I love chocolate chip cookies. These cookies are a bit crunchy. Chewy. Not too big. Not dry and falling apart. Best part? The cookie dough is edible.

When I was first diagnosed with gluten intolerance grocery stores were not stocking many gluten-free products. Nor was a gluten-free label readily apparent. Most people I encountered had never even heard of gluten sensitivities. In fact, I vividly remember calling restaurant after restaurant for a gluten-free menu only to be asked, “What is gluten?”

Finding out around twenty years old that bread had a protein that was causing health issues was a shock. What had been causing terrible stomach cramps, digestive issues, etc., was a staple once found at the bottom of the food pyramid. My elementary school teacher tacked a poster of the food pyramid on the classroom wall, so I remember it well. Not only was bread a problem, but most pizzas, cookies, cakes, candies. The only good news was my sweet tooth up to that point had satisfied enough sugar cravings to last a lifetime.

The day I quit consuming gluten was the day my issues stopped. It happened that fast. Stomach issues that plagued me for over a year finally quit. It was an affirmation for me, even without the blood tests indicating I was susceptible.

Abstaining from gluten became a process, educating myself was the most important part for the journey. Everything from cheese dip to tea bags can carry gluten. There were a few tears, but ultimately I decided to cook and bake my own food at home. I also started drinking loose leaf tea. My journey to food blogging started not long after. So many blogs helped me with starter recipes I could build on to create something delicious. Learning to cook and bake without gluten took patience and time. Somehow that evolved to many of my own recipes.

Now that my gluten-free recipes are explained, why do I use sweeteners different than white or brown sugar? Around the same time I received news of gluten intolerance, I noticed various processed sugars were not setting well with me. A physical therapist recommended a diet free of the various sweeteners that caused issues. For a couple years the only sweetener I used was dates.

What symptoms prodded me to such extremes? Throat infections, acne, sore muscles. Going on a diet without processed sugar really changed my life. It was bizarre to realize foods I thought constituted as a meal were not really great for me. I started agreeing with the statement, “You are what you eat.” Eating whole foods gave a lot more vitality.

No, I am not preaching to anyone eat healthier. Eating habits are individual choices. What I am offering is a testimony.

I can say with one hundred percent encouragement, anyone can have a healthier diet without gluten and refined sugar. Why? Because I was the poster child for a terrible diet. As a young teenager I ate nothing but processed food. Literally. Everything I consumed was either from a box or a package. Think sugar-laden cereals, packaged lunches, candy or cookies for snack, dinner from a box, and two to three scoops of mint ice cream every night. I had no qualms eating an extra large ice cream sundae for breakfast, and the candy aisle was my best friend.

Now I can go anywhere (grocery stores, food galleries, gas stations) and not be tempted to eat candy, doughnuts, cake, ice cream, etc. Overtime my palate changed. Cravings for junk food lessened. Granted, I still have a sweet tooth usually satisfied with recipes seen on this blog, but also satiated with fruit. Rather than two scoops of mint ice cream at night, I might have a strawberry smoothie. For me, whole foods without a ton of sugar foster a more satisfying and filling diet.

Health and healthiness is important. I do believe food helps us achieve better results. Here are a couple of inspirational quotes to show that the importance of healthier eating is not a novel idea:

“The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.”

Thomas Edison

“Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy food.”

Hippocrates

Cookie Recipes: