At a recent shopping trip to Trader Joe's, I read a lot of labels. Many items that I thought looked like good candidates for being gluten-free had a tag line that, in effect, said: Our producers use good practices to avoid contamination with allergens. We make no guarantee that this food is not contaminated.
So, do I eat it or not? What does it mean: We try really hard but maybe we failed? Eat at your own risk? I visit the nutritionist that works out of my primary care doc's office in a couple of days. She's not a celiac specialist (I still haven't heard back from the GI doc's office for celiac-specializing nutritionist referal -- grrrr), but her dad has celiac and she's helped him deal with it for 30 years. I expect she'll have a lot of good real life advice. I also want to get advice on B vitamins. Maximize your nutrient-to-joy ratio and create a life of pleasure. Ms. W., author of the Joyful Celiac blog.
So, Corn Chex, a cereal I ate occasionally as a kid, is gluten free. It's really great that there is a 100% normal, familiar processed food product that is unselfconsciously gluten-free. I bought a box a few days ago. My younger son and I ate it all in about two days. We bought a new box. I've had four bowls since then.
I worked hard in 2009 to lose 30 pounds. I have mostly kept it off through conscious eating (heavy on greens and beans, a la Eat to Live and Joel Fuhrman) and regular exercise. Gluten replacement foods are mostly devoid of nutritional value, and I don't need a lot. In fact, my health and weight management goals would suggest that I should drop them all together. So what's with the lure of the Corn Chex? They are pretty tasty, especially with vanilla almond milk. Maybe they can be the ticket to the satisfying desserty food I crave. Note to self: Research Corn Chex desserty recipes and figure out a strategy for portion control. Yesterday the family and I chose Chili's as the place to go for lunch after a bike ride. We contemplated a hip local restaurant, but the wait was too long. We considered a South Philly diner, but I didn't relish the gluten conversation there. So, we decided to look for a chain restaurant that would have stuff the kids like and which would probably have a GF menu from the corporate headquarters. Chili's appeared like a beacon on the horizon (or a big sign at the strip mall.)
We were right. Chili's does have a GF menu with a pretty good list of offerings. It clearly states in many places that not only is gluten contamination possible, it's downright likely in their kitchens. Not knowing how sensitive I am to gluten, I decided to hope for the best. I had black beans, corn on the cob and steamed veggies (broccoli and carrots.) I enjoyed it all. Until last night. I hadn't realized how much my symptoms had abaited until they returned. I won't go into details. It wasn't awful, but it's sure a lot nicer to live feeling generally good all the time. So, would I pick Chili's again? Probably. There's no telling if the restaurant was the cause of my contamination, or if I did it myself while preparing PB&J on wheat bread for my 9-year-old or toaster waffles for my 6-year-old. I do have a better idea of my level of sensitivity. |
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