Showing posts with label gluten. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gluten. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

It's difficult being Gluten-free


I’m not feeling well. It is discouraging, since I’ve been so careful to watch everything I eat. The Pepto Bismol bottle is almost empty. I take a quick look at the label, but nothing registers as a danger, so I drink the rest of the bottle. I think: does it really matter at this point whether there is gluten in it?
I go over everything I’ve eaten in the last few days. It was difficult to eat at the conference and be gluten free, but not impossible. The only thing I can think of that I knowingly ate with gluten in it was the Sacrament bread. I did talk with the Bishop after church on Sunday. He is willing to do whatever is needed to make it safe for me to take the Sacrament. The steps are a little intensive. The tray would need to be washed, so no crumbs are left. I would need to bring rice bread, which would have to be kept separate from the other bread, which cannot be put on the same tray. The Priest who will bless and break the bread would have to remember not to touch the other bread before the rice bread. Difficult, but not impossible.
Not knowing if what I am eating will make me sick, regardless of how careful I’m being is… well, it makes me not want to eat anything at all. Since that isn’t an option, I eat. It is comparable to walking down a hall in the dark, not sure that you’ll end up in the right place without falling down stairs or tripping on something. Tiptoeing in the dark makes me cautious.
Tomorrow is my birthday. My husband says he’ll take me out to eat. I’ve got to decide where to go… which is not as much fun as it used to be. Any suggestions?

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Healthy Living Tip 3: Celiac and Gluten

For years I thought, if I ever end up with some horrible disease, I’ll go vegetarian. A few months ago I decided this was really self-defeating—after all, eating well can keep bad diseases and problems away, so why wait for them to show up?
So I’ve been trying harder. Only it wasn’t enough. I was having some problems and decided to check a few things. The diagnosis is in: I have Celiac Disease. This means I need to cut out all gluten from my diet. Insert evil laughter.
As much as I love sweet things, I love breads even more. Nothing beats a warm roll with honey butter on it or a pineapple upside down cake with melting ice cream. Or a wide cinnamon roll. They say I can still have those things, just as soon as I learn how to bake them. I’ll do that as soon as I decide what kind of flour I want to use: almond? Rice? Potato? And what is Xanthan Gum?
I’m sure I’ll figure it out one day. Until then, I think I’ll stick to meals and foods I do know, tweaking them a little if I need to. I do want to have some comfort foods around, so if I am feeling deprived, I can treat myself. I found a great list, made to go with your kid to school, but it works for me. I hope it helps you, too.