Crispy fried chicken, served with a cloud of mashed potatoes and a thick ribbon of rich, brown gravy. A hot, crusty loaf of Italian bread served fresh from the oven. A cheesy, greasy slice of pepperoni pizza. Buttery chocolate chip cookies that leave your hands sticky with melted gobs of Ghiradelli.

Just reading the words makes your mouth water, doesn't it?

Then imagine how hard it must be to sit at a table filled with such scrumptious treats – and not be able to take a single bite.

For the millions of people around the world living with celiac disease, it's a simple fact of life. Individuals with celiac disease – an estimated one out of every hundred Americans – are unable to process an ingredient called gluten, which is found in wheat flour, among other things. That means even a single breadcrumb can make someone with celiac disease seriously ill for days – and the worst part is, many people don't even realize that they're gluten-intolerant, and that they're poisoning themselves with every bite.

In Shauna James Ahern's case, her health was in a downward spiral for years before her diagnosis. In 2005, the former English teacher from Seattle says, "I felt as low as I had ever felt. My body was wracked with pain — particularly in my abdomen and stomach. My body wanted to sleep 18 hours a day. Underneath my eyes, the circles were as dark as if I had drawn them on with magic marker. I was bloated, fatigued, and felt as dumb as someone on Nyquil all the time."

Ahern had no clue what could be causing her sickness. But when a friend told her about celiac disease, she checked out the symptoms, and made an appointment for a blood test. As soon as she was diagnosed with celiac disease, she cut gluten out of her diet entirely. "Within three days, I felt as though I had been reborn," she says.

Now that Ahern knew she had to eat a gluten-free diet, she felt compelled to learn as much as she could about celiac disease, and about the foods that she could eat to replace the familiar comfort foods now forbidden to her. But, says Ahern, "in doing all the research I could to keep myself well, I was frustrated with how impersonal and contradictory the information on the Internet was."

So she decided to create her own resource to provide support and information to others with celiac disease, and to share her own experiences living with gluten-intolerance: A blog called Gluten-Free Girl.

Ahern had always been passionate about eating, but before her diagnosis, she'd been intimidated by the complexity of cooking. By necessity, that changed once she went gluten-free: "I had to make everything from scratch," she says. "I made my first jams, vinaigrettes, homemade potato chips, and mayonnaise. The more I tried, the more I reveled in it. Nothing seemed impossible anymore."

She began to develop new recipes, focusing on fresh ingredients and naturally gluten-free foods, such as pork tenderloin and Meyer lemon sorbet. Because of her food blog, she says, "I felt an obligation to create new dishes, continually." She created a new recipe every single night in that first year.

Since those early days, though, the site has transformed into "a love story — with food," says Ahern. Her now-husband, Daniel Ahern, a restaurant chef, has inspired both her prose and her recipes to magical new levels: "He taught me, so much. He fed me. (We fed each other.) And we were both in our late 30s when we finally found each other. The exultation was complete."

Though Ahern loved writing the blog, she knew she could help more fellow celiacs if she could reach out to a wider audience – and last month, with the publication of her new book, Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food that Loves Me Back... And How You Can Too, she did just that.

Since the book's release, she's been traveling around the United States to hold readings and host gluten-free meals at restaurants. The book itself is more than simply a cookbook for those with celiac disease – it's a memoir with recipes, narrating Ahern's journey from the youthful days of PB&J sandwiches on Wonder Bread to today's vibrant and sophisticated dishes of Mushroom Risotto, Pan-Seared Scallops, and other delicacies straight from the earth and sea. The book is a ray of hope for those who've learned they can no longer eat their favorite foods, illuminating all the gluten-free riches of the culinary world, from Curried Carrot Soup to Chicken Thighs Braised in Pomegranate Molasses.

With both the blog and the new book, Ahern has one simple mission: "To show people that there is an entire, vibrant life involved here, not just avoiding gluten," she says. "So many people focus on what they cannot eat, how their lives are deprived without gluten. But my life is infinitely better, more expansive, and joyful since I stopped eating gluten. How could I ever feel deprived?"
 
Original story by Kathryn Hawkins


Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food that Loves Me Back... And How You Can Too is available from Amazon.com.

Looking for tips on cooking Thanksgiving dinner for a gluten-intolerant friend or relative? Check out this post on Shauna's blog.


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