I'm Hilary, and I'm gluten intolerant, if you didn't guess from the title of this blog. But don't just label me by my allergy! I'm also a Sophomore in college majoring in International Hospitality Management, addicted to netflix streaming, and most of all, a big time foodie.
Being gluten intolerant, I tend to get one common question from friends and strangers alike: "What do you eat?! I mean, you must be so deprived! When was the last time you've had a cookie?!" Well, dear reader, I had a cookie today, and it was delicious. People seem to forget that having a food allergy isn't really the end of the world. Yes, there have been some challenges, but for the most part, I'm enjoying food more now than I ever have before I knew about my "condition."
Here's a little back story for you:
I grew up being a very adventurous cook/eater. I had sushi for the first time at age 5, I was a huge fan of making homemade lasagna with my mom around age 7, and by age 10 anything in the kitchen was pretty much fair game (except for knives, because you know how moms get about the youngins with knives). I've been making meals for myself on a regular basis since that time. Despite how much I loved food though, food did not really share that love in return. I was a sick kid. At least once a month I got some wicked stomach bug, the flu at least once a year, and I was constantly dealing with a stomach ache. I missed probably 20-30 days of school in 5th grade because I was so sick all the time. Not to mention I had never been very "regular" and it would get to the point that I wouldn't go number 2 for as long as 3 weeks. Pretty terrible, and also pretty gross. It wasn't until I was 16 that I found out the reason I was so sick is because I have a mild case of Celiac Disease (a fancy way of saying gluten from wheat, barley, and rye is like death serum). Since going gluten free, I feel great. I rarely get sick anymore, I've lost 15 pounds, and I have fewer headaches and more energy. The range and increasing quality of gluten free products have slowly grown into something suitable for eating, and I'm starting to feel like I can eat pretty much the same things as other people eat, minus the gluten.
However, dining out is still the biggest obstacle. There's nothing worse than showing up to a restaurant where there's seriously nothing on the menu that I can eat (I'm looking at you, California Pizza Kitchen). That's why I've started this blog. I want to share the knowledge I have about various restaurants I frequent (or new places I try out too) and how their menus stack up with options that are allergen friendly, and even vegetarian and vegan friendly as well.
I hope you enjoy reading my reviews of restaurants and the dishes I order from them! I'm so excited to finally start this project that I've been working on over the past year.
Enjoy your food, no matter what limitations you may have!
-Hilary
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