Foodie, but make her gluten free + dairy free
I love food – I’d even go as far as to say that food is my love language! I grew up in a family who always got together + whenever we got together, food was ALWAYS involved. Holidays, birthdays + celebrations were spent surrounded by family + food. To put it into perspective for you, on Thanksgiving my family made 9 types of pies + desserts even though there were only 12 of us who attended. If that doesn’t show you how much we all love food, then I’m not sure what will!
There’s a running joke in my family that you never have to tell us twice that food is ready – usually you can find us first in line after the proverbial dinner bell is rung. So after spending the first 2/3 of my life eating all the things that are good + holy, you can imagine the shock + horror my mind + body experienced when I found out I had developed food allergies!
When I discovered my gluten allergy, I was finishing up my last year of grad school in Stillwater, OK (read: my diet consisted of Kraft Mac & Cheese, Ramen Noodles, PB+J sandwiches, + rice). In case you’re wondering, the only food items I could still eat from that list after going GF was rice + PB+J sans bread.
When I found out I couldn’t eat dairy any more in March of 2019, I cried for two weeks. I remember my husband telling me “Just don’t eat dairy.” (Yes, he’s still alive + we’re still [happily] married.) I stopped crying long enough to explain to him that it would be like him finding out he could never eat steak again for the rest of his life. This got through to him I think (or maybe it was the daggers coming from my tear-filled eyes) because he’s never again told me “Just don’t eat dairy”.
With each allergy, I realized how difficult this lifestyle change would be + panic started to creep in. “Can I really do this?” “I mean, does this food actually make me sick?” “Maybe I could just deal with the pain – it’s probably all in my head anyways…” More than likely, this is not in your head! Proof – I would take a Lactaid so I could eat GF pizza how God intended it to be eaten (with cheese!). I did this in protest until I started developing a rash across my face, neck, + chest. Spoiler alert: it’s NOT worth it.
If you’ve felt this way, or if you’re experiencing this right now, I FEEL for you, + I’m so sorry! Keep advocating for yourself + get the help you need. I’d be lying to you if I said the transition is an easy one, but you DESERVE to feel better! I’ve been GF for 8.5 years + DF for 2 years. I know every person’s story is different, but each time I made the lifestyle change, my quality of life drastically improved!
Thanks for taking the time to get to know a little more about my story + how I came to be GF/DF. I hope I can be a resource for you – just because us foodies have allergies doesn’t mean we can’t eat yummy food!
