When I went gluten-free, there was little awareness about gluten-free foods in Germany, where I live. Some supermarkets offered ready-to-eat products like bread and biscuits, but eating out at a restaurant, for example, was a nightmare. For me, that meant, educating myself about gluten, giving all the ingredients in my kitchen a critical lookover and introspecting about my diet choices – a lot.
Starting a gluten-free diet can be tricky, but the key is to keep things easy.
If you’re intrigued by the gluten-free lifestyle and wondering if it might be right for you, you’re not alone. Whether driven by medical necessity or a desire for potential health benefits, starting a gluten-free diet can be tricky.
The key is to keep things easy. Don’t get super ambitious and be nice to yourself when you slip up. Going off your favorite gluten-based foods can be difficult. Above all, as they say in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, “Don’t panic.” This simple five-step guide will help kickstart your gluten-free journey, helping you navigate this dietary change with confidence and clarity.
1. Do some soul-searching
Okay, “soul-searching” is probably taking it too far, but it feels like that because people like me who suffer from celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) constantly evaluate our food choices and their effects on our bodies. But regardless of whether you have been diagnosed with some kind of gluten intolerance or you’re just curious, it’s a good idea to figure out your motivations and prepare for the challenges that come up when you decide to adopt a gluten-free diet.
Before you start though, check with your doctor to find out whether it’s okay for you to go on a gluten-free diet and make sure it does not pose any health risks.
- Why do you want to go on a gluten-free diet? As I wrote earlier, people with celiac’s or NCGS must adopt the gluten-free diet if they want to rein in their symptoms, but many are adopting the diet despite having no medical conditions related to gluten. What are your reasons for adopting the gluten-free diet? How do you think you will benefit? What is gluten, you may be asking. If that’s the case, scroll down to 2. Educate yourself and come back here once you’ve read that.
- Do you have any other food allergies or intolerances (nut allergies, lactose intolerance etc.) that you would need to take into account while embarking on a gluten-free diet? Are you vegan/vegetarian?
- What do you love eating? What will you miss when you eat gluten-free food? List your favorite foods and find gluten-free options for either buying or cooking them.
- How much can you spend on food? Gluten-free products like bread and cookies can be quite expensive. Get clear on how much money you can spend on buying ready-to-eat food. Also, look into easy recipes, naturally gluten-free produce and groceries that you can cook at home.
- Do you like cooking? Gluten-free dishes are best cooked at home. They’re safer and more nutritious. Do you cook or does the thought of it make you nervous? Cooking can be fun and super easy, if you start the right way.
- What would it mean for you and your family? If you’ve been diagnosed with celiac’s disease, chances are you will have to set up a separate kitchen space to avoid cross-contamination (if you’re living with your family or have a shared kitchen). Gluten-free eating also means you will either have to cook your meals separately until you can enlist your family to eat and cook delicious gluten-free meals with you (that’s quite easy, really!).
- How would it affect your lifestyle? If you’re someone like me who loves eating out, then your gluten-free diet could pose some problems. Many restaurants and takeaways offer gluten-free options, but there is still the danger of cross-contamination and definitions of gluten-free can be varied.
Figure out your motivations and prepare for the challenges that come up when you decide to adopt a gluten-free diet.
2. Educate yourself
I had very little clue about gluten and only found out my stomach cramps and asthma were a result of ingesting wheat, when I decided to go on a paleo diet (to lose weight, actually). As it turned out, my symptoms vanished after removing bread and all wheat products from my diet. It was like a miracle! After confirming my intolerance and symptoms with my doctor, I began learning all about gluten, the symptoms it could cause and about the gluten-free diet from scratch. Here are some important points you’ll need to inform yourself about.
- What is gluten? Gluten is a type of protein found in certain grains, particularly wheat, barley, and rye. It’s what gives dough its elasticity and helps bread to rise. When flour is mixed with water, gluten forms a sticky network that traps air bubbles produced by yeast or baking powder, resulting in the characteristic texture of bread and other baked goods. Read more about gluten here.
- Is gluten harmful? While gluten is harmless for most people, it can cause discomfort for those with certain medical conditions. One of the most well-known of these conditions is celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder in which the body reacts negatively to gluten, damaging the lining of the small intestine. In addition to celiac disease, some individuals may experience non-celiac gluten sensitivity, a condition characterized by symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain, and fatigue after consuming gluten-containing foods. While the exact cause of non-celiac gluten sensitivity is not fully understood, it is believed to involve a combination of genetic, environmental, and immune factors. Read more about gluten intolerance here.
- I also recommend reading Dr. David Perlmutter’s The Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs and Sugar. Dr. Perlmutter is a neurologist and has written several books on the gluten-free diet. His ideas may seem revolutionary to those of us who have been raised on a wheat-based diet, because he advocates the gluten-free diet for everyone, not just for those suffering from celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity. There’s also The Grain Brain Cookbook that I wrote about some time back. Check my review here. This brings me to step two.
3. Clear out your pantry
To be clear: this does not mean throwing out everything you have in your pantry. Rather, it means taking a good look at your food stores, getting rid of gluten-containing foodstuffs (wheat flour, biscuits, wafers etc.) and keeping the naturally gluten-free stuff (rice, lentils, vegetables, for example, have no gluten). Check this list of sources of gluten, if in doubt.
Here’s a list of gluten-containing ingredients you would find in a regular pantry:
- Pastas and noodles
- Flour: whole wheat flour, self-raising flour, spelt, semolina, rye, barley, malt, cake mixes
- Bulgur and couscous
- Baked goods: Breads, cakes, pastries, brownies, pizza and pie crusts
- Breakfast cereals: oats (check if gluten-free), muesli, cornflakes, rice puffs (could contain wheat), granola bars
- Biscuits, cookies, crackers, waffles
- Ready-to-eat desserts
- Wheat starch/cornflour, brewer’s yeast
- Sauces, vinegars, salad dressings (check labels to see if they’re gluten-free)
- Beer
- Panko mixes (breadcrumbs), croutons
4. Restock with gluten-free options
This step works best once you’ve figured out how much you’re going to cook and how much you want to buy in terms of ready-to-eat food. It also depends on the kind of food you want to eat. For example, if you’re a breakfast cereal – sandwiches – salad kind of person, you may want to stock up on gluten-free oats, cereal, bread and vegetables. If you prefer Asian food and love cooking, you may want to stock up on rice, lentils and so on.
This list of gluten-free pantry staples will help you stock basic supplies
If you’re unclear about your eating habits and want a general idea about how to stock your pantry, read this gluten-free pantry staples list and buy accordingly.
Always, always check for potential allergies (peanut, almond) and other intolerances (lactose) before you buy your supplies.
5. Create meal plans and follow them
Meal plans are great if you want to consistently cook nutritious food at home. And they can be versatile! Here are some steps for easing into an eat-at-home/cooking routine without having to obsess too much about food.
- Make a selection of two to three cereal mixes you can have for breakfast for a week (Monday – Sunday). You could also vary with eggs and toast.
- Keep a selection of gluten-free foods for snacking (nuts, fruit, berries, gluten-free crackers or granola bars, rice/corn wafers, yoghurt)
- Make a plan with recipes for dinner from Sunday through Saturday (or whichever days work). Make extra/double portions and use the previous night’s dinner as lunch the next day or freeze for another time.
- Keep some emergency food/meal ideas handy. Sometimes, you’re in a hurry, starving or simply not in the mood to cook despite having a meal plan in place. For such instances, keep some supplies handy, like gluten-free sandwich bread, eggs, yoghurt, pasta, gluten-free pesto, cheese, potatoes, salad and vegetables that you can quickly whip up into a delicious meal.
That’s it! Start your gluten-free journey with these five simple steps and get rid of all the health and food-related stress. And remember: the key is to keep it easy.
Hi, I’m Manasi, owner of Food for Normal People, and a journalist and nutritionist-in-training. Do you have any questions related to starting a gluten-free diet? Write in the comments and I’ll get back to you!
Please note: this post is not intended to substitute medical advice. Please consult your doctor before starting a gluten-free diet and check with them about possible side-effects.