well, how did I get here?

I have lived with a PCOS diagnosis for fifteen years, lived with the disease for twenty-eight.  Apart from "low carb!" being the biggest catchphrase, I have had a never ending battle with weight and symptoms . This past week I learned that removing gluten and dairy from my diet might go a long way to relieve the PCOS symptoms.  Dairy is easy, I've been lactose-intolerant for a long time and with the exception of kefir, yogurt and certain cheeses my dairy intake is low.  I subbed soy, then rice and now coconut and almond for my dairy needs.

Wheat and gluten is the big hurdle now.  My struggles to remain on a low glycemic diet while schooling, working and raising my 12 yr old solo left my needs kicked aside.  I am limited on space for food storage while we live with family leaves me with less options than I once had.  I used to cook, bake, garden, can, preserve.  Meals were planned endlessly, celebrated and enjoyed. My daughter and I are foodies, we love well made meals with quality ingredients. We just lack the space and finances to work our magic in the kitchen as we once did.

Now I stare down life with no gluten and wonder if this is only the first of many items that will be purged from my diet. I already eat as organic as I can afford, I don't bake like I once did so with the transition to making more of my own and not going for convenience perhaps this way of eating will become easier and more affordable.  Hence, this blog.

I will be trying out new recipes, finding what works, what doesn't.  Locating other gluten-free foodies writing out there. I am a photographer, writer, gardener and culinary Magellan, this is my adventure in eating I hope to share with others.  I'm not looking for fame, fortune or the most blog hits, just a sharing of ideas and recipes.  I rarely use recipes, instead throwing together dishes, so the challenge lies in capturing the measurements, ingredients, etc. I throw into a creation.  I am hoping my sous chef daughter will work as my assistant and write it all down so that I may write it down here after.

for now, I post this and move on to recall all the culinary magic that went into my first recipe made last night-Creamy Lentil soup with Basil Pesto

until then,

bon appetit!