by my knowledge.  I was a little dismayed to find that many of the things I had packed were either wheat based or had hidden gluten as an ingredient.  Manufacturers seemed to put gluten into just about everything.  I am sure you will have noticed that gluten free living is more expensive not just because it is a specialised diet but also because wheat is a cheap ingredient that can be used in many forms to pack out food.

Fortunately the date was a success.  I sprinted across the common to the nearest supermarket and managed to pull together a suitable gluten free picnic feast.  We will celebrate the 25th anniversary of that date on American Independence Day this July and our 23rd wedding anniversary will be a couple of weeks after that.

I gave myself a rapid induction into gluten free cooking after that.  I was determined that Katy would not have to go without any foods, but I was also having to fit my cooking into a busy life and successful career in education (I retired from being a headteacher fairly recently to pursue my writing and counselling second careers).  So I had to develop simple gluten free living.

In the early days there was not anywhere near as many products on supermarket shelves and few people had any knowledge of gluten free living.  I had to experiment with the flours that were available until I could get recipes to work.

I am putting this website together to help anyone living gluten free.  I hope my advice and experience will help you to lead an easier gluten free life and enjoy food.  Katy and I love eating good food and the knowledge we have allows us to enjoy food at home and when eating out.

Gluten free living can seem daunting at first but actually with a little skill and knowledge we have just about mastered everything that can be made with gluten.  I say just about everything I am still struggling with just about every pastry except shortcrust.  If any one out there has a good gluten free puff pastry recipe please let me know.

Remember gluten free living doesn’t have to difficult.  Most of your diet will be naturally gluten free.  Many restaurants now understand the diet needs of gluten free living.  It can help to phone ahead and warn them.  Any decent chef should be willing and capable of adapting recipes.  Many welcome any guidance you can give.  I have even been know to go into kitchens and work alongside the chef!

Check packets very carefully in the supermarket.  Even if you have bought a product before check each time as manufacturers have a habit of sneaking flour into products as they “improve” their recipes.  Always contact a company and protest if a change means they have added gluten.

Gluten free living has become the norm to us.  I hope I can help you make gluten free living work for you.

If you enjoyed my gluten free living story I would be really grateful if you could facebook like me or send a tweet to spread the word.