Ep 178 Plant Based Gluten Free
A Conversation with Desiree Nielsen and Ellen Bayens
Let’s start the blog with the show notes for this Episode –
A plant-based diet has many formats and can go by many names including vegetarian and vegan. On this episode I speak with Ellen Bayens about her recent pivot from gluten free to a plant-based gluten free diet. Recently, Ellen introduced me to a fellow podcaster, Desiree Nielsen, who is also a registered dietitian. This was a great opportunity to ask all the questions I’ve ever had about a plant-based diet and how it fits for someone who must adhere to a strict gluten free diet. Ellen talks about how she decided to try a plant-based diet, how she started and how she’s truly enjoying exploring new foods and flavours. Desiree walks us through the simplicity of the diet and gives us some specific tips to keep plant-based gluten free. You can listen to Desiree’s podcast – The Allsorts Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, or you can listen online at https://desireerd.com/podcast/. You can also find more information about Desiree’s book and her recipes at https://desireerd.com/.
Sue’s Websites and Social Media –
Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com
Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com
Facebook – @acanadianceliacpodcast
Twitter – CeliacPodcastCA
Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com
Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com
Instagram – @suesgfbaking
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL
Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com
Other Podcast – Gluten Free Weigh In – https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com
My Thoughts –
I’ve been on different diets ever since I was a child, all with a goal of weight loss. Some worked, at least temporarily, and some didn’t. It wasn’t until I received my celiac diagnosis that a diet was going to be my ticket to health. I approached the gluten free diet as I would medicine – something I had to adhere to. I’m glad I did.
It’s been over twenty-five years since I’ve been eating gluten free and in that time, I’ve again taken up different diet restrictions to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight – while staying strictly gluten free.
The idea of choosing a strictly plant-based diet seems like such a drastic step. I can appreciate the health benefits, and the fact that vegan/vegetarian meals and foods are more widely available these days, but, the change to plant-based just seems overwhelming.
My discussion with Ellen and Desiree was the first time I heard about making the transition to plant-based gradual, and maybe even never 100%. To me, diets were all or nothing, so this more casual approach had never occurred to me. As I think now, my older brother showed up to family dinner a couple of years ago saying he no longer ate red meat – just chicken or fish. Somehow, in my all or nothing brain, I didn’t see that on the spectrum of easing into a plant-based diet. Just as knowing Ellen had jumped into plant-based and then says once a week she eats meat, goes against my strict diet brain. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe experimenting with plant-based and the new flavours and recipes it brings is a direction I’m ready to try. I can’t say I’m going to go plant-based, but I will say I’ll try and incorporate some new ingredients and flavours into my current gluten free diet and recognize some of my current meals as plant-based to get me started. Who knows, maybe I’ll discover a new favourite meal.