Is eating gluten a sin?

Hi there:

My name is Maria, simply Maria, and I'm from Bogota, Colombia. I've lived in Mexico City for more than 1 1/2 years, then moved to the US 10 1/2 years ago.  Now I live in Boulder, CO with my husband and 2 kids.

Cooking has been a big part of my life since my grandma, aunt, mom and dad are all great cooks.  When I was 13 my mom (she's a single mom) had a small cooking class that she taught from our dining room at home.  Later she was catering dinner parties, soon after that she had a cafeteria, then a restaurant.  I didn't want to go into the restaurant business, so I went to architectural school.  I still couldn't escape the grip of food.  I was always helping her and learning how to cook and bake all sorts of foods.  When I moved to Mexico (my father lives there) guess what?  He also runs a little cooking school at his home!  I had the opportunity to savor Mexican cuisine.  Yum! Off course I gained a few pounds while there.  Upon arriving to the US the adventure continued with the discovery of other ethnic cuisines from around the world like Asian, Ethiopian, Indian and Middle Eastern. Off course I'm aware these are American versions.  I still dream of going around the world trying the real thing in each country.

At this point in time, I'm just starting this journey on the web.  I want to share my experience about blogging and cooking sinfully delicious and nutritious gluten-free meals with three key concepts in mind.

1. Budget friendly
2. Quick & Easy
3. Natural

I'm sure this will be a challenge, as most of the gluten free products that I find in the stores are pricey, but I want to focus on other alternatives to wheat, rye and barley.  In many traditional diets these grains aren't part of them, yet people live well.  There isn't a perfect diet, but humans have adapted to a wide range of food sources, and that's what I'm attempting to explore and share with you.

My efforts won't be limited to gluten-free recipes, but rather include a whole new concept about food, or should I say old concept, since in the time of our grandparents food was seen as food, and not as nutrients, like we do nowadays.  Michael Pollan gives an excellent report about this in his book "In Defense Of Food: An Eater's Manifesto".

The reason I'm doing this is because I've had some health issues in the past few years and it seemed they are mostly related to what I ate.  In the beginning I was clueless as of what was causing me to feel sick. Little by little I realized that it was my diet, especially foods containing gluten.  Every time I ate pasta, pizza, sandwiches or burgers, or anything else with gluten, I'd end up bloated, nauseated, in pain and without energy.  A few times I ended up in the ER, and the doctors couldn't find out anything wrong with me.  Now the question is; If my diet was making me sick, what should I eat?  Wheat flour is in everything and everywhere, right?  For me eating gluten is a sin and I pay dearly for it, as it makes me feel like I'm in Hell.

I've known for a long time that sugars, saturated fats and processed carbohydrates are bad, and I remember as a child my grandma and mom stressing the importance of eating fresh vegetables and fruits. We'd also have fresh fruit juices with our meals and a little dessert at the end.

Now as a mother of two, sometimes I feel confused as what is the right diet for my children?  Should I feed them whole milk or low fat; juice or water; fresh fruit or fruity snacks they find at the store?  How can I prevent them from falling into the pitfalls of the public schools lunch?  How can I teach them to make the right choices in a world that is full of contradictions and way too many choices?  These are just a few of the questions I face everyday.  While talking with some of my friends, I can tell they face them too.  We are all in this dilemma together.  So how come that we still struggle so much to find an answer?

Who is in charge of our nutrition?  The government with it's food label regulations?  The World Health Organization with their nutrition guidelines?  The experts and doctors of nutrition?  Or us, with what we put in our mouths?  I think the power should shift back to us and our common sense.  We should go back to our roots, whatever those roots might be.  Cooking from scratch gets rid of unnecessary preservatives and ingredients that we can't even pronounce, but is also a challenge for busy people that need to work and attend all kinds of different activities during the day.  Where do we turn to, so we can keep up, and stay healthy?  Fortunately in our present world there's a Renaissance of the natural (meaning non-processed or engineered) food, and more and more restaurants offering made from scratch, organic, local, fresh and natural foods are popping everywhere.  Still learning how to make some healthy meals can't hurt, and that's why I want to contribute my two cents to the community by sharing my experience in this blog.

The answer to the question, what should I eat, might not come overnight, if ever, but I'd love to hear any input, and would love to learn about your own experience.

You can also find some of my recipes in www.allrecipes.com

Talk to you soon, and have a great day!

Fondly, Maria