Gluten Free Garden

Few things in this world give me the warm fuzzies like the Des Moines Farmer’s Market.  

I see people of every variety coming together on a beautiful Saturday morning to enjoy the fruits of local Iowans’ hard work and passion.

I grew up in Des Moines, but I didn’t always have an appreciation for life in Iowa.  As soon as someone foolishly declared me a legal adult, I high-tailed it out of the corn state and moved to the big, shiny city of Chicago to study jazz music.  In Chicago I fell head-over-heels, stupid-in-love with food.  I dined at incredible restaurants, taught myself to cook on the weekends and paid an outrageous cable bill just so I could watch the Food Network on TV.  (Yes… I am a nerd.  Prepare to roll your eyes a lot.)

After five years in Chitown I grew tired of the concrete jungle.  I missed Iowa’s wide open spaces and friendly faces. Aren’t you impressed with my rhyming abilities?  I moved home, and prepared to sacrifice all the glamor of big city life for the relaxed pace of Des Moines.

I was shocked to see how my hometown had changed while I was away.   Downtown Des Moines was beautifully landscaped, something wonderful called the “East Village” had sprung up across the river and (be still my heart), brand-new, delectable restaurants of every size, shape and color were magically appearing out of thin air!

Now, Des Moines has everything an energetic person like yours truly could want.  The metropolitan area has 72 recreational parks, a growing network of beautiful bike trails, a vibrant music scene and culturally diverse downtown that grows more exciting by the day. 

After my pilgrimage back to Iowa in the late summer of 2007, I had a conversation with my mom about food.  We both were feeling uncomfortably full and fatigued after eating whole-wheat foods.  I had always been a big proponent of eating whole grains, and it seemed strange that I would get so sick after eating wheat.  I stumbled upon a few very informative websites such as Celiac Disease Foundation and Karina’s Kitchen and discovered that lo-and-behold, you can actually be allergic to wheat.  My mom and I decided to try a gluten-free diet to see how it would affect our symptoms.  Incredibly, after only three days I was full of energy and felt wonderful!  I never knew that it was possible to feel so energetic and happy. I have been gluten-free ever since.

GlutenfreeGarden.com is my celebration of life and all things that are simple and natural.  Living without gluten has enriched my life in many, many ways.  Yes, it is challenging to find substitutions for simple foods like bread and safely eating at restaurants is next to impossible, but being gluten-free encourages me to embrace fresh and local food sources and enhances my creativity in the kitchen.

The Farmer’s Market is the culmination of everything I love about living in Iowa: community, agriculture, music, art and FOOD.  Nearly everything you can buy at the market is gluten-free, simply because it was pulled out of the ground that morning.  Des Moines is a place where fresh and local foods have always been staples in the community.  I am fortunate enough to live in a city that not only accommodates my lifestyle, but embraces it with open arms.

Thank you, Des Moines!