A gluten free journal

I often hear "Coping with a gluten free diet must be difficult! What do you eat each day?" In order to answer I decided to document a typical day.

Early morning

With a new puppy and an old dog in the house, mornings start early! Skye wakes up and starts whining at around 6.00am. To avoid having to clear up puddles I decide it is time to get up. After their potty break, I get them their breakfast. Although their food is gluten free I'm still careful to use a cup to scoop it out of the bag and to wash my hands afterwards. Then we go off for our morning walk. I love this time of day, when no-one else is around and the roads are empty.

Breakfast

After checking my email and doing a little web surfing it's time for my breakfast. As the morning has started off being quite chilly I settle on nice, warming, gram flour pancakes served with natural yoghurt. I take the first one up to my husband, still snug in bed, then make two for myself. There is a little mixture left so I pour it into a lidded jug, so nothing can fall into the mixture, and pop it into the fridge, to cook later as a snack.

After breakfast I head back to the computer to work. I work from home as a needlework designer.

Mid Morning

Feeling a little peckish I pop out to the kitchen. I wash an apple under the running tap, wipe it dry and enjoy it as an on-the-go snack. I feel safer washing my fruit in case in has come into contact with anything that could cause me problems.

Midday

I give the puppy her midday meal and then it's time to take my son to work. He is the chef in a nearby pub and keeps unusual hours. I probably won't see him again until tomorrow morning.

Lunchtime

Back home, I cook up a quick gluten free pasta recipe for lunch and serve it with fresh tomato wedges.

Afternoon

Before driving off to see a client, I pack a carton of orange juice, another washed apple and a packet of Walkers ready salted potato crisps into my snack box.

This travels with me everywhere when I leave the house and everyone else knows never to use it for foods I cannot eat. If things don't go to plan and I am out longer than I had intended I like to know that there is something safe to eat at hand. I do not want to endure the torture of being trapped in a six hour traffic jam on the motorway with nothing to sustain me, ever again! My husband can get annoyed when I start my preparations for an outing. "Always thinking of your stomach" he'll say. Of course if he gets hungry whilst travelling he can just stop at a garage and grab a sandwich!

The trip passes uneventfully and I leave the snack box, unopened, in the car for tomorrow.

Evening

On the spur of the moment we decide to pop down to the pub where my son works for our evening meal. It's very handy having a son who is a chef!

He knows how to deal with my diet and ensures that the grill is covered with tin foil before he starts grilling my steak. Onions and mushrooms are fried in vegetable oil, in a clean frying pan and the meal is served with boiled new potatoes and peas. My husband takes the opportunity to tuck into a steak and kidney pudding, followed by apple pie. He washes his meal down with a pint of beer, whilst I enjoy a glass of wine. I must remember not to kiss him until he has cleaned his teeth or I may get sick.

Before Bed

After spending the rest of the evening watching TV I remember the batter mixture in the fridge and make myself another pancake for supper. I take some chicken breasts out of the freezer to thaw out for the next day and head for bed.

Summary

Having been on the diet for many years (more than I care to remember), a lot of my daily routine is now second nature to me.

If you are just starting your gluten free adventure try to think of it as helping you to become a healthy, happy person. It is easy to feel deprived and depressed whilst you are learning the ropes. With a positive outlook, you can concentrate on the benefits and feeling well rather than pining over foods that you need to avoid.