You all have probably figured out by now that I am not exactly one to ascribe to the grain free craze that has swept the nation. Yes, every single one of us would be healthier if we ate less pasta, bread, cupcakes, scones, and Totino’s Pizzas. This is just plain old logic. I did the primal thing in the months leading up to my wedding and I did indeed loose weight, have clear skin, and feel awesome.
But donuts.
And Italian food.
And CAKE.
Which means that on the whole, James and I eat more veggies, meat, and fruit than carbs… but I’m not one to turn down a burger or some delicious pizza, even though I acknowledge the superiority of the grain-free diet. I will just suffer in bloated silence every so often and run some extra miles.
The grain free craze has taken over the cooking world and restaurant scene. And some of it is really good, mainly the stuff made out of butter, or the stuff that didn’t have flour of any sort to begin with. But for a lot of it… don’t you try to feed me sawdust and call it cake. Blasphemy. Just give me some ice cream and drop this charade.
However, this past weekend I ate my words… literally. I had the joy of photographing Christine and Craig’s beautiful wedding, which culminated in a dessert bar that was totally grain free, mostly sugar free, and absolutely delicious. Her sister and father made the cakes (let that sink in) and I would never have guessed that they were missing my favorite cake ingredients, which is to say sugar and flour. Caroline is finishing up a degree to be a nutritionist and she keeps up a blog with grain free and sugar free recipes that you really should check out. To start with, I encourage you to try the chocolate cake with buttercream frosting and coconut flour cake with lemon curd that she made for her sister’s wedding. My personal favorite was the lemon one, a conclusion arrived at after eating big slices of each, purely for scientific purposes. Grain free or not, you should make these cakes as soon as possible and then eat them totally guilt free because hey, they are practically good for you, and they are definitely some of the best cake I have eaten in a long while.
^^^No big deal… just the Maid of Honor assembling the wedding cake during the reception without getting whipped cream on her dress… a feat of which I would surely be incapable.^^^
Are any of you all gluten free? Sugar free? Any other diets that make you feel awesome? (Oh wait… diets are so 1999… now we all have “intolerances” instead…)
The Art in Life 
I was gluten free because of stomach problems, but I gave up. It was too hard to do at this time of life with the time and energy I have. Now I’m dairy free but it’s to help Callan’s allergies since he’s still 90% dependent on my milk.
That said, my favorite “diet” is one high in butter and coconut oil. Both are high in good fatty-acids that are processed as carbs and thus, increase your metabolism. These two are the major diet changes I made after having Callan…and I don’t know what I weigh, but I look and feel better than I did when I got married. So I’m a fan. 🙂
It’s so true… the glutenous foods are the easiest to cook/plan/keep on hand (ie- PASTA).
And I support any diet high in butter (yay southern self!) Plus, I was talking with a nutritionist last week and she was telling me that we should all trade out our olive oil in cooking for butter and not to shy away from it in general. That is advice I am happy to take! : )
rice pasta is my new favorite 🙂
I’m soy free and sugar free, which amounts to a defacto ban on a lot of other foods because soy and sugar are a main ingredient in every single food you will find on the shelf of a typical grocery store (“sugar”, in my case also includes corn syrup etc.) It was hard when I first discovered the allergy many years ago, but because it’s trendy right now, it’s much easier to find foods without soy. It’s a pain for sure to be genuinely allergic to something that is such a common ingredient, but it definitely makes you think about food differently, and be more conscious in planning when and what to eat. If I accidentally ate a soy-filled meal I’d end up with an epi-pen sticking out of my leg, so it’s definitely worth the extra effort to make meals myself when I can, or pack snacks.
I’m off to look at the cake recipes for my own upcoming soy-free, sugar-free wedding!
I just recently heard a lot about the soy danger and it was pretty terrifying. I have never been really into soy products but they do tend to stick soy in everything, so I should probably be more careful! And you my friend sound like one of the people who actually HAS to obey these diets, not just doing it for other reasons… I commend you for your dedication, and hopefully the increasing awareness makes it easier for you!
I highly recommend these for your wedding!
HANNAH! I love the post and your hilarious writing! Thank you for the photos 🙂 And yes I do love italian food and doughnuts too!
If you master a gf doughnut you let me know… I have great faith in your cooking!!!
I know that for some people it’s just a diet trend but I think there are many other people who genuinely can’t/shouldn’t have gluten who don’t realize they have an allergy because it’s not like other allergy symptoms. My mom never had an allergic reaction to any food but went gluten free for a while to help some migraine issues and now if she accidentally has gluten she does get some allergy symptoms (feeling ill, digestive problems, etc.) I haven’t gone gluten free to see if I would have the same reaction (mostly because it’s more convenient not to know) but I’ve been trying to reduce the amount of grains/gluten I eat at home. Also, that chocolate cake looks amazing! I might have to try that recipe for my mom’s birthday!
I know there are some people who really do need a change of eating habits for health reasons and I applaud that. And I also think you are right that when we stop eating something and then introduce it back, we do have issues. After going primal for most of the months leading up to my wedding, in the weeks before there was too much celebrating to avoid cookies and bread… and let me tell you I did not feel well! Luckily I adapted back in time for the honeymoon!