Yes I hash tagged the title. Is that bad? I guess Im lazy, now when I share it on twitter it will have the hashtag ready made! 😉

I talked about shopping before, shopping for food can become a huge part of a gluten free persons life. We are a family of 4 humans, 3 dogs and 1 bird, all who eat gluten free! Its my job to shop for us all.

The first shop after diagnosis is a far cry from how I shop now. Its a far cry from how I shopped a year ago, or even 2 years ago. We all eat wheat and gluten free. Yeah, wheat free and gluten free are not always the same thing although I really wish they were. many so called  gluten free items out there are a no go for us.

So how do I shop? How long does it take? How many shops do I need to go to?

At first Id go to 3-5 supermarkets a week, the shopping would take anything from 30 mins to 2-3 hours. I rarely take longer then 30 mins now, I don’t read labels much, partly because they are in polish and I cant, and partly because I have cut out most of the processed junk we are so used to eating. Cutting out the processed junk means I no longer need to go in most aisles!

I go in the fruit and veg section, the meat section and dairy section, I take a quick peek in the gluten free section, and occasionally buy something. My processed foods are few and far between, passata, non gmo european corn, tinned chickpeas, artisan gluten free sausages, organic muesli bars (gluten free obviously), rice cakes and a few other bits and bobs. I do this every 1-2 weeks. Then I do small top up runs in my local fruit and veg market and a meat top up dash when needed that takes a few minutes. I only buy fish frozen, as fresh is not that easy to get here.

Thats it, khalas, done!

Do I still obsessively go in shops to look what they have? Sure, do I try new gluten free things whenever I see them, NO! Why? Because I don’t really feel we are missing anything in our lives or pantry. I try new products only if its a product we need. I am such a saint. (Of course I haven’t mentioned the jelly beans and occasional marshmallows and chocolate that sometimes slips in, that would make me sound far less healthy and saintly, but hey, this saint is human, and sweets don’t count, as long as you only eat them on Saturdays…right? 😀 )

If someone had come along 3 years ago and tried to teach me to shop how I shop now, I am not sure how I would have taken it, things were still so new, maybe I needed to go through that fase of trying everything to really figure out we didn’t need it, maybe I would have embraced the knowledge and saved a lot of time, not to mention money!

I have learned so much about gluten and pesticides and CRAP in our foods in the last few years, that even if Celiac was cured tomorrow, no WAY would we go back to eating how we used to. I have always loved cooking, always liked and preferred to make things from scratch rather then a packet, my ingredients though have changed so much.

I would love to hear how your shopping habits have changed and if there is any advice you wish someone had given you at the beginning? Or do we need to learn it by living it?

-Linda

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