How to Manage a Special Diet by Sarah Kruse

When we finally figured out that my son, then 14 months, couldn’t tolerate dairy or gluten, I was relieved and guilt ridden. Relieved that I finally had a reason why his little body had patches of bloody, oozing eczema, but guilt ridden that it took so long to pinpoint the cause. The remedy was simple enough: eliminate gluten and dairy from his diet.

No problem, I thought. Here I was a certified natural chef; quinoa, millet and amaranth already sat in my pantry. Going gluten free would be easy. My dairy was limited to butter, cheese and yogurt. Going dairy free would be even easier.

How wrong I was! Sure, it was easy to avoid the obvious items like bread, pasta, butter and cheese. But when I started reading every single label, I was discouraged and overwhelmed. Gluten in soy milk and rice milk and chocolate chips? Yep, barley malt is added as a flavoring in some brands. It was the hidden and not so obvious items that had me leaving the grocery store feeling defeated and as if I failed my son again. I soon realized the longer the ingredient list, the greater the chance of gluten or dairy. Packaged food, however convenient, was a problem.

I eliminated packaged food and began making bread, pizza dough, waffles, cookies and more from scratch. But it wasn’t easy and there were numerous gluten free disasters. Frustration set in as I was not used to failures in the kitchen. And then there was the disappointment when the taste or texture was off. Gradually the experiments paid off and I have a few decent recipes to fall back on. But the biggest pay off was finally seeing my son have normal skin for once.

Whether you need to make dietary changes to address a health condition or just want to improve your overall health, here are some tips for making the transition:

1. Clean your cupboards and get rid of the problem foods.
2. Focus on what you can have, rather than what you can’t. There are hundreds of fruits and vegetables to choose from and try.
3. Keep it simple: nothing is easier than focusing on whole foods: fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
4. Make it a goal to explore a new cuisine or try a new fruit or vegetable each week.
5. Learn to like certain foods. If you hated spinach as a child, prepare it in different ways until you can enjoy it.
6. Hold off on replacing your favorite food with a substitute. You’ll be disappointed and discouraged that it doesn’t taste the same. After your taste buds adjust, try introducing a substitute if you feel the need.
7. Review your cookbooks and find recipes that are already free of the foods on your avoid list. Invest in a cookbook (such as Kristin’s Therapeutic Chef cookbook) that supports eating for health or one that avoids your problem foods (vegan and raw foods cookbooks are great for dairy-free recipes).
8. Skip eating out until you have a handle on your new diet. Even “healthy” dishes may be loaded with fat and calories.
9. Accept that making changes is hard and if you slip up, resolve to do better the next day.
10. Seek out help or support if you’re having trouble sticking with your new diet. Use the comments section here to ask questions and we’ll do our best to support you on your journey to health!

–Guest blogger Sarah Kruse is a fellow certified natural chef and freelance health and fitness writer.

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