Celiac Awareness Month

Did you all know that the month of MAY is Celiac Disease awareness month? I want to be an advocate for this because being diagnosed with Celiac’s changed my life in the best way possible. Here is a quick guide to get you caught up on what Celiac Disease is.

For as long as I can remember I would always have stomach pain after eating meals. I dreaded eating knowing what I would have to go through after.  I was always trying to limit my food intake or cut everything out to see if I could figure out what was happening with my stomach. This was before gluten was a huge buzz word or before we knew much about it. I even went to my doctor several times and ran labs but nothing really came back. Their only diagnosis was I had IBS. Finally, after years of just living with this, I went to a specialist that taught me more about my gut health. This was the first time I had ever been tested to see if I had Celiac Disease or not. Once it came back positive I felt so grateful to finally get an answer. With this new diagnosis I was able to take out exactly what my body was not liking, GLUTEN.  I was able to enjoy food again and be excited to eat it. I finally started to feel better and live my life again without living in fear.

I want to be able to advocate the importance of listening to your body and fighting until you get the answers you need. I am excited that Celiac Disease gets an entire month that we get to talk about it. With that being said, I will share some of my tips and tricks on how I transitioned my diet and lifestyle to be 100% gluten free.

Here is my favorite go-to recipe:

 Chicken Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed Peppers with Chicken, Avocado on top and a little dairy-free grated cheese or parmesan cheese

Ingredients: 3 peppers, rotisserie chicken or 2 cans of chicken, avocado, jalapeno, grated cheese and primal kitchen avocado oil mayo

Directions: Use a small knife to cut peppers in half and remove their filling and place on baking sheet.

Chicken Mix:

In a bowl combine – Shredded chicken, 2 TBLS Avocado mayo, Chopped jalapeno, 2 TBLS Salsa Verde. Mix it all up. Add to your peppers.

Bake 350 15 min.

Here are my go-to snacks:

1.Smartfood White Cheddar Flavored Popcorn, 0.625 Ounce, 40 Count – My kids LOVE these. They each have a pack every single day.

2.Justin’s Maple Cashew Butter Squeeze Packs, Gluten-free, Non-GMO, Responsibly Sourced, Pack of 10 (1.15oz each)– Loving these individual packs. Just the right amount for toast or on top of an apple. So yummy.

3.PERFECT FOODS Organic Mini Peanut Butter Bar, 0.74 OZ– Don’t overlook these!! These are the mini version. I thought the bigger size was just too much at once. The smaller version is perfect macros and just what I need around 3pm for a little snack.

4.TRUWOMEN Plant Fueled Protein Bars, Saltylicious Almond Love (12 Count) | Non-GMO, Vegan, Gluten Free, Kosher, Soy Free, Dairy Free, Healthy Snack Bar, Natural Ingredients | 12g Protein

5.Justin’s Nut Butter Mini Peanut Butter Cups, Dark Chocolate, 4.7 Ounce-Don’t overlook these. They are the mini version. I love to keep mine frozen. So good and keep me on track when I need a little chocolate.

6.Nuts ‘N More Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Spread, Keto High Protein Nut Butter Snack, Low Carb, Low Sugar, Gluten Free, All Natural, 16 oz Jar

7.IZZE Sparkling Juice, 4 Flavor Variety Pack, 8.4 oz Cans, 24 Count–YUM!!! I love all sparkling drinks. Do you?

8.Saffron Road Organic Crunchy Chickpeas, Non-GMO, Gluten-Free, Halal, Sea Salt 1.25oz (Pack of 10)– So crunchy and so good. My old health coach told me about these. I love them!!

9.Simply Cheetos Puffs White Cheddar Cheese – D got me hooked on these. I can’t stop!! One of my favorite healthish snacks.

10.Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend 2.3 Oz-If you haven’t heard of everything but the bagel you need to know asap. This is so good on everything!! I love it on avocado toast, eggs, baking salmon or chicken. It’s honestly the best seasoning. Grab it.

11.GG Scandinavian Bran Crispbread, 3.5-Ounce Packages (Pack of 5)-F Factor made these famous. The famous cracker that packs the fiber in. Use it for avocado toast or egg sandwich. You can substitute these in place of bread.

12.Barlean’s Non-GMO Organic Chia Seed, 12 Ounce– I use these in my smoothies on the daily. Along with #17

13.HEALTH WARRIOR Chia Bars, Coconut, Gluten Free, Vegan, 25g bars, 15 Count

14.Propel Powder Packets Four-Flavor Variety Pack With Electrolytes, Vitamins and No Sugar (50 count)

15.KIND Kids Granola 6 Count (Pack of 8)– My kids love the kind bars. Just there size!

16.SmartSweets Low Sugar Gummy Bears Candy Fruity 1.8 oz Bags (Box of 6) – The only candy I know that has 28g of fiber and 90 calories for entire bag. I love smart sweets!!

17.PBfit All-Natural Peanut Butter Powder, Powdered Peanut Spread from Real Roasted Pressed Peanuts, 8g of Protein (30 oz.)– I put this in my smoothies everyday. Tastes like peanut butter without all the calories.

18.bare Medleys, Variety Pack, Apple Strawberry & Pineapple Coconut (6Count)– The best dried fruit. Kids love this too. Start your toddlers on dried fruit early and they will love it forever.

19.SodaStream Fizzi Sparkling Water Maker Bundle (Black), with CO2, BPA free Bottles, and 0 Calorie Fruit Drops Flavors – Super into Sparkling everything. We just got a soda stream and it’s incredible.

I also love this Magic Spoon Gluten Free cereal. It gives me my cereal fix and got my kids off all the sugary cereals they always thought they needed. Use code: Jenna to get your variety pack. 

Another trick I found was to extra good care of my gut. This is my #1 Trebiotic (probiotic, prebiotic and the multivitamin for your immune system) I don’t miss a day taking this!! I get my blood work tested regularly and my blood work and gut health continue to improve which makes me so happy! I take this Trebiotic and stay glutenfree.

I add Trebiotic to smoothies, yogurt parfaits and even bake with them.

I have never felt better in life. My gut is healing and I am now understanding what I need to do and eat in order to keep it on track.

I hope you all have a healthy week and please send me any questions you may have about any of this.

Xx

Jenna