Ok so I now into my third week of eating gluten free and there a few things that I have learnt!
First and foremost it’s that I MISS GLUTEN! Now don’t get me wrong I think that we eat waaaay too much gluten in our diets these days, and it’s not that I miss a giant plate of pasta or a dirty burger (Tbh I never ate that much!)… it’s more of a case of I miss the ease things were a few weeks ago when gluten was in my life!!
I really was so naive about the amount of hidden gluten in things I eat on a regular basis…for example sauces and dressings!
And so that brings me to point number 2… I am rapidly becoming a labels expert!
Thanks to the google-ometer and reigniting the dormant medical scientist brain in me, I am rapidly becoming an expert in deciphering ingredient labels! Never having wondered (nor cared) about things like thickeners and additives, I’ve been running over time working things out! And believe me it’s not easy. Taking the time to decode ingredients while your three year olds are treating the supermarket aisles like a footy field no wonder people are glaring more than usual!
Talking of the supermarket, that brings me to point number 3. Man, this is time consuming and expensive! You don’t realise how much you get in your shopping comfort zone. Like everyone I’m used to jumping in, grabbing what I need and hightailing it out of there! Now I’m having to build a new ‘food data-base’ (you know those go to items), work out what I need, what I like and what brands I enjoy! I’m a 101 shopper again and I must look like a fish put of water to others, they must the ‘poor girl, has she not done groceries before!’
And then there’s the cost! Geeeez wows! Now I’ve only ever dabbled in the health aisle of my supermarket (refer to the earlier can’t be bothered point!) and I’m rapidly finding that specialised eating is as pricey as people complain about!
I’m saying a good $2+ per product! Now, while I totally understand as it’s a specialised and small market, when you’re on the ‘young family budget’ there’s no such thing as extra bucks to throw at GF bread…so I’m stripping back to basics.
Next it’s all about the cleanliness. I know I touched on the whole cross contamination thing last week but seriously i have never cleaned like I’m cleaning! Running a 50/50 gf/non house hold means constant cleaning! No joke I vacuumed the toaster!!!!!!!!!!!!
Finally the biggest learning curve is you absolutely, imperatively MUST BE ORGANISED! Now, let’s unpack this – am I organised…yes in the work place, organised…yes for the kids, for me…NO!
I can no longer just ‘wing’ it going to work or heading out for the day! My days of grabbing dodgy servo sambos or nugs (god bless 😢) while I race around are gone and I find myself packing a third lunch and snack bag as I’m getting ready for the day!
Btw – did I mention I don’t actually feel any better yet! In fact I’ve felt worst than ever!!!!! (perhaps a cold turkey detox wasn’t the smartest move)! 6 months they say…hmmm this is going to be interesting!
Xx Nix
nickyainley 