Go gluten-free they said; It would be fun, they said

As someone who recently had to make a strict diet change, I’m fully aware that finding healthy foods is hard. What’s even harder? Finding gluten-free food.

I didn’t really choose to be gluten-free. I didn’t do it for the trend, and I do not enjoy it. I have a huge sweet tooth, and gluten-free baked goods are just not the same.

Of course, fruits, vegetables and most grains are gluten-free, but you get tired of it after a week or two. Salads start to taste like grass. You start to crave the gluten again, the ever-present ingredient in everything tasty ever.

Especially in a small town like Troy, it’s hard to find restaurants that offer gluten-free options. I find solace in the small things, like finding gluten-free chicken nuggets at Walmart. I like grilled chicken, but again, it gets old.

So why is gluten so hard to replace? Well, according to Johns Hopkins, gluten is a binding agent used to hold processed foods together. So, as I said, pretty much everything tasty ever. There are several ingredients that can be used to replace gluten in recipes, but they often do not behave in the same way, leaving strange textures and tastes.

For example, pizza. I’ve tried several gluten-free pizzas. Papa Johns is arguably the worst I’ve had so far. Ancient grain crust is just about as tasty as it sounds, and it was weirdly chewy and crumbly at the same time. Most cauliflower crust pizzas are decent.

Johns Hopkins goes on to state, “humans have digestive enzymes that help us break down food. Protease is the enzyme that helps our body process proteins, but it can’t completely break down gluten. Undigested gluten makes its way to the small intestine. Most people can handle the undigested gluten with no problems. But in some people, gluten can trigger a severe autoimmune response or other unpleasant symptoms.”

Another thing to mention is FODMAP: fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols. These can also be hard to digest, and gluten is very high FODMAP. Low FODMAP foods are easier to digest.

When foods are hard to digest, they can cause tons of gastrointestinal issues, as well as many other seemingly unrelated symptoms. Like fatigue. So tired. All the time. That sucks.

I really just want more gluten-free food options! The best gluten-free pizza and cookies I’ve eaten are in Auburn, Alabama, but obviously that’s a drive that I can’t make every day.

You honestly don’t think about how many foods have gluten in them until you have to avoid it. For example, certain flavors of instant rice. Soy sauce. Cereal. Gravy. Hashbrowns. It’s everywhere!

Not only is it in pretty much everything, but most foods are processed in plants where gluten is handled, so cross-contamination is a big factor. For me, not so much, but for people with Celiac disease it can trigger a severe allergy response.

The best resource I’ve found so far to help me locate gluten-free restaurants is an app called “Find Me Gluten-Free.” It features restaurants in your area that have gluten-free options and has reviews from other gluten-free people that have tried it.