gluten free diaries: ashley

Hi Clean Eating Chelsey readers! My name is Ashley, and I blog over at Cooking for John.

John is my fiancé, and my blog is all about healthy recipes and restaurants we enjoy. I am fairly new to blogging; I just started on Memorial Day Weekend, but have been reading healthy living blogs like Chelsey’s for years!

Two years ago, in the spring of 2009, I was student teaching at an elementary school, and feeling exhausted! At first I thought it was because of my long days, with virtually no down time, but my exhaustion turned to dizziness and light-headedness, and I knew it was time for a doctors appointment. I met with my holistic doctor a few weeks later. My mom is also one of his patients, so he decided to test me for hypothyroidism, wheat sensitivity, and dairy sensitivity, since she had been recently diagnosed with all three. Lo and behold, I tested positive for everything.

At first I was angry. I felt as if my body was revolting; after all I ate so well! I had gone vegetarian a few years before, and had recently begun reading healthy living blogs. I was making sure I was eating enough protein, iron, everything that vegetarians need to be “worried” about- and then I end up having wheat sensitivity!

After my appointment, I eliminated wheat from my diet- which was hard for me. You don’t realize how much of something you eat until you have to give it up!

I had already cut out dairy, and was attempting to eat vegan at the time.

I went to the health food stores and bought gluten free bread, which was disgusting. It was a frozen brick, which crumbled apart when thawed, and was a far cry from my beloved Ezekiel Sprouted bread. I’ll tell you what- gluten free products have come leaps and bounds in the past few years! I gave up on the bread and decided I would just do without. Soon after, I discovered Food For Life’s Brown Rice Tortillas, which are delicious. Sandwiches now came in wrap form for me, but I was okay with it. I was feeling better, less gassy (TMI?), more energy, my body was much happier. I had also started to take a thyroid hormone, which helped me as well. I know Chelsey recently posted about her hypothyroidism, which makes me wonder if there is some connection between gluten intolerance and hypothyroidism.

Gluten is sneaky, and is hiding in tons of foods! I did a bit of research a few months in, and realized soy sauce has wheat in it. What gives? I switched to tamari, which tastes the same, but without the wheat. I learned that mostly all liquors and beers had gluten in them. Beer bothers my stomach, but liquor seems to be okay for me.

Dropping gluten was rough in the beginning, but I am so glad that I found out what was wrong and am able to eat to please my body. The blog world has been a fantastic source of information for gluten free living, I don’t know what I would have done without it!

Here is a list of some of favorite gluten free products. For you GF people out there, what are some of your faves? I’ve heard Udi’s makes fantastic products, but since they all contain egg I’ve never tried them.

My favorite gluten free products (that don’t taste like cardboard!)

Breads

· Foods for Life Brown Rice Tortillas

· Food for Life Gluten Free Brown Rice or Multi Seed English Muffins

· Sami’s Bakery Millet and Flax Hamburger Buns

· King Arthur Gluten Free Bread Mix

Sweet Treats

· So Delicious Cookie Dough Ice Cream

· Mary’s Gone Cookies- all flavors!

· Mama Pea’s Gluten Free Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Dough Balls

Noodles

· Ancient Harvest Quinoa Noodles- all varieties

· Explore Asian Organic Black Bean Spaghetti (this has more chew to it than actual spaghetti, but I love it with a peanut sauce!)

Proteins

· Sunshine veggie burgers

· Amy’s Bistro veggie burgers

· Tofu!

· Tempeh- I buy Lightlife brand. Some varieties contain gluten, so be sure to check the ingredient!

Snacks

· Clif Bars- my favorite are actually the the Z Bars, the kids version! J

· Lara Bars

· Cascadian Farms granola bars (CEC edit: These bars are not certified GF because they have oats in them. Oats are naturally gluten free, but frequently become cross contaminated. Some may be able to tolerate these bars, while others may not.)

· Nature’s Path Koala Crisp cereal

· Nature’s Path Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise Cereal

Question: Have you ever tried any gluten free goodies? What were your favorite?

Tagged as: gluten free, gluten free guest post, guest post, tips for going gluten free, vegan