Becky's story: I am a NW native, living a healthy and delicious life, eating the best of the best organic, local, seasonal and gluten free foods I can find and make. I love GREAT FOOD! Sometimes I make foods that are vegan and sometimes vegetarian, and often with meat or fish. I listen to my body and follow what feels most supportive at any given time. Even if it is a sweet treat now and then. I follow the live and let live guideline around lifestyles and diets.

What's most important to me is focusing on what IS in our food, not what's left out of it. That said, every single event we put on in this group will focus on great food, made of ingredients of the non-gluten kind. I'm making a conscious effort to change the language, and raise the bar for "gluten free" foods and menus.

My current peave: "We have a gluten free menu" (wasn't chicken or lettuce always free of gluten?). "We have gluten free pasta" (that tastes and feels horrible). What I'm doing about it: Letting restaurants know, although I stay away from certain foods, that doesn't mean I should have to watch my dining party mates eat bread while I drool. When I order a burger, I want a bun, and a dang good one, that's made out of any of the numerous ingredients out there that I CAN have. So far, I've seen a response, I've seen change based on feedback.

I love to put on events, open my home for dinner parties and cooking demos, and love finding great restaurants. My goal for this Meetup group is to build community, see how many of us have the same struggles shopping for in season, local, gluten free, and organic food that tastes fabulous, find solutions, and share thoughts, create some change, as well as support each other on our gourmet journey.

Why I started this group: After searching for foodie groups in Seattle that focus on local, sustainable, organic and gluten free foods and gourmet cooking, I found that there isn't really a community that gathers regularly to support each other and share resources, ideas, cooking together, success stories, etc.

The purpose of this group: This group is here to build a community of foodies, particularly those who care about sustainability, local, natural, and organic ingredients and who love to cook or bake top of the line fabulous foods, and will share with others.

This community meets at least monthly, either at someone's home, a public establishment (such as PCC, 509 Wines, etc.), or a restaurant we want to try.

You should join this group if any or all of these apply:

• you are committed to buying local, organic, seasonal foods as much as possible,
• you want to share your expertise in or learn how to cook, bake, and do so with all non-gluten containing products
• you have resources, skills and more to share with others
• you love food and strongly value excellent flavor and high quality ingredients
• You LOVE to cook and do so with and for other like-minded folks
• you live in the Greater Seattle / Puget Sound area (can come to or host meetups in Seattle)
• you live a gluten free lifestyle, and above all, demand your food to be GREAT, conscious food (GF) and gluten free (GF).