Episode 7: I Can't Eat Anything - Gluten Free with Coral

I hear this from others quite a lot. I understand… I understand so well because I have been there.

I decided to have an entire podcast episode on this very topic so that I may help you feel a little more confident and squash this little lie that you can not eat anything! Cause that my friend is what that is… it is a lie… listen to the entire episode as I help you find your ‘gluten free groove’ and eating foods you love and still being safe!

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Have you ever had the thought, I just can’t eat anything!? I sure did after being newly diagnosed, specifically after my first trip to the grocery store. Literally, I wandered helplessly for 3 1/2 hours checking package by package, isle by isle to on leave with 2 items in my cart.

I thought I was prepared… I looked on Pinterest before heading there and I even downloaded an app to help scan items… but to my frustration and despair I could not get any kind of reception at the store… so there I was… trying to understand how to read a label, not even understanding the overfilled gibberish list of ingredients I found on the packages… I have shared before that I went home sobbing, feeling so lost… and telling myself and believing the words I can’t eat anything.

Today I want to share with you how I have come to squash that belief… and for those of you who have been gluten free for a while now… I will be sharing some inside secrets to help you step up your gluten free game as well!

I thought it would be fun to share one of my favorite podcast reviews each week. So lets start today… and the person’s review that I read wins our Ultimate Gluten Free Guide with over 125 safe and better choice brands and products

Podcast Review of the Week:

New to Celiac

I was diagnosed 2 weeks ago with celiac disease. I’ve looked high and low for help, and I found medical advice but I really needed the kind of advice that a best friend would tell you and this is how this podcast feels.

I know this podcast is super new, but I can’t wait to hear more.

Thank you @kmgolightly… I am so grateful that you are loving the podcast so much and I have to be honest, I get so excited every Tuesday for the podcast to air. Like I get giddy inside… knowing that I am sharing my best and favorite tips with you each week.

My hope and prayer are to help you be your best gluten-free self and of course to raise more awareness with the world!

So… Congratulations @kmgolightly

You just won the Ultimate Gluten-Free Guide With over 125 better choice brands and products that not only are celiac safe but are Karalynne approved with Just.Ingredients… This guide is seriously gold… Please just email me at [email protected] to claim your prize!!

Let’s dive in to the nitty gritty of todays episode… now this topic of I can’t eat anything has been one that I have worked on and would like to squash this belief for you too.

Last year my sister in law and brother did the Whole 30 diet. (which I have since done and completely loved it and really would recommend it to anyone) but back to their journey… I wasn’t too familiar with the whole30 diet so I asked my sister in law so many questions… I asked her ‘ so what is the whole30?’

Now she is a very optimistic person and is one that I often lean on for strength and positivity… but in answering this question, she began to tell me ALL of the things she couldn’t eat.

And let me tell you the list was long. It is interesting… because when she told me she was doing the diet, she was excited and hopeful that it would help her with several health issues.

But when I asked her details, her tone changed and she seemed more helpless than anything.

After listening to her for about 5 minutes trying to remember all that she couldn’t consume, I stopped her… and I said wait a minute… I don’t really want to hear all that you can’t have… tell me what you can have… her entire demeanor changed and she happily told me all the foods she can eat… and then just then it was like a light bulb a-ha moment for me!

With gluten-free and celiac living, how often do we dwell on what we can not have versus the infinite number of foods we can have.

Moral of the story… Focus on what you can eat… holy smokes there are tons of things… almost too many things…

I googled what can gluten free people eat?

Many healthy foods are naturally gluten-free, including fruits, vegetables, fresh meat, fish and poultry, legumes, certain whole grains, dairy products and oils.

Wheat, rye and barley are the major foods that need to be avoided while following a gluten-free diet.

But I am here to tell you that if you want cookies- cakes – Mac and cheese or pizza… you can have it ALL… just with a little bit of work… or hitting up a few different stores.

You can make your gluten free dreams come true. If you love a certain food, like pizza… then research, test out the highest rated recipes on Pinterest and find your winning recipe!! You get to be in control of this.

Now I used to make wedding cakes… I did that for years as I paid my way through ultrasound school… and as I would make these cakes, I had the belief system that both the looks and the taste were equally important, so you can say that I mastered the moistest cake ever!!!

I was so proud of that… and actually known for making the best cakes… so when we went gluten free… this was something I knew I needed to master.

I wanted to bake the most moist gluten free desserts… so, I started experimenting and bam… I got it… and the recipe is so straight forward and easy!!!

If you want that recipe- go check out my blog at servingceliacs.com under gluten free cake blogpost… you won’t regret it…

I tell you this… to show you tangible evidence that I am practicing what I am preaching!!!

So whatever you love or perhaps it is your child or a loved one who needs to eat gluten free… master their recipe… master what they are missing and I can guarantee there will be more excitement and joy in their gluten free life!!!

There are several amazing food bloggers and chefs out there who are experimenting and mastering gluten free living all to help US!!

So utilize their talents…. Go to Pinterest… search on google… find a few new favorite go to recipes that will WOW your family!!!

But now I want to talk real talk… Just because you eat gluten free does not and I repeat does not mean you eat healthy… That has to be one of the biggest lies out there!

I feel like I would be doing you a massively big disservice if I don’t share with you the importance of what gluten free foods we are consuming… I know we need to work in baby steps so we don’t go into a place of overwhelm and depression… but if you are ready to step up your gluten free game… then…

I want to give you a challenge… if you are already making changes in your life- trying to make healthy changes even- then I want to challenge you to not find substitutes for every single item you used to eat… of course your favorite things… well yes, live a little… and enjoy your life… but I want to share with you a warning from the Mayoclinic a resource I found…

‘It’s important not to replace gluten-containing foods with more red meat, full-fat dairy, starchy vegetables, sweets and fats, which can lead to a higher intake of cholesterol, saturated fat, sodium and unwanted calories.

It’s also prudent to limit commercially prepared gluten-free snacks and bakery products, which are typically high in refined carbohydrate, fat, sugar and salt — just like their gluten-containing counterparts.

Studies suggest that the nutritional quality of commercially prepared gluten-free products varies from similar gluten-containing products.

In several countries, for example, commercially prepared gluten-free foods are lower in protein than their conventional counterparts.’

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/is-gluten-free-healthy/faq-20348653

Friend, do you hear this… so many of our packaged gluten free products are not serving us in a healthier way… yes they may be gluten free but what are they really putting in there???

Okay, here’s another resource I want to share from gluten.org

If an individual whose diet contains large amounts of breads, pastas and cookies (especially those made from refined flours) switches to a gluten-free diet which eliminates these foods while increasing fruits, vegetables and other healthful gluten-free foods, the resulting diet would likely be healthier.

On the other hand, this same person could easily substitute gluten-free breads, pastas and cookies into the diet, without increasing intake of healthful gluten-free foods like vegetables and fruits.

In this case a person may actually experience a reduction in diet quality, since many gluten-free processed foods are lower in fiber, vitamins and minerals than their gluten-containing counterparts.

This type of gluten-free diet may be higher in calories, since many processed gluten-free foods contain higher levels of fat and/or sugar to compensate for flavor and texture changes which result from the removal of gluten.

Any diet that is higher in calories is likely to promote weight gain, not weight loss.

https://gluten.org/resources/getting-started/the-gluten-free-diet-facts-and-myths/

There is the possibility of developing nutrient deficiencies if you rely heavily on prepackaged gluten-free foods, which don’t contain the vitamins and minerals added to wheat flours.

Replacing gluten-containing foods with processed, gluten-free alternatives can lead to weight gain — cookies, breads, and snack foods should still be consumed in moderation, whether they contain gluten or not.

“Just because a food is labeled gluten-free doesn’t mean that a gluten-free cookie or gluten-free cupcake is healthier than the wheat-based product,” Thompson says.

Chances are the gluten-free version is going to list white rice flour or milled corn as the first ingredient, she adds. “That isn’t any healthier.” Other gluten-free products may swap in higher calorie ingredients like nuts or dried fruits, nutrient-dense calories that can add up quickly.

https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/will-going-gluten-free-make-you-healthier.aspx

But don’t fret… I am sharing all of these resources with you so you are educated! So you can make smarter choices, healthier choices and ultimately better choices for you on the daily!

My girl Karalynne with Just.Ingredients shared the other day a post that was spot on… ‘Strive to live a healthy diet, not a perfect diet.

You get to choose what you substitute gluten for. And if you want your body to heal and to be the best you… make the better choices.

Which leads me to bringing up a resource that Karalynne and I did together… friend, we worked countless hours to bring you a safe gluten free guide with better choices!

Seriously what could be more helpful than that??? We took out the guess work for you.

So what this guide does, is it breaks down by category, safe gluten free products with good choices and better choices.

And let me tell you. This was quite the process. I would share a lengthy list of ‘gluten free safe’ foods with Karalynne… she would look them over and deny almost all of them… ugh… why would she do this to us… are we restricted enough??…but I know now it is because so many of the processed gluten free foods are horrible for us and can be causing us the very inflammation that we are trying our best to help heal our body… but we aren’t allowing our body to heal if we are eating foods like that… so this guide is money!!!

The guide will allow you to learn safer- cleaner brands and products that we can consume and get our bodies feeling our best.

So back to our process of creating this guide… Karalynne then would send me a list of better – healthier choices… but after some research I would shut her down and tell her… nope- a celiac can’t trust that product or brand… so needless to say we hustled for you… we hustled to find over 125 products that were better choices.

Both safe and the healthier packaged goods, that can allow your body to heal and perform at a higher level!! Who doesn’t want that???

It really doesn’t matter if you are gluten free by choice, gluten free out of necessity, have been gluten free for 2 days or 20 years… this guide will help you identify safe go to products that you can always keep an eye out for at the grocery stores or even find them online.

You can find this guide on our website at servingceliacs.com click on the tab that reads gluten free guide…

I truly believe we can all step up our healthy choices… and when you want a yummy gluten free chocolate cake, well you can indulge… and when you eat the simple mills brand you won’t have to feel so blah after eating it as it won’t mess with your insides like other brands can.

Now I want to recap on what we have covered today…

1. Focus on what you CAN eat vs what you can not!
2. Master a gluten free version of your favorite foods

3. You are already monitoring what you eat… step up your game and make choices that will truly help your body function at it’s best! BE ALL IN!

GLUTEN FREE GUIDE HERE

CELIAC ECOURSE HERE