Gluten Free Love

Soy milk is probably the most frequently used milk substitute in the country, since it not only tastes good, but also has practically the same look and texture as cow’s milk. Soy milk is even used in certain restaurants and cafeterias for lactose or gluten intolerant customers.

But, almond milk is also quite popular. Many people prefer its nutty taste and creamy texture to that of soy. But, which milk substitute is healthier for you? What are the pros and cons of each? This is where you can find out… Read More

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Many people who have Celiac’s Disease or gluten intolerance are finding that almond milk is a good alternative to cow’s milk. It is tasty and it looks like the real thing. But, just what is almond milk? How is it made? Has it ever been used in the past? Is almond milk good for you? Now is the time to find the answers to these important questions… Read More

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I just read an intriguing article from the Brainerd Dispatch, a newspaper in Minnesota about a woman in her early thirties named Genesis Sparks who lives in Baxter, MN about 130 miles northwest of Minneapolis.  She figured out the secret why she had been having trouble losing weight after the birth of her children… Read More

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Tricia Fecteau, Author Gluten Free with Love

About Tricia Fecteau, Author Gluten-Free with Love

I met and married my husband, Lee in the mid 1990s.  By then he had been suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) for almost 15 years.

He had experimented with various diets his nearly constant diarrhea, bloating, and chronic fatigue but almost nothing helped.  His doctors had prescribed Immodium which was originally available by prescription, but later became available over the counter.  Immodium helped his diarrhea, but did not really help the bloating and fatigue he was suffering.

He had gotten some relief from the fatigue by getting chiropractic treatments, but was unable to solve the other symptoms he had.  Although never officially diagnosed with Celiac’s disease, we began to strongly suspect that he had gluten intolerance through trial and error.

We also noticed that his symptoms worsened when he ate certain types of dairy, carbonated beverages, spicy foods, and certain meats like Kielbasa.

When our oldest daughter was born and exhibited symptoms of gluten intolerance, we got more serious about changing our diet.  Gluten free became the rule rather than the exception in our household

Back then, in the mid 1990s, it was more difficult to find gluten free and other hypoallergenic foods that didn’t taste like sawdust.  Celiac disease and gluten intolerance was not as well known and the dietary choices were definitely more limited than today.

I began compiling my own list of recipes using the limited foods available at the time and soon amassed quite a collection, which later became the basis for my book which we decided to call Gluten Free with Love.

My technique was to find the best recipes in books and magazines and substitute gluten-free and low dairy alternatives in place of the gluten and other allergenic ingredients in the original recipes.

After our other children were born, we stuck with the diet, not always perfectly adhering to it, but well enough to function in our daily living.  Fortunately for my family, we seem to suffer from intolerance and not the terrible suffering many people that Celiac Disease endure.  Unfortunately, my family’s health issues involve more than a gluten intolerance and we need to limit our intake of dairy, spicy foods and meats, as well as carbonation and fermented beverages.

After being on this diet for many years, I began to notice improvement in my own seasonal allergies.  I noticed that when I ate wheat and most dairy, my sinuses were less congested, irritable, and itchy.  Before going on the diet, I would get incredible pain behind my eyes and in the sinus cavities that just would not go away.  Allergy  medicines did not help the problem either.  When on the gluten-free, low dairy diet my symptoms were much more tolerable and I could function even during the height of the allergy seasons of Spring and Fall.

In the last few years, my children seem to have outgrown their hypersensitivity to gluten, and we have relaxed their restricted diet to some extent.  I still notice that their seasonal allergies worsen a bit during Spring and Fall, but at least their intestinal sensitivity has lessened somewhat.

My husband and I have recently decided to eliminate meat from our diet and eat a lot more vegetables that we did when we were younger.  We have found that less (if any) meat and eating more vegetables gives us more energy and we are more alert during our day.

My husband has also discovered that he is highly sensitive to Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) and has to avoid it or get very sick.  MSG – especially in liquid form as in soup broth – gives him very bad migraine headaches that include flashing in his eyes and horrible fatigue.  Since MSG is in most processed foods, we have removed most processed foods from our diet.  As a side benefit we have enjoyed relatively good health and seem to avoid most major illnesses other folks around us have endured.

I have tried to share what I have learned in my book and hope to spread the message on this website. I want to help you in your journey to good health.

God Bless You!

Tricia

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