Living a gluten-free life

After reading some posts about being on a gluten-free diet I found on one of the many Celiac listservs I’m on, I got to thinking about what has been easy/hard for me and how I’ve tried to mitigate those things that are difficult.

I would say 90% of the time I don’t think about the fact that I’m not eating gluten anymore. When I first went on the diet I thought about it so much I had dreams about having to avoid eating cupcakes.

De-gluten the house. We still have some flour we never use and pasta Albert says he’s going to use for lunch, but never does. I couldn’t stand having all that food in the house I couldn’t eat so I gave most of it away to friends and family. That’s helped a lot, out of site, out of mind right?

Befriend your freezer. Since I can’t have granola bars anymore (you can buy them special but they’re pricey) I made cookies and wrapped them in plastic wrap and put them in a freezer bag in the freezer. I made bread with my new bread maker, sliced it, and put it in the freezer. Now if I want some bread I just grab a slice and put it in the toaster. Albert has also made bread crumbs a few times for one of our favorite recipes, Dijon-crusted tilapia. I also like having some gf waffles or pancakes available for snacking or breakfast time.

Make a new recipe book. For a church activity we made recipe books. I decided to only put gluten-free recipes in that book and I went out finding tons of recipes on-line and converted some of our favorites to be Celiac friendly. You can convert almost any recipe or find an alternative.

Realize food is not life and life is not fair. I don’t know if there will ever be the perfect gf pizza, pasta, or bread, but you have to realize that food is not life…this can be hard for me. I figure that I deserve to have everything everyone else has…why should they get to eat the good stuff and not me…it’s not fair! I had to accept that in order to live a long healthy life there might be some stuff I’m going to have to do without and that’s ok. I don’t really need to eat Krispy Kremes.

Focus on the food you can have. Only searching for foods that I can have makes it much easier. Don’t focus on the fact you can’t have pasta, think about how great that risotto is going to be.

Make a list of nearby restaurants with gf options. I am constantly on the lookout for a great new restaurant with gluten-free options. It makes life so much easier when they have a gluten-free menu or something I know is already gluten-free. When your friends ask you to go to an unfamiliar restaurant do some research ahead of time to figure out what dish you can eat, that will save you from getting stressed out.

Cook your old favorites in a new way. A few months ago Albert made me gf onion rings. I love onion rings but can’t get them anymore when we go out so this was a real treat. It makes me less disappointed when I can have a pizza or pie even if it doesn’t taste as good. We’re also becoming better cooks because we have to make things from scratch.

Bring food to parties. I have gotten into the habit of volunteering to bring a dish or dessert at all our church activities and various parties I go to. If I can't for whatever reason I make sure I eat a lot before I go. When we stay at other peoples' houses I always bring a lot of snacks and some cereal.

Let people know. I try to get the word out as much as possible so people will be aware of what I can and can't eat. It can be a pain for others to work around but I found that those that love you want you to fill included and will go out of their way to be accommodating. When we stay the night at other's peoples' houses I send them a list a head of time with things I can generally eat, things that are always gluten-free and things that generally aren't. Most people are unaware just how much food has gluten in it.