A couple of months ago, The Husband paid a visit to the same doctor I started seeing last fall to discuss his hypothyroidism. (Is that a word?) So after a bunch of blood work, it turns out that he has Hashimoto's Disease, which is essentially an autoimmune disorder wherein the body attacks its own thyroid gland. Apparently it's a fairly common affliction. As part of the treatment, he has to avoid gluten. The labwork also showed that he's allergic to dairy.
So here's the important part (because this is my blog and not his): What does this mean for me? It means that my life just got easier. Here's why:
Instead of cooking one dinner for him and another for me, I'm free to experiment with new gluten and dairy free recipes for the entire family to eat. I have to say, things are going fairly well. It's been nearly two weeks since I've served a dinner containing gluten or dairy and everyone (including the kids) is doing just fine.
I can start eliminating those tempting gluten and dairy containing snack items from the house. No more cookies, cupcakes, crackers, muffins, etc.
I have extra motivation to do something about a workable gluten free flour mix. I can't eat commercially produced gluten free baked goods because of my tapioca allergy, so I really have to come up with a flour mix. I've just been dragging my feet because it didn't affect anyone but me.
No one looks at me funny anymore when I bring home strange sounding grocery items, like lentil curls. In fact, sometimes I get thanked.
I have someone to commiserate with at church potlucks. Have you ever gone to a potluck and tried to find an item that didn't have gluten and dairy in it. Or just one or the other? Good stinkin' luck.
See, things have really improved here. The Husband might not agree. But I'm feeling much more comfortable with my dietary restrictions these days.
