My Celiac Story + A List of the Best Gluten Free Products

A day in the life of being gluten-free.

Did you know that September 13 is National Celiac’s Awareness Day? About one in every 133 people or roughly 2.4 million individuals have celiac disease in the US, with 18 million people reporting to be gluten intolerance. That’s insane. Especially considering 10 years ago, nobody knew what celiac disease was.

Despite the increased exposure, there’s so much unknown, so today, I’m walking you through my Celiac story and everything I think you should know. Buckle up, it’s an adventure!

I’d dive right into my GF story, but let’s first break down this auto-immune disease, so you know what I’m talking about.

What is Celiac Disease

Katie’s version: an auto-immune disease that causes the villi, the finger-like thingys in your small intestine that absorb the nutrients in your food, disappear when coming into contact with wheat, rye, barley and oats.

Official definition: is a serious autoimmune disease that occurs in genetically predisposed people where the ingestion of gluten leads to damage in the small intestine. Over time, this reaction damages your small intestine’s lining and prevents it from absorbing some nutrients (malabsorption).

Celiac (or Gluten Intolerance) Signs and Symptoms 

There are so many symptoms caused by Celiacs or having a gluten intolerance. It really varies by person, making it difficult to diagnose.

Below are the top 10 signs of Celiac, but the best way to find out whether you should be cutting gluten out of your diet is to talk to your physician.

1. Bloating
2. Gas
3. Diarrhea
4. Fatigue
5. Foggy Brain
6. Weight Loss or Gain
7. Constipation
8. Depression
9. Headaches/Migraines
10. Missed periods/infertility

My Celiac Story

In 2011 I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. It was something I was dreading and looking forward to all at the same time. But my story starts well before that.

In 2004, my mom was also diagnosed with Celiac. This was pre-GF days. I’m talking NO ONE (and I mean no one) had heard of being gluten free. There were maybe 3 total brands on the shelf, and trust me when I say no restaurant was accommodating.

My mom would come home from working 10 hours days to make, not one, but two different meals for my family. One for my dad, brother and I and one for herself. Looking back, we were not as sympathetic as we should have been.

It was really tough for her. Gluten free products back then were complete shit (excuse my language, but I couldn’t think of a better way to describe it). She was constantly researching and buying new things to try, but nothing compared to the regular stuff.

Fast-forward 7 years and I started to have some stomach issues. Extreme bloating and gas (if this makes you uncomfortable, just stop reading now 🤣). I didn’t think anything of it, until a couple of months later when I had started my freshman year of college and was constantly uncomfortable. Not only did I have a stomach that looked 4 months pregnant, but I had foggy brain, I was moody and just didn’t feel good overall. After weeks of my mom telling me to try a gluten free diet, I finally caved.

I’ll start by saying, trying to navigate the world of GF in a dorm cafeteria was not ideal. Not to mention having absolutely no idea of all the products it was hidden in.

Finally in November, after not seeing much progress, I saw a gastroenterologist and she quickly scheduled an endoscopy (a biopsy of my small intestine) to test for Celiac Disease. Unfortunately for me, I had to incorporate gluten back in my diet before the procedure to make sure the test would be accurate.

It was one of the worst weeks of my life. After eating quasi gluten free for a month, and having to purposely eat it again, I thought I was going to die. And I’m not just saying that, I physically thought I was going to die.

I’d lay on my dorm room floor crying because of the pain. And sharing a bathroom with 3 other girls was just pure embarrassment. 🤢 I was counting down the days until my procedure. At that point, I could guess what the test results were going to be.

One week later, after waking up in a daze from anesthesia, it was confirmed. Celiac Disease for lifffeeee.

I didn’t really know what to think. I was happy, because there was a solution, but so terribly sad because I knew everything was about to change.

The first six months were really tough. And that’s probably an understatement.

I was living in a dorm room, trying to navigate this new diet, miles away from home. I had a lot of chicken and veggies and a lot of salad. But I was also binging on gluten free food that was not-so-great for me. I was feeling sorry for myself, so when I could have a gluten free brownie or pizza, I’d go all out.

Freshman 15 was real. Between not being properly nourished to overeating, I felt pretty down on myself.

When I got back home for the summer, I knew something had to change. I focused on my health and learned the ins and outs of being gluten free. I had my mom as a resource and did a lot of research.

I started planning out my meals and meal prepping, I ate more vegetables and lean proteins, and I watched what I ate and counted calories.

There have been variations of all of that over the years, but it’s my passion for health and wellness that sparked the idea of afitcado. I wanted people to have a resource for simple, healthy gluten free meals.

I lost the weight. I was making all my own meals, but most importantly I felt 10x better.

7 years later and sometimes I forget I have Celiacs. Seriously. It’s only when we go out to eat or if we go to a party that I’m reminded of my restrictions. I never feel deprived, but sometimes I do wish I could just have a bite of that birthday cake or Casey’s pizza.

There are so many good gluten free options nowadays, I can only imagine what it’s going to be like in another 5 years.

Now that you know I have 8 years of being gluten free under my belt, you can believe me when I say I’ve tried about every GF product under the sun.

If you’re navigating this wild world of GF, I hope afitcado is/has been a resource. And if there’s one thing I’m an expert at by now, it’s this.

Below are my favorite GF brands, organized by category! Enjoy  😊

(p.s. – if you’re wondering where you can find these products, the cheapest, check out my Grocery Store Price Comparison List.

 The Best Gluten Free Products

Bread

1. Schar
2. Caynon Bakehouse
3. Udi’s

Crackers

1. Crunchmaster
2. Simple Mills
3. LiveGFree

Chips

1. Siete
2. Food Should Taste Good
3. Way Better

Flour

1. Pamela’s
2. Bob’s Red Mill
3. Kinnikinnick

Pizza

1. Caulipower
2. Trader Joes Cauliflower Crust + pre-made GF pizza
3. Udi’s

Bars

1. Perfect Bar
2. RXBar
3. Larabar
4. OneBar
5. Smart Bar
6. Kind Bar

Cookies

1. Betty Crocker GF
2. Bob’s Red Mill
3. Homemade 🙂

Pretzels

1. Synder
2. Glutino

Tortillas

1. Siete
2. Mission GF
3. La Tortilla Factory (Teft tortilla)

Granola

1. Purely Elizabeth
2. Live G Free
3. Udi

Noodles

1. Banza
2. Barilla
3.  Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta

That’s all I got for today! If have a gluten free product you love, comment below 👇🏼 I’m always up for trying new products.