Just make sure you don't eat them all right away


I get it. I've had the same melt-down. Restaurants are hard. My "special snowflake" needs are no: gluten, oats, popcorn, nuts, seeds, dairy, meat, or greasy/oily foods, plus raw veggies are bad and fruits with skins lol. If I find something I can eat....I go all out. I've had more then one pity party while my family is snacking on popcorn.

Once you start to get a few of the major dietary no-no's, you pretty much give up on restaurants.... Are there any Raw Food Restaurants in Puget Sound? They tend to REALLY think outside the box and you may be pleasantly surprised. Maybe if you are near Seattle... worth a try, but certainly not going to be cheap. (And your family may not be thrilled either.) Try an internet search.

2 of my 3 daughters have had GI issues. The oldest had them for a few years and suffered greatly before her younger sister started having the same problems. We eventually found a doctor who understood the problems we were going through (surprising how many didn't), took the younger daughter, got her tested, and found a laundry list of dietary irritants. The doctor told us that the main problem was - you guessed it - gluten, but as the gluten screwed with her system, other foods joined in the irritation process.

So we put the 2 struggling daughters in particular, and the entire house in general, on a diet that had these banned ingredients:

apples, pears, plums/prunes, grapes, raisins, cranberries, apricots, all citrus, coconut, asparagus, wheat, corn, buckwheat, peanuts, soy, whey protein, triticale, pinto beans, and walnuts.

This of course included all juices, dried fruits, variations and derivatives (such as citric acid), you get the hint.

If you ever want to suffer, take these things away from your school aged child(ren). It was torture. It took a few months. Basically, most of the entire summer. By then both our daughters' guts were healing. So we slowly started re-introducing foods. We got them all back, but the wheat. Our oldest daughter has outgrown all her problems and is doing well. Thank You God. Our youngest daughter still can't have gluten without having problems.

I keep the original list with me to remind myself how difficult things were, whenever I feel whiny about being "just" GF. And I never hold it against of my kids (and in particular our daughter who's still GF) when they get whiny. I'm telling you, it was tough. I cried a lot during that time. And I was on the outside looking in.

In short, I'm trying to say, I feel you sister. And no, you're not alone. It's tough, it's painful, it's frustrating, and a good pout or two is yours to enjoy, if you ask my opinion.

I hope your chips are delicious. You've earned them.

I got glutened Friday night at the sushi restaurant we eat at every Friday night!!
I wanted to stand up in front of the whole restaurant and tell them what happens to a celiac when they eat gluten, every disgusting and scary detail. People just don't get that it isn't a choice. I just canceled a road trip to Austin because I will need a toilet every couple of hours, I would have to bring all of my meals for two days on the road both directions. It just isn't worth the stress.

I have so many food allergies and sensitivities that eating is a major aggravation even at home.
I'm just angry about it at this point.
I'm angry that it took so long to be diagnosed.
I'm angry that people don't realize how serious it is.
I'm angry that our food is so over processed and contaminated by pesticides that more and more people are having problems.
I think we have every reason to have temper tantrums.
We need food to stay alive , but the wrong food in the most tiny amount can make us really really sick.

If I was a billionaire I would open a chain of allergy free organic restaurants so we could go out without fear.