You know what’s frustrating?
Going to a party and not being able to eat anything! (I've almost cried on several occasions)
Or going to a restaurant and looking over the menu and there is an imaginary red X over everything because if it doesn’t have gluten it has cheese and if it doesn’t have cheese it has rice. (once again tears...)
Do you ever feel like you eat the same five things over and over again?(BORING)
Like all you eat is salad because it’s fast and easy and doesn’t make you feel sick?
WELCOME TO MY LIFE.
If you have food sensitivities or celiac disease or are on a diet for lupus or another medical condition this is a blog for you. Let me give you a couple tips on handling not being able to eat almost anything.
TIP TIME!!
1: Have a baking / cooking day - Every week take an entire day and do food prep and meals for the whole week. When you can’t eat gluten and dairy it’s almost impossible to buy lunch out on your break or at a cafeteria. Having a cooking prep day will allow you to not worry about what you’re going to eat that day as your getting ready for work. I usually spend a day baking paleo freezer waffles for breakfast, wraps for lunches, Grilled chicken for salads, cookies for a sweet and a ton of other recipes to mix things up.
2: Find cookbooks and cooking blogs that have recipes that fit your allergy needs - This has been a lifesaver for me. Blogs like Against All Grain by Danielle Walker and The Gluten Free Goddess have been so helpful to my food journey. Between their recipes online and their cookbooks I have found AMAZING FOOD! I even brought one of the Against All Grains paleo artichoke dips to a Super Bowl party and it was DEVOURED in 15 minutes, before all the other food had been eaten (and I made a BIG PAN). Finding the right people who make food you can eat that you actually like takes time, be persistent, patient and don’t give up!
3: Patience - You are not going to get used to the new style of eating fast. Cutting sugar, or gluten or dairy or rice or all of it put together is REALLY REALLY HARD. Everything tastes like cardboard at first, which is very very frustrating. But eventually you’ll start to enjoy this food because once you find the right recipe it won’t taste like newspaper. Instead it will taste like a gourmet turkey burger with bacon and onion in the patty, topped with fresh tomato, garlic aioli and wrapped in crisp lettuce, with a side of fresh hot homemade sweet potato chips…. and don’t forget the fresh homemade paleo mint chocolate chip ice cream to boot! Once you start enjoying this style of eating you’ll try one of those high-sugar-high-starch-content yumminess you used to eat and you won’t like the taste, it will be way too thick and syrupy for you and you’ll miss the quality found in your homemade goodies. So trust me and take the time required to adjust and you’ll soon be happy in your new way of eating.
This is the first blog in a series about other food sensitivity methods, tips, recipes and tricks that have helped me in my autoimmune eating adventure. There is yumminess to be found so don’t give up my friends!!!
Links to favorite food bloggers:
1: Danielle Walker, Against all Grain: https://againstallgrain.com
2: Angela Libbon, Oh she Glows: http://ohsheglows.com
3: Gluten Free Goddess: https://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com
4: Make it Paleo/Primal Plate: http://www.primalpalate.com
5: Elana Amsterdam, Elana's Pantry: https://elanaspantry.com
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