Tips for Beginners                             (back to New To Gluten-free)

A few words of encouragement...
The key to the "gluten-free lifestyle" is adjustment.

There are loads of delicious gluten-free foods. You'll find the ones that you enjoy.

A new way of eating can be overwhelming, time-consuming, confusing, and restrictive... Be patient with yourself and ask for help!

This is an adjustment.
You have to learn about safe foods.

You have to figure out where to buy the foods you like - which foods are safe, which new foods are comfortable for digestion and good energy. (Chances are, some will be, and some will not be...)
You have to know how to manage when you are cooking/eating with others, and how to deal with food when you are not at home.

There is a lot of information available and each person figures out what to what works for his or her life.
You can browse books at the library or bookstore, read online info, signup for e-newsletters, find discussions, or join a support group in your area.

1-Learn
1. Safe / Not Safe Foods 
2. How to read labels
3. Where to buy food 
4. How to prepare safe food (cross-contamination, cooking near gluten)

TIPS
* Figure out which food you already eat that is GF ! 
* Use Food Lists to find new GF foods- books & magazines, websites.

2-Buy
1. Order online items. 
2. Supermarket - Ask a manager for the Gluten-free section. 
3. Help for shopping: to know what to buy
Use online food lists, books, magazines. 
Bookstores - books, cookbooks, magazines. Browse for free! 

TIPS
* Get a book or list to bring to the supermarket.
* Use the gluten-free websites to find products to get locally. (Not all gluten-free products are labeled, so there is some hunting to do.)
* Always use recent lists. Manufacturers do change ingredients.

3-Cook  
 1. Cookbooks and recipes - Internet a bookstores. 
2. Adapting recipes - works for some and not for others.
3. Cross-contamination: If you are working in a gluten-free kitchen, 
you have an advantage. Avoiding cross-contamination is important.
You must focus to insure safe preparation. 
There are tips and techniques to help. 
4. Do simple food at first, to adapt carefully. Skip complicated, long lists of ingredients. The idea is to include only safe foods. 
Loading up on ingredients to check tedious, and mistakes are more likely to occur. If you want a challenge, create phenomenal meals using a new product or new ingredient or two. 

Tips for Beginners - Keep it SIMPLE!
The first goal is to know what you can eat. 
What is gluten-free?
Check some web sites. Learn a few basics. 

Watch a video, look at lists, get an understanding of what has 
been happening in your body and what is safe.

TIP 1 - Limit your food choices - Choose from simple items you like. 
All processed food is SUSPECT and is more complicated to use.

* Naturally safe when plain: 
corn, rice, potato, beans, fruit and vegetables, meat, eggs. 

* Gluten-free brands of yogurt and cheese, if you can digest them.

* Gluten-free soups, frozen meals, packaged meals. Examples are: Amy's, Imagine soups (certain flavors), Lundberg Risotto,

Note: Check labels carefully, even for organic foods! Remember that wheat is a natural or "organic" food!

*Some products are available as both gluten-free and regular. Packaging may be similar! Read labels carefully!   

Gluten is hidden in ingredients under various names and is VERY easy to miss, 
as you read lists and labels. 
Pay attention to what works and does not for you. Do not add a lot of things to your diets all at once, so you can see that foods agree with you.

This is a time when you are extremely vulnerable to mistakes with unsafe food. 
Add new foods slowly, as you become knowledgable. 

TIP 2 - Get a book (or print a list) to help with shopping. 
Cecelia's GF Grocery Shopping Guide
The Ultimate Guide to Gluten-Free Living

TIP 3 - When in doubt, leave it out! It is better to NOT EAT than to eat unsafe food. If you are not sure something is gluten-free, SKIP IT. 

Remind yourself that this is your path to health. Your health is worth it.
There is fun to be had in trying new foods, experimenting, meeting and sharing the challenge of the gluten-free lifestyle with others.

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