Gluten free, this is going to take some to get use to

So I think I spoke before I really knew what I was getting myself into. Although I understand the reasoning behind the suggestions to eliminate gluten from my diet, it's not as easy, or tasty as I thought it would or could be. I know there are a lot of people out there who swear that living a gluten free life is better for you in many ways and I've even recently read that Gluten can damage your intestines over your lifetime......in fact, I am beginning to wonder why, if gluten is so bad for you, why it's in almost everything we traditionally consume. I've also read many claims that eliminating this one thing from your diet can CURE many illnesses people suffer from! But on the flip side I've also read from others who have tried it and say they notice no difference - so which is it? I believe it's one of those things that can't be measured as an absolute or a definite....it's a personal choice and reaction for each individual.

Now, being that this is all so new to my life, after 41 yrs of eating pretty much whatever I felt like when I felt like it - I'm beginning to see that truly being "gluten free" takes a bit of planning ahead and shopping for specific things that you ordinarily don't purchase or even know exist! This road is going to be an interesting one and honestly I'm not sure where I'll end up on it. I'm not a big fan of cooking these days - especially because when it's time to cook a family meal, I'm too tired 9x out of 10 to cook and end up choosing the not so healthy options or the pre-packaged options. And being that the few things I have tried that are "gluten free" are so different in both texture and taste - I just don't know - I'm not excited about it at all.

Let's take a minute to also talk about the other people in this family of mine. The other 3 in this family are pretty much meat and potatoes - all the time. My daughter does enjoy green beans and broccoli and will try SOME new things....although I think this whole gluten journey won't excite any of them. Especially when it comes to the really good things like ice cream, cookies, chips......all those things that pretty much will be eliminated from my diet if not forever, for a while. With any luck there will be some things I can replace for the entire family like pasta - the pasta I tried is good - both my husband and daughter had some and actually liked it. SO...that's one thing I think I can easily switch on everyone without any problems. Other than that....I really don't know...I guess it'll be one of those things I'll figure out as I'm going. I do know one thing though, if I try to feed them something new and it doesn't look right, they won't eat it...if they do by chance try it, and don't like it, they will be weary of the next time I put something "new" in front of them. I am not going to be cooking 2 meals either - so at some point I'll have to find the middle ground for all this.....right now I'm still in the processing, accepting and figuring out stage of it.

As you can imagine, pretty much anything that is processed is going to have gluten in it. So the majority of MY diet is going to be raw foods and other gluten free items I can find at the store. This isn't a HUGE issue except when it comes to the things I love like ice cream, brownies, cookies.....snacks and sweets is where I'm going to have the biggest problem with this .....in general I eat pretty good already with the exception of my daily indulgence of something sweet - even "sugar free" ice cream still has those blasted "aspartame" or other sugar substitute in it...so it really isn't "sugar free"......

I've been trying those "lara bars" this past week - they are OK - I tried one that was simply nasty, had to throw it out - that was the "cashew cookie" one YUCK! And I like cashews! They are pretty dense and have a very different taste - I can tolerate them but at about 11+g of fat per bar, I would much rather have a cookie or two or 10! UGH......she says with a smile as she grabs a carrot.....

Another issue I've already noticed is the price of "GLUTEN FREE" products - HOLY SHIT! A loaf of bread can put you back close to $6! Seriously...for bread?? Damn...I'm use to getting our bread for $2 or less a loaf! But that of course is the "normal" stuff everyone else can have. The only bread I really will have a problem with NOT having is french bread on nights when we have pasta - really have a problem with it - so I guess I better have a "bread substitute" in the house at $6 a loaf so when the time comes I can grab a piece and toast it and pretend I'm having a nice soft piece of french loaf that was just cooked - oh King Soopers you are not going to help me here with your daily fresh breads at the front door......

I'm planning on taking a "field trip" this upcoming week to my local Whole Foods store to investigate more options for "gluten free". I've also subscribed to a couple blogs that are all about Gluten free living with recipes and such. I've already noticed most of the recipes don't really excite me or even sound like things I would ever consider making and feeding to my family but I'm hopeful that I will find some things that I can sneak in and substitute for us all - I did find a few recipes for cookies that LOOK good, but the true test is in how they taste....we are a family that loves our sweets......for me eliminating gluten, refined sugar and sugar additives is definitely going to be one of the harder things I've had to do.....in fact I'm not sure I can 100%...this is worse than any addiction that someone has to get past.....being that it's been a 41 yr addiction I just don't know HOW I'm ever going to get away from sugar or sugar substitutions........one day at a time I guess! Shoot it's not like you can just say "ok, I quit gluten and sugar" because it's everywhere you turn......everywhere!

So in case you can't tell, I'm frustrated but hopefully will have a great update for you all once I go on my field trip this week and see what all is out there in this gluten free world I'm trying to enter into.......it's definitely not an overnight adjustment that's for sure!