Lets face it. Gluten is everywherefrom your favorite childhood snacks to that funky new pastry concoction taking over your Instagram feed. Its nearly impossible to walk into your local coffee shop or even turn on the television without being tempted by some type of delicious, gluten-filled treat. It even finds ways to sneak into presumably gluten free foods like French fries, jelly beans, and soy sauce. If youre a gluten free newbie in a world obsessed with gluten, the prospect of completely eliminating this pesky protein from your diet can be overwhelming at best and downright terrifying at worst. So how do you get started eating a gluten free diet? First and foremost, remember that you are not alone. Although less than one percent of Americans must follow a gluten free diet as a medical necessity due to celiac disease, an estimated 18 million of us avoid it due to some sort of gluten sensitivity. Others still, approximately one in five to be exact, try to eat gluten free as simply part of a healthier lifestyle. No matter your reasoning, starting a gluten free diet the right way will keep you happy, healthy, and, most importantly, sane.

Figure out Where to Find Gluten

Understanding what gluten is and where it hides will help save you precious time wandering the aisles of the grocery store trying to figure out what exactly you can eat. Gluten is the generic name for the elastic proteins found in the common cereal grains wheat, barley, rye, and their derivatives. Its elasticity is what gives pizza crust its satisfying chewiness and baguettes their distinctive cushiony-soft crunch. Unfortunately, if you happen to be one of the many people whose body simply cant tolerate gluten, or to be more precise, gliadin and glutenin, the damaging components within gluten, these delicious proteins have the potential to make your life very uncomfortable. For most people, the hardest adjustment to gluten free life is cutting out wheat. As you may already know, the bulk of gluten (about 90% in the American diet) can be found in wheat products, including, but not limited to, kamut, triticale (a combination of wheat and rye), durum, einkorn, farina, semolina, cake flour, matzo, and couscous. If you see any ingredient with the word wheat in its name, such as hydrolyzed wheat protein or pregelatinized wheat protein, steer clear, theres gluten in there. (With the exception of buckwheat, which is not part of the wheat family and is GF). Luckily, due to the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA), its now easier than ever to identify foods with wheat-containing ingredients. The act states that if a food or an ingredient contains wheat or protein derived from wheat, the word wheat must appear clearly on the food label, marking a victory for the wheat-averse. (The act also applies to the other seven top allergens.) However, buyer beware, just because a product is labeled wheat free does not necessarily mean that it is also gluten free. It still may contain spelt (an ancient derivative of wheat), rye, or barley-based ingredients that are not gluten free. While most traditional wheat products such as pastas, breads, crackers, and other baked goods are fairly easy to recognize, the tricky part of eating gluten free is learning to spot unexpected sources of gluten such as soy sauce, sausages, and even makeup and skincare products. Since the term gluten is not normally listed on product labels, its important to know the typical foods where gluten hides. The good news is that ingredients like triticale, which is most commonly used in international foods, and rye are pretty easy to avoid in most grocery stores. Barley, on the other hand, is a bit more difficult to side step, as it hides in places you wouldnt normally think about like beer, vinegar, malt products, and even cornflakes.

Sneaky Sources of Gluten

• Soy sauce
• Imitation crab
• Licorice
• Seasoning packets
• Natural flavorings
• BBQ sauces
• Salad dressings
• Hard candies
• Cornflakes and Rice Krispies
• Chocolate
• Ice cream
• Cheese spreads and other processed cheese foods
• Broth
• Bouillon cubes
• Dip mixes
• Chipotles in adobo
• Yogurt and other dairy products such as sour cream
• Miso
• Some fermented kimchi
• Fish sauce
• Mole
• Beverages like sports drinks or iced tea mixes
• Malt vinegar
• Oats (unless they are certified GF)

Non-Food Items that May Contain Gluten

• Makeup and shampoos
• Lipsticks
• Playdough
• Stamps and envelopes
• Detergents
• Lotions
• Medications and vitamins
• Pet food

Although it may seem overwhelming right now, trying to learn all the different foods to avoid to follow a gluten free lifestyle, its important to remember that theres no rush to commit everything to memory overnight. Having a general idea of what gluten is and where to find it will give you the foundation you need to begin your gluten free journey.

Focus on What You Can Eat

When starting a gluten free diet, its only natural to focus the foods that you can no longer enjoy. After all, yummy, gluten-filled treats are in your face pretty much 24/7. Nobody said this was going to be easy, but resisting the urge to wallow and instead focusing on those delicious foods you can eat that are already naturally gluten free will be a much bigger help than fighting this new lifestyle every step of the way. Of course, you could buy ready-made gluten free swaps for your favorite foods, but there is certainly no reason to confine yourself solely to those. Crisp seasonal salads, succulent roasted meats, soul-warming soups, fresh fruits, and vegetables, eggs, tacos (with corn tortillas)even ice creamall of these foods and much more are still on the menu for gluten free people. There are also a plethora of tasty, gluten free grains and starches to give you your carb-kick without sacrificing your health.

Gluten Free Grains

• Amaranth
• Buckwheat
• Corn
• Finger Millet (Ragi)
• Jobs Tears
• Millet
• Montina (Indian rice grass)
• Quinoa
• Rice
• Sorghum
• Teff
• Wild Rice

Gluten Free Starches

• Arrowroot
• Beans (such as black, navy, pinto, soy, lentils)
• Cassava
• Flax
• Nuts
• Peas
• Potatoes
• Sago
• Seeds
• Tapioca
• Yucca

Focusing on what you are gaining through this process, mainly your health, sanity, and peace of mind, will make the adjustment to this new lifestyle that much easier.

Cooking Gluten Free

It doesnt matter if you are a seasoned chef or a novice home cook, learning to cook your own food at home will help liberate you from your gluten free woes. As we mentioned before, it can sometimes be difficult to shop when you are gluten free because, without thoroughly scanning the list of ingredients in every product you buy, you cant be fully certain where exactly it could be hiding. There will probably come a day when you wonder how youre ever going to get anything else done when you have to spend so much time stuck in the aisles of the grocery store incessantly googling obscure ingredients. A restaurant can sometimes help alleviate this stress, but you have to know what to order and the right questions to ask (more on that later). However, even then you cant be 100% certain that your food wont be cross-contaminated in the kitchen. Plus, constantly eating out isnt exactly budget-friendly. So unless you are the Rain Man of reading ingredient lists or can afford your own private chef who knows your exact dietary requirements, learning to cook gluten free food at home is the best way to get quality food with ingredients you know and can trust. Learning to cook gluten free is a challenge, but it will be well worth it in the end. When first starting out, keep it simple. Stick to whole, naturally gluten free ingredients like meat, poultry, fish, whole eggs, and plain cheeses. Dairy-based products such as milk, yogurt, sour cream, and butter are safe if they are additive-free. Its important, however to watch out for those sneaky sources of gluten and to avoid cross-contaminating your food by strategically storing gluten free goods, washing and sanitizing shared dishes and tools and keeping two sets of condiments like butter and mayonnaise to reduce the risk of contamination by dirty utensils.

Join the Community

Another great way to make your transition to the gluten free lifestyle that much easier is to connect with other like-minded people who are also following the same path. It can be tough maintaining the motivation to make big lifestyle changes when youre going it alone. Try recruiting a friend or two to join you on your gluten free journey or seek out support from online community forums, Facebook pages, and even local meetups in your area. Having others around you who share similar goals can help remind you why you started and keep you committed to your health.