I've Decided I Don't Want This...

[sophienina13]

Hey guys...

 

New to this, and am trying to eat correctly and it sucks!

 

I've been trying to do this by myself without going to the doctors, buying new foods, not eating what I use to, and it's a pain in the butt. I am a SAHM with 3 kids and am busy and constantly on the go.  Kid's and husband have no food issues and eat everything I want to eat.  It is so hard to have everything staring me in the face.  I love food and love carbs, pasta, pizza, chips, beer, you name it.  

 

This is just a whiny post, obviously, but I was wondering if any of you guys have any tips or suggestions to get over this hump.  Help me to get over myself and understand that there really can be good food out there that isn't going to hurt.

[surviormom]

Complain away, it helps sometimes just to get it off your chest.  I know.  I get upset and frustrated too.  Just finished making 2 batches of cookies, 1 gluten-free, and one 1 regular, and I really want some, but no cannot have.  I could have the gluten-free, except I am an overweight celiac, so, no, no cookies.  Just natural foods, for me.  I agree, I would rather have a good old pizza, or a sub, have not had one in sooooo long.  So, complain, I will listen.  To help, just keep doing it right, that is all I have.  I myself make a misstep here and there.  Most my accident, last week on purpose, I thought one little sliver of birthday cake no problem, big problem.  Felt better until I had oatmeal this week.  Had not had oatmeal in 10 days, learned something new.  So after almost a year you can still be learning about your body.  I am not sure, but I think the healthier you get, the more in tune you are with what is going on in your body.  As in if something is making you sick, you know it.  Before, so much was making you sick that you could not recognize what was bad for you.  RIght now I can count about 13 DH spots on me.  Lovely huh?  At least I am not covered in them...look at it that way, so you cannot have chocolate cake, try bananas flambe, delicious.  Feel better?  Complain to me anytime.

[Nikki2777]

I've been trying to do this by myself without going to the doctors, buying new foods, not eating what I use to, and it's a pain in the butt. I am a SAHM with 3 kids and am busy and constantly on the go.  Kid's and husband have no food issues and eat everything I want to eat.  It is so hard to have everything staring me in the face.  I love food and love carbs, pasta, pizza, chips, beer, you name it.  

I know how you feel.  I was diagnosed just over a month ago and it's hard when the rest of the family is eating things you want!  I've found that bit by bit, my kids are actually learning to like my gluten-free Pretzels, Cookies etc. (I've asked a lot of questions to find good brands/treats), which means less unsafe food in the house.  I waver between encouraging them to eat my stuff (which is usually more expensive and sometimes they finish it, leaving me nothing!!) and thinking it's best all around if we swap in gluten-free options where possible.  

[shadowicewolf]

As a person who is near their second anniversary of going gluten free, it does get better. I assure you.

 

You are probably still going through the gluten withdraw. No fun at all. Every little thing made me want it so bad.

 

I no longer want or crave it. Do i miss the convenience? Oh yes, definitely.

 

There are good gluten free pastas (ancient harvest quinoa is one), breads, and so on.

 

To be honest, i miss tomatoes (i'm allergic to them) far more than i do gluten-y items.

[tarnalberry]

Myself, my husband, my three year old daughter, my family when visiting, my friends when over for entertaining, and anyone who comes over for a party/gathering gets gluten free food. And pretty much everyone has raved about nearly everything I've made. Gluten isn't what makes a meal - reasonable quality ingredients put together in ways that appeal to you are. And, no, it doesn't have to leave you in the kitchen all day.

I don't know if you've read the blog about 100 days of real food, but they get at my philosophy even better than just a gluten free diet is. Eat whole foods, and minimally processed foods. And that can easily include starchy carbs. Make your own bread (it's actually not that hard to make bread for dinner - sandwich bread is harder, IMHO), make your own chips, make your own pizza, and even pasta.

You can, of course, get this premade gluten free (Udi's bread, Tinkyada pasta, even gluten free beer), though they can be expensive. Same with cookies and cakes and other treats.

Maybe some of this is suggesting changing the way you eat, but hey, I think almost everyone could use a change to make their diets healthier, more varied, more interesting, and more fun. But this introduces you to new foods.

Ok, more immediately practical:

1) Learn to pack your own lung again. In my experience, this is a skilled learned with pratincole and practice, but lost very easily without continued practice.

2) Find the easy-to-cook recipes your family likes. For us, these are things like stir-fry, chicken soup, and grilled steak/chicken/salmon with sautéed veggies. None of these need to take more than half an hour to prepare, and can be made from a fairly wide range of "whatever you have on hand".

3) Make large batches of dinner and have leftovers for lunch. All of those things listed above are great for lunch, and take as long to prepare as opening and closing the fridge. (Ok, stir-fry isn't great without heating up in a microwave, but chicken soup is, as is lentil soup and beef stew, and even grilled salmon.)

4) Do some baking, but in large batches and freeze leftovers. We have about seven dozen almond-meal banana muffins in the freezer right now, and they can e pulled out whenever you want a snack and they don't even have to be thawed. Do the same with pancakes for a quick breakfast, or waffles (hey, peanut butter and jam waffle sandwiches are pretty darn yummy!).

5) Experiment with new, easy foods - roasted chickpeas, peanut butter balls (no cooking, store in fridge), and cornbread rolls are all thins we've tried out in the past month that are great easy snacks.

6) We all have different opinions on this one, but I strongly believe in makin your house entirely or nearly gluten free, and all shared food gluten free. You need someplace that feels completely safe to eat without worry and stress.

I know my response is less sympathetic than others will be, but that's just my bias against eating food that we don't make or know how to make or know about all the ingredients.

[surviormom]

I know how you feel.  I was diagnosed just over a month ago and it's hard when the rest of the family is eating things you want!  I've found that bit by bit, my kids are actually learning to like my gluten-free Pretzels, Cookies etc. (I've asked a lot of questions to find good brands/treats), which means less unsafe food in the house.  I waver between encouraging them to eat my stuff (which is usually more expensive and sometimes they finish it, leaving me nothing!!) and thinking it's best all around if we swap in gluten-free options where possible.  

YES they do!

[surviormom]

Everything I go to get is already gone!  Kids gobble it all up.  I do not buy a lot of processed food, but what I do buy, disappears fast.

[tarnalberry]

Lol, that's a problem entirely independent of needing to eat gluten free!

[Nikki2777]

Hah, just realized I had a typo (but you all seem to have gotten what I was saying) ^^ I waver between DISCOURAGING them from eating my gluten-free stuff and thinking it's best to swap in gluten-free options wherever possible.

[Chiana]

Redbridge is a great gluten-free beer.  I once heard a professional beer critic say that it was the only 'good' beer Anheuser-Busch has ever made. lol

Take this as an opportunity to get everyone eating better things.  My gent eats the same things as me, and he has gotten much healthier since I went gluten-free.  Carbs and pizza and beer are tasty, but they are fattening and not very nutritious.  The added time, effort and price of gluten-free versions should add to the motivation to have them less.  If there is anything this adventure has taught me, it's that "You are what you eat" really means something.   

 

Don't feel bad if you have to designate things as 'yours'.  Food is a great place to start when teaching children respect for others' belongings. 

 

[Coryad]

Whine away!!  I have days when I want to throw myself on the floor and kick my feet like a 3 year old   I've been at this for about a year and it really, really does get easier.  Just keep motoring along....  

 

But I am SO tempted to just grab a regular beer sometimes, but the thought of the rash, poopypants and stabbing stomach pains keeps me in check. 

[Takala]

???

 

All of these foods you named have gluten free versions, no need to be running 2 menus, just convert the rest of them over to "gluten free at home."  If you lack motivation and wish you had medical confirmation, do it now before you are gluten free for very long, and lose the antibodies to gluten, so you'd get a false negative, but, keep in mind that you may also be non gluten celiac intolerant. 

 

Otherwise start taking gluten free vitamin and mineral supplement with the B vitamin complex, calcium, magnesium, and D, which will help with cravings, and cut down on sugary things, eating more proteins, vegetables, and good fats such as are found in olive oil, nuts, coconut milk, etc.  Don't try to do this as a low fat high carb diet, or you will continue to get food cravings. 

[nvsmom]

I too am a SAHM of 3, all of whom tested negative for celiac but who are eating gluten-free now, and two are feeling better because of it. I would advise you to consider making the family gluten-free as well. It's a lot of work to act like a short order cook for every meal, and that's not fair to you. If you switch your family to gluten-free eating over a few months, with plenty of warning that a gluten-free diet is coming, I bet you could have your house gluten-free by midsummer without too much complaining.

Good luck and hang in there. Those first weeks are hard, especially if you experience withdrawal. I felt so tired and cranky those first weeks... Wouldn't want todo it again.

[gfreemarketingguru]

you are not alone, it is very hard at first but i promise it gets easier. The one lesson I learned quickly...we were eating to much wheat/gluten-containing ingredients...bread, pizza, pasta was too much the center of our meal instead of a "side-item". Do yourself & your family a favor & focus on serving foods that are "normal" and naturally gluten-free...proteins, potatoes, rice, fruit & vegis. Make eggs & bacon for breakfast (lots of bacon are gluten-free but check first), dine on roastbeef & potatoes, a delicious potroast or a hearty chicken and rice soup, just use a gluten-free flour to make gravy & be sure to select a gluten-free stock (progresso, emerils, pacific) or make your own. Serve the family bread on the side. Think about favorite meals that are naturally (or easily) prepared gluten-free. A little less gluten wont hurt the family and can still taste great and will prevent you from making 2 meals and feeling tortured. Good luck!

[GottaSki]

Hi Sophe and Welcome....

 

I have to thank you...I love honesty -- yep the transition SUCKs....good news is you have all this support...wow...even this old brod is impressed...great advice....most important is -- laugh as often as possible and smile when it is not.

 

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