Jennie Bragg is an Editorial Producer in CNN’s Money Unit. Previously - Celiac? To heck with that!
When it comes to food - and pretty much everything else in my life - I have always been a creature of habit. This gets me into what I refer to as food ruts; I eat the same thing for breakfast or lunch (or both) for days, weeks, even months at a time, until I wear myself out completely and decide I can’t stand the sight of said food anymore.
Such was the case recently with almonds. I loved them. I couldn’t get enough. I put them on yogurt, oatmeal, salads, and ate ‘em by the heaping handful. Then, out of nowhere, my almond joy vanished.
This is not the first time this has occurred. I have worn myself out on everything from soy crisps to dried apricots to a certain brand of vanilla yogurt. In college, I think I ate the same turkey sandwich for lunch for about a year.
These days, I attribute my rut-eating to the you-can’t-eat-that feeling I get when I walk into a grocery store, a restaurant, or the CNN cafeteria. I have been living with celiac disease and, as a result, eating gluten-free for quite some time now.
I’m not saying I get overwhelmed by a trip to the grocery store or a menu - I just get lazy. If I know what I am going to eat, and more importantly, what I CAN eat, I don’t have to read labels or ask multiple people whether or not this soup contains gluten. Finding the gluten in everyday foods can be a chore - sometimes, one I am not ready to take on.
