ARLINGTON — Necessity proved to be the mother of Stacey Johnson’s invention when a medical diagnosis nearly a decade ago radically altered her diet.

“I was finally diagnosed with celiac disease eight years ago,” said Johnson, an Arlington native. “Even though I’d had a multitude of symptoms for years, it’s very hard to diagnose.”

Because celiac disease is caused by a reaction to gluten proteins found in wheat, and similar proteins found in other common grains such as barley and rye, Johnson found that she could no longer enjoy many of her favorite foods.

“I practically had to relearn how to shop for food and organize my kitchen,” said Johnson, who also cooks for her husband, her son and her daughter, the latter of whom also has celiac disease. “I can’t even have flour in my kitchen without getting sick. When we butter our toast, we have to use two separate sticks of butter, because even crumbs from their bread are enough to contaminate us. It’s almost like keeping a kosher kitchen.”

Faced with the challenge of finding recipes that would meet the gluten-free needs of herself and her daughter, while also satisfying the finicky tastes of her husband and son, Johnson began researching gluten-free recipes, eventually compiling enough to have notebooks full of them three years ago. Although she’d written magazine articles for years, it wasn’t until she had a stack of gluten-free recipes sitting in front of her that she decided to turn them into her first published book.

“It’s All Good Without Gluten!” contains 130 recipes, ranging from dinners to desserts, for which Johnson admitted to using her husband and son as taste-testers.

“One of my favorite recipes is named after my son,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t have the cookies that I liked anymore, but I was able to recreate them as ‘Ben’s Chocolate Scones,’ which are his favorites too.”

Johnson still misses some favorite foods like donuts, but she noted that many restaurants — including Boston’s Pizza, Red Robin and Olive Garden — are branching out into gluten-free menus. As such, she urged those who find themselves no longer able to eat foods with gluten proteins to take heart.

“It might seem overwhelming at first, but you can find ways to deal with it,” Johnson said. “It does get easier.”

For more information on Johnson and her cookbook, log onto www.hisworkpub.com/itsallgood.