Gluten Free Friend

The gluten free way of eating become a necessity for several people I know, as well as some of their children.  So, I asked my friend Becca to write about it since I knew she had adopted it as well... Here is her take on how things have changed and stayed the same for her and her family since changing to a gluten free diet. 

Hi there! My name is Becca and I write over at Our Crazy Boys. I have been recently diagnosed with adult onset food allergies, and it has made our lives a little crazier in some aspects. But it’s manageable, with some planning. 

Elaine asked me to write about my gluten intolerance. I have been gluten free for seven months now, and I have noticed differences in my chronic migraine headaches, my severe foot pain (that was thisclose to being misdiagnosed as arthritis), and my multiple belly issues. The kicker, though, is that a few days after she asked me to write about my gluten issues, I found out that gluten was actually the least of my food issues.

My food allergy test results just came back, and I figured out why after eliminating gluten from my diet, I still didn’t feel 100%. I am allergic to (in order from greatest sensitivity to least) dairy, bananas, pineapple, gluten, oats, sugar, yeast, kidney beans, pecans, and sesame seeds. Wow. It looks worse all written out like that.  

You can read more details about symptoms and diagnosis on Crazy Mom’s Kitchen, but I want to tell you about living with food allergies. As a busy Mom of two and someone who loves to spend time in the kitchen, eliminating all of these allergens from my diet was a bit of a challenge.

We don’t eat out much anymore. When we do, we stick to the same local chain of restaurants because I know their staff is well educated about food allergies. I’ve gotten sick quite a few times after eating something with an allergen in it, and as much as the serving staff wants to accommodate my needs, telling me that something is allergen free when it’s not is not ok.

During daily Mom life, I take a cooler full of food with me everywhere. When you’re starving and still have four stops to make, it’s really easy to say “I’ll eat this even though it’s not the best choice for a meal.” I’ve eaten kettle corn for lunch one too many times because I didn’t want to chance eating out. Did you know that sometimes restaurants inject their chicken with gluten so that it tastes better?

My cooler has several staples: Boar’s head turkey and ham, apples, carrots, some peanut butter, gluten and casein (dairy) free pretzels, and a few Kind bars and Lara  bars. Carrying this cooler is a pain. It takes a bit of time to pack.  But in the end? It’s totally worth it  - and healthier than eating out.

My family eats together. We eat breakfast at the island in our kitchen, and dinner at our dining room table. As the family chef {am I the only one who calls myself a family chef?} and someone with food allergies, I get final say in all meals, right? To be honest, the meals we eat at home haven’t changed much since my diagnosis.

My family still eats toast, waffles, and pancakes. I make gluten and dairy free versions from Pamela’s baking mix every month or so. I freeze them so while I’m making breakfast for the boys, I can quickly reheat a pancake or waffle and eat what the rest of the family eats with minimal preparation.

For us, dinner is usually chicken or steak and two or three vegetables. Every once in a while, I’ll add a grain such as brown rice or quinoa. My serving sizes of these grains have increased a little because vegetables and chicken don’t always fill me up for too long. I have had to cut out some marinades that we used to use because of their ingredients, but I have found that it’s easy to replicate those marinades using different allergen free ingredients.

 Going out for ice cream is one of our favorite things to do here in Tucson. It’s almost always ice cream weather here! Sometimes, I’m able to find sorbet in ice cream shops, and sometimes I just go without. It’s probably better for my waistline, anyway. I’ll tell you this - It’s much easier to diet when the fattening foods you love make you sick.

For someone who was eating entirely clean a year ago, using mixes for baking and relying on pre-packaged granola bars is a little frustrating. It’s worth it in the end, though, so we’re rolling with it. My boys are always asking me “Is that gluten free?” They have seen how sick I get when I eat it, and they have also noticed that sometimes I’m just not thinking about it. After eating one way for 33 years, sometimes I forget that I have to watch out for certain foods. Last Christmas my neighbor brought over cookies and without even thinking, I took a bite of one.  

Having adult onset food allergies is challenging. I don’t truly understand why this happened, and I’m scared that in the future I’ll become sensitive to other foods. We have to live day by day, right? And today? I’ll make gluten free, dairy free chocolate chip cookies.

I’d like to note that I have several food allergies, but do not have Celiac disease. I’m happy to answer questions or point you towards resources that I use, but am not a medical professional.