Do You Have Street Smarts?

When it comes to being gluten-free, what most of us need – in order to manage our special diets – is “Street Smarts”.

Of course, street smarts aren’t always easy to come by.

In fact, for some of us it can take a very long time to get up to speed.

What do I mean, exactly, by Street Smarts?

Basically, it means knowing how to handle just about any situation that comes along – whether you find yourself tempted to stray and eat just that one little bite of gluten-filled “goodness” or you’re simply harried and frustrated by well meaning folks who don’t seem to understand or care.

(I put that in quotes because there’s nothing “good” about having celiac disease and intentionally eating gluten).

In a nutshell, it comes down to:

 

Knowing what foods are safe to eat

It all starts here.

Yes, it can take awhile to get up to speed and know exactly where gluten is lurking – or, if you’re sensitive to dairy, knowing exactly which foods to avoid.

And even when you know which foods are safe for you, the next step is learning which choices are the healthiest.

After all, just because something is gluten-free doesn’t necessarily mean it is good for you.

 

Knowing what to feed your kids

Kids are notorious for being picky eaters.

When you add Celiac disease, non-celiac gluten-sensitivity, or food sensitivities into the mix, life gets even more interesting.

How do you get other family members on board?

Does the entire household need to go gluten-free, or are there ways to keep everyone happy?

(Including your husband who can’t live without his weekly beer and pizza).

 

Knowing how to handle social situations

Dining out – whether at a restaurant or someone’s home – comes with it’s own set of challenges.

Invariably, you will hear the phrase “Just one little bite isn’t going to hurt you.”

Well, yes it can.

You know that the smallest bite of gluten will set you back for several days – and yet, you don’t want to be rude and you don’t want to offend.

These situations are always tough, but there are lots of strategies to help you get through them.

 

Knowing what to do when you travel

Unless you stay home all the time and never go anywhere, sooner or later you’ll find yourself on a plane – either for business or your dream vacation.

In many ways, the challenges associated with travel aren’t much different from most social situations.

The best thing you can do for yourself is to travel with food – lots of it!

Your choices will depend in part, on your specific food sensitivities, but knowing you have something safe to eat for breakfast and snacks is half the battle right there.

 

Knowing how to navigate the food landscape

Every day, we are faced with an onslaught of marketing messages tempting us to eat 24/7.

Even though the human body wasn’t designed to be eating all day long, that’s exactly what many of us do.

We live in a time of convenience and abundance, and food is always available to us – pretty much any time of day.

We go to the grocery store and there are free samples, just for the taking.

At the office, meetings and special occasions are celebrated with food.

At night, we turn on the TV, and listen to even more messages about food – luring us either to snack, or purchase certain products that promise to make our lives better, easier and happier.

These “external cues” as we call them, make it harder to listen to our “internal cues” – such as actual hunger.

But how can anyone resist?

What about you?

Do you wonder if you’ll ever figure it out?

How can you learn to navigate your food allergies and gluten sensitivity, with so much noise going on all around you, all the time? 

The good news is – I’ve already done the work for you.

My programs are designed to give you all the answers you need, without having to spend hours on the internet doing the research yourself.

Although you can work with me privately, my Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Gluten-Free Survival Guide, has proven to be extremely popular – you still get tons of great information,

but it allows you to work at your own pace.

(Hey, you’re a busy person, right?)

Got questions? Simply shoot me an email and we can schedule a time to chat.