The Art of Gluten-Free Living

Introduction

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves . . . And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now.
~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Every day we eat to sustain ourselves. We pack lunch, go out to dinner, take clients out for cocktails, attend the office luncheon, have friends over for dinner. How do we adjust when we need to eat gluten-free? Where do we start?

The word ‘free’ means liberation. A truly gluten-free lifestyle is one that is free of worry, limits, toxins, and suffering. Food, which ironically causes digestive upset, is the treatment. We begin by shedding old habits and reinventing ourselves with fresh, new perspectives. I am not a professional in the fields of nutrition, cooking, or healthcare.

I am a registered commercial interior designer who was born with celiac. You might wonder why a designer wrote a book about food and the body. I wrote it to help you, and to make your journey a little easier. When I was a child in the 1960s, celiac was unheard of in our town, and I think it is fair to say in most American towns. My parents spent years trying to have my ailments identified. As an adult, I continued my search for answers, finally receiving a diagnosis in my early thirties. In the 1990s, the term gluten was relatively unknown. I launched into research because I needed to become an expert. Although I was fortunate to have talented parents who cooked from scratch, I did not know how to cook and needed to teach myself.

Years after I had mastered the celiac lifestyle, I met my husband, Jack, who needs to be conscientious of his diet in ways that are different than my diet. Again, I researched food and health. Within the past two decades, a wealth of fascinating information has come into existence on celiac, brain science, heart science, epigenetics, and alternative methods of healing, as well as disease prevention. Research, a large part of design work, is a passion of mine, and I will always continue to love learning. I wrote this book to share what I have learned so far and to inspire you to explore your kitchen, even if it is uncharted territory.

Celiac is genderless, and the material in this book is for both men and women, however, to avoid the awkward he/she, I have used alternatively he, she, or the celiac. Learning the gfree lifestyle requires education, so I designed the book as a resource guide, although I encourage you to continue to research on your own to really learn about your unique and special needs and because celiac research is an ongoing effort. I felt that to offer a guidebook that would truly be of value and inspiration, I needed to combine the different aspects of living in one book. Food is only one component of life. Being well and living well are two other significant components. In addition to recipes and a basic understanding of gluten, I felt it necessary to include a simple understanding of the human body and the body’s energy centers. The impact of color, the influence of interior design, and the role of beauty are all important for living well and with quality. On first glance, these elements might seem to be unrelated to celiac. However, to really experience life on a deeper level, I wanted to show you from my designer’s perspective how I integrate these various aspects of living. I believe that everything is integrated and that nothing is separate..

The body-mind-spirit connection is a holistic view that I hold very dear, especially with regard to health and well-being. I have shared my interpretation of the body’s energy centers (chakras). There are also energy centers in architectural environments. Since living in the built environment directly affects us nearly every single moment of every day, I have included my interpretation of interior design as it relates to a healthy lifestyle. As a professional designer and artist, I truly believe that art, color, and fine design are essential for living with high quality, especially a lifestyle that is conducive to healing and peace of mind. I have included some practical suggestions on design and color so that you can turn your dining table and your life into a beautiful work of art. Also, I have interspersed some of my own affirmations throughout, in italics, that you may wish to adopt. I wondered why I had celiac, as all celiacs probably wonder. I feel that my answer is so I can fulfill my divine purpose without the needless interruption of unnecessary illness caused by food. That would elevate my purpose here on earth as a human to the level of critical, as we all are. Every single person has purpose. As I questioned the entire premise of celiac disease, my perception shifted from curse to gift. I believe that celiac is not a disease, but rather a condition of discernment. As I made new decisions about what to eat and how to think, my life changed for the better and my body healed. I have time and energy to devote to my life’s purposes. Much of my design work is based on nature’s golden mean, also known as the golden section or sacred geometry. The book’s cover art, Whirlpool, is a watercolor I made based on this principle. I have come to realize that everything about nature is already perfect. The golden mean exists in every seashell, every leaf, and every flower petal. Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man shows the perfect proportions inherent in the human body. The golden section is in the DNA that is present in your body. Therefore, your body is already perfect..

In my early forties, I won my detailed, personal star chart at a church auction. It says that in my own path during this lifetime I would gain an understanding of the interrelation between the mind and the body, the stomach and digestive systems, and that I would have sensitivities to food impurities and pollutions. Life would have been so much easier had I known, but even before I won the star chart, I held the conviction that eating clean is an important part of my own personal journey. Making everything beautiful is also my path in life, which is why I have filled the book with practical suggestions on how you can make your table, home, and daily life even more beautiful. I encourage you to take your time with your questions, and let yourself live into your own answers. We are the healing of the world, you and I, one person at a time. True well-being is born of self-love, careful discernment, strength, and a lifetime commitment to nourishing the body, mind and spirit. Thank you for joining me on the journey.