08/02/2026
☕ Coffee & Confessions 🤍
Tonight’s confession…
Sometimes I really want gluten.
I have celiac disease, and every once in a while I convince myself, “It’s just one time. It’ll be fine. I’ll deal with it tomorrow.”
For a few minutes, it almost feels worth it.
Until it isn’t.
A few hours later, the anxiety hits. Not just feeling stressed—but the kind of anxiety that makes me feel like I’m on the edge of a panic attack. My husband has sat with me and talked me through more of those moments than I can count.
Then come the mouth ulcers. The stomach pain. Sometimes I won’t have a bowel movement for nearly a week.
And that’s not even all of it.
Depending on how much gluten I ate, the symptoms can be different every time. Brain fog. Exhaustion. Headaches. Joint pain. The list goes on.
That’s the hard part about celiac disease. Sometimes the consequences don’t show up immediately, and in that moment it’s easy to convince yourself, “Maybe this time will be different.”
But for me…
It never is.
People often think celiac disease is “just” a stomach issue.
It isn’t.
It’s an autoimmune disease. Just because I don’t end up in the hospital doesn’t mean gluten isn’t damaging my body.
What makes it even harder is that I’m not the only one in our family living with it.
Dawson has celiac disease too, and my mama heart breaks when he wants to eat what all the other kids are eating. He wants to grab fast food after a ball game. He wants to enjoy birthday cake without asking if it’s safe. He wants to feel… normal.
And honestly…
So do I sometimes.
Living with celiac disease means saying “no” to things most people never have to think twice about. Some days that’s easy.
Some days it’s really, really hard.
But every time I make that choice, I’m reminded why I started baking in the first place.
I wanted my family to have gluten-free food that didn’t feel like a compromise.
I wanted Dawson to know he could still have donuts, cinnamon rolls, birthday cake, and all the fun things kids should get to enjoy.
And honestly…
I wanted that for myself too.
That’s the heart behind All Heart No Gluten.
Not perfection.
Not pretending this journey is easy.
Just a mom with celiac disease, raising a little boy with celiac disease, trying to make this life a little sweeter and a little more normal—one recipe at a time.
So if you’re struggling tonight—whether it’s celiac disease, another food allergy, or just carrying something heavy that most people can’t see…
I see you.
Tomorrow we’ll get up, choose healing again, and keep moving forward.
One meal. One day. One choice at a time. ❤️
