The time has come for our goodbye to a troublesome family member. That innocuous, smiling cousin who causes too much drama, but hides behind sugar-coated smiles. Who makes us sick to our stomachs, but that we invite back time and time again.

Oh, wheat. You’re such a jerk.

Today marks 2 weeks since the bugz have been off wheat. The improvement has been remarkable for such a short period of time! The only complaints of tummy aches have been the attention-grabbing kind – the kind reserved for picky eaters who don’t want to try new foods Surprisingly, those tummy aches go away when the other choice is bedtime…!

Leith and I have been more moderate in our change over. There were a few bagels left over in the fridge, and I accidentally bought regular banana bread at the store. I thought it was gluten-free (because it was in the freezer…by other gluten-free things…), but fortunately, I read the label at home and discovered my error before the girls had any. I’ve also had the odd treat scarfed down when their backs were turned, and Leith has bought his lunch when he’s at work.

But today? Today is the end of wheat for me. Our house is officially emptied of wheat, and there is no turning back. I’ve already noticed a response in my own body when I have occasionally had wheat in the last week: quickly feeling groggy, bloated, and a little bit sick. While my own celiac tests were negative, it goes to show that there is something up about how the body tolerates this little grain.

When the bugz tested positive for celiac, we decided that our house would be wheat-free rather than trying to keep food separate and constantly explain why Mommy and Daddy could eat something, but the girls could not. I knew that there was a health shift towards removing wheat in people with no diagnosed wheat sensitivities, and I had no problem with being “forced” to eat healthier.

Wheat and sugar have been my downfall for as long as I can remember. I tried to cut added sugar out of my diet last spring, and with it came a lot of wheat. It was ridiculously hard, but I spent a greater percentage of my calories on whole fruits and vegetables, meats, cheeses, and very little baked or processed foods. I dropped weight like crazy, but it was the withdrawal that hurt me! It was all-consuming. I lost sleep, I was irritable, I was tired. My lifestyle was also too hectic for such an abrupt change; I’d failed to look at the necessary planning required to be successful.

Fast-forward a year, and I am ready. I am in a place where we have to make a change, or my kids will suffer innumerable health consequences. Celiac is not something that you can be cavalier about; it’s not like there’s a epi-pen they can carry in their back pockets in case of exposure. It’s a long, painful, drawn-out process of their digestive system failing – and not from a piece of bread. It’s from crumbs, and surprising wheat-filled additives in otherwise innocent foods.

I’m also in a place of knowledge this time, and knowledge is power. Having read and researched the implications of wheat in the diet for the past 3 months, I feel confident in my decision to remove it, as well as how to remove it and what to replace it with. Yes, there are a lot of gluten-free cereals, breads, treats and other conveniences available now. However, as our bodies are only really designed to eat seeds (grains) in limited quantities, it doesn’t make sense to replace one grain with another. Instead, we’re moving towards a more Paleo-inspired diet, rather than a modern, engineered diet.

Paleo? Despite the hype, it’s quite simple: meats, vegetables, fruits. Limited grain, seeds and legumes. Some dairy, but limited again. Basically, just enough dairy and grain to make life convenient, rather that having it dominate our fridge. Oh, and no junk: no additives, added sugar, flavours, etc. Just real food. The ultimate in clean eating.

Don’t get me wrong: this is a HUGE shift in our lifestyle. Wheat dominates almost every aspect of our grocery shopping, baking, and cooking, so this is ridiculously far-reaching. I’ve had to strip down everything I am used to doing in my kitchen and cross-check, rethink, look up, and relearn. It’s exhausting, but worth it. Once I’m past the mental drain of so much new, it will be life as usual.

In the meantime, I’ve started another blog to chronicle the journey. You can follow along at MagzD Gluten-Free. It’s a place to try out recipes, report on their successes and failures, and to provide support and resources. It’s my gluten-free, wheat-free journal.

In the meantime, here are some great resources that have made this transition easier for us:

• Wheat Belly, both the book and the blog
• Canadian Celiac Association
• Celiac.com