Christmas Greetings everyone!  Well I don't know about you guys, but I've been so busy shopping for Christmas gifts that I haven't gotten to the cookie-making yet!  But I came across a yummy-sounding gingerbread cookie recipe that I am going to try and will be sharing soon.   
I am having a hard time accepting the fact that I have had to not only cut gluten from my diet, but the dairy as well.  When you eat something all of your life and then suddenly have to totally delete it from your diet, IT'S HARD!  I learned that I cannot even have a little bit of shredded cheese on my salad without suffering the consequences :(  I came across some dairy-free cheese at my local natural foods store called "daiya".  It is tapioca-based, and not bad!  It actually melts too!  If you go in expecting it to taste exactly like dairy cheese though, you might be disappointed.  I've learned that if you are going to try alternatives to traditional foods, you can't dive in with the mind set that it's going to taste EXACTLY like the traditional version!  Back to the salad issue though.  Bringing a baggie of my shredded "daiya" around with me whenever I go to a restaurant is not a feasible task, so perhaps next time I should just ask for something like more tomatoes instead.  
So maybe it's time to go through a "mourning process" about the fact that I can't have dairy any more.  Anybody out there that has had to deal with these issues for a long time, I would LOVE to hear about any of your ideas or tips as to how to handle this issue with the best of ease!  Let's be supportive of one another :)

Until next time,
CHRISTmas blessings to you all!
Gina

Hey friends!  Well, I don't know about you guys, but now being in the middle of the Christmas season, I'm having some cravings for those traditional sugar and gingerbread cookies!  I know that I've got a sugar cookie recipe that I will be trying and will definitely post pics of, but I'll need to scour the internet probably to find a gluten and dairy-free version of gingerbread cookies!  If YOU know of any yummy ones, I would love for you to share them here with everyone :)  What will you be making for this Holiday season?

On another note, I have had to scour out restaurants in my town that meet my gluten and #dairy-free criteria.  Taco Bell definitely has several options believe it or not!  Plus they have decent prices, it's a win-win!  Olive Garden even has #gluten-free pasta!   Chinese/Japanese restaurants that have the Mongolian Grills DEFINITELY have gf/df options.  You just pile whatever meat, veggie, egg that you want cooked together, and then your ingredients are sauteed with some oil and soy sauce.  Oh my gosh, that just makes my mouth water thinking of it!

Well, I hope this encourages you, and lets you know that there IS hope in what might seem like a hopeless world (as far as your diet goes!) when you have to take some major ingredients out of your diet :)

Blessings this Christmas season!
Gina