Over a month ago I posted that I was going to try going gluten-free to help with the symptoms of my auto-immune disease Hashimotos. I was sadly a different person – tired, grumpy, didn’t feel as excited to face each day as I used to. They are dozens of symptoms that go with this disease but everyone is affected differently.

So gluten-free was going to be something I tried. I started with a meal delivery service that was gluten-free, vegetarian and dairy-free but things really didn’t take off til I did my 10 day transformation cleanse. You can read more about it here.

I look back to the date of that post about my 10 day journey and realize that it was just two months ago but so much has changed, for the better!

• the weight I lost has stayed off or at least the inches have
• I have more energy and drive that has me back in the gym lifting weights and doing more to be active
• I feel less agitated and more content with things in general

Now, I am not going to push gluten-free living and I know some medical professionals say it can be bad for you if you are not suffering from celiac, what I will say is that you have to listen to your body and find out what works best for it. Mine obviously prefers to be gluten-free, dairy-free and 99% caffeine free. I have also given up diet pop as part of this process.

There are surprisingly so many options these days for gluten-frees (that is what I will call us people who avoid the G stuff). Here is a list of some of my favourites:

Bard’s Gluten-Free Beer – I tried a couple and this one is the most tasty to my preferred flavour profile. It is a pale beer with no bitter, hoppy taste.

Tori’s Bake Shop – they made the yummy cake pictured above. I’ve had several items on their menu and their coffees – delish.

Green Zebra – this is where I order my meals from to help me through the week. It is really helpful when I get busy and don’t have time to cook lunches.

St. Anne’s Bakery – a bit of a distance but if you have a friend spending a day there call in your order the day before. I recommend the hamburger buns, raison bread and the lasagna (note it isn’t dairy free). Get several trays of the lasagna!

O’Doughs – they totally live up to their tag line. “Too good to be gluten-free”. Available at Loblaws, Whole Foods and Organic Garage, they are the best buns I have tasted. It is nice to be able to enjoy a BBQ in the summer.

Today I plan to check out a gluten-free bakery in Dundas while visiting there. If you have a gluten-free find, share it with me!