(Involuntarily) Going Gluten Free

It finally happened. Someone finally figured out the route of all my IBS issues. I can't say that 21 years of pain and discomfort was worth it, but at least we're getting somewhere, right?

So, I can no longer eat gluten (or tapioca, or oats - yay). I am gluten intolerant, apparently. This means finding alternatives for the vast majority of my favourite foods, and it also meant a very grumpy, hangry Haze for the last few days of this week, before I had a chance to go food shopping.

I'm really going to miss 'normal' pasta, cakes, cookies, cereal, bread, pastries. But, if it means the end of bloating, pain and cramps I am totally on board. In fact, I'm actually pretty excited to get in the kitchen and start cooking/baking up some gluten-free storms.

I was officially diagnosed on Wednesday, and was feeling pretty down about it if I'm honest. I'm a massive foodie, I eat pretty much everything and so feeling forced to restrict my diet was a difficult concept to adjust to! Along with this, gluten free food is just so damn expensive.

After spending this morning wandering around a food festival (expect a blog post soon), though, I feel much more positive; I've realised that I'm not the only one (not that I ever thought I was), and that there's actually a whole range of gluten free alternatives to my favourite foods out there for me to enjoy.

Apparently, Indian cuisine is the best for my newly shrunken diet. Very few Indian restaurants thicken their sauces with flour so I'm still able to enjoy my favourite takeaways, which I'm seriously relieved about. 

I was also dead happy to see that Mexican is still a strong possibility for me, too, as long as the tortillas are made from corn flour, how good does this look?!