Breaking Bread, er, ME?!

The first day that Josh and I had off and could go shopping for specific 'gluten-free' stuff was not one of my proudest moments.   Trader Joe's was the first stop of the day.  Up to this moment, I still had yet to really dig into what I needed to change (ESPECIALLY in regards to the food part), so I wasn't really prepared to select... nor was I prepared to go through what came next.

I stepped into the store and Josh said, "go shop".  I just stood there... in the way of the front doors... and froze.  I had no idea where to start, what to look for, who to ask.  I feel the bump of the cart on my bum and off we went. We came to the bread first, which since I LOVE sammiches, this was one of the first things I wanted to buy.

$8.00?!?! For THIS?!?! This skinny, heavy, thin, 2x4 piece of... WHEEL CHOCK?!?! 

I don't THINK so!!  Back on the shelf it flew.

We continued our journey... then 30 minutes later and an entire lap around the store, we learned of the orange sticker.  This little gem is placed under every item that is GF.  It would have been nice to have known that before now!  Now to start over.

Josh was a little frustrated.  I was more than frustrated and the store was getting too busy for indecisive Ms. Jen.  As we were rounding the aisle to return to the beginning, I was pointed in the direction of a packet of papers that, in my case, is specific to Celiac Disease (which is stored in a file at the front of the store for anyone to grab with any food allergy) that would help us navigate the store. 

I started reading it and then it happened... I had a melt down... in front of everyone.  The information was too much.  The aimless wandering was too much. The prices were WAY outside of what we were used to paying and we REALLY needed to stick to our little food budget.  This wasn't happening. Josh took the ONE item that laid in the cart and put it back on a shelf, returned the cart, and we left.  I was ticked and emotional. Josh was frustrated with me. It was a COMPLETE bust!

One of the things I've learned throughout my experience is that you can't try to eat what you're used to without much research, planning, patience, and practice.  Not only is it not the most healthy for you (anything processed has risks to inflict damage to your waistline), it's not something you should worry about right away.  THE most important thing (in my opinion) to do is eliminate everything (including sauces, spice mixes, dressings, beverages) but fruits, vegetables, and fresh meat, until you have the time to investigate EVERYTHING that goes into that mouth of yours! 

And, that's not all!  In a later post, I'll tell you about all of the other things you have to take into consideration when cutting ALL of the gluten.

Since it's a new year and tax season is upon us, I wanted to share something that I just discovered.  You can write off the difference in GF foods to the regular food and write it off on your taxes!  It's going to take dedication and patience but you can save $$$ in the long run!