Going Gluten-Free: A Bread-lover's Guide to Pain and Pleasure when Eliminating Gluten

I am a foodie. I have always been a foodie. Since my youth my parents would put dishes in front of me and not have to worry about me trying it. If it was there, I ate it... or some of it...or wrapped it in my napkin to make it LOOK like I ate it. Over the years I found my love of food to be mainly sandwiches, pasta dishes and baked goods. I slowly gravitated towards learning to prepare them, consuming them at every possible meal and generally just stuffing my face with a great cake or lasagna whenever possible.
In the past few months this has changed for me, and not in a gradual, 'Lets slowly change your diet' kind of way. The tone of this change was much more jarring and to the tune of 'If you want to stop having excruciating pain and illness you will stop eating all things containing gluten. NOW.' I had been suffering quietly for about a year with constant digestive pain and other problems that sent me to doctors and finally a GI specialist. Long and short it was discovered that I had developed a Gluten Sensitivity, or allergy to gluten. This diagnosis, much like a lactose intolerance diagnosis, suggests that the sufferer cut out the offending component. Gluten.
At first this felt like a death sentence to me. My life without bread or cupcakes or pasta or soy sauce (yes, some soy sauces and dressings contain this vicious beast) had begun and I soon found sadness welling up in my soul. Most of the things I tried didn't come close to filling the void that a sandwich on potato bread or a fresh baked cookie could fill. However, I soon began to talk to other people who had similar conditions and through searching began to find alternatives and brands I could trust to deliver a quality meal sans searing death pains post-consumption.

I have learned these tips that I share with you now:

1.) If it looks gross or dry, or like a corpse of a cookie... it most likely is: Granted this is NOT an all the time fact. Some things are surprisingly tasty. However, many times if I've picked up cookies that look like the hollow and dead shells of what cookies SHOULD be chances are when I get home I will be chucking them (or they will forever sit in the cabinet longing to be eaten).

2.) Rice Bread that is Double Bagged and Vaccum Sealed = Florists Best Friend: I am fairly certain that if there were a nuclear holocaust that apart from Twinkies and cockroaches, this stuff would still be around.One of the first things I excitedly picked up from the local store was a pack of rice bread. It looked normal, felt normal and was wrapped like normal bread. Upon further inspection and consumption it has since been determined that this product holds the consistency of those green bricks that one would shove silk flowers into (and most likely tastes similar if you were to actually consume it).

3.) Reading Ingriedient Labels is Fun: While this might extend your grocery shopping trips a little, when first starting out be sure to read your ingredients. 'Barley, Malt, Barley-Malt, Wheat, Wheat Extract, Rye, Rye Extract, Processed on equipment that also processes wheat, barley rye....' NONE of these words are your friends. Please trust me when I say that not reading labels carefully enough can result in massive pain later both in the wallet and in your digestive area. The extra time it takes to double check for these ingridients really helps in the long run.

4.) Organic Specialty Stores/Wholefoods/Giant Super Markets are YOUR New Best Friend: There are a growing multitude of stores that are now carrying full areas of both Gluten-Free and Organic foods. Most of the time these two can be found mixed in or right next to each other (this is where the reading labels and ingredients is your friend). Some foods like CHEX or rice packs or chips will say on the front in nice red letters, others you have to look through the ingredients. I have found an organic food store by my house that has ROWS of gluten free and soy products at reasonable prices and most of the labels clearly state the product as gluten free.

5.) G-Free Cookbooks and Alterna- flours Are Your OTHER Best Friends: A gift from my mother was a gluten-free cookbook (The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods: Creating Old Favorites with the New Flours by Bette Hagman on Amazon.com for $14) that lists every single flour alternative you can use. This provides the ability for chefs to still practice in their kitchen and bakers still get fresh tasty goods including but not limited to bread, biscuits, donuts, pastas, cookies, pies, cakes and more. One negative however, is that ingridient lists can be lengthy and more expensive than your average joe frozen cookie dough.

These are the top five tips that have made my life easier with a gluten-free diet. Once you find products you like it is less of a hastle and there are now some brands of gluten-free products that are so well made you can hardly tell the difference between them and your beloved gluten-filled products of old.

Some Recommendations:
Enjoy Life and Mi-Del for cookies - From soft and chewy to a crunchier taste these are darn good cookies.
Almond, Hazelnut, Pecan Nut Thins - These come in several flavors and types but these are healthy and low-cal cracker replacements that are out of this world.
By George - The pizzas specifically are a great dinner. The small personal pizzas sustain me well. While they aren't as good as your chain restaurants they do match the quality, taste and texture of most freezer isle pizzas.
Amy's Kitchen Mac and Cheese and Select Enchiladas - Taste just like Stouffers. A WONDERFUL replacement.

Also, many restaurants have started catering towards alternative diets such as gluten-free so if you eat out frequently check the online menu of your favorite places or ask your servers when you get there. While it may suck and you may feel like an inconvinience it helps you in the long run. It's possible to switch your eating and still be happy. Trust me. I've been there.