Patty Maguire — Helping You Live Well in a World Full of Gluten

Hi, I'm Patty (Patricia) Maguire. I live with celiac disease, I'm a culinary school grad and a lifelong student of food and natural healing. If you'd told me fifteen years ago that I would:

• be diagnosed with celiac disease
• train as a chef with expertise in healthy eating, food theory, nutrition and gluten-free foods
• write a website to help other people on their gluten-free journey

Well, I'm not sure I'd have believed you. But here we are. 

Who I Write For

I created NaturallyGluten-Free.com for people like you who want to understand how to cook, eat, travel and live gluten-free. You may be:

• newly diagnosed with celiac disease
• a parent or caregiver cooking for a family member with celiac disease
• wanting to learn how to safely feed a friend or relative visiting your home
• anyone trying to make everyday gluten-free life feel more manageable

Why Am I Qualified to Help You?

My writing comes from three places: formal training, personal experience, and ongoing research. Like you, I live it every day.

Formal Culinary Training

Long before I even knew what celiac disease was, I was convinced that real, whole foods — locally grown and simply prepared — were the key to health. Yet, like many of us, I had slipped into the habit of relying on packaged and processed foods for convenience.

My celiac diagnosis made me realize that I needed to learn to cook more from scratch, like my grandmother did. So, I enrolled in culinary school at George Brown College in Toronto — Canada's premier culinary school. 

There, I learned more than I ever imagined there was to know about food:

• Basic cooking techniques
• How to cook by smelling and tasting instead of relying on recipes
• Food theory and nutrition — what ingredients to choose, why they work and how they support your health.
• I chose electives focused on gluten-free and healthy alternatives so I can help you on your celiac journey.

Continuing Education

I continue to educate myself through celiac disease books, research, and seminars from respected celiac experts and organizations, including Dr. Alessio Fasano, Dr. Peter Green, Celiac Canada, and the Celiac Disease Foundation.

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Why I Built This Website

I know what it's like to receive a celiac diagnosis and come home to a kitchen that simply no longer works. 

I know what it's like to look in your pantry and have no idea what you can safely eat. 

I also know what it's like to go out to the grocery store in search of "gluten-free food." To buy everything you can find with a gluten-free label only to find it's crazy expensive and tastes awful. 

Learning to cook changed my life. Once I learned that I could make delicious, naturally gluten-free food in my own kitchen, I had to share the news. I had to do what I could to help people like you and me to get past that initial panic and settle into a life where we can feel safe and confident about the food we eat.

What You Can Expect from Me

I will share what I've learned, and what I continue to learn, in a way that you can apply it directly to your own life.

Everything I write will come from:

• my personal experience 
• my education
• research from reputable sources — and I will always provide those sources

I will not:

• repeat hearsay from other blogs or social media 
• perpetuate myths or misinformation 
• use fear-based language — there is nothing to fear once you have a little knowledge.

A Little More About My Journey

I grew up in the city but my roots are in the country. My grandparents owned a farm near Bancroft in Ontario’s Ottawa Valley. My family would make the drive there every other weekend because family was important to my Mom.

Grandpa's Garden

Pretty much everything that went on the table came from just a few feet away in my grandfather’s garden. Grandpa was out there every day tending that garden like it was the only thing in life that was truly important — and not one leaf ever saw a molecule of pesticide. Grandpa was organic when organic wasn’t cool.

“If a bug won’t eat it, why would I?” he’d say.

Grandma's Kitchen

My grandmother’s kitchen was a classic country kitchen where nearly everything was homemade: relish, applesauce, jams, jellies, pickles, the list goes on. Bread was made from scratch twice a week. Soup came from a pot on the stove, not a can. I doubt “locavore” was even a word then but you don’t get much more local than that.

The Health Problems Begin

Despite my (mostly) healthy diet, I was not healthy. If you have celiac disease I'm sure you can relate. Years of managing disparate symptoms like miscarriages, skin problems, low iron and lactose intolerance — yet no doctor connects the dots.

It was esophageal spasms that made swallowing food difficult that finally got me a celiac test. Of all the things that could be causing my problems, the last thing I suspected was my healthy whole grain bread! 

I was 48 years old. I had been sick for more than twenty years.

Life, Career, Family

I’m a retired project manager, having worked for nearly twenty years for a major Canadian financial institution. 

I’m married to my best friend and soulmate, Jim. Between us we have five grown children and four grandchildren.

Autoimmune disease runs in families. My daughter has severe eczema and my son suffers from several celiac-like symptoms. Both have tested negative.

So we're all learning as we go and making new discoveries every day. As we do, I'll share them here with you.

My Food Philosophy 

All of this informs how I think about food and what I try to bring to this website.

Maybe we can't cook everything from scratch, and not all of us have time for canning — modern life gets in the way — but we can try to simplify our food. And, we can live normal lives without celiac disease limiting our ability to travel and socialize. 

That’s been the biggest lesson for me, and it’s what I try to bring to every page on NaturallyGluten-Free.com.

Where to Go Next

If that appeals to you and you’d like to explore further, head to the homepage and choose the path that fits where you are right now.

There’s help there for beginners, for people who want to focus on cooking or baking, and for those looking for lifestyle guidance on things like travel, dining out, and navigating other dietary needs.

I hope you'll find NaturallyGluten-Free.com helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. All my contact info is at the bottom of the page.

All the Best, Patty

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