Trouble Eating Out.. Good or Bad?!?

Once my husband is forced to be in a gluten free diet... Eating out has been a major issue for him. It basically rule out most of his favorite restaurant. It was a sad day. Because of this eating out problem, we were force to cook at home more often than usual and has to constantly reminding myself not to use any gluten. It is a big adjustment but once you get into habit of it. It is not that bad.

So what is the good and what is the bad for not being able to eat out...

The good:

1. Save money - Since you are not paying for restaurant food and service; often time, even though the restaurant serve gluten-free, they tend to be a little bit more expensive because the cost of the ingredients are often more expensive.
2. Stay Healthy - By cooking at home, you are more awared of the ingredients that are involved making a dish. Often time, you can't really know what was in the dish even though they might seem gluten-free. 
3. Be a better Cook - I have been doing a lot of research on gluten-free cooking and exploring and experimenting different recipes. By doing that, I am actually learning to be a better cook and learn to cook more variety. It's always a good thing.

The Bad:

1. Cost Money - I know I mentioned above that 'Save Money' is a good thing. But the initial phase of getting the gluten-free ingredients does cost quite a bit of money. Imagine spends $20 on a bag of Xantham gum or different type of flour for example. The ingredient cost a quite a bit, but they do last awhile.
2. Time Consuming - Even though I enjoy cooking now, however, it is time consuming expecially after a long day of work and need to prepare a meal that is not so much 'Out of the pantry'.
3. Shopping Take Longer - Often time, you will need to go to health food store to get the gluten-free ingredients; luckily, most of the larger supermarket does carry gluten free item now. If you are not shopping in the gluten-free aisle, you will have to read every single label and make sure that there is no known and/or hidden gluten in it. That will cost sometime.
4. Bye Bye Corona - This is extremely hard for my husband because he loves beer and Corona is his favorite. He is not a wine drinker so it's not easy for him to just switch. It was like the end of day when he found out that he could not have beer. He tried some gluten-free beer, it is just not the sample. Beer is not created equal afterall.

Sometimes, it is the idea of not being able to just simple going out and have a meal that it's difficult for a lot of people I talked to with Celiac Disease. But I think as long as being aware and smart about what you order, it will get easier.