Eat

My Gluten-Free Month: A Strangely Worthwhile Experiment

About a month ago, I put up this post, in which I talked about how Kendrick and I had decided to try being gluten-free for a month (him for health reasons, me to be supportive because it’s hard to make a major dietary change, and even harder when you’re doing it all on your own). It was an interesting experiment, but not exactly for the reasons I thought it would be.

The thing is, gluten isn’t “bad” for you. I knew this going in; of course – while some people legitimately suffer from diseases (such as celiac, or certain autoimmune diseases) that are exacerbated by the presence of gluten in their diet – gluten itself isn’t the enemy, as much as the companies who are profiting off of gluten-free everythings (which, as an aside, are HOLY expensive) would like you to believe that it is. That said, I’m pretty sure we as a population eat too much of the stuff. I’m definitely sure that I do. Because pasta is delicious.

Before we go on: to say I was 100% gluten-free over the past month would be oh, such a lie. I can’t tell you how many times I slipped up, just because I’m so used to picking at my kids’ food completely mindlessly, and nearly every day – at least in the beginning – I had a bite of my daughter’s macaroni and cheese or a piece of tempura in my mouth before I even realized it. But this mindlessness that I have towards food extends beyond plucking from my kids’ plates; over the past few years I’ve given so little thought to what I eat on a daily basis that all of a sudden having cause to give it even a second of my attention was a dramatic shift…and the effect that this ended up having was actually kind of…cool.

Banana chia smoothie with mango

Some examples of my diet over the past month (from the food diary I kept in my iPhone so that I could be all rigorous and persnickety about this post):

Breakfast:

  • Greek yogurt with honey
  • Smoothie with banana, avocado, hemp seeds, spinach, mixed berries and almond milk
  • Smoothie with mango, banana, chia seeds, spinach, kale, and almond milk

Lunch: 

  • Chicken salad with fresh fruit
  • Eel-avocado roll (with gluten-free soy sauce when I remembered to ask for it)
  • Avocado and cheddar omelette

Dinner:

  • Turkey chili over heritage grains
  • Chicken with artichokes and onions over riced cauliflower
  • Steak, bean and avocado wraps in corn tortillas

Snacks:

  • Hard boiled egg
  • Gouda cheese
  • Fruit

Now, I have no idea if this is technically a “healthy” diet (and I’m sure I’ll get comments to that effect), but for me? This is INSANITY. My usual approach to food is utter thoughtlessness mixed with a dash of French Fries. I’ve always taken a kind of obnoxious pride in my refusal to eat well; I have no idea why what amounts to a disinterest in self-care would make me proud, but I suspect it stems from a contrary streak that I can date back to when my father insisted I learn about this “Internet” thing and I was all “GOD DAD LIKE THAT WILL EVER MATTER.”

Anyway, consider my lesson learned. Because I’ve discovered that not only “can” I eat well…I kind of…like it (ssh).

Riced cauliflower salad with cucumber and edamame

What was especially interesting to me was that once I started paying attention to how I ate, it wasn’t even about gluten, exactly. Riced cauliflower, for example (pictured above; it’s the stuff that looks like…rice), is no more “gluten-free” than actual rice…so why did I choose it? Because once I stopped for a minute to think rather than just blindly going for what I was used to grabbing from the supermarket shelves, I realized that I don’t especially prefer rice to cauliflower; in fact, it’s kind of the opposite. That little pause I took before just doing what I’ve always done freed me up to think about what I actually wanted. And beyond that, what might feel good to put in my body.

And now – and this is so weird, you guys – even though I’m eating gluten again (and so is Kendrick; he didn’t notice any change and his doctor gave him the okay), I’m still finding myself sprinkling hemp seeds over salads. I made brownies with black beans the other day. I own chia seeds; they’re right there in my refrigerator, staring at me and asking me to put them in things. WHAT.

Gluten is something I want in my diet because…well, because I like it, and there’s literally no reason for me not to have it, and because to me a trip to a diner isn’t complete without a bagel with lox and a walk down a New York City street is made infinitely better by the presence of a slice of pizza. But this month showed me how often I reached for gluten-based products to the exclusion of other things that are both better for me and that I actually prefer.

(I’m a little annoyed with myself, just so you know: the kind of person who sprinkles hemp seeds – or even knows what the damn things are – is not a person I have ever aspired to be.)

(But I’m also kind of proud.)

(Ugh, health.)

Images: 1; 2; 3

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