This week we’re talking about blogs. A few years ago you would have seen me actively reading blogs. Especially when we found out that Wyatt had to go gluten free. I needed to learn all that I could about how to bake without gluten. There were a few blogs that I read quite often. A good food blog had to be organized to get my attention. I wanted to be able to click on Gluten Free. I didn’t want to search through recipes just to find one that I wouldn’t be able to use. After about a year and a half of reading different gluten free recipes and comparing them to a “regular” recipe I learned how to adjust recipes on my own. Now when I’m searching for a recipe I don’t limit myself to only searching gluten free blogs. I can take any recipe and adjust it without a problem. Lately, I found myself looking in recipe books rather than on blogs. I was recently given my mother’s Betty Crocker Cookbook which she was given when she got married over 50 years ago. I have been loving going through that book and seeing what I can make. In fact, next week I will be making a gluten free angel food cake using the recipe in the book as my starting point. It was my dad’s favorite cake when my siblings and I were younger so I wanted to surprise him with one.
When I was reading food blogs I liked to read about that person’s journey. Were they always gluten free? Did they struggle with the adjustment like my family was? Were there certain foods that they missed? How did they come up with that recipe? I liked the blogs that gave me information so I could use it on my own. I didn’t want to have to always follow someone else’s recipe, especially since different gluten free flour blends are not readily available around here. For me, blogs that were filled with information drew my attention.
I used to read a few different book review blogs. I stopped reading these because they changed drastically. What started out as a blogs filled with book reviews of clean, sweet romance slowly began to turn into books I would not read. I stopped going to one blog after buying a book that the person recommended and when I got half way through the book came upon a very graphic love scene. I set the book aside and didn’t finish it. I also stopped going to that blog. So, I guess another thing that I feel is important to a blog and makes it interesting for me is if it is consistent. I try to make all the material and information that I consume online to be appropriate for my entire family.
What do you look for in a blog?
Angela Schroeder
Patricia Kiyono
Elaine Cantrell
Jeff Salter
Joselyn
Tonette Joyce
Four Foxes, One Hound 
Like you, I count on a degree of consistency. However, I also enjoy reading on a variety of topics. For example: a blog about video games would not interest me in the slightest… but if a blog about WW2 also mentioned a video game appropriate to that era, I might read it.
Re: gluten-free. My wife has kindly experimented widely with G-F recipes (for my benefit). Some have worked nicely… while other results are pretty awful. But one thing we’ve learned in this process: some of the G-F recipes are actually healthier for her also (even though she otherwise tolerates gluten).
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I don’t have to go gluten free, but my friend does. It’s hard to deal with especially if we go out to eat.
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We hardly go out to eat because of this. We have only found one place that has not made us sick, that’s Chick-fil-A. If you tell them that you can’t have gluten they will red flag the meal and change their gloves.
A few weeks ago we stopped to get Wyatt something after a doctor appointment at the children’s hospital. We had to wait 30 minutes in Burger King while they remade his food because they cross contaminated it. We were able to watch them make it the second time because it is pretty open at that one and he still ended up getting sick.
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wow — his case is a LOT worse than mine.
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Blogs are a great way to do research and find ways to put variety in your diet.
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I have gotten a much bigger following on my other blog when I started putting in gluten free and vegan/ vegetarian options. It feels good to be of help. I have always encouraged people to get an idea or a feel for what they like about a recipe and make it their own. You sound like you really have it together, Angie!
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