How I became a Gluten Free Vegetarian....

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess.....

Every Princess needs a crown.

She was quite happy.

Well, mostly happy.

Ok. Not happy at all. She just didn't realize how unhappy she was. But, we'll get to that in a minute.

See, a mean and nasty troll disguised himself as a prince and swept her away to his big dark cavern. She loved being treated as a princess even though there was a huge price to pay. More and more she wasn't being treated like a princess at all- in fact, you could have called her a modern-day Cindrella, except instead of the prince finding the glass slipper he was stealing it from her.

One day, she took all of the bravery she could muster and escaped. Her best friend, the Queen, sent her own King to help the Princess pack up much of her belongings and hide in another part of the kingdom. She cried many tears, but knew this was for the best.

During this time, the Princess' long-lost father returned only to inform her that he was dying. He, in fact, died the following week with the Princess and her siblings by his side.

Distraught over so much sadness, the Princess stopped eating. She couldn't stomach anything and became very gaunt. But, as all sadness does, this went away. It really is true when they say that time heals all wounds.

As the Princess started to heal, she realized that the feasts she used to enjoy were now making her very, very ill. At first she thought it was meat. But by the time she realized that it was in fact, gluten, not meat, it was too late and her body could not tolerate either.

The Princess also had some self-discovery, of loving oneself as much as loving others. She had always failed at this, and now everything was clicking. The Princess had gone through so much in such a short amount of time, she could only survive by learning self-care. And so it began.

Her health improved dramatically with each bite of healthy food she consumed. She no longer had the horrible illnesses and other maladies when she was gluten free. Her face cleared up and she wasn't sick all of the time.

And she did more research. Her vegetarian diet left a better impact on the earth. Ethically, she was no longer killing another creature for her gain. After going through so much pain, the Princess had resolved to not harm others, as she had been harmed. She sought more of a karmic balance in life.

The Princess runs into challenges from time to time, but the more she discovers her own beliefs and the impact of poor diets, the more she is resolved to love herself and love the planet. And hopefully that will make everything happily ever after....