Learning to Live Gluten Free

... and Dairy... and Soy.

In recent months I've had to change my diet to exclude anything with gluten, dairy and soy. These days there's a brighter array of colors on my plate as I load up with lean meats and more vegetables and fruit. Until I find a gluten/dairy free bread with no traces of soy, my sandwiches will look more like salads. Snacks are fruit and nuts, and with cheese and yoghurt gone, water has become my best friend, both cold and boiled. A little boring? Sometimes.

When my daughter comes home from her part time job in a local bakery, I can only draw deep sugar laden breaths and watch as my family enjoy hot cross buns and fresh bread sticks with butter. I have been known to ask for full descriptions of taste and sensations as my loved ones dive into donuts and make faces at me with stuffed cheeks and sad lips. 

But it's not all bad. Weight loss has soothed the loss of favourite foods, and the absence of migraines is the greatest reward so far. It's like finding treasure to have these huge pieces of my dietary puzzle sorted. While I would love to lose myself in a frothy cappuccino with at least one Tim Tam, I'm blessed to now know what I can and cannot eat and the memory of a summer of headaches is still vivid enough to keep me from reaching for the foods I know will tip me back into ill health.

So I raise my cup of peppermint tea and toast this new chapter in my health. Here's to headache free days!