I would like to have had a lengthy conversation with ANYONE when we started this journey. So let me tell you what we did so you will know exactly what to do and NOT to do! We came home after learning our 12 year old had Celiac disease. "You must remove the gluten and he will be well." "It is in his food"......WHERE I began to wonder. I researched this enough to know that it was in everything he ate. Period. 100% of his diet contained gluten. I often joked that he was a "dairytarian" only ingesting dairy and starch. So like every great mother I went home immediately and threw away everything, EVERYTHING! I would not recommend this method, and will provide a better plan later.
At this point, I suddenly had an epiphany. I did not know what to replace it with. And I had not stopped to think about our blended family. Those consuming gluten and those gluten free. Hmmm So there was another glitch. SPROUTS, one of my very favorite stores was the first stop. Remember I now have zero food in my kitchen. As I walk into the store I suddenly am overwhelmed with the task of finding the right food. As I asked a dear sales clerk for assistance a mother overheard, handed me her personal business card and shared her tales of conversion. Indeed this is like a religion all it's own. She had two sons, autism, gluten and casein free (dairy) and reported remarkable results.
Fortunately SPROUTS (Sprouts) makes gluten free shopping so easy that it permitted me to walk the aisles freely and focus on the many options that were available at that time. I only had to find the green trimmed tags that say gluten free. So thankful that this system exists. Great training ground for all the new parents and adults who must have a complete change to every dietary habit in their life. The store and website have been a great resource on many levels. Yes I am telling you, SPROUTS (Sprouts) is a great place to get started.
By the time I walked out I had spent much money but filled my cupboards with all new food, new toasters, TWO and new cookbooks. I went crazy but anything for my son. Absolutely anything! We were beginning a new way of life with a promise of wellness. So after 3 1/2 years, I can tell you life is completely different and just as the doctor promised.
So, hindsight always being better, I have developed some tools for getting started. You can make your own, print or copy these ideas. If you do an inventory of a few things first, you can make a well defined list of needs and replacement items. And save yourself ooodles of cash and maintain your sanity in the process. So for that new diagnosis or decision to remove items from your current diet, I would suggest you:
1. Make a menu or list of what you would
normally eat each week
2. Make a list of your favorite 5-10 foods,
comfort or reward items
3. Identify which items in those first two lists have
gluten (wheat, rye, barley, malt, spelt, triticale)
4. Go online to those restaurants or brands and look
for their nutrition or allergen information. Many foods
may already be gluten free or they may have items that are.
5. Shop for THOSE items first. You may find them in many
stores today or online.
Toasters, remember that from above? If you have a blended kitchen, you can not share items where gluten products will contact gluten free foods. Crumbs! Can and will make many sick. Other items to consider; fryers, grills, butter dishes, containers of spreads like peanut butter, anything where crumbs or breading will be involved. Must cook those items separately.
We did black toaster for the evil gluten and a white toaster for our pure food:-) Works well in our house. Think of things like that which will help anyone identify their proper side of the room:-) It will not take you long to get things organized and set to begin if you approach it in an intentional way.
Next: Kitchen Basics-step Two - Organization
Sprouts
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