The first day of the rest of my life, literally!

The title of this first post can’t be understated, because being diagnosed Coeliac is just that, the first day of the rest of my life.  Getting the diagnoses was a blessing and a relief, it suddenly explained so many things.  I used to listen to GP’s who would go on at me that all my issues were down to my weight, that I had IBS, that only I was to blame.  I have grown up a lot over the past few years, from being a day dreaming gamer to working in healthcare and seeing the things the human body can do to itself and it started me thinking that maybe I was to blame, but not in the way it turned out to be.

You see, Coeliac disease is an auto-immune disease, it is my body attacking something that it shouldn’t.  In the couple of months since my diagnoses I have read and digested so much information on the condition, and I am amazed at one staggering fact, most healthcare professionals have little or no clue about Coeliac disease (I have overheard people stating that it is an allergy and promptly corrected them several times now!).  There is no cure for this, the only thing that someone can do to make things better is to remove the offending item, gluten, from their diet.  Now this is the kicker, there is no ‘I’ll just have a little bit’ because when you do that, all the symptoms will just flair up, so the only option is to remove it completely.  This can be easier said than done if like me, you live a fast paced life and like to cheat when it comes to food.

I would challenge anyone who wasn’t Coeliac to go into their local supermarket and do a shop for just a couple of days that was gluten free.  I know the first time I did it I could not believe just how many items on the shelves contain gluten, it was truly mind blowing!  I would also challenge them to make a meal that was gluten free, but did not use any shop bought processed foodstuffs, its not as easy as it sounds.  What makes it even more of a challenge is making a meal for a few people that is gluten free, but unless the people were told, they would think it was just like any meal, and this is the kicker, and one reason I started this blog.

Being gluten free without paying out a small fortune each time you head to the shops is actually really easy, as long as you know what your doing.  My household shopping bill is actually dropping, in part because we no longer buy lots of processed, off the shelf food.  This doesn’t mean I don’t buy some things that are processed and gluten free, but I do now cook a lot more from scratch, and have started experimenting with making some of the gluten free foods that I see in the free from sections in the shops.  The biggest secret is that if you can make the meals yourself, you know they are gluten free, and if like me you love cooking and experimenting, you can come up with some fantastic food that even people without Coeliac disease will really enjoy as well.

So, here it is, the first day of the rest of my life, and I will keep posting my experiences here, including all the yummy recipes that I come up with along the way.

The Coeliac Gamer