Bloggin every day in May…here we go!
Educated everyone on something I know a lot about….
Well I know a little about a lot of things but one thing I know pretty dang
well is living a gluten free lifestyle.
I have a disease called celiac.
If you're not quite sure what that is let me try to explain it in more
understandable lingo. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease associated
with a toxic reaction in the intestines to gluten.
Gluten is the common
name for a protein found in specific grains, most specifically wheat. Incase you were
wondering, wheat is in everything. From chips to crackers to
bread to beer to even certain beauty products. I'll spare you the details
but it prevents my body from being able to absorb the necessary nutrients from
my food. I have to scrutinize every piece of food I put in my mouth.
When I was first
diagnosed with this, I was relieved. I had been feeling pretty terrible
and it felt good to have a reason behind the misery. But that feeling
quickly left. I then moved to discouraged.
Then rebellious (not my best idea). I used to love food, all kinds, and
now I must watch everything I eat.
Nowadays, I am just
thankful that the medicine for this disease is simple, a gluten free diet. I still splurge
from time to time. You don’t realize how
much you love a slice of pizza until you can’t have one.
Advice because I’m supposed to be educating! Don’t give up! It will get better! Even more so, don’t rebel. That was not one of my brightest ideas. Educate yourself. I read book after book about people who live
an extreme gluten free lifestyle. Like
use two different toasters so the gluten crumbs from their husbands toast don’t
touch their gluten-free crumbs. Extreme.
It’s also easier to just look for ingredients you can’t have in a
product rather than what you can have.
Cheat list for beginning gluten free-ers:
All dairy products (sour cream, butter, cheese in the block form, yogurt, milk, cream cheese, etc)
Meat--any kind of meat that hasn't been pre seasoned or marinated in anything is safe to start cooking. You can use most seasonings though
Veggies--eat your little heart out
Fruit--Same thing, go for it
Good gluten free pasta: Heartland brand, I can only find it at Wal-mart but you can hardly tell the difference.
It becomes a lot easier over time. And you’d
be surprised how much is naturally gluten free! Living gluten free is not always an easy choice. But it’s the healthy one for me. If you have any questions, I’ve been doing this
for almost two years now so let me know! I’m happy to help!
Woo! Day two done! Look at
me go!
Until next time,
