Trouble Eating Out Gluten-Free...Good or Bad?!

Since my husband is forced to be on a gluten free diet eating out has been a major issue for him. My family does a fair amount of eating out since both my husband and I work full time. At the end of day cooking a meal is the last thing on my mind. The problem for my husband is that most of his favorite restaurants have good amount of gluten dishes that he absolutely loves. Because of this eating out problem, I force myself to cook at home more often than usual and I have to constantly remind myself to not use any gluten. It is a big adjustment but once you get into the habit it is not that bad.

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So what is the good and and bad of not being able to eat out?

The good:

1. Save money - Since you are not paying for restaurant food and service; Often times, even though the restaurant may serve gluten-free items, they tend to be a little bit more expensive because the cost of the ingredients are often more expensive.
2. Stay Healthy - By cooking at home, you are more aware of the ingredients that are involved making a dish. Often times, you can't really know what was in the dish even though it might seem gluten-free.
3. Be a better Cook - I have been doing a lot of research on gluten-free cooking and exploring and experimenting different recipes. By doing that, I am actually learning to be a better cook and learn to cook more variety. It's always a good thing.

The Bad:

1. Cost/Money - I know I mentioned above that 'Save Money' is a good thing. But the initial phase of getting the gluten-free ingredients does cost quite a bit of money. Imagine spends $20 on a bag of Xantham gum or buying different type of flours for example. The ingredient cost quite a bit, but they do last awhile.
2. Time Consuming - Even though I enjoy cooking now, however, it is time consuming especially after a long day of work and need to prepare a meal that is not so much 'Out of the pantry'.
3. Shopping Takes Longer - Often times you will need to go to health food store to get the gluten-free ingredients. Luckily, most of the larger supermarkets carry gluten-free items now. If you are not shopping in the gluten-free aisle, you will have to read every single label and make sure that there is no known and/or hidden gluten in it. That will cost some time.
4. Bye Bye Corona - This is extremely hard for my husband because he loves beer and Corona is his favorite. He is not a wine drinker so it's not easy for him to just switch. It was like the end of world when he found out that he could not have beer. He tried some gluten-free beer, it is just not the same. All beers are not created equal, after all.

Sometimes it is the idea of not being able to just simply go out and have a meal that is difficult for a lot of people who have celiac disease. But I think as long as you are aware and smart about what you order in a restaurant, it will get easier.