Monday, March 31, 2014

W6GF

week 6 gluten free

What have I learned these past 6 weeks?

I have learned that this is hard.  I have gotten glutened (meaning I accidentally ate gluten) almost every weekend since my diagnosis.  Gluten is hiding everywhere.  Sometimes I think this is easy, no big deal.  Other times I think, this is really hard, how am I going to survive?  There is still a lot for me to learn, but here are some of my thoughts about this journey. 

Eating out is really hard.  I ordered a "gluten-free" dish the other night and low and behold it had 2 glutenous items screaming at me.  Another time I ordered a gluten free bun and my burger came out with a regular bun.  Even when I order gluten free stuff, I just have to hope it doesn't get cross-contaminated.  One time I got gluten free bread for a sandwich but they didn't change their gloves or use a different cutting board. And... I got sick. I don't want to be high maintenance and send my food back and at the same time I don't want to eat something if I know it will make me sick.  It's hard to figure out if the restaurant really gets it. Have they checked all their ingredients for gluten or have they just eliminated the bread items and think it's good to go?  I am trying to make a list of gluten-free-friendly places (after 6 weeks I have three) because they can be hard to find, harder than I thought. Eating out is definitely not as much fun as it used to be. 

I'm learning that free food is also not as fun as it used to be.  I used to live for that stuff.  Cookies, pizza, donuts just showing up at work or church functions was the best. Now I'm starting to understand that free food usually contains gluten. I used to scoff at the fruit and veggie platters at parties. We all know we come for the baked goodies. Now I am always looking for the fruit.  It's safe.

I am figuring out what works, trying not to eat the same thing everyday, and trying to keep my grocery bill under control.  At least we will be eating out less.  Any tips are certainly welcome!


1 comment:

Rachel said...

That's so rough. My mother in law can't have gluten either so we are always modifying our recipe idea or restaurants. Have you read the blog one lovely life? Her recipes have always been great but lately they have been gluten free to help her daughters autism. Anyway, hopefully that helps you find yummy meals and desserts