Before Monroe Tate was diagnosed with gluten intolerance, she’d finish her day with a bowl of pasta, garlic bread, and something sweet—comfort food after long hours teaching high school English.
Then came the diagnosis—and the panic. “What am I supposed to eat now?” she thought.
Her first few weeks gluten-free were rough. She tried to replicate old meals with expensive substitutes, but it didn’t feel sustainable. “It was exhausting, and my grocery bill doubled,” she says.
So she started fresh.
Instead of chasing gluten-free versions of everything, she began building simple meals that just happened to be naturally gluten-free. Roasted chicken with rice and vegetables. Stir-fries over quinoa. Soups with beans and herbs. Meals she could prep in advance and throw together in minutes after school.
“I had to think less about what I was avoiding,” Monroe says, “and more about what I wanted to eat.”
Now, Sunday evenings are her meal prep ritual—chopping, roasting, storing basics she can mix and match all week. One pot of chili, a tray of roasted veggies, and a cooked grain go a long way.
What once felt like restriction now feels like freedom. “I don’t even think about gluten anymore,” she says. “I just think about what sounds good, and I make it happen.”
