What’s bigger than a breadbox and takes over your entire living room?

One of a couple of boxes...

Well, it’s the groovy new LifeSpan TR1200-DT Treadmill Desk, that’s what! And while, yes, after assembly it did take over even more of my living room (my office was too small to house my usual desk and a treadmill—since I was only trying the Treadmill Desk for a few weeks), let me just say that it was worth it.

Working from home is awesome…and weird. While you can get a lot done (no co-workers buggin’ you with drama), it can also be too quiet (again, no co-workers buggin’ you with drama) and distractions abound (I’m looking at you, BravoTV). But one of the best parts is the ability to work out when you want. Yes, I know there might be meetings and phone calls and stuff, but most days, if you want to take 15 minutes to do yoga or go for a walk, you can. And you can always claim you had bad Mexican food the night before if someone calls when you’re out.

Despite this freedom, sometimes it’s hard—even for me, who is kind of a masochistic when it comes to working out—to get motivated during the work day. I’ve been known to hit the gym at 5:30 in the morning, start my workday at 7 a.m. (green smoothie and coffee in hand, of course) and then proceed to sit on my duff until lunch unless one of the following things happens: my dog demands a walk, my stomach starts grumbling for a snack or the FedEx man knocks on the door.

My usual desk, with the dog about to ask me for a walk.

Now, I know the dangers of sitting for hours on end. I know I should get up at least once every hour—hell, I tell people to do that—but some days I’m tired. And, let’s be honest, in my head I think I already worked out, so walking the dog is going to be about my only other “activity” unless you count cooking dinner and watching TV or reading. So…

Well, let’s just say that the Treadmill Desk was a welcome addition to my routine. I didn’t use it for more than an hour or two at a time, but it definitely helped me to get off my rear, especially in the afternoons when a little work-walking was the perfect energy booster. The Treadmill Desk I tested only went up to a speed of 4 mph, but I found that walking anything faster than 2.2 mpg impeded my ability to type and really focus (your eyeballs get all bouncy). Although a few nights, I did walk at 4 mph while watching TV. (If I were to buy myself one, I’d spring for one that went up to a faster speed so that I could run on it, too—not while working, obviously.)

The display panel shows distance traveled, calories burned, time walking and the Intelli-Step feature that works like a pedometer and counts the steps you take while you’re working. (And it works—I tried hopping off and back on to trick it, and it got it right every time. Talk about an easy way to up your steps-a-day goal!)

You can scroll through your stats. The steps, distance and calories really add up!

The desk also had more than enough room for my laptop, cell phone, regular phone, water bottle and paperwork on it, and it even had a nice little ergonomic arm rest for typing. The belt was quality and the rest of the treadmill felt really secure. Not to mention that putting it together and getting the desk height right (that took a bit of trial and error) wasn’t impossible—with maybe a little help from my husband. The Treadmill Desk goes for about $1,300, so it’s not cheap—but neither are treadmills or big sturdy office desks.

Plenty of room!

To be honest, I really enjoyed using it. See?

Walking and writing is fun!

The desks are designed for use at home or in the workplace, and I really, really think this could be an awesome part of the solution to the obesity epidemic. So many have trouble fitting workouts in because of work. So making work more active? Well, that’s just a no-brainer. Granted, most of us won’t get a great workout walking at 2 mph, but it’s certainly better than nothing. And far healthier than sitting on my fit bottom all day.

Do you make it a point to get up and walk around every hour when you’re at work? Do you have a Treadmill Desk? Would you use it all day? Let’s discuss, shall we? —Jenn

This was like me on my birthday—except I was in sweatpants and sitting in my living room. Credit: Kashirin Nickolai

Last year, I made a big deal about my birthday. I was turning 30 and entering a new decade, which both excited and terrified me, so I think I really wanted to make it something special to commemorate with friends, family and general overindulgence. But this year? Well, I just turned 31 years old last week, and it was probably one of the quietest birthdays I’ve ever had. Which was just how I wanted it, truly.

I’ve always been one who’s prone to do some self reflection, be it by meditating, reading something inspiring or doing some yoga. And I especially take time out to do so on my birthday. More so than the New Year, I like to look at where I’ve been and set intentions for where I’d like to go—and how I’d like to go there (with more compassion, passion, etc.)—during my next year of life.

Instead of taking a full Saturday or Sunday to do this, which has been my previous modus operandi, this year I took my whole birthday to, well, celebrate myself. As self-indulgent as it sounds (and it was!), I took an entire day off of work (mostly—I did pop in on FBG’s social media here and there) and set up a “schedule” for myself. It went a little something like this:

7 a.m.—Wake up, eat a healthy breakfast involving my Vitamix and leisurely drink coffee
8 a.m.—Chat on the phone with friends and family
9 a.m.—Meditate, read, check email and social media
10 a.m.—Easy yoga
11 a.m.—Watch Oprah, while cutting out images of magazines for my dream board
Noon—Healthy lunch
1 p.m.—Walk the dog
2 p.m.—Make my dream board while listening to pop music, dance wildly from time to time
3 p.m.—Write down my intentions for the year, paste on the back of my dream board and hang in my office
4 p.m.—Do a little work, eat a cookie
5 p.m.—Foam roll, then meditate some more
6 p.m.—Go out to dinner with my husband and have one too many glasses of red wine, plus tiramisu

After dinner? Well, that’s just none of your business on my birthday. Hehe.

The whole day was pretty glorious, I have to say. I didn’t become enlightened or anything, but I feel more focused and ready to take on a new year of life as a slightly more evolved person than I was last year. And, really, isn’t that all you can ask for when it comes to birthdays?

Are you like me? Do you like to reflect and take extra time for yourself on your birthday? —Jenn

Yep, that would be my pantry. A somewhat chaotic mix of this, that and everything in between, it’s where I go for cooking inspiration and, well, storage. (Hey, the organization makes sense to me…)

Similar to an earlier Question of the Week where we peeked into each FBG’s fridge, this week we’re showing you what our pantries look like. (Funny how removing one little letter in “pantries” could make this question totally different.) But, wait, there’s a twist! In addition to just showing our kitchen cabinets off, we’ve also shown them to nutritionist Keri Glassman, who is working with Arnold/Orowheat Sandwich Thins for its Smart Eating campaign, to get her opinion on what’s good and what could be made just a bit better.

But before we share what Ms. Glassman thought of my pantry (I’ll admit this was a bit eek-inducing for me!), let’s look at this mess, shelf by shelf. We’ll start bottom left because that section seems the least cluttered. We’ve got almond milk, canned pumpkin, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, pumpkin pancake mix from Trader Joe’s (how did that get in there?!), tuna, salmon, almonds, corn meal, and two flours that were left over from my gluten-free baking adventure—quinoa and coconut.

Next shelf up, things get a little spicy. (Get it? I kill myself.) There are you usual spice standbys like chili powder, marjoram and basil, but fun stuff like Garam Masala and my favorite cajun-spice blend, Slap Ya Mama. Also co-mingling on this shelf are honey, bread crumbs and rice paper wrappers. I have no idea why.

The two top shelves are pretty boring, so I’m leaving out a photo: sugar, flour, vanilla, baking spices—nothing exciting and mostly stuff that stays up there and out of reach for a reason. But the bottom right shelf? Well, there’s a bevy of tasty. Tamarind paste for when I make pad thai, mango butter (love this stuff on sandwiches and even burgers!), jams, that weird yet incredibly convenient low-sodium chicken broth paste, mushroom powder (for the vitamin D, baby), sea salt, dried beans, barley, couscous, pasta and seaweed for my occasional sushi-making endeavors.

And lastly, there’s the middle-right shelf, which is a cornucopia of more exotic spices. There’s some dry rub for that good barbecue that Kansas City is known for, more sea salt (this kind is for sprinkling on, the other kind is for grinding—common sense would put them on the same shelf, but logic doesn’t always apply in my kitchen), and then a bunch of spices I bought in bulk and on the cheap at a local Indian market. You can see a sliver of the Tandoori powder at the bottom left, and then there are bags filled with curry powder, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, ground cumin and ginger powder. Behind all that is a little sushi rice for previously mentioned sushi-making.

So just what did the nutritionist have to say about my pantry? Well, some good suggestions. In Glassman’s own words…

• You have a lot of good things in there! I see quinoa, pumpkin, herbs and spices and it’s great that you have the mango butter, sea salt, salmon, seaweed and barley!
• Great job with the almonds—let’s add in other nuts for variety like pecans and walnuts. You can also add in more ancient grains like amaranth. I see you have chickpeas, so you might like lentils as well.
• Whole-wheat bread crumbs are hard to find, but you can use wheat germ mixed with flax seeds to coat chicken or fish.

Dude, such great advice! (And I didn’t seem to do too bad, eh? Hooray!) I’m definitely planning to round-out my nut buying (wow, there are a lot of jokes to be made there), work lentils into dishes (she’s right—I love ‘em) and try that wheat-germ-flax-seed combo for coating chicken and fish. Yum, yum, yum. A big thanks to Glassman for the expertise!

What do you think a nutritionist would say about your pantry? Any items that stand out as something Glassman might love—or want to swap out? Dish! —Jenn

For years I’ve heard a lot about the Vitamix on different blogs and websites. When I first heard about it, I was like “$450? Well, you have to just be crazy to get that. How can it possibly be worth all that?” And then, I started making more smoothies.

At first, a basic blender was fine. A frozen banana and ice were a bit of a challenge, but protein power and strawberries were a breeze. And then I started getting more adventurous. I started adding frozen spinach…then kale…and then I wanted to add EVERYTHING healthy in. But homie wasn’t playin’ that. (Homeybeing my blender.) And homey burnt out, not once, but twice. So it was obvious I needed to invest in a quality blender.

And then I used the financial thinking that gets a lot of us in trouble: Well, what’s the point of getting something mediocre? I might as well buy the best! Screw the rest!

And so I began my campaign to convince my wonderfully frugal husband that yes, I—no, we!—needed a blender that cost roughly as much as a set of tires for the car. I began with casually mentioning this cool “new blender” that was out there and how it could basically crush rocks. Then, I started complaining a bit more loudly about our current blender. (For the record, I already cussed at it a lot.) I make green smoothies for me and my husband just about every morning, so I had ample opportunity to do this. Next, I began bringing up—usually while eating a big salad for dinner—how awesome raw food is for you and how you can eat SO MUCH MORE produce when you’re juicing/blending whole foods. But, you know, not with a little blender like ours. Like one of those other blenders.

Well, eventually, I got him as excited about the whole dang thing as I was. So much so that he ended up doing his own research, and concluded that, yes, the Vitamix was the way to go. (We could get a juicer, but then you have the pulp to do something with, which just seems like a hassle to us.) Before I knew it, we were striking a deal with ourselves to forgo our usual Christmas presents to help justify such a large purchase. And it is a large purchase. I almost had a panic attack when I pulled out my credit card for it.

After anxiously awaiting its arrival on our doorstep for 10 days, our Vitamix has become an essential part of our food preparation. I used it six times in the first 24 hours I had it—three smoothies, a massive round of mango daiquiris, fresh cranberry salad dressing and chocolate-banana-avocado pudding. In the two weeks I’ve had it thus far, we’ve probably used it two to three times a day, and holy goodness gracious it makes a joke of my previous blender.

I can now stuff it with more kale than my grocery store practically carries. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but I stuff a lot of kale in there.

And I make one hell of a green smoothie.

As I go about perfecting my green and kale smoothie recipes, I’ll be sure to share them here, but in the meantime just know that I’m trying it all—grapefruit, pears, carrots, celery, collard greens, almond butter, berries, ginger, liquor. Not everything tastes great together—but it’s still amazingly blended to a consistency that is so smooth it’s almost unfathomable that it was ever anything but a drink. Let alone a cruciferous vegetable.

I almost can’t believe I’m saying this, but, for me, the Vitamix was worth every single penny. Some people buy flatscreen TVs. Others buy high-fashion shoes and clothes. I apparently buy blenders. Or, more accurately, one blender (seven-year warranty, baby!).

Do you make kale smoothies or green smoothies? Have a Vitamix? Want to get one? Think they’re ridiculously expensive? Sound off in the comments! —Jenn

You can never have too many cooking utensils! Credit: PlayfulLibrarian

Back in college, when I started cooking for myself, I was a meticulous recipe follower. While I’d help out my mom with dinner sometimes and make chocolate-chip cookies occasionally in the years leading up to college, I wasn’t really comfortable with making anything that didn’t result in eating leftover batter. Seeing that a life fueled by chocolate-cake batter isn’t really the healthiest of diets, I dove into the world of healthy cooking with a subscription to Cooking Light magazine, which pretty much taught me the ins and outs of healthy cooking. After a couple years of making their recipes, I ventured on to more foodie cooking endeavors from Eating Well, America’s Test Kitchen and various other cookbooks and blogs.

As the years went by, I started getting creative with my cooking. I’d swap black beans for pinto beans, or Greek yogurt for mayo, or quinoa for couscous. And then, I got braver. I’d add more veggies—carrots, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes—into a recipe, double or triple the garlic (no vampires up in my house, that’s for sure) and play around with different spice combinations. Eventually, cooking became more than a skill—it became a way for me to be creative. (This post is proof.)

I tend to communicate a lot—I write a ridiculous amount—so cooking is a way to turn my brain off and play. I know that many don’t like to cook, but there’s something about turning on some good tunes and just focusing on the rhythmic chopping of an onion or the soft simmer of a spaghetti sauce. Nothing overly complicated or complex (although I sometimes find that a fun challenge, too)—just me, some healthy ingredients, a glass of wine and a quiet mind. After a long day, there’s just nothing like cooking it all out to unwind.

As someone who likes to “do stuff,” (probably too much stuff, as I’ve mentioned before) cooking is a best-of-both-worlds hobby that allows me to relax while I actually produce something that’s pretty awesome: a healthy meal. Sure, not all of my substituted-out and swapped-in creations are culinary keepers, but I rarely regret a night in the kitchen. (There was that one time I almost set the house on fire with “blackened” plantains…but that was years ago!)

Does cooking relax you like it does me? Or does it totally do the opposite and stress you out? —Jenn

When I watch The Biggest Loser (as I do faithfully every week), it usually looks something like this. (I like to call it screen-by-screen action.)

Turns out though that when you add a little of this:

And a few of these:

It’s way more fun!

I’m not sure why it took me so long, but I hosted my first impromptu and informal small gathering for The Biggest Loser 2012 premiere. It’s normally me, my hubs and the dog watching while I Tweet live during the show, but last week it was so much more fun to have buds around. We drooled over Bob and Dolvett, complained about the couple who had to go home early (oh, the unfairness!) and giggled at comments on Twitter (of course we were also Tweeting away).

Plus, did you see the snacks? With air-popped popcorn from Trader Joe’s (of course), guacamole, fresh baby carrots—and some two-buck Chuck and leftover sweet treats from the holidays—it was just the right mix of BL-approved and FBG-approved (say it with me now…all good things in moderation!) noshes.

Like Tish has pointed out before, doing fitness-y things is way better with buds. And I’d have to agree. Sure, mine involved wine and TV, but it still inspired us to keep up a healthy lifestyle.

Do you watch The Biggest Loser? Make it a social gathering? I highly recommend it! —Jenn

Although I’m now paying for it with a mild cold (maybe FBG Kristen virtually gave hers to me…), my Christmas was fast, furious and full of family, friends and fun. FBG Tish and her boyfriend flew in for a few days, we traversed the full Kansas City metro area on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and we hosted not one but three social gatherings at my house. While I may have cut myself some slack by taking it easy at the gym, I didn’t quite slow down. But that’s okay. Aren’t the holidays about cramming as much quality time in as you can with people you don’t get to see every day? I think so.

Cute case in point, this bugger (who we gave a musical teapot set to for Christmas):

FBG Erin, her husband and her daughter Avery were in town for the holiday and were able to squeeze some time into their busy holiday schedule (seriously, Erin had her time charted out—I don’t know how she does it!) for breakfast. So my husband and I busted out the finest breakfast we know: Waffles made from the best foodie cookbook ever and topped with Trader Joe’s agave maple syrup blend…

…to go along with a little French press coffee, bison breakfast sausage (made perfect with a smiley serving spoon)…

…and a few eggs coupled with mounds of sautéed kale with Granny Smith apples, onions and garlic. Oh yeah. That’s how we roll. Not exactly what you think of for a holiday breakfast, but tasty nonetheless.

Even Avery liked it! And kept requesting more eggs from her ‘rents.

After we stuffed our bellies with breakfast goodness, it was tea time. Avery is excellent at pouring pretend tea.

She’s also great at cheesing it up for the camera. Just look at that little grin! (And Erin’s expanding belly!)

It’s funny. Erin and I started this site about three and a half years ago, back when we were really just starting our careers and married big-kid life. And now, the FBG family will soon have two little fit bottomed babies running about. It’s so fun to see the next generation learning, trying new healthy foods and looking up to a fit mama like Erin as a role model. Heck, little Avery may be running the FBG site one day while Erin and I are off writing for Fit Bottomed Grannies. Mark my words!

Did you get to spend time with anyone special this holiday season? Did you prepare some less-traditional healthy eats like we did? —Jenn

The pull-up bar will be mine. Mwahahaha! Credit: Thomas R. Stegelmann

Each year I set goals for the New Year. Not because it’s what you’re supposed to do, but because I like to sit back, take stock of what happened in the past year, look at where I am now and dream of where I want to go. Then I mark out a few ways to get to where I want to be in the New Year. While you could call these New Year’s resolutions, over time (and after digesting the great ideas of our readers!), I have preferred to call them goals.

I’m not sure if it’s because of all of the New Year’s hype or what, but resolutions don’t seem to have sticking power past February for me. But goals? Well, that’s something you don’t stop working towards until you reach it. (At which point you set another goal!) So with all of that said, here are my goals for 2012!

Jenn’s 2012 Goals

1. Clean up my diet a touch more. Yes, this 2012 goal is a bit vague, but going “paleo/gluten-free/and dairy-free 80 percent of the time” didn’t quite have the same ring to it. After last January’s experiment to go vegetarian, I definitely learned that my body does better without dairy (seriously, cheese might as well be a butt plug for me) and that while I do want to eat meat, I want to only eat the local, organic and free-range stuff that I really trust. After falling off the paleo/gluten-free and dairy-free bandwagon over Christmas (fully my choice and I fully enjoyed every bite!), my body is definitely now telling me that eating clean is how it feels and performs best.

2. Stretch three times a week. Flexibility has always been the forgotten element in most of my workouts. This past year I did yoga once a week, maybe twice, but I really need to make stretching a priority. So this year, my goal is to continue doing yoga one to two times a week AND foam roll and stretch at least every other day. It’s as simple as me doing it while I watch TV in the evenings or taking a break during the day to take care of myself. Easy!

3. Flow with life more often than not. Not to get too hippity-dippity up in here, but in 2012, I hope to tap more into my intuition and give up such rigid control of my schedule, be it work, working out or in the bedroom.

4. Do 10 pull-ups in a row. Originally, my 2012 goal was to do an unassisted pull-up. But last week I did my first one. Which was awesome (!), but threw my goals-for-2012 plan totally off. So now I’m going bigger and better. Ten pull-ups in a row at the Fit Pit or bust!

5. Make fewer goals. Yes, I understand the irony of this, but I’m being only slightly tongue-in-cheek with this non-goal goal. It ties closely into goal No. 3, but I generally want to stop working so hard for something in the future and instead stop to smell the flowers and enjoy what I have right now. ‘Cause what I have is pretty dang awesome.

Do you have any of the same goals for 2012? Tell me about yours! And stay tuned for next Friday when Erin shares her goals for the New Year! —Jenn

This Christmas, my only goal was to be happy as a clam, or this lamb. Credit: Grzegorz Łobiński

After my first gluten-free baking extravaganza, I’ve been enjoying a cookie with my morning coffee almost every day of the week. Yes, it’s a treat and not something I’d want to make a daily habit, but this time of year when I’m filled with the holiday spirit? Game on.

After years and years of obsessive calorie-counting, deprivation and then subsequent overeating (because you can only eat “perfectly” and work out like a banshee for so long before your primal hunger kicks in), I’ve learned to cut myself some slack (much like FBG Erin). And during the holidays (for me, this week between Christmas and New Year’s is holiday perfection with plenty of quiet reflection time), I cut myself just a bit more than usual.

Sure, I still hit the Fit Pit a couple of times a week (even last week!), but today when Erin, her husband and her little one came over for breakfast (waffles, eggs, kale and French press coffee, of course!), did I feel bad about missing a workout? Heck to the no. Erin and I only get to see each other a few times a year, so, yes, indeed my regular day-to-day life needs to hit pause.

Taking a break every now and again is good for the soul. Taking it easy around the holidays does a couple of things. First, it helps me actually begin to miss working out. I miss the sweat, the feeling of accomplishment and my gym buddies. Second, I realize how good working out regularly and eating clean really does make me feel. A few days of eating processed foods and not moving much is a sure-fire way for me to remember why I choose—and enjoy—healthy foods. Third, despite all the things I just said, sometimes you just need to chill. Most of us work too hard and push ourselves to be everything for everyone. This year, my only goal for Christmas was to be myself, accept others for who they are, and choose to be happy as a clam. Come to think of it, that’s a pretty good goal for every day of the year.

So this week, I’m going to the gym when I can, not beating myself up when I can’t, taking time for myself to reflect on the year, and enjoying that extra holiday cookie here and there in addition to my usual healthy diet. Here’s to being happy as a clam now and into 2012!

Do you cut yourself some slack this time of year? —Jenn

Each year my immediate family gets together for a day of holiday cookie making. I don’t do a ton of baking throughout the rest of the year, but I really, really enjoy this holiday tradition of ours where we spend all day baking far more cookies than we could possibly eat (thank goodness for neighbors and friends!). However, this year, our holiday-cookie-bake-a-thon had a fun twist to it—we went gluten-free with most of the recipes.

My mom has been following a gluten-free diet since Thanksgiving and, by doing so, has pretty much eliminated severe stomach issues she had earlier this fall. Being that I a) want my mom to feel good and b) am always a sucker for a challenge—especially one where you can try new fun ingredients, this year’s day of Christmas festivities was an exploration in gluten-free baking. Sure, I’d made these cookies once, but it was just for a review. This was the real-deal, man!

So, like any good blogger, I hit up Twitter and gluten-free-living blogs for some recipes. After searching through many great suggestions, I settled on Gluten-Free Soft Molasses Cookies from Gluten Free Girl and Quinoa Pumpkin Cookies from Gluten Free Goddess. I liked that both were festive, not overly complicated and yet also unique (the molasses cookies called for a decent amount of spicy fresh ginger and the pumpkin quinoa cookies used coconut oil as a replacement for shortening—l0ve).

Up first? The Soft Molasses Cookies.

This recipe called for most of the ingredients in grams. I guess this is because with gluten-free baking and all the different kinds of flours out there (more on that later) that you can use, it’s more accurate to use weight than a cup of this or a cup of that. So out came my food scale. I’ve had this since my (thankfully former) obsessed calorie-counting days. Glad it came in handy for a more noble purpose!

After mixing everything together (flour, eggs, molasses, etc.), the dough had to chill, so we whipped up gluten-free cookie recipe No. 2: The Pumpkin Quinoa Cookies! I already love quinoa, so I was psyched to use quinoa flour. (I couldn’t find flakes, which the recipe calls for, at my local Whole Foods. Darn!) For this one we also used coconut flour, brown rice flour and tapioca starch. All three were totally new ingredients for me. Whee!

Here’s me and my husband Ryan mixing the batter for these delicious non-gluten guys. Seeing that there was no egg in the batter, we sampled the dough often. You know, just to make sure it all tasted okay. (Note: The Kitchen Aid Mixer is the invention ever. I don’t know how I ever made cookies of any kind before it.)

We dropped them by the big spoonful on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and boom, gluten-free cookies that tasted a little coconut and a lot filling with chocolate chips, raisins and chopped almonds.

Next it was time to roll out the sugar cookies and gingerbread. Now, my dad is the man when it comes to rolling dough out. So, we let him do his thing. Then my mom (shown below) and I decorated the heck out of them.

My grandmother, who we all lovingly call Nana, was there to taste-test our creations, too. Both Nana and our dog Siena seemed to approve. (Everyone truly loves holiday baking day!)

Hours of rolling dough, decorating and baking cookies later, the molasses cookies dough was chilled out enough to roll into balls and then coat with raw sugar. (The recipe wants you to chill the dough overnight, but I found a few hours in the fridge to work just fine.)

Once coated, you flatten them out a little and then bake them to soft perfection. Quite the ta-da and seriously delicious with a cup of coffee.

Overall, I really enjoyed my first gluten-free baking experience. While I don’t have as serious of a gluten-sensitivity as my mom does, I do feel better when I don’t eat too much gluten. Sure, we had to weigh some ingredients and some of the flour costs triple what we’d pay for normal wheat flour, but it was fun. I felt better eating higher-quality ingredients (everything we bought was organic and seemed to have more vitamins and minerals than regular flour), and it was fun to try new funky things (garbanzo bean flour—surprisingly normal now!). My mom didn’t miss out on any of the holiday baking fun and—to tell you the truth—no one could even tell that the cookies we made were gluten-free. Heck, even the sugar cookies where we made a half batch regular and a half batch gluten-free were both equally delicious.

So the fact that we can get together for our holiday cookie baking day (or any holiday really) and no one feels deprived or left out is a huge win for the fam. I’m actually kind of excited to see what other gluten-free recipes I can try!

Do you have someone in your family who eats gluten-free? Does your family make special gluten-free dishes for him or her? What are your favorite gluten-free baking recipes?  —Jenn