Are You Thankful to be Living a Gluten-Free Life!

The holiday's can be a warm, loving time or it can be a challenging time, especially for people with food  restrictions. I remember my 1st gluten-free Thanksgiving. I was going to a family friend's home, who was kind enough to allow me to bring gluten-free (GF) and dairy-free (DF)dishes. 

My family had only been GF for 6 months and I was very new at cooking GF. I made a stuffing, gravy, a vegetable dish and 2 pies and then transported it over to my friends house. They had cooked a complete Thanksgiving meal, so we set the buffet area up by dividing the GF and non- GF foods. The GF & DF food was okay but not great and it was obvious by the leftovers. 

By Christmas I was in full "Poor Me" mode. I am Italian and for me, like many  people, part of what makes the holiday's special are the traditional foods we eat. I had not mastered GF & DF cookies yet, I had to recreate a GF & DF lasagna and everything was feeling a bit overwhelming. And then I received an amazing gift. One of Gratitude!

During Christmas dinner, someone asked me if living GF had improved my health. I started to rattle off all the symptoms that were now gone or at least much better.  I spoke about the brain fog lifting and how clear life seemed now. At that moment, I realized even with all the challenges of living GF, I was THANKFUL. Very, very thankful that my body and mind were healing. I have not allowed "Poor Me" back in again. (Well, that may not be totally truthful)

How about you? Do you find the Holiday's challenging?  Is your food restrictions stopping you from fully enjoying this season?

If you are struggling to find the gratitude in living GF, I suggest you check out, The Gratitude Habit's blog and Pinterest. They are filled with wonderful "gratitude" craft ideas, for the whole family. 



Happy Holiday's !