A lot of times, beginning and/or maintaining a gluten-free diet becomes all-consuming. For me, the transition was brutal. I LOVE to eat - and constantly learning how many foods contain gluten still gets me down sometimes. To me, food is: comfort, fun, memories, love, laughter, adventure, excitement, experience, respect, travel, knowledge, celebration...among many other things. When you are forced to completely re-learn everything you thought you knew about something that is connected to so many emotions, it can easily become frustrating.
One thing that helped me through all the frustration (and still does) was stopping every once in a while to reflect on other aspects of my life that make me happy. Food or not. Even the little things. Especially the little things.
Allowing myself this reflection is exactly the nudge I continue to need to make myself try that disastrous muffin recipe again, re-work a family recipe a different way, or try a different kind of boxed macaroni and cheese (my weakness) in hopes of finding the perfect one - rather than getting frustrated and giving up.
So...I'm happy to announce a new part of my blog: a series of weekly posts - each focusing on my random reflections. Stay tuned for "You Know What's Gluten-Free?" - every Wednesday, starting this week!
Kelly
I am so glad I found you on Twitter. My son has celiac disease (gluten allergy). I look forward to following your blog.
ReplyDeleteWelcome!
ReplyDeleteHow old is your son? New diagnosis? I'd love to help any way I can in addition to my blog...feel free to email me anytime at glutenfreendly@gmail.com. :)
Take care!
Kelly
Great idea! Looking forward to seeing you post more frequently ;-)
ReplyDeleteKelly,
ReplyDeleteMy son is 16 months old. He was diagnosed at 12 months. He was not gaining any weight even though he was eating solid food. They ran test and found out that his body was not absorbing gluten. Since being on a gluten free diet, he has gotten taller and gained weight. He was in the -1% for weight for his age and now he is in the 9% (still low but much better).
Thanks Ashley! I definitely need to be better about it. Ha. :)
ReplyDeleteEvenAndy - How lucky that they found it so early and he was able to catch up developmentally! I can imagine it must be hard to find things that a 16-month-old will eat that are gluten-free. Hopefully you'll find something yummy for him on my blog!
This is awesome, I was just diagnosed about 6 weeks ago. Your blog has been a great help!
ReplyDeleteDee
Dee - so glad I could help! If you have any specific questions, please feel free to email me at glutenfreendly@gmail.com.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Kelly