I haven’t been roaming too much lately.  School has started back here, so we are trying to get into a routine and so far things are going well.  The boss and I thought it might be fun to take Lucy and Ethel out to dinner after their first day of school on Monday to celebrate the start of a successful school year.  Well, that and we had to do a kid-switch since Ethel has soccer practice and Lucy didn’t want to go.  Going out to dinner is definitely more complicated since I was diagnosed with Celiac.  Often I get asked; “What is the hardest part about having Celiac?”  Going out to dinner is absolutely one of those things.

It used to be that if we wanted to go to dinner, we’d simply load up and head somewhere.  You want Chinese food? OK!  Mexican food this time?  Alright!!  Italian?  Why not!  Now however, we can’t be quite as cavalier in our choices.  Fortunately, living in Raleigh affords us lots of options, and our part of town is solid for choices.  For dinner, this time, we opted to go to Milton’s Pizza and Pasta.   Milton’s does a nice job of providing more than just gluten-free pizza.  They actually have appetizers and pasta dishes.  On this night, I went with the penne pasta with marinara and sauteed mushrooms.  Ethel had the gluten-free pizza (so I could have a slice) and the boss and Lucy opted for the salad bar.   On the whole the dinner was solid and reasonably priced.  There is a certain comfort knowing that the restaurant is attentive to this issue and in my experience hasn’t left me feeling uneasy.

There is a bit of sad news, however.  When I first received my diagnosis, I was concerned that at some point I would start to forget what items that contained gluten tasted like.  I believe that it is happening.  I took a bite of my pasta and immediately had the boss try it to make sure I was ok.  She informed me that the pasta was definitely gluten-free.  Unfortunately, I may be losing that piece of my past.  That too, is another issue that I had.  It was difficult to switch, almost overnight, close to 40 years of eating what I wanted.    My advice for those who have recently received a diagnosis of Celiac or are concerned about it is to go shopping.

Go to your local grocery store and buy whatever gluten-free foods sound good to you.  While you’re at the store, have a trusted person (spouse or otherwise) stay at home and purge your fridge and pantry of all foods containing gluten.  It was like ripping off a bandage, getting rid of all of that food at once.  But, after I went shopping and felt I had food to eat at home, it suddenly became a more manageable thing to take on.  As far as what I like, I may mention some of those products down the road.  I am considering creating a “Resources” page that contains links to foods that I find tasty and tummy friendly.

That’s it for now- We’ll be closing down the pool once again and saying our good-byes to a great summer.  I hope everyone has a great Labor Day Weekend.  Don’t forget to bookmark the blog and tell a friend!