What Is It Really Like to Be Gluten-Free?

If you’ve always been curious what it’s like to eat and live gluten-free, this post is for you. While you might think that going gluten-free means that your diet is now boring and limited, that’s not the case at all. We’re passionate about the foods you can eat as well as the health benefits of a gluten-free diet. 

Food Philosophy

Our food philosophy is to eat real, natural and nourishing whole food. Produce that comes out of the ground is incredibly good for you as it's nutritiously richer. Plus, so much of it is gluten-free. You can eat as many fruits and vegetables as you like and there will be gluten in them! And by avoiding packaged and processed foods not only do you avoid gluten, but you also significantly improve your overall diet. You become more aware of packaging labels what they may hide! 

Food Variety

Gluten-free foods come in a huge variety, allowing you to mix up what you eat each and every day. Every meal we try to include a non-starchy vegetable such as spinach or broccoli, a high-quality protein such as eggs, meat, or beans, and a healthy fat such as avocado or olive oil. As for carbohydrates, we prefer whole food sources like berries or sweet potatoes but of course have those smashed avocados on gluten-free breads from time to time :) By eating this way we ensure that we get all the nutrients we need, but we also control our blood sugar and encourage long-term health benefits.

Why We Love Gluten-Free

There are many reasons to love a gluten-free diet. First, it’s improved our digestion. For many people, gluten is hard on your gut. By taking it out of our diet, we’ve experienced less bloating and fewer constipation issues. Eating gluten-free has also helped us feel better emotionally. We believe your gut is your second brain. Its health affects your emotions. If you want to know about your gut consider reading the book by Giulia Enders "Gut". 

Gluten-Free Challenges

Eating gluten-free isn’t always easy especially in the beginning and when we eat out at restaurants. Too often, waiters don’t take our requests seriously, or menus don’t have a lot of great options. However, the good news is that awareness of the gluten-free lifestyle is spreading, so it’s getting easier to eat out and still eat gluten-free. Even places like Pizza Express have a wide variety of gluten-free options :)

Transitioning to Gluten-Free

So, how did we make the transition to gluten-free? Carefully! The best place to start is with all-natural, real food. Try filling your plate with veggies, proteins, and fats that are found in nature. Once you do that, you’re already most of the way to a gluten-free diet. And, when you want something like pizza or a delicious cookie, just look for healthier, whole food varieties like our Spirit Lifters Cookies! 

Sample Gluten-Free Day

What does it look like to eat a day completely gluten-free? It looks delicious!

• Breakfast: A berry smoothie with spinach, avocado, coconut milk, cinnamon, and pea protein. Or Superfood Bakery Morning Dreamers Pancakes :)
• Lunch: A three-egg omelet with avocado and kimchi
• Dinner: A large chicken breast with a side of steamed veggies. And maybe some Spirit Lifters cookies for dessert!