My Gluten Free Life

By Susan Fox
24/7 Moms Family Living Editor

I have been eating gluten-free for a year now since my diagnosis of Celiac Disease. Thankfully I was diagnosed and with strict adherence to a gluten free diet almost all of my symptom’s resolved very quickly.

Many people are going gluten free due to allergies and various gastrointestinal issues. Thankfully now days there are many gluten free products available on store shelves. I guess it has become a popular “diet” for some who think they can lose weight on it. Unfortunately, I have gained weight. But after some discussion with my doctor we think that my body is just readjusting to actually getting nutrients again. Essentially as an undiagnosed celiac I was half starving due to intestinal damage.

The great news for Celiacs or anyone going gluten-free (GF) so many foods are naturally gluten free. You can eat plain meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, rice, dried beans, most dairy foods and much more. GF pre-packaged foods can be expensive so it is really important to base your diet on these naturally GF “whole” foods that are so healthy for you anyway. So if you can focus on the things that you can eat it is much easier to cope with a GF lifestyle.

The first 2 weeks after diagnosis were the toughest. I came home one night after a stressful day, and stared frustrated into my pantry and fridge. I broke down and ate ½ a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I was overwhelmed at the grocery store, trying to figure out what to buy. I was lucky enough to have a local store that totally caters to people with food allergies. But I was fearful to buy the gluten free products that I found in the store. Once I got past my fear I discovered that most of the GF products I tried tasted really good. I have only encountered a handful that I really did not like, and I have experimented a lot now.

If you are on a gluten free quest I wish you the best of luck and I pass on to you this valuable list of foods that I have had the pleasure of enjoying.

My Favorite Gluten Free Foods that I Can’t Live Without, Must Have in my Pantry!

Rudi’s gluten free breads http://www.rudisbakery.com

Udi’s gluten free breads http://udisglutenfree.com. Both of these breads actually taste good
Without toasting!

Pamela’s cake mixes http://www.pamelasproducts.com/index.html. Can you say Cupcakes!!!

Kind Bars http://www.pamelasproducts.com/index.html. I keep them in my purse and in the car.

Food Should Taste Good Multigrain Chips http://www.foodshouldtastegood.com/#/multigrain Our family can seriously eat a whole big bag in 1 day.

Amys’ Gluten Free Rice Mac&Cheese http://www.amys.com. Microwaveable goodness.

Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta http://www.quinoa.net. Yes you can eat Spaghetti and Lasagna and…

Kinnikinnick Gluten Free S’moreables graham crackers. I was ecstatic when I discovered I could eat S’mores with my kids this summer. http://consumer.kinnikinnick.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/consumer.home.html

Also by Kinnikinnick – Donuts! Yes you read that right, Donuts!

Glutino Gluten Free Crackers http://www.glutino.com

EnerG Gluten Free Bread Crumbs http://www.ener-g.com Now you can coat chicken or pork, use to make meatloaf and make all kinds of wonderful things that you thought you would never be able to eat again.

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownie and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mixes. Made a pan of brownies for a party, they were the first dessert gone! http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/gluten-free-baking-mixes.

General Mills Chex Cereals and get this… Trix, Kix (check ingredients…old boxes have oats) Honey Kix, Berry Berry Kix, Sprinkles Cookie Crisp, The elusive Chocolate Lucky Charm and Dora the Explorer http://www.chex.com/recipes/glutenfree.aspx

Note: Please read all ingredient lists carefully as sometimes product formulations change.

If you would like to learn more about Celiac Disease or Gluten Intolerance I suggest the following websites.

http://www.celiac.org/
http://www.celiac.com/
http://www.cdhnf.org/user-assets/documents/pdf/GlutenFreeDietGuideWeb.pdf