A gluten-free Christmas

This time last year we had one foot in the paleo camp and another in the we-eat-anything camp. We indulged in donuts and then vowed that we wouldn't do that again until Christmas 2011. Well, that lasted until the weekend of our fifth wedding anniversary (mid Feb 2011). We had spent a night at the Treasury Casino and found it necessary to walk to the Krispy Kreme three times! Yes, I'd say we had an addiction. The third time we were there the worker gave us a free coffee. Anyway, we made a another vow not do those gluten-filled treats until Christmas 2011.

We have come a long way. The thought of eating donuts now is far too distressing. So, our off-roading this Christmas has been limited to indulgences of sugar, dairy and products that are gluten-free.

On Christmas eve we visited the husband's parents. There we found a full box of chocolates. Wow! The allure of dairy milk was so great. Since paleo, I have stopped eating chocolate. Let's face it, 85% chocolate just doesn't have it. We ate, we enjoyed and then we stopped. That was the beginning of our food mis-adventure.

Christmas day saw us moving from house to house. For breakfast we enjoyed a cooked meal with friends. We were very good.

Lunch was with my mum. She was very accommodating of our family's food needs and went gluten-free for us. This meant that we could have the pudding. Yum! Back in the day, gluten-free products were so second rate. It seems, though that the gluten-free scene is much improved these days. Apart from the pudding being crumbly, it seriously did not lack in taste. I also enjoyed some ice-cream for dessert. Yes, it tasted just as good as I remembered. I ate in moderation and I felt absolutely ok with my less than strict food choices for lunch.

When dinner came around, with the husband's family, I think I had become more conscious of the fact that I wasn't likely to be enjoying such treats for a while. So, I scooped up a handful of chocolates, ate gluten-free pudding with brandy custard and then had a few more scoops of chocolate. Of course, I ate a pretty awesome Christmas meal.

The following day began very well. It was back to good eating. But then, we thought that it was absolutely appropriate to do ice-cream. We stopped at Baskin and Robbins in the evening. Our hand was forced there unfortunately; they were doing a deal. A double scooper earned a free kids ice-cream. Pomegranate and rum raisin for me thanks. Totally enjoyed it! Then, just before we settled in to watch a movie I enjoyed my last treat. A cup of rooibos with a gluten-free mince pie. That was that.

Today is my first paleo day. My deprived life begins. Nah, seriously, it's pretty easy. If I thought not wanting cancer was good motivation for doing this then actually getting cancer (and not wanting it to return) is a sure way to keep me on the right eating track.

I'll have one more bender new year's eve and then I'm going to kick off 2012 doing Whole30. We have some more recipes in our repertoire so I hope to share them too.