Hi! I am Becky. I am a Christian, wife, mother and a coeliac. My Christian faith is the most important aspect of who I am. I believe that we all fall short of God’s perfect standard and that keeps us from a relationship with Him. Despite that, God the Father opened the way for us to be in relationship with Him and to be right with Him, by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth as a man, to live and die for us before rising again from death. My faith has sustained and kept me through lots of good and bad times in my life and has been a source of strength in my journey with coeliac disease.

I had heard of coeliac disease prior to my own diagnosis with it in late 2019, but the possibility that I might one day have to deal with it for myself never even crossed my mind. I went through a big grieving and adjustment process as I came to terms with my diagnosis and the strict, lifelong gluten free diet that is the only currently-available medical treatment for the disease. For me, the diagnosis has meant that I spend a lot of my time thinking about food, whether that is navigating being gluten free in a gluten-filled world, or cooking and baking make sure we have tasty food that isn’t too expensive! I sometimes struggle socially, when I feel like an outsider during meals when everyone else is eating gluten and when I feel like an inconvenience to cook for, and I often struggle with a lack of healthy, tasty, convenience options for days when I don’t feel like being in the kitchen. Sometimes I miss gluteny, crusty on the outside, soft and fluffy in the middle, fresh-for-days bread. But being coeliac has also increased my empathy for others with dietary restrictions and needs, vastly improved my knowledge of the science behind cooking and baking, increased my adventurousness in cooking from a range of cuisines (the Western diet is much more reliant on gluten than diets in many other parts of the world), introduced me to a wide variety of naturally gluten free grains and pseudocereals that I barely knew existed before, and challenged me to enjoy gluten free food on its own terms, for what those flavours and textures can be in themselves, rather than for what it isn’t. I miss many things about the simplicity and ease of my pre-coeliac life but I am also grateful for much that has come with my coeliac journey.

One thing that many coeliacs find challenging is the feeling of never being normal, particularly when eating away from home. Food and the risk of cross contamination with gluten is something that a coeliac always has to think about when eating. I know from conversations with other coeliacs that going out to eat at a place that only sells gluten free food is great for peace of mind (no risk of cross contamination) but also for the sense, even for a bit, of being normal – of being able to walk into an eaterie and order anything off the menu with no uncertainty or risk, no awkward questions or conversations and no doubts about whether the food is truly safe. Although many of the bakes that I post on this website, particularly the breads, are explicitly gluten free and likely to only be made by or for someone who is gluten free, my aim is to provide a recipe equivalent of walking into a gluten free eaterie – everyday food that is delicious for everyone but also just so happens to not need any gluten containing ingredients. Obviously, if you are fortunate enough to eat gluten, you totally should substitute for your favourite (and generally cheaper) gluten-containing ingredient if you cook a recipe on here where that is appropriate (looking at you, pasta).

As a side note – I’d really appreciate it is you didn’t use any photos or text from this site without first checking that I am okay with whatever you’re going to use it for! Thank you!