Day 2 of my gluten intolerance diagnosis kicked me into high gear. I felt powerless, angry, and hungry. So, I decided to churn my confused emotions into productivity. The approach was to rid my kitchen of all gluten from wheat, barley, and rye. I didn't want to be tempted by the tasty foods that were poisoning my body. Hoping the "out of sight, out of mind" theory would ease the pain.
I rolled up sleeves, opened the cupboards and refrigerator, and began. I had two categories: donate and trash. Any gluten food that was unopened went into a box that I then directly put into my car and drove to our local food pantry. Any opened gluten food was smacked into the trash can. This only took a matter of a few hours. I brushed my hands together with accomplishment.
Next task was to meticulously clean our toaster oven so there wouldn't be any lingering crumbs that might make me sick. I even went so far as to replace our old wooden cutting boards and rolling pin. I needed a safe environment. As a culinary graduate and former pastry chef and personal chef, the kitchen was my favorite room. I wanted it to be completely safe and ready for life after gluten...which there is!
Now I had a gluten free kitchen, but what was for dinner? Back to basics for now with as few ingredients are possible: steak, baked potatoes, and steamed broccoli. Delicious and most satisfying!