To the fifteen-ish people I’ve already told this to, I apologize. It’s quickly becoming a tradition that as a mini-bonding ritual I’ve been giving up Gluten for Lent. I started last year and have again taken on the challenge this spring. I do it for my sister Meg who was diagnosed with Celiac a couple years ago. For those of you who don’t understand those first few sentences, it’s ok. You’re part of a majority in this country. Celiac is a food allergy which causes an inability to digest gluten properly. It causes major stomach issues and, if left unchecked, can lead to stomach cancer. You’re follow up question is probably, “Wow that sounds unfortunate, but what’s Gluten? It can’t be THAT bad.” Well, it is. Gluten is basically any carb that isn’t rice or potatoes. That means no bread products, no pastas, no pizza, and no beer. (tear…)
If you’re thinking that it doesn’t sound that difficult stop and think about what you eat on a day to day basis. Say you have cereal for breakfast. Unless it’s Rice Chex (terrible by the way) you’re pretty much screwed. So that goes out the door. Oh and forget about pancakes, waffles, or toast. Lunch? Maybe you go to Subway or get fast food. Try again… No bread products or anything breaded. Snack time- Maybe you like pretzels… No. Granola? Also a no. Dinner? Well good luck because you can’t have regular pasta so I hope you don’t like Italian. Basically everything needs to be made from scratch or else odds are its got gluten in it.
If you still don’t think it sounds too difficult then let’s talk money. If you shop for yourself you know regular pastas costs roughly a dollar for a box. Gluten free products can cost up to five times as much for just about everything. Gluten free pastas, baking products, and breads do exist but they’re pricey and usually not as good. (Unless it’s Meg’s cookies…those rock!) Not to mention the fact that trying to make Gluten-free food takes so long that most nights my sister just eats rice and plain chicken. Real exciting. One good thing about doing the Gluten free diet during Lent is it almost forces you to lose weight. You really can’t help it.
I’m not asking anyone to feel sorry for me and I’m certainly not complaining. I love doing this for my sister but the fact is so few people understand what celiac is and just how much of daily life it effects. It’s not just the difficulty in finding the food that’s rough. Cross contamination is probably the most difficult part of dealing with Celiac. For example: If I use a pan to cook breaded chicken then my sister can’t use that pan because the gluten is on it. My parents always have two different butters, peanut butters, and cream cheeses because she can’t use regular ones once a knife has been used to butter bread or anything like it. It’s quite comical because everything is marked “GF”. Some restaurants have Gluten-free menus but Meg can’t even really eat there because they use the same pots and pans to cook the food. This means she usually ends up bringing her own food to restaurants if anyone ever eats out. Guess what she brings… yep, chicken and rice. Not to mention that she has to buy special make-ups and things of that nature because, they too, contain gluten.
In the end, I suppose this is more of a PSA then anything else. If you know someone who has Celiac then try to do the diet with them if only for a few days. You’ll really gain a new respect for just how much they have to adjust to this disease. Thus concludes quite possibly the first educational blog I’ve ever written. Have a great day and GO GLUTEN FREE!!!
best man out!
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