As we walked from the doctor’s office I felt empty, scared, and clueless. I couldn’t have any gluten? How would I live? What would I eat? I knew deep down inside that this was going to help my health issues, but I was tired, and didn’t want to think about learning a new way of shopping and cooking.
The first couple of weeks were hard. It seemed everything I picked up at the store had gluten in it. I got stressed and discouraged, when one day I realized that I was trying too hard. Eating gluten free was not difficult when you really stopped to think about it. There was a whole list of foods that I could eat, if I just opened my eyes.
Fruits and Vegetables are completely gluten free and very easy to find, all I had to do was walk in the produce section at the grocery store. Even frozen and canned fruits and veggies hardly ever had anything else in them besides salt and sugar.
Meat is naturally gluten free, so pretty much any meat I looked at was free of gluten. This gave me a lot of relief. Veggies and meat would form a lot of my meals. Add some rice, and presto! What more could I want?
The seasoning blends were what really bothered me, because all my favorites had gluten, or traces of it, in them. This really challenged me to start cooking with pure herbs, and I was amazed at the results. Yes, seasoning blends are nice to be able to just sprinkle in anything, but each of the different herbs and spices have a unique flavor themselves. Little did I realize how much I would enjoy them!
Now, my breakfasts are made from a large selection of fruits, eggs, gluten free oats or grits, and anything I happen to want to bake. Lunch mainly leftovers or a large salad with a massive variety of veggies and grilled chicken or pan-cooked fish. Supper consists of every variety of meat, veggies, rice, gravies made from rice flour, and so much more! My personal favorite is wild rice and chicken with creamed potatoes. Dessert is really not that difficult and a lot of fun. Just last night I made my favorite chocolate chip cookies. I made several of my skeptical family members taste them, and even they could not tell the difference! I’ll be sharing both of these recipes also.
I guess going gluten free wasn’t the end of the world after all!