Is gluten free food really that bad?

As a British-Italian coeliac who’s been eating strictly gluten free for almost 5 years now, I know that gluten free food has always had a reputation for not being that nice, but I’ve always felt that, in the modern day, it’s not THAT bad?

I know some breads do taste like dookie and have the consistency and integrity of dried-up sandcastle, but even from the start of my diet, I didn’t find the bread all that bad. I actually liked the Schär ciabatta rolls on my very first try!

I can safely say that personally, I could never taste the difference between gluten and gluten free pasta. I guess once you’ve buried pasta beneath all that sauce, you can’t really taste any difference. But my parents eat gluten free pasta with me and say that there’s no difference in taste (maybe they’re just saying that to make me feel better icl). Pizza as well, although it’s flat, has actually been pretty nice in my opinion. Maybe I am huffing copium, but I actually genuinely enjoy certain gluten free frozen pizzas more than I did their gluten full counterparts. The same can be said for chicken nuggets and fish fingers - I don’t recall ever thinking they tasted different than their gluten versions.

Cakes can be dry, but it’s often mitigated by the buttercream or frosting, and it’s still nice in my opinion.

Maybe I’ve just gotten lucky? Idk, but for any new coeliacs reading this, I promise the food isn’t as bad as everyone says it is. You just have to shop around and find one you like, just like every other product under the sun!