There are some very good books out there. "The Gluten Free Bible", "Gluten Free For Dummies", I love the Dummies books, they are very well written, "Allergy Free", by Konrad Kail is another good book, I have another one, but I loaned it to a friend and can't remember the name of it. There are forums online that are very good, there is a froum here, but it isn't very busy. This is an excellent forum, with very informed people:
http://www.glutenfreeandbeyond.org/forum/ , another forum, which is more talky is
www.celiac.com . I am always available to answer questions. I have been gluten free for 7 1/2 yrs, my sister is also celiac and a dietician too.
I agree, it's not always easy, yet, it's not as difficult as it used to be. Many more companies are listing gluten free on their products now. You don't have to buy processed products. Eat whole foods. Eat potatoes, fresh meats, fresh veggies and fruits. Stay away from processed foods. If you like spaghetti, there is Tinkyada brand, which is gluten free and very good, and can be found quite often in the supermarket, they also make macaroni. You can make your own sauces. You can go online and find the companies that make gluten free spices, McCormacks have always been gluten free. I am not sure anymore about the spices, I am intolerant of so much that I eat very simple and stay away from all spices. I wish I was a "normal" celiac.
I am intolerant of all grains, no nightshades, no cruciferous veggies, no red meats, no shellfish--so actually, going gluten free was the easy part for me.
You can google "gluten free foods" and find so much now. When my sister and I were trying to figure out what was wrong with us 8 yrs ago, the info was much harder to find and the doctor's knew less than nothing. When she asked her doctor to test her for celiac disease, he laughed at her. She insisted he do the testing and after he found celiac disease and realized how bad the damage actually was, he fell all over himself apologizing for his ignorance. Doctors still do not get it here. They are getting better, but they have a long way to go.
Ask away, if I know the answer I will be happy to help, if I do not know the answer, I will get it for you.
Deb