It is day 22 of the Slice of Life Challenge at Two Writing Teachers - 22 days in a row of writing something about life and for me a poem or two. I think I'm up to 24 or 25 poems today, since on a few days I wrote two poems. I'll count sometime.
Today is Cabin Fever Day at church! Yum. It's gonna be a cookout day! Enough of winter already! Okay, so the cookout isn't going to be outside. (Oh, it's snowing as I'm scheduling this for tomorrow, Sunday. Perfect.) We'll have a pretend cookout...in the church for dinner. Can hardly wait for those hot dogs and hamburgers. Oh, man! Gluten-free?!? I'd better bring a head of lettuce to put my burger in!
Ever since I discovered some problems I've had have been caused by gluten and quit eating anything containing gluten, I've discovered there are very few good substitutes for old favorites with gluten. Slowly I'm learning which things are okay substitutes and which things you just do something different entirely because the substitutes are like eating particles of styrofoam. And styrofoam doesn't toast well.
I think I've mentioned before that peanut butter does go well on potato chips instead of Saltines. And chocolate does not contain gluten. So that is a very good thing. Lettuce makes a good taco shell, tuna salad roll-up, and holder for a burger. I am learning to make changes in the way I view foods. I am learning to get creative in how I make meals. I am having to be careful where I eat out. No grilling sandwiches on the grill where my food will be cooked. I have to watch for eggs that have toast crumbs on them because they forgot and put toast on my plate then took it off and served me the toast-tainted eggs. My breakfast meal out today touched bread somewhere, I found out about 30 minutes later. I guess they are off my list. It's happened at least twice since I've been aware of the "solution".
The good news is, more places are being careful and aware. Amato's makes a wonderful gluten free pizza. The crust is delicious.
Ruby Tuesday's has a menu that lists what is gluten free there. Just ask for it. And they double check what you have ordered and what your specific allergy is to be sure they have it correct and your food is safe for you. I felt so confident there. And I was fine.
If you are not sensitive or severely allergic to gluten, you really don't need to cut it out. But I do wonder if we have so laced our meals and food items with gluten when we don't need to, that we have created this problem. I was surprised, not pleasantly, when I discovered I could not eat Chinese food. The soy sauce has wheat in it. Who knew? Never assume. Always ask or read labels when available.
Today is cookout day. I will carefully eat my burger, lettuce or no lettuce. But definitely with ketchup and a smile on my hungry face. Hope your day is beautiful.
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As today is Sunday, it seems only appropriate that I would use the
word Preach for Heidi Mordhorst's ending CH word challenge for March
over at My Juicy Little Universe.
There actually isn't a word for today, but she did have "Preach"
earlier, and due to a bit of confusion on the word list (I was using an
old list), I used a different word. Though she graciously gave me and
others credit for the wrong word, I'd like to make it up here! So
PREACH it is today!A double diamante is what I've chosen to do. If I did it again, I'd change the order of the words, but not at this point!
Preach
preach
powerfully, loudly
teaching, listening, revealing
fellowship, verses, Bible, amen, solitude
kneeling, seeking, knocking
humbly, quietly
pray
sweetly, earnestly
asking, praising, thanking
mouth, heart, Psalms, harmony, voices
mouth, heart, Psalms, harmony, voices
rising, ringing, filling
joyfully, melodically
sing
©Donna JT Smith
Well, you had me at the title. I too am gluten free and it's not very freeing is it? I'm with you here. I know the exact feeling you speak of and how long it take me to read everything! So annoying but definitely worth it. Great post! Hope it's a wonderful cook out!
ReplyDeleteIt's like a little gift when I find something new that's gf and good! Or when I find a restaurant that has gf options. Portland Pie has a gf pizza and calzone we discovered also.
DeleteI imagine it must be hard to make such a big change in your diet. I have a good friend whose son has life threatening food allergies and he really suffered here (Malaysia) because much food isn't correctly labelled and/or food preparation places are not careful. I am glad you are finding alternatives.
ReplyDeleteIt's an adjustment, but easily accepted when it makes such a change in your life to avoid it!
DeleteThere are so many gluten-free people now! I actually like Rudi's bread--it makes good toast! Very cool that you are writing poems every day, as well as your life slice!
ReplyDeleteThe good thing is that they are making gf options since there are more people with problems...the bad thing is, there are more people with problems so there need to be more options! Rudi's for toast. I'll have to try it. Thanks for the tip.
DeleteI like the 'rising, ringing, filling', makes me see that congregation clearly, Donna. As for the allergies & gluten-free, I'm glad to know about the toast crumbs. I am not gluten-free, but know some who are. They might not know this. A former colleague also couldn't do Chinese because of the soy sauce. He was allergic to shellfish & found that sometimes shrimp was blended into the sauce. Hope your 'picnic' is fun!
ReplyDeleteHad a great day! I even have to be careful that the grill is cleaned if bread has been grilled or toasted on it before my omelet is cooked there. That was the problem with our regular breakfast place. Can't go there any more.
DeleteEnjoy your spring picnic on this chilly post snow Maine day!
ReplyDeleteIt was COLD and very windy today, but our cooks wore their long-johns and winter garb and stayed toasty by the grills!
DeleteYour poem is wonderful! For 3 months I teach Sunday school and your poem speaks to me about what I've been missing as I leave the service with the children.
ReplyDeleteI too am gluten-free. Yesterday I went to Red Robin for a burger. Their buns are better than what I can find elsewhere and their fries are not fried in a fryer with other things and are gluten free.
I hope you had a great picnic.
There's a Red Robin about 45 minutes from us. We'll have to try it next time we're up in its neck of the woods. Thanks for the lead!
DeleteI am so thankful that I do not have food allergies, yet. It would be distressing to dine out, think you are getting what you ordered, only to discover that the minute crumb causes you pain later.
ReplyDeleteYour diamante has captured the experiences of a service.
Even my pizza at Amato's gets cut with a clean cutter on a clean board and boxed with clean gloves, to avoid cross contamination. That's easy to have happen when young people are handling foods and don't know it is important.
DeleteI see more and more places serving gluten free meals as well as many recipes that are marked gluten free. I don't have a problem, , but I really should cut back on what I do eat. Ruby Tuesday's - one of my favorite places to eat especially when they keep sending me buy-one-get-one 50% coupons.
ReplyDeleteOh, good deals at Ruby Tuesday's. I'll have to keep an eye out for those coupons!
DeleteI love your positive attitude about this! That's got to be hard with such a huge dietary change. Your tips are great, too; my husband tries to avoid gluten for health reasons, and your suggestions will help a lot.
ReplyDeletePerhaps tomorrow I can post more things I've discovered over the past few months. I've gotten some good ideas here that I can use! It's nice when you stop being sick almost every time you eat!
DeleteGluten Free - it is a journey. I order my burgers naked with a tease of pickles and ketchup. We have a local India Grill here in town that I can eat everything but the Naan. I am not as sensitive as some for that I am grateful.
ReplyDeleteI discovered something that works for me if I have only come in contact with small particles of the offending substance. Pepto Bismal will stop me from getting real sick. It is not a cure and it has only worked when the encounter is moderate.
I also search pinterest for new recipes.
Several years ago I was talking to a lady who lived gluten free. She asked me where I was at in my journey? Was I starting to experiment with knew foods or was I just learning what I could eat? Like you I now am learning to look at food differently.
An interesting way to look at it, but true! I am not feeling deprived, I just eat differently now. New recipes, new ways of eating some old foods, and lots of foods that naturally occur gluten free make it tolerable and even tasty...Krusteaz makes a great corn bread mix. I add a bit more cornmeal to it, add a second egg and just a bit of extra sugar. If you add mashed bananas it is a great banana corn bread.
DeleteIt's a challenge to be gluten free even though there are more options. IT is definitely a journey. I loved your double diamante. And I like the new look of your blog.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is. I thought I'd be more miserable though, trying to eat right, but it is evolving nicely.
DeleteDonna, although I have read 60 posts already I just couldn't end without stopping by your post. I was very interested in your diet since my husband has had lap band surgery and still has not figured out what he can and can't eat. I wish he had a more positive attitude but I am working on that. Enjoyed your new preach poems.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm glad you stopped in. I hope your husband adjusts to the surgery. As he sees results, that will probably make a difference in attitude. That is another thing that requires a significant lifestyle change!
DeleteDonna my niece and daughter in law must eat gluten free. There is a bread at Cosco that is gf and is delicious! It's in a brown wrapper. Also did you know corn tortillas are gf? No need to just use lettuce. There are so many gf items at grocery stores even Wal Mart! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI don't think we have a Cosco(sp?) in Maine. Yes, I've used corn tortillas. If I heat them in a frying pan first (like you are supposed to!) then they are actually pretty good. Thee is also some pretty good spaghetti. I didn't rinse it the first time I used it and it was awful. But rinsing takes the starchiness off and makes it taste MUCH better!
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