I have been wanting to start a blog for years, a food blog a little more recently. But I finally took the time while on co-op this past fall in New York City. I wanted to share my journey eating Gluten and Dairy Free in New York City. The name of the blog came from my two food allergies as well as my own initials, and the graphics I created myself. I read my blog in full, please visit www.gf-df-me.com/.
College was the first time that I was really able to explore food and cooking. My parents have always been excellent cooks and I was usually too busy to explore the role at home. But when I moved to college, a large part of the independence I gained was in making my own meals. I chose the way that I wanted to eat and got to try, or to avoid, certain ingredients. I started eating less meat, which was fundamental to any meal at my house, and started eating more beans, which were avoided at all costs. I replaced cooked carrots with roasted Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes with quinoa and started creating many single bowl meals. Choice, or really avoidance, became something rather common as I was diagnosed with food allergies sophomore year; cutting gluten and dairy completely out of my diet. Through these restrictions, I explored a new way of eating and developed a love of cooking. It is a decompression when I get home from work, a way to be creative when tinkering with ingredients and an ongoing search for the perfect recipe.
Eating at home has gotten much more exciting, but eating out still tends to be a disappointment. I often feel embarrassed about asking for substitutions or special preparation at restaurants. I don’t want to be an inconvenience. My guilt often leads to frustration and I find myself making poor decisions; indulging in foods I’m not supposed to eat because I don’t feel like I have worthwhile alternatives. My allergies are not life-threatening, but they do make an impact on how I feel. I find myself at one of two extremes, preparing to be disappointed with a salad or battling with my skin and my mood in the following days. There is so much more I could be doing outside my own kitchen to educate myself and explore what gluten or dairy free options exist. Moving to a new city, establishing new habits, and eating out is difficult. As I move from Cincinnati to New York for co-op, I want to share my journey eating in and eating out, in a city that seems so much more open to diets, fads and dietary restrictions. I hope that this experience shows me how to make the most of my newfound environment, seeking out a community with resources, connections, and best of all, recommendations. I think this personal exploration will help me explore my passion for food and enjoy a lifestyle I have not fully embraced, using what could be restrictive as a way to get around and into the city; making the most of my four months in New York.
College was the first time that I was really able to explore food and cooking. My parents have always been excellent cooks and I was usually too busy to explore the role at home. But when I moved to college, a large part of the independence I gained was in making my own meals. I chose the way that I wanted to eat and got to try, or to avoid, certain ingredients. I started eating less meat, which was fundamental to any meal at my house, and started eating more beans, which were avoided at all costs. I replaced cooked carrots with roasted Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes with quinoa and started creating many single bowl meals. Choice, or really avoidance, became something rather common as I was diagnosed with food allergies sophomore year; cutting gluten and dairy completely out of my diet. Through these restrictions, I explored a new way of eating and developed a love of cooking. It is a decompression when I get home from work, a way to be creative when tinkering with ingredients and an ongoing search for the perfect recipe.
Eating at home has gotten much more exciting, but eating out still tends to be a disappointment. I often feel embarrassed about asking for substitutions or special preparation at restaurants. I don’t want to be an inconvenience. My guilt often leads to frustration and I find myself making poor decisions; indulging in foods I’m not supposed to eat because I don’t feel like I have worthwhile alternatives. My allergies are not life-threatening, but they do make an impact on how I feel. I find myself at one of two extremes, preparing to be disappointed with a salad or battling with my skin and my mood in the following days. There is so much more I could be doing outside my own kitchen to educate myself and explore what gluten or dairy free options exist. Moving to a new city, establishing new habits, and eating out is difficult. As I move from Cincinnati to New York for co-op, I want to share my journey eating in and eating out, in a city that seems so much more open to diets, fads and dietary restrictions. I hope that this experience shows me how to make the most of my newfound environment, seeking out a community with resources, connections, and best of all, recommendations. I think this personal exploration will help me explore my passion for food and enjoy a lifestyle I have not fully embraced, using what could be restrictive as a way to get around and into the city; making the most of my four months in New York.
Throughout this experience I made 11 blog posts about different eating related experienced I had in New York. They ranged from more complex recipes like my Moroccan Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup (on the right), to exciting compliant discoveries like the fact that the bagel place around the corner had vegan cream cheese made out of tofu. That was a very, very good day.
One of my main goals from this experience was to be able to be more comfortable with my food allergies and to try flipping the perspective of all of the things I CANNOT eat, to all of the things that I CAN. New York City is a much easier place to do this than say Cincinnati. It was incredible to not only realize that I could easily eat out, but that I had a seemingly endless supply of options. It became easier for me to recommend places to go and eat rather than suffering through a salad I didn’t really want to eat or something smothered in cheese I would regret in twenty minutes. I was able to explore more and be more forward about my needs. It wasn’t a difficult concession for my friends or co-workers to find a place where I could eat too. I know that isn’t the way that it is going to work everywhere, but it was nice to realize that that is something simple that I shouldn’t feel guilty about. And people are super willing to make those small changes or adaptations.
Making a food blog also allowed me to be more creative and to begin to document my process in a totally different way. I didn’t really think about cooking as such a source of inspiration for myself or as a creative outlet. But that really is what I would consider it, especially now. I love to come home from work and spend an hour in the kitchen (alone, ideally), to just cook, making something totally new. Not every recipe is good, I had some pretty great luck this past semester, enjoying almost everything that I made. But having a blog pushed me to intentionally set a plan for my meals, to try new things and not resort to my go-tos.
This food blog is definitely something that I want to continue doing. I had forgotten how much I love to write and being able to do that, even on a weekly basis was also something surprisingly enjoyable. At times it could be stressful, like when I had forgotten to post about a recipe I had made a week prior. But it allows me to flex skills that I don’t get to use at work. It is important for me to be creative in other ways, it is important to me to be reading and writing and it is important to me to go out and experience new things.
One of my main goals from this experience was to be able to be more comfortable with my food allergies and to try flipping the perspective of all of the things I CANNOT eat, to all of the things that I CAN. New York City is a much easier place to do this than say Cincinnati. It was incredible to not only realize that I could easily eat out, but that I had a seemingly endless supply of options. It became easier for me to recommend places to go and eat rather than suffering through a salad I didn’t really want to eat or something smothered in cheese I would regret in twenty minutes. I was able to explore more and be more forward about my needs. It wasn’t a difficult concession for my friends or co-workers to find a place where I could eat too. I know that isn’t the way that it is going to work everywhere, but it was nice to realize that that is something simple that I shouldn’t feel guilty about. And people are super willing to make those small changes or adaptations.
Making a food blog also allowed me to be more creative and to begin to document my process in a totally different way. I didn’t really think about cooking as such a source of inspiration for myself or as a creative outlet. But that really is what I would consider it, especially now. I love to come home from work and spend an hour in the kitchen (alone, ideally), to just cook, making something totally new. Not every recipe is good, I had some pretty great luck this past semester, enjoying almost everything that I made. But having a blog pushed me to intentionally set a plan for my meals, to try new things and not resort to my go-tos.
This food blog is definitely something that I want to continue doing. I had forgotten how much I love to write and being able to do that, even on a weekly basis was also something surprisingly enjoyable. At times it could be stressful, like when I had forgotten to post about a recipe I had made a week prior. But it allows me to flex skills that I don’t get to use at work. It is important for me to be creative in other ways, it is important to me to be reading and writing and it is important to me to go out and experience new things.