Getting Started Living Gluten Free

You've just heard you have to give up gluten. Now what?

Let's start with the basics

If it's wheat, rye, or barley, YOU CANT HAVE IT. Oats are still being debated, so for now I wouldn't risk it. You need to let your system calm down.....................we'll cover the debate on oats later..............

You now will become an expert on reading labels; a Labelologist its not a real title, but hey it's what we are studying.

A couple of basics to get started....

• You need to decide how you will set your kitchen up. Is the whole house going GF, or just one person? I found it simpler to have my own cupboard, This works especially well for children, who may not be able or willing to always read labels: if it's in their cupboard, they can eat it. What about separate cooking tools? Will you need a separate toaster?

• If you will be cooking both GF and non GF, always cook the GF first. You want to keep your GF foods as clean as possible.  Cross contamination can be problematic. A good example of this is jelly. When some one uses the jelly, spreads it on the non GF bread, and then goes back for more. They may have contaminated the jelly with crumbs from the non-GF bread.  So, in  my house, we either have buy separate items for use with GF and non GF or if the non GF needs to use more then they must use a clean utensil each time. This applies to peanut butter, mayo, butter, etc., you get the idea.

As a newbie you need a few basics tips to start.

• Look for the item to say Gluten Free on the front of the package, or check the allergy list. If it doesn't have anything about gluten free......its a NO NO.

• Wheat Free does NOT mean its gluten free!!

• The first time you go to the market to stock up for your new GF lifestyle, keep it simple and clean: eggs, fruit, veggies, meats, rice. I used GF crackers for a long time until I found bread that I liked.

• GF foods can be expensive, I have tried many  things that weren't even palatable. I have thrown away many, many things.  Everyone's tastes are different, but I will share the products that I do like and have had success with.