Going gluten free has certainly been a blessing. I grew up eating LOTS of starches, and falling in love at a young age with pasta and bread. If someone would ask me what my favorite food was when I was seven or eight, I would have said "bread and butter". As I grew older,cheese ravioli was what my mother made me on my birthdays for my special meal, and then I graduated high school and moved out of my parents house and subsequently became very poor. Those 89 cent boxes of pasta were my staple. Being a vegetarian and being FOH (fresh out the house) I hadn't yet developed the knowledge to eat healthfully. Eating a big bowl of pasta cured any anxiety I might have been feeling and filled me up with goodness. It was the ultimate comfort. In my early twenties I lived in a household of boys that loved to order pizza at two in the morning. And then I got a job working at an italian restaurant. And I fell in love with pizza. I found myself eating pizza three to four times a week! I say all of this because, for me all of theses foods were addictions, habits that made me feel full and good, and since eliminating them from my diet, my life has changed. If anything, it forces me to be creative with my eating, I'm forced to eat more greens and vegetables. The best part is that I don't get the same emotional feelings from eating them. I'll admit, I had a day a few weeks ago where I just really wanted a bowl of pasta, so I gave in, I felt I deserved it. Half way through my order of vegetable lasagna I got a huge headache. I just felt awful, it made me not want to go back for more. I don't know if I have an allergy, or if my body just doesn't react positively to these foods, or maybe I just shouldn't be eating them as often. I feel like my ultimate test was a few days ago. I went out to eat with some friends, they wanted to try out this new "fancy" Italian restaurant. As I was looking over the menu I kept thinking, its a special occasion maybe I'll just order some pasta. I ended up getting a bowl of roasted red pepper soup and a caprese salad and eating a few pieces of bread with butter out of the bread basket. Topped with a glass of wine and a dessert of coffee and gelato, I left completely satisfied.
cheers!
nyks
