Bye Bye, Pasta..See you in my dreams!

So my creative wheels have been turning 24/7...literally! I woke up the other night thinking about all the possibilities of a gluten free eating plan. I know, I should not be losing sleep over this, but new projects get me excited the first few days. I was laying in bed making a mental list of all the things I can make in the coming weeks..my mind said: "fish tacos! Polenta! Twice baked potatoes...and risotto!" The endless possibilities. Given my Italian heritage, I am risking being cast out of my family by saying, I think I'll be just fine without pasta and bread (sorry Mom!). I will, however, miss the convenience of throwing a sandwich together last minute or boiling spaghetti for dinner. I have observed though, while replacing items in my pantry with gluten-free foods and being conscious of reading every food label this past week, the key element in my success on this eating plan will be planning. No more on-the-spot decisions, because nearly everything goes through some sort of processing (and therefore likely has gluten). This is something I encourage all my patients in anyway, regardless of their dietary needs: when you rely on processed foods and eating out, then you give away the control over what you are putting in your body. So this has been enlightening for me, and I have prior knowledge and resources to my credit. I can't imagine how overwhelming this can be for someone who is not doing this by choice. Which brings me back to my mission :)

Oh, and great news! I have been looking into local restaurants via the Gluten Free Registry (www.glutenfreeregistry.com/index.jsp) and was delighted to find Mellow Mushroom on the list in my town. I emailed the manager to ask about what they offer and he assured me that they have certified gluten-free chefs, and that the recipes are prepared in a separate part of the kitchen in a separate oven. And so, for the good of the people, I tried their pizza right away :) It was very tasty. The crust was thinner and slightly less heavenly than their homemade pizza crust, but definitely perfectly acceptable pizza. Now to find a gluten-free beer to drink with my pizza.

I also made a great risotto recipe, courtesy of my friend Russell. I will be posting that later, with pictures! Stay tuned!