On a scale of 1-5, I would give myself a 4 on my gluten challenge. I made several small lapses, but overall I stuck to my gluten-free guns.
Monday through Friday wasn’t so hard because I was able to plan ahead. I did have dashes of soy sauce here and there but I also picked up gluten-free Tamari at Whole Foods towards the end of the week (thanks to LivingSocial for the WH deal!). And I had a bite of a chocolate chip cookie that a visitor of The Raleigh Forum brought by! My diet consisted of hearty and healthy salads; soup from Trader Joe’s (including roasted tomato and red pepper, as well as lentil soup); home-made frittatas (sans flour); lots of chopped veggies with Alouette spreadable cheeses for dipping; green beans; roasted Brussel sprouts with walnuts; ground turkey fajita bowls with chickpeas; apple sauce; this chicken sausage dish; and of course, coffee.
All was well even on Friday afternoon, as we grabbed sushi from Harris Teeter to eat in the car on the way to Charleston. And by eat, I mean I drove as my sister fed me pieces. The trouble set in later in the evening when we stopped at McDonalds for fries and milkshakes. Healthy? No. Gluten-free? Debatable. According to this article, the fries at McDonalds contain trace amounts of gluten.
On Saturday morning, we ate an al fresco breakfast at our adorable bed and breakfast. Unfortunately, the menu was delicious but certainly not gluten-free banana rum french toast! At the Mexican restaurant we went to for lunch, I requested extra rice and beans with my fajitas in lieu of tortillas. One point for Cristina! During afternoon tea at our hotel, I had a little cracker. Because cheese without a cracker is not the same. At the wedding we attended on Saturday night, I ate a roll. Not because it was delicious or out of necessity. Just for the heck of it. Minus five points for Cristina.
On Saturday night, we made new friends that we traipsed around town with. Let’s just say, I don’t think the Irish car bombs we imbibed chugged at Tommy Condon’s were gluten-free. Nor was the Bud Light I drank half of and then dropped on the floor of Mad River. Trust me, the drop resulted from my clumsiness; nothing else.
Sunday morning’s breakfast consisted of Lowcountry Eggs Benedict- another lapse on my part. For lunch, we were cautious, ordering big garden salads and a sashimi appetizer. I grabbed a few bites of gluten-free cajun rice pilaf before jumping into bed and falling promptly to sleep at 9pm last night.
Since I haven’t figured out a fool-proof pattern yet, I’m now heading into my second week of being gluten-free. Wish me luck and stay tuned for some inspired gluten-free recipes!
Scintillating Simplicity 