This week marks 10 years of me being diagnosed with Celiac Disease.
10 years of reading food labels.
10 years of asking 50,000 questions at restaurants.
10 years of saying “no thanks” to food I did want to eat.
10 years of carrying GF snacks just in case
10 years of food anxiety
Quick History
Food was my enemy for over 15 years before I knew what was wrong with me. We had a toddler and I was still sick 80% of the time after I ate and I had no idea why. Doctors were just giving me pills to help with the symptoms.
I finally met with my Gastro and told him to test me for everything. Turns out it was Celiac Disease and I had to stop eating gluten immediately.
2 months after my diagnosis and going gluten free, I was pregnant with TWINS! It was immediate proof that my body was for once actually working again.
Want to know more about my diagnosis story? Here are the details.
What I’ve learned in 10 years
- Always carry a safe GF snack just in case you can’t find a safe place to eat
- Take your own food to social events
- Do your research when you travel and have a plan for where you are going to eat
- Don’t take risks, only eat food you know is safe
- Find a good GF flour mix that can be a cup for cup swap in recipes
- Don’t be afraid to travel, you can find really good and safe places to go
- MAKE YOUR HOME SAFE
To further dive into the last item (Make Your Home Safe), I didn’t make my house 100% GF when I was first diagnosed. I tried to make 2 dinners, 1 for me and 1 for the rest of my family. The stress of it was too much. Little hands covered in gluten crumbs was too hard. I’d mix up the spoons and then not be able to eat either dish.
So less than a year in, I said enough and made our house gluten free. The only gluten in my house is packaged snacks the kids take to school. My husband and kids can eat gluten and do eat gluten – just not in my house.
As I’ve been on this journey I’ve connected with thousands of people trying to live gluten free. Many of which struggle with not having a “safe” place for them to just relax and eat.
I spoke with 1 mom at a live GF even years ago and she was sad and angry that gluten bread crumbs were always in her utensil draw. The issue was the gluten bread had “always” been kept on that part of the kitchen counter. So when her family used the gluten bread, the crumbs would fall in to the utensil draw that sat directly below that spot. I gave her a few tips to either move the bread to a different location or move her utensils to a different draw. That little change in her kitchen would free her from gluten covered forks. A week later, she sent me an email saying she had moved the bread and now had less stress in her own home.
Gluten Free Resources
I have created a number of tools to help people live gluten free. When I was diagnosed I could not find resources that had recipes like I was used to making.
My I’m a Celiac Blog – over 400 recipes and 3 years of meal planning
Family Approved Gluten Free Recipes – my first recipe cookbook
Succeed at Living Gluten Free – my book with 65 tips for living gluten free
The Celiac Cookbook and Survival Guide – my book about how to live gluten free and it includes tons of easy gluten free recipes
Easy Gluten Free Holiday Recipes – my ebook including traditional holiday recipes and how I made them gluten free
Announcing my Newest Resource
Gluten Free Safe Kitchen – a mini workshop that teaches you how to make your kitchen safe for yourself or your gluten free loved one.
The workshop is priced at $39.99 but is on sale for $19.99 to celebrate my 10 years of living gluten free.
What you will learn:
- What you can keep
- What to replace
- How to store gluten
- How to organize and communicate
- BONUS – Kitchen checklist guide
- BONUS – Gluten Free One Dish Meals ebook
If you are gluten free or cook for someone who is, this workshop is the tool you need to reduce anxiety and stress about having a safe gluten free kitchen.
For a chance to win the Gluten Free Safe Kitchen, leave a comment with how long you have been living gluten free.
Finally, THANK YOU for being a part of my journey and keeping me up when I was down.
Cheers to another 10 years of living gluten free!
Much love,
Pam
Leave a Reply