So many of you have written or left comments asking me to write about going gluten free. While I would maintain that I’m hardly the best person to ask about this diet, I will say I’m probably a little more little realistic than some other gluten free bloggers (COUGH…GLUTENFREEGIRL…COUGH). I’m not about to tell you about how going gluten free has changed my life for the positive. Because it hasn’t. I’m not going to tell you that I feel like I’ve tasted real food for the first time. Because I haven’t. And I really promise not to use vaguely sexual terminology when discussing my food chioces.
With that being said, I guess the first thing I’ll do is tell you what I eat on a daily basis. For breakfast, I usually have some sort of gluten free cereal-
Puffins, preferably peanut butter, or some other cereal made by
EnviroKidz (available at Whole Foods- they also make delicious rice krispie cereal bars). For lunch, I nearly always have a takeout salad, Pei Wei Vietnamese Chicken Salad Rolls (on their Gluten Free menu), or an
Amy’s Kitchen dinner. I’ve tried a few different brands of gluten free convenience meals and the only ones I’ve found to be edible are those by Amy’s. Amy’s are downright delicious, if a bit high on the fat and calories. For dinner, I have been really into making
chicken tacos as of late. I buy the pre-marinated chicken breasts at Whole Foods and wrap those up in corn tortillas with rice, salsa, black beans and pico de gallo.
As far as snacks go, that’s pretty easy. I’ll have Puffins, or chocolate chips,
The Lesser Evil Popcorn, and basically all candy is gluten free. Which is good because I have one hell of a sweet tooth.
As you can see, I hardly eat a balanced diet. I need way more vegetables, and I don’t eat fruit. I also rarely eat dairy (I have lactose issues too), so I am religious about taking my calcium supplements.
In terms of general advice, I try to stick to a meal that consists of a protein and a rice product. Generally this means chicken and rice. Presently, I’m obsessed with
Annie Chun’s sticky rice which is available at Whole Foods.
Gluten free pasta is suprisingly delicious. The texture is a bit different from regular pasta, but once you load on some pasta sauce, you can hardly tell a difference. I’ve tried many brands, and for me the best one out there is
Tinkyada (again, available at Whole Foods). My advice is to avoid any of the corn pastas. They taste like dirt, and fall apart while cooking. I am also a fan of DeBolles Rice Pasta and Cheese.
Fortunately, many chain restaurants have gluten free menus available. If I’m eating at such a restaurant, I try to check the website beforehand and see if they have a gluten free or allergen menu. But what to do when such a menu is not available? Salads are your safest bet. But watch out for croutons! Gluten city. If you are highly sensitive to gluten, even salad can be a problem because the proteins on top of salads are often marinated in something containing gluten (for instance, soy sauce). I don’t have Celiac disease, simply gluten intolerance, so this has never really presented a problem for me.
If I need something more substantial, I usually order a protein with a vegetable. All vegetables and proteins are naturally gluten free. You can eat these things safely so long as you are aware of how they are being prepared.
In terms of fast food, your only real option is Wendy's. I usually order a chicken sandwich, dump the bread, and pile up chicken with barbecue sauce on top of a baked potato. It is mighty delicious.
I’m fortunate that before I found out that I needed to go gluten free, I was generally a healthy eater. Thus, I wasn’t eating battered and fried foods (that batter is made of flour- gluten free nightmare). But guess what my favorite food is? Sandwiches! Guess what I can’t have anymore- bread! There is gluten free bread avaiable, but I ain’t gonna lie. Most of it tastes like cardboard. It’s dense, it has to be kept frozen, and for some reason most gluten free sandwich bread slices are very tiny. The most edible bread I’ve found is that made with almond flour.
The bottom line is that going gluten free? Is not cheap. If you want to enjoy any kind of convenience foods or pastas, you are going to have to start shopping at Whole Foods or another specialty grocer. I used to live on Lean Cuisines, which were incredibly cheap. Now I spend a ton of money at the grocery store and feel like I have nothing to show for it. Also, more and more stores have a gluten free list of products available. Whole Foods keeps their list at the front of the store, as does Central Market. We don’t have them in Texas, but I know Trader Joe’s has a large number of GF products for sale.
Another thing to remember is don’t be embarrassed to ask about gluten free options! Mr. A and I are going on vacation in September and staying at the Four Seasons. When I made my reservation, I noted that I was gluten intolerant and I have already been contacted by the kitchen staff at the hotel and they have told me they are going have a special menu available for me during my stay. I understand that the whole world is not a five star resort, but servers and hotel staff are generally willing to help out when they can. Contact your hotel, call the restaurant beforehand. Speak with your server. If you are gracious in making your request, they will gladly help.
Emotionally, going gluten free is also not easy. When I first came to terms with the fact that I had to drastically change what I ate, it was incredibly depressing. I love carbohydrates. I miss my favorite cereals. I miss bread so very much. After about 8 months of being gluten free, I am still not over it. But chances are, this is the way I will have to eat for the rest of my life. Over time, your preferences will change. You will stop noticing the differences. You will find things that you love even more than their glutenous counterparts. The primary time I have to think about being gluten free now is when I eat with new people. Be prepared to deal with a litany of questions about going gluten free. Fortunately, at this point being GF is becoming increasingly common and thus less difficult to explain.
I know this post is a bit disjointed, but I hardly feel I am an expert in this area. I’m still feeling my way along, trying to balance my desire to eat like a normal person with my need NOT to feel like crap all of the time. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments. And if you are gluten free, please leave your advice there as well!
