Celiac - is there a pill for that??

Being lactose intolerant, I can't quite say "I'm SO GLAD I don't have a food allergy," but I can say "I'm SO GLAD I don't have this one!" And that's definitely the truth, I'm so glad I don't have Celiac disease for one reason:

those labels are impossible.

I mean, I didn't have to go to the emergency room once - but I only think that because I didn't physically go. I only know what packages told me and my body did not back me up on this challenge. Hidden wheat, things dusted with flour, amounts who-knows-who deemed negligible to include, I would have no idea. In all realities I'm sure I did once or twice in attempts to venture into the world of still processed and convenient.

Not only are those labels in magnifying glass print but those words are gigantic and meaningless. Having to compare my list of unsafe meaningless long words to what was actually on the box or container was almost comical at times. When two or three letters were the only difference between safe and unsafe it felt nearly hopeless. Like going into war. I'm stepping onto the battlefield here and in all probabilities I might die and if I don't I am one of the lucky ones. Tell my partner I loved her. I'd show you a picture but if life is like the movies then I'd be guaranteed to die a tragic death with a violin in the background. ha. Schindler's Ingredient List. hahahaha!

I would've liked the time to be able to cook all of my meals from raw ingredients and monitor EXACTLY what I'm eating - but even then, what about those dried spices? They were the kind you get from the grocery, not the kind you bag up yourself, who knows what makes up those preservatives or whatever. Not me. And I think one of the reasons I really enjoyed these gluten-free weeks is because I genuinely love cooking and will choose to do that over most other things whenever possible.

"No mom, I can't eat that frozen treat, I'm gluten-free. Why don't I cook you this great meal instead??"

How excellent. It was nutritious and not really missing anything I would normally eat but the breads and pastas. The pastas are easy to get around...and the bread too. I still have a box of gluten-free all purpose flour (in thinking about it now, I wonder how that works... hmm) that could easily make a loaf or two. No hidden valley ranch but who doesn't love a good vinaigrette or homemade French?

I loved the way eating that good, mostly unprocessed food made my body feel. I loved the energy and the lightness. I loved the EATING. I did not love not being able to resort to my usuals when eating out. But in all, the positives outweighed those minor negatives by far. The only thing standing in the way of actually staying pretty gluten-conscious/very low-gluten is this floorlength list of end of the year tasks. It's almost sad. I couldn't slow down if I wanted to now to incorporate cooking, eating, shopping et. cetera into my day because it's not a tradition I grew up with. It's not important enough.

We were busy when I was a kid doing sports and music and whatever else (babysitting club? yup.) and so we ate out every day, in the car, on the way to somewhere else. Or we ate in front of the TV to catch up. I wonder how I'd feel if I came from a background where dinnertime was an important time, a sit-down together with no distractions and talk and eat and enjoy the food and each other time. I have a sinking feeling it wouldn't be so easy for me to eschew those things now, even in the face of the list I have. But it's about convenience and productivity here, about multi-tasking and doing things bigger, better, faster - not only in mealtimes but in the meals themselves (better referring to production efficiency, not so much taste/value). I am looking forward to my slow summer and eating naturally less gluten, naturally more nutritious. Thank someone's God for vegetables and meat and the means to prepare them.

I think if I had this assignment over the summer I'd hardly have to think about it. I'd have to take off the buns at the cookouts but otherwise? I loved these weeks. Again again, I say! Except with bread.









And I haven't eaten a tootsie since.


okay maybe one...