February 6, 2025 • 21 mins
Making the decision to go gluten-free can feel overwhelming at first. Whether you’ve just been diagnosed with celiac disease, discovered a gluten intolerance, or simply want to try a gluten-free lifestyle, there’s a lot to learn. But even if you’ve been gluten-free for a while, there are always ways to make it easier, safer, and more enjoyable.
That’s why in today’s episode, I’m breaking down exactly how to get started with gluten-free living and sharing tips for those who are already gluten-free but want to streamline their routines, avoid common pitfalls, and feel more confident in their choices.
If you’re feeling lost or just looking for fresh ideas, you’re in the right place!
Mentioned Resources
Save money, and no more guessing for dinner! Use code GFE to get 20% off annual membership at thedinnerdaily.com. Plan meals for less than $4/month and save money at the grocery store!
Come join us in our free Facebook Community, The Gluten Free Engineer.
It’s a space where you can connect with others living gluten-free, ask questions, swap tips and recipes, and get support from people who truly get it. Whether you’re newly diagnosed or a seasoned gluten-free pro, you’ll feel right at home.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Quick reminder before we get started on this episode
this podcast is based on mypersonal experiences and isn't
medical advice.
Making the decision to gogluten-free can feel
overwhelming at first, whetheryou've just been diagnosed with
celiac disease, discovered agluten intolerance or simply
want to try a gluten-freelifestyle.
There's a lot to learn, buteven if you've been gluten-free
(00:21):
for a while, there are alwaysways to make it easier, safer
and more enjoyable.
That's why, in today's episode,I'm breaking down exactly how
to get started with gluten-freeliving and sharing tips for
those who are alreadygluten-free but want to
streamline their routines, avoidcommon pitfalls and feel more
confident in their choices.
If you're feeling lost or justlooking for some fresh ideas,
(00:42):
you're in the right place.
Welcome to the Gluten-FreeEngineer podcast.
I'm your host, keri Saunders.
In 2011, I was diagnosed withceliac disease, a moment that
changed everything, but I wasdetermined not to let it hold me
back.
With my two engineering degrees, I set out to reverse engineer
the gluten-free lifestyle,breaking down recipes, safety
(01:03):
tips, travel hacks andeverything in between to rebuild
a life I love.
Whether you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance or simply
choose to live gluten-free, thispodcast is for you.
Join me each week as wesimplify the gluten-free
lifestyle, make it fun and provethat you don't have to miss out
on anything.
Welcome back to the show.
Today we're talking about how toget started going gluten-free
(01:26):
and tips for those who arealready gluten-free to make it
even simpler and easier.
So the first tip I want to giveyou is to start with the
simplest trick, and this issticking to single ingredient
foods.
The easiest way to gogluten-free is to focus on foods
that don't have labels.
Fresh fruits, vegetables, meatwith no added ingredients,
(01:49):
poultry, fish, eggs, dairy riceand potatoes are naturally all
gluten-free and again I alsowant to emphasize make sure they
don't have any addedingredients, because you might
find meat, poultry, fish thathas added ingredients that could
contain gluten, especially ifit has broth in it.
So pick the ones that don'thave a label, that only have one
(02:12):
ingredient only.
You'll find most of thesearound the perimeter of the
grocery store as well, so startthere before heading to the
inner aisles.
We as a family typically shopliterally in a U around the
store.
We'll go through the produce,go to the back aisle where the
meats are, where the milk is,the butter, and then go down the
(02:33):
last aisle, which is usuallythe frozen section in our Kroger
store that is local to us.
We will occasionally go down anaisle for those staples.
That might be one morecomplicated gluten-free item
where it's an actually processedgluten-free, but we really try
not to eat too much processedgluten-free anyway.
So the simplest, easiest trickis to pick single ingredient
(02:56):
food items and then you knowyou're going to be pretty darn
safe, given it's notcross-contaminated, and we'll go
into that labor in case you'receliac and that's important to
you.
So we first want to understandwhat gluten is and where is it
hiding.
Gluten is a protein found inwheat, barley and rye and which
means it's in bread, pasta,baked goods, soy sauce,
(03:18):
dressings and even someseasonings.
So those last three are wheresome of the places it can be
hiding, and I'll say those againsoy sauce dressings and even
some seasonings.
So we want to be readingingredient labels carefully and
learn to recognize gluten hiddennames like malt, brewer's yeast
and wheat starch.
So if you do choose to eatprocessed foods that are
(03:41):
gluten-free, you're going towant to make sure that you do
not see any of these ingredientsin your processed food, and
that can sometimes be prettyhard to do sometimes.
And another one to look for,too, is modified food starch.
If it doesn't specify what thefood starch is, it could be a
problem.
Now note in the United Statesit is required to label if a
(04:06):
product has wheat in it, but itis not required to label if it
has barley or rye.
So if you're celiac or glutenintolerant and if you're
gluten-free by choice and youwant to stay clear of those,
you're going to need to bereading the ingredients very
carefully, and especially forceliacs and I will state again
(04:27):
on that podcast episode ifyou're celiac, you want to make
sure you're not eating a foodthat says processed in a
facility that also processeswheat, unless it's certified
gluten-free, then they areshowing they have measures to
keep you safe and they aretesting the food.
If they do not have that, thenyou're likely to get
cross-contaminated and you mayor may not realize it or react
(04:50):
to it, but you're still likelygoing to be damaged by it if
you're a celiac.
So please be careful with that.
If you are a celiac, now thenext step you can do is start
cleaning out your pantry andrestock with foods that are safe
, and I know this can be alittle disheartening, especially
if you've either been diagnosedwith celiac, you know you have
a high gluten intolerance, oreven when you're choosing to go
(05:14):
gluten-free.
This can be a bit dishearteningto get rid of some of these
foods, but let's think of somecreative ways we can give those
to the food bank or to somebodyelse who can utilize these foods
.
So we want to go through ourpantry and remove all foods that
contain gluten if you reallywant to be super strict about
this and I will honestly highlyrecommend that this occurs if
(05:36):
you have celiac disease andwe'll go into this in another
podcast episode sometime in thefuture but myself and my oldest
before we realized the otherpeople in our household had
celiac as well.
We were feeling bad when therewas gluten in our house because
we were gettingcross-contamination that jelly
(05:58):
jar, that peanut butter jar,that stick of butter, that
toaster and we'll go into anepisode exclusively about
cross-contamination soon.
But just think about that andthat's one of the good reasons
to go through your pantry andget rid of everything If you and
or your family member is celiac, highly gluten intolerant, or
if you just want to haveeverybody be gluten-free and be
(06:21):
on the same diet.
So we want to go through ourfood pantry and remove foods
that contain gluten.
Be sure to check for thosehidden glutens.
They can be in canned soups asa thickener.
They can be in sauces and evencandy.
I can't tell you, when I wasbeginning to be gluten-free and
realizing and realized I hadceliac, that I was getting
(06:42):
gluten from the kids darnHalloween candy and not even
realizing it.
So please be careful of thecandy, and we'll probably do an
even a specific episode on howto be safe around the holidays
with candy and treats as well sowe'll go into that in more
detail in another episode andtreats as well.
So we'll go into that in moredetail in another episode.
And then we want to replacethose with naturally gluten-free
(07:02):
foods and safe alternatives foryou and for your favorite items
.
So the easiest, like I said,way to do that is to replace it
with whole foods, ones that areone ingredient.
They have absolutely no labelon them.
It just says apples or bananasor chicken or beef, you know, no
other added preservatives inthere or ingredients, because
(07:24):
then you start running the riskof having some gluten in it and
you're going to feel better,honestly, just because you're
getting rid of so many processedfoods.
Now, yes, we can have thatindulgence every once in a while
and have that processed foodthat is gluten free or or
certified gluten-free if youneed that.
But really we all feel muchbetter if we're eating whole
(07:44):
ingredients anyway.
It's much easier on ourstomachs.
So and I want to touch on thissome preventing
cross-contamination at home.
We're just going to touch onthe some of this episode because
it's not the focus of theepisode.
But if you share a kitchen witha non-gluten-free family member,
you're going to want to have adedicated, separate cookware and
utensils for gluten-freecooking.
If you're a celiac or highlygluten sensitive, this is super
(08:09):
important.
I'm talking anything that iswooden is very important.
This is one of the things mydietician said.
She said you need to get rid ofall your cutting boards that
are wooden or plastic or mighthave little tiny cracks in them
Rolling pins.
I even found nonstick cookware.
Well, it's not great to becooking with it anyway.
(08:30):
On a different note, this isbefore I started using stainless
steel and I didn't realize thatmy nonstick cookware had enough
cracks and crevices in it thatit was containing some of the
gluten from previous years andyears and years of cooking in it
, and I felt so much better whenwe replaced our pots and pans,
you're also going to want aseparate toaster.
Toaster is a great place tohide those gluten crumbs in
(08:54):
there and it's a great way toget sick if you're celiac or
gluten intolerant.
And then we also want to beusing squeeze bottles for
condiments like mayo, mustard,et cetera, to avoid a double
dipping of crumbs or label them.
This is what we ran into, likeI mentioned, in our house is.
You know, myself and my oldestwere getting sick in the
(09:14):
beginning of this gluten-freejourney because somebody else in
the house wasn't careful enoughand was double dipping in, like
the jelly jar or the peanutbutter jar or on the butter dish
, and getting some gluten crumbson the butter that was
gluten-free otherwise.
So we want to make sure that weare either labeling or using
squeeze type bottles there.
We also want to learn to readlabels like a pro and just think
(09:40):
of yourself being a detective.
It kind of makes it a littlebit more fun rather than arduous
.
So we want to look forcertified gluten-free labels.
That's the easiest, safest wayto have a processed food that is
gluten-free and that's safegluten-free for all different
types of gluten-free people.
It guarantees the product meetsstrict gluten-free standards
(10:00):
and you should be perfectly safewith those.
As I mentioned earlier, if alabel says processed and
facilitated also processes wheat, I would definitely stay clear
of that.
If you're a celiac, if you'regluten intolerant, you might
also want to stay clear of that.
Stay clear of that If you're aceliac, if you're gluten
intolerant, you might also wantto stay clear of that.
And if you're choosing to havea gluten-free lifestyle, I don't
feel like you're going to get areaction from that and you
(10:21):
should be fine, but that iscompletely up to you and your
doctor.
You also want to avoid foodswith big ingredients, like
modified foodstarts, which Imentioned a little bit earlier
too, because you don't know whatthe source is.
You don't know what the sourceof that food starch is, so you
want to be steer clear of it,unless they say corn, because
many times they'll let you knowthat it's corn or rice, but you
(10:44):
don't know unless they actuallyspecify or unless it's wheat.
They're legally supposed to saywheat when it's in the United
States.
And then, when you're beinggluten-free and you want to make
it easy and you're starting out, plan your meals and find safe
restaurants ahead.
We talked about this on ourdining out episode, but we want
to do some planning ahead.
(11:05):
Whenever we go out torestaurants, we want to make
sure there are safe itemsavailable on their menu.
So I'm going to refer to thatepisode in the show notes too.
We want to make sure we'replanning ahead, making sure that
they're at our level of safetythat we need, you know, being
one way, or celiac glutenintolerant or choose to be
(11:26):
gluten-free.
And then we also want to use,you know, potential apps like
Find Me Gluten-Free, which wehave had great success over the
many years, and we will link tothat in the show notes as well.
It's a great way to findgluten-free restaurants and see
others' reviews of it, to seehow well they did.
And you also want to ask abouthow food is prepared at these
(11:49):
restaurants.
We want to make sure that it'snot cooked with shared surfaces
or shared fryers and, like Isaid, we go into more detail
about this in our episode ondining out.
So we'll link to that in theshow notes for more details
there.
And then I want you to find yourgo-to gluten-free products and
brands and as we go along onthis podcast, we'll be doing
(12:12):
some product reviews and I'll betelling you some of our
experiences with differentproducts and brands that are out
there.
Which ones are better for,let's say, we're talking about
pasta.
Which ones are better for, like, spaghetti pasta?
Which ones are better for souptype pasta?
Which brands are better forsandwiches?
Which ones are better for toast?
So we'll be going through someproduct reviews later on in this
(12:36):
podcast show.
But I want you to start testingout some gluten-free different
products.
Find ones you like, and theycan be a bit different in
texture and in a taste.
So you want to.
But there's so many varietiesout there.
There's so many differentgluten-free breads now than
(12:56):
there was when I started thisgluten-free journey, especially
in our town.
That's available and there'ssome that it's really kind of
hard to tell that they'reactually gluten-free now.
So you're going to find somethat you really love out there,
but sometimes it does take atrial and error type of
methodology and we'll try to doour best to review here on the
show.
You can also join our freeFacebook group, which we'll link
(13:18):
to as well, and ask someopinions in there.
I think crowdsourcing is agreat way to find the brands
that you like.
Also, gluten-free baking can betricky and we will be doing
quite a few YouTube videos ongluten-free baking and how to
make that successful, becauseI've definitely had some
failures in the over 12 years orso of being gluten-free.
(13:39):
So we will be doing someYouTube videos on that.
But do know that it can be alittle bit tricky and that
you're going to just have to tryit out and have some fun with
it and then, as you're goinggluten-free, just know that
there's going to be some trialand error.
Like I've alluded to severaltimes in the podcast, it just
takes some time to adjust to agluten-free lifestyle.
(14:00):
If this is completely brand newto you, and that's okay.
It's like learning to walk orlearning to ride a bike.
You know you sometimes failalong the way as you're learning
these new skills.
This is a new skill, a new wayof eating likely for you,
especially if you're brand newto the gluten-free lifestyle and
you know it's okay to make somemistakes.
(14:21):
Hopefully the tips I've givenyou, though, in this episode
help you don't make mistakesthat make you sick and you've
found a way to avoid glutenaltogether.
But when you're cooking andbaking and doing all the things
you know new gluten-free, youmight make some cooking mistakes
as far as how things turn out,and that's okay.
Just laugh it off.
(14:42):
Have some fun.
Be a detective, like I was, andlisten to the podcast and we
will help give you all kinds oftips, as well as on the YouTube
channel, and we also have lotsof great gluten-free recipes
that we are working on puttingon our website as well, so be
sure to visit that regularly,because I'm always adding some
new gluten-free recipes to thatas well.
(15:03):
Also, when you get accidentallyglutened while learning, don't
be too hard on yourself and whatI found too in the over 12
years of being and knowing I'vebeen celiac.
I've probably been celiac,honestly, all my life if I look
back at my childhood andsymptoms I had then.
But note that when you'reaccidentally glutened,
(15:23):
especially when you're celiac orgluten intolerant, you are
going to probably find in thosefirst like, say, six months or a
year of going gluten free, thata little bit of gluten might
not bother you too much.
But the more and the more andthe more your gut heals, the
more dramatic it's going to bewhen you do get that little bit
(15:45):
of gluten, which is why I stresson the podcast how careful we
really need to be, because ifwe're celiac and we get a little
bit of gluten, it damages oursystem.
No matter whether we havesymptoms or not, it does damage
our system.
So you do need to be verycareful and adamant about making
(16:06):
sure you're as gluten-free aspossible.
And I found, in those first, Iwould say, probably three or
four years of being gluten-free,I felt like a new person about
every six months.
I just felt like I was justhealing from the inside out and
feeling so much better thelonger I was gluten-free, I just
(16:26):
felt I just can't even describeit.
You can probably hear in myvoice I just felt so much better
and everybody was like, don'tyou miss gluten?
I'm like I don't miss feelingsick and not knowing why the
sickness of celiac disease cameupon me slowly over years, as
far as recognizing that I wasn'tfeeling good, because at first
(16:49):
you didn't know I wasn't feelinggood and it came over so
gradually I didn't realize untilI realized I had celiac and
started going off gluten and Istarted healing and I started
feeling better.
My gut felt better, my brainfelt better, my migraines were
disappearing, my hair was doingbetter, my nails were doing
(17:10):
better, my skin was doing better.
So many things were doingbetter the more and more.
I was off gluten.
So just know it's a process.
Know that if you accidentallyget gluten, learn from it and,
you know, work to not do thatagain.
You know, don't be so hard onyourself.
Just, you know, be diligentabout it.
Also, if you're choosing agluten-free lifestyle, and
(17:33):
whether you are or aren't, whenyou first go gluten-free, your
body may go through a detoxperiod as it heals, and so be
patient with it.
You might feel worse before youfeel better.
So just know that your body,your body, can become addicted
to things that we eat.
You know, we all know, that wecan be addicted to sugar.
(17:53):
We can be addicted to caffeine.
We can also be addicted towheat and gluten and the things
that it produces in our body.
So don't feel badly if you feelworse first.
That's pretty darn commonactually, and it should go away
within like about a month.
So some people it's only twoweeks, some people it's three or
four.
So listen to your body and justbe gentle to it and just know
(18:16):
that, especially if you'regluten, if you're celiac or
gluten intolerant, that theprocess is necessary, and just
be kind to yourself.
Give yourself some comfort foodsand drinks that are safe and
gluten-free and you know thatnice lemonade or whatever might
make you feel comforted.
And you know good to yourselfand just be good to yourself
(18:37):
when you're on this gluten-freejourney, especially if it's for
the first time.
So going gluten-free doesn'thave to be overwhelming.
First off, just go through thegrocery store and pick one item
ingredients only.
So I'm talking fruits,vegetables, meats with no
additives to it, potatoes, riceall those things with no
(18:58):
additives in it.
I'm talking just plain rice.
You don't want to get the boxrice with all the flavors in it.
Yet until you're really good atreading labels and start out
simple like that, you'reactually going to probably find
you really enjoy eating thesesimple foods again.
And there's some great brandsout there that can really make
some additive flavors to yourfoods, and we'll go over those
(19:19):
in another episode.
But there's some of my favoritebrands that we'll talk about
soon.
But focus on what you can eat,don't worry about what you can't
.
Don't focus on that.
Be thankful and focus on thethings you can eat and take it
one step at a time and in notime it will become second
nature to you, just like it isto me on being gluten-free.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of the Gluten-Free
(19:42):
Engineer.
If you found value in thisstory, please share it with
someone who might needencouragement on their own
gluten-free journey.
For more tips, recipes,resources and even links to my
YouTube channel, head on over totheglutenfreeengineercom.
It's your one-stop hub to makegluten-free living simple, fun
and full of flavor.
(20:02):
And don't forget to subscribeso you never miss out on an
episode, and we will see younext week.
The Gluten-Free Engineerpodcast is for informational and
entertainment purposes only.
I share my personal experiencesand stories about living with
celiac disease and navigating agluten-free lifestyle.
This podcast does not provide amedical advice.
(20:22):
Always consult with a qualifiedhealthcare professional for
medical questions, concerns oradvice specific to your health.
Quick reminder before we get started on this episode
this podcast is based on mypersonal experiences and isn't
medical advice.
Making the decision to gogluten-free can feel
overwhelming at first, whetheryou've just been diagnosed with
celiac disease, discovered agluten intolerance or simply
want to try a gluten-freelifestyle.
There's a lot to learn, buteven if you've been gluten-free
(00:21):
for a while, there are alwaysways to make it easier, safer
and more enjoyable.
That's why, in today's episode,I'm breaking down exactly how
to get started with gluten-freeliving and sharing tips for
those who are alreadygluten-free but want to
streamline their routines, avoidcommon pitfalls and feel more
confident in their choices.
If you're feeling lost or justlooking for some fresh ideas,
(00:42):
you're in the right place.
Welcome to the Gluten-FreeEngineer podcast.
I'm your host, keri Saunders.
In 2011, I was diagnosed withceliac disease, a moment that
changed everything, but I wasdetermined not to let it hold me
back.
With my two engineering degrees, I set out to reverse engineer
the gluten-free lifestyle,breaking down recipes, safety
(01:03):
tips, travel hacks andeverything in between to rebuild
a life I love.
Whether you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance or simply
choose to live gluten-free, thispodcast is for you.
Join me each week as wesimplify the gluten-free
lifestyle, make it fun and provethat you don't have to miss out
on anything.
Welcome back to the show.
Today we're talking about how toget started going gluten-free
(01:26):
and tips for those who arealready gluten-free to make it
even simpler and easier.
So the first tip I want to giveyou is to start with the
simplest trick, and this issticking to single ingredient
foods.
The easiest way to gogluten-free is to focus on foods
that don't have labels.
Fresh fruits, vegetables, meatwith no added ingredients,
(01:49):
poultry, fish, eggs, dairy riceand potatoes are naturally all
gluten-free and again I alsowant to emphasize make sure they
don't have any addedingredients, because you might
find meat, poultry, fish thathas added ingredients that could
contain gluten, especially ifit has broth in it.
So pick the ones that don'thave a label, that only have one
(02:12):
ingredient only.
You'll find most of thesearound the perimeter of the
grocery store as well, so startthere before heading to the
inner aisles.
We as a family typically shopliterally in a U around the
store.
We'll go through the produce,go to the back aisle where the
meats are, where the milk is,the butter, and then go down the
(02:33):
last aisle, which is usuallythe frozen section in our Kroger
store that is local to us.
We will occasionally go down anaisle for those staples.
That might be one morecomplicated gluten-free item
where it's an actually processedgluten-free, but we really try
not to eat too much processedgluten-free anyway.
So the simplest, easiest trickis to pick single ingredient
(02:56):
food items and then you knowyou're going to be pretty darn
safe, given it's notcross-contaminated, and we'll go
into that labor in case you'receliac and that's important to
you.
So we first want to understandwhat gluten is and where is it
hiding.
Gluten is a protein found inwheat, barley and rye and which
means it's in bread, pasta,baked goods, soy sauce,
(03:18):
dressings and even someseasonings.
So those last three are wheresome of the places it can be
hiding, and I'll say those againsoy sauce dressings and even
some seasonings.
So we want to be readingingredient labels carefully and
learn to recognize gluten hiddennames like malt, brewer's yeast
and wheat starch.
So if you do choose to eatprocessed foods that are
(03:41):
gluten-free, you're going towant to make sure that you do
not see any of these ingredientsin your processed food, and
that can sometimes be prettyhard to do sometimes.
And another one to look for,too, is modified food starch.
If it doesn't specify what thefood starch is, it could be a
problem.
Now note in the United Statesit is required to label if a
(04:06):
product has wheat in it, but itis not required to label if it
has barley or rye.
So if you're celiac or glutenintolerant and if you're
gluten-free by choice and youwant to stay clear of those,
you're going to need to bereading the ingredients very
carefully, and especially forceliacs and I will state again
(04:27):
on that podcast episode ifyou're celiac, you want to make
sure you're not eating a foodthat says processed in a
facility that also processeswheat, unless it's certified
gluten-free, then they areshowing they have measures to
keep you safe and they aretesting the food.
If they do not have that, thenyou're likely to get
cross-contaminated and you mayor may not realize it or react
(04:50):
to it, but you're still likelygoing to be damaged by it if
you're a celiac.
So please be careful with that.
If you are a celiac, now thenext step you can do is start
cleaning out your pantry andrestock with foods that are safe
, and I know this can be alittle disheartening, especially
if you've either been diagnosedwith celiac, you know you have
a high gluten intolerance, oreven when you're choosing to go
(05:14):
gluten-free.
This can be a bit dishearteningto get rid of some of these
foods, but let's think of somecreative ways we can give those
to the food bank or to somebodyelse who can utilize these foods
.
So we want to go through ourpantry and remove all foods that
contain gluten if you reallywant to be super strict about
this and I will honestly highlyrecommend that this occurs if
(05:36):
you have celiac disease andwe'll go into this in another
podcast episode sometime in thefuture but myself and my oldest
before we realized the otherpeople in our household had
celiac as well.
We were feeling bad when therewas gluten in our house because
we were gettingcross-contamination that jelly
(05:58):
jar, that peanut butter jar,that stick of butter, that
toaster and we'll go into anepisode exclusively about
cross-contamination soon.
But just think about that andthat's one of the good reasons
to go through your pantry andget rid of everything If you and
or your family member is celiac, highly gluten intolerant, or
if you just want to haveeverybody be gluten-free and be
(06:21):
on the same diet.
So we want to go through ourfood pantry and remove foods
that contain gluten.
Be sure to check for thosehidden glutens.
They can be in canned soups asa thickener.
They can be in sauces and evencandy.
I can't tell you, when I wasbeginning to be gluten-free and
realizing and realized I hadceliac, that I was getting
(06:42):
gluten from the kids darnHalloween candy and not even
realizing it.
So please be careful of thecandy, and we'll probably do an
even a specific episode on howto be safe around the holidays
with candy and treats as well sowe'll go into that in more
detail in another episode andtreats as well.
So we'll go into that in moredetail in another episode.
And then we want to replacethose with naturally gluten-free
(07:02):
foods and safe alternatives foryou and for your favorite items
.
So the easiest, like I said,way to do that is to replace it
with whole foods, ones that areone ingredient.
They have absolutely no labelon them.
It just says apples or bananasor chicken or beef, you know, no
other added preservatives inthere or ingredients, because
(07:24):
then you start running the riskof having some gluten in it and
you're going to feel better,honestly, just because you're
getting rid of so many processedfoods.
Now, yes, we can have thatindulgence every once in a while
and have that processed foodthat is gluten free or or
certified gluten-free if youneed that.
But really we all feel muchbetter if we're eating whole
(07:44):
ingredients anyway.
It's much easier on ourstomachs.
So and I want to touch on thissome preventing
cross-contamination at home.
We're just going to touch onthe some of this episode because
it's not the focus of theepisode.
But if you share a kitchen witha non-gluten-free family member,
you're going to want to have adedicated, separate cookware and
utensils for gluten-freecooking.
If you're a celiac or highlygluten sensitive, this is super
(08:09):
important.
I'm talking anything that iswooden is very important.
This is one of the things mydietician said.
She said you need to get rid ofall your cutting boards that
are wooden or plastic or mighthave little tiny cracks in them
Rolling pins.
I even found nonstick cookware.
Well, it's not great to becooking with it anyway.
(08:30):
On a different note, this isbefore I started using stainless
steel and I didn't realize thatmy nonstick cookware had enough
cracks and crevices in it thatit was containing some of the
gluten from previous years andyears and years of cooking in it
, and I felt so much better whenwe replaced our pots and pans,
you're also going to want aseparate toaster.
Toaster is a great place tohide those gluten crumbs in
(08:54):
there and it's a great way toget sick if you're celiac or
gluten intolerant.
And then we also want to beusing squeeze bottles for
condiments like mayo, mustard,et cetera, to avoid a double
dipping of crumbs or label them.
This is what we ran into, likeI mentioned, in our house is.
You know, myself and my oldestwere getting sick in the
(09:14):
beginning of this gluten-freejourney because somebody else in
the house wasn't careful enoughand was double dipping in, like
the jelly jar or the peanutbutter jar or on the butter dish
, and getting some gluten crumbson the butter that was
gluten-free otherwise.
So we want to make sure that weare either labeling or using
squeeze type bottles there.
We also want to learn to readlabels like a pro and just think
(09:40):
of yourself being a detective.
It kind of makes it a littlebit more fun rather than arduous
.
So we want to look forcertified gluten-free labels.
That's the easiest, safest wayto have a processed food that is
gluten-free and that's safegluten-free for all different
types of gluten-free people.
It guarantees the product meetsstrict gluten-free standards
(10:00):
and you should be perfectly safewith those.
As I mentioned earlier, if alabel says processed and
facilitated also processes wheat, I would definitely stay clear
of that.
If you're a celiac, if you'regluten intolerant, you might
also want to stay clear of that.
Stay clear of that If you're aceliac, if you're gluten
intolerant, you might also wantto stay clear of that.
And if you're choosing to havea gluten-free lifestyle, I don't
feel like you're going to get areaction from that and you
(10:21):
should be fine, but that iscompletely up to you and your
doctor.
You also want to avoid foodswith big ingredients, like
modified foodstarts, which Imentioned a little bit earlier
too, because you don't know whatthe source is.
You don't know what the sourceof that food starch is, so you
want to be steer clear of it,unless they say corn, because
many times they'll let you knowthat it's corn or rice, but you
(10:44):
don't know unless they actuallyspecify or unless it's wheat.
They're legally supposed to saywheat when it's in the United
States.
And then, when you're beinggluten-free and you want to make
it easy and you're starting out, plan your meals and find safe
restaurants ahead.
We talked about this on ourdining out episode, but we want
to do some planning ahead.
(11:05):
Whenever we go out torestaurants, we want to make
sure there are safe itemsavailable on their menu.
So I'm going to refer to thatepisode in the show notes too.
We want to make sure we'replanning ahead, making sure that
they're at our level of safetythat we need, you know, being
one way, or celiac glutenintolerant or choose to be
(11:26):
gluten-free.
And then we also want to use,you know, potential apps like
Find Me Gluten-Free, which wehave had great success over the
many years, and we will link tothat in the show notes as well.
It's a great way to findgluten-free restaurants and see
others' reviews of it, to seehow well they did.
And you also want to ask abouthow food is prepared at these
(11:49):
restaurants.
We want to make sure that it'snot cooked with shared surfaces
or shared fryers and, like Isaid, we go into more detail
about this in our episode ondining out.
So we'll link to that in theshow notes for more details
there.
And then I want you to find yourgo-to gluten-free products and
brands and as we go along onthis podcast, we'll be doing
(12:12):
some product reviews and I'll betelling you some of our
experiences with differentproducts and brands that are out
there.
Which ones are better for,let's say, we're talking about
pasta.
Which ones are better for, like, spaghetti pasta?
Which ones are better for souptype pasta?
Which brands are better forsandwiches?
Which ones are better for toast?
So we'll be going through someproduct reviews later on in this
(12:36):
podcast show.
But I want you to start testingout some gluten-free different
products.
Find ones you like, and theycan be a bit different in
texture and in a taste.
So you want to.
But there's so many varietiesout there.
There's so many differentgluten-free breads now than
(12:56):
there was when I started thisgluten-free journey, especially
in our town.
That's available and there'ssome that it's really kind of
hard to tell that they'reactually gluten-free now.
So you're going to find somethat you really love out there,
but sometimes it does take atrial and error type of
methodology and we'll try to doour best to review here on the
show.
You can also join our freeFacebook group, which we'll link
(13:18):
to as well, and ask someopinions in there.
I think crowdsourcing is agreat way to find the brands
that you like.
Also, gluten-free baking can betricky and we will be doing
quite a few YouTube videos ongluten-free baking and how to
make that successful, becauseI've definitely had some
failures in the over 12 years orso of being gluten-free.
(13:39):
So we will be doing someYouTube videos on that.
But do know that it can be alittle bit tricky and that
you're going to just have to tryit out and have some fun with
it and then, as you're goinggluten-free, just know that
there's going to be some trialand error.
Like I've alluded to severaltimes in the podcast, it just
takes some time to adjust to agluten-free lifestyle.
(14:00):
If this is completely brand newto you, and that's okay.
It's like learning to walk orlearning to ride a bike.
You know you sometimes failalong the way as you're learning
these new skills.
This is a new skill, a new wayof eating likely for you,
especially if you're brand newto the gluten-free lifestyle and
you know it's okay to make somemistakes.
(14:21):
Hopefully the tips I've givenyou, though, in this episode
help you don't make mistakesthat make you sick and you've
found a way to avoid glutenaltogether.
But when you're cooking andbaking and doing all the things
you know new gluten-free, youmight make some cooking mistakes
as far as how things turn out,and that's okay.
Just laugh it off.
(14:42):
Have some fun.
Be a detective, like I was, andlisten to the podcast and we
will help give you all kinds oftips, as well as on the YouTube
channel, and we also have lotsof great gluten-free recipes
that we are working on puttingon our website as well, so be
sure to visit that regularly,because I'm always adding some
new gluten-free recipes to thatas well.
(15:03):
Also, when you get accidentallyglutened while learning, don't
be too hard on yourself and whatI found too in the over 12
years of being and knowing I'vebeen celiac.
I've probably been celiac,honestly, all my life if I look
back at my childhood andsymptoms I had then.
But note that when you'reaccidentally glutened,
(15:23):
especially when you're celiac orgluten intolerant, you are
going to probably find in thosefirst like, say, six months or a
year of going gluten free, thata little bit of gluten might
not bother you too much.
But the more and the more andthe more your gut heals, the
more dramatic it's going to bewhen you do get that little bit
(15:45):
of gluten, which is why I stresson the podcast how careful we
really need to be, because ifwe're celiac and we get a little
bit of gluten, it damages oursystem.
No matter whether we havesymptoms or not, it does damage
our system.
So you do need to be verycareful and adamant about making
(16:06):
sure you're as gluten-free aspossible.
And I found, in those first, Iwould say, probably three or
four years of being gluten-free,I felt like a new person about
every six months.
I just felt like I was justhealing from the inside out and
feeling so much better thelonger I was gluten-free, I just
(16:26):
felt I just can't even describeit.
You can probably hear in myvoice I just felt so much better
and everybody was like, don'tyou miss gluten?
I'm like I don't miss feelingsick and not knowing why the
sickness of celiac disease cameupon me slowly over years, as
far as recognizing that I wasn'tfeeling good, because at first
(16:49):
you didn't know I wasn't feelinggood and it came over so
gradually I didn't realize untilI realized I had celiac and
started going off gluten and Istarted healing and I started
feeling better.
My gut felt better, my brainfelt better, my migraines were
disappearing, my hair was doingbetter, my nails were doing
(17:10):
better, my skin was doing better.
So many things were doingbetter the more and more.
I was off gluten.
So just know it's a process.
Know that if you accidentallyget gluten, learn from it and,
you know, work to not do thatagain.
You know, don't be so hard onyourself.
Just, you know, be diligentabout it.
Also, if you're choosing agluten-free lifestyle, and
(17:33):
whether you are or aren't, whenyou first go gluten-free, your
body may go through a detoxperiod as it heals, and so be
patient with it.
You might feel worse before youfeel better.
So just know that your body,your body, can become addicted
to things that we eat.
You know, we all know, that wecan be addicted to sugar.
(17:53):
We can be addicted to caffeine.
We can also be addicted towheat and gluten and the things
that it produces in our body.
So don't feel badly if you feelworse first.
That's pretty darn commonactually, and it should go away
within like about a month.
So some people it's only twoweeks, some people it's three or
four.
So listen to your body and justbe gentle to it and just know
(18:16):
that, especially if you'regluten, if you're celiac or
gluten intolerant, that theprocess is necessary, and just
be kind to yourself.
Give yourself some comfort foodsand drinks that are safe and
gluten-free and you know thatnice lemonade or whatever might
make you feel comforted.
And you know good to yourselfand just be good to yourself
(18:37):
when you're on this gluten-freejourney, especially if it's for
the first time.
So going gluten-free doesn'thave to be overwhelming.
First off, just go through thegrocery store and pick one item
ingredients only.
So I'm talking fruits,vegetables, meats with no
additives to it, potatoes, riceall those things with no
(18:58):
additives in it.
I'm talking just plain rice.
You don't want to get the boxrice with all the flavors in it.
Yet until you're really good atreading labels and start out
simple like that, you'reactually going to probably find
you really enjoy eating thesesimple foods again.
And there's some great brandsout there that can really make
some additive flavors to yourfoods, and we'll go over those
(19:19):
in another episode.
But there's some of my favoritebrands that we'll talk about
soon.
But focus on what you can eat,don't worry about what you can't
.
Don't focus on that.
Be thankful and focus on thethings you can eat and take it
one step at a time and in notime it will become second
nature to you, just like it isto me on being gluten-free.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of the Gluten-Free
(19:42):
Engineer.
If you found value in thisstory, please share it with
someone who might needencouragement on their own
gluten-free journey.
For more tips, recipes,resources and even links to my
YouTube channel, head on over totheglutenfreeengineercom.
It's your one-stop hub to makegluten-free living simple, fun
and full of flavor.
(20:02):
And don't forget to subscribeso you never miss out on an
episode, and we will see younext week.
The Gluten-Free Engineerpodcast is for informational and
entertainment purposes only.
I share my personal experiencesand stories about living with
celiac disease and navigating agluten-free lifestyle.
This podcast does not provide amedical advice.
(20:22):
Always consult with a qualifiedhealthcare professional for
medical questions, concerns oradvice specific to your health.
Popular Podcasts
True Crime Tonight
If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.