* We have had some wintery weather here in MFAville over the weekend, which largely means that the whole damn town lost their minds, rushed out to buy gallons of milk and loaves of bread, and then closeted themselves until every last bit of the snow had melted away. Well, everyone except the eleventy-hundred idiots driving five miles per hour and cutting each other off on the main drag into town that I was on during the worst of the weather; I work in a business that never closes, ESPECIALLY during inclement weather, and with my workplace being staffed by locals (i.e. "people terrified of snow") there are always lots of call-outs during a winter storm. Call-outs = MORE MONEY FOR ME! So I spent forty-eight hours at my job (yes, I slept there) and made a lot of money, but this gluten-free thing makes it suck to try and eat there. I'm 90% sure I got glutenated via cross-contamination in the kitchen (or simple ignorance--turns out even chefs who are not themselves affected by gluten intolerance are pretty ignorant about hidden sources of gluten--Hotter glutenated last night's dinner with a flavoring packet from some ramen) at work, and 100% sure it happened again at home (the dinner in question was a roast, and I just cut the outside bits off a couple of slices but yeah, no bueno). Balllls. So apparently I have to get better about my self-control, and learn to "just say no" to stuff I didn't make myself (or that wasn't made by someone I can quiz on ingredients). This sucks though, because I'm the person, both at work and at home, who people come to when cooking something and go "taste this! What does it need?" Answer: NOT EFFING GLUTEN, DAMMIT!
* I then read this. WHAT?!? I love oats. The oats I have eaten since going gluten-free are labeled "gluten-free" and not processed on machinery shared with wheat, barley, or rye, but I did not know this about oats. It makes sense, though. I've grown wheat. The garden row where I grew wheat last year is currently planted with clover and kale. There are random stalks of wheat coming up here and there, which I feed to the bunnies. I think if I stay gluten-free (which I am starting to think that I will, given how I've felt without gluten and after accidentally ingesting even a tiny bit since then) I'm going to start over in the Spring with a row I've never grown wheat in, and plant lots of oats.
* Chick-fil-a? Hell no. Several people have asked me if going gluten-free will change my stance on a certain homophobic chicken chain, and it won't. Even if they are, apparently, the only chain restaurant whose fries I could safely enjoy (and man, those fries are DA BOMB--I've had them in the past) (other chains fry things with wheaty breadings in their fryers), I'm not putting so much as a penny into the pockets of the likes of Dan Cathy. Fried foods aren't good for you anyway.
* Xanthan gum: THE HORROR! I figured it probably came from something gross, and looked it up, and I was right. You know that black rot you see on broccoli and caulifower sometimes? Maybe you don't garden and haven't a clue what I'm talking about. Well, lucky you. I'm still going to bake with the stuff, but I'm going to shudder every time I do.
* This diet is turning me into SUCH A DICK ABOUT FOOD. Not that I wasn't already, but man I am truly insufferable now. I'd say I'm sorry, except I'm not. I have felt better since ditching gluten than I had in YEARS, so DICKERY AHOY!
* How are all of YOU?
1. I'm still refusing to contemplate the idea that I would feel so much better gluten free because WHEAT. (In my defense, my mental health makes it nearly impossible for me to feed myself anyway, so feeling like crap daily is honestly probably worth being able to at least eat /something/ everyday...)
2. YAY FOR HATING CHIK-FIL-A. Because they're still freaking assholes.
3. I was utterly terrified you were going to tell me xanthan gum was made of some animal part, because I'm still a dick about vegetarian foods. :P
Posted by: Kali | January 27, 2013 at 04:54 PM
My son and I are gluten free, and it does make a person into a dick. I can't help it, if I am not cooking the food myself thenI have to ask lots of questions and still take a chance on it. But I am miserable enough when I do eat something with gluten that I must be a food dick. Good luck to you.
Posted by: Sherry Seelhoff | January 27, 2013 at 06:12 PM
You may find you can tolerate small amts of gluten, such as the amt of flour used to brown a roast. Everyone's tolerance is different. I'm really glad you found something that makes a big difference in your health, though.
I think I may make your meatballs tomorrow. (Oh, I get to handle MFAMama's balls!)
Posted by: Bonnie | January 27, 2013 at 07:06 PM
Did not know that about xanthan gum. Ew...
Posted by: Attorney At Large | January 27, 2013 at 07:30 PM
Try making some homemade GF granola bars with your GF oats and whatever you like in that sort of thing to keep in your purse for when you get hungry at work. Then you won't feel deprived/tempted. :)
Posted by: amanda | January 28, 2013 at 12:55 PM