The Healthy Celiac Podcast
Welcome to The Healthy Celiac Podcast—the go-to podcast for women with celiac disease! This podcast is designed to help you thrive beyond your diagnosis and embrace life to the fullest because you are so much more than just a woman with celiac disease.
Hosted by Certified Health Coach Belinda Whelan, who specializes in follow-up care for women with celiac disease, each episode is a blend of practical advice, personal stories, and expert interviews. Belinda shares valuable insights on everything from navigating a gluten free lifestyle to managing the emotional aspects of celiac disease.
Join me as we explore topics that empower you to take control of your health, and discover joy in every meal and moment. Tune in for practical advice and support as we navigate the challenges of celiac disease and empower you to live confidently.
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The Healthy Celiac Podcast
Life with Limited Gluten Free Options: Finding Peace in Restriction Ep. 205
On today’s episode of The Healthy Celiac Podcast, I’m sharing a personal story from a recent road trip from Adelaide to Melbourne, where I was amazed — and a little overwhelmed — by the huge number of gluten free dining options. I reflect on how having so much choice can sometimes make eating out harder rather than easier when you live with celiac disease. You'll hear about my experiences using the Find Me Gluten Free app, how our meals ended up looking very different to what I usually prefer, and how understanding my human design helped me realise that sometimes having fewer options actually brings more peace, clarity, and enjoyment. If you've ever wished for more gluten free restaurants, or found yourself stressed by too many choices, this episode will help you reframe your thinking and find gratitude in simplicity. Plus, I share practical tips on how to confidently order off-menu to get exactly what you feel like eating while staying safe with celiac disease.
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Recently, my husband and I went over to Melbourne on a bit of a road trip and we were blown away by the amount of gluten-free options that were available over there, and something that came up for me was overwhelm. Surprisingly so on today's episode I wanted to talk about the difference between too much choice and not much choice, and how that can play a part in our lives with celiac disease. So my husband and I we set off. We drove the drive from Adelaide to Melbourne. So for those of you listening that have no idea how far that is, if you were to drive from one spot to the next, it's about eight hours. We stopped four times on the way over there and four times on the way back as well, just for like food and toilet stops and stretch breaks and things like that. But it's eight hours, so it's quite a distance, and I took plenty of food with me. Don't get me wrong. I would never sit in a car for that long without having plenty of snacks and options in case I couldn't find anything gluten-free. And we managed to find a gluten-free toasted sandwich on the way over there. That was pretty much our easiest option, so that was fine. It did come with cheese, which I probably should have asked not to have, but it's so hard to have a toasty without cheese. I took a lactase because I'm lactose intolerant and I still feel a little bit yuck from the cheese. But I didn't get gluten. So that's amazing and we all love that when we don't get gluten. So we set off on our merry way. That was fine, not a problem. Plenty of snacks in the car, plenty to drink. All the rest of it I was fine.
Speaker 1:And then when we got into Melbourne, we went out for dinner with my husband's sister, so with my sister-in-law, and we just went to a pub. So that was fine. We went out for tea, we got a couple of drinks and I was I was jokingly saying when my sister-in-law said to me what do you feel? She said what do you feel like? She didn't say what are you going to order. She said what do you feel like? And I went oh, I feel like a chicken parmi. And if you don't know what a chicken parmi is, it's a chicken parmigiana and it's basically crumbed chicken breast fried and then they'll put some different toppings on it. Sometimes it fried and then they'll put some different toppings on it. Sometimes it will be bacon and tomato and cheese. Sometimes it'll be a few different other things, but that's generally the gist of it and jokingly said that I'd love you. Know, I felt like that, but knowing all very well that that wouldn't even be an option, like there's no way that that would be on the menu. Of course it wasn't. So I got a steak and the chips were not gluten-free, so I was able to have a salad and some chats. So they were able to do me gluten-free potato chats, which I actually prefer to chips anyway. So that was really easy. I didn't have to think too much. We're able to have a good conversation and enjoy the night, so that was great.
Speaker 1:Then, as our time went on in Melbourne we had a week there I started to use the Find Me Gluten Free app. There were so many options on there and when I say there were so many options, there were so many 100% gluten free places it was mind-boggling. I was blown away. We don't have that here in Adelaide. We have places where you can go and get gluten-free food, but we do not have many 100% gluten-free places.
Speaker 1:So it almost came down to we were going out on purpose to these places that were a hundred percent gluten-free, rather than tapping into what we felt like and going to places that we normally would go to, like if we were out and about. Oh, what do you feel like? Oh, let's go for Thai or let's go for this. We were specifically going to places because I found them on the app. That's not normally how I work, I don't know. It was a little bit interesting, so I didn't realize it at the time, but when I got back home to Adelaide and reflected on this trip, it made me really assess the way that we ate out and I'm not bagging that app. I'm so grateful for that app. It was amazing and it helped me find safe food and all the rest of it.
Speaker 1:But it was a little overwhelming because I had too much choice, which sounds ridiculous, I know, but I want to break this down for you and help you understand why this can be tricky and why I actually like having less choice. So you might be the same and not even realize it. So, depending on where you live, you may have heaps of gluten-free options or you may have barely any like here in SA. So we we went out three nights in a row and for those three nights we went to places that were nearby our accommodation. We stayed in an Airbnb for these particular three nights. We were kind of scattered all over the place. We went down caught up with friends near Geelong and then we were with Jaya's sister and things like that. So for these particular three nights we found places that we're walking distance from our Airbnb.
Speaker 1:So the first night we went out for Japanese and I wasn't that hungry, to be honest, and normally I'm very good at ordering what I feel like, and this ties back to when I became a health coach. We learned about being in tune with your body and before you even look at a menu you ask yourself what do I feel like? And you really listen to your body and what it's asking for. But this particular night I was like oh my God, I don't actually know, there's too much to choose from and I probably should have looked at the menu and gone okay, I'll just get that and that. But it was suggested by the waitstaff that we get the feed me menu, so I didn't have to make any decisions.
Speaker 1:That was great, but we got so much food I couldn't eat it all. I was a little bit disappointed because they brought out fries, which I just thought was weird at a Japanese restaurant. I would never order that at a Japanese restaurant. It was just strange. Even my husband was like that's just weird, I don't want to eat that. And we couldn't eat it all. There was so much food we didn't touch fries, we didn't eat all the food. Like all this food kept coming out. It was like, oh my god. Thankfully it wasn't ridiculously expensive like some feed me menus. But yeah, it was weird because it was too much food. I wouldn't normally indulge that much. If I went out for Japanese I'd kind of eat until I'm full and then I'm happy.
Speaker 1:The next night we went out for Mexican. It came highly recommended. It was good. I'm not going to say it was the best Mexican I've ever had. It was nice and same.
Speaker 1:Again, we did the feed me menu. We ordered the feed me menu which we got a brief kind of description of what each meal would be, and they all came out very quickly. It was very rushed environment. Melbourne is very different to adelaide. Adelaide you can pretty much walk in and go wherever you want and eat and get a table, whereas over there you have to book in advance. You pre-pay a deposit in case you don't show up. You got a sitting for a certain amount of time and then you rushed out the door. So that's not normally how I'm used to eating. So same thing. We did the feed me menu. There was so much food, I was so full I couldn't eat at all. It was so overwhelming and there were some things that came out that again I wouldn't have picked if I'd ordered what I felt like. And then the next night we went out for Spanish and we did the same bloody thing.
Speaker 1:Again, we did the feed me menu. Oh my god, it sounds like we've eaten so much food and, to be honest, it was ridiculous. We I think it was because there was so much choice. We didn't want to miss out, if that makes sense. It was like there was so many things on the menu let's just do the feed me option and then we get a whole heap of different things and we could try a little bit of everything. But again, there was so much food, it was so overwhelming, couldn't eat it all and just felt a little bit like what afterwards, rather than eating enough for my body and just focusing on what I wanted. So, having said all of that, yes, it was wonderful that I could go out and there's so much available and so many options, but it was literally overwhelming and too much and not tapping into what I felt like.
Speaker 1:And I've recently learned about human design. I don't know if you know anything about human design, but there are a number of different types of human designs, so we all fall into one category. It's all to do with where you were born and what time you were born, and I'm a manifesting generator and part of being a manifesting generator is I do not do well with. Here are all the choices. Which one suits you? Which one do you want I actually suit? Would you like this or would you like this?
Speaker 1:So if my husband says to me at dinner time hey babe, what do you want for dinner? That does my head in. I hate it when he says that to me. Whereas if he goes hey babe, what do you feel like tonight? Do you want meatballs or do you want lasagna? Hey, yep, meatballs would be great. That's how my my personality works and we are all very different. So you might be listening to this going yeah, give me the whole menu. Like, give me all the stuff to choose from. That sounds amazing. Belinda, you're crazy.
Speaker 1:It's because it's my personality type and my my human design that I am not meant to be overwhelmed with choice. I'm meant to be given a small amount of choices and lean towards the one that's more aligned with me. So now that I've put those two things together, it's made me really actually appreciate that I don't have so much choice. It's really weird that it took a trip to Melbourne and, knowing my human design, to realize that hang on a minute this works for my personal personality to have less choice when it comes to eating out. So crazy, I know, but yeah, very, very interesting. So you might be thinking I wish I had all these options and I wish that I had more to choose from, and you don't. But I want to focus on why this can be a really, really good thing.
Speaker 1:Now, when we live with celiac disease, we have so much going on, don't we? We have so much of this like mental overload, this burden, this constantly thinking about stuff that if you are presented with too many choices, sometimes it can be hard to pick just one Okay, whereas if you are just given a couple of choices, you can narrow it down In hindsight. I can see now when I go out for meals and I'm given a menu and on that menu I can immediately look and see those things on there that are gluten-free, whether there's two options, three options, maybe five. All I need to do is hone in on those gluten-free options and pick one. I don't have to look at the whole menu. I don't have to try and be like and pick one. I don't have to look at the whole menu. I don't have to try and be like do I want pancakes for breakfast? Do I want waffles? Do I want eggs on top? Like? There's not all these massive amounts of options, it's a couple, and it's so easy to make a decision and I cannot believe that I'm even saying this, that I'm loving that I do have less options and that I find it easier to eat this way.
Speaker 1:Now, I think this does come back to really learning how to tap into what your body is feeling like in that very moment and listening to what you want rather than what you think you should have. Listening to what you want rather than what you think you should have, because often when we're given too much choice, we don't want to miss out, like if you've been out with a group of friends and everyone orders all these different things. And then you see that your mate down the table's got something that you wished you got. You're like, oh damn, that looks so good, I wish I'd ordered that. And you get annoyed at yourself because perhaps you'd talked yourself out of ordering that and that was your first choice. So it's good to go with those first choices and listen to your instincts and listen to your gut of what you actually really want to eat. And that comes back to thinking about what you feel like before you even look at the menu. Am I feeling like eggs on toast this morning with some bacon and some smashed avocado, or am I feeling like something completely different? If you think about it first before you open the menu, often you'll less likely get swayed to eat something that you didn't actually feel like or want. So that's a really interesting way of eating out, and I've done that for a very long time and find that that works very, very well with being in tune with your own body.
Speaker 1:And a lot of this does tie back to your own home life. So I mentioned about my husband, like if he gives me, you know, no options to pick from when he's cooking dinner, I'm so grateful that he cooks. I'm not complaining at all, but I do love it when he gives me options rather than making me make another decision. You know I make so many decisions all week with the kids and getting everything organized and doing all the things, and he's only home for a few days with the kids and getting everything organized and doing all the things, and he's only home for a few days. It'd be lovely for him to just make those decisions and me not having to pick another meal for the week. So in that respect I do appreciate it when he just makes a decision and cooks those meals.
Speaker 1:So when you live kind of simply I this is a big thing for me we do a lot of meals on repeat. We focus on the kids' favorites. We are in a very different stage of life at the moment to where we were 10 years ago. We eat very differently because we have young children and we do focus on cooking meals that they eat, because who wants to be cooking multiple meals or cooking a meal and then the kids don't eat it? That's bloomin frustrating. So we are very much in the thick of rotating different meals and sometimes that's easy because the kids just know hey, do you want this tonight, or do you want that, or you know you? Just it's the same thing. You're giving them a few options and they know what to expect, whereas if I go I'm gonna cook such and such and it's some fancy ass dinner that they've never heard of and oh, I don't want to eat that. Like it gets overwhelming, it gets stressful for everyone.
Speaker 1:So do be conscious of there are stages of our lives that we do cook certain ways and we do eat certain ways, and it depends on who's in our life and who's in our family and how old they are, and that can really affect us. So I know for a fact when my husband and I first got together, we cooked so many amazing meals we were fancy as we would cook every amazing meal under the sun. We ate so many delicious meals and we joke about it that we don't eat that way anymore because the kids won't eat it. We do cook very simple, basic, easy meals that are quick and easy, don't cost a fortune, that the kids will love, and these are all within meal plans mateys, my gluten-free meal plan program. Because of that reason, because who wants to be slaving away in the kitchen and the kids are like I don't want to eat that. So, you know, make it easy on yourself and make meals that everybody will be happy with, because that is a game changer and really tapping into what you feel like, rather than, you know, doing all these crazy things that no one in the family either is grateful for or is going to eat anyway. So that's something to be conscious of now as I wrap up this episode.
Speaker 1:I want you to think about this as not restriction, but a form of peace and a form of clarity and a way that it's just taking away that extra burden. So next time you go out to eat and there's not much on the menu, I want you to think about this episode and what I've spoken about today and be more grateful that you don't have to be overwhelmed. You don't have to be stressed that there's not 100 options on the menu. You can literally look at that menu and pick something very simply and listen to your body. Do what I've said about thinking about what you might feel like before you open the menu.
Speaker 1:Another hot tip is to ask for something that's not on the menu. Many, many restaurants will cook you something that is not on the menu if it's simple. So there's lots of options that you can ask for, whether it's, you know, grilled chicken or a steak, or, you know, chat potatoes instead of the fries things like that you can ask. They can only say yes or no, and you're a paying customer. So often they will bend over backwards, depending on the place. Obviously, fast food places aren't going to accommodate to you, but many restaurants and many cafes will put together a meal for you that you feel like.
Speaker 1:So don't be shy, don't be scared to ask and, like I said, listen to your body, hone into what feels good for you and and just be grateful for the options that are available to us, because, at the end of the day, it does bring that peace of mind and it does lower our stress levels. And for me, I'm so grateful now that I've realized this about myself. And if you don't know much about human design, go and type in human design body graph and go do your body graph and find out a little bit more about your body type, because it's so cool, it's so insightful and it just will teach you a lot about yourself. So, yeah, check that out. Thank you so much for listening to this episode and checking out the show. I am so grateful to have you here, and it's always just great to share some of my personal experiences with you guys as well, so I will talk to you again next week on the show. Take care bye.
