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.
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.
This is such wonderful information!
Thank you both for raising my own awareness and knowledge.
The Mama Bear in me feels the need to learn as much as I can just in case and for my kids’ friends whom I might be feeding!
Thank you, Galit! I am glad it’s helpful – I have learned a lot in the past few months and am glad it could help someone else. 🙂
Such great info, Becca! You handle it with organization and preparation, which is why you are successful. Even though I do not have food allergies, I could benefit from packing a cooler with healthy options when our and about. Great post!!
Thank you, Sharon! Yes, the cooler is a lifesaver, and the kids cringe a little when they see it because it means a lot less eating out 🙂
I REALLY like the cooler idea too, just in general. I take snacks with us on Mondays when we are in the car most of the afternoon so I totally get needing to take stuff with you! My kids are always hungry… 😉
I am newly diagnosed with food allergies (gluten and dairy included)and your post rings true. It has been tough explaining to my children exactly what all this means. Recently, I was at a store with my 9 year old daughter and and was feeling the onset of that icky feeling I get when I eat something containing an allergen. My daughter could see something was wrong and asked me if I was okay. I responded, “I’m alright but I think I got some bad wheat.” I am not sure why I phrased it that way; but my daughter understood me. The woman in front of us in the checkout line turned to give me a judging scowl. It took me all of 5 seconds to realize she misunderstood what I said and I quickly corrected it: “I said wheat not weed…I’m allergic to gluten.”
Lol!! I believe you should remove the phrase “bad wheat” from your vocabulary now! That’s hilarious!
I am sorry about the allergies – it’s crazy to be fine for years and years, then diagnosed with food allergies, huh?
OMGosh! That is SO funny about the lady in the store! I love it!
So sorry about the allergies too… seems we are all allergic to something…
I can relate to this somewhat as well. I have developed an allergy to dairy as an adult – never been tested but the symptoms are there when I eat it and not when I don’t so…
I fully agree with your statment – it is very easy to avoid something that makes you feel sick! Though I do miss ice cream from time to time and sorbet is just not the same, you know?
I totally know about missing ice cream. I tried So Delicious ice cream bars this week, and though the ice cream wasn’t amazing, the chocolate on the outside was really good. I have seen recipes on Pinterest for making your own soft “ice cream” with bananas – have you seen them?
When I did Phase 1 of South Beach (which is two weeks of NO grains at all) I felt amazing and I think that today’s “wheat” is not so good for our bodies in general. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want it. I’ve been generally taking my family in more wheat/gluten free direction but not because it’s a necessity (that I know of). My oldest also has regularity issues (which I have a post coming up about… fabulous, right? ha!) and I wonder if it doesn’t have something to do with the gluten thing… Anyway, thank you SO MUCH Becca for guest posting today – great info and topic!
Becca, thank you for sharing this. I am interested in learning more about food and how eat.
I’d love to chat with you one day, Jen. It’s a change at first, but it’s pretty easy after you get the hang of it 🙂