Gluten Free Holiday

"Welcome to Gluten-Free Pineapple" watercolor and ink, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering

Gluten-Free Living Magazine put together a Gluten-Free Holiday Gift Guide on their blog from foods, to cooking and baking tools, to clothes & aprons, even a special section for the GF man in your life... and I was thrilled and honored that my GF Illustrator aprons made the list!

So if you are looking for gifts for your gluten-free family and friends to show you care, and support them in their quest for optimal health, it is worth checking out.  

Happy Gluten-free Holidays!

The Monkey House

"Close Enough"detail, ink on paper, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering

I hadn't been down the grocery store bread aisle in ages. But honey was on my list and that's where our local Pathmark shelves it. Having no need for 'regular' bread I've avoided that aisle since honestly, I no longer care for the smell.

The longer I am gluten-free the less I can tolerate the smell and the more uncomfortable it makes me. The honey was half way down a looong aisle so I couldn’t just get in and out. The coughing started as soon as I entered, increasing the further I went, and as I got to the honey I was really coughing - truly feeling like I couldn’t get enough air. By the time I was able to get out I was practically gagging.  It's very similar to my reaction to the monkey house at the zoo and usually make a quick exit.

When I got home and told my husband he thought it was a bit kooky - can't blame him - and he assumed it was my thought associations with gluten that was responsible for the reaction. So I reached out to my celiac/GF friends on twitter to find out if anyone else has a similar physical reaction. And found out I am not the only one (which proves I'm not crazy).

How does the bread aisle make you feel?

Gluten-Free Halloween

"Happy Halloween Dahling", watercolor & ink, 5x7, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering

I love chocolate, chocolate and oh, more chocolate!  Halloween is a great reason to have lots of it in the house.  I don't know if it is the unmatched flavor of chocolate, or living without it for 23 years, or my continued awe and joy that living gluten-free has given me back the pleasure of chocolate. But, I enjoy a little every day.

The NFCA has published a Gluten-Free Snack and Candy List on their website and I was thrilled to find such a large selection. With Halloween right around the corner I thought I would share my top 10 candies, but realized it’s just a few that I am crazy about and quite possibly - addicted to.

Here are my top 3 favorite gluten-free sweets...

Reese’s peanut butter cups A delighful & perfect blend of two of my favorite flavors. I craved Reese's PB cups for the entire 23 yrs I went without chocolate.

Peanut M&M's  I did not appreciate the beauty of the peanut m&m’s when I was a kid but when I had them again for the first time it had been closer to 30 yrs. Wow - first your teeth crack through the sweet crispy shell, then sink into the soft creamy chocolate, and top it off by reaching the yummy peanut. Such a combination of taste and texture. Genius.

3 muskteers Deliciously smooth and creamy.

I also LOVE Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips but throwing a handful of loose chips in Halloween bags doesn’t work, so I'll just enjoy those on my own.

I am waiting until right before Halloween to stock up so I don’t eat them all before the trick-or-treaters arrive.  I am secretly hoping traffic will be light so there will be an abundance of leftovers. 

Pressure & Perfection

"Wine Tasting Border", 3" x 7", watercolor & ink, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering

To say I am a perfectionist is an understatement. It is my greatest stumbling block. I started this blog to document my journey to reclaiming & maintaining good health and yet if I can't find the perfect thing to say with a matching illustration, it seems I can't say anything. I need to constantly remind myself that it’s the process that counts. If so then every piece along the way, good bad or anywhere in between, is fine just for the reason that it is ALL part of the adventure.

This is so with all the main aspects of my life… my art, the food I consume, my relationships and motherhood. Now I always try to do the right thing for all of above for many reasons but perfect is not always (or ever) possible. If mistakes happen along the way I need to learn from them and move on. I also need to stop putting enormous pressure on myself... It is counterproductive to all that I want to accomplish. See that...back to focusing on the end product.

I was reminded last night that it’s all part of life and there are an infinite number of opportunities to make choices in any given day.  So I am shifting my focus from accomplishing perfection to staying in the moment, and viewing it all as the work in progress that it is; an ongoing creation and interaction.

To that end I release myself from the need to always have the perfect thing to write here matched with the perfectly appropriate art/illustration.

In praise of gluten-free bread

Artisan Baker, watercolor & ink, 11x14, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering

I have found some great gluten-free products over the last year or so. I like to try what I find for two reasons - to support gluten-free manufacturers working in dedicated facilities and in the hopes of finding a real gem.

We hit the jackpot in the frozen section at our local Whole Foods recently and it has become a staple in our house. Against the Grain Gourmet gluten-free rosemary baguette. Gorgeous crispy, flaky crust surrounding a moist chewy airy middle. This bread is a winner and all 3 of us love it! Great with butter, as a sandwich, as a hot dog bun, amazing with sausage pepppers and onions. My husband and daughter are as in love with this bread as I am. And all our guests try it - and our impressed.

They also make a plain baguette, which is good, but we prefer the rosemary.

We keep a few loaves in the freezer and take one out about 30 minurtes before eating. 10 minutes prior to eating pop it in the oven on low to warm it up and ensure a crispier crust.

The heat this summer limited my baking so this bread was a godsend.  We can have yummy bread with fresh baked flavor and texture all without risking my health.

Thanks Against the Grain Gourmet!

The Cost of Eating Gluten-Free

3 GF Apples, watercolor & ink, 5x7, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering


I keep reading about the high cost of eating gluten-free. What doesn’t get a mention in any of these articles is the high cost of NOT staying gluten-free.

Does it really cost that much more? All fresh fruit & vegetables, fresh meat & fish are naturally gluten-free. Include in that list milk, eggs, rice, and potatoes - all of these you would or could eat either way.

Where the cost is added is grains, and prepared foods. I agree they do run higher since they are more specialized, as somewhere along the line it was decided wheat should be in everything and be everywhere.

But what about the cost of continuing gluten consumption with celiac disease? Or all the years prior to diagnosis?... The Doctor appointments, the antibiotics, lost time of work, tests, procedures, x-rays, MRIs, prescription meds, co-pays, physical therapy, crutches, acupuncture, pain killers. Painkillers! I can’t even imagine how much I have spent just on Advil in my lifetime.

I have spent a fortune over the years while celiac wreaked it’s havoc, but remained unknown. I shudder to see the actual dollar amount of all that combined.

Treating the problems, related illnesses, chronic pain…. The cost is impossible to calculate. Compared to that the food is a bargain.

A phone call that changes everything

"Yoga Girl Sitting", 5x7, ink & watercolor, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering

Did you ever get one of those phone calls, the call that changes your perspective on life, that shifts everything, the punch to the stomach, the one that yanks the rug right out from under you?

The kind of call that when you see caller ID you hesitate a moment before answering because they never call from work/at work/on your cell/at this time... You know the one. You pick up the phone and sub-consciously hold your breath. But they sound so breezy and matter of fact. The circumstances are anything but, so you ask, "what's up?"

Then you get the news. It's not your news but it's them, so it changes everything. From that moment on everything is different because of who it is. The roar in your head quiets just enough to carry on the conversation. This is real and raw and happening. You want to be supportive, helpful, someone they can lean on. Together you talk, you cry, you hope, you pray, you laugh - you are there for them. And you will continue to be there as they will need you and they move through the maze of the unknown and the unimaginable.

Afterwards you sit drained, shocked, trying to absorb it, your thoughts a disorganized mess. You will get yourself together before you speak next. They will need your love, your support, your thoughtfulness, your strength, your prayers AND your hope.

In the meantime the world has just shifted. Nothing feels the quite the same. And you know now that you will keep up with those seemingly pesky medical tests - the ones we all need to do, the ones that are easy to postpone, the ones that save lives. And, you will continue to make healthy food choices, exercise, take care of yourself so you can feel some sense of control.

You will wake up each morning for the foreseeable future with them as your first thought. And you will be grateful they are part of your life. You will feel gratitude for your family, your friends, and all the little things in your life. For you and your loved one you will focus on hope and healing and light. Hope and healing and love. And you will pray.