Opal Jensen didn’t go gluten-free because of a trend. She did it because she was tired of feeling foggy.
“I used to drink two coffees just to get through the morning,” she recalls. “And by mid-afternoon, I was crashing again.”
Doctors didn’t find anything medically wrong—but when a friend suggested trying a gluten-free experiment, Opal was curious. She gave it a week. Then two. By week three, her head felt clearer, her digestion calmer, and her energy more even. “It was like I’d turned the lights back on,” she says.
What surprised her most wasn’t the physical shift—it was how much gluten had been hiding in her “healthy” diet. Sauces, snacks, even some veggie burgers. Going gluten-free made her more aware of every ingredient, every choice.
But instead of letting it overwhelm her, Opal took a relaxed, intuitive approach. She focused on naturally gluten-free foods—brown rice, sweet potatoes, legumes, vegetables—and found gluten-free breads she actually liked.
“It wasn’t about restriction,” she explains. “It was about alignment.”
Her meals got simpler, and so did her life. Cooking became less about recipes and more about rhythm: nourishing breakfasts, satisfying lunches, steady dinners. “It wasn’t magic,” she says. “It was just clarity—and food that finally worked for me.”
Now, she helps others explore gluten-free living without the fear or fuss. “If something makes you feel better, that’s enough reason to explore it.”
