Cravings Changed Going Gluten-Free

I crave vegetables.
Since I went largely gluten-free my appetite has changed. Instead of wanting cinnamon buns and submarine sandwiches and pizza I want vegetables.
I always liked them, especially carrots and peas right from the pod, but this is different.
Zucchini and/or mushrooms and /or spinach are important to a scrambled egg. So are slices of bell pepper. I don't scramble them often, but when I do there are more veggies than egg.

Hunger changes as well.
It used to be I had to eat not now but right now. After punting spelt I can wait to eat.
The call for regular gluten baked goods left quickly. I believe it was less than a week.
Don't get me wrong, I'll still eat 'em, I just don't feel compelled to do so.
My need for sweets has altered. I still hear them, but it's no Siren call  leading to a shipwreck.
Full disclosure: I eat rolled oats almost every day as I discovered about four years ago it keeps my blood sugar even.  This took care of most of the craving for sweets, but not all. Avoiding gluten is what sent it away.

I rarely eat chocolate. Instead of the daily chocolate bar of old I have high-quality dark chocolate, and not too much of it. I don't need much for sweets anymore. I hardly use any maple syrup on my morning pancakes.
My eating has changed to the point I can do without potato chips. I still have them around a good lot of the time, but they are unsalted. In fact, I no longer care for foods that are very salty or very sweet. I honestly thought I would never see this day.

Why am I telling you this?
Because if you are contemplating punting gluten you should know what you're in for. I'm not going to guarantee my experiences will be yours, but from what I've read these are pretty common.

I may write about this again, but for right now, I really, really, wish I could go to the garden and eat some peas.

Summer Gratitude

I’m swamped with vegetables. I’m hardly complaining. In fact I’m grateful.

My husband has a large garden out at his mom’s place where he grows all manner of interesting things. He’s got an orchard of assorted fruit trees and hazelnut trees. His garden has licorice and echinacea along with the assorted table veggies, and even horseradish.

Over the years he’s nurtured marshmallow root, valerian, gingko, compass plant, Jerusalem artichoke, and other natural foods and herbal remedies I’ve forgotten. Our front yard has more berries, herbs, and flowers as well as our own supply of ragweed used to combat allergies.

I’m thankful for each and every plant.

Right now it’s peak veggie season. Beans desperately need to be topped and tailed and frozen. The carrots are just rapidly approaching proper eating size and shortly it’ll be time to get them in the freezer beside the beans. The Yampa, or wild carrot, are as big as they’ll ever get and the peas, which I thought were done, are getting some new pods on.
We’ve got beets to try as well as some parsnip-rooted parsley and a few new potatoes which are going wonderful in a lovely salad with feta and chives and kalamata olives.

Yes, I’ll be busy, but it’s a good busy, and it means good, healthy, tasty food in the dead of winter.

It’s also a connection to our past and our future. Veggies have been around in some form since we were hunter-gatherers. They’ve always been collected and saved in some manner for the cold times ahead.

If we ever succeed in blowing ourselves up or scorching a major portion of the planet there’ll still, somewhere, be a patch of soil that’ll grow something.
Vegetation in some form will survive and sustain us, and for that I’m grateful.

For right now, I’m in the midst of gathered veggies that need my attention. I’m grateful for that, too.