10 Struggles You Will Understand If You’re Gluten-Intolerant

I spend a lot of time on this blog focusing on the positives when on a gluten-free diet. There are so many ways to adjust your cooking to make it gluten-free, but it doesn’t mean that it’s always easy. A lot of trial and error is involved, which can be frustrating at times.

And even though it’s gotten easier to eat gluten-free nowadays, there are still some irritating things every now and then that can definitely minimize our eating experience. As I’m sure we each have our own little pet peeves, here are a few that really get to me personally:

1. The fries aren’t gluten-free.

If there’s anything we, as the minority, can eat are fries. Please don’t soak them in your chicken nugget oil. It is absolutely torturous to make us think we can eat at least one thing in your restaurant. And yet the one thing that is naturally gluten-free is, in fact, not.

2.  “We have gluten-free options.”

“Gluten-free” doesn’t only mean “salad.” And no, we’re not jumping for joy when you tell us your gluten-free options are salads. Minus the croutons. And the dressing. Oh, and the chicken because the spice they use has flour. There’s nothing worse than getting your hopes high just to be shot down with a bowl of lettuce. 

3. “We can make the burgers gluten-free.”

Yipee! you say? Think again. Don’t be surprised when the waiter comes back with a bunless burger topped with lettuce. “Gluten-free burgers” doesn’t always mean they have gluten-free buns.

4. Getting invited to a friend’s house for dinner.

The amount of stress that goes into this: You end up spending the whole day thinking about how you’re gonna get through the evening. Will you have to make something to take over to their house without insulting their cooking? Will you have to eat beforehand and risk insulting their cooking (again) when you decide not to eat their food? Or will you just have to starve? But what if they’re aware of your gluten-intolerance? Can you trust that they know what gluten actually is? Or will they overlook the not-so-obvious ingredients that are also considered gluten? Will you have to explain to them that the same spoon can’t be intermixed with other foods? What if they end up cross-contaminating the food? Back to square one.

5. The eye-roll from the waiter.

It’s quite insulting when people think you’re just being picky about your food when you ask what’s in it or if you ask them to remake the salad because they put croutons in it. I would honestly prefer picking out the croutons myself because it would be a lot quicker, but my body wasn’t designed that way so I need you to make me another salad, please.

6. People who eat gluten-free because it’s “healthy.”

It’s actually not. Especially if you’re not actually gluten-intolerant. This choice to eat gluten-free only makes it worse for those who are actually gluten-intolerant. We’re not taken seriously if you’re saying you eat gluten-free but also have the “occasional” indulgence in all things gluten. It’s the only logical explanation for there being “gluten-free menus” at restaurants but that aren’t actually gluten-free because everything is cross-contaminated. Also, why would you choose to not eat that lava cake? Some of us would do anything to eat that without ending up in a bed for a week.

7. “You don’t need to lose weight.”

When people think you’re eating gluten-free because you’re trying to get skinnier … It’s equivalent to telling someone overweight that they should probably lose some weight. Trust me, have you seen my blog? It’s filled with sugar, and refined sugar at that. So if I had a choice, I wouldn’t be eating this salad minus the croutons.

8. Bread that is triple the price.

I’d probably pay that price for good quality fresh homemade bread. But for bread that is a third of the size and can’t be bent in the slightest because it might break is outrageous. Let’s try that again. We want gluten-free bread, BUT we also want it to feel like bread. Go.

9. Having to go to multiple grocery stores.

As noted above, gluten-free food isn’t cheap. But it also comes in so many forms that you have to take the time to find the products that are actually good but also easy on the wallet. I have to buy my bread at one place, my pasta and flour at another, and produce somewhere else in order to get the best prices and value. I’d shop at one place if I had the choice.

10. Getting glutened.

The dictionary says “glutened” isn’t a word, but we’re making it a word because, let’s be real, the effects gluten has on us is no joke. It stops you from living your day-to-day life and has you in pain for at least three days. Of course, everyone’s side effects are different, but they all add up to the same thing. So when we say we are gluten-intolerant, it’s not a choice but a preference over pain.

Anything I didn’t list?

xx