I understand that it can be a big deal to give up gluten. I am here to help you with your quest for better health by eating gluten free.

The first step is to understand what contains gluten. Anything made out of flour (white or whole wheat), like bread, pasta, pastries, crackers, and many cereals. Rye, spelt, and barley also contain gluten. Oats may be contaminated with gluten – so make sure they say “gluten free.”

For more details, please refer to my blog posting titled: What is Gluten and Why is Gluten an Issue? as well as this article published at Experience Life in which I was interviewed about gluten (and the leaky gut that it causes).

So what are you going to eat instead?
You CAN eat rice, corn, potato, quinoa, millet, meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and beans (that is, unless you are allergic, intolerant, or if they don’t work for your blood type).

While it can be hard to imagine at first, after eating gluten free for over a year, I find that there are so many gluten free foods to choose from. Watch those labels on packages carefully! Make sure it says, “gluten free” and at restaurants, be sure to tell your server that you are eating gluten free. See my guidelines for eating out below.

I post information on tasty gluten free foods on Twitter http://twitter.com/glutenfreedoc and on Pinterest. Please do join me there.

Your diet will start to look like this…

• Breakfast: Rice, pea, and/or hemp protein shake with flax oil and Proberry extract
• 2nd Breakfast: Egg and hash browns OR turkey bacon with spinach – check out my blog post called “what’s for breakfast“
• Lunch: Arugula salad with grilled chicken
• 2nd lunch: Hummus with carrots and/or rice crackers
• Dinner: Free-range ground beef or turkey seasoned for tacos with corn taco shell plus your choice of toppings OR wild salmon with sautéed greens and coconut rice
• 2nd dinner: A slice or two of free range rotisserie chicken with a few grapes OR frozen blueberries with nuts or nut butter

Here are my favorite products and resources:

• The Stress Remedy Shake: dairy and gluten free pea protein available in 3 flavors – order here
• Mediclear Plus: rice & pea protein shake – order here
• Delicious gluten free millet bread at both delandbakery.com  and samisbakery.com
• Frozen Chicken Soup with Rice Noodles by Kettle Cuisine
• Frozen gluten free Breaded Chicken Breast by Bell and Evans
• Nut-thins by Blue Diamond
• Brown rice pasta by Tinkyada
• Pancake & Waffle Mix by Pamela’s Products
• Silvana’s gluten-free flour, mixes and blog with recipes
• Fruit and nut bars from LaraBars
• MariposaBakery.com in San Francisco, which is an entirely gluten-free bakery that ships
• Gluten-Free Cookbooks

Guidelines for eating out:

1. Find a gluten free restaurant here: www.glutenfreerestaurants.org
2. Call ahead to speak with the chef and find out what items on the menu are gluten free
3. Gluten often hides in creamy soups, sauces, gravy and breading
4. Aim for this type of menu item: salmon/chicken with rice and vegetables

Your first gluten free shopping trip:
Before you head out to the store, you might want to watch this video. With the help of my sister and niece, I will guide you through the grocery store and show you what to look for on labels.

Find out more how I can help you with gluten-free shopping below.

Success Tips:
I want you to be successful eating gluten-free.

That’s exactly why I created the Stress Remedy Programs to support you with this major change. Find out more here how you can receive a guidebook, meal plan, recipes, shopping list, and daily email tips for 3 weeks to help you to be successful.

I also recommend these three blog posts for helping you create a successful strategy:

• 5 Success tips for avoiding food sensitivities
• 4 Tips for going gluten free from Christina’s story
• What is leaky gut? (and how to heal it)

Please do reach out if you have questions. Feel free to post your comments below.

Before you know it, I think you will find that you won’t even miss that stuff…what is it called?…that starts with a “G.”  ; )