Gluten Free for the Holidays.. and on a budget

By: Sarah
These days it's actually quite easy to be gluten free. There are so many more recipe/resource blogs, cookbooks and generally a higher awareness of what gluten is and what "gluten free" means that it's not even close to the same food world my family grew up in. My dad was diagnosed as celiac in 1990, so I was 10 when things like Xantham gum and tapioca starch first came in to our house. Back then, my dad's GF bread making supplies and pasta had to be mail ordered in and they were all the same sickly shade of beige wrapped in bright orange, and highly unappetizing, wrappers. And to top it off, the GF pasta back then was about 2 ingredients away from starch packing peanuts.

Compare that to now, with Trader Joe's offering GF pasta for $1.39 a bag and restaurants the whole country over with gluten free menu options. Even McDonald's has posted each and every ingredient in their food so you know exactly what you're getting. No, the fries are not gluten free, sadly. I remember when we'd drive cross country in the summers and stop at a fast food joint for lunch. My mom, sister and I would go inside and have burgers and fries while my dad would stand by the car eating his packed from home lunch of rice cakes and canned sardines, carrot sticks and cheese.

And now I, being 9 years younger than my dad when he was diagnosed, have started having some symptoms that could be gluten intolerance. My dad went several years with symptoms before finally getting the celiac diagnosis. I figure, with the strong family component (celiac grandma and cousins, too) I can skip all that and try cutting out the gluten and see what happens. It has been 20 days so far and my symptoms have improved greatly. I have knowingly consumed gluten twice and have had the same reaction both times. About 30-45 minutes after eating wheat, I get a splitting headache and hives that last for about 24 hours mostly on my arms. Curious, no?

I am confident I can keep this up, and stick to our strict food budget that doesn't seem like it will be loosening up any time soon. Tonight we are having friends over for dinner and I'll be making Mujadara, an Indian dish of spiced lentils and rice with caramelized onions and mint. I will serve this with hummus and pita or carrot sticks and plain yogurt. It sounds super fancy, doesn't it? The only "splurge" ingredients were the mint and pita, but Liz and Milo will eat the pita for lunches and what's a few bucks for mint out of season when you get to have dinner with friends? Worth it, I say.