HATE Gluten Free Bread or the Gluten Free Diet? Here's a mindset shift for you!

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content:

Ok, I know, I know, being diagnosed with coeliac disease sucks.

You have to change your diet for the rest of your life…… and say goodbye to lots of your favourite foods.

But today I’m going to offer you an opportunity for a mindset shift, especially if you’re a person who doesn’t like the "taste" of gluten free foods.

I’m Kristina Richardson, the Coeliac Disease Dietitian and today’s video is a short one, but we’re going to take a little dive into those negative feelings you might be having about the gluten free diet.

So I hear a lot of people who have just been diagnosed with coeliac disease, talking about gluten free bread - and even just gluten free food in general - tasting like “cardboard”, saying how much they miss having normal bread, and even sometimes that they just can’t enjoy food anymore.

So let’s just focus on the issue of bread, which is probably the biggest bug-bear of newly gluten free people.

First of all, let me say, yes - I get it.

Gluten free bread is NOT the same as wheat bread and there are very good reasons for that. It’s not as fluffy, it’s not as chewy, it doesn’t seem to last as long etc etc.

But although I get it, I understand and I’ve been there and I’m not trying to discount anyone’s feelings or experience…. I just wanted to provide you with a chance to shift your mindset around this idea that gluten free food is terrible, because, you know what - it’s really not!

In fact, I actually don’t think that gluten free bread is that bad!

When I was first diagnosed, the thing I was most disappointed about was the SIZE. I mean, a gluten free sandwich, when you’re used to a normal one, can, at first, look a little bit.... pathetic.

BUT I never really found the taste or texture of gluten free bread to be that bad!

And you know what, when I was first diagnosed, it was actually just a total NOVELTY and a real treat to even get gluten free bread at a cafe or restaurant.

Usually I’d just have to order bacon and eggs with no bread, or omelette with no bread, eggs bene with no bread. 😩

Nowadays, I can’t even REMEMBER the last time I was told there wasn’t a gluten free bread option with breakfast. It’s just the norm.

So, maybe that played a little bit into my current appreciation for gluten free bread, and being catered for. Because in my opinion (and I’m guessing quite a lot of other people’s opinion) gluten free bread is a hell of a lot better than no bread!

So still to this day I actually really LIKE most of the gluten free breads I buy on a regular basis. Aldi have a really good one, Coles have several good options and one of my all-time favourites for making toast is just a cheap Woolies home brand one.

Now you might think - well it’s all very good to be you, but that’s not me.

But what if ALL the options you had were all of a sudden taken away from you, and you had no bread to choose from at all?

Let’s just think about that for a moment.... (!!!)

Now DO I admit there are some gluten free breads that can taste a bit like a dry washing up sponge, but generally those are ones that aren’t the best quality or have been on the shelf a little too long and gone a bit stale....

But SO many others are really quite good when you get them nice and fresh.

And they’re getting better all the time!

I have certain brands that I LOVE for making nice fresh, soft sandwiches.

I have other ones that I really love to toast and have just with a bit of melted butter…

And you know what I’ve actually made some really, really good toasties with gluten free bread.

My family went through a phase a couple of years ago where we were a little bit addicted to toasties of a weekend.

Usually the filling would be baked beans and cheese, or sometimes ham, cheese and tomato, and a bit of sweet chilli sauce (mmm). And you know, they were THAT GOOD I remember fantasising about being a contestant in Masterchef, where the challenge was to make the BEST EVER toastie.

I would have run STRAIGHT to the pantry for my favourite seeded variety of gluten free bread, and everyone would have looked at me like I was crazy, and the judges would come around and question me about whether I was making the right choice...

Then at the end my gluten free toasted sandwich winning hands down!

Because it just had the BEST crunch to it, and the inside filling NEVER got too hot. The insulation on gluten free bread is somehow just perfect for toasties!

That’s just one example of how different things can shine in their own way, and gluten free bread, for all it’s shortcomings, is no exception.

Another way to look at it is, imagine you were married to one person for most of your life and then, for whatever reason, you weren’t together anymore. The marriage was over (and not by your choice).

But then, along came a new person - who offered you a new chance at happiness - and they became your new partner.

Would you expect that person to be exactly the same as the first one?

NO!!

Would you constantly be comparing them in every way and pointing out how the new person doesn’t measure up to the old person?

No, of course not!!

(well I certainly hope not anyway, because if you did, that relationship would be pretty much doomed!)

And if that’s what you keep doing with gluten free bread and other types of gluten free food…. guess what - you’re not going to have a happy relationship with it either.

I know this bread/marriage analogy might seem a little weird. But if you get a little philosophical with me for just a moment......

The fact is (and I’m almost exclusively to people with coeliac disease here), things with gluten didn’t work out for you.

Gluten is gone.

You’re much better off without gluten!

Whether you knew it or not: gluten was hurting you!

Now though, rather than never having bread or pasta or cake or biscuits or anything like that ever again (i.e. spending the rest of your life “alone”), you have second chance with this new, amazing thing called gluten free food!

Yes, you may miss gluten (or the person you were with before) sometimes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be happy with this new thing (gluten free food).

And actually, the more you appreciate this new thing in your life that’s giving you the chance to be "whole” and happy again, the more you start to realise: actually, this new thing/person/food, has quite a lot to offer!

They’re a bit different, but amazing in their own way!

AND the most amazing thing is, they don’t cause you pain and suffering!

If you don’t give this new thing a chance, you’re not going to be happy.

You can’t keep looking back, because acceptance, and happiness is in front of you, not behind you.

The gluten free food market has exploded in the last few decades, and it’s only getting better! Gluten free food manufacturers are bending over backwards to make their foods better and better - for you! So now, gluten free food is widely available and I think it's actually pretty damn good!

And the fact is, if you have coeliac disease, you have a chronic disease that could have completely wrecked your life. But instead, it can be COMPLETELY managed with these amazing foods and products that are literally getting thrown at us right left and centre!

Don’t you think that’s great??

Now, I don’t want you to think that I always push aside the suckful side of being coeliac, because I KNOW first hand how hard it can be sometimes. And I’m just as happy to hold that space for you when you need it.

But, it’s not good to stay in that space forever!

I also know that it took a little tough love to finally push me towards a state of acceptance about my disease and my diet. So maybe - I’m hoping - something I’ve said here is just what you need to hear to get you closer to that place as well?

So what do you think?

Are you ready to say "thanks and goodbye" to your old partner (gluten) and say "hello!" to your new and wonderful-in-its own way gluten free world?

If what I’ve said has resonated with you and you feel like you could use some more help with getting the right mindset after your diagnosis, I’d love for you to come join us in Gluten Free Mastery.

This is a 12-month long program where you I give you all the training you could ever need to transition successfully to a gluten free diet, get your coeliac disease under control and start living your best life again.

As well as that you get to be part of a close-knit community and take part in regular online catch-ups and additional workshops so you can get any help you need along the way (which is really important in these early days!)

Here's the link if you'd like to learn more about that:

https://www.kristinarichardson.com/program

If you’d like to share your thoughts or tips around mindset in coeliac disease - please do so in the comments below!

Also don’t forget to like my video and subscribe to my channel so I can start to reach more people like you. ❤️

Goodbye for now and I’ll be back with another video real soon!

Kristina Richardson, APD