So recently my posts have been pretty much food related, and there is a reason for this. As much as it is the direction I want to take my blog in, as I've found a new passion for all things food, I've been trying to find ways to deal with the fact I have Celiac Disease. Not a big deal, I know±! But when you're 21 and all of a sudden restricted to eating everything you've been able to eat before, it's kind of life changing, and I just wanted to talk about how I'm dealing with it, as it's actually not that uncommon.
Starting from the beginning, my Dad was actually diagnosed with the disease when he was younger, so it's really no surprise I've got the best of a bad bunch of genes, right? But for a long time whenever I ate I just got really really bloated to the point where I couldn't move and found it really hard to breath. At first I thought maybe I was eating too much, as I'm not overly a massive eater, and eating is something I've always struggled with, so I thought my body was rejecting food, so it did for a long time put me of eating. So February this year, I was kind of sick of feeling bloated and ill whenever I ate, so I finally decided to see my doctor. My biggest fear was that he would just say I need to work out more, and stop being pathetic. But after many blood tests, food diaries, and constant stomach swelling, it turns out I have quite a few food allergies. Gluten - found in everything good in the world! Yeast - R.I.P Pizza, wheat and cow's milk. At first there was no confirmation that it was celiac, but as time had gone on and I was trying different food, it turned out to be.
I know cutting food out isn't a big deal, especially when there are children in the world who go days without eating, but at the time I felt like my whole world kind of fell apart. I always laugh about it now, but at the time, every single time I went to buy food, I'd literally have a breakdown in the free from isle on the phone to my Dad about how it's not fair that bad people can eat normal and I can't. Pathetic I know.
What helped me was endless research into what I can and can't eat. You see a dietitian at the doctors, but really she isn't going to do my food shop, and she has absolutely not sympathy for me either, so I had to pick myself up and get on with it. I found so many useful tips on the celiac website, even checklists, witch break downs of food, and ingredients. This then encouraged me to do a lot more cooking at home, which is honestly one of the best things that has ever happened to me! I can't just whack any old micro wave meal in, so I am home cooking pretty much everything from scratch, as cooking runs in the family it's something I actually really enjoy, so me posting these recipes have encouraged me so much!
So that's basically a summery of where I'm at now with my disease, and I won't lie, some days it literally sucks, and eating out is something I dread and find really awkward, but I'lll get there eventually, I know I will.
I do want to do more posts on eating out, recipes, breaking down celiac and all that jazz, so if anyone has any idea, please feel free to let me know!
Love Meg xxx