Gluten Free, Day 1
Posted on February 20, 2012 11 Comments
This is another real quick post… After learning many of my first cousins and a few uncles are confirmed Celiacs, I was tested earlier this fall for the disease for free at a local health fair. The blood test came up negative for me, but I still have a feeling I may be gluten sensitive. I finally got around to seeing my doctor for a physical last week and she agreed that I should try out a gluten-free diet based on this family history too see whether any of my nagging health issues get better.
So, I meal planned, shopped, and baked this weekend, and ate a fair amount of gluten-filled meals (because they will be my last for a while). While shopping, I was pleasantly surprised to find that a lot of my sauces and dips from Trader Joe’s were already gluten free. (The folks at Trader Joe’s were just awesome on my first GF shopping trip!) And I baked a loaf of banana bread last night that smelled AMAZING while I was cooking it. I’m realizing that my diet really won’t be that drastically different than what I normally eat; I’ll just have to make some substitutions for breads and pastas, and I won’t be eating out as much.
The budget implication.
I kept hearing about how expensive GF foods are, and I can see that they are certainly pricier than items generally found on sale at, say Aldi or Jewel. But I was already shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, so the price difference per item isn’t really that great — just a few cents here and there per item. I will have to look at receipts for the month, but I’m pretty sure that any price increase on the GF foods will be offset by less dollars spent eating out and visiting local bars.
Finding support
There’s good news here, I already have a great built-in support network since so many of my family members are starting to go gluten-free. I’ve already put some of their shopping tips to good use and plan to use more of their lifestyle, cooking, and budgeting tips during this experiment. I’ve been thrilled to see how many resources are available online, too. There are tons of recipes out there!
I hope I come out of this experiment feeling better. At the very least, the next few weeks will be interesting. I’ll keep you all posted on how it goes.
Category: Life
Tags: food , health
Comments
11 Responses to “Gluten Free, Day 1”
February 20th, 2012 @ 6:49 pm
Good luck with changing your eating habits.
SEVERAL years ago now, I was diagnosed as being hypoglycemic. To hopefully slow down or prevent wearing out my pancreas (which produces insulin) and stall or prevent the development of diabetes, my doctor urged me to cut out ALL concentrated sugars and adapt a diabetic eating style, reducing my carbs a bit, increasing my protein a bit, watching fats (of course!), and keeping blood sugars steady by eating 3 square meals and snacks as needed through the day.
I was never big on traditional sweets to begin with — I’d bake cookies for hubby and son, eat 4 fresh from the oven, and not touch them again…I’d bake a cake or pie for hubby and son, eat one piece, and leave the rest to them. But I was bad about skipping meals (often only eating one large meal a day), and as a result, I’d then way-overdo on carbs at my one meal.
I kept a food diary and started reading labels more closely and planning my meals more carefully…and after a month, it had become a habit I hardly had to think about. What’s more, from the very beginning, I could notice positive changes — such as sleeping through the night without having to get up to go to the bathroom.
It was a struggle at first, as I felt as though I were eating when I wasn’t hungry and then not eating enough when I was, but as my body adjusted, I began feeling so much better — I feel so much better without concentrated sugars and keeping my carbs balanced that I seldom ever feel a sense of “sacrifice” about it — it’s just how I eat now. *shrug*
So good luck! I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes for you.
February 20th, 2012 @ 6:52 pm
BTW, you mentioned the cost of eating GF. I appreciate what you’re saying, but you’re in a fortunate position of being in relatively good shape financially. For those on more limited incomes (students, families — especially lower income families — with children, the elderly or disabled on fixed incomes), the difference in cost to their food budget can seem to be an insurmountable blow if they have to go GF (or sugar-free, or whatever) for some reason.
February 21st, 2012 @ 8:51 am
Hi Missie – Wow, sounds like you had to make a drastic change. I’m glad things worked out. Are you feeling better?
I have gradually made “drastic” changes to my food intake over the years for a variety of reasons. There is already so much that I can’t eat because I can’t digest it that my meal plan for the first week doesn’t look that different from my regular eating plan these days. As you said, “that’s just how I eat now.”
Though, I did bake cupcakes for my co-workers last night (for a baby shower) and it was kind of a bummer not to taste the final product. Not because I wanted the cakes, more because I wanted to make sure they turned out OK!
And per your second comment, you’re totally right. Eating GF is waaay more expensive that regular eating, especially when you’re buying for a family. I was only speaking for myself; since I eat such a sensitive diet anyway, there isn’t much difference in price to switch it over to gluten-free. Thank goodness I don’t have kids; my family members with GF kids basically make everything at home to save money. I still will need to rely on some of the packaged stuff, since I don’t have that much time to make everything from scratch.
February 21st, 2012 @ 10:16 am
Please keep us posted. I have just decided I am gluten sensitive and cutting way back, slowly trying to make some changes. I could use some good recipes as well and any other useful info.
good luck.
February 21st, 2012 @ 12:30 pm
So far:
- Homemade Banana bread using packaged mix – delicious. I could eat this every day.
- So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk (yogurt substitute) – Iffy (and more expensive than the Fage I buy. Unnecessary once I get past the lactose phase of this test)
- GlutenFreeda instant oatmeal – good substitute for the real thing (I put almonds and berries in my oatmeal, so it’s hard to notice a texture difference)
- Pop chips – I was loving these already
- Green Mountain Gringo tortilla chips – Delish
- Trader Joe’s edemame hummus – this was already possibly my favorite hummus EVER. Even more so now that I know it’s GF. I was already buying it.
Also, we’re having a baby shower today. I baked regular cupcakes but couldn’t taste them! Man-friend scarved one down and declared them “good,” so I’ll take his word for it. My GF co-worker brought homemade GF cupcakes, though, so we’re doing a taste test today
Should be fun.
February 21st, 2012 @ 8:38 pm
I think spending money on better food helps us in the long run because it lowers out cost of health care and meds, so I think it ends up being even better!!!
Hey, I saw your comment–I will do the post this week. Thanks for including me! I am excited!
February 21st, 2012 @ 9:03 pm
is there gluten in beer?
i hope not.
February 21st, 2012 @ 9:41 pm
Victoria: YES. But they make gluten free beer. I’m committed to drinking that until I at least figure this out.
This does put quite the damper on my beer love endeavors, but the good news is that there’s a movement in brewing to make more gluten free products
February 22nd, 2012 @ 11:16 pm
Nicole — I wrote you a well considered response before, but lost internet connection, so, a recap (the briefer one is probably better anyway
LOL!):
Yes, thank you, I’m fine now. Blood sugar still goes off sometimes, but generally, everything is good in that department.
Hooray for movements in GF beer! As awareness of various food issues/sensitivities/concerns become known, a more varied (and more affordable) crop of choices arrive. Sometimes needs work together to an awesome cross-purpose, such as “WhiteWheat” bread products or “Mission Carb-balance” tortillas — higher fiber and lower carb products.
We are all individuals. As such, while general nutritional guidelines are good, we each need to recognize how food/nutrition impacts us/our own bodies (e.g., gluten sensitivity, sugar sensitivity, etc.).
Good luck! Looking forward to following your progress
February 23rd, 2012 @ 8:22 am
I was just thinking about the issue of wanting to try some healthier cooking, alternative ingredients, etc, and wondering what kind of impact it would have on the grocery budget. I am glad to hear you say that it wasn’t a huge difference for you. I’ll be really interested to hear how you feel after making the switch to gluten free – best of luck & hope it makes a positive difference for you!
February 25th, 2012 @ 10:21 am
Good luck with going gluten free. Transitioning to a new diet can be frustrating at times, but I’m sure you won’t have to think twice about it in no time.