Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back... And How You Can Too »

Shauna James Ahern shares her stories, photographs, and recipes on her blog, gluttenfreegirl.com. The site, which receives thousands of hits a day, won Global Best Food blog with a Theme in 2006. She has been featured in the New York Times, the Seattle Times, and Newsweek.

"Give yourself a treat! Gluten-Free Girl offers delectable tips on living and dining with zest—gluten-free. This is a story for anyone who is interested in changing his or her life from the inside out!"

—Alice Bast, Executive Director of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness

"Shauna's food explodes with flavor—proof positive that people who choose to eat gluten-free can do it with passion and power."

—John La Puma, MD, New York Times bestselling coauthor of The RealAge Diet and Cooking the RealAge Way

Do you, or someone you love, have to avoid certain foods? Imagine passing on the pizza during your honeymoon in Rome, or skipping the sugar cookies your sister makes at Christmas. Shauna James Ahern understands your pain—literally. After years of inexplicable exhaustion and endless medical tests, she found relief in her diagnosis of celiac disease. After giving up gluten, she learned how to live well and love food more fully. Now she can help you do it, too.

In Gluten-Free Girl, Shauna James Ahern shares the journey that changed her from a typical Gen-X processed-food junkie to a fun-loving foodie. She shows you how to say yes to a gluten-free lifestyle and embrace a whole new world of fresh foods and flavors. She shares dozens of recipes everyone will love, like salmon with blackberry sauce, chocolate banana bread, and lemon olive oil cookies.

Part memoir, part best friend giving advice, part cookbook, Gluten-Free Girl will put the spring back in your step and your diet, one delicious meal at a time.

Mindy Rhiger - Library Journal

With a diagnosis of celiac disease comes one large don't: don't eat gluten, which means no more bread, baked goods, or beer. But living gluten-free isn't as easy as just avoiding a few trigger foods. Gluten is everywhere, often hiding in processed foods and in places one might not think to look. Ahern has been blogging since 2004 about living gluten-free on her popular, award-winning food blog, Gluten-Free Girl. Now her story makes the transition to book, and it's a successful venture that centers on the idea of what it takes to love food while living with food restrictions. Readers with or without celiac disease will appreciate the recipes, advice, and inspiration for eating well. After all, "everyone deserves good food." Part food memoir and part how-to, Ahern's story traces her journey from processed-food-fed child to gluten-free gourmet after her celiac diagnosis. Engaging and passionate, this book will make everyone who reads it remember the pleasure of food. Highly recommended for public libraries.

Acknowledgments ix

1 A Brand-Name Childhood 1

2 On My Own 9

3 The Ten Noble Tastes 23

4 Free to Be You and Me, Gluten-Free 53

5 Vegetarians, Please Avert Your Eyes 83

6 Going Against the Grain 109

7 The Pleasure of Vegetables 135

8 Luscious and Sumptuous Fruit 153

9 Truly Tasting My Life 173

10 Guilty Pleasures 185

11 Feeling Comfortable in the Kitchen 207

12 Life, Gluten-Free 231

Epilogue: Yes 253

What Is Gluten and Where Does It Hide? 257

Resources 259

Index 267