Well, here goes..
That’s a deep breath for me committing to this. My theory is, If I tell you, I have to go ahead with it.

Over Christmas a friend mentioned he’d gone gluten free and felt amazing for it. Whenever anyone mentions feeling great as the result of something, I’m like a meetcat; back straight, nose in the air for the source.

Hmmmm, I thought, I might get myself some if that there ‘amazing feeling’.

Knowing no-one else involved in this gluten marlarky, I googled gluten free diets and it all seemed quite straight forward; eat natural, fresh food.

Hmmm, i thought, I could do this. I resolved to start it in January as is customary with me. Something new is always good.

What is a gluten free diet you’re asking? It’s an easy answer, but you might not like it. In the car home from the school pick up, I was trying to explain to my children the benefits of being gluten free. The night before I’d made a batch of gluten free brownies (^those up there^) which they’d loved and so they were intrigued.

I explained it to them like this:
Gluten is in practically everything we eat, more so in processed foods.
It’s easier to list what’s gluten free than to list foods that contain gluten.
Basically, fresh fruit and veg, fresh meats, eggs, most dairy, beans and grains.
(I know, basic huh?! )

I tweeted about gluten free tips and immediately a company tweeted back. ( @crateofnothing ) They told me they’d deliver GF foods to my door. How about that then?
My friend Wendy Paterson ( @insideoutchef ) tweeted saying she had some recipe books if I wanted to borrow. It was all happening!

Considering I’d attempted quinoa twice and failed to produce anything other than ‘slop’ I’m grateful of the help. I eventually made quinoa with roasted butternut squash, lashings of chilli flakes and lemon ( ^that you can see up there ^). It’s edible and all, but I can’t continue with just this, so I’m going to find some good stuff to eat, and I’ll report back on how I fair. Maybe I’ll be telling you I feel amazing for it.

May the force be with me..

Ps The brownies were a Nigella recipe, ‘flourless brownies’, 3 eggs, 225g butter, 225g dark chocolate, 150g ground almonds and vanilla extract – made the same way you make regular brownies, and cooked for 25-30 mins. Best left to sit for a while. The quinoa was just as stated.