My Story: The Journey that led to adopting a gluten-free lifestyle
You can never know how life will turn out. Even as a dad to a lovely seven-year-old daughter, I did not expect that my family would be faced with the burdens of a #GlutenFreeLifestyle. Would any parent ever want that for their child? Our daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease by the age of five. Her diagnosis changed our way of life in ways we never thought possible. Initially, there were a lot of emotions as we had to deal with the fact that this child could not even be normal when it comes to food. But with time and love, we have waded through the turbulence of gluten intolerance, and now we have a gluten-free kitchen that serves awesomely delicious meals.
Laying the Foundation: Dealing with the Labels
When she was 5 years old, my daughter started experiencing stomach aches, bloating, and tiredness. At first we thought nothing of it; perhaps it was some minute food intolerance or even a passing phase. However, with every passing day, as her situation worsened, we decided to get a doctor to check her. After a couple of tests, the physician concluded that she was celiac.
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease in which ingestion of gluten leads to damage in the small intestine. Gluten is a protein that is commonly found in wheat, rye, and barley. It is the body’s immune response that attacks the gluten that causes damage to the intestines through which the nutrients are absorbed. For children who are growing and at their stage, this was very worrying.
How shall I begin? We were devastated with the news. There was no way our daughter, who was used to everything that every other girl ate, for example, cakes, delicious pizzas, and all sorts of pasta, would not miss any of these unless gluten-free substitutions were provided. Such a time, unlike any other, was the dawning of that truth. It was not just her, but it was all of us.
The Painful Reality of Bidding Farewell to Gluten Foods
The rationale for gluten intolerance in a five-year-old is quite a hard environmental experience. Imagine explaining to a child that all of the things that she enjoyed, like her favorite, for example, bread, pizza, and cookies, are now going to be absent from her life forever. I also had a daughter, who was much younger to comprehend her situation but old enough to reminisce on the gluten-filled products. She would constantly call us for chapatti, biscuits, and pasta, and every time we had to respond with a “No, darling, that’s off the menu for you now," it used to pain us.
The initial weeks after the diagnosis were when things fell apart the most. Neither of us knew an approach to preparing gluten-free dishes. It was an insurmountable task to look for substitutes of wheat flour and other gluten-rich ingredients. In our household, we used wheat rather dominantly. Wheat was used every day to roll out chapatis for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, bake some biscuits for tea time, and design pizza for special family functions. We felt as if our culinary way of life had been completely disrupted.
There were many nights when my wife would cry at how the situation left her feeling. She was feeling the weight of the responsibility of ensuring that her daughter had safe and healthy meals. She was also very keen on ensuring that their daughter had the same enjoyment from the food as she did, but it looked like anything she prepared was not up to par. There was the psychological burden of watching our little girl be deprived of the treat that is her favorite food.
The Shift: Slowly Finding Our Way
Some aspects would never change though, for example, wasting time and feeling hopeless in regard to death. It would suffice to add that we need to do something; after all, the way forward looked almost insurmountable. So, I delved into the internet and spent hours on end researching #GlutenFreeDiet possibilities and gluten-free flour and figuring out how to cook various food substitutes for girls’ favorite meals.
Very soon, the kitchen turned into quite a lab. There, we tried using various kinds of gluten-free flours, namely, rice, almond, and chickpea flour. The first few attempts at making gluten-free chapati were diabolical; the dough would literally crack, and the chapati did not have the resemblance of the wheat-based version we knew. But thanks to our perseverance, we didn’t surrender.
Eventually, we succeeded in making and especially shaping the gluten-free chapati after many attempts that proved fruitful. The texture was poorly thinned, yes, but it was enough to elicit a smile from our daughter, and that was the motivation we needed to forge ahead.
Baking: A Whole New World of Gluten-Free Goodness
The biggest hurdle remained recreating the baked items she adored the most—cookies, biscuits, and pizza. Gluten-free baking opened a new frontier, one that called for minimum patience but maximum tit-for-tat. The first few gluten-free cookies we baked turned out either to be rock hard or crumbled before we could eat them. Once again, the pizza crusts were either too doughy or flat to support the toppings.
But once more, we did not yield.
We learned about xanthan gum, which is used as an ingredient in gluten-free baking to help doughs and batters maintain the elasticity gluten would have provided. After a while, the kitchen turned into a fun and science-based place. My wife enjoyed searching for new recipes, started attending forums for those on a gluten-free diet, and finished every learning-spanning period that came her way.
Our daughter could not contain her joy when we managed to bake gluten-free cookies that were both soft and sweet and finally delicious. The look on her face was so heartwarming, practically tearing apart a cookie that tasted similar to ones filled with glutton; I wish I could photograph it.
Emotional Journey: The Hardest Part
Geographically, learning how to prepare gluten-free cuisine was hard, but the mental aspect was even worse. For some time, my partner and I felt guilt’s burden. We were ashamed of ourselves for doing nothing and letting our daughter eat gluten for years, not thinking how much her body was suffering from that.
Yet, when we took it on and began living that way, we found out that it wasn’t the goal that mattered it was the journey. We did not remain stuck reproaching ourselves over events that took place during the process. We also managed to be pleased with ourselves for the little things, such as when our daughter enjoyed eating a gluten-free pizza or even when she went to her school’s bake sale with gluten-free cupcakes.
We also discovered that community is very important. This is how we are getting out of feeling disconnected while inside gluten-free groups on the internet. We have been in touch with other families with the same experience, and it has been nice to learn that we are not the only ones.
Supporting Each Other: A Family Affair
It has been a collective effort towards adopting a Gluten Free Lifestyle. My husband and I have always been supportive of each other, and my daughter has also been especially strong. Occasionally she misses out on some of the food that she used to love, but otherwise she has coped quite well. She is now aware of the necessity of gluten elimination and has come to enjoy the gluten-free versions that we prepare for her.
As a unit, our family has become much tighter and more cohesive. Time spent together in the kitchen has increased where we engage in baking gluten-free goodies and experimenting with different recipes. What used to seem like an insurmountable task has turned out to be an activity to enjoy and even create lasting memories.
Clouds Over the Horizon: Hope for the Future
At the moment, our daughter, who is fully on a gluten-free diet, is healthy and very active. Her energy levels are back to normal, all belly aches have disappeared, and she is growing normally. The prospect of fixing gluten-free meals does not scare us any more. In fact, we have become quite proficient in it.
The path we have walked has imparted many things to us, like patience, understanding, and family values. While we still get challenges here and there, we have accepted the gluten-free mode of living. These days we do not perceive it as an obstacle but rather as a means of protecting our daughter’s well-being as well as her enjoyment.
Having to coexist with Gluten Intolerance has significantly changed how we view food, and we have learned that #GlutenFreeDiet does not have to translate into tasteless and joyless food. It’s more than just doing the ‘eat this, not that’ ideology; it's making the right decisions and taking pride in the many gluten-free options that exist today.
For those who are about to embark on or have just begun the journey of eliminating gluten from their diet, I would like you to appreciate that although it may look very tough at first, it will get better after some time. Be patient, be courageous, and always remember that you are making progress towards better health for your family with every little thing that you do.
Our journey is still not completed, but we have the courage to tackle the next challenges. That said, we have love and endurance, and we will keep stepping forward, one gluten-free dish at a time.