The first product that kept me sane

When I went gluten free back in August of last year, I had no idea, ZERO, what I was doing.  As a librarian, I have resources at my fingertips and I'm an expert researcher.  But I was getting cross-contaminated, I was getting sick eating out of my own kitchen, I was getting sick eating out, although not nearly as much as I had been.  I didn't really know how I was going to manage this but I knew I felt better than I had in a very long time and I was going to keep at it.

And then I had to go to a professional conference.  It was the Iowa Library Association conference in Coralville, Iowa and I was frustrated because the food that they were providing to me with my dietary restrictions left a lot to be desired.  But then, I had always been able to eat whatever and whenever I wanted, albeit with repercussions.  So, by the end of day two, I was tired of salads and boring fruit.

The Coralville Public Library held a reception for all attendees and again they had food there, but none of which I felt comfortable eating.  But then, a miracle.  I was chatting with the woman at the counter of their little cafe just off the lobby of the library, Cafe del Sol, and was explaining that I was recently gluten free and having a lot of difficulties finding food to eat during the conference.  She tells me that one of the librarians on staff cooks gluten free and that she has blueberry muffins and macaroons in the back if I was interested.  

Was I interested?  Heck, yeah!  So, I bought several for the next day and a half of the conference.  I was happy and so was my belly, and knew that I would be able to do this.

The macaroons were regular coconut but she had one that was dipped in chocolate and it was heaven.  So when I returned to Waterloo, I had to find something to curb the cravings that I had for these little morsels, something I had never ever eaten in my life before going gluten free.  And I love them! I would probably pass up a chocolate chip cookie for a good looking macaroon!

Since I did not have the little Cafe' del Sol locally to make macaroons for me,  I went in search of the next best thing and found these in my local grocery store's health market.  They come in regular coconut and the chocolate.  I prefer the chocolate best.

These made those next couple of weeks bearable as I figured out what I was doing and where I was going with this whole thing.

I don't eat them as regularly as I did during the first couple of months being gluten free, but I love having a good friend to turn to in my time of need and Jennie's chocolate macaroons are that friend.  There is a container on my counter as I write this.  I think I'll go eat one.

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