Six Steps

Alcoholics Anonymous offers a 12-step plan for its followers. Below, I’ve offered a program to help glutenholics stick to the plan in just six easy steps!

1. Admit that you have a problem. I have witnessed so many people claim to be following a gluten-free diet but only actually following that diet when it is convenient for them. If you have Celiac disease, gluten will do damage to your insides whether or not you feel symptoms every time you cheat. So just accept that you can no longer eat gluten and commit to that for good.
2. Educate yourself. Get as much information from your doctor as you can. See a dietician. Then get even more information on your own. Utilize the Internet. There are tons of Celiac/gluten-free Web sites and blogs. Visit them, study them, join them. Connect with other glutenholics in your area, if possible, to share info and recipes. Research the products that you eat. Go to company Web sites to find the latest nutrition information and if you can’t find an answer, call or email the company. If they still won’t give you a straight answer, don’t eat it.
3. Keep a list. Once you get all of this information, keep a print out of the most vital information to carry around with you so you can’t forget it. Use it while you do your grocery shopping, are dining out and while reading ingredient labels at home or at a friends’ house.
4. Educate others. Don’t be afraid to share your list of information with friends who cook for you or for your gluten-free child. When at a restaurant, inform your server of your allergies and make sure you are confident that that person understands the severity of your intolerance and is knowledgeable about what he or she is serving to you. (That’s how good tips are earned!)
5. Don’t be afraid to say no. If you are served food that you know you can’t have or is even questionable, don’t eat it anyway just to be polite. Do vegetarians eat meat just to appease their host? Doubtful. Would someone with peanut allergies accept a peanut butter sandwich? Never. Picky eaters often won’t even budge when served something they dislike. Just because you may not vomit on the table right after taking a bite of bread doesn’t mean it’s not incredibly damaging to you. You have a legitimate excuse! Use it! NO decent person would rather see you eat his or her food than care about your well-being.
6. Be prepared. Keep plenty of food options in your home, office, bag and car. Don’t get stuck at home craving cookies and then have no means of providing them for yourself. Get to know the natural food stores in your area as well as their hours of operation. Keep staple gluten-free pantry items on hand at all times, like a GF soy sauce, GF crackers and at least one GF flour to have on hand for thickening sauces or the like. Have a few craving-quenching recipes in your arsenal that don’t require specialty ingredients (I will be providing some in my blog). Carry satisfying, no-spoil foods with you when you dine out, travel or go to work so that you have something to eat if you get hungry and can’t find anything acceptable in a snack machine or restaurant. I also like to keep a little container of GF soy sauce in my car in case I ever stop for sushi on a whim.