Gluten Free Guys: Meet Chris!

One of the the first things I noticed when I first saw Chris, aka Glutenfree.az, on Instagram was all the food recommendations. We may have never met in person, but based on his IG diet… a little bit of meat, a little bit of dessert, throw in some chips and wash it down with some White Claw…I have a feeling we could put together a heck of a meal!

Check out his story below, he’s been dodging the G for quite some time now, so he would be an excellent resource to reach out and ask questions!

1) Your story…tell us a little bit about yourself!

“My name is Chris, I live in Phoenix, AZ. I recently got married to my favorite person @mrsglutenfreeaz who is also allergic to gluten (lucky me!). I love God, my family, my dog, music, and definitely food! I found out I was allergic to gluten in 2010-2011. I quickly decided I didn’t want to eat food from health food stores so I made it my mission to find as many places and products I could eat that were delicious.”

2) Why do you eat gluten free food?

“I eat gluten free because Celiac disease runs in my family and although I am not full blown celiac, I have bad reactions to gluten. From super painful stomach aches and g.i. issues, to dry sky and cloudy brain, I have realized its not worth it to eat gluten.”

3) What is your favorite gluten free snack? Where can we find it?

“I don’t have a favorite specific snack, I love all snacks equally. Lately I have been loving on flavored popcorn or popcorn with popcorn seasonings like Kernal Seasons. Im also always up for a good queso dip!”

4) What’s your favorite gluten free recipe?

“Right now my favorite recipe is probably Creamy Tuscan Parmesean Chicken (with Brazi bites on the side). Its super easy to make and you only have to modify the pasta and make sure your chicken broth is GF.” https://therecipecritic.com/creamy-tuscan-garlic-chicken/

5) What’s one thing you wish you knew when first went gluten free?

“I wish I knew earlier on that there were so many foods I loved that were modified to be gluten free. Or just things I loved and didn’t realize they were safe to begin with. I spent too much time thinking I wasn’t going to eat certain things again. Glad I was wrong.”

6) If you could only eat one gluten free meal for the rest of your life,what would it be and why?

“Tough to pick just one meal forever but probably bacon cheese burgers and fries. Or maybe tacos. Or pizza. Or steak. lol”

7) What advice would you give someone who is about to go gluten free?

“My best advice would be to read all labels, top to bottom, front and back. Create lists of things and places you can eat, and in this day and age, use other people’s advice and experience. It took me way to long to find places and foods that I could eat. (Thus why I created my account) “

8) What’s your favorite thing about being gluten free?

“My favorite thing about being gluten free is finding new gluten free places and products that my friends and family have never tried, and sharing all the delicious finds with them. Additionally I have to say that I am a much better cook since finding out I was allergic to gluten, so I like that too.”

9) What is one thing you dislike about being gluten free and what do youdo to mitigate it?

“I really miss not being able to eat anything I want anywhere I am. Whenever I am somewhere new I always have to research where and what I can eat. I have a helpful app that usually does the trick. It’s called Find Me gluten Free”