luvs2eat

This was from a Wife Swap where the swapped wife tried to throw out this young man's bacon. Cracks me up every time I see it!!

I made my own blends when I first had to go gluten-free (10 years ago) but am thrilled not to have to store (and purchase!) all those different kinds of flours! Now I'm a huge fan of Better Batter flour that I buy online. I've not tried a lot of cakes or cookies but the pie crusts I make are delicious and the dough rolls out really well.

I don't remember why I went to The Olive Garden website, but when I did I saw their few gluten-free offerings. Then I saw a place for recipes. I looked in there and they had not one, not two, but THREE recipes for risotto that were totally gluten-free (I make risotto at home all the time)! I emailed them and told them how excited I was and asked if they used the recipes on their website in their restaurants... because if they did, they were missing some awesome gluten-free offerings on their menu in their risotto... which I think is probably one of the best foods on earth... and how amazing it would be to order the grilled shrimp or chicken you can order for the gluten-free pasta dishes and have it on risotto??

Now, I know that The Olive Garden doesn't do their own cooking in their restaurants. I know their dinners are sort of TV dinners that they just heat up and serve. But I was hoping against hope that I was wrong!

They sent me back the generic email... "Thank you for your interest. We are proud to be able to offer some gluten-free items on our menu..." yada... yada... yada.

I wrote them back and said that I'd seen their gluten-free offerings (boring) and needed to know if their risotto recipes on the website contained the same ingredients as the ones they serve in the restaurant!!

They finally wrote me back and said, "No, the recipes on the website are not the same ones we use in the actual restaurant. We refer you back to the gluten-free menu."

I was disappointed, but not surprised. I wrote them one last time and said, "Thanks for confirming what I'd heard... that your food is essentially TV dinners that you reheat and are not cooked on the premises."

Oh well...

Oh... trust me... you're not the first and won't be the last. I've been doing this for TEN years... and picked up a bag of Rudi's (Rudy's??) hot dog buns thinking that all of Rudi's offerings were gluten-free. Two hours after I ate, I spent the next 3-4 hours sicker than I've ever been. The next morning I read the bag... WHEAT hot dog buns.

My daughter found them and asked to see the store manager. She told him, "I just need to hug somebody!!"

But at $10 a box??? Yikes!

I'm a huge BB fan. For pancakes I've used and really liked Pamela's pancake and waffe mix.

I took some leftover bread and grated it w/ a box grater so the "shards" were pretty big. Then I toasted it all and have what I think is gluten-free panko.

My daughter was so happy to find a box of gluten-free matzoh. She said it was $10 per box... I'd totally pay $10 per box!!

I had a meal in a pretty fancy restaurant (can't remember the name) and many of the offerings were listed as gluten free. I asked them specifically, as they had several fried things, if their french fries... which were listed as gluten-free... were fried in the same oil as the other fried things they offered and they told me they were. I told them that they needed to take the listing that their fries were gluten-free OFF the menu as they were NOT gluten-free. As far as I know, they never did.

I did go to a local online review site and tell my story so that maybe other celiacs would see it!

I had a weak positive ANA about 3 or 4 years into my gluten-free journey. My doc said it was a Lupus marker. I was freaked!! She sent me to a rheumatologist. I saw him 3 times in 18 months... he took lots of blood and felt lots of my joints and found nothing unusual and let me go.

My youngest daughter had such an extreme celiac beginning... she spent more than a year eating nothing but:

eggs

white rice

cauliflower

plain chicken and salmon

apples

And this list took her months to figure out. She reacted to every class of veggies, most fruits, and anything processed. She's finally able to eat lots more foods, but will always have a lot of intolerances... no dairy, several veggie and fruit classes, and others. But she's doing so well and is so healthy now!

I seem to be out of the "normal." I had no symptoms whatsoever until I was about 49. I had an iron stomach and could eat anything. At 49, I developed unrelenting diarrhea... up once or twice a night... and belly noises you could hear across a room. I used to say I had wolverines in there fighting to get out! I had no pain, no nausea, no other symptoms at all.

I remember calling for an appt. w/ the GI doc. They offered me an appt. about THREE months later!! I said to the scheduler... "Did I mention that I have unrelenting diarrhea???" I got in about a month later!

My GI said he'd never seen such high blood levels. I went gluten-free the next day. I think it took a whole year before my bowels returned to normal.

So, I had symptoms for about 2 months and saw the doc a month later... 3 months total! In the 10 years since, all 3 of my daughters have been diagnosed. No one else in my immediate or extended family has it!

I'm a huge fan of Better Batter flour. You can google tons of Glutenfree on a Shoe String recipes... she uses BB exclusively. I've done the mixing of flours and it's a PITA (pain in the a$$). BB flour is cup for cup but I use GFSS's recipes. They're good!! I didn't bake much for years, but have been enjoying it lately!!

The last time I was glutened (only the 4th time in 10 years!) I began throwing up about 2 hours later. For the next 3 hours, I sat on the john and threw up countless times (I don't get why the stomach keeps trying to empty when it's obvious there's nothing left in there!) while the gluten did its best to get out of my body from both ends. My glutening was a careless mistake on my part and I'm super careful. I won't be as complacent again!!

I've had really good luck baking w/ Better Batter flour... an all-purpose, cup-for-cup gluten free flour. I have to order it online as I live in the middle of nowhere. Open Original Shared Link is my fave site for baking. Enjoy!

My niece visited from France in October and gave me a small jar of onion confit. That's my new obsession!! Can't wait to make it! I used it just like I did the bacon jam.

I'd be tempted to bring a flourless chocolate torte w/ chocolate ganache garnished w/ raspberries. Yum. Brazilian cheese rolls (made w/ tapioca flour) are a super appetizer too! Recipes for both are all over the internet.

I missed perogies so much I made what I called a perogie casserole... mashed potatoes w/ lots of flavor and cheese and pasta mixed in... more cheese on top and bake. It was to die for... and something I only allow myself on RARE occasions cause I'll eat the whole thing at one sitting!!

I've not had good experiences at Chili's... the only chain of that type in my town. I'm pretty sure the Shiner Bock ribs are NOT on the gluten-free menu... cause Shiner Bock beer would be used in the sauce, right??

The time before the last time I was there, I went thru the whole gluten-free thing w/ the manager and wait person only to be halfway thru my salad and finding a few flour tortilla strips! They told me that the salad mixes are in tubs in the back and somehow some of the mix containing the tortilla strips got into my salad. I didn't eat anymore. The last time I was there, I ordered another salad and told them about my last experience. This time the entire salad was filled w/ tortilla strips!! I sent it back, didn't eat anything, and haven't been back since.

I love ALL the characters but most especially Maggie Smith... but I love her in everything she does.

I made bacon jam this Christmas. I didn't use bourbon but it was to die for!! What a (RICH) delicious treat!! We enjoyed it on crackers or bread and I used it on pizza. YUM.

I totally got glutened - rookie mistake. I will see if any of those stores are in my area and get better at checking labels.

I'm no rookie and got majorly glutened when I assumed all of Rudy's stuff was gluten-free. It just made me remember that no matter where they place stuff, I still need to read the labels.

WalMart in my town has no gluten-free section!

I actually went to the grocery and looked at the back of a bag of good old Pepperidge Farm to figure out the bread cube to liquid measurements. All that said... dressing/stuffing/whatever is very simply never going to be the same or even remotely similar. Sad to say but it's the gluten that makes dressing/stuffing what it is. There aren't many times I lament and whine about having to be gluten-free... and dropping stuffing/dressing from future big meals will help me not be such a whiner.

My super sensitive daughter could eat white rice but not brown. Even white rice will cause her some problems occasionally.

We use ground chicken a lot rather than hamburger. We make taco meat and chili w/ ground chicken. I did a meatloaf the other day and it was delicious. I make my own pizza w/ lots of veggies and we do a lot of stir fry as well.