Gluten Free Update: Day 4

This is the start of Gluten Free Day 4, and things are going ok so far. I don’t feel insanely hungry, but I do feel like my belt is a bit looser.

My breakfasts – admittedly a meal I don’t normally eat – have been hard-boiled eggs. My lunches have centered around salads with full fat dressings (Cindy’s Kitchen Sugar free Rosemary and Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette and Asiago and Cracked Peppercorn – both Gluten Free). Dinner on Day 1 was grilled chicken, Day 2 was chili (with sour cream and cheese), and Day 3 was sashimi (sushi that is just the fish, no rice). So far, so good – all normal, easy to find items that I genuinely enjoy.

I’m learning that steering clear of gluten is still pretty challenging. For example, I think I may have erred with my sushi order when I included some balsamic and soy glazed vegetables – some soy sauce has wheat in it. Several times I’ve picked up a seemingly innocuous product only to check the ingredients and put it down. I’ve heard that sometimes shredded cheese even contains wheat, used to powder the cheese to keep it from sticking. I’ve also learned that a lot of products don’t say they are Gluten Free (a costly certification process), but they will list wheat on the back on the box, as it is a major allergen. Check it out – at the end of the ingredients it will say something like: “Contains: Milk, Soy, Wheat.”

The big thing with this diet is that I keep getting steered back into fresh, unprocessed foods, and foods that I cook myself. Nothing wrong with this, but what’s going to happen when I try to go out to eat in the non-gluten free world?

The thing I miss the most right now is my nightly bowl of Brigham’s Ice Cream. I didn’t realize how much I looked forward to it until it became forbidden. And so, I tried my first “substitute” product, pictured above – Arctic Zero. This is an all natural ice cream substitute, very low in carbs and calories, fat-free and gluten-free. I tried both the Vanilla Maple flavor and the Chocolate Peanut Butter…and I really wished I had my Brigham’s back. For what it is (150 calories in an entire pint!), Arctic Zero is a valiant effort, but I’m going to try out some other dessert options before I stick with this one. For now, a few pieces of Green & Black 72% dark chocolate is a much more palatable gluten-free snack.

The next challenge – what to eat during the Super Bowl when the rest of the room could be eating chips and pizza. So far the plan is guacamole with dried vegetable chips (or carrot sticks) and chicken wings. Doesn’t sound too bad!