A fan of tasty and healthy food, the music student discovered in her third year of university that just about everything she liked to eat was making her seriously sick. While at Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo three years ago, Sadowski, now commuting to York for a masters in musicology, was diagnosed with celiac disease, a condition that prevents her from being able to digest gluten. However, not only could she not absorb the protein, but ingesting it damaged her intestines.

For a foodie, being told to avoid gluten is a tough order to digest because the protein is prevalent; it's in just about all breads and foods with sugar.

Researching her condition, Sadowski soon found that most gluten-free substitutes were plain awful -- highly-processed and not very healthy products meant to substitute for the type of foods most missed in a gluten-free diet, such as breads and baked goods. So she started experimenting in the kitchen, seeking out raw ingredients that she could safely eat, and, perhaps more importantly, enjoy.

"When I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I didn't want to be without the foods I really loved," she said. "I've always had a healthy diet. I didn't want to eat (gluten-free substitutes) just because I had no other options."

An early victory on her quest came when she pulled a freshly-baked loaf of bread out of the oven, one that was made with alternatives to wheat flour, such as amaranth flour, quinoa flour and sorghum.

"That was my inspiration to keep going and write a whole book," she said.

The book, "Mission in the Kitchen," is a self-published how-to guide to gluten- and casein-free cooking and baking. (Casein is a protein found in milk, which many people unable to digest gluten are also allergic to.)

The book has more than 200 recipes in six categories, breakfast and brunch, sides and lighter fare, soups, stews and chilis, main courses, desserts and condiments.

The experience of writing a book also led to Sadowski entering a contest sponsored by Canadian Living Magazine. On June 13, she went to the magazine's Toronto office to compete for cook of the year, preparing a dish for the vegetarian category. Other categories were chicken and poultry, beef, veal, lamp and pork and seafood.

Sadowski gave little in the way of details about the contest, most notably the winner, as she has been sworn to secrecy until the results are published in Canadian Living's October issue.