6 Tips for Living a Gluten Free Lifestyle

Hey there Bite Size Wellness readers!

My name is Brittany, and I blog over at GOtheXtraMile. I am honored that Talia asked me to do a guest post for her lovely blog.

A little background about why I am here:

For a while, I was having a ton of stomach issues. I was having everything, from nausea, to very irregular bowel movements (TMI), to pain, headaches, rashes, everything. I won’t get too deep into the details, but you get the drift ; ) However, I kind of just ignored it until one day I finally decided to make an appointment with the GI doctor. I went through a lot to get where I am today. You can read about my procedure and blood test if you are interested.

To sum it all up, I was tested negative for celiac and POSITIVE for the blood test. I decided to try a gluten free diet.

I recently found out that the positive blood test actually meant that I just have the gene for Celiac disease, which means it is a possibility for me to get it in the future. This means that I can eat gluten now because I’m not actually intolerant, but I learned a lot during the time that I was completely gluten free!

Going gluten free was NOT easy. Trust me. I had to make a lot of adjustments when cutting out gluten. You have to completely change the way you think about food. But I learned a lot from my experience with gluten free living and want to share some of my favorite gluten free snacks, tips and tricks with you!

1. Eat real food.

Gluten free doesn’t only mean relying on boxes that have the GF label in the grocery store. Yes, those are very handy, but you’d be surprised as to how many things are naturally gluten free. Just to name a few:

• Quinoa
• Fruits and Veggies
• Most dairy (watch out for the flavored stuff)
• Nuts
• Potatoes
• Rice

2. Read ingredients.

Read the ingredients for everything you get your hands on. Of course watch out for the main culprits like wheat, barely, rye and malt.

3. Watch out for hidden sources of gluten.

Gluten is in a ton of things that you would have never guessed. Even medications and make-up contain gluten so be on the look out!

4. Do your research on living a gluten free lifestyle.

No lie, I am a Google junkie. The very first thing I did was research so I could learn everything I possibly could about what I could eat, what I couldn’t eat, etc. I found a ton of things such as celiac.org and many other websites.

5. Get addicted to some gluten free blogs.

Of course I turned to some awesome gluten free blogs. Some of my favorites are Chelsey’s, Evan’s, Kasey’s, Marlow’s and Karina’s.

6. Adjust to the challenges of eating out while on a gluten free diet. 

My biggest challenge I had to adjust to was probably eating out. Always talk to the chef and your server before ordering anything because you never know what is in a restaurant meal. Calling ahead of time helps as well.

Anyway, onto the fun stuff!

Gluten Free Snacks

Smoothies I love when I’m craving a cold, creamy treat and I usually use my favorite protein powder, Sunwarrior.

Think Thin bars are awesome for an on-the-go snack. They’re delicious and have a ton of flavors to choose from.

Greek yogurt is naturally gluten free (usually) and I love topping it with fresh fruit and some love grown granola. Personally I think it is the best gluten free granola ever.

Rice cakes are a perfect gluten free snack. Top with PB & J or protein frosting (protein powder + water).

Homemade energy balls—I swear they taste just like cookie dough!

Cottage cheese! I love this stuff. I also found a little trick from Sara in case the texture freaks you out. Throw some cottage cheese, a splash of almond milk, and some liquid stevia in a blender and whip it! So good.

I could name snacks for hours, but that would just be monotonous, so these are some of my favorites. Blogs are usually my #1 source for finding new inspiration for gluten free snacks and meals. Plenty of non-gluten free recipes can also be modified to make them gluten free by using gluten free rolled oats, buckwheat, coconut flour, peanut flour and much more. So if you get creative you will have plenty to choose from.

Feel free to stop by my blog and say hi or ask me any questions you have. I love hearing from readers!

Have you ever had to adapt your lifestyle do to dietary restrictions? What did you learn? Let’s chat below!

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