When I first found out that I was gluten intolerant, I have to admit I went on a little emotional roller-coaster. On one hand I was so relieved to finally figure out what was wrong with me. I was so happy that I could eat whatever I wanted - as long as it was on the list of foods allowed in my new diet - and not get sick from it. However, my list wasn't very long on foods that I was allowed to eat (you'll see later in this blog that this isn't really the case; however, I was used to eating a typical American diet which is a heavily breaded diet), which made me panic. I have to live like this for the rest of my life? I can't even tolerate just a little gluten without having some type of reaction. What am I going to eat? I'm never going to be able to eat out again! How in the world do I get my family and friends to understand my new diet restrictions? They're going to think that this is just a new phase I'm going through.
Here's a back story as to why I thought my family, especially, was going to think that I was going through a new diet phase. I tend to go back and forth on being a vegetarian. I mostly went on this diet due to my severe stomach issues. And yes, while eliminating meat from my diet did help, I found that it did not clear up all of my issues. Especially now that I look back on what I was eating, it consisted of gluten ingredients - a majority of feux meat is made with wheat. Another reason I went on a vegetarian diet is because heart issues are prevalent in my genetics. And lastly, and this is where I play tug of war, I'm not entirely convinced it is alright to eat meat. But this blog isn't about whether or not you should eat meat or my struggles with this issue.
Back to the story at hand. Here is what I thought I would never be able to eat again:
* Bread
* Pretzels
* Pizza
* Cake
* Cookies
* Cupcakes
* Gravy
* Chicken nuggets
* Cereal
* Hamburgers
* Ice cream - plain flavors (strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate) are usually alright to eat, it's the flavors that have other items added to it that are typically not alright to eat (ie, cookies and cream). Just read the ingredients for wheat, rye, and barley (malt); and call the company if you are not 100% sure it's GF
* Some spices and spice mixes - yes, a lot of chilli mixes do include wheat
* Basically anything made with wheat, barley, and rye - which in my culture is everything
Although I knew I could find substitutes for certain foods, I didn't know exactly where to find them. Let alone, if I would even like them. But thankfully, there are a lot of stores out around where I live that sell gluten free products: Walmart, Meijer, and Target all sell gluten free products. If you live in the Aurora/Naperville area, you can also go to Woodman's, Trader Joe's, and Fruitful Yield. You can go to any natural food store and find GF products.
On a side note: I recommend going to Trader Joe's to find gluten-free products because they tend to have the cheapest prices on gluten-free items. I have found I can buy GF waffles, macaroni & cheese, and pasta for approximately $2 a box/bag. Plus, their pastas are made with brown rice, instead of white rice. This is the equivalence to eating whole wheat bread/pasta to white bread/pasta. Not to mention, their GF products are very tasty, too. However, Trader Joe's does not have a wide selection of GF mixes. The only thing I could find was a GF brownie mix.
The down side to eating GF substitutes is that it is quite expensive. If you're buying groceries on a budget, like most people are these days, you're going to see that you can't always indulge in GF oreos, breads, pastas, etc. The question I get asked the most is, "What can you eat?" "How do you get your grains in?" This last question makes me giggle a little, and soon you'll learn why.
Here is a list of foods I can eat, without going to the store to buy any GF substitutes:
* Meat - in the natural form; sausages, pepperoni, and hot dogs are a little iffy because of what the manufacturers put into the products for casings. Ingredients like tapioca flour and corn starch are green lights to buy the product; as long as you don't see wheat flour, rye flour, and/or malt (barley) in the list of ingredients. However, modified corn starch is a yellow light, due to the fact that most companies do not list what they used to modify the corn starch. Hamburgers are also iffy, because most people add bread crumbs to the meat.
* Fruits
* Vegetables
* Beans
* Nuts/seeds
* Grains:
- Corn
- Millet
- Rice
- Quinoa
- GF oats (I'll get into this issue at a later time)
I am allowed to eat a lot of different types of food on a gluten-free diet. As this list indicates, I do get my whole grains in. Some are just different grains that many people don't know exist - I'll get into how to prepare and cook these grains at a later date.
Being gluten intolerant has made me much more aware of what I'm putting into my body. I find that it is easier to eat more naturally, and my body runs more efficiently, too. Plus, after awhile of eating more naturally, my body doesn't really crave things like bread and cookies. I try to eat naturally the majority of the time; however, I'm not perfect, and I do have my moments where I eat a lot of GF substitutes. Like now, since it's Christmas time and I'm surrounded by homemade GF goodies! :-)
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